As a congregation we have been discussing this for some time, and we have been using it in worship in our evensong service. The intent all along has been to incorporate a congregational confession of faith into our weekly service of worship. This morning we begin with the Apostles’ Creed.
This creed is ancient and was used in the early church as the confession that was recited by those receiving baptism. You are a baptized congregation of God’s people, and it is fitting and right that you declare your faith with them, in the glad recognition that it is the same faith. Sects and movements come and go, but the faith built upon the cornerstone of Jesus Christ cannot be overthrown. After we confess our sins, and are forgiven, it is our great privilege to confess our faith.
As you do, the point is not to memorize it so you can rattle it off without thinking about it. That is how the Gentiles pray, who think they will be heard through much chatter. Rather, the point is to memorize it so that each time you confess your faith, your thoughts are taken up to the great God who gave His Son for us. In this respect it is like memorizing the steps of a dance so that you might dance with someone you love. This is not mindless repetition; rather, it is the repetition of life.
Neither is this given to us so that we might mumble it. We are not asking you to stand on your chair and shout it, but I would much prefer that to the listlessness of recitation that perhaps some of you grew up with. Are these things true? Are these things so? If so, then speak as though speaking to the entire world—for you are. Speak so that all Moscow can hear—for they can.
But if you do not believe these things to be true, then what is the point of being here at all? The Christian faith encompasses everything, the claims of Christ are total, and there is never any way to respectably split the difference between His lordship and the claims of the world. So then, when we confess our faith together, speak in the presence of all heaven and earth.