“Lord, I believe . . .”

— Mark 9:24

“No creed but Christ” is what some people claim to believe today, and that may sound good. But they forget that “creed” simply means a statement of faith and that, therefore, developing one can be valuable in helping us define what we believe. One of the oldest and finest statements of faith is the Apostles’ Creed. Its roots go back to the early Church. Though not written by the apostles themselves, it carries the authority of eyewitnesses from the apostolic age. Virtually every group of Christians agrees upon this creed, so it unites us despite our doctrinal differences.

The Apostles’ Creed expresses truth simply and clearly, setting forth a challenge. It is an affirmation, a declaration, a manifesto of a Messiah who has come to conquer the world. We should never mumble it or merely recite it. Because of the great truths it contains, upon which we must stake our lives, we should shout it with a fanfare of trumpets.

Here are the words of the Apostles’ Creed. Today, will you recite it, pouring all your heart and soul into it?

I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic [universal] church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

“You don’t really believe your creed until you want to say it
standing at spiritual attention with the roll of drums in your ears,
the light of love dazzling in your eyes, and all the music of the
splendid world crashing out a prelude to its truth.”
Studdert Kennedy