'He will come again to judge the living and the dead' Why is this statement in the Niceness Creed, how is it relevant and how do - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... These verses that are relatively confusing about the issue include Gen 37:35, Job 7:9 and Psalms 6:6; the verses present death as the movement of a person from the plane of the living to Sheol, and notes that life and God are not remembered at Sheol (Wright, 2007). This paper will discuss the role of the statement among the creeds, its relevance and its function in today’s Christian faith. Discussion These persistent questions are answered through the Nicene Creed, which became one of the strongholds of Christian faith and the foundation of many religious groups. The better answers to the questions emerged during the 2nd century, following an increase in the belief in the resurrection and the final judgement of the living as well as the dead (Wright, 2007). The basic belief that forms the fundamental principles of many Christian groups traces its roots to the Nicene Creed, which expressly states that the judgement of God will cover both the living as well as the dead. The creed sets the basis of the belief that the people, who die believing in God, do not lose out on their journey of faith; the believers who die will be resurrected during the judgement day, so that they can receive their reward. Together with believers, the non-believers will also receive their judgement, but will instead be sent to hell fire, where they will receive their reward for their disobedience. The believers of the present-day get the fundamentals for the interpretation of the statement contained in the Nicene Creed from the areas covered by the creed during Jesus’ time. During the time of Jesus, the accounts of the New Testament talk of the divisions that existed in the beliefs of the people of that time, especially the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The divisions in the beliefs developed about the subject are contained in different verses, including Mathew. 22:23, Mark 12: 18 and Acts 23:8 (Williams, 2007). The accounts of the gospels also contain the position of Jesus about the issue, where his explanation resolves the questions and the differences in the opinions of the different groups. One of these accounts is the one that talks about the end of the world, where the epistle of Mathew chapter 25 guarantees the judgement of all people – whether living or dead. Through Mathew’s epistle, Jesus explains that during his return in the company of angels, all the people of the world will be lined-up before him, so that he can judge on the ones to be rewarded and those to be sent to eternal destruction (Ashley, 2010). From the discussion contained in the passage, the position of Jesus is explicit that after the death of individuals, God will judge all and distinguish the evil from the good. The stance of Jesus, during the time of the division between the Pharisees and the Sadducees about the future of the living and the dead gives all Christians a solid base for their faith. The basic belief helps Christians to understand the fact that death is not the end of communion between God and his people; death does not separate the sinful from their judgement to eternal death (Ashley, 2010). Additionally, the stance of Jesus offers modern-day Christians the promise they need to keep their faith and observe the good values required from believers; meeting the commands of God about their relationships with others and with God, as well as serving God. The importance of faith in God is emphasized by the ultimate outcome of ...Download file to see next pagesRead More