The Nicene Creed to the Faith of Modern-Day Christians - Essay Example

? The function of the Nicene Creed to the faith of modern-day Christians Introduction One of the persistent questions thatface people, especially Christians is the issue of “what happens to an individual after death and whether their faith and devotion towards God makes sense anymore”. In Christianity and traditional religions like the Jewish religion, the answer to the issue has been transferred over generations through the decrees of the bible (Ashley, 2010). Some bible scriptures are not resolute about what happens to people after death, which is an important concern for Christians. 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 God’s judgement after his return, which strengthens the faith of Christians in God; so that they can overlook all the experiences of life, while still standing by his commandments (Williams, 2007). The prize offered to ensure that Christians keep their faith is expressed through the clause that the dead and the living shall receive similar judgement, where the outcome will be damnation or eternal blessings. The meaning of this statement in the Nicene Creed is clear and precise, when stating the ultimate destiny of those that keep their faith in God. Firstly, it begins by insisting about the return of God – not for other purposes – except that of judging the dead and the living (Williams, 2007). The statement emphasizes his role as the one of a judge and not the God that the believers used to know as a father, whose main role would be to accord all people the rewards of their works – whether good, or evil and whether they were dead or alive during his return. The insistence made about judging the good and the bad whether they will be dead or alive helps the believers to find significance in upholding their faith while they are still alive, because their faith when they were alive will be used as the basis for their judgement during the judgement (Ashley, 2010). The statement, clearly, makes the promise to keep the faith of believers going, by clarifying to them that God’s judgement will not be dependent on whether they will have died or be alive, and that the rewards received will only be determined by their goodness or evil while they were alive (Wright, 2007). This statement is a part of the Nicene Creed because it presents a decree that cannot be questioned by the believers as well as the non-believers, about the ultimate destiny of all people. The statement is significant as a part of the creed, mainly because it offers the foundation of the allegiance offered to Christian beliefs by believers. The importance of the statement is that it offers a solid basis for the normative beliefs of Christianity and also states the ultimate prize for Christian believers (Wright, 2007). The churches that are founded on the basis of this statement, which is contained in the Nicene Creed, include the oriental Orthodox Church, the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the church of the East and a many protestant churches around the world. The centrality of the statement in the Nicene Creed to the faith of Christians shows that it offers the reference point for the faith of believers (Williams, 2007). The relevance of the statement, which is a part of the Nicene Creed, is evident from the significance of the message offered to believers, which is a decree from God himself. However, it is necessary to note that the relevance of the statement is only applicable to the believers of Christian faith, because they are the group that believes in the existence of the God to return as a judge (Ashley, 2010). The relevance of the statement is that it offers an authoritative decree that “God will return to reward the dead and the living according to their activities” – whether evil or good (McGrath, 2010, p. 67). From the point of view of a Christian believer, the role of God as a judge can be regarded one that will not be comparable to any that takes place in the earthly plane. Apart from the relevance of the statement – which has been discussed before – the statement works like the basis of today’s believers; the statement emphasizes the return of God to judge all, which guarantees believers that whatever their stand in faith, judgement is inevitable. For that reason, the statement offers the basis for Christian faith, because it guarantees believers that their good and evil works will all be brought forward during the day of judgement – irrespective of whether they will be living or dead (Ashley, 2010). Through the emphasis of the ultimate retribution for their works, the statement strengthens the faith of believers in God, which acts as the anchor of their faith, due to the realization that all their acts amount to their pay during the judgement (Williams, 2007). Conclusion One main issue that confronts people, especially believers is that related to where people go after death. The question was an issue of debate during the time of Jesus, between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. In response to the debate, Jesus offered the answer that God’s judgement was awaiting the living and the dead. The role of the statement among present-day Christians is that it guarantees believers the reception of a deserved retribution during the day of judgement. The meaning of the statement is clear that, God’s judgement is awaiting the living as well as the dead and it is important because it offers a guiding principle for the faith of believers. Reference list Ashley, J., 2010. Christian Doctrine. London: SCM. McGrath, A., 2011. Christian Theology: An introduction. Fifth ed. Oxford: Wiley- Blackwells. Williams, R., 2007. Tokens of Trust. Norwich: Canterbury Press. Wright, T., 2007. Surprised by Hope. London: SPCK. Read More