What We Believe: Why the Apostles’ Creed Still Matters

What We Believe: Why the Apostles’ Creed Still Matters

At Bethany Church, we’re kicking off a new series focused on what we believe — using the Apostles’ Creed as our guide to explore the core truths of the Christian faith. This series comes on the heels of our conversation about revival, and it’s the natural next step: Revival without firm belief is like fire without fuel. It burns out. Belief — true, rooted, living belief — matters.

For some of us, the Apostles’ Creed is familiar, maybe even memorized from years of saying it every week. For others, it might be a new or rarely mentioned concept. And some, like me, grew up with it but wrestled with how it was used. No matter where you're coming from, it's important to understand why we are studying it now — and how it connects directly to Scripture.

The Bible is Our Foundation
First and foremost, let’s be clear: The Bible is the Word of God. It is perfect, authoritative, and sufficient for everything we need to know about God and salvation. As 2 Timothy 3:16-17 reminds us, Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness. Everything we believe must be measured against Scripture. That’s never changing.

So Why the Apostles' Creed?
A creed is simply a summary of core beliefs — and the Apostles’ Creed is the earliest and most enduring summary of what Christians have believed since the time of the early church. It doesn't replace Scripture; it reflects Scripture — much like how the moon reflects the light of the sun. The Creed has no light or authority of its own; its power comes from reflecting the truth of the Bible.

Throughout history, the early church used creeds to help believers remember and proclaim their faith, especially in a world where few had access to written Scriptures. Creeds like Romans 10:9-10 ("If you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord...") and 1 Corinthians 15:3-6 ("Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures...") served as early, powerful statements of faith.

The Apostles’ Creed is for All Christians
While different denominations — Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian, and more — have theological differences, the Apostles’ Creed captures what all true Christians hold in common. You can believe more than what’s in the Apostles’ Creed based on your understanding of Scripture, but you can’t believe less and still be aligned with historic, biblical Christianity.

In a world where divisions are common, especially even among Christians, the Creed reminds us that we have more in common with each other than with the world around us. It's a call to unity — not uniformity — rooted in shared, unchanging truth.

The Early Church Model
Acts 2:42 shows us the early church's devotion:

"They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer."

The Apostles’ Creed grew out of this kind of devotion. It was a way for the early church to remember and defend the faith, to "contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God's holy people" (Jude 3). It’s not new. It’s not evolving. It’s the same gospel handed down through the generations.

What It Means to Believe
The very first words of the Apostles’ Creed are simple, yet profound:

I believe in God.

Belief isn’t just mental agreement. True belief changes how we live. It's not enough to say we believe — it must be shown in our actions. Just like someone who says they believe junk food is bad but keeps eating it until a serious health scare wakes them up — true belief leads to change.

As Christians, we don't believe in some vague idea of "a god" or multiple gods. We believe in the one true God — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — who has revealed Himself through Scripture and in history.

Moving Forward Together
In this series, as we walk through the Apostles' Creed, we're not studying the Creed itself as an authority. We are using it as a roadmap to dive deeper into God’s Word and to anchor ourselves in the faith that has been passed down to us, unchanged and unwavering, for nearly 2,000 years.

Let’s use this time to remember, to renew, and to rejoice in what we believe — not because it’s tradition, but because it’s true.