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Not In Device Or Creed?

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hewitt_eeYesterday I mentioned that Cornerstone EFC held it’s Annual Church Worship Service & Picnic this past Sunday. We sing a lot at these gatherings, more than we normally do on any given Lord’s Day. However, our time ran out and I skipped a few songs previously chosen, one of which was ‘My Faith Has Found A Resting Place.’ It’s a fine hymn and has been around for over one hundred years.

I found myself humming this tune later on Sunday afternoon and began reflecting upon the lyrics:

My Faith Has Found A Resting Place

Andre Ernest, Modeste Gretry
Lidie Hornsby Edmunds
(Eliza E. Hewitt)

My faith has found a resting place, not in device or creed.

Stop & think about this for a moment…not in device or creed. I’m not sure about these devices, but creeds…aren’t they helpful? Useful? Creeds are a formal, concise statement of the basics of the faith. They’ve been used since the earliest days of the church.
Think of The Apostles Creed, for instance. The early church growing, spreading. So was heresy and false teaching. The Church needed something to clarify the truth, to give the very essence of the teaching of Scripture. It’s unclear who may have written this creed, this statement of faith. As early as 200 years after Jesus’ birth, Irenaeus had a concisely written statement of faith. It was very similar to the Creed we now use. Others of the early church fathers began to show the use of such a creed. It gave churches & believers alike a common ground to answer: what do you believe?

Some time later, a man named Arius, a priest in a church in Alexandria, North Africa rose up. He believed in Jesus…just not as ‘God of very God’. In other words, Arius was teaching a different Jesus. Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, was used of God to refute this heresy. The dispute grew so great, that Constantine, the Roman Emperor, convened a council of churches. Why would the emperor of the Roman Empire be calling a church council? Constantine had come to faith in Christ, only a dozen years prior to this. He saw the confusion within the church around his empire and wanted a clear statement of faith. So, Emperor Constantine convened a council in the city of Nicea, located in, what is now, northwest Turkey. Church leaders worked and wrote, condemning Arius’ teaching as heresy. The outcome was this creed, we call the Nicene Creed. It is one of the clearest declarations of who Jesus is, outside of the Bible.

Creeds are quite helpful. Historically, they’ve proven to be essential for ongoing of the church. So, is the hymn writer saying: Don’t use these? No, that was never the intent of Eliza Hewitt, the original author of these words. Her longing was to elevate Jesus Christ, to have Him seen as the center of our faith. Creeds point to Him; they are not Him. Our faith must rest solely in Him alone, even as the next line reads:

I trust the ever living One, His wounds for me shall plead.
Chorus ––
I need no other argument, I need no other plea.
It is enough that Jesus died, and that He died for me.
Enough for me that Jesus saves, this ends my fear and doubt.
A sinful soul I come to Him, He’ll never cast me out.

Chorus ––
I need no other argument, I need no other plea.
It is enough that Jesus died, and that He died for me.

My heart is leaning on the Word, the written Word of God.
Salvation by my Savior’s name, salvation through His blood.

Chorus ––
I need no other argument, I need no other plea.
It is enough that Jesus died, And that He died for me.


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