Historic First Lutheran Church of Pasadena

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

How many of you like mysteries? I know I do. I love reading mystery books. I love watching mysterious programs on television. There’s just something about a good mystery that captivates my attention as can few other things. That’s maybe why I like Trinity Sunday.

Today’s “Trinity Sunday” celebrates a true mystery of the Church. I like to pride myself as a pastor as being able to answer a lot of questions that people ask me about faith. The Trinity, though, is one of those questions, one of those mysteries, that I truly don’t even attempt to explain to people. After all, how do you explain three persons but one God?

Some people have admittedly admirably tried. You’ve probably all heard the explanation of the Trinity as being like the compound element H2O, the element we commonly call “water.” Water can indeed be experienced in three distinct forms: as a liquid, as a solid and as a gas. Some people think that is an adequate way to explain the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The problem, though, is that, except under extremely unique circumstances, H2O is usually not experienced simultaneously in all three forms.

The Trinity is truly a mystery: how God can be one God yet be experienced continually and simultaneously as the Father, as the Son and as the Holy Spirit.

While we’re talking about mysteries, let me highlight another Bible mystery. That is the mystery of the creation of the world, how in 6 days of 24 hours God could create everything out of nothing simply by saying “Let there be.” Now that’s a mystery.

For the first 1850 years of the present Christian era, that was indeed the explanation of how the world came to be that was widely accepted with few challenges and certainly with no other viable explanations offered. The Word of God, as recorded in the first three chapters of Genesis, was simply accepted and believed for over 1850 years. Then along came Charles Darwin, who convincingly planted the seeds of doubt in the minds of many by offering the first viable explanation of how the world came to be: through a “big bang” and through evolution.

About 150 years later, I know I’d be fooling myself if I said that there were no adherents of Darwinism in this room today. At the very least, I know there must be some adherents of micro-evolution in our midst. I am not here today to argue point by point what I believe are the positive aspects of creation and the negative aspects of evolution. In fact, I am probably not even properly equipped to do that.

What I am here today to convey to you is that it is very important for followers of Jesus Christ to believe the creation account recorded in Genesis 1, 2 and 3. In fact, I will go one step further and say the title of this sermon, “You’ve Got to Believe Creation!”

“You’ve Got to Believe Creation,” as recorded in Genesis 1, 2 and 3 because if you don’t, why should you believe Matthew 1 and Luke 2? Those are the portions of the New Testament that talk about how God became flesh and made His dwelling among us on this earth in the human person of Jesus, born of Mary, in Bethlehem, some 2,000 years ago.

“You’ve Got to Believe Creation,” as recorded in Genesis 1, 2 and 3 because if you don’t, why should you believe Matthew 27 and 28; why should you believe Mark 15 and 16; why should you believe Luke 23 and 24; why should you believe John 19 and 20? Those are all the chapters of the New Testament that give testimony about the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

“You’ve Got to Believe Creation” as recorded in Genesis 1,2 and 3 because if you don’t, why should you believe today’s Gospel, Matthew 28:16-20? Matthew 28:20 in particular is the sweetest, most powerful promise ever given to human beings – “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

As unexplainable, unprovable, unreproducible and difficult as the mystery of the creation of the world may be to believe, if you cannot believe the mystery of creation as recorded in Genesis 1, 2 and 3, how can you believe the mystery that Jesus was born, true God yet true man? If you cannot believe the mystery of creation as recorded in Genesis 1, 2 and 3, how can you believe the mystery that Jesus suffered, died and rose again to forgive your sins and to give you the sure and certain hope of eternal life in Heaven? If you cannot believe the mystery of creation as recorded in Genesis 1, 2 and 3, how can you believe the mystery that Jesus is with you every moment of every day? And if you can’t believe that Jesus is with you every moment of every day, how do you make it through life day after day?

To speak personally for a second, I’m glad that I was taught to believe creation as an item of faith, faith being something I can be sure and certain of without seeing, without having it proved to me [Hebrews 11:1]. Along with creation, I was taught to believe the mystery of the Trinity. I was taught to believe the virgin birth of Jesus. I was taught to believe the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ. I was taught to believe in Heaven. I was taught to believe that Jesus is with me every moment of every day. And I can honestly say that my life is better today for me having believed all those items of faith than if I didn’t have faith.

Some people would say that such blind faith in unscientific, unexplainable mysteries is foolish, but I guess that’s why they call it “faith,” that, by the power of God’s Holy Spirit, we are brought to belief and daily strengthened in our belief without having to have any of it scientifically proved. If faith were proved, faith would cease being faith and the Church would not have to do what I am today doing – sharing my faith. The Church would not have to do what Jesus commanded the Church to do and what St. Peter did so powerfully on that first Pentecost so many years ago – going into all the world and witnessing about faith in Jesus.

Doubt has been present since the very creation of the world. It’s part of the result of the fall into sin. Doubt was present on the Mount of Ascension when Jesus gave the Great Commission [Matt. 28:17]. Doubt was present in Jerusalem when Peter had to try to explain the mystery of Pentecost [Acts 2:14, 22-36]. Doubt is frequently present in our own lives and in the lives of people sitting all around us.

If you’re today struggling with doubt in any area of faith, hear again the Words of Jesus: “All authority in Heaven and earth has been given to Me” [Matt. 28:18]. Doubt does not – it cannot – make that claim. If you’re struggling with doubt, allow Jesus to lead you with His presence and provide you the freedom of trusting Him and accepting the mysteries of faith, both for your benefit here on earth, as well as for your benefit for all eternity.

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Pastor Christopher Schaar
Historic First Lutheran Church of Pasadena