THIS I BELIEVE Arthur M. Romig

Il Timothy 1:8-14 Broad Street Presbyterian Chureh
December 30, 1979 Columbus, Ohio
Text: "For ~ am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am sure that

he is able to guard, until that day, what has been entrusted to me,"
II Timothy 1:12.

I heard a professor of homiletics once say, "Preach every sermon as though it
were the last one you will ever preach." TI am not sure that I can fully agree with
him but this time IT hardly need to pretend. This is my last sermon for this congrega~
tion, at least for a rather long period. I shail therefore be rather personal about
what the Gospel means to me.

One of my heroes, whom I am also privileged to call a personal friend, is Dr. John
A. Mackay, President Emeritus of Princeton Theological Seminary. He tells the story
that, while traveling in South America, he stopped on the road to talk to a peasant who
was hoeing his field. He asked the peasant a very simple question, but one difficult
to answer: "What do you believe?" The answer came back, "I believe what the Church
believes." Then Dr, Mackay asked, "And what does the Church believe?" The answer: ''The

Church believes what I believe."

From time to time I ask myself this same question, "What do I believe? And the
second question, "What difference does it make?" It is at times such as this when [ am
starting a new venture, which usually means leaving an old one, that I most seriously
ask these questions. So in the last few weeks I have been asking myself these questions
again, as I seriously debate what I shall do during the next few years of my ministry. It
is not easy to sever pleasant associations and the warm fellowship I have found here in
Broad Street. There are driving forces, that we all have, as we make decisions. Allow
me then, to share with you what I have felt to be my basic beliefs, not so much reasons
for going to the Delaware Church, but as deep motivations that move me to face new
opportunities and new challenges. In doing this I pray that it may lead you to search
your own self for a statement of your beliefs that have driven you through the years.

I never cease to be amazed at the strong declarations of faith made by St. Paul.
Have we not all been thrilled to hear him say to us as he said to the Roman church: ''For
I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor powers, nor
things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all
creation shall be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Or his words to the church in Philippi, "E count all things but loss for the excellancy
of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord"..,"I can do ail things through Christ who
strengtheneth me." As we have just read, now to his spiritual son, Timothy, Paul writes:
"T know whom I have believed, and I am sure he is able to guard, until that day, what
has been entrusted to me." So I try again te put into words the faith that God has en-
trusted to me, by which I must live. It is with hesitation that I do this, but I want
to share what has evolved through all the struggles and the joys of these forty-eight
years of ministry. Now bear with me as I share my faith.

E. 2 identify with Paul when he says, "whom I have believed" not what I have be-
lieved". I therefore start with what seems fundamental to me: a deep conviction that
there is a loving, all-powerful Being whom I call God and from whom I cannot escape. f
cannot escape Him as I Look around the world, as I mow my grass or pick my flowers, as
I look into the starry sky, as I feel the warmth of the sun or the chill of the wind, I
feel His presence as I clasp the hand of a friend, or kiss the cheek of the one I love,
or as I gaze into the eyes of a child who has just discovered he can walk, and reaches
out to his mother with his first step.

~-2-

Try as [ might, like Francis Thompson in "The Hound of Heaven" or David in
Psalm 139 which we read this morning, I cannot escape Him whether fleeing "down the
labyrinthine ways" of life, or into the “uttermost parts of the sea" and land. '

Io cannot escape Him as T read the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, as I
see how men and women, through the ages, have felt His hand in their affairs and have
found joy in obedience to His will,

Io cannot escape this loving God as T search my own experience and relive those
moments of danger or of great joy, when I reached out for help and found Him there to
help me.

fo cannot escape this sovereign controlling God as I study history and see the rise
and fail of nations, and know the wonders of men and women as they seek to follow Him.

{ cannot fully understand, but He satisfies my need for security, and I rest con-
fident in Him. Yes, I build the rest of my faith on this foundation of a loving, good,
and sovereign God whom I have come te call Father.

This God is not just a power, not just a watchmaker who put this world together,
wound up the spring and let it run. The most important thing to me is that He is a
Person and that He communicates with me. He lets me know about myself, and wants to
know about me. Life for me, an animal with many animal instincts of self-preservation
and propagation, takes on meaning when I know that He regards me as someone important
enough to communicate and share His thoughts with and, I believe, with whom to share
His very life.

Therefore I can know right from wrong, right being interpreted as being in accord
with God's purpose and wrong being contrary to His purpose. Therefore I can believe
in prayer as the means of communication, especially when quietness, meditation and
listening are recognized as an essential part of prayer.

Il. This fundamental belief leads me to faith in Jesus of Nazareth, whom I
recognize as the Christ, God's anointed Cne and the One who has shown me what God is
like. He has shown me the nature of God's love and judgment of His mercy and forgiveness.
I would like to think that had I lived in Galilee 1950 years ago I would have had the
wisdom and the courage to be counted among His followers. JI am not sure that I would
have been. Since I live in the twentieth century I want to be called a follower, one
of Christ's men today.

I don't really understand how He saves me or anyone else. I heard Dr. Clifford
Barbour, Moderator of the General Assembly some years ago, say that it didn’t amaze
him that he should believe in Christ, but it did amaze him that Christ should believe
in him. Yes, that He should believe in me enough to trust me, forgive me, restore me
and count me worthy of His love, that is the amazing thing. No, I-don't understand the
Cross, His death, His resurrection. I don't understand how He saves. J only know that
He dees, and that when I approach Him I find renewal, and strength for living, day
after day.

I never experienced that great moment, some speak of, that can be recorded by day
or hour or even minute in which some say they suddenly experienced Christ's saving
power, But I have experienced His forgiveness again and again. I have experienced the
renewal of spirit time and time again. I have felt accepted by God not once, but
constantly, I have felt the wholeness of life as I live it day after day and can speak
to Him as I walk the streets of Columbus, or New York, Oakland or Shanghai. And, if
to you salvation means a future bliss you call "heaven" that is fine. TF am also

~ Je

confident of a future in which this loving Father will care for me in ways far beyond
that of which I cannot imagine, call it what you will. I believe it will be better
than gold streets or gates of pearl. I would rather like something greener, quieter,
with less glitter, and more music to accompany the harps.

It is this man of Nazareth who shows me what a true man, created in God's image,
is like. He not only reveals to me the nature of the loving Father but He also reveals
to me what a man created in God's image can and ought to be, and that potential I
would like to achieve by God's grace.

III. TI am now sure that you expect me, as a third item in my creed, te believe in
the Holy Spirit. You shall not be disappointed, for I do believe in the Holy Spirit as
God, living and vibrant in the world today. This is the way I know God, through the
Spirit as He directs my conscience, as He continues His creation by transforming men and
women, re-creating them into His image again. He is God in the present tense. As
sensitive as a breath of air, as penetrating as a ray of light, as strong as the light-
ning and as quick, as gentle as a snow flake. He can shake mankind as an earthquake,
and He can lift a person's spirit as a whisper of love. This is the Spirit to me as He
blows through the earth, bringing fresh life te all who will open the windows of their
souls to Him. God is alive and I cannot set the bounds of His work or the pattern by
which He deals with you and me today.

tt is this God, whom I recognize as the Holy Spirit who allows the Bible to speak
to me, the same God that created the world and the one that saves mankind. Yes, I
believe the Bible is a means through which God speaks to me and to you, as the Spirit
takes these black letters on a white page and speaks to my mind and heart through them.
For it is the Bible record that tells me of Jesus and of how God deals with people through
the ages, and will continue to deal with people in the ages to come.

But I must hurry on, lest I lull you to sleep rather than awaken in you faith.

I¥. The next pillar on which I build my faith is the Church of Jesus Christ. This
is the organism, ever throbbing with life that the Apostle Paul calls the Body of Christ,
Not an organization, not an immovable structure, even though many have made it seem so;
not a self-seeking elite power, though many have used it for their own selfish purposes;
but a living, breathing, sensitive organism that responds to the heartbeat of God, and
is directed by the mind of the Creator. It is not limited to Presbyterians, or Episco-
palians, or Roman Catholics, or Greek Orthodox, or even Southern Baptists or any other
organized structure that men and women have set up by which to govern themselves as
Christians. JI believe in the historical church because 1 believe God has worked in
every age and generation, so that Peter was part of the fellowship, as was Abraham and
Moses, or Martin Luther King, Jr. and Billy Graham. I trust the experience of the
Apostle John, of Francis of Assisi, of Augustine or Ignatius Loyola, of Isaiah and
Jeremiah, of John Calvin and John Wesley. My experience may not be the same as theirs,
but I am part of that great fellowship, just as the arm is part of the body, as much
as is the heart.

And so I accept the tradition of the Church as valid and part of the authority of
my creed. ff God is alive, as I believe He is, He has continued to work, leading people
to fulfill His purposes throughout all history. It is the Church, and the Church alone,
that has consciously dedicated itself as the witness to God and salvation through
Jesus Christ, through all the ages.

V. Let us hurry on for there is much more to say. Because I have this kind of
faith, the Apostle Paul sould say, "Therefore, a kind of living must take place." As I
understand the Christian faith, it is like love. It is only an undiscovered gold mine
until it is opened up, and the treasure is found and shared with others who need it.

~4-

As love must be shared to be love, so Christian faith must be shared if it is truly
Christian faith. But this sharing of the faith is not just in words. In fact, words
often become the hindrance to belief. It is in doing the faith that faith is made clear
and shared. Our faith is most truly expressed in acts of love for one another, certainly
not in the desire to save my skin and receive the rewards of heaven, or even secure
another star in a crown of glory. If another is led to find fulfillment of his life and
to worship the Christ because of my life, it cannot be regarded as just another scalp to
nail to my record of achievement. So I can no longer sing ''That will be glory for me"

or ask the question "Will there be any stars in my crown?" as those old gospel songs

had us sing.

My faith requires of me that I share the fortunes of my life, the gifts of God,
with others, because they too are children of the heavenly Father and we are one family
with the Father. J must be ready to receive your gift to me, just as I must share my
gift with you. I think God purposely made us each different from the other, so that we
may be individuals enriching one another, But I also believe that He wants each of us,
throughout the entire world, to find the wholeness of human life and the deep satisfaction
of life lived according to God's image as He re-creates us, and that this is found only
when we accept one another and the gifts each has to give. It is up to me then to do
what I can te see that others know this fulfillment. Perhaps that is why I have always
felt the impulse to be on a mission, In our day I am convinced this mission means
feeding the hungry, healing the sick, freeing the slaves whatever their bondage, working
for justice and peace for all people everywhere, and let all people know the wonderful
joy and peace, and freedom that comes from being bound to the loving Father. Such
bondage to the Father brings the freedom to stand alone, if necessary, in a world that
Lives only for itself.

VI. Lastly, at least for this occasion, IT believe I am free and therefore responsibil
free to be faithful or to be unfaithful. I can choose either to run my life selfishly
and make all things center around me and my earthly comforts and desires, which seems to
result in boredom, frustration and futility if I read history clearly; or I can say God
alone is Lord and Him will I obey. You and I did say just that at some time when we
pledged our allegiance to Christ, as we joined the Church. And as I read biography,
and study the lives of men and women, it is these latter ones, those that have made God
their Lord, that I want to be like,

i believe that the ultimate satisfaction is found in being faithful to that Lord
and not merely in being successful. "Success", even for the Christian, is only what I
or the people around me think to be most satisfactory to them, whereas faithfulness is
being sensitive, not to what others think you ought to be or what they would like to be,
but what I know deep in my heart is obedience to the vision of my life that God has
given me. For me it means, living out those things of my faith of which I speak,
though it be poorly said, so that the principles I preach be lived out in life. This
may result in being thought most unsuccessful by the general public. Some have even
lost their lives because of it, as did the Lord I seek to follow. Such faithfulness
will mean different things at different times. For the prophet Amos in the 8th century
B.C. it was to speak of God's displeasure at the oppression of the poor and the lack of
Justice in the nation. For John Wycliffe in the 14th ceatury after Christ it was to
translate the Bible into English even if it meant excommunication and death, For
Wendell Phillips in the 19th century it was to use his oratorical powers and join forces
with those who worked for the abolition of slavery in this land. For Carrie Nation it
was to use the hatchet and attack the problem of alcohol. For Dietrich Bonhoeffer it
meant an obedience to death as he strove for freedom in the face of Nazi fascism. For
Martin Luther King, Jr. it meant the struggle for equality of opportunity for races and
the elimination of racism everywhere.

-5-

For me, living in the latter years of the 20th century, what does obedience mean?
Soren Kierkegaard once said, "It is so hard to believe because it is so hard to obey.!
And obedience is the key. Do you recall the words of Jesus, "You are my friends Lf
you do what I command you" and the command was to love one another as He loved us.
But my obedience is not necessarily yours, but obedience for me, as yours must become
for you, means heaven rather than hell, happiness rather than despair.

We could follow through the implications of such responsibility along many lines:
my personal behavior and life style; my use of energy in this day of shortages; my
relationships with others, my family, my friends, and my "enemies", all must be
logically lined up with the faith I express. Let us then take just one pressing problem
of this 20th century about which T must follow the command to love.

Io mist without question in this 20th century do what IE can to eliminate racism, to
establish peace throughout the world. This will mean opposition to such groups as the
Ku Klux Klan, American Nazi Party, and the John Birch Society, It means to me opposing
extreme nationalism wherever it is found whether in Iran, Ireland, Israel or here in
America; and it means standing with the forces for peace wherever they are found. [It
means to me understanding and loving those holding views different from mine, though
disliking their views. It means a thousand little things in relation to other persons
as we live day by day.

I would like to have written the poem written by Studdert Kennedy, entitled
'Taith" which he says is "Betting your Life on God''. He closes that poem with these
words: “Such is my faith and such my reasons for it, and IT find them strong enough.
And you? You want to argue? Well, ET can't, It is a choice. I choose the Christ."

Now let me thank you for the opportunity through these years of sharing my faith
and life with you at Broad Street. You have also shared yours with me, for which I
am both grateful and the richer. We all believe something. It is that by which we
live. You may express it in a way that I cannot - in music, or painting, or dance
or poetry or just in your daily living. You have shared your feeling for fellowship
with me and with one another and T have been blessed, Thank you.