Ask the Pastor: Trinity, Athanasian Creed, Good Works and Salvation
by the Rev. Walter Snyder
Religion Columnist
     Q: I've received some questions about the Triune (Three-in-One) God, as well as a
couple which essentially asked, "How can you say that only those who do good works will go to
heaven when you also say that it is only by grace that people are saved?"
     A: Since this coming Sunday is Trinity Sunday on the Western Christian calendar, I'll touch
on both, starting with the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. Both will involve a look at the Athanasian
Creed.
     Christianity has constantly struggled to keep the Faith free from false philosophies.
     In the fourth-century Greek culture of Alexandria, Egypt, a persuasive preacher with a logical
mind used a philosophy foreign to the Scriptures in order to explain the connection between Jesus
and his Father. Arius borrowed from the popular Greek concept that a "god," by nature, had to be
high, distant and almighty; and that humans, consequently, had to be low, spacial and inferior. Arius
taught that only the Father was really a proper God. Because Jesus was human, he was therefore only
a creature (created by God) and therefore did not really possess any divine qualities. The problem
was basic: When Arius denied the divinity of Christ, he destroyed God's role in accomplishing our
salvation. If Jesus were not really God, then he could not possibly have saved us from our sins.
     Orthodox ("right-teaching") Christianity declared the Scriptural teaching of the two natures of
Christ---that he was both "true God," and "true man." The Athanasian Creed proclaims over and
over that Jesus is "equal with the Father." Affirming Jesus' divinity, this creed confesses that God was
the originator of our salvation---he did it for us. Affirming his humanity, it confesses that Jesus died for
every part of us---he was a Savior who was completely human. Excerpts from this creed, named for
Saint Athanasius, show how the Church has traditionally expressed the Biblical doctrine of the Trinity.
     "The catholic faith is this, that we worship one God in Three Persons and Three Persons in
one God, neither confusing the Persons nor dividing the substance. For there is One Person of the
Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit. But the Godhead of the Father, of the
Son, and of the Holy Spirit is all one: the glory equal, the majesty coeternal. Such as the Father is,
such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit."
     Still, while there is one God, the Persons of the Trinity are not to be confused: "The Father is
made of none, neither created nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone, not made nor created
but begotten. The Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son, neither made nor created nor begotten
but proceeding."
     The Athanasian Creed goes on to clearly confess the divine and human natures of Christ,
concluding by saying of him, "At whose coming all men will rise again with their bodies and will give
an account of their own works. And they that have done good will go into life everlasting; and they
that have done evil, into everlasting fire. This is the catholic faith which, except a man believe
faithfully and firmly, he cannot be saved."
     This mention of works and salvation often bothers those who understand from Scriptures
such as Ephesians 2 that we are saved by grace, not by works. However, this passage echoes Christ's
Judgment Day prophecies from Matthew. What is key is understanding that it is not the works
themselves that save. Rather, works are testimony to saving faith; that is, they indicate that the deeds
that are called "good" by God are done only by Christians who believe in Jesus Christ as their
crucified and risen Savior and who trust in him alone. Many who think that they have done good will
be horribly dismayed on the Last Day (Matthew 25:44--46). The "catholic faith" spoken of in the
creeds doesn't mean "Roman Catholic," either. Rather, it means the faith of the entire Christian
Church as it is believed, taught, and confessed around the world and through the ages.
     To Ask the Pastor, please write Ask the Pastor, PO Box 12, Emma, MO, 65327 or send
email to askthepastor@aol.com. I look forward to hearing from you.
     Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of
the book "What Do Lutherans Believe."