Written by Pete Schemm
[This booklet was originally published in Trained in the Fear of God.]

Introduction: The Spirit of the Christian Household

I once thought that the defining mark of a Christian home was “family worship” in the living room every evening. I would not have put it that way at the time, of course. Yet I have since realized that I was far too invested in performing the act of family worship as a measure of my success as a father. I possessed the spirit of a Pharisee—and few attitudes are more unhelpful to the gospel of Jesus than such a spirit. It is the spirit of one who works to impress God and others through religious achievements. It is the spirit of self-justification. It is not the spirit of a Christian household.

By the spirit of the Christian household, I mean something closer to what Dallas Willard suggests in his book The Spirit of the Disciplines. He says,

“The spirit of the disciplines—that which moves us to them and moves through them to prevent them from becoming a new bondage and to deepen constantly our union with the heart and mind of God—is [our] love of Jesus, with its steadfast longing and resolute will to be like him.

Spiritual habits and disciplines are hollow apart from a genuine love and affection for Jesus Christ. They tend to take on a “new bondage” and become a means to seek an evil and enslaving endpoint instead.

The spirit of the Christian household is inspired by the love of God whom “we love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). It is a disposition that consistently reflects God’s love through grace and forgiveness. This disposition moves us to and through the habits proposed below. Our habits and disciplines, founded on the love of God, become a good means to a greater end. They form and transform our families into redemptive communities. These habits and disciplines train not only children but also fathers and mothers, to repent of specific things such as anger and demanding expectations. Paul Tripp describes it this way: “As we—parents and children alike—face our need as sinners, the family becomes a truly redemptive community where the themes of grace, forgiveness, deliverance from sin, reconciliation, new life in Christ, and hope become the central themes of family life.” In a word, the spirit of the Christian household is a spirit of redemption.

Habits of a Gospel-Centered Household

What habits, then, should be practiced in the context of this redemptive community? The following six habits help us to learn, remember, and practice the gospel regularly. They are intentionally theological and reflect a rich heritage that ties us to the Christians of previous generations. They are simple habits that require no advanced training. And they are helpful at every stage of life—for children and young adults, for parents and grandparents alike.

1. Reciting the Apostles’ Creed Together

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven. and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy universal church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Christians have historically recited many creeds to express their faith. My favorite is the Apostles’ Creed. It is the oldest creed in common use among Christian churches today. Its trinitarian structure, following the pattern of Father, Son, and Spirit, as well as its detailed summary of the gospel of Jesus Christ explain why it has served the church so well for over 1,500 years.

Confessional Value of the Creed

The English word creed is related to the Latin word credo, meaning “I believe.” The Apostles’ Creed begins this way because it summarizes the faith, or belief, of the apostles who followed Jesus. That same faith—according to the specificity of each line of the Creed—has been once for all delivered to the saints. We join with all who have made this confession of faith in Christ by saying, “I believe.” So when recited as a true expression of one’s heart and mind, the Creed serves well as a confession of faith in Christ.

It would be a mistake, however, to assume that the Creed is only for those who presently possess faith in Christ. It also serves well to cultivate faith. In other words, learning from an early age to say “I believe” in the triune God and his gospel cultivates a grammar of faith that may one day be invested with genuine, saving faith. And, in addition to preparing one for faith in Christ, it serves to sustain and deepen genuine faith. Christians are as frail and forgetful as anyone. The Creed reminds us all, young or old, to live in accordance with the gospel of God. We never mature beyond saying “I believe.”

Historical and Communal Value of the Creed

There is also a historical value in the use of the Creed. Retrieving the tradition of the apostles, through the Creed, enriches our understanding of the gospel. It is well suited to form a “transgenerational” understanding of the gospel because it situates our faith in a rich and lasting heritage. It helps us to realize that ours is an ancient faith, a time-tested faith that crosses geographical and cultural boundaries. All over the world, others believed the gospel long before we did.

This rich sense of heritage and tradition serves to correct the “Me” generation’s radical individualism and deep-seated sense of entitlement. The Creed helps us to redeem the fallen self through a sense of holy community. It provides a context of community for the individual, so that the “I” of faith is no longer detached but embedded in the common “I believe” of “the communion of saints.” This is the language of a shared tradition.

The way the Creed helps us to think about the gospel is all the more significant when we realize that it combines an economy of words with faithfulness to the biblical text. Every line of the Creed was crafted around biblical language. Other than Scripture itself, I know of no better summary of the gospel with which to train our children.

Working the Apostles’ Creed into the Life of Your Family

1. Memorize the first of the Creed’s three main parts.

2. Recite the first part as a statement of your faith at the beginning or end of a meal-time prayer.

3. A week later, add the second part of the Creed a few phrases at a time.

4. A week or two later, add part three.

[Continued next week.]