The Invincible Church, Part 11
First, we must maintain the confession. As Hebrews 10:23 says, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful" (ESV; also 4:14). Jesus promises to construct and to continue his church. The fulfillment of this promise depends only on himself, and not on human desire or ability. He is faithful to fulfill his promise even when we are unfaithful. And even when we are weak, he is strong. In fact, whenever he chooses to accomplish his will through willing human instruments, he would create the needed desire and ability in those vessels that he uses.
That said, his promise in Matthew 16:18 is made about a church that he will build upon the confession that Jesus of Nazareth is "the Christ, the Son of the living God." His promise guarantees that there will always be a community of people who affirm this confession. In other words, there will always be Christians in this world, and the Christian faith will remain forever regardless of what the forces of hell do to attack it.
However, it does not mean that every individual who claims to be a Christian is among this group of people. Or, to say this another way, the promise is made concerning the church, and the church consists of individuals, but not every individual who claims to be a part of the church is indeed a part of the church.
There will always be individuals who are Christians, who are a part of the church that Christ builds, but whether a particular person is a Christian is another question. Paul writes, "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves" (2 Corinthians 13:5). In the context of Matthew 16, everything depends on the confession. Jesus promises nothing other than damnation to a community or an individual that is placed on any other foundation. He does not promise to build or to protect it, or to give it victory. He will always preserve a church that maintains this confession, and again, since the church consists of individuals, this means that he will always preserve a group of people that hold fast to the confession. And whether a particular individual belongs to this church that Christ is building is determined by whether he maintains this same confession.
There is a bishop who said, "Christianity must change or die," referring to some of our central theological and ethical teachings. The moment he said that, he had become an agent of hell. Only someone who has in mind the things of man and not the things of God can make such a statement (Matthew 16:23). He does not have in mind the promise, but he has in mind what he thinks it will take for the "Christianity" to survive apart from any divine power to preserve it. His solution is to preserve the name but to destroy the substance. But then Christianity would already be dead. No, Jesus makes no promise to build or to protect a "Christianity" that has some other foundation. If Christianity changes, then it will die, if for no other reason than that the change is the death.
Any individual who makes a confession that is different from or contrary to Peter's confession becomes an enemy of the church. Christ's promise is then not for him but against him. In fact, Christ promises that this person will not succeed in his opposition to or disagreement with the confession. He could call himself a Christian, but if his confession differs, Christ does not promise to protect this person, but rather to protect his church from this person.
Jesus makes the promise about a church that is well-defined in its faith and doctrine. This is why I did not begin with verse 18, with the promise itself, to make the point that the church is invincible. I had to first define the church toward which the promise is made. And the church is defined by Peter's confession, which as we have noted, asserts and implies several major and nonnegotiable doctrines, including the Christian God, the Trinity, a fully divine and fully human Christ, who is no other than the Jesus of Nazareth of the Gospel of Matthew.
Anyone who compromises this confession removes himself from the guarantee of Christ's promise. Of course this confession, along with all its theological and ethical implications, is offensive and unpopular. But according to Christ, this is also the most protected place, or the place of promise. What appears to be the most dangerous position is in fact the place of safety and of power. And what appears to man as the safest position, the position of peace and of no conflict, is in fact the most dangerous position. As Hebrews 10:38-39 says, "But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him. But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved."
Of course, it is wrong to offend over something that is only a matter of preference, but when the issue pertains to a doctrine or a principle, then that which is most offensive to human rebellion is also that which is most subject to divine deliverance. On the other hand, when a person tries to deliver himself from human rejection through compromise, then he will become a common thing, so that there is really no point in hearing him or agreeing with him over any other person. Or, since divine deliverance no longer accompanies him, he will crumble under any human persecution that remains. And the even more pressing question is, who will deliver him from the divine judgment to come?
Let us, therefore, first maintain our confession of faith. Let us pray, study, and build up one another through mutual instruction and encouragement, so that we may become convinced and established in the faith, and thus remain under the invincible promise of Christ.
May 12 2008 | Expositions, Ministry, Spirituality