The Importance of the Church
Matthew 16:13-19
Introduction: TEN THINGS YOU NEVER HEAR IN CHURCH 1. Hey! It’s MY turn to sit on the front pew! 2. I was so enthralled, I never noticed your sermon went over time 25 minutes. 3. Personally, I find witnessing much more enjoyable than golf. 4. I’ve decided to give our church the $500.00 a month I used to send to TV evangelists. 5. I volunteer to be the permanent teacher for the Junior High Sunday School class. 6. Forget the minimum salary: let’s pay our pastor so he can live like we do. 7. I love it when we sing hymns I’ve never heard before! 8. Since we’re all here, let’s start the worship service early! 9. Pastor, we’d like to send you to this Bible seminar in the Bahamas. 10. Nothing inspires me and strengthens my commitment like our annual stewardship campaign! While we laugh at these humorous statements, it raises the question, is the church important?
The words of Jesus Christ in Matthew 16 reveal the importance of the church as Christ reveals the ownership, foundation, power, authority, and mission of the church.
I. The Declaration of Ownership by the Architect of the Church, Jesus Christ.
A. “I will build MY church”
B. Once Arturo Toscanini was rehearsing the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in playing Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. They played through the entire work without interruption. After the finale there was a long silence. Everyone was moved by the music. Then Toscanini spoke. "Who am I? Who is Toscanini? I am nobody. It is Beethoven. He is everything." In the church, Christ is everything. He is "all in all."
C. The Church of God apart from the Person of Christ is a useless structure. However ornate it may be in its organization, however perfect in all its arrangements, however rich and increased with goods, if the Church is not revealing the Person, lifting Him to the height where all men can see Him, then the Church becomes an impertinence and a sham, a blasphemy and a fraud, and the sooner the world is rid of it, the better. - G. Campbell Morgan in Giant Steps. Christianity Today, Vol. 40, no. 6.
D. The chamber of commerce meeting was called to order. After the reception of new members and the introduction of visitors, the chairman asked who of those present represented the oldest company in the community. A young man in the back of the room hesitated a moment, then arose and said: "I believe I do, sir. I am a minister of the gospel. The company I represent was founded some 1,900 years ago. And I am happy to say that it is still flourishing." His announcement was greeted with applause, for none of those present was inclined to contradict him. He did, indeed, represent "the oldest company" in the community. It was 19 centuries ago that the Founder of this "company" had said: "Upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matt 16:18). How true the intervening centuries have proved His startling prediction to be! On every continent and on the islands of the seven seas, from East to West, from North to South, the company of Christ’s redeemed have carried the message of salvation. It was that "company" that the young minister represented-indeed, the oldest, grandest, and the largest to be represented at the meeting, a "company" that you can belong to by simple faith in Christ the Savior. We are "fellow" citizens with the saints and of the household of God, and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief Cornerstone (Eph 2:19-20).
II. The Foundation of the Church
A. “You are Peter (Petros) and on this rock (Petra) I will build my church.”
B. Petros – a pebble or small stone, Petra – a foundational stone
C. 1 Corinthians 3:11 “For no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ.”
D. The church is built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ and the profession of faith in Him by believers who comprise “living stones”
E. 1 Peter 2:5-7 “and, like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it says in scripture: "Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion, a cornerstone, chosen and precious, and whoever believes in it shall not be put to shame.” Therefore, its value is for you who have faith, but for those without faith: "The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,"
F. It is Christ’s church, not ours we are a part of it - He sets the doctrine not us - He is the head, He is the master. He is the one that died for the church not us.
III. The Power of the Church
A. “The gates of hell shall not prevail against it”
B. The church will be victorious when it allows Christ to reign supreme.
C. Romans 8:37 “… we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”
D. Death has no power on the church to the contrary..
E. The more you mow us down, the more quickly we grow; the blood of Christians is fresh seed. - Tertullian (C. 160-After 220)
F. Prosperity has often been fatal to Christianity, but persecution never.
G. Like many Christians today, the disciples had a faulty view of the future. They focused on Christ’s future kingdom rather than on their responsibility to occupy enemy territory and represent His kingdom until He returns (Luke 19:31). The church’s responsibility to occupy the world can be compared to what happened in 1983 on the island of Grenada. Due to the rise of Communist insurgency, the U.S. President ordered troops into Grenada. In just eight hours, the battle was over. However, many of the Communists would not accept defeat. Rather than surrender, they sniped at our troops from behind cars, buildings, and trees. So our troops remained there until the victory was secured and a new government was installed. When Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, He was victorious over all God’s enemies. He clearly won the victory. However, Satan and his followers have not accepted defeat and still try to claim victory. Thus, the victorious Christ has established His troops-the church-to secure the victory until He returns to set up His new government. The church is God’s occupational force until He comes again. Rather than focusing on their future rule with Him, therefore, Jesus wanted the disciples to focus on their impact in the world and be ready to receive God’s power through the Holy Spirit.
IV. The Authority of the Church
A. The keys of the kingdom of heaven
B. Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go you therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
C. John 20:23 Whose so ever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose so ever sins ye retain, they are retained.
D. Because of the Gospel we preach we have the authority not to forgive sins but to declarer affirmatively that when a man accepts the Gospel and receives Christ as Savior that his sins are in fact forgiven and if a man rejects the Gospel message his sins are not forgiven.
E. Backward Christian soldiers, Fleeing from the fight,
With the cross of Jesus, Nearly out of sight.
Christ our rightful master Stands against the foe
Onward into battle, we seem afraid to go.
Chorus: Backward Christian soldiers, Fleeing from the fight,
Like a might tortoise Moves the church of God.
Brothers we are treading, Where we’ve often trod.
We are much divided, Many bodies we,
Having different doctrines, but Not much charity.
Crowns and thrones may perish, Kingdoms rise and wane,
But the cross of Jesus Hidden does remain.
Gates of hell should never ’gainst the Church prevail,
We have Christ’s own promise, but we think it might fail.
Sit here then ye people, Join our sleeping throng.
Blend with ours, your voices in a feeble song.
Blessings, ease and comfort Ask from Christ the King,
But with our modern thinking, We won’t do a thing. (Backward Christian Soldiers – Anonymous)
V. The Mission of the Church
A. “Whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
B. Mark 16:15 “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”
C. William Barclay gives us an excellent insight into the nature of the true church. He writes: “Suppose a great doctor discovers a cure for cancer. Once that cure is found, it is there. But before it can become available for everyone, it must be taken out to the world. Doctors and surgeons must know about it and be trained to use it. The cure is there, but one person cannot take it out to all the world; a corps of doctors must be the agents whereby it arrives at all the world’s sufferers. That precisely is what the church is to Jesus Christ. It is in Jesus that all people and all nations can be reconciled to God. But before that can happen, they must know about Jesus Christ, and it is the task of the church to bring that about. Christ is the head; the church is the body. The head must have a body through which it can work. The church is quite literally hands to do Christ’s work, feet to run upon His errands, and a voice to speak His words.”
D. Charlie Peace, a criminal in England, on the day he was being taken to his execution, listened to a minister reading from the Word. And when he found out he was reading about heaven and hell, he looked at the preacher and said, "Sir, if I believed what you and the church of God say, and even if England were covered with broken glass from coast to coast, I would walk over it on hands and knees and think it worthwhile living just to save one soul from an eternal hell like that." - Ravi Zacharias, "The Lostness of Humankind," Preaching Today, Tape No. 118.
E. Romans 10:14-15 “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!"
