The Challenge Of Church In The 21st Century

The Challenge of Church in the 21st Century

Matthew 16:13-20

13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.

Introduction: If Covid has taught us anything it is that there were tens of thousands of people in the American Church who were not fully surrendered to Christ and His Church. We now know that many are more comfortable on their sofa than they are in the sanctuary. I believe that Covid has exposed a weakness in the theology of the church that was there all the time but only came to light in the last two years. We should not be surprised at this lukewarmness. What is the answer you ask? I believe the passage before us this morning has some of the principles concerning the church that we need to hear.

First, let’s look at:

I. The Church’s Founder

One of the first things we notice about our text is the claim of Christ on the church. It is His church.

a. His proprietorship of the church

First, Jesus is the Lord of the church because He is the creator of the church.

“For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.” (Col 1:16)

Secondly, Jesus is the Lord of the church because He is the savior of the church. The bible tells “He is the Savior of his body, the church.” Ephesus 5:23

Finally, Jesus is the Lord of the church because He is the judge. Bible tells us “For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.” 2 Corinthians 5:9, 10

b. His passion for the church

Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved

the church and gave himself up for her,

No Biblical writer ever writes anything ugly about the church. The church is always spoken of in endearing terms. Yes, the church had problems to deal with, but the Biblical writers did not degrade the church because of it.

We may look at the church and see all kinds of stains, wrinkles, blemishes, tears, etc. But according to this, Jesus sees only a holy and blameless church, one that he has "repaired" by the washing of water through the word. Let's remember this the next time we down ourselves for our blemishes. Let's see the church as Christ sees it the next time we trash the church, and remember that even though we are not perfect, we are forgiven.

II. The Church’s Foundation

1 Cor 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

The church's one foundation

Is Jesus Christ her Lord;

She is his new creation

By water and the Word.

From heaven he came and sought her

To be his holy bride;

With his own blood he bought her,

And for her life he died.

a. The explanation

(2) Whether he is to be identified with the rock of the next clause is, however, a question on which men may legitimately differ. On the one side there is the probability that in the Aramaic, in which our Lord spoke, there would be no difference between the words in the two clauses; on the other, the possibility that He may have used the Greek words, or that the Evangelist may have intended to mark the distinction which he felt by the use of the two words, which undoubtedly differ in their meaning, p?t??? being a “stone” or fragment of rock, while p?t?a is the rock itself. The Aramaic Cepha, it may be noted, has the former rather than the latter meaning. (3) On the assumption of a distinction there follows the question, What is the rock? Peter’s faith (subjective)? or the truth (objective) which he confessed? or Christ Himself? Taking all the facts of the case, the balance seems to incline in favour of the last view. (1.) Christ and not Peter is the Rock in 1Corinthians 10:4, the Foundation in 1Corinthians 3:11. (2.) The poetry of the Old Testament associated the idea of the Rock with the greatness and steadfastness of God, not with that of a man.