The Faith's Foundations - Part 10: The Church

Introduction

Matthew 16:13–18 NASB95

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.

From Thom Rainer Blog (5/22/2023) - “The One Big Reason Church Attendance Is Declining (and Most Church Leaders Are Unaware)”

PRRI recently released a massive research project that explains the “why” factor.

People are attending less or not at all for one major reason: In the words of the PRRI study, they “stopped believing in the religion’s teachings.”

That reason was the overwhelming motive of the dropouts (56% versus 30% for the second highest motive).

Did you get that? They left church because they said they did not believe what the church taught. But I suspect that they did not believe because they really did not know what the church taught. In other words, we have an assimilation and dropout problem because our churches are not adequately teaching the Bible and the essentials of the Christian faith. . . .

The Evidence Is Clear

“We have been conducting church health surveys since 1996. We have millions of data points in this longitudinal study (meaning we ask the same questions over several years).

There are two alarming data points in our studies. First, churches are rapidly abandoning evangelism. Second, church members are steadily denying the essentials of the Christian faith. The PRRI study complements our own findings.

1. The Church is God’s Idea

The Protoevangelium (Gen. 3:15)

Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.””

OT Israel (Gen. 12:1-3)

Genesis 12:1–3 “Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.””

Abraham => Isaac => Jacob => Moses => David

Jeremiah 31:31–34 ““Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. “They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.””

Ezekiel 36:26–28 ““Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. “You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God.”

New Covenant (Luke 22:20)

Luke 22:20 “And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.”

Jesus (Matt. 16:18)

Matthew 16:18 ““I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”

For the new covenant there is a new covenant people. God has now brought together into one community both Jew and Gentile.

Ephesians 2:13–15 “But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace,”

The church is not man’s idea; it was God’s. The church is God’s institution, not man’s. If we do not like the church, then we ultimately have a problem with God.

God designed and planned the church for a purpose. As such, the church is needed.

2. The Church is Needed

To Spread the Gospel (Matt. 28:19-20)

Matthew 28:19–20 ““Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.””

There is no salvation in the world apart from the church. The reason: the church is the instrument by which God uses to spread his word.

To Sanctify Believers (Eph. 4:11-13)

Ephesians 4:11–13 “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.”

Illustration: Meme that says we don’t need church

The church is needed so we can become more holy, like Jesus. This is where we learn to love, forgive, apply grace, etc.

Dustin Benge, “Help! I Love Jesus but Not the Church,” Crossway Blog

“It’s impossible to love Jesus and not love the church. I’m not talking about loving an organizational structure or programs, but the church for who she is as God’s people and the bride of Christ.”

After all, Jesus loved the church so much that he died for the church.

To Stand for Truth (1 Tim. 3:15)

1 Timothy 3:15 “But in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.”

“As extraordinarily vital as evangelism is, God calls us to more. . . . God calls us sometimes . . . ‘to speak truth to power’” (Eric Metaxas, Letter to the American Church, 77).

I would add: to ALL power.

John the Baptist rebuked Herod for having his brother’s wife.

Jesus consistently rebuked the Pharisees for their hypocrisy and their behavior that was incongruous with true morality.

3. What This Means for Us

We come to worship the Lord Jesus

WE are the community/people of God.

2 Corinthians 6:16 “Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I will dwell in them and walk among them; And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”

We are to encourage one another

Hebrews 10:23–25 “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”

“I had such a tough week; I needed to stay home.” This could come off as: “I had such a tough week and going to church will make it worse, at least not make it better.”

We are to carry out the ministries of the church

Romans 12:6–8 “Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.”

We are all to be involved in carrying out the ministries of the church.

Recall the warnings about not using the talents and gifts God has given us: Parable of the Talents.

We are to carry the message of salvation

“Preach the Gospel at all times, and if necessary use words” is often attributed to St. Francis of Assisi.

Romans 10:14–15 “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!””

From “More Evangelicals visiting churches in-person than before pandemic, research reveals” - By Christian Daily International, Thursday, July 11, 2024

“Personal invitation is still the main channel for first-time visitors to get to church. The figure for those attending church after being invited by a family member or friend is . . . 57%.

When broken down into age groups: “71% of the youngest Evangelicals went to their current church by personal invites; 51% for Evangelicals aged 55-plus. The figure is 62% in the 35- to-44 age category, and 59% for believers in the 45- to-54 age group.”

No matter how you cut it, the fact is that evangelism happens by the church: everyone.

When was the last time you spoke to someone about the things that really matter in life? About Jesus? The existence of God? Salvation? Life after death? The meaning of life?

Certainly, this takes a little finesse and tact. And this is what we are aiming to do here at LCC through Bible studies, Sunday school, small groups, etc. We have discussions like this frequently . . .

We are to speak the truth

We are called to persuade people of ALL the truth.

Jude 3 “Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.”

ἐπαγωνίζεσθαι - serves as a present active verb - means “to carry on a conflict, contest, debate or legal suit” [TDNT, 135].

In Greek society, it is imagery of the contests that occurred in the arena games.

In the NT, it takes on the thought of “the goal which can be reached only with the full expenditure of all our energies. . . . The struggle of the kingdom of heaven allows of no indolence, indecision, or relaxation” [TDNT, 137].

Acts 26:27–29 ““King Agrippa, do you believe the Prophets? I know that you do.” Agrippa replied to Paul, “In a short time you will persuade me to become a Christian.” And Paul said, “I would wish to God, that whether in a short or long time, not only you, but also all who hear me this day, might become such as I am, except for these chains.””

Proverbs 3:3 “Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart.”

Proverbs 23:23 “Buy truth, and do not sell it, Get wisdom and instruction and understanding.”

2 Thessalonians 2:8–12 “Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.”

Many times we are scared to speak truth.

Illustration: FB Censor

1 John 4:4 “You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”

2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.”

Speak truth in love:

Ephesians 4:15 “. . . but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ.”

1 Peter 3:15 “. . . but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.”

Sometimes no matter how we say something or how we approach someone, they are going to claim we are hating.

We are to live the truth

1 John 3:18 “Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.”

Illustration: meme about not changing as a Christian

Conclusion

Are you a part of God’s church? Do you love Jesus’ church? Are you a functioning member of the church? Are you using your gifts and talents? Do you love the truth and proclaiming it? Are you living it? Are you spreading the Gospel?