Our Church Is Built On A Rock
Would you like a little boost in confidence? Would you like to know with more certainty that you are on the side of truth? In Matthew 16:13-20 we watch Jesus interact with his disciples and because of what he says you and I can honestly and confidently state, Our Church Is Built On A Rock. August 17, 2008.
Everything’s relative! I’m not talking about aunts and uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins. When I say, “Everything’s relative!” I’m using a phrase that has put millions and millions of well-meaning, well-intentioned people in our contemporary culture on the brink of falling into the pit of hell. Do you think that’s a little harsh? Do you think I’m overstating the case? Listening to people talk about their basis for making big decisions in life and talk about the pros and cons of getting involved as a committed member of a Christian church, more and more I hear people demonstrating that they believe everything’s relative, that there are no absolutes, that there is no way you can tell them what’s right or what’s wrong because in their hearts and minds there is no such thing as standards that apply to everybody.
Maybe I’m being as clear as mud. Let me illustrate. People who think, “Everything’s relative!” include the young couple who heard me tell them, “You are living together but not married. The Bible calls that immorality and sin.” Their response was, “It doesn’t feel immoral.” The implication was that if it doesn’t feel wrong, then it must not be wrong for them. People who think, “Everything’s relative!” include those who challenge you by saying, “How can you say your church is right and other churches are wrong? That’s just your interpretation!” The implication is that you can’t figure out which churches are holding to the truth and which ones are mixing in some error because you can’t read the Bible to discover God’s truth for yourself. Besides, it’s unloving and unfair to say that someone is holding to error. “Everything’s relative!”
That attitude is becoming more pervasive in our society and makes a lot of Christian people nervous about standing up for what is right, almost afraid to say, “This is most certainly true,” almost ashamed to say, “Our church proclaims the truth!” But God doesn’t want us to be nervous. He does not want us to be afraid, and he certainly does not want us to be ashamed of the truth because it’s his truth.
Would you like a little boost in confidence? Would you like to walk out into the week knowing with more certainty that you are on the side of truth? Then watch Jesus interact with his disciples in this Bible account from Matthew sixteen. Because of what he says you and I can honestly and boldly state, Our Church Is Built On A Rock.
We have a confession as solid as a rock
At the time of this account Jesus and his disciples had traveled to a northern outpost known as Caesarea Philippi. Here, in private, away from the crowds he could take the time to ask them some important questions. “What is the popular opinion about me?” “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” The disciples knew the answer. They knew that most people considered Jesus to be a bold and dynamic preacher. He wasn’t afraid to tell big shots and little shots that they were sinners. In that sense most Israelite people figured Jesus to be a preacher like that crusty old prophet Elijah from centuries earlier who had stood up to perverted King Ahab, or like the prophet Jeremiah who got flack from faithless kings, or like John the Baptist who didn’t mince words when he confronted that lecher, King Herod.
But now a more important question came from Jesus. “What about you? ... Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter stepped forward, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”. Wow! Put it in lights! Underline it in your Bible! “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!” In one short, simple sentence Peter summarized the entire good news of the Bible. Jesus had asked, “Who is the Son of Man?” and Peter answered, “You are the Son of God!” He knew who Jesus was: true God in human flesh, the Son of Man and the Son of God. Peter also called Jesus “the Christ,” the Anointed One, the One designated by God to be our great Prophet, Priest, and King, the promised Savior, the One who came to cover sinners with his purity and pay for their sins with his blood.
Jesus replied, “On this rock I will build my church”. What do you think of when you hear the term “rock”? Most likely you won’t picture little pebbles but rather a huge boulder, something big, solid, and durable like the Rock of Gibraltar. A financial investment company wants to convey the impression that its resources are big, solid, and durable. So it uses a rock like Gibraltar as its advertising symbol.
Jesus said that his church is built on a big, solid, durable rock. Not on Peter. The Christian church is not built on a human being. No! The church is built on the correct confession about who Jesus is and what he has done. In the world today there are still a wide variety of opinions about Jesus: a wise teacher, a kind and gentle folk hero, a martyr. But we believe, teach, and confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Our church is not built on the apostle Peter. It is not built on Martin Luther. It is not built on any human. Our church is built on the rock-solid truth that Jesus is the God-man, our one and only Savior. Peter based his whole hope for heaven on that truth, and anyone else who wants to be in heaven will want to do the same. There is no other way to eternal life. This truth is not relative. This truth is not optional. This truth is not up for grabs. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. That confession is as solid as a rock because Jesus is the one and only rock-solid Savior.
Twenty-two years ago our church building was slipping down the hill because of poor soil under the southwest corner. After careful excavation and investigation, the construction workers hit rock nineteen feet below the basement floor. Engineers designed a support to brace that corner of the church. From all indications, everything is secure. But that’s not the only reason why we can say, “Our Church Is Built On A Rock.” For even if this beautiful facility collapsed, we could still thank God and declare, “Our Church Is Built On A Rock!” because our church is built on the confession that Jesus is the Savior of all.
We have keys as strong as a rock
A huge rock is not only something safe, secure, and solid to stand on. It can also serve as a powerful tool and weapon. In ancient times soldiers catapulted huge rocks to break down an enemy’s defenses and to smash open the city gates.
When you look at a man like Peter, you have to wonder, “How was he able to make such a bold confession? Where did his faith come from?” Well, he didn’t come by it naturally. He was born, like the rest of us, a sinful human being. Jesus even noted he was the son of Jonah, having inherited sin from his father. Peter had his doubts, his weak spots, and later even his denial. Where did he get the courage to make a bold confession of faith? Jesus tells us, “Simon ... flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven [did]”. God’s words, like strong boulders, had broken down Peter’s defenses. By himself he stood before God as a helpless sinner. But here was the key that unlocked the doors of heaven. Jesus had come to pay for Peter’s sin, set him free. The devil couldn’t hold Peter, and he doesn’t hold us. The gates of hell will not prove stronger than that powerful message.
When we think about keys, we often think about a small piece of metal that we try to wiggle into a lock to open a door. But the keys Jesus gave to Peter have bigger dimensions. The one key breaks down sinful pride and self-righteousness to expose a sinner’s evil thoughts, words, and deeds. The other key covers the sinner with Jesus’ righteousness and breaks open the doors of heaven. These are powerful keys, keys as strong as a rock. They went to work on Peter’s heart. They went to work on the hearts of millions of others. They went to work on your heart and mine.
That’s exactly what Jesus told Peter. “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind (lock) on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose (unlock) on earth will be loosed in heaven”. What I announce to you, you can announce to others. For the strong keys of God’s words do not just belong to the pastor but to every believer. You have powerful keys in your possession, keys as strong as a rock!
The keys Jesus gives to Christians are not relative. They are not optional. They work. You and I have nothing to be ashamed about. If the Bible says that something is sinful, it is sinful. Don’t let anyone make you think that your stand on the truth makes you unfair and unloving. Their argument is not with you but with God himself. If the Bible says that there is only one Savior, then there in only one Savior. Don’t let anyone make you think you are insensitive or intolerant if you say that people who don’t believe in Jesus are damned and those who do believe in him are saved. That’s what the Bible says. Those are the keys to heaven, keys as strong as a rock. Because every Christian here today possesses those keys, each of us can honestly say, “Our Church Is Built On A Rock!”
On October 20, 1982, our south steeple caught on fire from a short in the wiring of a lighted cross on top. By a miracle of God’s kindness two students saw the flickering flames, called my house, and my wife called the church while I was meeting with the Sunday school teachers. We raced outside to look, and sure enough, the steeple was on fire. The firemen arrived in minutes, snaked a hose up the steps into the tower, and put out the fire. Fifteen feet of that steeple had to be rebuilt. The fire captain told me that if they had been fifteen minutes late, the fire would have surged into the open air space and engulfed the entire building. We thanked God. We thanked the college students. We thanked the fire captain and his personnel. But here’s an even greater miracle – God has saved sinners like you and me, and he has empowered us to be his spokespeople. Every one of us here today, who trusts that for Jesus’ sake alone we are connected to God and will be forever, no matter where we live, can proclaim what the prophet Isaiah proclaimed, “We have strong city; God makes salvation its walls and ramparts ... Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord is the Rock eternal” (Isaiah 26:4). “Our Church Is Built On A Rock!” This is most certainly true! Amen.
Preached at Grace Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, WI (http://www.gracedowntown.org/) on August 17, 2008
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