Word of Salvation – Vol.43 No.1 – January 1997

 

The Power of the Church

 

Sermon by Rev W Wiersma on Lord’s Day 31

 

Dear Congregation,

The Lord Jesus has given the church – which is his body and his ambassador corps on this earth – a tremendous responsibility.  The church controls the door to the kingdom of God.  As we read in Matthew 16, Jesus said to Peter and the other apostles, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

We find the same kind of thing in Matthew 18, where the Lord Jesus uses the plural; he includes the other apostles: “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven.”  And again, in John 20, the Lord Jesus said the same thing.  Here Jesus gives a specific responsibility to particular people.  The word and acts of the apostles will have eternal and binding consequence.

Like God said to Jeremiah of old, “You are my spokesperson – I will stand behind you because I have given you my Word.  And when you proclaim my Word, Jeremiah, I will make it do and accomplish what I have in mind.”

God carries out his plans through his Word.  And God appoints certain men to proclaim that Word and bring God’s plans about.  And if you want to see how seriously God takes the appointment of such men, then you should read a story which, in a way, is quite shocking.  You find it in the last verses of 2Kings 2.  Some of you will know the story.

It is about Elisha, one of the early prophets.  He was a spokesman of God.  One day when Elisha was travelling up to Bethel, some young people came out of town and jeered him, “Go up you bald head,” they said, “up baldy.”  He looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord.  Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled 42 of the youths.

Quite terrible, really, the power and authority which God gives to his servants, His spokesmen.  “What you say Jeremiah will come to pass.”

It is in the Word of God that the kingdom of God becomes visible.  God’s kingdom, that is God’s saving and judging activity in the world, is present wherever the Word of God is proclaimed.  This was true of the Old Testament prophets.  It was particularly true with the arrival of Jesus – the Word of God become flesh.

When Jesus started preaching, he said, “The kingdom of God has arrived.”  The promised power of God for the salvation of his people, and the destruction of his enemies, has begun to work on this earth.

When Jesus cast out demons and was accused of doing so by the power of the devil, he answered that he did so by the finger of God and that he was proof that the kingdom of God was present and active amongst the people.  Jesus is the Word and power of God.

Jesus gave the apostles, the foundation members of the church, the authority to speak in His Name.  In fact, the apostle Paul writes that each and every Christian should do everything – whether in word or deed – in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the awareness of God’s great mercy and of the tremendous responsibility of knowing, and being called to share, the Word of life.

The church – that is, the people of God – can provide entry or prevent entry into the kingdom of God.  The church opens and shuts the door to the realm of God’s grace and truth.  I say – that is a tremendous responsibility.

Which raises the question, does it not: What are we as a church doing with the keys of the kingdom which the Lord Jesus has given us?  Are we using them?  Are we using them as the Lord Jesus would have us use them?  Are we using them as Jesus himself used them?

Let’s first of all consider the use of the preaching of the Holy Gospel, which is the prime key of the Kingdom of God.  Are we going out with the holy Gospel?  Are we following the instructions of the Lord Jesus: “Go out into all the world”?  Are we going out into the highways and byways, to compel people to enter the kingdom of God?

On a number of occasions Jesus severely criticised the religious leaders of the Jews.  Why did Jesus criticise them?  Because they were not using the key they should have been using as religious teachers – as people who knew the Word of God.  Jesus said, “You have thrown away the key. You have locked up the Kingdom of God.  Nobody can get in because you are not proclaiming the Word of God.  You are not opening the kingdom of God to your hearers.”

Those religious leaders were not presenting the Word of life to the spiritually poor.  Rather, they were teaching people to become legalists and self-righteous, like the religious leaders were themselves.

Jesus said, “I have come to seek and to save the lost.”  Jesus did not wait for the lost to come to him.  He did not wait for the lost to become ‘unlost’ – if I may put it that way.  He went out to them, wherever they were.  He approached them, spoke to them, showed concern for them.  That’s what Jesus was doing.  Jesus was opening the door of the kingdom to them.  Jesus was going to people, demonstrating the compassion and love of God to them.

And the religious leaders said to His disciples, “Do you see what he is doing?  He is eating with sinners and tax collectors.  He is associating with riff-raff.  He is associating with the lost.  What kind of example is that?”

All that the Pharisees and the like had ever done was keep the door to eternal life shut.  They kept telling the lost that their case was hopeless anyway.  But Jesus came for the helpless and the hopeless.

Don’t misunderstand me!  Jesus never condoned their sin.  He never said, “Oh, you poor people, you can’t help it.”  No, he didn’t excuse them.  Jesus simply said, “That’s not the end of the matter.”  There is hope for sinners who repent.  There is forgiveness for those who confess that they are sinners.  As simple as that!

The scribes and Pharisees were forever trying to prove how sinless they were.  They were righteous in their own eyes.  They were godly in their own eyes.  They presented themselves as upright people with no problems at all.  They could handle themselves.  They could control themselves.  They had everything sussed out and in place.  They looked at the people and they thought, if only sinners would become as good as they were, then there would be hope for them to get to heaven.  This is not what Jesus calls his church to preach.

The church is called to preach, not Bill or Peter or Joan, but CHRIST as the only Saviour.  Christ is the one who laid down his life for sinners – the one who died for the ungodly.

Of course, the church is called to preach against sin.  The church is called to preach submission to God and to God’s will.  But how will sinners be persuaded to repent of their sin unless they are told that there is forgiveness, and that there is hope of peace and life for those who repent?

Are we doing that?  Are we faithful in proclaiming Christ rather than ourselves?

A thought occurs to me.  Why do we have difficulty in speaking to others?  Is it because we tend to think that we have to present ourselves rather than Christ?  We know that people might turn round and say, “have a look at yourself.”  What are we going to answer then?

Well, what we are going to say is, “that’s right!  You are absolutely right!  I am just as bad as you are.  I’ve got as many problems as you have.  But my Saviour is Jesus Christ and I look to Him for forgiveness and peace.  And I want to invite you to put your trust in Him.”

Are we faithful ambassadors and representatives of Christ?  Do we have compassion for the lost?  Do we want to see the works of the devil destroyed?  Do we pray that God’s kingdom power will give sight to the blind, freedom to those caught in the web of sin?

Only Jesus can get sinners out of that dreadful web.  Only Jesus can break the terrible bonds of sin.  Do we preach Jesus?  Do we go out to reach the lost?  Or are we downright cold and heartless, not aware of the tremendous love of Christ?  Are we perhaps like Cain who tried to wipe his hands of all responsibility by saying, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

I see a strong reference to the missionary task of the church in this reference to the keys of the kingdom.  How will people enter the kingdom if they don’t know about it?  How will they know about it if nobody tells them?

Now, Jesus makes it clear that this is not all a one-way street.  Jesus talks about binding as well as setting free.  He talks about inviting in, but also about keeping out.  You see the kingdom of God is about setting people free from the kingdom of darkness.  But if there are people who claim to be believers in, and followers of, the Lord Jesus, but who at the same time show that they actually want to live in the kingdom of darkness – they should be told that there is no room for them in the kingdom of God.

It looks like I will have to continue this subject next week.  But let me just say – the Lord Jesus has got no time for hypocrisy.  He said that those who claim to be his but don’t want to submit to his will – including submitting to the Christ-given authority of the church – such people will come down with a crash.

You know the story of the two builders.  One built on rock, the other on sand.  Jesus tells the church to warn those building on sand that unless they abandon their foolish project, all their religion is in vain.  We must speak the truth.  We must seek God’s kingdom – God’s way.

Look how hard Jesus rebuked Peter, the very man whom he had praised so loudly only a few moments ago.  Peter, don’t try to work contrary to God’s will – don’t try to alter God’s way of redeeming mankind.  Don’t try, Peter, to tell me that I don’t need to suffer.  That’s devil’s work.

The church must be on its guard.  Like Jesus, we must show no favouritism.  The best disciple became a temporary tool of the devil.  We must learn to submit our hearts and minds entirely to Jesus.  We must help each other; encourage each other; correct each other.

Yes, Jesus has given the church a tremendous responsibility – we are to take care of our neighbours in Jesus’ name and in His Spirit.

Amen.