He did it before, he'll do it again
Matthew 7:24-27
“Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. It collapsed with a great crash.”
Jesus said he'll build his church upon the rock of these truths...a high view of God, the absolute authority of scripture, doctrinal clarity, personal holiness and an understanding of spiritual authority.
When did he say that Mike?
He taught that God is almighty, holy, and perfect. He taught that scripture clearly and authoritatively teaches, rebukes, and identifies him as Lord of the Universe. And he promises and provides the Holy Spirit for instruction and to inspire holiness, obedience, and understanding.
A high view of God:
To worship is to ascribe deep abiding worth. And the legitimacy of that worship must be founded upon the worthiness of the object. You cannot worship right by focusing on the worship. Right worship requires divine revelation. You must regard God as He truly is. You worship Him because He deserves it and demands it. Only when you see God properly will everything else be brought into clear focus. This is how one goes from hearing about God, to seeing and knowing God. God speaks, we obey. God convicts, we repent. God shows mercy and forgiveness, we love Him with great abiding love.
The absolute authority of scripture:
Scripture is the highest and supreme authority on any matter to which it speaks. Scripture is a “more sure Word,” standing above all other truth in its authority and certainty. More sure than scientific evidence. More sure than the patterns of worldly living that motivates people. More sure than age can provide. More sure than youthful zeal can generate. More sure than the dynamic worship and performance church can offer. It is more sure because it is from God, (remember that high view thing?).
2 Peter 1:19
"And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts"
And it is certain that all that is necessary is in Scripture—and we are forbidden “to exceed what is written” (1 Cor. 4:6).
Did Jesus say more things than what's been written down in the Bible?
Yes.
Do we have a written record of all the sermons and lessons given to the church by the Apostles?
No.
Does that in any way diminish the absolute authority of scripture?
No.
2 Timothy 3:16
"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in …"
It is sufficient as it is given.
Doctrinal clarity:
These days, as you're "church shopping" you can search a churches website and read all sorts of information about that church. At least what they want you to believe of them, or maybe merely what they are trying to convince themselves about themselves. You can even read and leave a review on some church sites. And if something is not quite right you can check in with their customer service team.
Have you ever checked out the churches doctrinal clarity statements before visiting?
I have.
Right or wrong, the followers of Jesus profess and confess something. Sometimes vaguely, other times clearly. Jesus taught that our witness must be clear. It's light and salt. It's not hidden in any way. It's clear and concise.
“This is what we believe..." is a serious subject.
It's good to make those confessions, because if for no other reason, sometimes we need to remember what we believe.
Will some give mere "lip service" to confessions?
Yes.
And likewise, some will put on the show of service while serving themselves. Others will teach spiritual truths and worm into those lessons the wisdom of the world. And even worse, some will worship Jesus in name only, they'll set up altars to pagan gods and worship them in Christ's name.
Many give lip service to many facets of their religion. And because the church strives to maintain the unity of the Spirit, these bastardizations often go unchecked. And the foundations of the church become eroded, because the doctrinal clarity has become shortsighted and lost in the fog of demonic influencers. This happens to EVERY church.
The enemy is incessantly trying to divide the churches, he's always sowing discord. This is why we must be unified in doctrinal clarity. It's our foundational truths that our church is built upon. It's the rock in our confession. The same mind, the same judgements, the same striving to uphold the same gospel.
Personal holiness and an understanding of spiritual authority:
“If the Word does not dwell with power in us, it will not pass with power from us” - Puritan John Owen
If we have allowed the modern culture of relativism to infiltrate our minds and hearts, we've likely inverted Christ’s desire by bringing the world into the church, instead of bringing the church into the world. If our ministry is gaining in great popularity, we’ll probably discover that we are contributing to this trend.
Are we teaching holiness and scriptural authority, or are we relying on counselors and pop-psychology? Are we of the mind that without entertainment and other-worldly concessions, no one will want what Jesus has to offer?
Think about the 19th chapter of Matthew's gospel, and the encounter Jesus has with the rich young ruler. As the rich young man listens to Jesus' words he realizes that personal sacrifice is required to live in God’s kingdom, and so he walked away troubled in his heart. What did Jesus do?
Did he do what many churches do today: run after the man in an effort to make the gospel more appealing?
No.
He let him go his own way.
The only terms on which anyone can truly follow Christ are on God’s terms. The only one who has that authority is God. And Jesus was clear that God desires perfection in his children, just as he is perfect.
Sometimes in this church age, it's as if it is Sunday morning, and a huge crowd is assembling at the church doors in anticipation of the worship service. And as they gather there and wait for the sanctuary doors to open and the services to begin, someone comes along and begins to preach a different sermon.
Parking lot sermons. Narthex sermons. Church Council meeting sermons. Trustee meeting sermons. Pastoral Relations Committee sermons. Outreach sermons. Teaching Ministry sermons. Everyone is preaching their own gospels. And there is no real unity in these different Jesus'.
They, "happily put up with whatever anyone tells them, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one they received, or a different kind of gospel than the one they believed." (2 Corinthians 11:4)
The creeds and liturgy have become vain and deceitful. They've swore to false principles and false promises. The Lord has seen it before. Time after time he's cleansed the temples of their false faith. He's done it before and it'll happen again. When the storm comes, they'll be washed away because they have no foundational truth in them.
When the time of testing comes...Where will you be?
#Truth #Faith #DoctrinalTruth #JesusSameTodayAndEveryDay