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You can turn with me in your 
Bibles to the book of Matthew, Matthew chapter 16. We will return, 
God willing, to our studies in John's gospel on the 8th of October. Pastor Agalo will be preaching 
morning and evening on the 1st. I'll be away next Sunday, so 
God willing, John, back in October 8th. I want to focus specifically 
on verses 13 to 18, but before I read, I just want to say it's 
good to be back. It was good to be away to get some rest. 
Got constant updates from Rick and Karen. They loved it here. 
I tried to make a pitch for them to sell their house and to move 
up here, but they weren't quite that ready to take that step. But they spoke very highly of 
the congregation. They spoke very kindly of the 
work of Christ here in Chilliwack. It was a great encouragement 
to me. And then Rick gave a report to their church. He had sent 
that report to me prior. And again, just a glowing report 
for the saints there in La Mirada. We can trust God that they will 
continue to pray for us. We should continue to pray for 
them and other churches that share our confession of faith 
and churches that don't as well. But nevertheless, we do have 
a communion of saints that are rallied around a particular view 
of God's holy word. So as I said, our focus this 
morning is Matthew 16 verses 13 to 18, but I want to read 
beginning in verse 13 to the end of the chapter. So Matthew 
16, 13. When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, 
he asked his disciples saying, who do men say that I, the son 
of man, am? So they said, some say John the 
Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. 
He said to them, but who do you say that I am? Simon Peter answered 
and said, you are the Christ, the son of the living God. Jesus 
answered and said to him, blessed are you, Simon Barjona, Her flesh 
and blood has not revealed this to you, but my father who is 
in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter. And on 
this rock, I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall 
not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys 
of the kingdom of heaven. And whatever you bind on earth 
will be bound in heaven. And whatever you loose on earth 
will be loosed in heaven. Then he commanded his disciples 
that they should tell no one that he was Jesus the Christ. 
From that time, Jesus began to show to his disciples that he 
must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and 
chief priests and scribes and be killed and be raised the third 
day. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him saying, 
far be it from you, Lord, this shall not happen to you. But 
he turned and said to Peter, get behind me, Satan. You are 
an offense to me for you are not mindful of the things of 
God, but the things of men. Then Jesus said to his disciples, 
if anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself and 
take up his cross and follow me. For whoever desires to save 
his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for 
my sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man 
if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Or what will 
a man give in exchange for his soul? For the son of man will 
come in the glory of his father with his angels, and then he 
will reward each according to his works. Assuredly, I say to 
you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death 
till they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom. Amen. 
Well, let us pray. Our God and Father, we thank 
you for this beautiful day. We thank you for the majesty 
of God revealed in the created order. As well, we bless you 
and praise you for that majesty and that grace revealed in the 
redemptive order. We thank you for the gospel of 
our salvation, for the life and the death and the resurrection 
of our blessed Savior. We pray now that the Holy Spirit 
would guide our thoughts as we consider this passage concerning 
the church. We pray that you would encourage 
our hearts, that you would build us up in our most holy faith, 
that you would cause us to be faithful in this present evil 
age, to shine as lights in this crooked generation, and to hold 
forth your word of truth. Forgive us for all sin, all iniquity, 
all transgression, all lawlessness, and cleanse us in that precious 
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And for any and all who've come 
here this morning that are dead in their trespasses and sins, 
we pray that today would be the day of salvation, that you in 
your grace and in your mercy with that voice that is able 
to crush the cedars of Lebanon, you would crush the hardened 
hearts of men, women, boys, and girls, and bring them forth out 
of darkness in the marvelous light, confessing the glory of 
Jesus Christ. And we pray in his most blessed 
name, amen. Well, as I said, our focus will 
be on verses 13 to 18. I preached this sermon in February 
of 2021. That was at the height of the 
lockdown phase in terms of the COVID response on the part of 
the Canadian government. And in that particular sermon, 
I'm gonna quote myself here. I said, even if we lose the court 
case this week, that does not mean that Christ has disregarded 
his promise. We did lose the court case. We 
have been pronounced guilty. But here we stand. And we don't 
stand here because we're good and faithful. We stand here because 
Christ is good and faithful. Christ is the head, Christ is 
the builder, and Christ is the one who promised that his church 
would withstand the assault of the gates of Hades. And so in 
this particular passage, I want to look first at the question 
concerning Christ's identity in verses 13 to 15. Secondly, 
the confession concerning Christ's person in verses 16 and 17. And then finally, the declaration 
concerning Christ's church in verse 18. So notice with me first 
of all the question concerning his identity. The setting is 
given us there in chapter 16 at verse 13a when Jesus came 
into the region of Caesarea Philippi. He's engaged in his public ministry. 
He's going from place to place. He's teaching the word of truth, 
he's engaged in healing miracles, he's engaged in what he has come 
to do, to seek and to save that which was lost. And then notice 
that Jesus asks his disciples a very pointed question in verses 
13 to 15. Notice in the first place it's 
a question concerning the public's assessment of who he is. In other 
words, the disciples, they move and shake and have their being 
with other people there and in Israel in the first century. 
So Jesus asked the question, who do men say that I, the son 
of man, am? And then notice how the disciples 
respond to that in verse 14. So they said, some say John the 
Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. 
So in other words, what he had been doing, what he had been 
teaching had not gone unnoticed. By this time his fame had spread. 
By this time multitudes were drawing near to him because they 
wanted to hear what he had to say. And so Christ wants to get 
his finger on the pulse in terms of the public assessment. So 
he asks that question. But then notice he moves from 
the general to the specific. He moves from out there to in 
here. He asks his disciples very pointedly 
and very specifically in verse 15, he said to them, but who 
do you say that I am? In other words, we are concerned 
about the public assessment, he says, but I also want to know 
what you have to say. And if you've never pondered 
this particular question, it's a good time to perhaps pause 
and reflect upon it. Who do you say the son of man 
is? Who do you say that the Lord 
Jesus Christ is? Was he just the starter of a 
new religion? Was he just an ethically good 
man that went about and taught behavior and moralism and ethics 
to the various crowds that would listen to him? Was he a revolutionary? I think the Jews who are looking 
for Messiah pretty much classify Jesus as something of a religious 
revolutionary in the first century. As well, there are those people 
that just, again, see him as an example to be followed. But 
if we ask the Bible who does or who is Jesus Christ, we need 
to come to grips with the reality that he was the Word made flesh. 
That he is the second person of the triune God, who for us 
men and for our salvation came down from heaven. That he is 
God most high, from everlasting to everlasting, but he assumed 
our humanity. He took to Him our humanity with 
all of the essential properties and the common infirmities thereof, 
and yet without sin. And He did that so that He could 
live for us, so that He could die for us, and so that He could 
be raised again for us. So not just the beginner of a 
new religion, not just a revolutionary, not just an ethically good man, 
but the Son of God who came to save His people from their sins. 
And as we move through this passage, it's going to be a pretty focused 
or heavy emphasis upon the church today. But with reference to 
the church, the access to the church is by grace alone, through 
faith alone in Christ Jesus alone. In other words, confessing him 
the way that Peter does in the following verses. Confessing 
him the way the rest of the Bible teaches. The way that John the 
Apostle confesses, or writes concerning him, of him in John 
1.1. In the beginning was the Word, 
the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And then in John 
1.14, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And when we consider 
that again, it ought to amaze us. It ought to cause us to stand 
in awe as believers that the Son of God came on this rescue 
mission to deliver us from this present evil age, to deliver 
us from the clutches of the devil, to deliver us from death itself, 
and to deliver us from our own sin, and our perversion, and 
our wickedness, and our lawlessness. And if you're not a believer 
here this morning, I would encourage you to consider who Jesus Christ 
really is. In other words, take this thought 
home with you. Who do I say the Son of Man is? Do I confess Him as Lord and 
Savior? Do I own Him as the One who gave Himself for me, the 
way Paul does in Galatians 2.20? He speaks of Jesus as the one 
who loved me and gave himself for me. In other words, the Christian 
religion is one of personal pronouns. I know there's a lot of nonsense 
outside these walls about pronouns today, but in terms of Christianity, 
it's a redemptive religion that involves the personal pronoun 
that Christ loved me. Christ gave himself for me. So as we proceed in this passage, 
don't let this thought escape you. Who do I say that Jesus 
Christ is? Who do I say that the Son of 
Man is? And that brings us secondly to 
consider the confession concerning his person in verses 16 to 17. Notice that it's Simon Peter 
that answers. Simon Peter functions as a bit 
of a spokesman for the rest of the disciples, specifically in 
Matthew's gospel. You see that in 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19. He's one among equals, 
to be sure, but there is a certain priority that we see in Simon 
Peter. So it shouldn't surprise us that 
it's Simon Peter who ponies up here and he gives the answer. 
Now, when we reflect on Simon Peter, we're going to have to 
say a lot of things as we move through this passage to say what 
he what he wasn't or what he's not in terms of the Roman Catholic 
doctrine, but in terms of what he was. He was the first called 
by Christ in Matthew 4 to follow Jesus. He is one of the first 
to be named as an apostle in Matthew 10. In other words, we 
maintain the priority of Peter among his fellows without maintaining 
Rome's insistence that this passage teaches that he was the first 
Pope. Spurgeon says, if there had been 
no Romanist to twist this passage, it would have presented no difficulty. 
And we'll see more about that as we proceed. But then notice 
specifically the confession that Simon Peter makes in response 
to the question of Jesus. But who do you say that I am? 
Notice that Simon Peter confesses in verse 16, you are the Christ, 
the son of the living God. Now, Christ is the Greek word 
that translates anointed one. It's similar to the Hebrew word 
Messiah, which translated means anointed one. And so the Old 
Testament was a promise concerning the Messiah. It was a promise 
concerning the Anointed One. It was a promise concerning the 
Coming One of God Most High who would in fact save His people 
from their sins. So when Simon Peter looks at 
Jesus and says, thou art the Christ, he is giving a very proper 
interpretation to that question. Who do you say that I am? In 
other words, this is what we need to confess about our Lord. 
Again, not just that he's a good man, not just that he's a good 
ethical teacher, but he is the promise, the fulfillment of God's 
promises. All the promises of God, according 
to Paul, are yea and amen in him. So when Peter confesses 
that thou art the Christ, this is biblical. This is absolutely 
correct. This is on the right track. But 
notice he doesn't stop there. He says, you are the Christ, 
the Son of the living God. Now, when you look at the Old 
Testament, you will see that this is taught. Jews, again, 
that have rejected the Lord Jesus Christ today are looking for 
the Messiah. We had an intriguing opportunity 
on the Thursday night that we were in California. The second 
Thursday, I went to visit my sister's family in Palm Springs. And on Thursday night in Palm 
Springs, they have this open air sort of market. It's about 
a billion degrees out there. It's dark, but there's all these 
people doing their thing. And then there's this booth with, 
ask a rabbi. And I asked the rabbi, what do 
you think of Jesus Christ? And he says, well, I don't think 
much of Jesus Christ. And then he went on to tell me, 
well, the Messiah is not supposed to be the son of God. He's not 
supposed to be divine. He's not supposed to be, you 
know, this, that, and the other. I said, well, it sounds like 
you think about Jesus a lot, because that's precisely what 
the scripture says concerning Jesus. Thou art the Christ, the 
son of the living God. Well, where does that come from? 
It comes from 2 Samuel chapter 7 in the promise of the Davidic 
covenant. God says that a son will indeed build a house for 
God. It comes from the Psalms. It 
comes from the prophets. It comes from the Old Testament. 
Simon Peter confesses that thou art the Christ, the son of the 
living God. Living God picks up an Old Testament 
motif, which contrasts Yahweh of Israel with the dead idols 
all around Israel. And so again, he's speaking biblical 
truth in response to the question, who do you say that I am? As 
well, up to this point, we have seen Jesus called or addressed 
as son of God in Matthew's gospel. You see it in Matthew chapter 
2. Verse 15, the prophecy from Hosea. Out of Egypt I have called 
my firstborn son. What's Matthew telling us? Matthew 
is telling us that Hosea was prophesying concerning the coming 
of our Lord Jesus Christ. As well, you see the Lord's relation 
to his father throughout Matthew's gospel. We see it preeminently 
in John's gospel. He's the son sent by the father. As well, you've got this Old 
Testament background, as I mentioned, 2 Samuel chapter 7. Psalm 2, 
you are my son, today I have begotten you. And then in terms 
of Matthew's gospel, very specifically, you have the demons confess that 
Jesus is the Son of God, you have the devil confess that Jesus 
is the Son of God, and you have the Father confess that Jesus 
is the Son of God. And so when Simon Peter makes 
this declaration, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living 
God, He's right on. This is good. This is what you 
need to listen to. This is what you need to affirm. 
If you are dead in your trespasses and sins, a bit of moral reformation 
isn't going to fix you. A little bit of do-goodery isn't 
going to save you. Just making up your mind, well, 
I'm going to stop engaging in this particular practice and 
start doing this, isn't going to bring you into the presence 
of God Most High. You must see Christ. You must 
believe on Christ. You must look to Christ and live. Remember our brother preached 
that passage, the first Sunday that he preached, I think it 
was the 20th of August, it's been so long ago, he preached 
from John's Gospel, John 3. And he likened, or rather he 
showed, how Jesus is responding, and he invokes that passage in 
the book of Numbers, when the Israelites were stung by those 
fiery serpents. How did the Israelites gain relief? 
Did they drag themselves over to that brazen serpent? Did they 
kiss the brazen serpent? Did they first suck the venom 
out of their leg and then look to the brazen serpent? No, they 
looked and they lived. What's Jesus' point in John 3? 
Look and live. For God so loved the world that 
he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him 
should not perish but have everlasting life. If you subscribe to a religion 
that says, go out and try harder, go out and do more, go out and 
be better. You see that today in discourse 
and social media. Do better. Do better. Well, oftentimes 
that's just a corrective to some fool you're dealing with on the 
internet. But that's the essence of man-centered religion. Just 
do better. Brethren, if it was all about 
just doing better to secure our place in heaven, then why the 
cross? The Apostle Paul says, I do not 
set apart the grace of God. For if righteousness comes to 
the law, then Christ died in vain. Why the cross if you and 
I could just do better? The cross because we don't do 
better. The cross because we can't militate 
against our sin. the cross because we can't cleanse 
ourselves, we can't wash ourselves, we can't imbibe the perfection 
demanded by God's holy law, which is exact, which is entire, which 
is perpetual. That's God's demand upon us. 
So the confession that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living 
God, is what is needful today for anybody dead in their trespasses 
and sins. And then notice how Jesus responds 
to this in verse 17. He pronounces a beatitude upon 
him. A beatitude is a blessing. You 
see that previously in Matthew chapter 5. We call them the beatitudes 
in verses 3 to 12. And you see another one in chapter 
13, specifically at verse 16. And Jesus pronounces Peter with 
this beatitude here. Simply means, happy are you, 
blessed are you, whole are you, content are you, good are you. 
Not because of goodness in you, but he's pronouncing a good thing 
upon Simon Peter for this particular confession. So what does that 
show us? That's the affirmation of justification by grace alone, 
through faith alone, in Christ alone. Not, well, you know, Peter, 
that's good, but you need to go out and work your fingers 
to the bone. That's good, Peter, but you need to do all these 
particular works in order to gain access into heaven. No, 
he pronounces him blessed on this particular point. But then 
notice specifically what he says. Verse 17. For flesh and blood has not revealed 
this to you, but my Father who is in heaven." In other words, 
he's not saying, blessed are you as a reward for your excellent 
studies in the Old Testament. Blessed are you because you mastered 
your Sabbath school lessons. Blessed are you, Simon Peter, 
because you're wiser than your contemporaries. Blessed are you, 
Simon Peter, because you're smarter than the guys around you. No, 
blessed are you, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood didn't reveal 
this to you. What is that underscore? You 
need God's grace to gain God's favor. It's not an autonomous 
attempt. It's not a blank slate. It's not, you know, just do the 
best you can and God will receive you. No, that's not what Jesus 
is saying. Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, 
for flesh and blood. Didn't reveal this to you. You 
didn't learn this in Sabbath school. You didn't learn this 
unaided by the Spirit as you read the Old Testament scriptures. You didn't get this in your singing 
of the Psalms or your chanting of the Psalms in synagogue. You 
didn't get this but by God's grace. See, the Reformed communion, 
the Reformed churches emphasize grace alone through faith alone 
in Christ alone. We don't do that because that's 
kind of our niche. It's just the way that we're 
a little bit different. We don't speak in tongues and we emphasize 
grace. No, we do that because our Master does. It's not flesh 
and blood that brought you to this place, brethren. It's not 
your wisdom. It's not your ingenuity. It's 
certainly not your good works. It's God the Father who opens 
the hardened hearts of men, who causes the new birth, who enables 
them to be born again. and grants them the saving graces 
of faith and repentance that they may lay hold of Christ and 
leave their sins in the dust. It is God that is glorified for 
this confession by Simon Peter. Flesh and blood did not reveal 
this to you, but my Father who is in heaven." Now before you 
start to think, well, that means there's no hope. God the Father 
revealed this to Simon Peter. God the Father revealed this 
to the Apostle Paul. Remember on the road to Damascus? 
Why was Paul going to Damascus? Because he wanted to join the 
Christian worship service? No, he went there with extradition 
papers in his hand. He went there to go to the synagogue 
to physically seize men and women, he says this, and take them back 
to Jerusalem. Not so they could be heralded 
as champions of the new religion, but so that they could be persecuted, 
so that they could be in prison, perhaps so they could be executed. 
What stops Paul on the road to Damascus? Does he have a moment 
of reflection, a moment of recollection, a moment wherein he just says, 
you know, I've been all wrong here. My pursuit has been bad. 
I need to reflect more on it. No. It was Christ who comes to 
him on the road to Damascus, and when he asks, who art thou? 
He says, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. You see, God 
sovereignly chooses a great multitude that no man can number. So that 
is purposeful in order to give you hope. It's not the case that 
there's just going to be a handful in heaven. Revelation 7, it's 
a great multitude from every tribe and tongue and people and 
nation. So instead of looking at the sovereignty of God as 
some sort of a challenge or an obstacle, see it as the blessed 
provision of God in the gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus 
Christ. In other words, there is hope in Christ. There is hope 
in the Father and the Spirit. There is hope in our blessed 
triune God. No one should leave despondent. 
No one should leave in the sense that, well, I can never be saved. 
Well, if Paul, the chief of sinners, is saved, he's a trophy of God's 
sovereign grace, guess what? The lesser sinners can come to 
that table as well because of God's graciousness and because 
of faith in our blessed Savior. So the apostle is pronounced 
blessed, not because he had this moment, but rather because God 
had favored him with this moment. And that brings us finally to 
consider the declaration concerning his church. Notice in verse 18, 
a few things to unpack here. He says, and I also say to you 
that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, 
and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Notice, 
Peter's already had revelation. He's already, by God's grace, 
understood that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living 
God. What happens on the heels of that? He gets more revelation. He gets more information. He 
gets more data. It's a beautiful and a wonderful 
thing when you come to God's word as a saved sinner. What 
happens? It opens up. What happens when 
you read that Bible? You've been in the way for many, 
many years. Sorry, sister. You've been in the way for several 
years. What happens? Have you ever had 
that? Well, I've never seen that in the Bible. Well, it's not 
like it jumped in there on the 17th of September in 2023. God reveals his glory to his 
people. God reveals his word to his people. Man shall not live by bread alone, 
but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. I have 
found it curious before, when I've left to go on vacation or 
go somewhere else, and I come back and somebody says, oh, that 
particular pastor or that preacher, he said this, and it was incredible. It penetrated my heart. I'd never 
heard anything like that before. And I've known that, yeah, you've 
probably heard it about 25 times in the last 26 years, right? It's just the way God works. 
He moves in mysterious ways, His wonders do perform. The Word 
of God is not a closed up book. The Word of God is glorious. 
I mean, it's closed in the sense there's no new revelation being 
added to it. But it's not the case that you 
read Genesis to Revelation and say, well, I'm done. I finished 
the textbook. I'm ready to go. Brethren, that's 
not how it works. And in this instance, thou art 
the Christ, the Son of the living God. So on the heels of that, 
Jesus gives him more revelation. He gives him more instruction. 
He gives him more information. Why? Because Peter, along with 
the other apostles, are going to be somewhat foundational to 
the building of this particular church. So let's look at what 
he says here in terms of the establishment of the church. 
Before we get to that, I want to look at the definition of 
the church. What's the church? It's a good 
question, isn't it? What's the family? What's the 
civil state? What's the Moose Lodge? What's the Alps? What 
is this thing that we're dealing with when it comes to the church? 
What is this thing that has the promise appended that the gates 
of Hades shall not prevail against it? What is this institution 
given by God Most High that will survive into the eschaton? Think 
about it. The family is not going to be 
the same in the age to come. We'll be like the angels, neither 
marrying nor given in marriage. The civil state doesn't continue 
into the eschaton, for which we praise God most high. But 
the church does. When we've been there 10,000 
years, bright shining as the sun, we've no less days to sing 
God's praise than when we first begun. It is to the church that 
our Lord Jesus appends or attaches this particular promise that 
the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. So what is 
the church? The church, or the word church, 
is used three times in the Gospels. It's used once here and twice 
in Matthew. Here, the emphasis is upon the 
universal church. I will build my church. In Matthew 
18, it's upon the local church. If your brother sins, go to him. 
If he hears you, you've won your brother. If he doesn't hear you, 
take two or three witnesses. If he refuses to hear them, tell 
it to the church. Not every single church out there, 
but to the local church of which he is a member. So you see this 
emphasis on church here twice, or three times, to local church, 
one universal church here in Matthew's gospel. Now, the word 
church is more related to the Dutch and the German kirk, or 
the Scottish kirk. And that comes from one Greek 
word that's used twice in the New Testament, kuriakon. That 
means something that belongs specially to the Lord. It's used 
of the supper in 1 Corinthians, and it's used of the day in Revelation 
1. So kirk or kuriakon, that which 
belongs to the Lord. Now the Greek word that we see 
translated church is ekklesia. And you've probably heard pastors, 
or you've probably heard students of the Bible say, well, ekklesia 
means it's the called out of God. They look at the etymology, 
the exit, the out called ones of God. That's not what it means. 
It corresponds with the kahal. In Israel, the Old Testament, 
the Hebrew word kahal means the assembly. the convocation, the 
gathering of God's people. That's the emphasis that we find. I will build my church. It's 
not a building. Now, we need to make sure that 
we're not foolish in this regard as well. Remember back in the 
pandemic, we don't need a building to worship God. Of course we 
don't need a building to worship God, but it's kind of nice to 
keep the rain off our heads when we do worship God. The argument 
was never, you have to have a building. The argument was always, don't 
stop us from worshiping God, whether we happen to meet at 
our public building or we happen to meet in a living room. We 
like to not get wet when we engage in this particular endeavor. 
So when it comes to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, that's 
the primary emphasis. In fact, R.T. France makes this 
observation. He says, the Greek term ekklesia 
never denotes a physical structure in the New Testament. I mean, 
we say, oh, my church is on Wellington, or my church is on Yale, or my. 
We need to make sure that we're not, you know, the super psycho 
Pharisee. Well, the church isn't. People 
use that as a common form of parlance. That's OK. But when 
you stop to think and when you stop to define, it's not the 
structure. It's not the building. If God obliterates this building, 
then we'll still continue to meet as the church. The Greek 
term ekklesia never denotes a physical structure in the New Testament, 
but always a community of people. The New Temple is not a building 
of literal stones, but consists of living stones. That's a good 
emphasis for us to remember. Now, as we look back at our text, 
we want to look at what Jesus says concerning the church. Verse 
18. And I also say to you that your 
Peter And on this rock, I will build my church and the gates 
of Hades shall not prevail against it. So first, look at the foundation 
of the church. Now there's been significant 
amount of debate about this passage between what's called Protestants 
and what's called Roman Catholics. Notice verse 18, I also say to 
you that you are Peter and on this rock, is Peter the rock? Is Peter the foundation? Is he 
the Pope? Is he the successor of Jesus 
Christ on earth? Is he the vicar? Is he the ruler 
over all Christians on earth? Well, in terms of the identification 
of the rock, those are the positions that the Roman Catholic Church 
teaches that Peter is the rock. Again, they derive their doctrine 
of papal infallibility, papal succession, all that stuff from 
Simon Peter. Amongst Protestants, there's 
two basic approaches. One, the rock is Peter's confession 
of faith. Based on this confession of faith, 
Peter, that's the rock upon which I will build my church. I don't 
think there's anything necessarily wrong with that, but I think 
the third interpretation gets at it even more clearly. And 
that simply is that the rock is the Christ who Peter confessed. The rock is the Christ who Peter 
confessed. Thou art the Christ, the son 
of the living God. Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah. 
Flesh and blood did not reveal this to you. Then I say to you, 
Simon Peter, upon this rock I will build my church. In other words, 
it's Christ. in His person. It's Christ, that 
second person of the Godhead that takes on our humanity and 
lives and dies and is raised again for us and for our salvation. The Rock is our blessed Savior. He's the foundation of the Church. He is the reason for it. He is the rationale for it. Owen 
makes this observation. It is not the person of Peter 
who confessed Christ, but the person of Christ whom Peter confessed. That is the rock on which the 
church is built. So again, he's not saying, Peter, 
lucky you, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. You won the prize. Upon you is going to be built 
the church. Now consider this in terms of 
Roman Catholicism. Some of you, many of you, perhaps, 
have no knowledge. You didn't grow up in it. You 
weren't raised in it. You don't know much about it. 
It seems a bit odd. They wear funny hats if they're 
in the priesthood, or they're popes, or the hippie pope right 
now seems a bit odd. He seems more like a Marxist 
and a leftist. Is this really consistent with 
Roman Catholic theology? So there's a lot of puzzling 
things about Romanism. But know this, that this is the 
passage upon which they have their idea of the Pope. The R.C. of the Roman Catholic Church 
teaches that Peter, in his person, was the rock, and that this is 
the justification for papal authority. In other words, he and his successors 
are the popes who have supreme authority over Christians on 
earth. And this is to quote them. This is the Catholic Encyclopedia. 
The Pope, as Bishop of Rome, is the successor of St. Peter, 
and therefore the visible head of the church on earth, the vice-regent 
of Christ, and the supreme ruler of all Christians. Now, probably 
you will all join me with saying, praise God, that's not true. 
Praise God that Francis isn't my head. Praise God that the 
hope of the glory and the maturation and the growth and the success 
and triumph of the church is not appended to him or to any 
that will succeed him or any that preceded him. Now when it 
comes to Peter, we don't want to go the opposite direction 
and say, well, you know, he was just a derelict like the rest 
of us. No, the Bible envisages good 
things about Peter. The Apostle Peter does occupy 
a place of priority among the disciples. Acts 2, Acts 8, once 
the narrative shifts to focus on the Apostle Paul in terms 
of the outermost parts of the earth, in terms of the gospel 
going forth, Peter is the I don't want to say the star of the first 
half of the Book of Acts, but he certainly got priority among 
the others. As well, the Apostle Peter was not infallible. That's 
part of Roman Catholic dogma with reference to Peter. Not 
everything, you know, I'll have the chicken instead of the steak, 
and he ends up with bad steak. That doesn't mean infallibility 
in all things, but it means infallibility on doctrine. infallibility on 
dogma, infallibility on things that matter in terms of religion, 
in terms of access to God. I mean, in this passage, he goes 
from being pronounced, blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah, for 
flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but then he hears, 
get behind me, Satan. He tries to forbid Jesus from 
going to Jerusalem once Jesus starts to say how that church 
is going to come to fruition and how that church is going 
to be built and how that church is going to withstand the gates 
of Hades itself. He does so by telling or outlining 
the mission of the Messiah. I must go to Jerusalem. I must 
be tried, I must die, I must be raised again. What does Peter 
say? Forbid it, Lord! Get behind me, Satan! You see, 
in Galatians chapter 2, the Apostle Paul rebukes Simon Peter, because 
Simon Peter didn't want to eat with the Gentiles, because he 
thought that would offend certain Jews. You see as well in the 
book of Acts, chapter 15, when they convene to consider Gentile 
inclusion in the covenant promises of God, Peter is subject to James. James is the leader of the church 
in Jerusalem. So there's no infallibility of 
Peter as we find it here in Scripture. The Lord Jesus here is not instituting 
a succession of popes. Consider, if he had, then after 
Peter's death, there would have been a new pope, and he would 
have presided over John the Apostle, who was still alive. That just 
doesn't make any sense. Plus, there are several commentators. 
I think John Calvin holds that Simon Peter never, ever went 
to Rome. So there's problems with the Roman Catholic interpretation 
of this passage. The position of the Roman Catholic 
Church is not exegetical. It is an imposition upon the 
text of a particular ecclesiology. In fact, Spurgeon says, no unsophisticated 
reader. I love the way he does that. 
No unsophisticated reader. You know who that is? That's 
us. You have to be sophisticated to see potpourri in Matthew 16. You have to engage in sophistry. You have to engage in things 
outside of Matthew 16 to see papal succession in Matthew 16. 
So he says, no unsophisticated reader of the Bible sees any 
trace of potpourri in this passage. The wine of Romanism is not to 
be pressed out of this cluster. That's just a wrong interpretation. 
Now, this isn't, let's bash the Roman Catholic Church and all 
their bad things. I mean, that would take a series 
of sermons, to be sure. But it's simply to say that it's 
Christ that's the rock. It's Christ that's the foundation. It's Christ, as I said, that's 
the rationale, the very reason for the Church of Christ. And it's as a result of that 
that the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. If it's 
simply man, if it's simply a group of elders, if it's simply a group 
of so-called popes, it's going to fail. How do we withstand 
the gates of Hades? Well, we do it because our head 
is triumphant. We do it because our head is 
powerful. We do it because our head is champion. We do it because 
our head is able to bring down the gates of Hades through his 
work at the right hand of the Father. So the Protestant understanding 
of the Rock understands that it's Christ who is the foundation 
of the Church. But the Protestants also recognize 
that the apostles play a foundational role. You see it in Ephesians 
chapter 2 and verse 20. And then in the book of Revelation 
at chapter 21 verse 14, the names of the 12 apostles are on the 
gates there. delegate, or we don't derogate 
them or subjugate them to the regular, you know, everybody's 
on the same footing. No, they wrote the New Testament. They taught us how to interpret 
the Old Testament. You understand that, right? When 
Matthew, for instance, in Matthew 2, invokes Hosea as the rationale 
for Jesus leaving Egypt, we need to listen to how he's interpreting 
the Word of God. When the Apostle Paul in Romans 
4 tells us that Jesus inherits the world, that helps us to understand 
those promises given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that they transcended 
the geography of Israel. When the New Testament applies 
Old Testament promise to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, 
vis-a-vis Exodus chapter 19. What was Israel supposed to function 
as in the world? As a kingdom of priests. Do they 
pass that? Do they make it to that? Do they 
become that? No. They fail miserably. But 
the true Israel, the Lord Jesus Christ, is successful in his 
work of redemption. And so by virtue of our union 
with him, all those covenant promises of God are received 
by the church. It's the most blessed thing. 
So we understand that the apostles had a very important and foundational 
role. But it's Christ as the rock. 
It's Christ as the foundation. It's Christ who is the one that 
gives meaning to this very passage. Not Peter, not a succession of 
Peters, but rather it is Jesus. Now that's the foundation, but 
notice secondly the builder of the church, and I think this 
is very encouraging. And I also say to you that you are Peter, 
and on this rock I, not I, Jimmy, but I, Jesus, says, will build 
my church. Jesus Christ builds the church, 
not elders, not deacons, not faithful churchmen. It's Christ 
who builds the church. It's Christ who puts it together. 
It's Christ who sustains it. I think I once read where there 
was a handful of fathers, church fathers, early, you know, early 
centuries of the church. And they were musing on the reality 
that if it were up to us, we would have never made it this 
far. So like second, third century, they're musing on that. If it 
were up to us, we'd have never made it thus far. We're in the 
21st century now, brethren. Are we going to start patting 
ourselves on the back? Are we going to start saying, well, 
it was John Calvin and C.H. Spurgeon. They kept it all together. They 
were faithful servants of Christ Most High. They were faithful 
preachers of the doctrines of grace. They were faithful, you 
know, servants of our blessed Savior. But who gets the credit? Who gets the win? Who gets the 
glory for building the church? It's not the industry of the 
church. It's not the committees in the church. It's not the servants 
of the church. But it's Jesus Christ who builds 
his church. I think there's a world of encouragement 
in that small phrase, I will build my church. He will not 
be thwarted. He will not be frustrated. He 
will not be stopped. He will not go away. As much 
as our current political system would like for him to go away, 
He ain't going anywhere. He is going to accomplish His 
purpose from every tribe, every tongue, every people, every nation. He is going to amass that great 
multitude that is going to end up before the throne of God Most 
High singing His praises through all eternity. I will build my 
church. And then notice the promise of 
triumph. Now, I'm not suggesting triumphalism. Everything's gonna be hunky-dory. You're part of the church. You're 
the king's children. Everything's only ever gonna 
be great. No, brethren, you know that's not the case. That's a 
lie. Oh, come to Jesus and everything's 
gonna be, you know, just always wonderful. Really? Did David 
experience that? 1 Samuel chapter 16, he's anointed 
by Saul, by Samuel rather, and in 1 Samuel 16, he's driven out 
by Saul. Does Jesus in his earthly ministry 
have the spirit of triumphalism? No, he's a man of sorrows. He's 
acquainted with grief. Read the book of Acts. Is that 
the triumphalism of the early church? No, it's the triumph, 
but not triumphalism. We need to be careful that we 
don't become obnoxious, that we don't become the sorts of 
people that gloat, the sorts of people that are arrogant, 
the sorts of people that do not have that humility of spirit, 
understanding that the gates of Hades shall not prevail against 
us, but nevertheless, they're going to try. There will be that 
contrast in the Christian life. In this world, Jesus says in 
John 16, 33, you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I've overcome 
the world. So my argument is that this passage 
promises triumph, but it ought not to produce in us triumphalism, 
that obnoxious spirit that says, oh, nothing ever bad is going 
to happen to me. Nothing ever contrary is going 
to happen to me. The health, wealth, and prosperity 
liars take this particular attack. Come to Jesus and you'll get 
not only salvation, but you'll get a new car. You'll get a new 
summer home. And if you don't, it's because 
you lack faith. Well, what happens to the bruised, 
broken, battered child of God that doesn't get those things? 
Does that mean Jesus fails us? That's what their theology inevitably 
has to lead to. Jesus never fails. Jesus never 
disappoints. It may be in this world that 
we don't get those things that we were promised by godless men, 
but Christ has glorious things in our future at that harvest 
time. So notice, with reference to 
this statement, this latter statement in verse 18, when he says, and 
the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it, there are 
two things taught here. First, the perpetual assault 
against the church, and secondly, the perpetual triumph of the 
church. The perpetual assault against the church, and the gates 
of Hades shall not prevail against it. I don't want to spend too 
much time on this word Hades, but suffice to say it's probably 
the two compartment sort of place of the dead until the resurrection. We see that death in Hades, according 
to the book of Revelation, are delivered up, cast ultimately 
into the lake of fire, which is hell. So a lot of scholars 
see a two compartment sort of place for the dead until the 
coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, a place for the righteous and 
a place for the wicked. It does seem to take the nuance 
here of being the antagonistic enemy of God's people. those 
who wish to thwart, those who wish to stop, those who wish 
to conquer Jesus and his church. So notice, he says, in the gates 
of Hades shall not prevail against it. So we have that promise of 
triumph that we'll see in just a moment, but we also have this 
promise that they're going to try. I just, you know, I don't 
like to say these kinds of things because I don't want to be sort 
of a, you know, party pooper, but if you haven't had a tough 
Christian life, just hang on. It's gonna happen. Again, I'm 
not trying to jinx you or, you know, put some bad mojo or anything 
like that, or juju or whatever they call it. I'm not. But in 
this world, you will have tribulation. John 16, 33. What's Paul's surmise 
according to 2 Timothy 3, 12? All who desire to live godly 
in Christ Jesus shall what? They'll just walk unharmed in 
the earth around them? All the perverts and the murderers 
and the criminals and all the people on the street. I'm describing 
the politicians. They're all going to be antagonistic. They're all going to be contrary. 
They're all going to be enemies to you. Be of good cheer. I've 
overcome the world. There's going to be persecution. There's going to be hardship. 
There's going to be turmoil. There's going to be affliction. 
Children of God are not immune from those things. Children of 
God don't have some bubble around them. It's not like, you know, 
that big thick shipping bubble wrap that sort of surrounds us 
and wherever we go, we're safe and unaffected by the problems 
around us. All you have to do is read Acts. All you have to do is read the 
latter part of Hebrews chapter 11. All you have to do is focus 
on the epistles in Revelation 2 and 3 to the churches in Asia 
Minor. All you have to do is take a 
brief glance at the history of the church. All you have to do 
is see the early controversies concerning the Trinity and Christology. 
What happened to people that were telling the truth? They 
would get exiled. They would actually have to leave 
their homes and their places and their families and go live 
out in the desert. For the heresy of maintaining 
that Christ is the Word made flesh who dwelt among us. And 
we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the 
Father, full of grace and truth. One need only think of the Scottish 
Covenanters. One need only think of the Huguenot 
in France. One need only think about just about every other 
country on the face of the earth presently. Come to a morning 
prayer meeting on a Sunday morning at 0930. will take a tour around 
the earth to hear that there is persecution, there is suffering, 
there is affliction. What does that suggest? The gates 
of Hades are going to be defeated, but they're not going to go away 
without trying to mount up a last resistance. In other words, the 
devil roams about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, 
according to Peter in 1 Peter 5. So the passage not only promises 
triumph, but it also promises hardship and difficulty and things 
that are not necessarily a happy event for the people of God. 
But one other thought in terms of the perpetual assault against 
the church. We need to make sure we keep 
the proper emphasis here. Notice that Jesus does not say 
that Hades itself or the devil himself, or, I mean, there is 
a sense where instrumentally that happens, but what does Gates 
suggest to you? Gates are defensive, aren't they? 
If you build your house and you put a fence around it, why do 
you do that? Well, I don't want stray dogs 
coming into my yard. I don't want, you know, my neighbor's 
pet ferret coming into my yard. You probably also don't want 
two-legged creatures with guns coming into your yard, so you 
put a gate or a fence around your property. We used to do 
this in countries. We called them borders, but those 
seem to have dissipated. What is Jesus saying? It's the 
church now that is on the march. And this is where the church 
today needs to wake up. The church is on the march. The 
church isn't surrounding itself with the covered wagons. The 
church isn't hunkered down in the corner. The church isn't 
busy biting their collective fingernails and letting their 
collective knees knock while they just hope everything turns 
out good. The gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 
Well, what does that mean? It means the church is on this 
trajectory to proclaim the gospel and to make disciples of all 
the nations, to baptize those disciples, and then to teach 
those disciples everything that Jesus commanded. And while the 
church is engaged in that particular activity or task, the gates of 
Hades will be plundered. In other words, it's when the 
church does what the church is supposed to do that the gates 
of Hades are ineffective. In fact, I think you see something 
of this illustrated in Colossians 1 at verses 13 and 14. The Apostle 
says, He, God, has delivered us from the power of darkness 
and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom 
we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. 
Listen to that. He has delivered us from the 
power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son 
of His love. What's He conveyed us out of? The kingdom of darkness. The power of the devil. the gates 
of Hades. See, what we find Jesus saying 
here is that the church is on the offense, not with military 
might, not with guns blazing, but with the weapons that God 
has equipped his church with, preaching and prayer. There's 
other things to be sure, but those are the emphases we find 
in the New Testament very often. Preach the word, Paul says, to 
Timothy. Convince, rebuke, exhort with 
all longsuffering and teaching. How does God advance his kingdom 
in the time of the Covenanters? How does he advance his kingdom 
in the time of the Huguenots? How does he advance his kingdom 
today in Indonesia? How does he advance his kingdom 
today in China? How does he advance his kingdom 
today in Canada? Yes, through loving deeds and 
through kindness and encouragement and all the sorts of things that 
the people of God are to muster. But it's through the foolishness 
of the message preached, God saves those who believe. It is 
the plundering ministry of Christ through his church to snatch 
hell-bound sinners out of that kingdom of darkness and convey 
them into the kingdom of the Son of God's love. It is the 
most blessed thing we find here in Matthew 16, 18. If we get 
this in our hearts and minds, in our prayer closets, in our 
corporate meetings, in our public services with reference to worship, 
I'm not saying everything's gonna magically happen, everything's 
gonna turn around. Justin Trudeau will get converted if that happens. 
I'm not suggesting that at all. But I am suggesting when the 
church aligns with God's word and will, that's when she's in 
a better position to engage in the warfare currently in our 
sights. Gill says, all the infernal principalities 
and powers, with all their united cunning and strength, will never 
be able to extirpate his gospel to destroy his interests, to 
demolish his church in general, or ruin any one particular soul 
that is built upon him. So there is this perpetual assault 
against the church but there is this perpetual triumph of 
the church. And again, why does this happen? 
Not because of Peter, not because of his successors, not because 
of pastors and deacons, not because of faithful church attendance, 
but he does this because Jesus builds his church and the gates 
of Hades shall not prevail against it. Brethren, we ought to be 
encouraged, we ought to be hopeful, we ought to see for sure what's 
happening in the world around us, but we're not to let that 
dictate our present activity in terms of service to our sovereign 
Lord. We have marching orders. We have the Great Commission. 
We have the emphasis in Holy Scripture on how we're supposed 
to conduct ourselves in this present evil age. Now, in conclusion, 
just a few thoughts and then we'll go. First, the head of 
the church. I think that in Matthew 16, if you compare this with 
2 Samuel chapter 7, you will see something very interesting, 
very unique. I've often taught on 2 Samuel. 
I've referred to it many times. It's the Davidic covenant. Basically, 
David is sitting in his house. He's sitting in his mansion. 
He's sitting in his palace. And David says, you know what? 
I'm sitting in a palace. And God dwells in a tent, the 
tabernacle at that time. There was no permanent fixture. 
There was no temple at that point. There was the tabernacle. You 
could put it up. You could take it down. It was designed that 
way for the wilderness wanderings of Israel before they arrived 
in the promised land. So David's musing is legit. I'm dwelling 
in pomp and glory. And God lives in a tent. So he 
wants to build a house for God. He wants to build a temple for 
God. And then, of course, Nathan the prophet encourages him. And 
then God says to Nathan, no, don't encourage him. It's not 
going to be him. It's going to be Solomon, his son. David secured the kingdom 
through bloodshed. Solomon would have a peaceful 
reign in which he could build the temple. But the word house 
is used. God says, I'm going to build 
a house out of David. And what he means there is dynasty, a 
succession of kings. One will rise up from David, 
and he will build a house for God. So when Simon Peter says, 
you are the Christ, the son of the living God. And when Jesus 
says on this rock, I will build my church or God's house. You see the fruition or fulfillment 
of the second Samuel seven, Davidic covenant right here in Matthew 
16. God always had as his purpose, a son of God who would build 
a house for God and who would reign forever to the glory of 
God. That's our Lord Jesus Christ. 
He is the head of the church. Secondly, we need to understand 
with reference to the foundation of the church, it's Jesus. He 
is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. That is foundational. 
No church without that confession. There's no church without that 
hope. There's no kahal, no assembly, no convocation, no God's people 
without the Christ, the Son of the Living God. But as I said, 
brethren, we need to respect and esteem the apostles. We need 
to understand that that office is closed. There's no new apostles 
today. I know in charismatic circles, sometimes they have 
an apostle. No, the apostolic ministry is over. He gave some 
to be apostles. He gave some to be prophets. 
He gave some to be evangelists, pastors, and teachers. The abiding 
offices in the church today is elder and deacon, not apostles. 
The apostles were unique. The apostles, as I said, preachers 
of the gospel. missionaries, to the people that 
God had purposed to hear the truth, writers of the New Testament 
under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and interpreters 
of the Old Testament so that we may learn how to read it properly. You see, we need them and we 
need the New Testament to help us understand the Old Testament. 
But with reference to the Old Testament, we need that as well. 
I think it's symptomatic of the church today that we don't always 
read the Old Testament. One of the brothers in the prayer 
meeting this morning said, you know, in a general way, may the 
world sort of wake up to the Ten Commandments of God. I mean, 
when you look around the world today, we need a good dose of 
that law, don't we? You're not supposed to kill people. 
I mean, you are, but they need to be the right people. Problem 
isn't that government kills. It's they kill the wrong people. 
They kill babies in the womb. They kill elderly people. They 
kill the mentally ill and the infirm and that sort of thing. 
Who should they kill? Well, they should kill criminals, 
murderers, rapists, pedophiles, things like that. Wouldn't it 
be a nice thing for the world to have a dose of the law of 
God? And as I was amening that prayer, brothers and sisters, 
I'm right there with him, I also thought, you know, sometimes 
you think when somebody else is praying, it'd be nice if the 
church could recover those commandments too. It'd be just wonderful if 
the effects of a theology that relegated the commandments to 
some future millennial kingdom was not affecting the mass of 
Christianity today. In other words, brethren, the 
church, as church, needs the apostles to help with the Old 
Testament. And that doesn't mean we dispense 
with it. It doesn't mean we disregard 
it, like the Ten Commandments. It means we listen to Paul, we 
listen to Peter, we listen to James and John, and we listen 
to how these brothers understand the Old Testament. And we follow 
them in that pursuit so that we can understand that Christ 
is, in fact, the promise of God realized. Now thirdly, the function 
of the church. I gave a definition of us, what 
we are, what we do. What's the function? What's the 
church supposed to do? Well, if we try to do everything, 
we'll do nothing right or nothing well. My favorite sort of summary 
statement about the mission of the church or what we call the 
marks of the church is Belgic Confession 29. So that's not 
the Bible. Well, it accurately summarizes 
what's in the Bible. You know what the Belgian Confession 
says are the three marks of the church? Now, there's other things 
we can do, other things we perhaps should do, but there are three 
things we must do. The preaching of the word of 
God. not encounter sessions, not group therapy, not, you know, 
group hugs, not story time with the, you know, the storyteller. 
I shared before that somebody said, you know, my congregation 
loves stories. So we moved the pulpit and I 
got a big easy chair and I just sit there and I tell stories. 
Man, if you want to waste a Sunday morning like that, you go right 
ahead. But man, that is not the purpose 
for God's church. It is the proclamation of God's 
word, law and gospel. Secondly, it's the administration 
of the sacraments. Make disciples, baptize them, 
and then Matthew 26, take, eat, and drink. When it comes to the 
church, that's something we must be about. And then the third 
thing, you see it in Matthew chapter 18, is the exercise of 
church discipline. Those are things that churches 
must be about. Notice what's not in that list, 
entertainment. group therapy, all those sorts 
of things that have superseded the mission of the church of 
the Lord Jesus Christ. So not enough just to know what 
we are, but we ought to know what we're supposed to do. How 
do we function in this present evil age? What is our niche? How do we fit in the community? 
Are we supposed to go out and hand out hot dogs? Are we supposed 
to go out and hand out shoe shines? Are we supposed to go out and 
do all these things? Again, some of those things might be OK. 
Some of those things might be permissible. But the things that 
the church must be about is preaching, the sacraments, and discipline. 
It's a very wonderful summary statement concerning the function 
of the church. And then fourth, I want to suggest, 
with reference to us all, the encouragement of the church. 
I was very encouraged this past week that this is over. I mean, 
it's not, but at least I think our part is. And it just fizzled 
out. In February 2021, it was a different 
ballgame, wasn't it? It was a different scenario altogether, 
especially November 2020. The order's given. You can't meet. Don't go. That's 
it. It was all over the news. It 
was all over the progress. It was all over everything. It 
was email. Everybody's talking. All that sort of thing. Death 
threats and hate. All this stuff. There were seven of us in the 
courtroom on Wednesday morning. The judge, the bailiff, the Crown 
counsel, the defense, Marty, me, Tim Champ, and his wife. 
Oh, the bailiff. Did I say the bailiff? Seven 
of us. Nobody cared. I'm not saying you didn't, you 
didn't, weren't proud. I'm just saying, in the grand 
scheme of things, it came and it went. And that's just minutia 
in terms of the history of the church. Brethren, the Roman Empire 
was formidable. The Roman Empire was really good 
at crushing other peoples. The Roman Empire was at an art 
level of vanquishing enemies and detractors and anybody who 
wouldn't confess Caesar as Lord and Savior. Where's the Roman 
Empire today? What was the battle cry of the 
church at that time? It was Psalm 110.1. The Lord 
said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies 
your footstool. In other words, whatever man 
brings against our blessed Savior, the Savior knows how to deal. 
And the Savior will deal. And as the psalmist says, he 
will tread down our enemies. That is a promise that should 
uphold the people of God as we move our way through this present 
evil age. He will tread down our enemies. 
Again, not us. guns blazing, or C4 charges when 
we go into mass groups of people. It is Christ who builds this 
church. So there's a great deal of encouragement in this passage. 
First, Christ owns the church, not men. I will build my church. 
This ought to affect every elder, every deacon, every church member, 
to realize when we use this conversationally, and that's fine. My church is 
on Wellington. My church does this. My church sings well. My 
church, again, let's not be hyper-Pharisaical. Let us touch your church. It 
belongs to Jesus. Okay, beyond that hyper-Pharisee, we need 
to understand it's Jesus' church. It's His project. It's His building 
plan. He is the project manager. 1 
Timothy 3.15, I write, so that you may know how you ought to 
conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of 
the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. It is Christ's 
church. He owns it. As well, secondly, 
Christ builds the church, not man. Now again, men are supposed 
to serve, men are supposed to function, men are supposed to 
carry out their tasks. Calvin and Luther and Spurgeon 
and Chrysostom and Athanasius and Cyril and all those guys 
had their marching orders dictated to them by Christ. But it's Christ 
ultimately who builds his church, and that is encouraging. As well, 
thirdly, Christ protects the church, not men. Again, we do 
all we can, we seek to facilitate the protection of the bride of 
Christ, but it's ultimately Christ. The victory is the Lord's, the 
horse is prepared for the battle, but the day of victory belongs 
to Yahweh. And we understand that, and we rejoice in that. 
Fourth, Christ defines proper conduct in the church, not man. 
This is why I highlight the marks of the church. It's not a free-for-all. 
Well, you know, I think we should do this, and I think we should 
do that, and we think we should... No, we do what Christ has commanded. 
And then as well, Christ demands that his people be faithful with 
reference to the church. We don't build it, we don't ultimately 
protect it, we don't ultimately defeat the gates of Hades, but 
we're to be faithful relative to her. We're to love her, we're 
to care for her, we're to pray for her. And may I just say, 
as I close right now, I'm thankful for this church. I was happy 
to come back. I'm not saying that the beaches 
in Southern California were terrible or In-N-Out Burger was bad. But 
when it comes to being in the house of God, brethren, there's 
no other place I'd rather be. I love this church. I love the 
brothers and the sisters. I love being here. So that wasn't 
the welcome back email, look forward to work. I really did. 
My wife and I both. woke up this morning with that 
spirit of David in Psalm 122, I was glad when they said unto 
me, let us go to the house of the Lord. May God bless us, may 
God keep us, may God prosper us, not with what the world defines 
as prosperity, but with a faithful resolve to serve our blessed 
Savior and to count ourselves blessed to be functioning in 
his cause and for his glory. And if you are a believer, rejoice, 
be encouraged. If you're not a believer, come 
to the Savior. Join the rank and file of God's 
people and serve on the winning team. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father in heaven, we thank you for your grace and for your mercy 
and for your loving kindness. We thank you that you, by grace, 
have kept us. We pray that you would continue 
with us, that you would bless us and help us to be faithful. 
in the coming age, and we ask this in Jesus' name, amen. Well, 
you can take your hymn books and we'll sing 568 to close our 
service this morning. Doxology in praise to our triune 
God. 568, we'll stand as we sing together. ♪ Praise Him, all creatures here 
below ♪ ♪ Praise Him, above ye heavenly host ♪ ♪ Praise Father, 
Son, and Holy Ghost ♪ I am who is able to establish 
you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, 
according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since 
the world began, but now made manifest and by the prophetic 
scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment 
of the everlasting God for obedience to the faith, to God alone wise 
be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen. May this be the 
case most high. as the church serves you in this 
lower world in this present age. And may you be glorified. And 
we ask through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. We'll close with 
a brief time of meditation.