Quest 38
Did someone call a locksmith?
Recently the company I work for bought another company in St. Louis. The employees in St. Louis had a question – have the locks been changed or will our old keys still work?
Jesus told Peter: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” Do those keys still work? It has been almost 2,000 years since Jesus gave those keys to the apostles, and in turn, to the church. Have the locks been changed? Do those original keys still work?
The Setting: The most important question you will ever be asked.
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Matthew 16:14-16
These apostles have been with Jesus almost two years. They have seen a lot. Just imagine all the miracles they witnessed.
Controversy has swirled around Jesus – could he actually be the Messiah (Christ) that God promised through the prophets?
Jesus took them to a place away from the crowds and asked them two simple questions:
(1) "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
(2) "Who do you say I am?"
Peter said, “You are the Christ.” That summed up all the hopes and dreams of the Jewish people. He also said, “The Son of the living God.” Jesus is God in the flesh.
Peter nailed it. Jesus then went on to explain what that meant (21): From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
If you believe Jesus is God and was raised from the dead and that all your hopes and dreams rest on him, then how are you to think about the church?
1. The church is not optional - it’s essential (18): “I will build my church.”
Jesus owns the church (Colossians 1:18): And he is the head of the body, the church.
He is the contractor building his church (Ephesians 2:21-22): In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
It is the only institution he established to win a lost world and grow disciples.
To say you love Jesus but have no time for his church is a contradiction. Jesus said, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching” (John 14:23).
His commission to Christians is “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20).
In 50 years of being a Christian, I have never met a soul-winner who was not active in the church. Non-attenders are non-soul-winners. If you are not supporting the evangelization of the lost, can you say you love him?
2. There are keys to the door of the church (19): “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."
Peter first opened the doors to the kingdom of heaven on earth, the church, 10 days after Jesus ascended to heaven (Acts 2:37-38) - When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Those who believe first have to “change their mind.” Repent means change your mind not change your life. Change your mind, and God will change your life.
Baptism puts you in union with Christ (Romans 6:3-4) - Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
Jesus has never called a locksmith to change locks and issue new keys.
3. When you enter, pick up your cross at the door (24): "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
The visible church requires visible sacrifice (Galatians 6:2) - Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. The invisible church requires no sacrifice.
William Penn wrote No Cross, No Crown in 1669. That sums it up. For those who pick up their cross inside the door of the church, there is a promise: “… to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven” (Hebrews 12:23).
