“I will build My church” Matthew 16:18
We live in a time, particularly in New England, when it seems as if the church is in decline. Many local fellowships have only a handful of members; small numbers of conversions are seen; many members have lost their zeal and energy for God and His work, and as a result become disheartened. Some even give up altogether and leave the church.
As a result, Christians can sometimes suffer from the “Elijah syndrome”. Elijah was God’s prophet in Israel during the days of the wicked King Ahab. At one point he became so discouraged that he ran away into the wilderness and finally said to God, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life” (1 Kings 19:10). But God graciously reminded Elijah that he was not alone when He said, “Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal” (verse 18).
For Christians today, the antidote to this assault of discouragement by Satan is to be reminded of Christ’s promise, “I will build My church.” And indeed, 2000 plus years later, it has come to pass that “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”. Oh yes, there have been great attacks against Christ’s church with the accompanying dark days. There have been times when it seemed the light had extinguished like in the days of Elijah, but the church continues to survive and grow. This is true because Jesus Christ has promised to build His church.
Perhaps we need a change of perspective. For one thing, we need to see that the church is under construction. In some ways, the church is like what used to be the “Big Dig” in Boston. When I drove through that construction, all I could see was traffic jams, heaps of rubble, holes in the ground, piles of construction material, and portions of roads going nowhere. I sometimes just thought of it as the “Big Mess.” And yet, there’s a plan with an end goal. Similarly, we sometimes see the church as only a mass of confusion and clutter. We wonder why people can’t be more sanctified; why aren’t the pews filled; nothing seems to be happening. We reason that there must be something better in another church down the road. Some members even leave, only to be ultimately disappointed when problems arise at their next stop.
Instead, brothers and sisters, get to work! Christ uses His people to build the church and it involves lots of hard labor. It also takes time! J. C. Ryle wrote, “The church of Christ needs servants of all kinds, and instruments of every sort; penknives as well as swords, axes as well as hammers, Marthas as well as Marys, Peters as well as Johns.” What has God gifted you to do? What desire has He placed in your heart? Get busy!
Another change of perspective we need is to keep in view the end result. The church is the bride of Christ Jesus Himself who “loved the church and gave Himself for her that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she should be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:25-27).
One day, this great building work of Christ will be completed. All of His elect will have been gathered into the kingdom from every tongue, race, country and time; redeemed and gloriously transformed into the image of Jesus Himself. Each living stone “fitted together” with no more corruption, no more tears, and the last enemy death done away with forever. Jesus will present the church to the Father, “faultless before the Presence of His glory with exceeding joy” (Jude 24). The puritan Richard Sibbes wrote, “Christ is the King of His church, and the church is the greatest Queen in the world.”
Beloved, don’t lose heart if at times the work of the church seems small and insignificant. Christ promised, “I will build My church.” This work has prevailed all these years and will be gloriously consummated; “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And to her it has been granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright… Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!” (Revelation 19:7,9).
May God grant you a new vision and a new love for His church for which “Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God” (Psalm 87:3).
We live in a time, particularly in New England, when it seems as if the church is in decline. Many local fellowships have only a handful of members; small numbers of conversions are seen; many members have lost their zeal and energy for God and His work, and as a result become disheartened. Some even give up altogether and leave the church.
As a result, Christians can sometimes suffer from the “Elijah syndrome”. Elijah was God’s prophet in Israel during the days of the wicked King Ahab. At one point he became so discouraged that he ran away into the wilderness and finally said to God, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life” (1 Kings 19:10). But God graciously reminded Elijah that he was not alone when He said, “Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal” (verse 18).
For Christians today, the antidote to this assault of discouragement by Satan is to be reminded of Christ’s promise, “I will build My church.” And indeed, 2000 plus years later, it has come to pass that “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”. Oh yes, there have been great attacks against Christ’s church with the accompanying dark days. There have been times when it seemed the light had extinguished like in the days of Elijah, but the church continues to survive and grow. This is true because Jesus Christ has promised to build His church.
Perhaps we need a change of perspective. For one thing, we need to see that the church is under construction. In some ways, the church is like what used to be the “Big Dig” in Boston. When I drove through that construction, all I could see was traffic jams, heaps of rubble, holes in the ground, piles of construction material, and portions of roads going nowhere. I sometimes just thought of it as the “Big Mess.” And yet, there’s a plan with an end goal. Similarly, we sometimes see the church as only a mass of confusion and clutter. We wonder why people can’t be more sanctified; why aren’t the pews filled; nothing seems to be happening. We reason that there must be something better in another church down the road. Some members even leave, only to be ultimately disappointed when problems arise at their next stop.
Instead, brothers and sisters, get to work! Christ uses His people to build the church and it involves lots of hard labor. It also takes time! J. C. Ryle wrote, “The church of Christ needs servants of all kinds, and instruments of every sort; penknives as well as swords, axes as well as hammers, Marthas as well as Marys, Peters as well as Johns.” What has God gifted you to do? What desire has He placed in your heart? Get busy!
Another change of perspective we need is to keep in view the end result. The church is the bride of Christ Jesus Himself who “loved the church and gave Himself for her that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she should be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:25-27).
One day, this great building work of Christ will be completed. All of His elect will have been gathered into the kingdom from every tongue, race, country and time; redeemed and gloriously transformed into the image of Jesus Himself. Each living stone “fitted together” with no more corruption, no more tears, and the last enemy death done away with forever. Jesus will present the church to the Father, “faultless before the Presence of His glory with exceeding joy” (Jude 24). The puritan Richard Sibbes wrote, “Christ is the King of His church, and the church is the greatest Queen in the world.”
Beloved, don’t lose heart if at times the work of the church seems small and insignificant. Christ promised, “I will build My church.” This work has prevailed all these years and will be gloriously consummated; “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And to her it has been granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright… Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!” (Revelation 19:7,9).
May God grant you a new vision and a new love for His church for which “Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God” (Psalm 87:3).