The Marks of a Real Church (Matthew 16) John MacArthur

hebrews chapter 13 verse 7 says remember those  who led you who spoke the Word of God to you and   considering the results of their conduct imitate  their faith our speaker this evening really needs   no introduction certainly not from me he is the  featured teacher on the worldwide radio broadcast   known as grace to you is the president of the  Masters University and the Masters seminary is   the author of the MacArthur Study Bible and  has a complete commentary set on the entire   New Testament which he is taught verse by verse  over the course of his ministry at the heart of   all of those things is his weekly pulpit ministry  at Grace Community Church and I don't think that   that can be over emphasized enough John MacArthur  has been the pastor of Grace Community Church in   Sun Valley California for forty-eight years since  1969 and has been teaching verse by verse through   the Bible that entire time and it is especially  because of his commitment to the exposition of   Scripture and especially his commitment to the  local church that we honor tonight as we think   about that which we would want to imitate as  a church that's it the the pulpit ministry   of God's Word and a commitment to the local  church and John MacArthur has embodied that   in his life for almost 60 years now and so with  great pleasure and as a great honor for me to be   able to welcome John MacArthur I encourage you  to welcome him as he comes to the pulpit now it is a great pleasure for me to be able to  fellowship with you from afar actually I can   see you all your on camera and wonderful I've been  watching you gather over the last few minutes and   just a real delight see at the congregation that  the Lord has given to my dear friend Don green we   miss Don we miss him at Grace Community Church  where for many years he shepherded a wonderful   fellowship group here we miss him at grace  to you his leadership was was critical and   immensely fruitful I miss him as a friend and  co-laborers fellow teacher of the Word of God   partner in ministry but that's kind of how it goes  in my world the Lord brings the best to us we have   them for a while and then he takes them somewhere  else in the world for the work that he's called   them to do so it's just a wonderful privilege  for me to be able to spend a little bit of time   sharing my heart about the church with all of you  and hoping in some small way to maybe make a small   payment on what I owed on greed for the years of  faithfulness that he gave to our ministry here and   by the way done I have to tell you you you've done  something that has never happened in my life by   sending me that little book with all your stories  and comments I I read all that and I thought you   know I should be dead before I read this because  this is like this is like something you save for   the funeral so many kind and thoughtful and loving  words but it was so meaningful to me thank you so   very much for the kindness that you expressed in  that maybe in the Providence of the Lord I'll have   the opportunity to be with you in person that this  is a this is a this is not the most desirable way   fellowship but for now I'm just honored to be able  to be with you and Don asked me if I would talk a   little bit about the church obviously as she said  I've been part of grace Church for a very long   time I'm sort of like the poor they always have  me with them pushing 50 years pretty incredible   amount of time for some people and great Church I  think it must be a death sentence all these years   it's the same person talking to them but it's  a testimony to the fact that they're really not   hearing me they're hearing the Word of God I'm  really sort of the waiter I don't cook the meal   the Lord prepares the meal I just bring it to the  table that's kind of my role and and the Lord is   the one who is honored for what he has provided  to feed their souls so it is it is a rare thing   to think about what Christian preaching is there  was a British orator who said that most paralyzing   thought he ever had was he would have to speak  to the same group three times I guess if you're   an orator you only have so much material and you  want to make sure the audience changes so you can   reuse it well I've been speaking to the same group  three times a week for nearly half a century and   what a testimony it is that they hear the word  of God that they respond to the word of god this   is what expository preaching does it's not my  personality is not my insights not my cleverness   not my stories it's the Lord opening his word to  their understanding by the work of the Holy Spirit   and the preparation of the teacher that's that's  what we do that's what your beloved pastor Don   does so that when you come your you're hearing the  head of the church the Lord Jesus Christ speaking   to his church through the one who is this servant  and an illustration of that many years ago when   the missionaries down in Ecuador were killed  back in 1957 by the wild people called Alka   Indians they massacred them you remember at Palm  Beach on that little River in the jungle people   thought well that's the end of that all those  missionaries and lost lives but some of those   wives and sisters stayed there in that jungle and  the Lord used them to build churches to this very   day we send students from the Masters university  down there three of our students just came back   from the very jungles in shale Mara Ecuador where  those massacres took place and they were meeting   with the older Wow Don II people who were part of  that massacre one of the interesting stories to   come out of that was that Rachel st. ended up in  a tribe of bees Wow Tony up in the mountains and   I've been there and I've actually preached there  and I said to her well what are you going to do as   a woman what are you going to do to communicate  the Word of God to these people you're the only   Christian here she said well first I prayed that  the Lord would bring to salvation one man and then   that one man could be the teacher because that the  Bible doesn't permit a woman to teach so the Lord   saved one man and from then on she said I would  meet with that land and and I would teach him the   Bible and then he would go preach to the people  he only knew what I told him and that's what he   taught and that in a sense was a picture to me of  what ministry is it's God preparing the message   and we are just the instrument to communicate it  to the people what a privilege it is to stand in   that place on behalf of the Lord and do that as  an under shepherd in his church and when I think   about the church obviously there are so many views  of the church so many perspectives so many people   advocating all kinds of different approaches to  church but I always find myself if I just have   to kind of one shot at it going back to the basics  so I want to invite you to take your Bible if you   will and turn to the 16 a chapter of Matthew and  let's go back to the Lord Himself who is the head   of the church the Lord who is the Redeemer of His  Church and let's see what he said about the church   and there's a lot in this section will not be able  to cover every detail of it but it'll give you a   really good framework if you ask people how do  you recognize a church people might say well it's   pretty easy you look for a cross or you look for a  building that's kind of shaped traditionally like   a church or you look for a steeple or you look  for a stained-glass window or you look for a sign   that says church but you know that's really not  necessarily true you can see all of those things   and what's inside is a misrepresentation of the  church it's not that easy to find a church you   say well if you go inside and you you see pews and  a platform and a pulpit and an organ and acquire   maybe or a praise band or some folks gathered and  they have Bibles in their hands isn't that how you   tell a church well that's how you tell a gathering  of people who might think it's a church but how do   you really know you have found a church I I mean  the church that Christ is building how do you   know this is a real church I live in a community  out here in Southern California that boasts 150   churches in a rather condensed area 150 churches  and you might say to people hey they're all over   the place just go pick one they're all going  to be saying the same thing well nothing could   be further from the truth in fact most of those  places that call themselves churches are trying   as hard as they can to say something that nobody  else is saying because they're under the illusion   to find their place in the Sun they need to be  different than everybody else that somehow if   they're going to attract people they've got to  do it differently rather than find some pattern   of tradition or familiarity that seems to be  for some of them a kind of kiss of death how   do you really find a church I mean a church you  can give your life to and that's another issue   isn't it there are people who hop from church to  church to church the church they they go wherever   the latest musical group is going to show up or  sermon series that interest them or the latest   person they met or maybe they looking for business  context contacts or maybe there's something in the   neighborhood that it attracts them how do you  really find a church that you can settle down in   and bury your life in for the duration that is the  real question and our Lord answers it in Matthew   chapter 16 because here we have the components  of a real church this is this is amazingly   comprehensive now I have to tell you that Matthew  16 is the 1st place in the New Testament where   the word church appears it's the first time it  appears and I also have to remind you that the   church wasn't invented yet not even in Matthew 16  the church doesn't really come into existence it   isn't born until the day of Pentecost recorded in  acts 2 when the Spirit came down and the church   was established so you're in Matthew 16 this is  before the church has come into existence but   here is our Lord's pattern here is his plan this  is the blueprint for the church that honors him   the church he is building now in this text there  is a familiar statement it's in verse 18 you can   just look at it it's the statement I will build my  church I will build my church somebody said to me   years ago you have a desire to build the church  and I said I have no desire to build the church   because I don't want to compete with Jesus I'm not  in the church building business I'm not trying to   build a church the church has a builder and the  Builder is the Lord Jesus Christ not that I'm   not going to compete with him he doesn't need my  help in building his church I'm merely called to   serve him in the unfolding plan that he is doing  to fulfill the promise to build his church in the   words of our Lord in Matthew 16 we really see  all the essential elements of a true church and   by the way they become the standards by which  you can measure a true church so it's all sort   of condensed in this blueprint that our Lord laid  out even before the church was born now if you get   into the book of Acts after the church is born and  you go into the epistles written by the Apostles   that have all the letters to the churches what you  see in in the book of Acts and the preaching of   the Apostles and the planning of churches and what  you see in the epistles address to churches is the   outworking of these patterns the the outworking of  these structures these initial plans that our Lord   gave in Matthew 16 the rest of the New Testament  talks about the church but it builds on expands   elucidates the very principles that are in this  passage they are I would say doctrinal foundations   they are structural foundation so let's look at  this text I will start in verses 13 and go down to   verse 16 follow as I read now when Jesus came into  the district of Caesarea Philippi he was asking   his disciples who do people say that the son of  man is and they said some say John the Baptist   and others Elijah but still others Jeremiah or one  of the prophets he said to them but who do you say   that I am Simon Peter answered you are the Christ  or the Messiah the Son of the Living God here is   the first great reality regarding the church the  church makes let's say it this way the church   makes a great confession a true church is known by  a great confession I walked into the the building   here on our church campus to meet with you and to  speak with you in this studio and as I was coming   through the lobby of this building there was  a huge sign hanging on the wall and what that   sign said is we preach Christ and then it went on  line after line after line after line after line   after line defining everything that the scripture  reveals about Christ in a summary of Christology   a summary of the doctrine of Christ that is the  church's brain confession it is its confession   that you are the Christ the Son of the Living God  this is the foundation this is the cornerstone of   the church Christ is the cornerstone of even's -  20 miss is the first absolute in the true church   it is a biblical view of Christ it is not as  simple as a personal relationship with Christ   we hear people talk about that I have a personal  relationship with Christ I'm glad about you do but   I want you to know something every single person  on the planet has a personal relationship with   Jesus Christ he may be their Savior or he may be  their eternal judge but in either case it's very   personal to say you have a personal relationship  with Jesus Christ this to say anything you need   everyone has a relationship with Christ everyone's  a light is fully known to him the record of   everyone's life is fully known to him there is an  accounting in heaven of everything every single   person has ever done which will be used personally  as the full indictment which is the cause of their   eternal judgment it's not about some sort of  nebulous undefined sentimental idea that I have   some kind of relationship with Jesus it is a true  confession of Christ that is the foundation of the   church and the reality behind true salvation now  let's live a little bit of this passage because   I think it helps to force that to us with some  strength Jesus comes into a district called says   areia Philip I once it had a name and the name was  pronounced tania's that region was named for the   Greek god hand and you may have heard somebody  played pan flutes a kind of a mythical mystical   instrument that is associated with ancient gods  of love and romance well it was the god Pan who   supposedly was born in this region it became  a center for Greek and Roman idolatry says   areia Philip I became its name because it was the  decision to name it after Caesar instead of being   named after gods it was named after Caesar didn't  change the environment at all because it was full   of idols it was full of gods they just added  another temple a temple to augustus caesar and   renamed the city in his honor so here is this town  and its history is full of idolatry full of the   the pantheon of many gods in the Greek religious  culture and now there's a new one Augustus Caesar   and it is in this place where all these cultures  meet where all these religions come together where   all these gods coexist that you are to confess  that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the Living   God he is not like dead idols he is not like false  gods he is the living son of the one true Living   God he is the anointed prophet priest and King  the promised Messiah the promised Redeemer the   disciples said it also in John 6 68 you have the  words of eternal life you are the Holy One of God   to whom shall we go there is no one else he is one  in nature with the father the one true God in the   early church there was a simple statement that  identified the Christian confession and summed   it up this way Jesus is Lord if you ran into a  Christian that was the common confession Jesus   is Lord and of course that was God's desire Jesus  gave him a name which is above every name that at   the name of Jesus every knee would bow that is  the title Lord every tongue shall confess that   Jesus is Lord you have the foundation laid for  a true church when it is clear and accurate and   biblical and committed to the confession that  Jesus Christ is the son of the Living God and   he is Lord it amazes me how many so-called  churches want to put Jesus Christ into some   sentimental posture but don't want to make him a  threat to anybody's lifestyle choices and so they   preach a kind of minimal Christ who is not the  true Christ but a false representation of Christ   they literally are proclaiming another Christ and  to proclaim another Christ is to proclaim another   gospel and that is anatomy that brings about a  divine curse this is the confession that defines   and establishes a true church the church is not  a group of people who need friends although we   have friends there the church is not an assembly  of folks who need a motivational talk it's not   a place where people with low in self-esteem can  meet so that you can make them feel better about   themselves it's not a place to help people with  their addictions and it's not a place for people   to mindlessly go through routine rituals and  ceremonies that they don't think about at all it   is an assembly of believers who all make the same  great confession Jesus is the Son of the Living   God he is the Messiah he is the Redeemer he is  Lord and by the way when you say Jesus is Lord you   are saying I am his slave Coria sword is the top  side of Doulos slave when you confess someone has   Lord you have therefore confessed I am his slave  the church then is the willing slaves of Christ   confessing him as Lord Jesus said in Luke 9:23  if a man will come after me let him deny himself that's slave talk you have no will you have no  ambition you give up everything to be a slave   of Christ but slavery to Christ is true freedom  all the slaves of Christ will one day be crowned   all the slaves of Christ will one day sit on his  throne with him in glory but to say Jesus is Lord   is to say I'm not and no one else is i am his  slave the church is founded on that confession   I know one of the things that has marked Grace  Community Church over the years is that we have   spent so much time exalting Christ for 10 years  I went verse by verse Sunday after Sunday after   Sunday through the Gospel of Matthew every Sunday  every sentence every paragraph in the 28 chapters   of Matthew was focused on Jesus Christ 10 years  of seeing the glory of Christ and then we went   to the Gospel of Luke another almost 10 years  24 chapters but more material than Matthew this   is 20 years and Christ is the theme of every  text every account every story and then we went   through the Gospel of Mark and it was another  several years every Sunday was the Lord Jesus   and then just recently we finished our second  run through the Gospel of John which I had done   very early in the ministry long long ago so  if you just took the recent history of this   church 10 years in Matthew 10 years in Luke 2  or 3 years in mark two or three years in John   you've got almost 30 years of people seeing  Christ on the pages of the four Gospels and   then of course we've gone through revelation  twice then that's Christ exalted and by the way   pastors sometimes say to me well I don't really  preach in Revelation it's kind of confusing it   isn't it's one of the easiest books in the Bible  to interpret not difficult at all but even more   significantly you mean you would teach the Old  Testament which is the anticipation of Christ and   you teach the Gospels which is the incarnation  of Christ and you would teach the book of Acts   which is the proclamation of Christ and then you  would teach the epistles which is the explanation   of Christ but you would leave out the book of  Revelation which is the glorification of Christ   why would you do that that's where all the rest is  headed we've been through the book of Revelation   twice through the book of Hebrews which is the  superiority of Christ through the book of Romans   which explains the details of the gospel we're  now going through the book of Galatians for the   first time since 1973 we did a series on the Old  Testament finding Christ in the Old Testament that   peaked out in a series in Isaiah 53 that great  chapter on Christ if there's anything that the   people of Grace Community Church understand it  is the person of Jesus Christ and great is our   confession that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the  Living God Jesus is Lord that defines our church   that defines what it is to be a church the church  is the body Christ is the head so much more to   say about that church is a gathering of people  who would say with Thomas my Lord and my god Lord Jesus Christ it's really sad to me to see the  absence of the preaching of Christ in churches now   most of my experience with other churches is  I'm their preaching hen but that doesn't tell   me much about what's going on when I'm not  there but I get doses of it from listening   to Christian radio and Christian television when  I keep finding myself saying to my wife Patricia   why doesn't anyone preach Christ why doesn't  anyone exalt Christ even the Apostle Paul says   that I may know him that's the foundation you can  tell if you're in a real church by whether or not   Christ is constantly being exalted is the focus  vertical on the person of Jesus Christ so the   first mark of a true church is its Christology  the great confession ii will call the great   communication go back to the text and look at  verses 17 to 19 and Jesus said to him blessed   are You Simon son of Jonah because flesh and  blood did not reveal this to you but my father   who's in heaven I also say to you that you are  Peter and upon this rock I will build my church   and the gates of Hades will not overpower it I  will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven   and whatever you bind on earth shall have been  bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth   shall have been loosed in heaven this has been  a very controversial passage I'm not going to   intend to unpack every detail of it but let's  get enough of it to know what it is saying to   us that's so important blessed are you Peter  you are blessed why are you blessed because   flesh and blood did not reveal this to you but  my father who is in heaven Peter's confession   came because of divine communication Peter didn't  figure this out on him cell on his own by himself   he could make this confession not by flesh and  blood there's no human source for this there's   only one source my father who is in heaven  so we say this the foundation of the church   requires divine revelation the foundation  of the church requires divine revelation salvation comes by the word we were born again  by the word of truth sanctification comes by the   word sanctify them by thy truth thy Word is truth  John 17:17 Peter received a divine revelation that   divine revelation by the way came through Jesus  Christ he received a firsthand divine revelation   through Jesus Christ that was the uniqueness  of the Apostle that was the uniqueness of the   Apostles in first John John says that which we  heard that which we saw that which our hands   have handled we declare unto you concerning the  word of life it was manifested to us and we saw   him and we heard him Christ was that divine  revelation even the Apostle Paul in defending   his own Apostleship says to the Galatians Paul  an apostle not through man or by the agency of   men but by Jesus Christ from God the Father the  apostle paul goes on in galatians to say when i   met the lord on the damascus road the lord didn't  send me to jerusalem to be taught by somebody else   the Lord sent me into the desert into Arabia  and he was out into that desert for three years   before he ever showed up in Jerusalem what was  going on was he was receiving divine first-hand   revelation that was the mark of an apostle that's  what John is saying that which we heard and saw   touch that's what we declare concerning the word  of life we were with him Paul is saying the same   thing I encountered Christ on the Damascus Road  and then I went into the desert and the Lord gave   me is divine revelation now we don't have that  anymore because they're no more apostles Paul   was the last of the Apostles but the apostles  were given the responsibility by God through the   Holy Spirit to write down the truths they receive  that's why the early church is born on the day of   Pentecost in acts 2 and it says in verse 42 they  gave themselves to the Apostles teaching there was   no New Testament they received divine revelation  that came to the Apostles through the Apostles to   them we have that same thing the Apostles and  those with the Apostles were used by the Lord   to write the New Testament they wrote the New  Testament and we have the New Testament which is   the holy spirit-inspired writing of the Apostles  and those who are associated with the Apostles   a church is known by its by its submission to  divine revelation to a divine communication from   our Father who is in heaven God has a revelation  and he reveals it to us by the inspiration of the   Holy Spirit to the Apostles and Associates of  the Apostles who write it down and that's how   the New Testament comes into place the church  then is under the Apostles doctrine as revealed   on the pages of the New Testament now look back  at this text for just a moment verse 18 I say to   you your Peter and on this rock I will build my  church you are Peter Peter means a small stone   but on this rock means a rock bed I will build my  church what's the rock bed the revelation of God   the revelation of God the revelation the truth  it comes out of heaven the church is not built   on Peter as the Roman Catholic Church would  want us to believe it is built on the rock bed   of apostolic doctrine as revealed from heaven the  foundation of the church is the revelation of God   give through the apostles who are the foundation  and recorded on the pages of Holy Scripture the   1st Corinthians 4:6 says the church is not to  exceed what has been written the church is not   built on the supremacy of Peter it is built on the  revelation that Peter proclaimed that is so very   important that is why the entire Roman Catholic  system is a false church a false church no church   is built on Peter the church is built on the truth  of divine revelation so what do we say about the   church the church is a gathering of people who  confess Jesus as the Son of the Living God as   Lord and subject themselves to the authority of  divine revelation for us it is recorded in the   New Testament in the Word of God and it is the  absolute and final authority of course for our   lives verse 19 then adds this I will give you  the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatever   you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven  whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed   in heaven this is such an important state what is  it talking about it is saying this we have been   given the keys to the kingdom of heaven what is  what are the keys to the kingdom of heaven what   opens the door to the kingdom of heaven the gospel  the revelation of God the gospel of Christ that's   the key to the kingdom of heaven so whatever  opens the door of heaven is the key to heaven   and what opens the door is the gospel the church  has been given them this divine revelation of the   gospel that is the key that unlocks the kingdom  of heaven for men and women and further the Bible   has such authority the would have got our such  authority that whatever you bind on earth been   bound in heaven whatever you loose on earth shall  have been loosed in heaven now in ancient times   uh the rabbis talked about binding and loosing  they would say to someone you're bound in your   sin because you haven't repented you're bound  in your sin to someone they might say because   you have repented you are loosed from your sins  they didn't do the loosing and they didn't do   the binding that was simply the reality of the  person's relationship to God if you had repented   and turned from your sins you are loosed from your  sins if you were committing sins and holding on to   sin you are bound in your sin well we in the  church as believers and say the same thing I   can say to people you're bound in your sin if  you reject Jesus Christ you're bound in your   sin if you do not repent and turn to Christ for  forgiveness and salvation to another person I can   say you are loosed from your sins because you  have believed the gospel now follow this that   is how much authority the church has a pastor a  Christian can say to someone you are bound in your   sin because you have not repented and embraced  the gospel and Christ as Lord to another you can   say because you have repented because you have  embraced the gospel confess Jesus as Lord you   are loosed from your sins so the authority of  the church doesn't exist in an isolated way it   is simply that we have the right to pronounce  the judgments that scripture has revealed the   judgments that scripture has revealed look Jesus  said in the Gospel of John you will die in your   sins because you do not believe in me I have the  authority to say that because it's scriptural I   can say what Jesus says to someone you will die in  your sins because you believe not on Christ that   that is part of the church's role in the world  I think it would be pretty obvious to most of us   that the church is happy to announce for givenness  but not so happy to announce judgment very little   preaching on people being bound in their sins on  people dying under the judgment of God headed for   the eternal wrath of God and everlasting hell  what motivation is there to come to Christ to   confess him as Lord to come under the authority  of Scripture to gather together with believers   what motivation is there if there is no judgment  to escape if there is no hell to avoid the gospel   is only good news to people who have heard the  bad news so how do we know a church a church is   an assembly of people who confess Jesus as  Lord a church is an assembly of people who   come under the authority of the word of God and  proclaim the fullness of the message of the Word   of God both the promise of the kingdom of heaven  and the forgiveness of sins and the warning of   eternal judgment and the kingdom of darkness and  everlasting punishment where there is no faith and   repentance this marks a church we have a delegated  authority from the Lord Himself this church this   church is fulfilling what our Lord intended this  is the Church of these building look at verse   18 I will build my church and the gates of Hades  meaning death will not over power it is invincible   as it is authoritative the church is being built  by the Lord Himself and the gates of Hades the   gates of Hades simply beam the gates that open  up the you into death death itself cannot stop   the church death itself cannot stop the church  Christ has defeated him who had the power of   death the writer of Hebrews said so the church  exalts the doctrine of the Apostles now inspired   in the New Testament scripture and the true sign  of a church is apostolic gospel apostolic doctrine   preached from the Word of God in its fullness  and it warns about being bound in sin leading   to eternal judgment and it offers the good news  of being loosed from sin through faith in the   gospel that's why we are told as preachers preach  the word preach the word in instant in season out   of season I don't know what specifically Paul  had in mind in season and out of season but I   do know this you're either entered or out of it  those are the only two options which is another   way of saying preach the word all the time preach  the word it's an authoritative word it's not only   an authoritative word the Word of God is alive and  powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword it   is the most powerful weapon God has placed in the  hands of his people yeah I hear pastors say they   believe in the Bible they believe the Bible  is the Word of God and then they give their   ideas really if you say that Bible is the Word  of God then why would you give your ideas this   doesn't make any sense I can basically tell the  true attitude of any preacher toward scripture   by what comes out of his mouth when he stands up  behind a pulpit if the Word of God comes out then   he believes that it is the power of God I'm not  ashamed of the gospel of Christ Paul says it is   the power of God unto salvation the power is not  in the preachers not in his cleverness not in his   stories not in his insights not in his experience  it's in the scripture so how do you know when you   come to a true church there will be a dominating  confession that Jesus Christ is the Christ the Son   of the Living God the Redeemer and he is Lord  and a congregation of people will be exalting   Christ there will be a dominating force in that  church and it will be the revealed written word   of God holy scripture so that the revelation of  God is the only authority that reigns in that   church even as a pastor for nearly 50 years  my education doesn't give me any authority   my experience doesn't give me any authority my  insight doesn't give me any authority I don't   have any authority unless I'm speaking the Word  of God and then Christ the head of the church is   exercising his authority I'm just delivering the  message so Christ is enthroned and scripture is   expositor in a true church now let me talk about  a third thing that comes out of this passage verse   20 then he warned the disciples that they should  tell no one that he was the Christ that is not   exactly the Great Commission in fact that is the  opposite that is so counterintuitive that you sort   of stop and say whoa whoa wait a minute I said  I thought we were supposed to tell everyone that   he's the Christ he warned the disciples that they  should tell no one that he was the Christ by the   way the warning here very serious warning this  is this is don't evangelize don't say anything   this is really strange tell no one that he's  the Christ why why don't we tell anyone that   he's the Christ well now think about the context  in Israel at the time of our Lord the Jews had   a view of Messiah that ah Messiah was going to be  truly a son of David in the Davidic line he would   be a man he would have royal blood he would have a  right to the throne and that his role was going to   be to bring the kingdom and all its promises  the promises God gave to Abraham and then to   David in the Davidic promise and then through the  products all the promises of the coming kingdom   and in their view it was an earthly Kingdom and  Messiah was an earthly ruler who would free Israel   from all of its enemies including at this time the  Roman occupation destroy all the enemies of Israel   exalt Israel enthroned Israel as if they were  the global king of the world and fulfill all the   promises in the Old Testament that was messiahs  role it would be a political role it would be a   military role there would be a societal role it  would be a cultural upgrade and Israel would be   in the place of the fulfillment of all promises  they were looking for an earthly ruler jesus said   John 18:36 My Kingdom is not of this world not  of this world if it were My servants would fight   this he said when he had been arrested and no  one had prevented the Jews or the Romans from   doing there the reason he tells them don't tell  anyone is because their messianic understanding   was so wrong that they would have forced things  to happen that we're not in the plan of God do you   remember when they tried to make him a king and  he disappeared he did not want to fulfill their   current messianic expectation say it another way  he had no political agenda he has no connection to   earthly kingdoms let me make it real simple what  happened politically in Israel at the time had   nothing to do with the kingdom of God I'm bringing  into our time you hear people say what we're   watching the decline of our own nation it's really  sad what's happening to America and I agree it is   but I just want to encourage you what happens to  America or any other nation in any other time in   human history has nothing to do with the kingdom  of God nothing it doesn't hinder God's purpose it   doesn't help God's purpose it is irrelevant it is  simply the outworking of the fall and corruption   and it cycles through all of human history as  evil men continue to follow the same patterns of   self-destruction so nations follow the same cycle  on the patterns of self-destruction this is just   how it is acts 14 God allows all the nations to go  their own way romans 1 the cycle just keep going   and going and the wrath of God keeps falling  and falling in a cyclical fashion through the   history of the world but the Lord still builds  his church now what our Lord is saying is don't   connect the church to any temporal politics or  any temporal nation or any temporal achievements   or morality or issues Jesus didn't fight slavery  Jesus didn't fight economic disparity Jesus didn't   deal with social justice the kingdom of God  has nothing to do with the kingdoms of this   world the church is not a hybrid part culture part  Kingdom no there is no connection between a nation   and the church the church does not exist as a  part of some sacral society well that was that   was the Universal reality prior to the founding of  America yet Christians spent time and money trying   to alter the culture look I believe in morality  I believe in fighting battles I read an article   yesterday that basically said this and I think  it's true the article said Christians professing   Christians are the cause of all that is going  wrong with America I thought that's interesting   and I began to read the article and this is what  the writer said Christians unwillingness churches   unwillingness pastors unwillingness to stand out  against the destruction of marriage against the   destruction of the home against the process of  making homosexuality normal have paved the way   for all that we experience today it isn't  that we wanted it it is that the church has   been unwilling to stand up against it in that  sense he said they bear the responsibility we   do need to stand up for divine truth we do need  to uphold the standard of divine revelation and   the purposes of God we do need to protect people  and to do what we can to see that they can live   in a nation where they enjoy the best of what we  call common grace but that's a minor part of why   we're here we're here to advance the kingdom and  the gospel of Jesus Christ the time would come   when Jesus would say now go a start in Jerusalem  then go to Judea then go to Samaria then go to the   ends of the earth and preach the gospel but that  couldn't be done yet because the gospel wasn't   yet sad he hadn't died he hadn't been buried  he hadn't risen from the dead so he says don't   say anything because this will be completely  misunderstood wait till my death wait till my   resurrection and after that appearances and I  will tell you when to go and then when he says   I'm ready to send you he says wait again wait for  the coming of the Holy Spirit not many days from   now and finally when all the gospel events were  finished and they could preach everything from   the virgin birth to the resurrection and were  empowered by the Holy Spirit now go into the   world as my witnesses a true church understands  this their responsibility is not political it   is not cultural it is not social it is not to  rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic the   Titanic is going down it doesn't matter where  the deck chairs are the church's responsibility   is to rescue the drowning people through the  gospel that's why Jesus says to the disciples   don't don't say anything to anyone now wait till  the gospel story is complete and the Holy Spirit   has come so this is what I call a great contrast  a great contrast you're in the world you're not   of the world great contrast there's a fourth  principle foundational principle in the church   and maybe we'll begin to wrap things up with this  one a true church centers on the great confession   to great communication to great contrast and the  great conquest verse 21 from that I'm Jesus began   to show 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  up on the third day what do we have there the   cross and the resurrection and that's the gospel  the priority of the church the cross the cross   the cross the resurrection the resurrection the  resurrection we preach righteousness sin judgment   the substitutionary atonement of Christ his  resurrection we preach the doctrine of imputation   our sins imputed to Christ he dies in our place  his righteousness imputed to us we live forever   in his presence Church is not a place for cheap  entertainment it's not theater it's not a place   for shallow psychology it's really not a place for  sort of Old Testament based praise the church is   a place for the proclamation of the cross and  the resurrection the cross and the resurrection   a robust clear defined powerful presentation of  the significance of the cross and the resurrection   when you ask is this a church ask yourself is  Christ exalted is the scripture that dominating   and sole authority are are they separated from  the passing world is there a transcendence here   so that this is the kingdom of heaven and does  the cross and resurrection with all its true dominate the lives of its people we live in  the light of the Cross in the resurrection   that's that's the Lord's table isn't it  and that's baptism the Lord's table will   remember the cross baptism we demonstrate  resurrection those are the two ordinances   given to the church and oh by the way  in churches that are indifferent toward   the gospel the Lord's table and baptism are  depreciated diminished and maybe even disappear maybe I had time to just mention one other thing  a true church is also engaged in a great conflict   notice verse 22 Peter took him aside and began  to rebuke him saying God forbid it Lord this   shall never happen to you this is Peter brash  Peter telling the Lord you're not going to be   arrested you're not going to be killed but he  turned and said to Peter get behind me Satan   you're a stumbling block to me or you're not  setting your mind on God's interest but man's   let me tell you something about a true church a  true church is actively engaged in a war against   Satan and sometimes that war against Satan is  from the inside Peter Peter of all people is the   instrument of Satan so Jesus says get behind me  Satan how do you know when someone is representing   Satan because you're not setting your mind on  God's interests but man's this is the strongest   language imaginable Peter uses strong language  to contradict Jesus and Jesus uses even stronger   language to denounce Peter you are a stumbling  block to me you are hindering my work it is   foundational to the church that its commitment be  to the revealed will of God against all opposition   this is a true church it will fight all that  opposes the will of God foundation the true   church makes the great confession the true church  Humbert comes under the authority of the great   communication a true church lives out the great  separation the great contrasts with the world   the true church proclaims constantly the great  conquest at Calvary the cross the resurrection and   the true church willing to face the great conflict  would sin and Satan and enjoy the triumph that the   Lord gives when we fight for his cause and his  will in his need Thor would talk about church we   haven't said anything about pews or steeples or  English windows or choirs or those kind of forms   can change but the heart of the church are the  things that were on the heart of our Lord here   this is the church this is the church he is  building he goes on to say in verse 24 there   it is again it requires self-denial it requires  taking up a cross following me losing your life   but in the end there's one other thing about a  true church here a true church participates in   the great consummation the son of man is going to  come verse 27 in the glory of his father with his   angels and will then repay every man according  to his deeds truly I say to you some of you are   here standing will not see death until they see  the Son of Man coming in his kingdom what in the   world would that mean they would see a preview the  second coming in the transfiguration which happens   in the next verse in chapter 17 this is the final  thing I want to say about a true church it is   related aggressively eagerly happily to the return  of Jesus Christ that's how we set our affections   on things above not on things on the earth it  isn't caught up in the prosperity gospel and I   need it now I want it now make my life comfortable  give it to me now it's self-denial cross bearing   obedience giving up your life losing your life  and hoping for the glory to come at the return of   Christ a true church will not be consumed with the  world a true church will have its affection set on   things above and like the Thessalonians and I love  what it says about them in 1st Thessalonians 1:10   to wait for his son from heaven whom he raised  from the dead that is Jesus who rescues us from   the wrath to come a true church is waiting for  Jesus to return true church knows the world can't   be fixed it's going to get more evil all the time  it's not going to get better it's sinking fast but   the Lord Jesus is coming that's his promise the  same T's has taken up from you will so come and   like man as you've seen him go acts 1 says and  that's the hope of the believer that we call the   Blessed hope a church without an understanding of  the second coming is a church that is bereft of   the final end of the story and the final glory of  the Christ they love and proclaim this is the full   range of the structure of a church I know this for  sure I know that your dear pastor knowses believes   this and is leading you to these same great  convictions you're blessed to have found a real   church that was me in prayer father I thank you  that we've been able to spend some time together   with these precious people I pray to you blessed  Don and his wife and family that you will bless   all the congregation the Lord you would fulfill  your will there and that that church would be   a beacon in the lighthouse of truth what a great  named truth Community Church and that's what they   proclaim the living truth the incarnate truth  and the written truth the inscripturated truth   we know that your truth is the most important  thing in the world the most important thing that   exists or through the truth comes salvation  sanctification and all comforts and all hope   so may the truth prevail may you be honored we  thank you Father for giving us the privilege of   knowing you and enjoying all the riches of your  grace we thank you in the name of Christ amen before you go we just want to thank you for  sending the time with us this evening thank   you for taking time to do that we are so very  grateful for the way the Lord has blessed your   ministry for the way that you have exemplified the  priority of Christ in the church in all of your   ministry and it's our goal in our desire simply  to somehow walk in the way of what you have led   so wonderfully for the past 50 years thank you  so much for being with us thank you done love   you my brother thank you what a privilege that  exposition was for us and however far short we   fall of what John x+ about the real church  that is our aspiration those six points for   Matthew 16 and so we're just so grateful that  you could be with us thanks for listening to   Pastor Don green from Truth Community Church in  Cincinnati Ohio you can find Church information   Don's complete sermon library and other  helpful materials at the truth pulpit com

Channel: The Truth Pulpit

Views: 18,678

Rating: 4.6747966 out of 5

Keywords: John MacArthur, Pastor Don Green, Cincinnati Pastor, Cincinnati Christian Broadcast, a Real Church, Marks of a Real Church, grace to you, holy spirit, john macarthur sermons

Id: n03z3CTuMmg

Length: 66min 40sec (4000 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 28 2017