There are some who are now saying that the church is actually damaging to your spiritual health. That if you want to be a real follower of Jesus, the best way to do it is to leave the church. Christians in our beloved country of America desperately, desperately need to recover a compelling biblical vision of the church. Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. I’m David Pick. And Colin, today we’re starting a new series called, What is the church and why does it matter? Well, it matters because it matters to Jesus. I mean, Christ loved the church and gave himself for her. And, you know, we want to be like Jesus. That means we’ve got to love the church as Jesus Christ does. And that means that we’ve got to have a very different view of the church from the view that’s held in the world. The world never thinks much of the church. It’s always out of date. It’s always irrelevant and so forth in the eyes of the world. But in the eyes of Christ, the body of believers that the saviour died to redeem is infinitely precious, supremely valuable, dearly, dearly loved. And if we’re going to be like Jesus, then we want to grow in reflecting that same view of the church that we see in our saviour. And we see that in Matthew, chapter 16, as well as chapter 18 today. So join us, if you can, as we begin, What is the church and why does it matter? Here’s Colin. The aim of the series, remember, is that we will share the passion of Jesus Christ for his church. And let’s face it, in the eyes of the world, the church looks pretty weak, out of date, out of touch, out of style. The list goes on and on. What we’re going to learn from the scriptures is that in the eyes of Jesus Christ, the church is infinitely valuable, eternally precious, and infinitely glorious. There are many Christians who can only see the church through the eyes of the world. And what I want to do in this series, as we open up the scriptures, is to help you see the church through the eyes of Jesus Christ, to see the church as Christ sees her. Now, I want to suggest to you right at the beginning that the vast majority of Christians in this country have never seen the church as Christ sees her. Let me give you some figures to bear that out. 76% of Americans claim to be Christian. Let’s take the population, it’s just over 300 million, but let’s round it to 300 million. What that means is that 225 million people in this country claim to be Christian believers. Of that number, on any given weekend, 52 million gather for worship in a local church, which raises the question, where are the other 173 million? What about them? 173 million people in the United States of America today who claim to be Christian believers, but do not have a living connection with a congregation of believers in which they engage in worship and in the body of Christ. Now, think about what that means, friends. Less than a quarter of those who profess to be Christian believers actually gather with others for worship. And if we could do a survey of the 173 million Americans who do not gather with other believers, I’m sure we would hear many, many stories, and some of them at least will be familiar to you. Some of them may be part of your experience. There would be some who would only have a faint connection with Christianity. Maybe they were baptized as infants. They might say that they believe that Jesus died on the cross, but they have really never experienced any living power of Christ in their life. It’s merely something that is a vague belief in the background of their lives. But then there would be others in this 173 million who have believed and who have served, and in some way they’ve been burned. They saw sin or they saw scandal in the church and they were offended and they were discouraged. They got burned and they determined that they would never go near a local church again. Then there would be others who would say, you know, I came to church for a long time. I simply got nothing out of it. I gave up. There was nothing of spiritual substance there. There was nothing that touched reality. There was nothing that connects with the life that I’m living today. Others may simply have drifted. Got involved in other activities. Other things took over. Or maybe they just never found a church that felt like home. The list could go on, and you could think of other reasons, I’m sure. It isn’t hard to find reasons to abandon the church. We live, folks, in a highly individualistic culture. Probably, America today, the most individualistic culture that has ever existed in the history or on the face of the world. And more and more people in these early years of the 21st century live with an instinctive distrust of anything that looks in any way like an institution. Then there’s a natural pragmatism that is within many of us that is always looking at the question, what’s the most efficient way to get a job done? And for those who simply look at the question, what’s the most efficient way of getting a job done? The local church often doesn’t look like the best vehicle for changing the world. So folks drift, and they put in their energy somewhere else. On top of this, it’s important for you folks to know that there are some who are now saying that the church is actually damaging to your spiritual health. That if you want to be a real follower of Jesus, the best way to do it is to leave the church. That in some way, the church is actually toxic to spiritual life. All of this is to say that Christians in our beloved country of America desperately, desperately need to recover a compelling biblical vision of the church. Well, this is the reason for our series, folks. And by the time we are done with these four weeks, I hope that you will feel that the great privilege of your life is that you belong to the body of Christ. And that you are discovering a growing passion for the church, which is the bride of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Well, now we begin today with the question, what is the church? What is the church? First time I thought about this issue seriously, I was with a group of friends in the junior common room in the London Bible College at the age of 20. We were a group of students who loved the Lord. We were all studying theology. We met together regularly for worship and for prayer. We shared real fellowship. We were studying the Bible. And so the question came up. We’re sitting around in the junior common room. What do you think, guys? Are we a church? Interesting question. If you’ve been involved in student leadership, by the way, on any college campus or led a ministry, you have probably at some point got into this discussion. Are we a church? I ask you to think about this with me. If three Christians meet every day at a bus stop, are they a church? If they talk about the Bible when they’re on the train or when they’re in Starbucks, is that a church? Is your small group, your life group, is that a church? I ask the question because a growing number of Christians today simply have the idea that church is plural for Christian. They have this diminishing definition. They feel that any group of Christians speaking about something spiritual in any time or place is the church. Now, I’m asking you the question. Do you think that’s right? And if not, why not? What is the church? We’re going to see what Jesus meant when he talked about the church in just a moment when we continue the message, what is the church? You’re listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and the first in our new series, what is the church and why does it matter? And if you miss any of the series, you can always catch up or go back and listen again online. Come to our website, that’s at openthebible.org.uk. Or you might find a more convenient way to listen for you is to get our messages as a podcast. You can do that by going to your favorite podcast site, search for Open the Bible UK and subscribe to the podcast to receive regular updates. We’re going back to the message now. We’re in Matthew chapter 16 and 18. And here’s Colin. What is the church? Let’s begin by asking this question. What did Jesus mean when he spoke about the church? What does the word church mean on the lips of Jesus? Don’t you think that’s the best place to begin? Because whatever Jesus means by the church, that’s what I want to mean when I speak about the church. And I’m sure you feel that too. Now, there are only two occasions in all of the four Gospels where the word church actually occurs. Our Lord Jesus only used the word church twice. And what he said on these two occasions defines what church is for us. The first occasion Jesus used this word is very well known. It is in Matthew chapter 16 and verse 18. And I hope you’ll turn there with me now. You know the story. Peter had confessed that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God. And Christ says to him, I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church. First time Jesus said the word. And then he said, the gates of hell will not overcome it. Now, this time, the first time Jesus used the word church, it is very clear that he is using the word to refer to all believers in every age and in every place. I say that is clear because he’s very clear in saying that there is only one, my church. Singular. I’ll build it. So Christ is here not speaking about a local church like the orchard because the orchard is only one of many. And the Lord here isn’t speaking about the Baptists or the Methodists or the Lutherans or the Catholics or any other church or group of churches that you might care to name. He is speaking here about all believers in every age and in every place. That’s the first definition of the word church. The way in which Jesus uses it in Matthew in chapter 16 and verse 18. And this reminds us that there is one church. And Jesus says, I’m the one who’s building it. Believers in Christ from every time, every generation and from every country and every background in the world are truly one in Jesus Christ. Whatever the particular brand of church they may belong to, there is one body in the Lord. And the New Testament repeats that again and again. And Jesus says the church is built on the solid rock of Christ himself. Remember, Peter has just confessed that Jesus is the son of God. And Jesus says to him, now Peter, verse 17, the Father has revealed this to you. You didn’t work this out on your own. You’ve had a revelation from the Father here. Peter, you are in touch with reality when you say that I am the Christ, the son of the living God. And I tell you, Peter, that on this reality, that I am the Christ, the son of the living God, this reality that you have confessed, I will build my church. In other words, he’s saying the church stands solid on the foundation of Jesus Christ, who is forever the son of God. And then Jesus says, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Now, think about it. You can’t say that about any local church. You read through history, you travel around the world, all over the world there are stories of churches, whole denominations that have lost their way and then they’ve closed. Travel around Europe. See the ruins of buildings where Christ was once honored. You can’t say the gates of hell will not prevail against any local church. That’s not what Jesus is saying. He’s saying, I will gather the body of believers from every age and in every place. And the gates of hell cannot prevail over the people of God. If you have faith in Christ, you have this promise, Jesus says, not one of them will be lost. Churches may close. No believer is ever lost. Let me just make one or two observations before we go on to the second use of this word church. When Jesus speaks about the church here in Matthew chapter 16, he speaks about what is sometimes called the church universal. That is the entire body of believers in every time and in every place. And it’s important to remember, folks, that the Lord Jesus Christ is the one who knows these believers. We don’t know them and sometimes we can’t discern if someone is a true believer or not, if they’re the real article or if they’re just sitting in church in a hypocrite. But Jesus knows. Any local church, any gathering like the gathering we are part of today, is going to be a mixed bag. A mixed bag of those who truly belong to Christ and of those who don’t. Jesus said the wheat and the tares grow together. And that happens until Christ comes. And when Christ comes, you know what? One will be taken and another will be left. That’ll be true in worship services where there is a mixture of people who truly have faith in Christ and those who are just there. See, you do not belong to Christ by joining the church. You belong to the church by being joined to Jesus Christ. That’s so important to grasp. You do not belong to Christ by joining the church. You belong to the church by being joined to Jesus Christ. And in 2 Timothy, for example, we read about men in the church like Hymenaeus and Philetus who must have caused terrible trouble. We’re told that they wandered away from the truth. Their teaching spread like gangrene. And the Apostle Paul says in the light of these folks, he says this, he says, nevertheless, the God-solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription, the Lord knows who are his. See, other people thought that Hymenaeus and Philetus were his, but it turned out that they were not. He said the Lord knows who are his, and then he says this, and everyone who professes the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness. God knows who are his. God knows who’s a genuine believer and who’s a hypocrite. We don’t often know that, often don’t know it. But he knows the wheat from the chaff. Nobody fools Christ, nobody deceives him. Here’s what we do know, that everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness. So if a man holds on to wickedness, he should not fool himself into thinking that he belongs to Christ. You can’t fool Christ, so don’t fool yourself. Third observation, just before we move on. Since the church, as Jesus speaks about it here, is the full company of all true believers from every age and in every place, it follows that only Christ right now can see it. None of us has seen this, none of us has met, seen every believer in every place. So many are with the Lord. But the church in all of its glory is going to be unveiled on the day when Jesus Christ stands with his people in this vast, unimaginably vast congregation. John saw it in the vision in the book of Revelation. He said it was a multitude that no one could number. And they’re drawn from every tribe and language and nation. And they’re saying salvation belongs to God. And they’re there, John says, because they have been washed in the blood of the Lamb. That is Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who laid down his life as a sacrifice for our sins. And there they are, and the Lamb himself stands at the center of the throne. And he’s the one who leads them into springs of living water, and God wipes away all tears from their eyes. That’s the church. What a day it will be when its full glory is revealed. What a day it will be for you to be part of that great multitude. All believers, from every age, in every place. I want you to turn over in your Bible two pages to the second time that Jesus spoke about the church. It’s in Matthew chapter 18, and we pick it up in verse 15. Our Lord is speaking here about a situation where there is a dispute between two believers. Someone has wronged his brother. And he says, verse 15, if your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault just between the two of you. And then, if he won’t listen, verse 16, take someone else along. And then verse 17 is our focus, where Jesus uses the word church a second time. He says, if this person refuses to listen still, even to these people, tell it to the church, Matthew chapter 18 and verse 17. Tell it, that’s tell this problem, to the church. Now think about it, folks. That cannot possibly mean tell it to all believers who have ever lived in every age, in every place. It cannot possibly mean that. So many of them are in heaven. So what is Jesus referring to when he speaks about the church here, to whom a situation is told when it has not otherwise been resolved? And the answer is surely that Jesus is speaking here about a local congregation of believers. So what I want you to grasp is that there are only two times when the word church is used in all of the four gospels, only two times when Jesus used this word from his own lips, and on these two occasions, he defined for us what church is. One, that it is the body of all believers who have ever lived in every time and in any place, those who are in Christ. And two, that the church is a local congregation of believers who are called out by God to worship and are sent out by God to serve. Now let me explain the last part of that little statement that I put there before you. The word for church in the New Testament is the word ecclesia. It’s made up of two words, ecclesia. And these two words put together, their root meaning is basically called out. That’s what the word means, called out. The word could be used to describe a gathering, an assembly. We might say in our day, a congregation. And in the Old Testament, God called out an assembly, a congregation, a people to worship him. This goes all the way back to the book of Exodus. You remember God said to Pharaoh, let my people go. Why? Why are God’s people to be let go? What is God redeeming and saving his people for? Answer, let my people go that they may worship me in the desert. I’m calling them out for worship. I’m going to meet with them at Mount Sinai. That’s what God is saying. So God’s pattern for Israel is that his redeemed people who he has brought out from slavery should enter into this purpose that they assemble before him in his presence, placing themselves under his word so that God’s people may learn to worship him and learn how to live under his authority. You’ve been listening to Pastor Colin Smith on Open the Bible and our message, What is the Church? It’s the first part of our four-part series, What is the Church and Why Does It Matter? And if you ever miss one of our messages, you can always catch up or go back and listen again by going online. Come to our website, that’s openthebible.org.uk. There you can listen to any of our previously broadcast messages. You can also find us now as a podcast. Go to your favourite podcast site, search for Open the Bible UK and subscribe to receive regular updates to the podcast. Also available on our website and as a podcast is Open the Bible Daily. This is a series of short two to three minute reflections, read in the UK by Sue MacLeish and based on Pastor Colin Smith’s teaching. It’s an excellent way to start every day and many people are telling us that they get a great deal of benefit from listening to Open the Bible Daily every day. Open the Bible is supported by our listeners, that’s people just like you. And this month, if you’re able to begin supporting us with a new donation in the amount of £5 per month or more, we’d love to send you a free gift. It’s an Advent devotional and it’s called The Coming of the King by J.C. Royal. Colin, who would you say this book is written for? Well, let me give you a couple of answers. One would be anyone who wants to prepare well for Christmas. Another would be anyone who loves the Lord Jesus Christ, because that’s what this book is about. It is about the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ and about the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. These are short readings for Advent. They help us to prepare for Christmas and they focus the light and all the attention on Jesus Christ himself. I love this little book because of its focus on Christ and because of the way that it builds faith and brings hope. Just a couple of pages to read each day and very simple, very clear and wonderfully Christ-centred. Well, we’d love to send you a copy of this book if you’d like to join many other Christians in supporting the work of Open the Bible this month. If you’re able to set up a new donation in the amount of £5 per month or more, we’d love to send you this book. Full details on our website, openthebible.org.uk. For Open the Bible and Pastor Colin Smith, I’m David Pick and I very much hope you’ll join us again soon. Jesus only uses the word church twice in the Bible. But what does he mean by it? Find out next time on Open the Bible.