The sermon for January 18 was based on Matthew 16:13-19.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Every Sunday you pray that God would grant this congregation "spiritual maturity and growth." You earnestly want Bethany to gain new members as God causes His kingdom to come to your friends and neighbors. Church growth gurus will tell you, "The church that wants to grow can grow . . . If the church is willing to pay the price." Church growth gurus will tell you a lot of things, if you listen to them. But "church growth" principles do not make the church grow. Only God can create faith. The Holy Ghost gathers people into the Church. "No one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit." [1Cor. 12:3]. You cannot program the Holy Ghost, nor can you command Him how, when, or where to grow the Church.

In the Gospel lesson for today, Jesus plainly states, "On this rock I will build My Church." Who is this "I"? That was the question put to the apostles in today's Gospel: "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" The apostles listed four answers which they had heard among the people. First, some believed He was John the Baptist. Second, some said Elijah, one of the greatest of the Old Testament prophets. Third, some believed He was Jeremiah. Fourth, there were some who said He was one of the prophets.

At least there was a consensus that Jesus was more than an ordinary man. The Jews thought that He was a great man, a prophet perhaps, but still only a man. Today there are many, many people, even among the Moslems, who call Jesus a great teacher, an important leader in human history - but just a man. Jesus was not satisfied with this answer in the text, nor will He be satisfied with this answer on Judgment Day.

"But who do you say that I am?" Jesus asked His apostles. St. Peter, whom the church father Chrysostom called "the mouth of the apostles and leader of the apostolic choir," answered for them all: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." This was the answer Jesus wanted, and this is the only acceptable answer on Judgment Day. He is the Son of God and the Son of Man, true God and true man. Only such a divine man could be the promised Messiah. He is the One anointed by the Holy Ghost to be God's agent to save His people. He was "born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons." [Gal. 4:4-5]. Therefore, Jesus took the sins of all mankind upon Himself and died to pay the punishment those sins deserved. Then He rose again to prove that sin and death, hell and the devil had been conquered.

"But who do you say that I am?" is the question Jesus still asks of you. It is not enough to say, "Some say . . ." "People say . . ." or "Others say . . . ." St. Peter himself was convinced of who Jesus is, and he confessed boldly, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Can you say the same? Do you worship Christ as almighty God, or merely acknowledge Him as a great man? Are you willing to die for Him, if necessary, as did St. Peter? Are you willing to live for Him as he did, boldly confessing Christ's Lordship in your words and deeds? As a Christian, that is exactly what you are willing to do. As a Christian that is what you, in fact, do.

"Jesus answered and said to him, 'Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for 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.'" This is the first time the word "church" occurs in the Bible. The Greek word literally means, "called out." It refers to people who are called out and gathered together. In the New Testament the Church refers to the people who have come to faith in Christ and follow His teaching. Everyone who confesses Jesus as Lord is part of the fellowship of believers which is the Church. This is the Church of which Jesus said, "I will build."

Jesus will build His Church, and nothing can destroy Her. He Himself is the foundation, "For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." [1Cor. 3:11] St. Peter confesses Christ as the chief cornerstone, "Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame." [1Pe 2:6] St. Peter indicates [1Pe 2:5] that each Christian is a living stone built on this foundation, composing together the Church. Today you celebrate the work of the Lord through His chosen servant, the apostle Peter, who confessed before the whole world that Jesus is "the Christ, the Son of the living God." This is what Jesus was talking about when He said, "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church."

Here Jesus uses a play on words. Peter in Greek is "petros," a masculine word. Rock is a feminine word, "petra." Jesus did not mean that He would build His Church on the person of St. Peter, even though many Christians think this. For example, the words of this verse are emblazoned in gold letters around the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, which houses a famous bronze statue of him as the first pope. But this is not what the verse means. Rather, it means that Jesus will build His Church on the rock (petra), which is the truth that He is "the Christ, the Son of the living God," the very confession which St. Peter had just made.

Here at Bethany, you want the congregation to grow, not only spiritually, but also numerically. On what will this church be built? Will Bethany grow if you water down your doctrine? Will Bethany grow if you allow masons to be members? Will she grow if you allow open, unrepentant sinners to live as they please, without rebuke? Will she grow if you practice open communion, allowing any so-called Lutheran or Christian to partake of the Lord at this altar? Will she grow if you have more entertaining worship services? Some congregations, not to far from here, have adopted these methods of growth, and they are indeed growing. Maybe Bethany would grow to be the largest congregation in Indiana, if you did the same. Then what would you have? You would have a towering, mammoth church, built without a foundation. Such a church cannot stand. No, Bethany shall not be built on such methods, principles, and programs. Bethany is built, and shall continue to be built, on that same foundation "which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." [1Co 3:11] Bethany will continue to be built upon the bold confession of St. Peter. Only by remaining true to this doctrine with the help of God will there be a God pleasing Church on Engle Rd. for generations to come.

Jesus said this is "My" Church. She is built on Him, on the forgiveness of sins purchased by His blood, and on the peace with God that He has achieved for your sake. She is His Church because He bought Her with His blood. She is His Church because He Himself builds Her.

Christ's Church is not always built quickly. Oh, She did begin with 3000 baptized in one day, when St. Peter preached his first sermon [Acts 2]. She is still growing numerically in many parts of the world, although here at Bethany you may not always see Her grow. In fact, you may wonder why She doesn't grow when the whole congregation labors to make a bold and faithful confession before our neighbors for weeks and months, and even years, and yet sees no results. The result, the conversion of unbelievers into Christians, the growth of the Church, is up to Jesus. Trust in His promise which He gives St. Peter, "I will build My Church."

Our Lord's agent to accomplish this growth is the Holy Spirit. The Spirit reveals Christ as the Savior to those who hear His Word. The Holy Ghost "calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith." [SC, part II, art. 3] Here the Spirit works for God the Father, and with the same authority. This He also did in the case of St. Peter, just as Jesus told him, "Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven." Likewise, no one comes into the Church except by the work of God Himself or, as Jesus puts it in John 6[:44], "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him." In His own time and place, and in His way, Jesus does indeed build His Church.

And as Jesus builds His Church, He gives us the assurance that nothing can destroy Her. He told St. Peter, "The gates of hell shall not prevail against it." [KJV] Jesus is here saying, "All the powers of evil and death itself cannot prevail against My Church. I build Her. I keep and preserve Her. She will last forever." This is true, since all those who are in the Church on earth, where they feebly struggle, will in glory shine as they live forever as the Church in heaven, the Church triumphant, with St. Peter and all the saints.

Jesus promises, "I will build My Church." How will He build Her? Our Lord builds His Church through the blessed gifts which He gives to His Church. The gift given here in the text is the "keys of the kingdom of heaven." Jesus said, "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." That key which has the power to open and close the doors of the kingdom of heaven is the forgiveness of sins. Pastoral absolution, where that forgiveness is applied directly to you, is especially referred to here, but included are all the duties of the office of the keys: preaching that forgiveness and administering that forgiveness in the Sacraments. That is how Jesus builds His Church. People receive forgiveness, and they are members of the Church. You receive this same forgiveness, and you are a member of the Church. You live in forgiveness as a saint, confessing the faith, and nourished in the true and saving faith by the preaching of the Word, and by the administration of the Sacraments. Thereby you also remain in the Church and grow, truly grow, in faith toward God, and in fervent love toward one another. God be praised for His steadfast love! God be praised for inspiring the doctrine and confession of St. Peter and for preserving them through the millennia. God be praised for building His Church! Amen.

The Peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Last Updated: 7/15/2008