Would you turn back to Matthew
chapter 16? And tonight, I'm going to be
speaking out of Hebrews chapter 12 on the chastening of the children. It's a passage where. We read
whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth and he scourges every son that
he receives. And we're going to look at the
way the Lord chastens his people and why he chastens his people. And also in the course of that
message, we're going to deal with what the Bible has to say
to parents about chastening and correcting and disciplining their
children. So if you have kids, I want you
to hear this message. I've entitled the message for
this morning, out of Matthew chapter 16, The True Test of
Church Membership. And I have a goal in this message
as the Lord enables me to preach. I want to throw open the door
as wide as I can. And I also want to bar the door
shut of any hope that is not what
this wide open door is. The true test of church membership. Now, let's begin reading in verse
13 of Matthew, chapter 16. When Jesus came into the coast
of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do
men say that I, the Son of Man, am? And they said, Some say that
thou art John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah,
or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom
say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and
said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto
him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood
hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee that
thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church. And there's the first time the
word church is mentioned in the Scriptures. Upon this rock will
I build my church. And the gates of hell shall not
prevail against it, and I will give unto thee the keys of the
kingdom." What's a key for? It's to open a door and it's
to lock a door. That's the purpose of keys. He
says, I'll give to thee the keys of the kingdom. And whatsoever
thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven And whatsoever
thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Now we see from this that the
church is not a man-made institution. Don't want to have that rubbing
the whole time. The church is not a man-made institution. There are many religious gatherings
that go under the name of the church, which are nothing more
than man-made institutions and organizations. Look at all the
denominations within, quote, Christendom. They're Baptists. They're Catholics. There are
Presbyterians. There are Methodists. There are
Episcopalians. I could go on and on with all these different
denominations and not one of them has any scriptural foundation. Not one. Denominations are a
man-made institution. Is Christ divided? Are there
different divisions and denominations within the body of Christ? The
answer is no, there are not. But there is a church which Christ
calls my church. Upon this rock will I build my
church. It is the church not built by
man, but by Christ himself. And there is a rock that he builds
his church upon. Upon this rock will I build my
church. And the gates of hell trying
to keep her constituents in will not be able to keep Christ out. He knocks the doors down and
rescues the members of his church. Now, this is the church to which
I must belong. There is no salvation. outside of this church. I'm not talking about a local
church like the Todd's Road Grace Church. Now, I'm thankful for
the local church, aren't you? Paul called it the pillar and
ground of the truth, and I believe in the local church. But you
can be a member of a local church and split hell wide open. But
if you're a member of this church, You must be saved. This is the church of which it
said that Christ loved and gave himself for it. This is the church which he purchased
with his own blood, Acts 20, 28. This is the General Assembly
and the Church of the Firstborn, whose names are written in heaven,
not some man-made church roll, but their names are written in
heaven. Now, the rock the Lord speaks
of is the true test of church membership. And you can know
this morning if you're a true church member. And don't you
want to know if you are? Don't you want to know the truth
as to whether or not you are in this church, the General Assembly
and Church of the Firstborn, whose names are written in heaven?
Now, I want to know if I'm in this church, and I want to know
if I'm not in this church. Now, with God's help and by God's
grace, you can know positively whether or not you are in this
church. Beginning in verse 13 of Matthew
chapter 16, when Jesus came into the coast of Caesarea Philippi,
he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I, the Son
of Man, am? Now, our Lord identifies himself
as the Son of Man. What a name for our Lord. He
who is God is the Son of Man, bone of our bones and flesh of
our flesh. And he says to his disciples,
what do men say about me? Who do men say that I, the Son
of Man, am? And they reply in verse 14, and
they said, Some say thou art John the Baptist. Some, Elijah,
and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. They put you
in some high cotton. John the Baptist. You know, our
Lord said, Among them that are born of women, there is none
greater than John the Baptist. The greatest prophet of the Old
Testament, Jeremiah, the weeping prophet or one of the prophets,
they were great men. They put you in some very high
cotton. They say good things about you.
But. He was not those men. And what
they were saying was just not true. That's not who he was. Men's opinions are different
and varied, aren't they? Error is always multiple choice. Every time. Their opinions were
contradictory. He cannot be John the Baptist
and Jeremiah. And there really was no solid
answer. Beware of that which is undefined
and undefinable because there is nothing solid in it. And they
always make Christ to be lower than he really is. Now, low views
of the person of Christ are behind every error. And right views
of the person of Christ is the foundation of all truth. Now, what these men said, while
it may have sounded good, it was actually very bad. to compare the Lord Jesus Christ
to one of these men? Now, without commenting on these
men's views, he says to his disciples in verse 15, He saith unto them, But whom
say ye that I am? What have you heard others say?
Not what have you been taught to say? But whom do you personally
say that I am? What are the thoughts of your
heart regarding my person? When God looks in your heart,
what does he see? Whom do you say that I, the Son
of Man, am? What do you say of Jesus Christ? Now, this is the only issue. Do you hear what I'm saying? This is the only issue. There
are no other issues. I'm not interested in your view
of abortion. I'm not interested in your view
of Christian involvement in the government. Christ is not a right-wing
conservative Republican. Christ is not a left-winged liberal
Democrat. Christ is not in the Tea Party. Christ is not involved in those
things. He said, my kingdom is not of
this world. If my kingdom were of this world,
then would my servants fight that I'd not be delivered from
this. But my kingdom is not of his. I am not interested in what you
think of the believer's relationship with the law is. I'm not interested
in what your views of eschatology is, but here is the one issue. Who do you say that Jesus Christ
is? Is that the one issue? Who do
you say that Jesus Christ is? Now, everything else hinges on
this. Everything else you believe will
be determined by this, your view of the scriptures. Your view
of grace, your view of faith, your understanding of repentance,
your understanding of the atonement of Christ is totally dependent
on what you believe concerning this, who he is. Now, let me illustrate this before
I go on. If you believe that Jesus Christ
is who Peter said He was, the Son of the Living God, the Christ,
Almighty God, the Second Person of the Trinity, if you really
believe that, it would be impossible for you to believe that He could
die for somebody's sins and they wind up in hell anyway. You couldn't
believe something like that, not if you believe who He is.
You see, who He is, will determine everything you believe. It's
not a what, it's a who. And when who he is is seen, the
what will become obvious. Who do you say that I, the son
of man, am? And Simon Peter answered, and
Simon was answering as the spokesman of all of God's people. And Simon
Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. His answer was thoughtful, and
personal. This is what he believed. But
it was unanimous with all of the rest of God's people. There
will be no disagreement with God's people regarding this issue.
Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. This was definite and clear,
and his answer was permanent. You know, the verdict and answer
of men varies day to day. Well, one day they'll say this,
the other day they'll say that. Always changing, shifting, but
not God's people with this answer. Who do you say that I, the Son
of Man am? Thou art the Christ. The Son of the living God. The Son of God. Turn with me
for a moment to John chapter Somebody said, aren't we all
sons? Well, no, we're not all sons. You know, the Lord did
speak to some people. He said, you're of your father,
the devil, and the lust of your father you'll do. But the son
being spoken of here, there's only one son in this. Not a bunch
of sons, one son. Now, the sons are in him, but
he only is God the son. Now, look here in John, chapter
five, beginning of verse 17. But Jesus answered them, my father
worketh hitherto. My father, note that my father,
when he talks of God, he says, my father worketh hitherto and
I work. Therefore, the Jews sought the
more to kill him because not only had he broken the Sabbath,
but said also that God was his father making himself what? equal with God. Look in John chapter 10, verse 30. I and my Father are one. You remember in John chapter
14 when he said, You believe in God, believe also in me. You
believe God is sovereign, believe the same thing regarding me.
You believe God is all powerful, that's me. You believe God is
holy, that's me. Believe also in me. You believe
God It's all wise. That's me. You believe God is
omnipresent. That's me. You believe God is
immutable, that He can't change. That's me. You believe God is
eternal, that He never had a beginning, that He never began to be, but
that He's always the great I Am. That's me. You believe God. You believe the God of the Bible.
That's me. Now, look what he says, back
to John chapter 10, I and my father are one. Then the Jews took up stones
again to stone him. They were going to kill him for
this. Jesus answered them, many good works have I showed you
of my father. For which of these works do you
stone me? The Jews answered him, saying,
for a good work. We stone thee not, but for blasphemy,
because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God." The Son of God. God the Son. Colossians chapter
2 verse 9 says, In Him, in the Lord Jesus Christ dwelleth all
fullness of the Godhead bodily. All the fullness of God resides
in the man, Christ Jesus. And you are complete, he says,
in Him. Now, do you believe that Jesus Christ
is God, my son? Do you believe that? Do you believe
He's the Creator? Do you believe that everybody's
in His hands, including you? And He can do with you whatever
He's pleased to do, because He's God. Do you believe He controls
every event? Do you believe He's God? God
the Son, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. Back to
Matthew chapter 16. Peter says, Thou art the Christ. And what's His last name? Thou
art the Christ. Christ represents his offices. The anointed, the anointed prophet,
the anointed priest, the anointed king. Do you believe that he
is God's prophet? And what's a prophet? A prophet
is a man who brings us the word of God. What is the word? Well,
whatever's in my mind, it comes out by words. That's what words
are. They're the vehicles of communication
of what's in the mind, what's in the spirit, what's in the
soul. Christ Jesus is the Word of God. When God speaks, what
does he say? Christ. This is my beloved Son
in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye Him. He is God's prophet. He is God's word. He is God's
communication. I really believe when he said
to Philip, Philip said, Lord, show us the Father and it suffices
us. He said, I have been so long
time with you, Philip, and yet as thou not known me, he that
hath seen me hath seen the Father. He's God's prophet. He is the
Word of God. And all I'll ever see of God
is Jesus Christ. He's God. He's God's prophet. He's the Word from God. He is
God's priest. Now, what's a priest? A priest
is one who brings men to God, who represents men to God. Now
Christ Jesus is God's priest. Now let me tell you how he brought
men to God. He was hanging on a cross. You
see, he lived a perfect life. And yet he was nailed to the
cross because the sins of God's elect became his. And he was
guilty of those sins. They became his. Now while he's
hanging on that cross, There's a thief hanging beside
of him. And he looks at him. And he says,
Lord, remember me when you come into
your kingdom. And he answered, today thou shalt
be with me in paradise. The Lord Jesus Christ brought
him as the great High Priest to the Father. When he ascended
back into glory, he ascended with all of his elect with him. That's why he's called the Lord
of Hosts. As the High Priest, he brings his people to the Father. I believe that he's God's And
I believe the only way that I can be brought to God and God accept
me is if he's the one who brings me to the Father and presents
me. He said, I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. No man comes to the Father but
by me. Now, when he says that, he's
not saying that we'll come saying, Lord, I'm only coming by Christ.
No, when he comes, I come. When He comes to the Father,
I'm in Him, and He brings me. He's God's priest. Thou art the
Christ, God's prophet. Thou art the Christ, God's priest. Thou art the Christ, God's King. He's the King of kings. He's
the Lord of lords. The King is the one who reigns.
The King is the one who is in absolute, utter control. He is
God's King. Who do you say that I am? Peter
acts as the spokesman for every believer. Thou art the Christ,
the Son of the living God. Now, this confession is eternal
life. This is eternal life, that they
might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou
hast sent. This is the evidence of the new
birth. John said, Whoso believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born
of God. This is the requirement for baptism. Remember when the Ethiopian Union
says, what hinders me from being baptized? I want to know. He
said, if you believe with all your heart, you may. He said,
I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. This is the ground of assurance.
There's a bunch of people leaving, and the Lord looked at them leaving
in John chapter 6. He looked at the 12, and he said, will
you also go away? And what their answer was? To whom shall we go? We don't
have anywhere else to go. Thou art the Christ, the Son
of the living God. But not only that, he said, we
believe and are sure that thou art the Christ, the Son of the
living God, the one who has the words of eternal life. Now, in
the immediate context, This confession of Peter's is the rock upon which
the church is built. Now, back to Matthew 16. And Simon Peter answered and
said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto
him, Blessed art thou, Simon bar Jonah. The flesh and blood
have not revealed it to thee, but my Father which is in heaven."
Now the only way this can be truly known is by revelation. God's got to reveal this to you
or you will not know it. Now, when does a man believe? When God reveals Himself to him.
That's when. And not before then. Does somebody
say, well, I don't believe this. One day you will. As you're forced to bow his feet
and confess he's Lord before he casts you into hell. You'll
know then. You may not believe now, but
you will then. But how evil it is to refuse
to believe he is who he says he is. You have somebody who
refuses to believe that he is who he says he is, they ought
to be sent to hell, shouldn't they? Should they? If any man
loves not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema, maranatha. Let him be damned upon the return
of the Lord. Someone who refuses to bow the
knee to Jesus Christ ought to be in hell. But do you believe? You're blessed of God. Flesh
and blood didn't reveal this to you, but my Father, which
is in heaven. Oh, if you believe that He's
the Christ, the Son of the living God, if you believe that, God
revealed that to you. You're blessed of God. Verse 18. And I say also unto thee, talking
to Peter after he made this confession, that thou art Peter and upon
this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not
prevail against it. Now, when he says that, is he
saying I'm building the church on Peter? Go on reading in this same chapter,
and he says to this same Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan. That's what he said to Peter.
Peter, like me, like you, is a sinful, fallible, impetuous,
fickle man. Weak. Strong by grace. I admire Peter. I love to think
of Peter getting out on the water and walking toward the Lord.
None of the other disciples did it. I just admire him. But I know he was a weak, sinful
man. And the Lord isn't saying, thou
art Peter. That's Little Rock. And upon
this Big Rock, not you, but this confession that you made. Upon
this rock, Who do you say that I am? Thou art the Christ, the
Son of the living God. Upon this rock I will build my
church. Now remember how I said you can
know whether or not you're in this church. You can know right
now whether or not you've been born again, whether or not you've
been, whether the Lord's done something for you. You can know.
Now how? Do you believe that he is the
Christ, the son of the living God. Now, if you do, it's because
Christ broke down the gates of hell that held you captive and
gave you this blessed revelation. Now, listen real carefully right
now. I'm not asking you if you are totally sure that Jesus Christ
died for you personally. I'm not asking you that. I'm
not asking you if you know for sure that if you died right now,
you'd go to heaven. I'm not asking you that. I'm
not asking you if you know that you're one of the elect of God.
I'm not asking you if you have complete assurance of salvation. I'm not asking you if you know
that you've been born again. I'm asking you Who do you say
that he is? This is the test of true church
membership. Turn to John, chapter six, hold
your finger there, Matthew 16, turn to John, chapter six. Verse 64. But there are some
of you to believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning
who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. And
he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come to
me, except it were given to him of my father. From that time
many of his disciples went back, and want no more with him. They
said, We've had it with this. Then said Jesus unto the twelve,
Will you also go away? Here Simon Peter answers again. Then Simon Peter answered him,
Lord, where would we go? It's not like we have an option.
Thou hast the words of eternal life, and we believe and are
sure that we're saved. No, we believe and we're sure
that thou art that Christ, the son of the living God. Back to Matthew chapter 16. Verse 18, And I say also unto
thee, that thou art Peter, and upon Peter's little rock, is
what that means, little rock, thou art Peter, and upon this
big rock, this confession of me, I will build my church, and
the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I, verse 19,
will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Now,
what are keys for? Keys are for to lock the door.
And keys are to open up the door so people can get in. Now, he
says to Peter, I give to you the keys of the kingdom. Now,
once again, I've got those keys, too. Every believer has those
keys. You know what this means? In the preaching of the gospel,
there is an authoritative declaration as to who the door is open to
and who the door is locked to. What's going on here? I give
to you the keys of the kingdom. Verse 19, whatsoever thou shalt
bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. And whatsoever thou
shalt loose or set free on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Now,
I have to address this momentarily. What if your salvation was up
to Peter? Or the Pope? Or me? You know
what that would mean? That would mean you would not
be saved. That's what it means. You know,
people always have this horrible attitude about God that he elected
the people. And they think, well, why didn't
he elect everybody? Why did he just save a specific number and
not save everybody? He could have saved everybody
if he wanted to. Why didn't he save everybody? He just saved
some. Why is that? Now, when we make
that objection, here's what we're doing. We're saying, I'm more
merciful than God. If I was God, I'd do it this way. But the fact
of the matter is, if salvation were up to me or you, you know
how many people would be saved? Nobody but us. Because you crossed
me ten times, maybe I'll forgive you. Twenty, it's getting harder.
A million times, I've had it. Nope. Not going to save you. That's the way we would be. We
talk big, but when it comes to the practical aspect of the thing,
I know the way we would be. So this is not talking about
salvation being in the hands of the man. Peter, the Pope,
the preacher. No, not at all. Here's what this means. Do you reject that he's the Christ,
the son of the living God? You're bound. The door is locked
to you. You won't be in heaven. You'll be in hell. That's the
truth. That's the truth. Everybody deep
down knows God is. He's going to reward the righteous.
He's going to punish the wicked. There's a heaven. There's a hell.
And everybody outside of Christ will spend eternity in hell.
And if you hear this message of who He is and say, I won't
have it. Not the way you're saying it.
Okay. You're bound. But if you say from your heart,
remember, whom say men that I, the Son of Man am? Well, they
say good things, but who say ye that I am? Peter said, You're
the Christ. You're God's prophet. You're
God's priest. You're God's king. You're the
Son of the living God. The door's open for you. You've
been set free. You're free to enter glory. Now, it is a dangerous thing
to hear the gospel. You're responsible. I'm responsible
for what we hear. Now, you've had set forth before
you who Jesus Christ is. Lord, I believe that you are
God's Christ, the son of the living God. You believe that? You're a member of his church.
You're in the church of which he said, I will build my church
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. He knocked
the gates of hell down and plucked you out. Do you say, I reject
this? Well, you're bound here, and
the door's been closed to you. Now, if you believe, the door's
open. May God give us the grace to
say from our hearts, not just because we've been indoctrinated
in this, but to really believe, Thou art the Christ. the Son of the Living God. Let's pray.