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The Miracle of the most powerful institution on earth- The Christian Church- is not readily apparent to most, not even to Christians. Yet if we take the statements of Scripture to heart we find an amazing array of exceptional promises:
- The Church is described as the Pillar and ground of the Truth
- The Church will spoil Satan’s kingdom
- The Church will disciple the uttermost parts of the earth
- The Church will equip God’s people against the deceits of the world
- The Preaching of the Church will humble the wise of the world
- The Church will baffle kings and stand like a fortress amidst the flood of ungodly men
- The Church will be built upon the Rock of Jesus Christ and the gates of hell shall not prevail against her. The word for prevail in the Greek means to be superior in strength. So the translation can be understood as to say “… and the gates of hell shall not be superior in strength against her.”
- The Church is a mystery: (The Greek word means a great depth beyond the sight of natural men) and God will reveal magnificent, though not readily apparent, power of the Church for she is an heavenly-created body.
There is another side to the mystery of the Church
Her apostasy. Apostasy is a word that describes the movement of the Church away from Jesus Christ. Jeremiah 2 describes the application of apostasy among the people of God in the Old Testament. Apostasy is characterized by many evils including but not limited to the following:
- The Power of Preaching is lost and the depth of preaching is not compelling
- The Pulpits spend comparatively little time exposing evil- its presence, power, destruction and stratagems
- Consequently pews are filled with people ill discerned about the nature of real evil and are not equipped nor experienced in confronting it
- The churches teach a humanistic morality as opposed to the scriptural standard of righteousness *The key characteristic of apostasy is the Loss of the Law of the Lord Romans 7-8:7
- Families are disoriented, fractured, and exasperate the righteous within them
- The Church sinfully teaches that the State is to be obeyed in most if not all edicts, regulations and laws, despite the warning of Scripture against such teaching
- The Pulpits are distinguished by friendly hirelings who fail to “reprove, rebuke, exhort and instruct” in all righteousness. Being hirelings they are often too interested in building funds and festivities as opposed to pulpits aflame with righteousness.
One of the most famous pastor preachers, John Calvin, of Geneva raised up the churches throughout Europe by training pastors, elders and deacons at Geneva. John Calvin wrote thousands of letters helping the bereaved, the persecuted, instructing and exhorting the faithfulness of thousands throughout Europe. Most importantly, John Calvin should be remembered for his emphasis upon the local church and the promised power of God within it. Calvin’s letters form a library of heartfelt passion for the poor and the nobility. He wept with families and thundered at cruel magistrates by letters, tracts and sermons. He should best be remembered for his pastoral leadership, for that is the true John Calvin of history.
