Does the church need change?

In this lesson we will look at Matt 16:18 which depicts for us the beginning of (or the birth of) the church of the New Testament . . .

Mt 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

A common interpretation of this verse is the teaching that Jesus installed Peter as the first pope to watch over The Church after He

ascended back to heaven . . . we have touched upon this interpretation in a previous lesson . . . and we are not going to “redo” this topic that what we have already discussed . . . 

I simply want to point out that “the church” of New Testament worship was either built upon Jesus Christ -- or the church that we offer worship in today was built upon Peter as one of the apostles of Jesus . . .

without getting into a “deep” theological debate . . . without arguing with “tradition” just consider

1) that the Bible is God’s Word . . . and that The Bible “is right” even when we are wrong . . . It is not possible for the Truth to change just because we fail to recognize it.

If a “road sign” warns of danger ahead . . . but if that road sign is written in a language that we do not yet understand . . . does the danger

disappear just because we misinterpret what the sign is trying to tell us . . . of course not . . .  well such is also the case with God’s Word . . . the 

dangers that God warns us to avoid in “The Bible” are not diminished at all . . . just because we misinterpret that warning . . .

Romans 3: 3 For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?

 4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.

The next point to consider regarding whether or not the church is built upon Jesus or Peter is 2) Could the NTC have survived from the

days of Jesus until the present . . . if it had been built upon anyone/anything other than Jesus Himself?

Consider businesses that in the past have come and gone .  . .  DeLorean Motor Co . . . EF Hutton . . . RCA . . . Burger Chef . . . TWA . . .  General Foods . . . Montgomery Wards

At one time each of these companies were worth millions of dollars . . . they were strong and thriving corporations . . . each one of

them had the most talented men of their time at the controls . . . But each one of them is quite literally “no more” . . . companies “for profit” go bankrupt because of “competition from others” who offer the same type of service at a better price . . . 
and Satan attempts to overcome churches that teach “the truth” in exactly the same manner . . . Satan tells us that unless we change our product line (which is the Truth) . . . then we

will be forced out of business through competition from religion that “appeals to the world” even though it is a religion that is contrary to the teachings that are found in The Bible . . .

The point is this . . . that for a church to survive then that church MUST “remain” standing on the truth . . . offering the same old “line of

products” that were offered during the earthly days of Jesus and the apostles . . . if the church deviates from the truth . . . if the

church seeks to increase the products that it offers then that church proves that she no longer has any

confidence in the current management (which is of course The Holy Spirit) . . . the result being that they lose “the power” of The Holy

Spirit to protect them from the power of Satan . . . this happens as they are “over-come”

with a desire to please the world at the expense of sacrificing of themselves for the cause of Christ . . . by continuing to stand

ONLY upon The Truth as they refuse to “expand” their product line to include things that are popular “out in the world”

A corporation falls . . . when the leaders of that company make bad decisions . . . a church that is overcome by Satan (in the manner

that we have described) . . . may not fall by the wayside – such that it actually ceases to exist . . . just like the companies mentioned above

did not really disappear . . . they were “bought out” by larger organizations . . . their names were changed . . . and the previous management was actually replaced . . . new supervisors . . . new administrators . . . new

CEOs were installed to take the old company in a new direction . . .  Unless God has made a mistake - His church does not need to go in a new direction . . . 

The church should not be like Burger Chef who is known today as Hardees . . . with a management staff that is completely different than the original organization . . . 

So what about the place of worship that we refer to as “our church”?

In a corporation . . . if the management changes . . . the company changes . . . likewise in a church . . . if the management changes – then the church changes also.

So our interpretation of Matt 16:18 is really one of the more important things in The Bible that we will consider after the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith.

If we have not been saved . . . then the concept of “the church” . . . the idea of proper worship as opposed to false worship . . . or whether the church is built upon Jesus or Peter is totally irrelevant  . . .

If the “preacher” is the supervisor of my church . . . then when I get a new preacher the direction of my church will be altered . . .

If the pope is the supervisor of my church . . . then with every new pope . . . the direction of the church is altered . . .

BUT if Jesus is the head of the church . . . and if Jesus manages His church through The Holy Spirit (as we humble ourselves before that spirit) . . . then the direction of the church

does not change from one preacher to another and neither does it change from one generation to another . . . if a church is

“managed” or controlled by The Holy Spirit then what was “right” in the days of Jesus will be taught as still being “right” today

But if a religion “changes” their product line in order to be more competitive with “the world” or to attract more followers . . . then they are going against the

management of heaven . . . which means that they refuse to be managed by The Holy Spirit . . . and they soon lose "their identity" in the latest religion of the day just like . . . RCA . . . Burger Chef . . . TWA . . .  General Foods . . . Montgomery Ward all lost their identity with new management that replaced all the "old ideas" and took them in a new direction.

Notice the promise of God Himself to be with His NTC . . . as long as she continues to stand on the Truth without compromise . . .

Luke 24: 49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

This promise that is spoken of here . . . is the POWER of God through The Holy Spirit . . . which we will begin to look at in the next lesson.