THE CHURCH – INVINCIBLE?
THE CHURCH – INVINCIBLE
By David Woodbury
In 1865, the year The Salvation Army
came into being, Sabine Baring-Gould penned the words of his classic hymn:
Onward, Christian Soldiers. In that
era most of the populace would have acknowledged some sort of religious
affiliation, consequently, the opening
lines of the 4th verse, which reflect the invincibility of the
church, would have held an unquestioning
authenticity;
Crowns and thrones may perish,
Kingdoms rise and wane,
But the Church of Jesus
Constant will remain.
Kingdoms rise and wane,
But the Church of Jesus
Constant will remain.
Today, the religious landscape is
vastly different with probably only a minority of the populace acknowledging
any sort of religious affiliation, and the words of Baring-Gould’s hymn may
well be viewed with cynicism and scepticism, if not open derision.
The reality is that many of the
mainline churches have fallen on hard times as congregations and membership declines
and churches close their doors. Government
and judicial inquiries into child sexual abuse have quite rightly
highlighted great failings within the church. The success of referendums
on same-sex marriage, quite rightly opposed by many within the church
community, highlighted the diminishing influence of the church in today's
society.
Opposition and open hostility toward
the church is more commonplace today than it has been for centuries. Often the opposition is not out in the open
but subtle and subliminal, yet quite potent and zealous, and there may well be
a sense in which Christians feel the pressure of a cynical and suspicious
non-Christian community. The danger is that, for our own sense of security, we
will retreat into the four walls of our buildings and seek to comfort each
other.
What are we to make of this
situation? Is the future of the church in question? Will it fade into
oblivion along with the dinosaur age? I believe that is a valid and legitimate
question that we need to ask each other, and our leadership. One of the great
dangers of tough times is that there is a tendency to indulge in positive word
spin and impromptu anecdotal stories to convince us everything is OK. The
reality is that we need to intentionally confront this dilemma, even for our
own peace of mind.
On the face of it and confronted with hard data, it would appear that
the church is encountering hard times and looks like it may well, like the
dinosaurs, become extinct. However, that is not what Jesus said.
What we need to understand that Jesus Christ did
not squander his life on some movement destined to fail. He quite clearly and
directly stated that nothing, absolutely nothing would ever prevail against his
church. … “upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.” (Matthew
16:19 – NLT)
Perhaps we need to convince
ourselves of the reality of this verse of Scripture. History repeatedly has
affirmed, that the church of Jesus Christ is invincible; neither Roman
dictator, pagan culture, Nazi or communist suppression, have been able to
annihilate the church. Whatever difficulties we may be experiencing at this
moment of time in the church, the reality is that we belong to that which is
invincible and eternal.
If we come to believe that the
church is invincible we need some sort of solid foundation for that belief that
is supported by the Word of God.
God is what the theologians call
omnipresent. In its simplest explanation, it means that God is everywhere
present in all periods of time and space. Because we are human we classify
events along a sequential timeline, with specific divisions for the past, present,
and future. God, who is eternal, is not limited by time or space. As ruler over
all mankind’s past, present, and future, God proclaims, “I am the Alpha and the Omega—the
beginning and the end,”says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was,
and who is still to come—the Almighty One.” (Revelation 1:8 - NLT)
Bible writings go to great effort
to instil into our mind that the God of the Bible is a LIVING GOD.
…
“For he is the living God, and he will endure
forever. His kingdom will never be destroyed, and his rule will never end.” (Daniel 6:26 – NLT)
When Paul
wrote to Timothy he gives some specific instruction as to how the church should
function, specifically as the dwelling place of the living God. “I write so that you may know how you ought to
conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of
the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” (1 Timothy 3:15)
To understand that God is a
living God is to comprehend that there is a potent reservoir of dynamic and inexhaustible
energy available to the church and its people. It may well be that once again
we need to intentionally tap into that great reservoir of inexhaustible energy.
If our spiritual life is to have
real meaning and significance for us, we need to instill within our very being
the belief that God, through his Son, is a living and active presence in our
lives and in our churches. When we gather for worship we need to have the same
unquestioning belief that Jesus Christ, the
resurrected Son of the living God, is here present, in our midst.
The church is a distinctive,
spiritual community that is unique, and in a sense, exclusive. It cannot be duplicated by those who not
believe in the salvation that comes through a relationship with Jesus Christ. The
Apostle Peter reminds his readers that they, as the church, they “are a chosen people. You are royal
priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. “ (1 Peter 2:9 – NLT)
The church is invincible because
its people are called to be participants with God and not passive spectators. Jesus
clearly expected that his followers would always be participants in the
salvation of the world. “Go and make disciples of all the
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy
Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given
you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20 - NLT)
Paul clearly understood the role of Christians in the church as a
participatory role and not a spectator role. “And
all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ.
And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was
in Christ, reconciling the world to himself …” (1 Corinthians 5:18-19 – NLT)
Here is God’s plan A for the salvation
of all humanity. His people, those who call themselves Christians, those who
have deliberately chosen the kingdom of God as their lifestyle, are called into
partnership with this living, loving God in this ministry of reconciliation;
this task of making others his friends. However, here is the scary part, God
has no plan B, he deliberately has no fall-back position – we’re it
The church is invincible because
the love of God fuels an eternal, unquenchable flame. What sets the church
apart from all other human organisations is its capacity to love. It has a
capacity to love even the vilest and unlovable of human beings because it is
the channel through which God has chosen to reveal and release His love to the
world.
I remember as a teenager sitting
in a congress meeting conducted by General Coutts, then territorial commander
in the Australia Eastern Territory. He opened his message by declaring; “love describes anything from Hollywood to heaven,” and we need to be careful that we have not
let Hollywood influence our understanding of love.
We are not talking about some
warm, fuzzy emotion. We are talking about something more practical and
fundamental. Jesus made it clear that this love was to be a hallmark of the
Christian fellowship; “So now I am
giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you
should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the
world that you are my disciples.” (John 13: 34-35 – NLT)
A little later on, so his
disciples might comprehend exactly what he is talking about, Jesus gives a
practical example: “There is no greater love than
to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
(John 15:13 – NLT) No warm fuzzy
feelings her but rather a practical action. It wasn’t long before he puts his
words into action, dying a horrific and cruel death for the sin and all
humanity.
That is not to say that Jesus was
devoid of feeling, quite the opposite, often we read of him being “moved with compassion”.
However, we cannot base our Christian witness and ministry of feelings for they
are at best, mercurial and all too often, impulsive and at the whim of emotions
rather than cognitive decision making.
When we talk about love as a
Christian, it needs to be filtered through Paul's seminal teaching on the subject in 1
Corinthians 13, where he is dealing with thoughts, intentions and actions more
so than feelings. It is one of the most clearly defined passages on Christian
theology in the Bible, and as such, it needs to be comprehensively understood
and applied within our kingdom lifestyle.
Authentic Christian love as Paul sees it is
an acquired mindset influenced by the Holy Spirit and not mercurial feelings. Paul in writing to that very troubled
Corinthian Church says that “But while knowledge makes us feel important, it is
love that strengthens the church.” (1 Corinthians 8:1 – NLT) And when writing the Colossian Church he
says: “Most of all, let love guide your life, for then the whole church will
stay together in perfect harmony.” (Col 3:14 TLB) The love of the ordinary Christian is one of
the most persuasive powers the church possesses.
Late one afternoon, in our first
appointment, there stood at the door of my makeshift corps office, located in
the rear of the garage, a sad and dejected shadow of humanity, called George; a
highly intelligent man ravaged by the curse of alcohol. His alcoholism had led
to domestic violence and, ashamed of his actions, George had fled to a rural
area where a colleague officer had counselled him and directed him back to his
hometown where my wife and I were the corps officers.
After some discussion, I took
George to the Army’s rehabilitation centre where he was admitted, while
promising to visit his wife the next day. The following day on concluding my
visit to his wife, a very gracious lady, she thanked me for my visit and made a
point of letting me know she would not be coming to our meetings. Knowing that
it was important to support the family I arranged for one of our ladies from
the corps to visit George’s wife on a weekly basis. During his stay in the rehabilitation centre,
George encountered God in a very real way and his life was transformed. The
corps folk quickly came on board and loved George and his wife into the
kingdom. They were eventually enrolled as senior soldiers and in due course,
George became the corps sergeant major. The church is at its most potent
- ·
when it is
acutely aware that it is infused by the spirit of a living God,
- · its people are active participants on the frontline of human need – and
- · it is fuelled by a practical love.
So what is
the message for us today who live in a world that is decidedly non-Christian
and often openly hostile to Christianity?
Jesus has decreed that the church
is invincible; Scripture validates it and history has conclusively confirmed it.
Sometimes today, by our passivity and inaction, we act like people in a dying
organisation instead of members of a two thousand-year-old success story.
Crowns and thrones may perish,
Kingdoms rise and wane,
But the Church of Jesus
Constant will remain.
Kingdoms rise and wane,
But the Church of Jesus
Constant will remain.
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