“We are fallen into a state of gross idolatry, and self is the idol we worship.”
-John Newton, 1777
Making and Maturing
Disciples of Jesus
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“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”
-Matthew 16:18Virtually every day I get spammed with email or social media ads saying something like this: “Is your church ready for the future? Times have changed, and if you’re not changing your approach to ministry your church will wither and die.” OK, that might be slightly exaggerated, but that’s the gist. The advertising hook is, “If you don’t change, your church will fail, and we have the right tools to help you change.” Usually they’re selling new curriculum or technology that will ensure the survival of our church.
This kind of advertising obviously works. Why? Because Christians love the church and desperately want to see the church thrive. That passion often leads to a faulty conclusion: through ministerial ingenuity we can ensure the success of the church in the future. It’s tempting.
To be sure our circumstances have drastically changed since the end of 2019. I’ll agree that looking ahead is a little scary. Will people stay committed to the church when culture has deemed it optional? Will people resume gathering for worship, encouragement, and edification? Will the church scatter to engage unbelievers and share the good news of Jesus Christ with them? Should we be confident moving forward? Will the church survive?
Here’s what Jesus says in Matthew 16:18: the gates of Hades will not overpower the church. This statement is the basis of unqualified confidence in the advancement of the kingdom of God. The mission of making and maturing disciples of Jesus is based on the promise of God that he guarantees its success.
Jesus’s famous statement about the church is a part of the dramatic moment when Peter acknowledges Jesus is the promised Messiah of the Old Testament (Matthew 16:13-17). He declares that even the “gates of Hades” will not overpower the church. Peter’s mission will not fail.
The key to our optimism for the church is the phrase “gates of Hades” in Jesus’s statement. In other contexts (like Isa. 38:10) “gates of Hades” refers by metonymy to the experience of death. The image of “gates” likely refers to the imprisoning power of death. Jesus is saying death cannot stop the church.
But whose death? Peter’s death? Jesus’s death? Our deaths? The answer to this is probably “yes”- all death. The “gates of Hades” will assault Jesus and His followers. Martyrdom cannot destroy the church because the church is eternal. This remarkable promise yields three key applications in our lives:
- Don’t fear the future. Sickness will come and go; governments too. Laws will change. Cultures will shift. In the midst of what seems like chaos, we need not fear for the church. Even in circumstances where war or persecution drive believers out of one nation and into another, God uses such times to advance his kingdom work.
- Trust Jesus, not trends. Our mission hasn’t changed. While we make adjustments to ministries, our confidence is never in a program, curriculum, or tech strategy. Peter’s confession stands: Jesus is the Messiah, and so long as we preach Christ crucified we can be confident in him. In one sense we can be relieved that the success of the church does not depend on our ingenuity or savvy; he is trustworthy!
- Prioritize the church. Given that nothing can overpower the church and it is the only earthly institution that will last forever, it stands to reason that we should be investing our time, energy, and resources into the mission of the church. One current disturbing trend is the labeling of participation in the church community as “non-essential.” Not only is the church essential, it is eternal. Do our lives reflect these truths?
We’re not selling a gimmick, a trend, or any other man-made coping mechanism. We proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, making and maturing disciples of Jesus for the glory of God. That mission is not only essential, but it is guaranteed to succeed.
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“And it [the beast from the earth] makes everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark: the beast’s name or the number of its name.”
-Revelation 13:16-17Recently a few theories have been put forward as to what the mark of the beast is from Revelation 13:16-17. Past nominees have been microchip implants and credit cards. Recent nominees are COVID-19 vaccines and masks. None of them are, but how do we know? What is the mark of the beast?
To understand this part of the Bible we have to know what kind of literature we are reading. The book of Revelation is a sub-genre of prophecy known as apocalyptic. It is a vision comprised of signs and symbols that represent real people, movements, or events. For example, the dragon of chapter 12 represents Satan. When we encounter an important sign like the mark of the beast in chapter 13 we need to ask what it represents.
In the vision the mark is a brand of loyalty. In Revelation 7:3-8 the saints are marked as belonging to the Lord. In chapter 13 those loyal to the beasts are branded as such. Those who bear the mark of the beast do so as a pragmatic compromise of their faith in order to buy and sell. They are sell-outs.
Robert Mounce explains the first century relevance of the mark of the beast,
“It symbolizes unqualified allegiance to the demands of the imperial cult.”
For the first readers of Revelation this part of John’s vision would have brought to mind the idolatry that was associated with the Roman economy. As Christians worked, bought, and sold in the marketplace they would have been expected to participate in the worship of trade guild deities and the emperor. From time to time that expectation grew into pressure and even persecution.
Would they honor Christ by not participating in public worship of Roman deities or the emperor and thus stand out? Or would they compromise their faith and get in line like everyone else? This was the direct relevance of the mark of the beast in its original literary context, and that relevance hasn’t changed.
The beasts of Revelation 13 are used by Satan to promote false worship. They stand for government authority that forces people to choose between fidelity to Christ or to the world. John clearly saw this at play in the Roman Empire, and believers since then have likewise seen these characteristics in their cultures.
Regardless of whether or not we are living in the climactic fulfillment of this vision, the spiritual truths it pictures are still relevant. Consider the rampant materialism that surrounds Christmas in our culture, or the potential religious litmus tests for political office or appointment to government positions. We must ask ourselves, will we sell-out? Will we openly deny Christ to keep a job or make a profit?
Rather than get worked up by dubiously trying to identify the mark of the beast, we would do well to recognize that Christians have always had to choose fidelity to Christ over the world. How can you be sure you don’t have the mark of the beast? Look yourself in the mirror and ask these questions:
- Am I compromising my faith for economic gain?
- Am I participating in idolatry to keep my position at school, work, or in society?
- Am I willing to be openly known as a Christian despite potentially negative repercussions?
We all have a brand declaring our loyalty. The question is to whom, the beast or the Lamb?
“Then I looked, and there was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him were 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.”
-Revelation 14:1 -
“For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, in which he also went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison who in the past were disobedient, when God patiently waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared. ”
-1 Peter 3:18-20aWho are the “spirits in prison” and why should I care? The reference in passing by Peter to Jesus making proclamation to imprisoned spirits is one of the more challenging verses in the Bible to understand. As a pastor I’m often asked about it—sometimes in a “let’s stump the pastor” way and sometimes in a “seriously, what’s going on here” way.
Before we get to my take on who these spirits are, let me encourage you to wrestle with the harder parts of the Bible. John Piper argues that these tough texts foster reliance on God for spiritual instruction, encourage us to pray to him for illumination, and establish the good habit of thinking deeply on spiritual matters (Brothers We’re Not Professionals, chapter 17). Rolling up our intellectual sleeves yields the fruit of love for God in our hearts. Don’t skip confusing verses—they are God-breathed for our benefit.
So here’s my take on the spirits in prison. There are many views, but here are the top three:
- Some think these verses refer to Jesus descending into Hell to preach to the dead. This view was favored in the early church (think the Apostles Creed), and is a result of a misunderstanding of Jesus’s descending to earth as described in Ephesians 4:9-10.
- Others think these verses describe a pre-incarnate Christ preaching the gospel through Noah to his unbelieving generation. This view has the strength of referring to Noah as verse 20 does, but admittedly requires reading between the lines a bit.
- In my opinion the better answer is that Peter relies on a well known tradition from Genesis 6:1-2, other OT texts, and Jewish traditions (especially 1 Enoch) that rebellious angels were awaiting final judgment by God. Perhaps the “sons of God” in Genesis 6:1-2 are such spirits. By his suffering, death, and resurrection Christ proved himself victorious over all evil powers, including fallen angels.
Contextually this fits the message of 1 Peter well. The point in chapter three is that Christians need not fear suffering and persecution. In 1 Peter 4:2, he argues we should have the same attitude as Jesus “in order to live the remaining time in the flesh no longer for human desires, but for God’s will.”
So why should we care? Because some days we need to choose to suffer, or risk suffering, for Jesus. Evil will not escape judgment, even if evil seems to be temporarily having a field day. Yes, Jesus died, but he rose victorious and proclaimed his victory to demons awaiting judgment. They lost. That fact should fuel the faith of the church in the fires of persecution.
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“If, then, there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, make my joy complete by thinking the same way, having the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.”
-Philippians 2:1-2I don’t know how to quantify it officially, but it feels like our culture is more divided than we’ve ever been. Just imagine walking into your local coffee shop and asking, “What do you think about Trump/masks/vaccines/riots?” I guess then you should imagine ducking for cover.
The church is not immune to these cultural divides, but it seems this round of divisive issues has been particularly damaging to church unity. Should we be dividing over Trump? Masks? Vaccines? The short answer is no. This is not to say these issues are not important or complex. They are, and they require careful wisdom as we weigh them, but they are not the basis of our unity.
The church must demand of ourselves nothing less than unqualified unity in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Politics and COVID have created an “either/or” environment in our culture, and we must rise above the fray and refuse to divide. But how? By focusing on the gospel.
The danger of division is not new to the church. The church at Philippi was facing issues of division when the apostle Paul wrote Philippians (from jail). In Philippians 2:1 he offers four compact conditional clauses that bring into focus the kind of community Jesus has created in the church. These four benefits of life in the church setup his call for unity in the gospel. He rhetorically asks,
1. Is there encouragement in Christ? Yes! In spite of reasons to be discouraged in our lives, in Christ we find encouragement in his love seen in his sacrificial provision for us that results in eternal blessing. Paul may have in the mind the specific scenario of believers reminding other believers of Christ’s love in the context of the gathered church. We stand together encouraged in Christ because of the gospel.
2. Is there consolation from the love of God and the love of believers? Yes! This comfort is a unique function of love that is not conditioned on attractiveness or performance. No matter how we look or how we fail, God’s love for us is stable and our acceptance in the body of Christ is eternal.
3. Is there fellowship with one another based on the fact that the same Spirit dwells in us? Fellowship here means cooperation. We are on the same team—team gospel.
4. Is there love and compassion for one another in the church? There must be. God’s design for the church is that his love for us will produce grace-based love between us. When we need love and care we find it in the unity of the church. The gospel produces this remarkable selfless love that sets aside divisions and puts the body of Christ first.
In light of these refreshing truths Paul then commands, “make my joy complete by thinking the same way, having the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.” How is the apostolic heart made joyful? By unity.
Unity is a result of “thinking the same way.” In Philippians that means valuing the gospel above all else (cf. Philippians 1:27). Unity means choosing to live by unconditional love for others in the church. Unity means being united in worldview/attitude by living out the mission of the church. Unity means choosing to prioritize one purpose, namely living as citizens of the gospel for the glory of God.
We could divide over so much, but God commands us choose to unite under the gospel of Jesus Christ. What then shall we do about our different views on Trump, masks, vaccines etc.? We must downgrade their importances in our hearts.
- Some Christians think Trump lost the election fair and square. Others believe that there were enough irregularities in the voting in some states to warrant suspicion. Both must stand shoulder to shoulder on Sundays singing praise to Jesus.
- Some Christians believe mask mandates are the best way to love our neighbors. Others believe that mask mandates are based on faulty science and are oppressive. Both groups must gather in unity on Sunday and receive the Lord’s Supper because both are sinners saved by faith in the same shed blood.
- Some Christians believe it is helpful and wise to get a COVID vaccine while others believe it is wise to wait until these vaccines have been more thoroughly tested. Both groups must sit together on a Sunday morning, open their Bibles, and receive the Word of God in unity.
We could cite further examples of issues on which the church could divide—schooling preferences, congregational music style preferences, Sunday dress codes, perspectives on alcohol use for Christians, and so on. But unity in the church is not optional. It is essential. We must decide to remain united in the gospel for the glory of God and his kingdom.
Making and Maturing 