AUGUST 24, 2008  SERMON ARCHIVE

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our heavenly Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, AMEN.

The text for our meditation today is the Gospel Lesson for the Fourteenth Sunday of Pentecost, Matthew 16:13-20.

We begin in the name of Jesus Christ, AMEN.

Simon Peter, good old Simon Peter, so rock solid, so strong. As he should have been: After all, the name "Peter" means "rock." Take the Gospel lesson for today. Jesus asked the disciples who people thought He was, and they responded with the litany of rumors: "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." Lots of rumors and sincere beliefs, all of which are wrong. Next, Jesus got to the point. He asked, "But who do you say that I am?".

Peter, rock solid, strong, Peter hit this one out of the ball park. "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God," he confessed, and he was absolutely right. All the "people" out there thought that Jesus was some sort of important human being, but nothing more. Peter declared Jesus to be the Christ-the One anointed by God to win salvation for His people; and Peter declared Him to be the Son of the living God-fully divine as well as fully human.

It was an extraordinary confession of faith, and Jesus said that Peter knew this because it had been revealed to him by God. It was not a logical conclusion arrived at by smart flesh and blood, but a statement of God-given faith. It was a rock-solid declaration that Jesus was the long-awaited Savior.

Jesus continued: "And I say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

That's how Peter was to use the keys of the kingdom: He was to proclaim the Law and Gospel. He was to preach Christ, the Son of the living God and Him crucified. For those who believed, heaven would be open. For those who did not, heaven would remain shut. Salvation would be found only in Jesus Christ, the rock on whom the Church would be built.

Now, you may well know that some have argued that the rock is actually Peter, that the Church was built upon this foremost of the apostles. In other words, all Christians were to submit to Peter's authority. And after Peter died, all Christians were to submit to whatever bishop took over Peter's place. To be a Christian, one must submit to that authority. Such is the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church.

But we must ask the question: Is Peter really the Rock whom Jesus speaks of? Is the Church really built upon this apostle? And, is Peter the Rock that you want the Church to be built on?

You see, Peter was solid, rock-solid, in what he said, and in what he did. Most of the time. Sometimes, he was not. Please notice what happens in the next few verses of Matthew 16. Jesus told the disciples how He was going to be a Savior, how He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day (Matt. 16:21). None of the disciples were thrilled with this news, but it was Peter who pulled Jesus aside and rebuked Him.

"Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!" he blustered protectively; and for his trouble, Jesus called him Satan and told him to step aside. You see, what Peter was saying was, "Lord, there's no way that You're going to die on the cross to take away my sins or anybody else's."

One moment, Peter was a rock, solid as could be. The next moment, he rolled..

A few chapters later, Matthew 26, Jesus and the disciples were on their way to the Garden of Gethsemane; Jesus was about to be betrayed and crucified. Peter declared boldly, "Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble" (Matt. 26:33). But by the time the rooster crowed, Peter had denied the Lord three times.

"Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!" he blustered protectively; and for his trouble, Jesus called him Satan and told him to step aside. You see, what Peter was saying was, "Lord, there's no way that You're going to die on the cross to take away my sins or anybody else's."

One moment, Peter was a rock, solid as could be. The next moment, he rolled..

A few chapters later, Matthew 26, Jesus and the disciples were on their way to the Garden of Gethsemane; Jesus was about to be betrayed and crucified. Peter declared boldly, "Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble" (Matt. 26:33). But by the time the rooster crowed, Peter had denied the Lord three times.

One minute, he was a rock. The next minute, he rolled..

Take Acts 4:8-13. Peter and John had been arrested because Peter healed a man and preached about Jesus, crucified and risen. The same crowd that arranged Jesus' crucifixion now put them on trial-a frightening position to be in. What happened? Peter stepped up and hit another grand slam: He preached to the council that they had unjustly crucified Jesus Christ, who had since risen from the dead. He told them that Jesus was and is the fulfillment of Psalm 118, that Jesus was and is the 'stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief corner stone.'

In other words, Peter told them that Jesus is the Rock on whom the Church would be built. He told them that there is salvation in no other but Jesus. Look! He was using those keys of the kingdom: Believe in Jesus and the gates of heaven would be open for even you who put Him to death. Reject Him, and the gates would stay closed unless you repented.

It was a gutsy sermon of pure doctrine to those who could have him killed.

But once again, Peter wavered. After preaching salvation in Christ alone in Acts 4, Peter started to teach that one's salvation rested partly on his own works. When we get to Galatians 2, Paul confronted Peter and opposed him to his face for teaching false doctrine, and Peter was forced to repent again (Gal. 2:11ff). Here, he's a rock. There, he rolls.

Now, don't misunderstand: I like Peter. I give thanks for the confessions of faith that he made, and I pray that I might follow his example. I'd even go so far as to give him some primacy among the disciples, for he certainly served as their spokesman and an ecclesiastical supervisor in the early Church. But he's not a solid rock who doesn't move. He rolls. He wavers. He sins. To his credit, he knew this.

He didn't say that he was the Rock in Acts 4. Instead, he pointed to Jesus as the chief cornerstone. In 1 Peter 2, he once again declared that Jesus is the living stone and the cornerstone on which the Church is built. He pointed to Jesus for good reason: Because of his sin, Peter is not a redeemer, but one in need of redemption. He was saved by Jesus, the chief cornerstone who flings wide the gates of heaven for us.

Since Peter denied that he was the Rock on which the Church was built, and instead pointed to Christ, we do not seek to make Peter the papa of the Church. Likewise, we do not believe that one must submit to one bishop in Rome, or anywhere else, in order to be part of the Church. However, lest we be seen to be casting stones at stained glass houses far away, we turn our attention to a common sin: It is far too easy for Christians to base their faith on human role models, and not on Christ.

When I was in college, I listened to a lot of contemporary Christian music, and especially liked the music of three artists. Their style was catchy and their lyrics proclaimed the importance of obedience to God's Word. It was easy to conclude that the life of the Christian was about obedience and living a holy life, based upon their example. Of the three, two of them would soon be found guilty of adultery. The third would later admit to a long-term cocaine addiction.

Those singers weren't rocks. They rolled. You see, if you base your faith on the pure and holy obedience of sinners, you're bound to be disappointed. Such examples may well cause some to decide that Christianity is a hypocritical sham, and nothing more.

As another example, many will decide that Christianity is a good thing based upon the person and like-ability of the preacher. Because the pastor is likeable and seems a good example, then whatever he teaches must be true. But if he rubs you the wrong way, then whatever he teaches must not be true, or at least not worth sticking around to hear.

This presents several dangers. For one thing, false teachers can be very likeable people, and they attract a following because they are charismatic, friendly-sounding types. But if they don't preach Christ as the cornerstone, no matter how engaging, they're rolling straight to destruction.

On the other hand, faithful pastors may not be all that likeable or personally engaging. Like anyone, they will be more likeable to some than to others. Frankly speaking, pastors can at times be a grouchy and unappealing lot. Frankly, pastors make mistakes too though there are many who believe that pastors must be perfect at all times. Pastors aren't rock-solid likeable on a constant basis either; their demeanors will roll, too.

Insofar as this is the pastor's fault for his rudeness, let him repent; insofar as this is used as an excuse by others to complain, let them repent. But the point here is that I've heard more than one say person, "We went to a church where the pastor didn't teach anything wrong; but we just didn't like him, so we left."

Please understand this explanation in the context of Judgment Day: "He faithfully pointed us to Christ and fed us the Lord's body and blood for the forgiveness of sins. But he rubbed us wrong, so we went somewhere else." I wouldn't use that one before the Lord on the Last Day.

Pastors are sinful people, too. I pray that the Lord would preserve us from falling deeply into sin or unbelief, and I do so knowing that better men than me have so fallen. Therefore, more than once I have encouraged people: Do not base your faith on the example of your pastor, but on the Savior whom he proclaims from God's Word. Pastors aren't rocks; they roll, too, sometimes severely, and are in need of forgiveness. But Christ remains steadfast and immovable.

Now that I've picked on the Roman Church, contemporary Christian artists and pastors, I can hardly be accused of playing favorites; so now let me pick on you. It is a natural temptation for each sinner to consider himself reliable and dependable; if you can't trust yourself, then who can you trust? Every sinner wants to be a rock who doesn't roll. So I ask you, did you make any New Year's resolutions, and how have you managed to keep them?

If you're so rock-like, how come you still lose your temper? How come you grow impatient? How come you keep falling back into that same sin? How come you still nag? How come the half-dressed girl on TV still turns your head? How come you still pass on gossip and make groundless assumptions about people? How come you don't always keep promises, and sometimes make promises to your kids that you have no intention of keeping? How come you're excited about being a Christian at times, and so dissatisfied with it at others? And how come, even when it's your own fault and failing, your first instinct is to blame others? And how come, even after all this, you still want to trust yourself? You see, you're not a rock. You roll, too. You are not a solid foundation, but a sinner in need of forgiveness

This is why we go back to Peter's confessions of faith. This is why we turn once again to Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Christ remains the Cornerstone. He does not waver, roll or change His mind toward you. Do you become angry or impatient? He patiently, gently calls you to confess your sin so that you might be forgiven.

Do you give in to temptation, greed, lust? The One who selflessly and sinlessly bore your sin to the cross unfailingly offers forgiveness.

Do you break promises, tell lies? The Lord speaks the truth and keeps His promises. Do others roll and abandon you? He remains, as promised.

Do others forsake? He says, "Here I am-with grace and healing because I've won such for you on the cross. Here I am, because I promised at your Baptism that I would never leave you nor forsake you, and I always keep My promises. Here I am, speaking My Word to you, and I always keep My Word to you. Here I am with My body and blood; take and eat, take and drink, for the forgiveness of sins. Here I am, and the gates of heaven are open for you, because I am the Rock and I say so."

As we sing in one of our hymns, Hymn 370, "On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand," That sinking sand includes all but Christ, including Peter, me and you. But on this day as we remember Peter's confession, you have reason for great thanks: Jesus remains the Christ, the Son of the Living God, who has purchased your redemption by the shedding of His own blood. He has died, and Christ is risen;

And because He is risen from the dead, nothing can move Him as your rock now. Death cannot shift Him even for a moment, and all the devils in all the world cannot prevent Him from telling you that you are redeemed; for you are forgiven for all of your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.

Christ Is Risen.

AMEN