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Emmaus is a Reformed Baptist church in Hemet, California. We are a community of Christ followers who love God, love one another, and serve the church, community, and nations, for the glory of God and for our joy.
Our hope is that you will make Emmaus your home and that you will begin to grow with us as we study the scriptures and, through the empowering of the Holy Spirit, live in a way that honors our great King.
LORD'S DAY WORSHIP (SUNDAYS)
10:00am Corporate Worship
In the Emmaus Chapel at Cornerstone
26089 Girard St.
Hemet, CA 92544
EMMAUS ESSENTIALS
Sunday School For Adults
9:00am to 9:45am most Sundays (Schedule)
In the Chapel
MAILING ADDRESS
43430 E. Florida Ave. #F329
Hemet, CA 92544
The Realm is our church's online network. We use this tool as our primary means of communication. Be sure to check it often and don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
Interested in becoming a member? Please join us for a four-week study in which we will make a case from the scriptures for local church membership and introduce the ministries, government, doctrines, and distinctive's of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church.
Learn MoreEmmaus Essentials classes are currently offered online Sundays at 9AM. It is through our Emmaus Essentials (Sunday School) that we hope to experience an in depth study of the scriptures and Christian theology. These classes focus on the study of systematic theology, biblical theology, church history, and other topics practical to Christian living.
An audio teaching series through the Baptist Catechism aimed to instruct in foundational Christian doctrine and to encourage obedience within God’s people.
A podcast produced for International Reformed Baptist Seminary: a forum for discussion of important scriptural and theological subjects by faculty, administrators, and friends of IRBS.
A podcast devoted to discussions concerning Christian doctrine and the Christian life from a confessionally Reformed Baptist perspective.
A fourteen-week Bible study in which we consider “what man ought to believe concerning God, and what duty God requireth of man” (Baptist Catechism #6).
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At Emmaus we believe that God has given parents, especially fathers the authority and responsibility to train and instruct children up in the Lord. In addition, we believe that God has ordained the gathering of all generations, young to old, to worship Him together in one place and at one time. Therefore, each and every Sunday our children worship the Lord alongside their parents and other members of God’s family.
Learn MoreEmmaus Reformed Baptist Church is committed to the fullfilment of the Great Commision given by our Lord when he said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:18-20 ESV), through the planting of local churches, both at home and abroad.
Jan 25
12
“When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. Then the LORD said, ‘My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.’ The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown. The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the LORD said, ‘I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.’ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.” (Genesis 6:1–8)
“Then the LORD said to Noah, ‘Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation.’” (Genesis 7:1)
“Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came upon the earth. And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood.” (Genesis 7:6–7)
“In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights.” (Genesis 7:11–12)
“The flood continued forty days on the earth. The waters increased and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. The waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the face of the waters. And the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep. And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind. Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark. And the waters prevailed on the earth 150 days.” (Genesis 7:17–24)
“Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, ‘The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.’ And he said to the disciples, ‘The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you, ‘Look, there!’ or ‘Look, here!’ Do not go out or follow them. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all— so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it. I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left.’ And they said to him, ‘Where, Lord?’ He said to them, ‘Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.’” (Luke 17:20–37)
Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church but without the benefit of proofreading.
Eschatology matters.
What is eschatology? The word means the study of last things. Theologically, it is the study of what the Bible says concerning the time of the end. Considered narrowly, eschatology is concerned with questions related to the return of Christ, the final judgment, and the eternal state of believers and non-believers. Considered more broadly, eschatology is also concerned with questions about how things will be at the time of the end. What will things be like on earth before Christ returns? What condition will the world be in? What will be the condition and experience of Christ’s church?
You might have noticed that many professing Christians today obsess over questions about the future. Some will spend a great deal of time studying eschatology to the utter neglect of more foundational areas of theology such as theology proper (the study of the Triune God), Christology (the study of Christ), soteriology (the study of the doctrine of salvation), and ecclesiology (the study of the doctrine of the church). And some who obsess over eschatology have errored badly in their interpretation of Scripture and veer off into the realm of speculations. These are not content to know, in general terms, what will happen in the future according to the Scriptures, but go beyond the Scriptures in trying to discern what exactly will happen, when it will happen, and how current events play into this elaborate scheme they have concocted for themselves.
This obsession with eschatology, and this culture of unending speculation that exists within some Christian circles, has driven some to the opposite extreme. I have met Christians who want nothing to do with eschatology, who act as if what the Scriptures have to say about the end times is unclear, or that the study of what the Bible says about the last days is unprofitable. This is a mistake—eschatology matters.
Why does eschatology matter? Why is it important for disciples of Jesus to know and believe what the Bible has to say regarding the last days? I’ll present you with three reasons.
One, the Bible does have a lot to say about the future and what will happen in the last days. As followers of Christ, we believe the Holy Scriptures are the Word of God. Christians should desire to know all that the Word of God has to say so that we might believe what God has said and live according to the truth. Furthermore, as Christians, we confess that the Word of God is clear. We do not deny that some passages of Scripture are difficult to understand (see 2 Peter 3:16). We confess is that God is a clear communicator (see Second London Confession 1.7) and that it is certainly possible to understand what he has revealed. Again, it’s not as if there are only one or two passages about the last days—there are many! And most of them are not difficult to understand. They are clear. Frankly, it is the man-made system of doctrine known as dispensational, pre-tribulational, pre-millennialism, that is difficult to understand. And this erroneous system of doctrine grew so popular over the last 100 years and has infected the minds of so many Christians, that many have a difficult time reading what the Bible clearly says about the time of the end without importing the errors of that system into the text. The simple point I am here making is that God’s word has a lot to say about the last days and we should desire to know and believe what it says so that we might live according to the truth.
Two, it is important to know what the Bible has to say regarding the future because the destination always affects the journey.
Our confession of faith devotes two chapters to last things.
Chapter 31 summarizes what the Bible teaches about last things as it pertains to the body and souls of individual persons. The chapter title is, Of The State Of Man After Death, And Of The Resurrection Of The Dead. Listen to what it says.
Paragraph 1. The bodies of men after death return to dust, and see corruption; but their souls, which neither die nor sleep, having an immortal subsistence, immediately return to God who gave them. The souls of the righteous being then made perfect in holiness, are received into paradise, where they are with Christ, and behold the face of God in light and glory, waiting for the full redemption of their bodies; and the souls of the wicked are cast into hell; where they remain in torment and utter darkness, reserved to the judgment of the great day; besides these two places, for souls separated from their bodies, the Scripture acknowledgeth none.
Paragraph 2. At the last day, such of the saints as are found alive, shall not sleep, but be changed; and all the dead shall be raised up with the selfsame bodies, and none other; although with different qualities, which shall be united again to their souls forever.
Paragraph 3. The bodies of the unjust shall, by the power of Christ, be raised to dishonor; the bodies of the just, by his Spirit, unto honor, and be made conformable to his own glorious body.
Chapter 32 of our confession is also about last things. It focuses, not on the individual, but on humanity at the final judgment.
Paragraph 1 says, God hath appointed a day wherein he will judge the world in righteousness, by Jesus Christ; to whom all power and judgment is given of the Father; in which day, not only the apostate angels shall be judged, but likewise all persons that have lived upon the earth shall appear before the tribunal of Christ, to give an account of their thoughts, words, and deeds, and to receive according to what they have done in the body, whether good or evil.”
Paragraph 2. The end of God’s appointing this day, is for the manifestation of the glory of his mercy, in the eternal salvation of the elect; and of his justice, in the eternal damnation of the reprobate, who are wicked and disobedient; for then shall the righteous go into everlasting life, and receive that fulness of joy and glory with everlasting rewards, in the presence of the Lord; but the wicked, who know not God, and obey not the gospel of Jesus Christ, shall be cast aside into everlasting torments, and punished with everlasting destruction, from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.
Paragraph 3. As Christ would have us to be certainly persuaded that there shall be a day of judgment, both to deter all men from sin, and for the greater consolation of the godly in their adversity, so will he have the day unknown to men, that they may shake off all carnal security, and be always watchful, because they know not at what hour the Lord will come, and may ever be prepared to say, Come Lord Jesus; come quickly. Amen.
These two chapters of our confession provide a fine summary of the teaching of Holy Scripture regarding what will happen in the end. And as I have said, it is important to know and believe these truths because the destination always affects the journey. If men and women do not know where they are going, they will wander aimlessly. And so it is for all who live their lives never thinking about the end—they are bound to wander aimlessly on the journey of life. And if men and women are wrong concerning their destination, their entire course will be misdirected. And so it is for all who have believed lies concerning the future. The Holy Scriptures reveal the truth concerning the destiny of those united to Christ by faith and the wicked. And by God’s grace, knowing the truth about the end will enable us to order our lives accordingly so that we sojourn with purpose and resolve in Christ Jesus toward the reward of eternal life in heaven.
Three, it is important to know what the Bible says regarding the future because false expectations are dangerous.
Typically, when we talk about eschatology, the end times, or the last days, we are concerned with what the Bible has to say about what the world will be like immediately before Christ returns, what will happen when he returns, and what will happen after he returns. But the Bible does not only reveal what will happen when Christ returns, or on the days which immediately precede or follow his return. No, the Scriptures reveal how things will be on earth and for the people of God in the time between Christ’s first and second comings.
The Scriptures call these days—the entire time between Christ’s first and second comings—the last days (see Acts 2:17, 2 Timothy 3:1, Hebrews 1:2, James 5:2, 2 Peter 3:3). They are called the last days, not because they are few in number. So far, there have been nearly 2,000 years worth of last days. They are called the last days because, as it pertains to the course of human history, after these days—the days of the New Covenant—there will be no more. Immediately after these days—the days of the New Covenant—there will be the return of Christ, the rapture, the resurrection of the dead, the final judgment, and the eternal state.
The Greek word translated as “last” in the phrase “the last days” is ἒσχατος. It is used to refer to something that is the last in a series. And these days—the days between Christ’s first and second comings, the days of the New Covenant—are the last days in a series of days. As we study the Scriptures, it is not difficult to see that human history is divided into epochs or dispensations and that these epochs are distinguished by covenants. The days of Adam prior to the fall were drastically different from the days of Adam and Noah after the fall. In the days of Abraham, God entered into a covenant to fulfill his promise to send a Savior through the Hebrews. In the days of Moses, this promise was carried higher. And in the days of King David, the promise was carried higher still. But these days—the days of the Messiah and his Covenant of Grace—are the last days. Messiah rules are reigns in heaven now. All authority in heaven and earth has been given to him (Matthew 28:18), and he will reign from on high until that day when his enemies will be made a footstool for his feet (see Hebrews 10:13). On that day, Christ will restore all things (see Acts 3:21)
The Bible has a lot to say about how these last days will be for God’s people.
Listen to Paul’s description. “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:1–7).
Listen to what Peter says. “This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.’ For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly” (2 Peter 3:1–7).
If we had the time, I could walk you through the book of Revelation, written by the Apostle John, to show you that he agrees. That marvelous book communicates, largely through images and symbols, that in these last days, God’s people will experience trials, tribulations, and difficulties. But God and Christ know how to keep those who belong to them while judging the world!
And where did Paul, Peter, and John get their ideas about how things will be in these last days? They were taught by Christ and the same Spirit that anointed Christ inspired them to write what they wrote.
The point I am here making is that the Scriptures say a lot about how things will be in these last days so that we might know what to expect as we sojourn. As I’ve said, false expectations are dangerous. When harbored in the hearts of God’s people false expectations will lead to disappointment and despair.
So what will the world be like when Christ, the Son Of Man, returns?
Listen to what Jesus says in Luke 17:26. “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.” (Luke 17:26–27)
So then, when Christ returns, the world will be similar to how it was in the days of Noah. And how was the world in the days of Noah? I supposed I could simply read you the 2 Timothy 3:1-7 passage again but begin with these words: The days Noah there were “times of difficulty” for God’s people. For people [were] lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,” etc. ” (2 Timothy 3:1–7).
In the days of Noah, the world was very worldly— “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5)—and God’s people were mocked, ridiculed, and mistreated. This will be the condition of the world when the Son of Man appears. Stated negatively, there will be no golden age—no Christianization of culture— before Christ returns, as some post-millennialists claim.
What will the world be like when Christ, the Son Of Man, returns?
Listen to what Christ says in Luke 17:28-30. “Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all— so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed” (Luke 17:28–30).
When Christ speaks of the days of Lot, he assumes his audience knows the story of Lot, the nephew of Abraham, and the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, as told in Genesis 19. I will not take the time to read that story to you. In brief, Lot was a righteous man. He dwelt in the midst of an exceedingly perverse culture. The culture was especially perverse sexually. The Lord rained down fire and sulfur on those cities. But before he poured out his judgment, he rescued (raptured) Lot and his family.
The Apostle Peter reflects on that event, saying, “if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment…” (2 Peter 2:6–9). This agrees with what Christ says here in Luke 17:28-29. “Just as it was in the days of Lot… so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed” (Luke 17:28–30).
It is interesting to note that Christ does not say anything about the wickedness that existed in the world in the days before the flood, or the wickedness that was present in Sodom and Gomorrah. Concerning the days of Noah, Christ said, “They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all” (Luke 17:27). And concerning Sodom, Christ said, “Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all…” (Luke 17:28–29). Clearly, there is nothing inherently sinful about eating and drinking, entering into marriage, buying and selling, or planting and building. Students of the Bible have wondered why Christ simply mentioned these activities, which can be done in a very good and God-honoring way, while saying nothing about the great wickedness and perversion that was present in the episodes.
There are two reasons, I think.
On the one hand, Christ assumes his audience is familiar with the story of Noah and the flood (Genesis 6 & 7) and the study of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as told in (Genesis 18 & 19). Those familiar with these stories will know that in these days people were not eating and drinking, entering into marriage, buying, and selling, or planting and building in a good and God-honoring way, but sinfully and perversely. They were gluttons and drunkards, sexually perverse and oppressive, and greedy for gain.
On the other hand, when Christ simply says that they were eating and drinking, entering into marriage, buying, selling, planting and building, he describes the situation from the vantage point of the wicked. What were they concerned about? What was the focus of their existence? Where were their eyes and hearts fixed? They were consumed with the world and the pleasures of this world. They did not think anything at all about God and his righteous judgments. They were consumed with the world and the things of this world, and then one day, judgment fell upon them. The flood came and destroyed them all. Fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all. And so it will be when the Son of Man returns. When Christ returns, he will come suddenly like a thief in the night. The wicked will be surprised and caught off guard. But God’s people are to be ready (see 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11).
In verse 31 we hear Christ say, “On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife” (Luke 17:31–32).
What is the meaning of this? The meaning is that disciples of Jesus are not to be so attached to the world and the things of this world that their impulse is to run and gather their goods and possessions when the Lord comes in judgment.
When the Son of Man returns on the last day, those united to him by faith will welcome him. They will not run from him to hide or cling to their worldly treasures, for Christ is their treasure! The last day will be a joyous and glorious day for the believer. But for the wicked who remain in their sins, the last day will be a day of terror and distress.
Furthermore, those who trust in Jesus are to have the same impulse when Christ pours out his judgments on the ungodly in partial and restrained ways before the time of the end. I trust you can see that the Lord came in judgment when he flooded the earth in the days of Noah, but it was not the final judgment. The righteous were spared, and human history went on. The flood was a type of the final judgment yet to come. And the same was true of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. When God poured out his wrath on those cities, it was a type or picture of the final judgment. The righteous were spared and the wicked were judged. Jesus tells us to remember Lot’s wife! God’s word says that she “looked back, and she became a pillar of salt” (Genesis 19:26). When the text says, she looked back, it means that she looked back with longing and love for the things of this world. Her heart was in Sodom and Gomorrah, and so she was judged along with Sodom and Gomorrah. We must not be like her when Christ returns at the end of time. And we must not be like here when the Lord pours out his partial and restrained judgments on wicked people and nations in the time before the end.
You should know that Christ came to judge in this partial and restrained way in the year 70 AD. It was then that Jerusalem was besieged by the Romans and the temple was destroyed. The destruction and the suffering was very great. And so disciples of Jesus, being caught in the middle of this, had an opportunity to obey the words they heard him speak—“On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it” (Luke 17:31–33).
In verse 34 we hear Christ say, “I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left” (Luke 17:34–35).
This is about the rapture. Paul speaks of the rapture in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 when he says, “Then we who are alive, who are left [when Christ returns], will be caught up together with [the dead in Christ who are raised] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:17-18). When Christ returns he will pour out his wrath upon the wicked, but first, he will gather his people to himself in the air.
That this rapture will be worldwide is shown in the fact that two will be sleeping at night in one bed, one will be taken and the other left, and two will be grinding grain at the mill (in the day), and one will be taken and the other left.
When Christ tells us that a distinction will be made between those sleeping in the same bed and those grinding at a mill together he teaches us that his people will remain in the world until he returns and that his people are distinguished, not by race or ethnicity, but by faith. His people are not to withdraw from the world. His people will be interspersed with the world. Just as Noah and Lot lived in the world but were not of the world, so too the Christian is to live in the world but be not of it. To quote Peter again, the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment…” (2 Peter 2:9)
This passage begins with the Pharisees asking when the kingdom of God would come (see Luke 17:20), and it concludes with his disciples asking, “Where, Lord?” Where will this judgment and rapture take place? Christ’s reply is enigmatic. “He said to them, ‘Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather’” (Luke 17:37). I take this to mean that it will be clear when the time comes. The judgment that is brought at the end of time when Christ returns will be global. The partial and restrained judgments of Chris that come before the time of the end will be easy to see.
Jan 25
12
“No church members, upon any offence taken by them, having performed their duty required of them towards the person they are offended at, ought to disturb any church-order, or absent themselves from the assemblies of the church, or administration of any ordinances, upon the account of such offence at any of their fellow members, but to wait upon Christ, in the further proceeding of the church.” (Matthew 18:15-17; Ephesians 4:2, 3)
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” (Matthew 18:15–20)
Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church but without the benefit of proofreading.
No church is perfect. It was in Second London Confession (2LCF) 26.3 that we confessed, “The purest churches under heaven are subject to mixture and error…” Churches may err in many ways. One way that churches err is when the members of the church sin against each other and offend one another leading to division. How should the members of the church behave when they are offended? That is the question addressed in this paragraph.
First of all, we confess that those offended must perform the duty required of them towards the person they are offended at. And what is the duty required of those who have been offended? Matthew 18:15 says, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church.” This is the duty that those offended must perform.
Notice, that it is not the offending party but the offended party that has the responsibility to address the offense. Why is this? The answer is simple. The person who is offended always knows they are offended whereas the one who has done the offending does not always know. Furthermore, there may be cases where a person knows they have offended another member of the church, and because they are living in sin, they do not care! So then, the Scriptures plainly teach that church members who have been offended by other church members have the responsibility to go to the one who has offended them to address the issue. The church is like a family. We must not be like a dysfunctional family where issues are not addressed. And neither can we fall into the sin of gossip. If someone offends you, go to them, and not to others. The sin of gossip can quickly ruin a church.
Secondly, we confess that the offended party, after performing their duty, must not disturb any church-order. The situation here being envisioned is a discipline case that has been brought to the church through the elders of the church. As the offended party waits for the church to speak and to act in the case, church-order must not be disturbed. You can probably understand the temptation. Sometimes things move slowly in the church. Sometimes this is bad and at other times it is good and necessary. The one who has been offended and has followed the steps outlined in Matthew 18 must not grow impatient and act in a disorderly way. For example, they must not gossip or speak out at a members’ meeting in an attempt to speed things up, etc.
Thirdly, we confess that offended church members must not “absent themselves from the assemblies of the church” as they wait upon the proceedings of the church. Again, I’m sure you can understand the temptation. Those who have been offended might be tempted to avoid those who offended them and to neglect to assemble with the church. This is disorderly and dysfunctional and must not be done.
Fourthly, we confess that offended church members must not “absent themselves from the… administration of any ordinances.” The ordinances are those things that Christ has ordered, especially baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper is primarily in view here. Offended church members might be tempted to avoid the Lord’s Table wherein our shared union with Christ is symbolized. This must not be done. It is true, that we must partake of the Lord’s Supper in a worthy manner. If you have been offended by someone, do your duty. Go to them in obedience to Matthew 18 and attempt to win your brother and sister. Do everything you can to be at peace with them, and then come worthily to the Lord’s Table. No church member has the right or authority to excommunicate themselves.
Fifthly, offended church members who have done their duty (in obedience to Matthew 18), who are not disturbing church-order, or absenting themselves from the fellowship or the ordinances, must “wait upon Christ, in the further proceeding of the church.” This is a beautiful statement. A few things need to be said.
One, offended church members must wait patiently upon the proceedings of the church. This means they are to wait for the elders to lead in matters of discipline and, if necessary, for the church to speak.
Two, this emphasizes the need for elders to lead as efficiently as possible in matters of discipline lest they tempt the offended members of the church to grow impatient as they wait on the proceedings of the church. The elders and the church must never rush to judgment, but neither can they afford to drag their feet. Both errors will jeopardize the peace and unity of the church.
Three, when offended church members wait upon the proceedings of the church, it is really Christ they are waiting on. This is a wonderful reminder that Christ is Lord and head of his church and that he has promised to be with his church always, even to the end of the age.
It is sometimes forgotten that the famous church discipline passage found in Matthew 18 concludes with these words from Christ: “Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them” (Matthew 18:18–20). This passage is often quoted as if it is about Christ promising to be present with his people when they gather for prayer. It’s not. This passage is about church discipline. When the church judges in discipline, things are bound and loosed in heaven. And Christ promises to be present with his people in matters of discipline.
The point is this: When offended church members wait patiently on the proceedings of the church, they are really waiting on Christ, for Christ is Lord and head of his church, and he has promised to be with his people always to the end of the age.
It should not be difficult to see all of the good that will come to a church and its members when they are faithful to wait upon Christ in matters of discipline. And it should not be difficult to see all of the bad that will result when churches neglect discipline or members abandon the process prematurely. Church discipline, when carried out in obedience to the Scriptures and in love, is for the good of the church, the good of those who fall into sin, and the honor of Christ’s name.
And so we confess that “No church members, upon any offence taken by them, having performed their duty required of them towards the person they are offended at, ought to disturb any church-order, or absent themselves from the assemblies of the church, or administration of any ordinances, upon the account of such offence at any of their fellow members, but to wait upon Christ, in the further proceeding of the church.” (Matthew 18:15-17; Ephesians 4:2, 3)
Jan 25
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Jan 25
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Jan 25
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Jan 25
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Jan 25
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“Thus says the LORD: ‘The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over to you and be yours; they shall follow you; they shall come over in chains and bow down to you. They will plead with you, saying: ‘Surely God is in you, and there is no other, no god besides him.’ Truly, you are a God who hides himself, O God of Israel, the Savior. All of them are put to shame and confounded; the makers of idols go in confusion together. But Israel is saved by the LORD with everlasting salvation; you shall not be put to shame or confounded to all eternity. For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited!): ‘I am the LORD, and there is no other. I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek me in vain.’ I the LORD speak the truth; I declare what is right. Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, you survivors of the nations! They have no knowledge who carry about their wooden idols, and keep on praying to a god that cannot save. Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together! Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me. Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.’ Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength; to him shall come and be ashamed all who were incensed against him. In the LORD all the offspring of Israel shall be justified and shall glory.’” (Isaiah 45:14–25)
“Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, ‘The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.’ And he said to the disciples, ‘The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you, ‘Look, there!’ or ‘Look, here!’ Do not go out or follow them. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all— so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it. I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left.’ And they said to him, ‘Where, Lord?’ He said to them, ‘Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.’” (Luke 17:20–37)
Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church but without the benefit of proofreading.
Last Sunday was the final Sunday of the year 2024. I think it was fitting that we arrived at Luke 17:11-19 last Sunday. That text is about gratitude or thankfulness. It was good to be exhorted by that passage of Holy Scripture to be grateful to God and Christ for the cleansing of our sins and the salvation that Christ has worked for us. The Christian life is to be characterized by gratitude and thankfulness. And the one who is united to Christ by faith has every good reason to be thankful. Not only has God blessed us with good things to enjoy in this life, but in Christ, we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3). Indeed, “According to [God the Father’s] great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for [us], who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this [we] rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, [we] have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Chris” (1 Peter 1:3–7). The story about the Samaritan man who was cleansed by Jesus of his leprosy returning to Jesus to fall on his face to give him thanks and to give God praise (see Luke 17:16) is a marvelous picture of the Christian life. Sinners who have been cleansed by Christ and saved from their miserable condition ought to fall at Jesus’ feet to give him thanks and praise. This we should do daily in prayer. And this we should do Lord’s Day by Lord’s Day as we assemble in Jesus’ name to worship the Triune God and the Christ he has sent.
But dear friends, I trust you know that the Christian life involves far more than private prayer and corporate worship. It is in private prayer and corporate worship that our gratitude is expressed in a most pronounced way. However, Christians are not called to remain bowed at the feet of Jesus in private prayer forever. And neither is corporate worship to be unending. No, Christians must rise up from private prayer and go on their way. Corporate worship must have a beginning and an end. And do not forget that the Lord’s Day is but one in seven. The Lord’s Day Sabbath is a holy day. It is a day to rest from common work and recreation and to devote oneself to the pubic and private worship of God. But six common days flow out of the one holy day. Brothers and sisters, Christ is to be thanked and God is to be praised on the common days too! Christ is to be honored as King on Monday through Saturday as much as he is honored as King on Sunday. Our activities and our focus are different, but our purpose does not change. We are to live for the glory, honor, and praise of God and Christ each and every day of our existence. Notice that the previous passage concluded with Jesus commanding the leper he healed who had returned to him to give him thanks and praise to rise and to go his way assuring him that his faith had made him well (Luke 17:19). Clearly, Christ expected this man to go on walking by faith and to continue to express his gratitude for the grace of God shown to him by living a life in obedience to Christ as King.
On the last Sunday of 2024, I encouraged you to live a life of gratitude and thankfulness before God and Christ. Here on this first Sunday of 2025, I wish to exhort you to express your gratitude and thankfulness to God and Christ, not only in private prayer or in corporate worship but in every moment of every day. More than this, I wish to exhort you to express your gratitude to God and Christ, not in word only, but in thought, word, and deed. Stated differently, our gratitude to Christ is not merely to be expressed by falling at the feet of Jesus for a moment, but also in our rising and going on our way. Indeed, those who are truly aware of their natural guilt and the marvelous grace shown to them in Christ Jesus will express their gratitude by honoring Christ as King, not occasionally but always and not in word only but in thought, word, and deed.
It is interesting that Luke, after telling the story of the Samaritan leper who was cleansed by Christ falling on his face at the feet of Jesus to give him thanks and to give God praise, inserts a story regarding the coming of the kingdom of God. The leper who cleansed bowed at Jesus’ feet to honor him as King, and now Luke directs our attention to the arrival of God’s Kingdom.
As you know, Jesus claimed to be the Lord’s Messiah who was promised from ancient times. Those who knew the Scriptures expected that when the Messiah arrived he would bring with him God’s Kingdom, that is, the everlasting kingdom that God promised to David in the covenant he made with him, saying in 2 Samuel 7:12-13, “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” It is no surprise, therefore, that with all of this talk about Jesus being the Messiah (the son of David), there was also a lot of talk about the arrival of God’s kingdom, for the two things go together (the Messiah would bring with him the God’s eternal kingdom). This story about the cleansed leper falling at Jesus’ feet to honor him as King provides a wonderful opportunity to consider the arrival of God’s eternal kingdom, and that is where Luke takes us in his gospel.
In Luke 17:20 we are told that some Pharisees asked Jesus “when the kingdom of God would come.” Notice, this is a question about timing. When will the kingdom of God come? That is the question. The answer that Jesus provides is very interesting. He does not simply say now, nor does he simply say later. His answer indicates that the Kingdom of God was already present in the days of his earthly ministry and that it was also, in some respects, still to come. The Scriptures are consistent on this theme. When Christ was born into the world and when he began his earthly ministry the kingdom of God, which is also called the kingdom of heaven, was said to be at hand (see Luke 1:33, 4:43; Matthew 3:2, 4:7). At the same time, the Scriptures indicate that the kingdom of God is not yet here in fullness (see Matthew 26:29). Theologians will sometimes use the phrase, “already but not yet” to describe this situation. The kingdom of God is already here but not yet in fullness. If you have been listening to my preaching and teaching for any amount of time you have probably heard me say that the kingdom of God has been inaugurated (begun) but we await its consummation (completion). This is what Christ describes in the text that is open before us today.
Look with me at verses 20-21. “Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, ‘The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you’” (Luke 17:20–21).
So, what was the answer Jesus gave to the question, when will the kingdom of God come? In brief, he said, it is here now! It is right in front of your faces! It is in the midst of you!
This would have been very puzzling to the Pharisees, many of whom were expecting the kingdom of God to look like kingdoms of this world, for they did not see anything like an earthly kingdom in their midst. What do the kingdoms of this world look like? They are led by dignified kings who rule with military power, who have great wealth, who dwell in palaces, with servants all around. The Pharisees did not see anything like this when they looked out upon Jesus and his disciples. And so, before he could answer their question about the timing of the arrival of the kingdom of God, he first had to teach them about its nature. He spoke to them, saying, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’” In other words, Christ warned the Pharisees not to expect the kingdom of God to look like the kingdoms of this world when it comes. If they expected the kingdom of God to be ushered in by a Messiah who would conquer and rule with the sword, who would overthrow Rome militarily, and take up residence in a great palace within the walled city of Jerusalem, etc.. then they would surely miss the arrival of the kingdom of God and its King.
“The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed”, Christ said. It is a kingdom of a different kind. Or to borrow language from the gospel of John, it is a kingdom “not of this world.” It is in John 18:36 that we hear Christ say, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world” (John 18:36).
What then did Christ mean when he spoke to the Pharisees, saying, “For behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you”?
One, by these words he clearly answered their question about the timing of the arrival of the kingdom of God. The Pharisees asked, when will the kingdom of God come? Jesus answered, it is already here!
Two, by these words Christ claimed to be the King of God’s everlasting kingdom. His disciples considered him to be the Messiah, the son promised to Abraham (see Genesis 12:1-3; 17:6; 18:18; Galatians 3:14), and the son promised King David (see 2 Samuel 7:12-13). When Christ said, “For behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you”, he was claiming to be the King of God’s kingdom who was promised long ago. When will the kingdom of God come? It’s as if Christ said, you’re looking at the King! And with the King comes the kingdom!
Three, when Christ spoke to the Pharisees, saying, “For behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you”, he meant that his disciples, who were standing all around him, were the citizens of God’s everlasting kingdom. Who are the citizens of God’s eternal kingdom? They are those who have faith in Christ and honor him as King!
The question of the Pharisees was, when will the kingdom of God come? If I were to paraphrase Jesus’ answer I would say this: The kingdom of God is here. It’s right in front of you and in the midst of you. You’d see it if you knew what to look for! You can’t see it because you expect it to look like the kingdoms of this world. But God’s kingdom – the kingdom of the Messiah – is not of this world. It is heavenly and spiritual. It is without palaces and borders. It does not advance by military might. Instead, it has arrived in a humble and lowly estate, and hardly anyone notices. It advances through the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom of Christ and by the working of the Spirit. Citizenship in this kingdom does not come by way of birth but new birth. It is all who place their faith in Christ the King and confess him to be Lord who are made partakers of this kingdom that will have no end.
When will the kingdom of God come? It arrived at the time of Christ’s first coming. But what Christ said next indicated that his kingdom would not immediately be consummated and that times of great difficulty would soon arise.
Look with me at verse 22. There we read, “And he said to the disciples…” Notice that this teaching was directed towards his disciples and not the Pharisees. “And he said to the disciples, ‘The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it’” (Luke 17:22).
As you probably know, the title “Son of Man” is a title for the Messiah. It comes from Daniel 7. Jesus would often refer to himself as the “Son of Man” indicating that he was the fulfillment of the prophecies of Daniel 7. And when Christ spoke to his disciples saying, “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man”, he meant that in the future his disciples would long to be in his presence bodily and on earth. For the disciples who walked with Jesus in the days of his earthly ministry, this meant that they would look back upon the days of his earthly ministry with fondness and that they would long for his bodily return. For the disciples of Christ, like you and me, who did not witness his life, death, and resurrection, this means that we will long for his bodily return. Again I say, to “desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man” is to desire to be in the presence of Christ bodily and on earth. When Christ says, you will desire to see these days “and you will not see it” he hints at the days of tribulation that would soon come upon his disciples.
As you may know, the early Christians were viciously persecuted by the Jews after Christ’s death, burial, resurrection, and ascension to the Father’s right hand. And as you may know, the Jewish nation was judged by God in the year 70 AD when the Romans besieged Jerusalem and leveled the temple in Jerusalem leaving only the foundation stones. The Christians living in Jerusalem also suffered greatly in those days. And as you may know, Christ warned that the entire time between his first coming and his second coming would be marked by trials and tribulations, famines and earthquakes, wars and rumors of wars (see Matthew 24:6; Mark 13:7). In addition to this, we are warned “that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power” (2 Timothy 3:1–5).
It is no wonder that Christ spoke to his disciples saying, ‘The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it’” (Luke 17:22). Indeed, ever since the ascension of Jesus into heaven, Christians have been crying out saying, “Maranatha”, which means, “Our Lord, come!”
In verses 23 and 24, Christ warns his disciples lest they be fooled by false teachers who claim that Christ has returned when, in fact, he has not. There we read, “And they will say to you, ‘Look, there!’ or ‘Look, here!’ Do not go out or follow them. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day” (Luke 17:23–24). It’s as if Christ says, pay no attention to those who claim that I have returned for you will not need anyone to tell you. You’ll know. It will be obvious to all.
So then, the first and second coming of Christ and the inauguration and consummation of Christ’s kingdom could not be more different in their appearance.
When Christ first came to inaugurate his kingdom, the kingdom of God did not come in ways that could be observed. Christ the King and his kingdom were barely perceivable. The kings and kingdoms of this earth hardly took notice. But when Christ returns to consummate the kingdom of God, everyone will notice. He will not again enter into this world as a babe born to impoverished parents. He will not grow up in obscurity. He will not suffer at the hands of sinners or lay down his life to make atonement for sin. No, when Christ returns he will come “not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:28) and to judge the living and dead (see 2 Timothy 4:1; 1 Peter 4:5). He will not return in weakness or obscurity but in power and glory. As Revelation 1:7 says, “Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen” (Revelation 1:7).
I trust you can see that two answers were given by Christ to the question, when will the kingdom of God come? On the one hand, Christ taught that the kingdom of God was present at his first coming. Jesus is the King of God’s eternal kingdom. And with the King comes the kingdom. On the other hand, the kingdom of Christ will not be consummated until he returns. The question then becomes, what will life in this inaugurated kingdom of Christ be like until he returns to judge and save those who are eagerly waiting for him? The answer is found in verse 25: “But first [Christ] must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation” (Luke 17:25).
Clearly, this refers to the suffering Christ would soon endure on the cross and the rejection he would experience by the generation of his day. So the order is this. First, the Son of Man came into the world in a humble and lowly estate to suffer and die at the hands of sinners to make atonement for sin, to accomplish salvation, and to inaugurate God’s eternal kingdom. Only after this would Christ return in power and glory to save those who wait for him, to judge those who remain in their sin, and to bring the kingdom he inaugurated at his first coming to completion.
Now I ask you, dear brothers and sisters. Where in this progression do you and I now live? We live in between the first and second comings of Christ. We live in the inaugurated kingdom of Christ while we await its consummation. We live in the last days. And in these last days the body of Christ, that is to say, the church is to expect suffering and rejection at the hands of every generation as the kingdom of Christ steadily advances in the world.
What Christ says in verses 26 through 37 confirms this interpretation, but I have decided to leave those verses for next Sunday so that we might consider them carefully.
I’d like to conclude this sermon by offering some suggestions for application based upon the words of Christ, “the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”
The first point of application is about mindset. Are you mindful that the inaugurated kingdom of God is in the midst of us? Stated differently, as you think about the Christian faith in general and your personal faith in Christ in particular, do you think of it in the context of God’s kingdom? If the answer is no, then it is time to change your thinking. Christ came to establish an eternal kingdom. Christ is the King of that kingdom. Those who are united to him by faith are its citizens. They are those who have Christ as Lord and King! This kingdom has laws. This kingdom has ethics. This kingdom has a culture. This kingdom has an aim or objective – the salvation and sanctification of God’s elect from every tongue, tribe, and nation, the glory of Christ the King, and the glory of the Triune God. When Christ spoke to the Pharisees, saying, “the kingdom of God is in the midst of you”, he answered their question about the timing of its arrival – it is here now, Christ said! But Christ also instructed his disciples to think of the work he was doing in kingdom terms and to see the kingdom that was in their midst. Worldly men cannot see the kingdom because they are spiritually blind. But by God’s grace, through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit and by the preaching of the word, we can see God’s kingdom (see John 3:3). With eyes of faith, we see Christ as King. With eyes of faith, we see that it is those who turn from their sins to place their faith in Christ who are its citizens. With eyes of faith, we see that this kingdom of Christ is inaugurated now and will one day be consummated, when Christ the King returns to judge and to make all things new.
Secondly, once we learn to think about Christ and our faith in him in kingdom terms and grow in our ability to see Christ’s kingdom as a present reality that awaits future consummation, we must learn to live together according to the laws of this kingdom as revealed in the Holy Scriptures. Where does this eternal kingdom of God, which is invisible now, show itself in the world? It is manifest in local churches. When you look out upon a local church like this one, do you see the kingdom of God? Not in its fullness! There are many other citizens in Christ’s kingdom than these. And where is Christ the King? He is hidden from our sight as he sits enthroned at the right hand of God the Father in heaven. But the kingdom of Christ is made visible here in the local church and in every local church that assembles on the Lord’s Day in Jesus’ name throughout the world. Though we do not see him in the flesh, Christ is the King of his kingdom. He is Lord and King of his churches. He orders his churches and he governs his churches by his word and Sprirt. We have been thinking a lot about the order and government of Christ’s church with the help of chapter 26 of our confession in the second portion of our liturgy, and so I will not say more. The point I am here making is that we must be concerned to obey Christ the King and the laws of his kingdom corporately. If we wish to honor Christ the Kind and further his Kindom, we must be concerned to see his churches properly ordered and governed according to his word.
Thirdly, we must not only see Christ and honor him as our corporate King, but as our personal King too. What is the confession we make at the beginning of the Christian life except, Christ is Lord or King? Brothers and sisters, if Christ is our Lord and King, he is to be honored as such all the days of our lives. He is to be honored as King on the holy day – the Lord’s Day – and on the common days too. He is to be honored as King at home, at work, at school, in the community, and in the church. He is to be honored as King in our thoughts, words, and deeds. We are to honor him as King not because we fear him, but out of gratitude for what he has done for us and the great salvation he has accomplished on our behalf. What a great King we have in Christ Jesus. As King he has convinces us, subdues us, draws, upholds, and delivers us, and we trust that he will also preserve us to bring us safely into his heavenly kingdom. May Christ be thanked, and may God be praised.
Dec 24
22
"Him we proclaim,
warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom,
that we may present everyone mature in Christ."
(Colossians 1:28, ESV)
