May 24, 2026
"A Chosen Community" (Matthew 16:13-20)
Preacher: Wybren Oord Series: Heidelberg Catechism Scripture: Matthew 16:13–20
We turn to Matthew chapter 16 beginning at verse 13. And there the word of God comes to us as follows. Now, when Jesus Christ came into the district of Caesarea, Philippi, he asked his disciples, who do people say that the Son of man is? And they said, some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. He said to them, but who do you say that I am?
Simon Peter replied, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered him, blessed are you Simon bar Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church. And the gates of hell shall not break prevail against it. I give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.
And whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. And whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. And he strictly charged them not to tell one not to tell anyone that he was the Christ, the Word of God. Thanks be to God.
Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ. There are over five hundred and forty churches within a 10 mile radius from where you are sitting right now. And some of them are Reformed churches, some of them are Baptist churches. There are charismatic churches. On that list is rather extensive.
Amid the Reformed and Presbyterian churches there is the pca, the opc, the rca, the urc, the prc, the crc, I discovered just a few weeks ago. There's also an NRC not all that far away from here. As of April last month, the World Communion of Reformed Churches claims There are over 220, 25 different Reformed and Presbyterian denominations around the world. 225 denominations that are Reformed and or Presbyterian. And that doesn't include Independent Reformed, Independent Presbyterian.
It's amazing that there are all these different kinds of churches and all these different brands of Reformed and Presbyterian churches, each one with its own unique distinctions and each one finding it difficult to work with another flavor.
The churches in North America have been fragmented denominationally and polarized theologically. And every decade seems to bring some kind of attack upon the church. And some of them are very serious and some of them kind of make you scratch your head and wonder what the fuss is all about. When I was the editor of the Outlook, we spent a lot of time on law and grace, federal vision, pedo communion, and what songs should be sung and should not be sung within the worship service. Before that it was how long were the days of creation and was it a global or a local flood?
And what kind of songs should we be allowed to sing in the worship service? And when I was younger it was a common cup or individual cups, wine or grape juice, getting rid of the Dutch service and we want to sing English songs. 1924 it was cup, common grace and exclusive psalmody in the worship service. 1857 it was lodge membership and what kind of songs we can sing. And that's just in Reformed circles.
These issues have left the church divided and splintered. And with all of those divisions taking place, we tend to forget that we confess one holy Catholic Church.
Back in 2015, John Oliver on his show this week or last week tonight showed how easy it is to start a church. He began a church fully explaining exactly what he was doing, that he was doing this to show how easy it is, fully explaining what he was doing was not starting a real church. And then he gave what he thought was a kind of religious spiel and asked for money to support his church. Tens of thousands of dollars came in, which he later donated to Doctors Without Borders. But it's very easy to see why so many people think that the church is the most corrupt organization in the world.
But we have to understand that the true church is the most important organization in the world. And it is because it is so important that the church is open to every kind of attack. It's a target of every kind of attack against it by Satan. In our passage this evening from Matthew, Jesus guarantees that the gates of hell will never prevail against the the Church of God. And you'll notice that as we read those verses, there's no guarantee that the gates of hell will not be unleashed against the Church.
Satan most certainly is very hard at work in the church. Jesus says in Matthew 24, there will be many false prophets who arise and lead many astray. Again in that same chapter, false Christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders so as to lead people astray if it was possible, even the elect. But this remains true. This remains the promise of God.
He who endures will be saved. He who endures to the end will be saved. The Church will prevail. The Church will prevail. Not because the Church was established by man.
No, the Church is going to prevail because it was instituted by the Father, it was won by the Son, and it is maintained by the Holy Spirit. Be sure of this. God the Father loves his church. And be just as sure of this truth. God the Son redeemed his church with his own precious blood.
It is God, the Holy Spirit, whose coming on Pentecost we celebrate today who creates the church by interdependent, the saving work of Jesus Christ to sinful people. And it is through the church that personal salvation is ordinarily enjoyed. The church that is the true church is not this building. It's not the building that Joe's going to be moving into with his congregation. Pastor Joe it's not any building.
It's not even an organization. It's not a particular denomination or federation. The church is the entire body of believers chosen already by God before creation, beginning all the way back to Adam, down to Henry Allen, who was baptized, especially Morning. The Lord preserves his church. The catechism tells us the church consists of people who the Son of God, through his spirit and word, gathers, protects and preserves for himself.
Congregation. There are members of the Church of God all over the world, members from all kinds of denominations, from all kinds of federations, from independent churches. There are members of the church right here this afternoon who, by their walk, by their testimony, by their conduct of life, by their faith and their commitment to Jesus Christ, witness that they have been called by the Holy Spirit to be a part of the Church of Jesus Christ. According to question and answer 54, the True Church has three agencies working within it. The Son of God, the Holy Spirit of God and the Word of God.
The Son of God serves as the shepherd of his flock.
He gave us life for the church. Everything in the Apostles Creed that we confess, beginning with I believe in Jesus Christ all the way to from there he shall come to judge the living and the dead, is the work of God the Son. And today on Pentecost Sunday, we look at the first of two Lord's days that consider the work of the Holy Spirit. Everything from I believe in the Holy Spirit down to I believe in the resurrection and the life, is a product of the work of the Holy Spirit in us. The Holy Spirit was sent by God.
He operates in the church using the Word of God. And as the Word of God is proclaimed, the Holy Spirit convinces people of their sin. We come to understand that we have a broken relationship with the Father because of our sin. And once we understand that the Holy Spirit presents to us the great deliverer, Jesus Christ. And when we receive Jesus Christ as the great deliverer, the Holy Spirit teaches us that we are to serve God and live in thanksgiving, giving to him for what he has accomplished in our lives.
So those who, by the grace of God, are led by the Holy Spirit to acknowledge Jesus Christ as their Savior and as their Lord through the Spirit, have the assurance that their sins are forgiven, they have the promise of eternal life, and already now experience the joy of eternal life. And they are referred to as the invisible church. And this body of believers, this invisible church, gathers together throughout the world in what we call the visible church, where we gather together. And I think we all are pretty well aware that Satan places within the visible church members who are not part of the invisible church. Jesus says false prophets will appear and deceive many.
And some of them are very easy to detect. When we lived in Kalamazoo several years ago, there was this very popular preacher. He had his own radio show and many people were listening. He predicted the date of Christ's return three times. And in case you're wondering, he was wrong every time.
Now, to me, very clearly, the Bible teaches if a person, if a prophet makes a prophecy and it doesn't take place, it is a false prophet. And yet one time, two times, three times, he said, christ is coming again. He didn't come again, and people still followed him. Some are easy to detect, some are not so easy to detect. They introduce a way of thinking that, that sounds nice.
It seems to be God glorifying, but it slowly chips away at the Gospel. And usually they, they come with a same refrain that was used so many years ago. Did God really say, jesus assures us that all of their false preaching, all of hell, Satan himself, will never prevail against the chosen ones of God. The true church of God will be forever triumphant. You can divide a federation, you can leave a denomination, but you will never split the true church.
God has come to his people within his church, and he says to them, I am your God and you are my people. And it will be that way for each other eternity.
And yet, even as I say that, there's a passage in Peter where God says, be holy even as I am holy in first Peter. Now that's a scary thought, isn't it? It's a scary thought because we who are members of the church know full well we are not holy. We know we see every day. In fact, as the catechism says, we know we increase our guilt every day.
We have all grievously sinned against God and we are deserving of eternal punishment. But God says, be holy, and the church is holy. And it is holy not because of the people in the pews, not because of the preacher. It's holy because Jesus Christ is holy. He's the head of the church.
He is the Lord of the church. And now hang on to your pews, because here's the good news. Those who are in the Lord, those who acknowledge the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made on the cross, that it was for them, you've been declared holy. We are declared a holy church through the head of the church, the Lord of the church, Jesus Christ. He's paid for our sins with his own precious blood.
And then question 55 says, Believers 1 and all, as members of Christ the Lord, have communion with him and share in all of his treasures and gifts. Well, oh, my. Don't you wonder what those gifts are and what those treasures are? Well, if you're a member of the Visible Church, you might think it's a comfortable pew. You might think that.
Well, you know, we have some potlucks, and once in a while there's cake after church, and, hey, I get to play bunco every now and then. But if you're a member of the Invisible Church, the gifts and treasures that are bestowed upon you are the forgiveness of sins, the communion of the saints, the resurrection from the dead, and the life everlasting. These gifts are given to you from Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit working in your life. You have been clothed in the righteousness, the holiness of Jesus Christ.
And membership into this church is not gained through your own merit by works. It's not gained by your own strength. It's not even something you are born into. Just because you're here this afternoon on Memorial Day weekend doesn't automatically make you a member of the Invisible Church. True membership is a free gift given to you by God's grace and God's mercy.
It's made possible through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. Victory over death and hell is promised to you through Jesus Christ. Through his death and resurrection. The stone has been rolled away, thanks be to God. The victory is given to us through God's son, Jesus Christ.
And now as a member of this church, you share in those gifts. You share in those treasures. And that is not something to take lightly. With those gifts, there come certain requirements, certain responsibilities. Again, from question and answer 55.
Each member should consider it a duty to use these gifts readily and joyfully for the service and enrichment of other members. Now, I know the catechism says here we should consider it our duty, but really it should be our desire. There is more to the communion of saints than sitting in the pew and just leaving. Afterwards, there's fellowship. Afterwards, there's meeting with one another.
During the week, there's attending Bible studies. There's volunteering for vacation Bible school. We have a task force force in this church committed to celebrating the communion of the saints. Now, as children of God, we have a responsibility to our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and we should consider it a pleasure, a desire that the Holy Spirit places upon our hearts to use the gifts that God has given to us for his glory and for his kingdom. And the place to do that most often is right here in the visible church.
You cannot be content to leave everything to the minister, or to the elders and deacons, or even to Mark. Even though he knows how to do everything, doesn't mean he has to do everything. You can't be content in receiving the blessings of God and the Holy Spirit and not be compelled to be a blessing to others in the church. For example, when you came to church this afternoon, you expected the lights to be on. You expected a bulletin, a song sheet and sermon notes to be available.
You expected musicians and song leaders, someone at the stage, soundboard, security, and oh yeah, there's the sermon. This list goes on and on. There are many, many people involved in seeing to it that there is a service tonight. How often have you expressed thanks to those who volunteer their time and who are involved in the activities of the church? There's just so many opportunities to readily and cheerfully use the gifts that God has given to you for his glory.
You know, not all of us have the same talents. Not all of us can play the piano as incredibly as does Angela. Not all of us can play guitar, drums, organ. When I was a kid and we had band, they gave me the triangle. I messed that up.
But you know, you can volunteer for nursery. Not everybody can preach, but you can read the Bible to a shut in. And you may not be able to go to the shut in, but you can pray for the shut in and for the sick, you can. Did I mention you can volunteer for vbs? Yes, I did, but I'm going to do it again because I went downstairs last time I was down there were two dozen people signed up.
We need about twice as many.
Service rendered in the church is given for the enrichment of others. It's being of service to one another for the sake of Christ. And Jesus Christ tells us in Matthew 25, the king will reply, I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of these, the least of my brothers, you did for me.
And then at this point, the catechism does something very interesting. In Lord's Day 21, we confess a holy Catholic church. We confess the communion of saints and the forgiveness of sins. And we can very easily see the connection between the holy Catholic Church and the communion of saints, but it's, you know, those two. Yeah, I understand that.
But the forgiveness of sins, that ought to be a Lord's day in and of itself. We confess. I believe that God, because of Christ's satisfaction, will no longer remember any of my sins or my sinful nature. The forgiveness of sins is a very real thing. Congregation.
Because of Jesus Christ, God takes you back into fellowship with him. And know this, the forgiveness of sins is limited. It is not, as some teach, that sooner or later everybody's gonna wind up in heaven. There's even an article, it might even be a book that you can read about debate who's going to be the last one in hell. Is it going to be Hitler or Lenin or someone else?
I forget who. But no, not everyone is going to be restored into faith, fellowship with God. Forgiveness is limited to the church. And by that let me very quickly add, I don't mean the organized visible church, but the invisible church, the communion of the saints. That's why this question is in this particular section of the catechism which addresses the work of the Holy Spirit.
Yes, Jesus Christ died for those whom he gathers and defends the church. Forgiveness of sins has been given to those who have been taught by the Holy Spirit to call upon the name of Jesus Christ. And where do you suppose the Holy Spirit does that most frequently? Where are you most likely to learn about Jesus in the un. In the organized gospel preaching visible church, it's not often that you get into a decent discussion about Jesus Christ at the grocery store or at the bar or while watching late night television.
You hear about them here, right here in the church. You hear about him in the visible churches throughout the whole country, throughout the whole world, as the word of God is faithfully proclaimed. And being a member of the visible church means you have heard the message of salvation in Jesus Christ. Being a member of the invisible church means you have been saved by Jesus Christ.
If you do not know Jesus Christ as your savior, then this life is the closest you're ever going to get to heaven. And so by all means, make it count. Avoid suffering at any cost, because this life is going to be as good as it gets for you. But if you do know Jesus Christ as your savior, well, this life is the closest to hell that you will ever get. You've been bought by the blood of Jesus Christ.
And as question 54 ends of this community, I am and always will be living member. Wow. That's what it means to be forgiven. That's what it means to be in the church and what it means to be safe in the arms of Jesus. So my dear people, my dear friends, do not only be a member of First Church, be a member of the God's Church as well.
Let's pray. Our Father, we come to you and we are so grateful that we can open up your word and that we can study things that were written many, many years ago about our confession and what it means to be part of a church, what it means to be declared holy by Jesus Christ, what it means to be in fellowship with other believers and greatest joy of all, what it means to be forgiven, to be right with you, not because of what we have done, but only and always because of Jesus Christ. Lord, we are so grateful for the Spirit's revelation of him, your son, in our life and for his work. And we pray, Father, that we would be used by you to be able to grow together in Christ and to be able to tell one another's other about Christ. That to you, Lord, be the praise always in Jesus name, amen.
other sermons in this series
Jul 12
2026
"Delivered to Us" (I Cor 11:23-26)
Preacher: Rev. Jacob Gerber Scripture: 1 Corinthians 11:23–26 Series: Heidelberg Catechism
Jul 5
2026
"Covenant Baptism for our Covenant Children" (Lk 18:15-17, Acts 2:38-39, I Cor 7:14)
Preacher: Rev. Jacob Gerber Scripture: Luke 18:15–17, Acts 2:38–39, 1 Corinthians 7:14 Series: Heidelberg Catechism
Jun 28
2026
"A Fountain of Blood"
Preacher: Wybren Oord Scripture: Zechariah 12:10– 13:1 Series: Heidelberg Catechism