“Rumors of my demise are greatly exaggerated,” wrote Mark Twain, when a newspaper reported that he had died. I might say the same thing about the church. In these days when former believers claim to be “deconstructing” the faith, I find myself again reading about how the church is not going to survive. Some have made a good living going around predicting the demise of the church. Are they correct in their prognostications and predictions?
Jesus disagreed. At Caesarea Philippi, where so many “isms” had become “wasms,” Jesus sat with his disciples in a place of pagan worship and asked, “Who do you say I am?” When Peter answered that Jesus was the Christ, Jesus commended him and said, “I will build my church on the rock of faith and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” Jesus established the church and predicted it would stand the test of time. The posture he envisions is not defensive. The gates of hell can’t prevent the church from going forward and growing.
Do not misunderstand me. I am not saying the church as we know it is perfect, or that it doesn’t need to reform. Last night and every Wednesday night we plead with God to bring revival in his church in our city, country and world. My friend James Tippit used to say, “The church is reformed and always reforming.” We long for awakening among the people of God across the world.
Melanie and I like to watch singing shows. On a recent show, a contestant sang the John Lennon song, “Imagine.” The lyrics envision a world where no one believes in heaven or hell. If everyone believed that, Lennon, an atheist, implied the world would be “as one.” When the young man who sang the song advanced to the next round after being applauded for “inspiring the crowd,” he said, and I quote, “Thank you Jesus.” To give thanks for his own success with a song that denied God, he ended up thanking God. And so, it goes.
Rumors of the church’s demise are greatly exaggerated. For 2000 years enemies of Christ have imagined there was no heaven and no hell and no God. Soon there would be no church. G. K. Chesterton put it succinctly, “At least five times, . . . the Faith has to all appearance gone to the dogs. In each of these five cases it was the dog that died.”
Worshiping on Easter and praying with God’s people last night, I was filled with hope as I remembered that God’s work through his people has continued unabated for 2000 years. I am so excited about the years ahead for the church. God will do his work in the world through his people. I am so glad to be part of it. The future of the church is as bright as all the promises of God. Our best days are ahead of us. The church triumphant wins in the end. It says so at the end of the book.
