Posts Tagged Peter
On This Rock I Will Build My Church
Posted by Darrell in Christian, Misunderstood passages on August 15, 2010
The Catholic church as well as many people mistakenly believe the rock that Jesus spoke of was Peter, and that Peter was given the keys to the kingdom.
A surface reading of Matthew 16 will give that impression. To understand the correct meaning of what Jesus meant requires more than an understanding of history, it requires a revelation from the Holy Spirit.
If we go back to Matthew 16:19 and what Christ is saying just before that also helps. “Simon Peter said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God’, and Jesus said, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-jona, for flesh and blood did not reveal this to you but my Father which is in heaven’.
And He says, ‘You are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church”. Now here He’s talking about the declaration of Peter (You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God) is the Rock upon which Jesus is going to build the church.
‘And I will give you the keys of the kingdom’—now He’s not talking to Peter, He’s talking to all the disciples who are there. And He says, ‘I’m giving you the keys to the kingdom; meaning, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. They had the freedom, in delivering the gospel to people, to make an eternal difference. What they did on earth would be seen in heaven. People who are…. Evil spirits and habits that were bound on earth would be bound for the world to come and it was saying that those who were loosed from those things would be loosed in the world to come.
What they did on earth would last for eternity is all that Jesus is saying. Of course the Catholic church believes that Peter was given the keys to the kingdom and there is a statue of Saint Peter in the Vatican. And in the hand of Saint Peter’s statue are these keys. The statue of St. Peter’s hand came up missing. The hand was attached (it had been repaired once before so it was attached with a metal rod), and they discovered one day that someone had stolen Peter’s hand and so you could say the Vatican lost the keys to the kingdom.
God does not deliver the power of salvation to any one mortal. Of course, the rock upon which the church is built is not the apostle, but rather Jesus Christ. Peter didn’t see himself as the foundation of the church; rather, he says in Acts 4:11 that Jesus Himself is the chief cornerstone.
That’s why the church, empowered by the living Christ, is able to break down the gates of hell. Filled with God’s Spirit, Christ’s church is to conduct aggressive spiritual warfare, rescuing lost souls from the enemy.
Jesus repeated the history of Ancient Israel
The book of Matthew reveals that Jesus repeated the history of ancient Israel, point by point, and overcame where they failed. Notice these parallels between ancient Israel and of Jesus Christ:
Yet there is more. Remember that the name “Israel” not only referred to Jacob, but also to his descendants, who became Israel. The same principle is seen in the New Testament.
For example, the Lord had told the ancient Israelites, “And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.” Exodus 19:6. In the New Testament, Peter applies these exact words to the church: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people.” 1 Peter 2:9.
Likewise, right after Paul’s statement in Galatians chapter 3 about Jesus being “the seed,” he then told his Gentile converts [a Gentile is any person who is not of the Jewish faith], “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Galatians 3:29. Thus in the New Testament, the name Israel not only applies to Jesus Christ, but also to those who are born in Christ-His church! In other words, all true Christians are now God’s spiritual Israel.
Double Vision
Have you ever been hit hard on the head and then started seeing double? Well, from what we have studied, the Christian world needs a loving bonk on the head with this New Testament truth so that more people will start “seeing double” about the subject of Israel! According to the New Testament, there are now two Israels. One group is composed of literal Israelites “according to the flesh” (Romans 9:3, 4). The other is “spiritual Israel,” composed of Jews and Gentiles who believe in Jesus Christ.
Paul wrote, “They are not all Israel, which are of Israel.” Romans 9:6. That is, not all are part of God’s spiritual Israel who are of the literal nation of Israel. Paul continued, “That is, They which are the children of the flesh [physical descendants of Abraham], these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.” Romans 9:8. The children of the flesh are only natural descendants of Abraham, but the children of the promise are counted as the true seed. Today any person-Jew or Gentile-can become a part of this spiritual nation of Israel through faith in Jesus Christ.
God Looks on the Heart
Just as there are two Israels, there are also two kinds of Jews!
Also, the seven last plagues that are found in Revelation 15 and 16 talks about the angels that pour out the vials of God’s wrath. It’s just before the second coming of Jesus because the seventh of the seven last plagues is synonymous with the coming of the Lord.
There’s a lot of similarity between the seven last plagues and the plagues that fell on Egypt.
The plagues fell on Egypt just before the Children of Israel were liberated from their slavery. The plagues are going to fall on this wicked world just before Spiritual Israel, God’s people, are liberated from the world that is in bondage to sin. And so, just before the second coming, there will be a period–based on some things in Revelation and Daniel, I have good reason to believe the period of the plagues is all going to fit within one years’ time, perhaps even just over a month. When you look at the severity of these things, you can imagine how long the world can go on with the fresh water supply being blood, or the oceans being blood, and most of the population of the world lives either by rivers or oceans, and men being scorched with great heat. And another reason, how long did the plagues last that fell on Job, it was just a matter of weeks when you read the context.
How long did the plagues last that fell on Egypt; again it was in the matter of within a couple months’ time, and so for these reasons, based on those stories, the plagues will probably fall just with a few months. And it says in Revelation, “All of her plagues come within one day”, and a day in prophecy is a year. So within a year’s time it all happens.
The intensity will be different in different parts of the world, the same way it was in Egypt. But God promises to protect His people all through those plagues, just like He protected the Children of Israel through the plagues that fell on Egypt. We don’t need to be afraid; that’s why we should memorize Psalm 91.
Can somebody be truly saved without keeping the Ten Commandments?
Can a person be saved without keeping the Ten Commandments?
The answer is yes.
Of course, there are going to be many people saved, and no one is saved by keeping any law. We are saved by grace alone.
However, at the same time, nobody will be saved who willingly disobeys. The Bible says, “If we continue to sin willfully after we know the truth, then there is no sacrifice for sins” (Hebrew 10:26). So at that point it is open rebellion against God. And how can God accept that into heaven?
In Mark chapter 10 Jesus said to the rich young ruler, ‘Come and follow me.’ And He actually asked him to be an Apostle. No one will ever know what the history would have ever been but God’s plan for that young man was to be a follower. And he went away. He chose not to because he loved his money more.
So we can choose to follow the Lord. We can choose not to follow Him. I believe we have a choice. Now because God knows everything, some people think that He’s making it happen; but just because someone knows something doesn’t mean that they’re forcing people to make choices. God gives us the freedom to choose. He may know what we’re going to do, but that doesn’t mean He’s making it happen.
We couldn’t choose to love God if He had pre-programed us and made us love Him. That’s not love. God’s plan for everybody is to be saved. 1 Timothy 2:4 says God who will have all men to be saved. And then God says in 2 Peter chapter 3 He’s not willing that any should perish. So that’s God’s perfect Will; but many will perish because they don’t choose.
Remember that many are called but few are chosen. I believe many are called but few will choose to respond, and so we all have freedom of choice. That’s why Jesus invites everybody in The Great Invitation: whosoever will, let him come. Come unto me all who are weary and heavy laden. And not all will choose. Judas chose to turn his back on Jesus. Jesus knew what Judas would do, but He didn’t make him do it.
Blessings,
Darrell B
The Cross
Golgotha
“As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord so walk ye in Him”
When we come to Christ for salvation we come by placing our faith in Him and what He did on the cross for us to be reconciled to God and we must always keep our faith in Him as we go on in our walk with the Lord, if we look to anything else that we do or rules we keep we have moved the object of faith away from Christ and back to us or something else and in so doing we have then turned away from Christ and if we continue in that direction we will eventually loose our way and be lost. Gods way of salvation centers up on Christ and His work on the cross and our faith must always remain there and only there.
1-A person must first recognize he is a sinner that cannot save himself.
Romans 3:23, 23For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.
2-A person needs to know that he is facing eternal death.
Rm 6:23, 23For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
3-A person needs to know that Christ died so that the repentant sinner can live eternally.
Rm 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
4–A person needs to know that Christ died for him personally.
Rm 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
5–A person needs to know that Christ saves the one who calls upon Him, and remains faithful to Him.
Rm 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
This is the beginning of the Christian life. We need to grow in grace and the knowledge of God.
2 Peter 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ….
We grow in grace by praying; by studying the Bible; by doing all the things the Bible tells us to do; by telling others what Christ has done for us.
By beholding (observing and studying the life of Christ and imitating it) we become changed into His image.
2 Cor 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
We also need to confess our sins and stop doing them.
Proverbs 28:13
He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
Jesus said that eternal life is in knowing Him and His Father.
Jn 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
Sanctification (becoming like Jesus) is the work of a lifetime.
Why are there so many Churches teaching differently?
The answer is that many people simply choose not to receive what Scripture says.
They would rather follow traditions instead of following Jesus.
This site is not meant to anger but to enrich.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License
Fusion theme by digitalnature customized by me | powered by WordPress
Entries (RSS) and Comments (RSS) ^