36. Last Church Standing

LONNIE: We’re glad you could join us for another session of Exploring the Word.

JEANNIE: This is our opportunity to dig a little deeper into the riches of the Bible together.

LONNIE: Today we’re going to try to answer a question raised by one of our Discover Bible students, Jenalyn.

JEANNIE: Jenalyn was thinking about the early history of the church and about the time when apostasy began to creep in, when human tradition began to replace the message of Jesus. She wrote us this: “What happened after the last [true] church was destroyed? What happened to true believers? Did they become totally apostate or what?” What this young woman is referring to is a time when it seemed that genuine New Testament faith had been crushed.

LONNIE: So she wonders, then how does God’s true church continue? If everybody’s sold out, or been martyred, who is left to carry on the faith?

JEANNIE: Lonnie, Jenalyn’s question is also related to the picture in Revelation of a remnant, of a last-day church that stands true to God in spite of persecution. A lot of people who write in want to know, if God always has a people on Earth, if He’s going to have a special people at the end of time, how are they distinguished? What are the identifying signs of a church that has remained true to God – what we sometimes refer to as the “remnant” church?

LONNIE: To put it in its simplest terms, what are the signs of God’s true church today? If there’s a last church standing, what will it look like?

Let’s start with two pictures in the book of Revelation. Revelation is a book of stark contrasts. A beast vs. a Lamb. A glorious city vs. a lake of fire. And one of its contrasts involves churches, two churches that are symbolized by two very different women. Look at this picture in Revelation 19:7,8. Here, the church is symbolized by a pure woman. She prepares herself for union with Christ, marriage with Christ, the Lamb of God.

“Let us be glad and rejoice and give [God] glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.” Revelation 19:7, 8

This is a beautiful picture of the future of God’s true church. Everyone is rejoicing. The church has made herself ready for Christ. She is clothed with fine linen, a bright garment that represents the good deeds and godly lives of Christians. It looks like the church will be filled with compassion and justice and genuine worship.

But there's another picture in Revelation too, another picture of the future, another woman, a harlot who sits on a scarlet beast. Revelation 17:4 describes her:

“The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication.”

This woman is called Babylon, the Mother of Harlots. She deceives all nations by her sorcery. (18:23) She is a habitation of demons, a prison for every foul spirit. (18:2)

In Revelation this woman represents a false religious system, a system allied with the political power of the dragon who speaks blasphemy.

This false religious system seduces many people. It causes individuals all over the world to worship the antichrist, to worship the beast.

That's the other picture of our future.

What is going to happen to Christianity? One picture shows us great rejoicing over a pure woman clothed with righteous deeds. The other picture shows us a harlot who seduces and degrades.

What is Revelation telling us? It's telling us that in the difficult times ahead the Christian church is going to go in two totally different directions. When times get tough we will go one way or the other. Part of the church will make herself ready spiritually for union with Christ. Part of the church will become a habitation of demons.

That’s why this issue of the remnant is important. That’s why it matters so much that we have a clear understanding of where God’s people will stand in the end times.

Indulge me for a moment with this little illustration. Take a look at this and what do you see? Three mounds of salt. Now think of the old TV show “What’s My Line?” Looking at this you might hear an announcer saying, “Will the real Mrs. Lot please stand up.”

Remember Mrs. Lot in Genesis? While fleeing from the condemned city of Sodom she looked back and turned into a pillar of salt. It was her moment of truth. Which way did her future lie? Back in that corrupt city, or ahead with the people of faith?

That’s a decision each one of us will have to face. Where does our future lie? Will we stand with the people of faith when the going gets tough? Or will we become trapped in something corrupt?

Scripture actually gives us some important clues about the remnant, and about what it means to stand with them. We’re going to learn how we can avoid getting attached to the wrong group.
Let’s start with a passage from the Apostle Paul. He’s writing to believers in Ephesus. He’s telling them exactly what it means to be the chosen people.

“You are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit.” Ephesians 2:19-22

The remnant church is built on one thing, one cornerstone: Jesus Christ. He’s the one who turns foreigners into fellow citizens. He turns strangers into members of the household of God. He’s the chief cornerstone in a foundation built by apostles and prophets. He’s the climax of God’s revelation, the Word made flesh.

The remnant church is not about political alliances. It’s not about taking over some government and passing laws that favor the church. It’s not about gaining some kind of leverage over society. It’s about Jesus Christ.

So, look for a church that is built on a cornerstone: JESUS CHRIST.

In other words, God’s Church isn’t centered around some charismatic leader, some powerful preacher. It isn’t shaped by the teachings of any individual, however wise or saintly they may appear.

God’s church, a healthy church is plugged into the grace of Christ, the love of Christ, the words of Christ, the Lordship of Christ. God’s church is all about people building relationships with Christ.

With this in mind, let’s look at a passage that describes the remnant in the book of Revelation. Here the Apostle John writes about Satan’s final persecution of God’s people. The church, remember, is symbolized by a woman. Believers are represented by her children.

“And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Revelation 12:17

“The rest of her offspring.” That’s the remnant of her offspring. And how are they identified? They keep the commandments of God. They have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

In other words, they’re growing out of the right foundation. They’re growing out of the commandments, passed on through apostles and prophets. They’re growing out of all that Jesus said, His testimony. Jesus revealed things about life from God’s perspective. He saw the big picture, the big plan. That’s His testimony.

So, the remnant, God’s church, grows on a foundation of GOD’S COMMANDMENTS.

The remnant is a group built on that rock, that cornerstone, Jesus Christ. And they’re putting roots down in the right foundation, in God’s Word, in God’s commandments.

Well, you might be saying, aren’t all churches built on that foundation? Not quite. Churches have a tendency to build up their own tradition and dogma. That’s understandable. We all want to organize the truth to some extent. But sometimes we pile up an awful lot of “interpretation” and “explanation” above the simple testimony of Jesus. Some churches start paying much more attention to their traditions than to the plain statements of Scripture. They stop building on the rock. They lose an essential quality of the remnant.

All kinds of churches have done this. Here’s just one specific example.

If you walk into St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome today you will see a huge inscription high up on the walls of the central nave, words Christ spoke to Peter, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church.” Jesus said that after Peter had given his great affirmation: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Now for centuries Catholics and Protestants have debated what Jesus meant by “this rock.” Roman Catholics have placed a great deal of weight on this text. That’s why it’s inscribed in St. Peter’s. They’ve taken “this rock” to mean Peter. Peter, or petros, means rock. They say Jesus founded his church on Peter and gave him special authority, the keys to the kingdom.

As a result, Catholics have traditionally felt that church tradition carries a lot of authority. What the popes officially teach, as the successors of Peter, is assumed to be divine truth.

Most Protestants would argue that Peter never seems to assume any special authority over the other apostles in the New Testament. Some argue there’s a difference between petros, stone, and petra, rock.

But here’s what I think is the real issue. Let’s assume Peter was the first leader of the early church. Let’s assume that Christ gave him special authority. Does that make him higher than Christ? Does that give what he says more weight than the “testimony of Jesus?” Of course not. Peter didn’t give Jesus authority. Jesus gave Peter authority.

Jesus is the cornerstone. Period. Jesus is the rock everything else grows from. The successors of Peter don’t have more authority than Jesus. Church councils don’t have more authority than Jesus. That’s what many people are realizing today, both Catholics and non-Catholics.

Things like purgatory and the Virgin Mary’s immaculate conception and confession to priests are definitely not part of the “testimony of Jesus.” They’re not supported in the
Bible. Church tradition, however, has turned them into dogma. It has superceded Scripture.

It may be easy to point out this Catholic inconsistency. But all of us, all people of faith, must beware of building on any other foundation than the “testimony of Jesus.” We’ve got to build directly on that cornerstone. And, we’ve got to sink our roots into the right foundation, the commandments of God. That’s where a healthy church begins; that’s where a healthy church ends.

JEANNIE: Lonnie, we’ve looked at the defining characteristics of God’s remnant church and I’m thinking that, in a way, that’s really the answer to Jenalyn’s original question. There have always been people who built on the cornerstone, Jesus Christ. There have always been people who were committed to following God’s commandments.

LONNIE: Jeannie, I think we see remarkable examples of that all through history. God has always had a remnant, even in the darkest hours. Just one example is the Waldensian Church in northern Italy. The Waldenses practiced their faith during a time in the middle ages when the official church was at its most repressive. It was a time of terrible corruption and persecution. On the surface it seemed like genuine, healthy Christian faith had been all but wiped out. However when you look carefully, you see people like the Waldenses. They kept a simple devotion to Jesus alive. They kept a commitment to God’s Word alive. They championed salvation by faith alone—when the church was selling indulgences and promoting pilgrimages as a way to get souls out of purgatory.

JEANNIE: I’ve read some of the stories of the Waldenses and they really are an inspiring example of God’s remnant. But what about today? What about some specific examples of what God’s true church does? We know it’s built on the right cornerstone, the right foundation. But what exactly does it do for the average believer, that, say, the wrong church doesn’t do?

LONNIE: Good question.

Let’s look at two more essential marks of the remnant, marks that relate to what it does for the believer. Listen to what the Apostle Peter himself had to say about Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone.

Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient…a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. 1 Peter 2:7,8

That wonderful cornerstone will become a stumbling block to some. People will trip over the testimony of Jesus. People will find it objectionable.

This applies to the group growing directly from that cornerstone. They’re going to be proclaiming truths that make people stumble. They don’t just go with the flow. They don’t just repeat all the popular lines. Their message isn’t just something you can accept automatically, without thought.
In other words God’s true church CORRECTS our misconceptions.

Let’s look again at the book of Revelation. This picture of the remnant as a stumbling block is echoed in Revelation chapter 14. Here God’s last warning message to the world is laid out. It’s something his last-day people will be proclaiming.

“Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all the nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication…If anyone worships the beast and his image…he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God…” Revelation 14:8-10

In Revelation, Babylon is a symbol of false religious systems. The beast is a figure who persuades people to worship the wrong thing, to put down their roots in the wrong places.

Well the remnant are telling people there’s danger there. All the world may seem to be worshiping this charismatic figure, but you don’t want to go there. It’s moral disaster. And do you know what? Many, many people will stumble right over that message and head on to destruction. It’s not what they want to hear.

But the remnant will persevere. They’re still firmly grounded in the right foundation. We see them again in this same chapter. Revelation 14:12 says:

“Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.”

Do you know what the faith of Jesus means? Well, first of all, it means placing our trust in God, just as Jesus did – committing ourselves to His guidance. It also means that sometimes we receive guidance from God that may not be exactly what we want to hear. God may ask us to keep commandments we’ve sort of been ignoring. We may have to learn lessons we’d rather avoid. God may show us that the foundation we’ve been building on is not solid rock at all, but just the creaky scaffolding of tradition.

Do you mind if I step on a few toes now? Maybe we all need our toes stepped on occasionally.

Maybe speaking in tongues is your sign that you’ve got the Holy Spirit. Do you also have the fruit of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, self-control?

Maybe you’ve assumed you honored God’s Ten Commandments – but what about the Fourth, the Commandment to keep the Sabbath day holy?

Maybe you were baptized as an infant, show up at Christmas and Easter, and assume you’ve met the requirements. Are you really ready to meet a holy God in the last judgment?

Maybe you’re just trying to be more strict than your neighbor, follow more rules than your neighbor. Are you aware that legalism is completely incompatible with “the everlasting gospel” which the remnant proclaim?

Is there something you need to hear? Is there something your church needs to hear?

Please remember: the remnant stand solidly on Jesus Christ. The remnant stand solidly on God’s commandments. The remnant stand solidly on God’s Word.

Practically speaking, they strive to keep all of God’s commandments. Are there any you’re trying to ignore? They keep close to the testimony of Jesus. Is it something you hear only through a filter?

There’s one more distinguishing mark of the remnant we can talk about.

The Apostle Paul gives us this interesting sidelight on Jesus, the chief cornerstone. He pictures Him way back in the time when Israel wandered through the wilderness. He was a rock for God’s people back then too.

“They…all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.” 1 Corinthians 10:4

Paul is relating Christ to Old Testament pictures of God the mighty fortress, the rock of refuge. He’s also relating Christ to the miracle of water gushing out of a rock to quench the thirst of Israel in the desert.

Jesus has always been a special kind of rock. You can indeed put your roots down deep into this cornerstone. There’s water there. There’s nurture there. He provides spiritual drink.

And that’s something you will always find in the remnant. Spiritual nurture, food for the soul. If that’s not there; it’s not the remnant. Remember, they have the testimony of Jesus. They’re being built up on the cornerstone, the living stone that sustains us.

God’s true church BUILDS us up in the faith.

The remnant is a group that nurtures people through the testimony of Jesus, through what He shows us about a Heavenly Father’s love. The remnant will cause people to stumble. They will speak a prophetic word of warning. They correct. But they will always provide spiritual nourishment. They build up.

Friends, if you’re part of a group that claims to have all the truth, but doesn’t operate on Jesus’ principle of love, that’s not the remnant.

If you’re part of a group that drains you, that’s not the remnant.

If you’re part of a group that dries up your spirit, that’s not the remnant.

But there is a good place for you today, as there’s always been, a place where you belong. I urge you to put down your faith roots in the cornerstone. Find a place where God’s commandments are honored, where following His Word is a high calling. Find a place where the testimony of Jesus occupies center stage. Find a place of nurture. Make an investment of your time there. Make an investment of yourself there. It’s a place that I believe your Heavenly Father has prepared for you. Let’s pray.

Dear Father, thank You that each one of us can become a part of Your remnant, Your chosen ones. Thank You for Jesus Christ the One who laid Himself down as the chief cornerstone. Help us to base our lives in His Word. We want to follow You now, wherever You may want to lead us. Please help us to hear all the truth You want us to hear. Please open our eyes to the things we may have been ignoring. If we’ve been avoiding the truth, confront us with it. We pray this because we trust in Your wisdom and nurture. Amen.

JEANNIE: Ready for your homework assignment? Next week we’ll be talking about a big myth people cling to—when it comes to money. We’ll be looking at a better way to financial security.

LONNIE: And we’d like you to look at a passage in 2 Corinthians. Please read 2 Corinthians 8:1-7. Here you’ll find a remarkable picture of a people whose “extreme poverty” welled up in “rich generosity.” They can tell us a lot about living the good life.

JEANNIE: So remember, 2 Corinthians 8:1-7 for next week’s program.

LONNIE: Until then, God bless you. Never stop Exploring the Word. And remember, God really does love you.