Response to Lucas: Rock On

"The all-sovereign, omniscient Jesus Christ knew that in only a few hours He would be betrayed and crucified, and He knew that all His disciples would abandon him. He knew if they were relying on their own faith for assurance that they would have crumbled to the ground in shame and disbelief. Because He knew they would fall and deny Him in a moment of weakness, he wanted them to be theologically-informed that their salvation did not rest in their own faith but in the hands of an unfailing Savior. Doctrine is extremely applicable even though we may not see its direct correlation to our personal life at times.”

Those words revolve around me a little and resound softly in my ears. As I think about those words and those I just wrote, I recoil a little and open my eyes wider to spy a devil in the shadows. Surely you must be wondering at what I am even saying. But I ask merely that you entertain me for a little time, and recall to your memory your childhood, for a memory must be in there as it is in my own. Recall the times your father took you into the field or to the park, or even when you went there with your friends; and imagine the ground being strewn about with rocks, big and small, almost to the point of being preposterous as if there had been a war of rock-men there in ancient days. Remember, we were kids; and our imaginations ruled the day. At least mine did. Yet remember your father pointing you to the rock, almost as big as you were, and remember the gasp and excitement of it when he said there were secrets hidden underneath or some such thing; and turning the big, sturdy rock over, all the little creatures and things, even sometimes snakes, were grappling and scrounging to return to its cover and dark.

What I say here is that Lucas has given us a solid rock here, large and sturdy; sometimes rocks, as are mountains, are beautiful and awesome, and so is this rock that he has given us. Yet sometimes the greater and heavier those rocks are, the more terrible the creatures are that try to hide under it, and we have to be careful that we are not taken by them. Please know that any analogy or metaphor for God will never be satisfactory, because nothing on earth can ever be fitly compared with that of Heaven, and certainly my analogy is much to be pitied. But take from it this, if you will: before us is a great and beautiful Rock! And we have to choose what to do with it. We can look at it in amazement, and walk away without changing; and we can even play with it and turn it over and find things that can harm us if we are not careful; that is to say, we can play with those words Christ has told us and that Lucas has reminded us of, and not do anything with it.

We are here to live our words, not just to say and play with them. Christ is not our toy; He is our God.

Recall the words of Christ about a rock.

Matthew 16.13-18 (Amplified)

Now when Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, Who do people say that the Son of Man is?

And they answered, Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.

He said to them, But who do you [yourselves] say that I am?

Simon Peter replied, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Then Jesus answered him, Blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) are you, Simon Bar-Jonah. For flesh and blood [men] have not revealed this to you, but My Father Who is in heaven.

And I tell you, you are Peter [Greek, Petros--a large piece of rock], and on this rock [Greek, petra--a huge rock like Gibraltar] I will build My church, and the gates of Hades (the powers of the infernal region) shall not overpower it [or be strong to its detriment or hold out against it].

So this is our Rock! Our Rock is Christ, and that Christ is the Son of the living God. Resound those words and the words of this passage to yourself, and dig into it. Think of who the people of our culture say that Christ is! A prophet? A virtuous man? A liar? I remember reading Tim Keller defy these things in that if Christ is anything other than the Son of God, He should be called a lunatic (Tim Keller’s Reason for God). But this is what Christ finds important: who do YOU say that He is? Be careful of your response; be sure to mean your words if you speak as Peter did. Our confession is not just words but a promise we will be held accountable to. I rejoice with you that, as we realize that we did not discover Him on our own, we see that God the Father revealed this to us! There is another rock here; as God revealed to us knowledge that will give us salvation in Christ, we find that God has not a heart to abandon us; God has a heart to save us. Rock on.

A dear friend Gabe Bush once asked me what I thought Christ meant when He was talking with Peter about the rock He would build His church on. I said I would think about it and look forward to having a conversation about it; we never did have that conversation, but I hope I can respond now. Some will say the rock is Peter, as our Catholic friends and brothers have thought. A church built on a man will fail, as we have seen throughout the ages. Our dear apostle Peter was only a man, and as sinful as we are. Others will say it is the words that Christ is the Son of God, as we ourselves can say at times without thinking about it. But know that our salvation is not in words, but it is in the only living, breathing, conquering, and reigning God. Christ is building His Church on Himself, our glorious and fearsome Son of God.

Lastly, I leave to you a hefty passage from Hobbes’ Leviathan which I have been reading in graduate school. I was reminded of them in those words of Lucas’ he began with. Although Hobbes is by no means a man to look to for theological wisdom and faith, he has spoken wisely here. Dig into his words and discover the rocks; and think of the Scripture that tells us what he is saying.

“Lastly, the testimony that men can render of divine Calling, can be no other, than the operation of Miracles; or true Prophecy, (which also is a Miracle;) or extraordinary Felicity. And therefore, to those points of Religion, which have been received from them that did such Miracles; those that are added by such, as approve not their Calling by some Miracle, obtain no greater beliefe, than what the Custome, and Lawes of the places, in which they be educated, have wrought into them. For as in naturall things, men of judgement require naturall signes, and arguments; so in supernaturall things, they require signes supernaturall, (which are Miracles,) before they consent inwardly, and from their hearts.

All which causes of the weakening of men’s faith, do manifestly appear in the Examples following. First, we have the Example of the children of Israel; who when Moses, that had approved his Calling to them by Miracles, and by the happy conduct of them out of Egypt, was absent but 40 dayes, revolted from the worship of the true God, recommended to them by him; and setting up (Exod.32.1,2) a Golden Calfe for their God, relapsed into the Idolatry of the Egyptians; from whom they had been so lately delivered. And again, after Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and that generation which had seen the great works of God in Israel, (Judges 2.11) were dead; another generation arose, and served Baal. So that Miracles fayling, Faith also failed.

Again, when the sons of Samuel, (1 Sam.8.3) being constituted by their father Judges in Bersabee, received bribes, and judged unjustly, the people of Israel refused any more to have God to be their King, in other manner than he was King of other people; and therefore cryed out to Samuel, to choose them a King after the manner of the Nations. So that Justice Fayling, Faith also fayled: Insomuch, as they deposed their God, from reigning over them.

And whereas in the planting of Christian Religion, the Oracles ceased in all parts of the Roman Empire, and the number of Christians encreased wonderfully every day, and in every place, by the preaching of the Apostles, and Evangelists; a great part of that successe, may reasonably be attributed, to the contempt, into which the Priests of the Gentiles of that time, had brought themselves, by their uncleannesse, avarice, and jugling between Princes. Also the Religion of the Church of Rome, was partly, for the same cause abolished in England, and many other parts of Christendome; insomuch, as the fayling of Vertue in the Pastors, maketh Faith faile in the People: and partly from bringing of the Philosophy, and doctrine of Aristotle into Religion, by the Schoole-men; from whence there arose so many contradictions, and absurdities, as brought the Clergy into a reputation both of Ignorance, and of Fraudulent intention; and enclined people to revolt from them, either against the will of their own Princes, as in France, and Holland; or with their will, as in England.”

Brothers, sisters; may we not put our faith on miracles (Mark 8.12), may we not put our faith on justice (Romans 3.10; Daniel 9.14), and may be not put our faith in men (Psalm 146.3 et al); they are all sand. Our faith will fail and fall.

On Christ the solid Rock we build and are built.

Matthew 7.24-27

Psalm 146.5-10

Have a most glorious, refreshing and blessed Sabbath, a day or rest and worship, Rockers.

Sean Brendan