Matthew 16:13-20

that a junior church can be dismissed at this

time. And the choir comes down. We're in Matthew

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

chapter 16. We look in verses 13 to 20 as our

text this morning. It says, When Jesus came into

the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his

disciples, saying, Who do men say that I am?

the Son of Man, am. So they said, some say John

the Baptist, some say Elijah, others Jeremiah

or one of the prophets. He said to them, but

who do you say that I am? Simon Peter answered

and said, you are the Christ, the Son of the

living God. Jesus answered and said to 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 also say to you that you

are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church,

and the gates of Hades, or hell in some translations,

shall not prevail against it. And I will give

you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever

you bind on earth. will be bound in heaven. And

whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in

heaven. Then he commanded his disciples that

they should tell no one that he was Jesus the

Christ. Let's pray. Father, this morning, Lord,

we come to an exceedingly important text found

in the Gospel of Matthew. Father, all of it is

inspired, all of it is profitable, but our text

this morning strikes a very important nerve.

Lord God, we hear this great confession that

the Apostle Peter made concerning your Son, that

he is the Christ, the Son of the living God,

that he is Lord. God, would you help us this

morning? to understand the text. Father, would

you give us understanding and illumination. Reveal

to us who Jesus is and what he has done for his

people. And God, I pray that in making much of

Jesus, we will glorify you. We ask all this in

the name of our Christ, in the name of Christ

Jesus, our Savior and Lord. For his glory alone

we pray. Amen. You know, as we think about life,

we know it's full of important questions. If

you're young, you're probably wondering, what

am I going to do with my life? Where will I live

and who will I marry? You think about how many

children will we have? What kind of house are

we going to live in? And all those are important

questions. Yet there's one question that stands

far above all the rest. There's one question

that is more important than any other question

that you will ever answer in life. In fact, this

one question is so dire. It's of the utmost importance

because eternity depends upon how it is answered.

Now, you might be thinking this is a little bit

hyperbole because you're thinking, really, someone's

eternity depends on how a question is answered?

I mean, what question could be so important?

That it has implications for eternity. And the

question is this, it was asked in our text. Who

do you say that Jesus of Nazareth is? Now think

how you would answer that for just a moment.

Because it's going to be answered in the text

before us. Now if we look at the surrounding

context of Matthew 16, the Lord had been teaching

large crowds. But now he's withdrawn from the

crowds and he's really focused on just teaching

his 12 disciples. In fact, he and those 12 men,

they headed 25 miles north above the Sea of Galilee

to the base of Mount Hermon to a land that was

then, not today, known as Caesarea Philippi.

I had the privilege of actually going here when

I went to Israel in 2011. Caesarea Philippi is

the location of one of the largest springs that

feeds the Jordan River. Because of the abundant

water supply and the fertile land, that area

became a center for pagan worship. But it also

became a center for political power. If you go

back to the Old Testament, that area was used

for the worship of Baal. Lots of Baal worship

took place there. But beginning in the third

century before Christ, that was the area where

the ancient Greek god Pan was worshipped. You're

like, well, who's the Greek god Pan? You've probably

seen pictures. He's the half -man, half -goat

god often seen playing the flute. Now, in Caesarea

Philippi, there were many pagan temples built

during the Greek and Roman periods. Herod the

Great, the one who was alive when Jesus was born,

He actually had a temple built in honor of Caesar

Augustus. So at this place in Caesarea Philippi,

there's this large cliff, and it has a series,

and go to the picture, guys. It has a series

of hewn -out places, and you can see them there

in the picture. And in those hewn -out places,

they would place statues of idols there, different

pagan gods. It was a place of pluralism. Many

pagan gods were worshipped there. So I want you

to think. Think about the scene. In the place

where Baal had been worshipped, Pan had been

worshipped, Caesar had been worshipped, Jesus

takes his disciples there with purpose. And he

says, who do men say that I am? Is Jesus simply

one more God to be added to the list? Is he another

deity that is going to be worshipped there? Or

is there something unique about Jesus? Furthermore,

the geography of this place is really important,

and it serves as an important backdrop revealing

who Jesus is. The spring that fed the Jordan

River, it emerged from a large cave. Go to that

next slide. This is the picture I took back in

2011. So behind you, that's the base of Mount

Hermon. There's a spring. There's just abundant

water there. So water flowing from a rock. What

do you suppose the significance of it is? What

we're going to learn in the text is that Jesus

is the rock from which the water of life flows.

So let's get into the text. Look at verse 13.

When he came into that region of Caesarea Philippi,

he asked his disciples, who do men say that I,

the Son of Man, am? As I just said, in Caesarea

Philippi, there were signs everywhere of what

the ancient world valued. Religious sites, the

temples, yes. Impressive architecture, yes. Political

sites, yes. Caesars, the Roman Caesars were also

honored there. And here, the Lord Jesus turns

to the 12 men, he says, so tell me, what's the

word on the street? Who do men say that I, the

Son of Man, am? Now notice what he didn't ask.

He didn't ask, who do men say that I am? Who

do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? Son of

Man, interesting title. That was the title that

Jesus most often used to refer to himself. Now,

you would say, well, Son of Man refers to his

humanity. Jesus being a man. Yeah, that's true.

In fact, the church has always confessed the

two natures of Christ. Jesus is truly man, and

he's truly God. But that's not all. The title

actually has a deeper meaning, and it goes all

the way back to the book of Daniel. In Daniel

7, it's interesting. Daniel, the prophet, he

has a vision. Now pay careful attention and keep

in mind our text in Matthew. Daniel 7, verse

Daniel 7:13

13. I was watching in the night visions, and

behold, one like the Son of Man. That's not just

an ordinary man. The Son of Man. coming with

the clouds of heaven. He came to the Ancient

of Days. Now let me just say, this is a vision.

So don't press the metaphor too hard. It's a

vision. So we have the Ancient of Days representing

God the Father, Son of Man. We're going to find

out in just a moment. And they brought him, the

Son of Man, near before him, Ancient of Days.

Then to him, this Son of Man, was given dominion

and glory. And the kingdom that all peoples,

nations, and languages should serve him. His

dominion, it's an everlasting dominion, which

shall not pass away. And his kingdom, the one,

which shall not be destroyed. So Daniel sees

a vision of the Son of Man. And he comes to the

Ancient of Days, represented in God. And the

Son of Man was given by God, given by the Ancient

of Days, an everlasting kingdom that cannot be

destroyed. He was given power, notice dominion.

He was given glory and a kingdom. What are we

to learn from this? In Daniel's vision, this

Son of Man is God's anointed king. All nations,

all people, and all language groups are to serve

him in his kingdom. He's God's king. That aligns

perfectly with the second psalm. In Psalm 2,

the psalmist writes, Yet I, God himself speaking

here, I have set my king on my holy hill of Zion.

I will declare the decree. The Lord has said

to me, you are my son. Today I have begotten

you. Ask of me and I will give you the nations

for your inheritance and the ends of the earth

for your possession. Once more we see God's king,

the one God set, is given universal jurisdiction.

Notice the text. The nations are his inheritance.

The earth belongs to him. The son of man that

Daniel saw in his vision and the psalmist wrote

of in Psalm 2 is the Lord Jesus Christ. That

will become very important in verse 18 of our

text when Jesus said, I will build my church

kingdom and the gates of hell or Hades. will

not prevail. So now in verse 14, so Jesus just

asked that question, who do men say that I, the

son of man, definite article, am? So they answered

him. Again, word on the street. Here's the Facebook

answer if you want. Some people, Jesus, they're

saying you're John the Baptist. Even Herod, who

had John the Baptist killed, wondered if Jesus

might have been John resurrected. So that would,

okay, we can understand that. Others like, no,

no, no, Jesus, that's Elijah. Now, that's very

popular. That was a good answer because of the

way the Old Testament actually ends. In Malachi

Malachi 4:5

4, verse 5, the end of the Old Testament, behold,

God says, I will send you Elijah, the prophet

before the coming of the great and dreadful day

of the Lord. Now, some said you're Jeremiah.

That was due to an old Jewish tradition. The

Jews held that Jeremiah had hidden the Ark of

the Covenant when Babylon was coming into Jerusalem

to ransack it and destroy it. And they believed,

superstition had grown up around this, that Jeremiah

would return one day to restore the Ark of the

Covenant at the beginning of the Messianic Age.

So John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, and others

said, well, he's just some prophet. We don't

know who. But notice what no one said. Not any

of them said he was the Messiah. None of them

said he's the Christ. Why? Why not? They had

seen all these miracles. Well, Jesus did not

fit the mold of what they believed the Messiah

would be like. They had certain preconceived

notions of what the Messiah would be like and

what he would do when he came. And Jesus, frankly,

did not fit the bill. But Jesus was not really

concerned with what people were saying about

him. Verse 15. He said to them, and now he's

getting to the heart of it. But who do you? Who

do you say that I am? Now the question's more

personal. It's more pointed, certainly. No longer

who do others say, but what do you think? Who

do you say that I am? And what did the twelve,

what did they believe about him? Now Peter, never

being at a loss for words. I love Peter, by the

way. I think it's so important. He's impetuous,

yes. Impulsive, yes. We see it for good here,

though. He is the chief spokesman for the group,

and he answered for the twelve in verse 16. Simon

Peter answered and said, You are the Christ,

the Son of the living God. Forcefully, Peter,

the rock, He answered and said, you are the Christ.

Now Christ, Greek word Christos, it's the same

equivalent of the Old Testament Messiah. Both

Messiah and Christ. Because some people think

Christ is like a last name, Jesus Christ, like

Ryan McKee. No. Christ is a title. And it meant

Messiah. Both Messiah and Christ mean anointed

one. You know when it was used? For the coronation

of kings. They were anointed. So Peter confessed,

Jesus, we know who you are. You are God's anointed

king. Remember Daniel 7? The son of man gets

an eternal kingdom. Remember Psalm 2? When God

said, I have set my king on my holy hill of Zion

and ask of me and I will give the nations your

inheritance. He said, we know who you are. That's

you. You're God's anointed king. The same one

that Daniel wrote about, the same one that the

psalmist wrote about. In essence, Peter is saying

this, you are the king from God who will rule

forever. Jesus is the long -awaited descendant

of King David who had come to establish God's

kingdom that cannot end. And he continued though,

you're the son of the living God. Here Peter's

confessing, something about Jesus' unique relationship

to God the Father. Do you remember in Matthew

3 when Jesus was baptized, there's a voice from

heaven that said, this, the one in the waters

in the Jordan, this is my beloved son, in whom

I'm well pleased. In Matthew chapter 14, we looked

Matthew 14 · chapter mention

at several weeks ago, remember when the disciples

were being storm -tossed in that little boat,

and Jesus comes walking to them on the water

in the middle of the night. Jesus gets into the

boat, the storm ends, and what do they say? Truly,

you are the Son of God. Now keep in mind, where's

Peter when he's confessing this? He's in Caesarea

Philippi. Remember, you, Jesus, you are the Son

of the living God. That is a strong juxtaposition

to all the idols that were around them. Listen,

those hewn out places were full of statues of

gods. And in that background, Peter looks at

him and says, you're the son of the living God.

He was saying, here's what Peter was saying,

Baal, not God. Pan, not God. These idols all

around us, not God. And Caesar, Not Lord. You,

Jesus, are the Christ. You, Jesus, are the Son

of the living God. Peter. Now think about this.

Peter confessing that Jesus was Lord instead

of Caesar was almost laughable. Caesar, the leader

of the Roman Empire. He had all the wealth, glory,

power, pomp, and circumstance that Rome had to

offer. There were monuments scattered throughout

the Roman Empire dedicated to honoring the Caesars.

In fact, in this place in Caesarea Philippi,

Herod had built that temple to Caesar Augustus

in his honor. Right at that place. And who's

Jesus? He's an obscure, backwoods from podunk

Nazareth, Jewish preacher. And Peter says, You

are Lord. Jesus did not have a throne. He did

not have a crown. There's no statue erected in

his honor. And the Apostle Peter said, Caesar's

not king. Jesus is king. What? Caesar ruled over

an impressive kingdom. Great power, great military

might, beautiful architecture, sophistication,

and culture. And Jesus, his kingdom, 12 ordinary

men following him, a man who didn't even own

a home of his own. Things did not look like Jesus

was Lord. How could Peter have understood that,

though? How was he able to see who Jesus really

was? Jesus had no visible signs of kingship,

none. So how did Peter know? Verse 17. Jesus

answered and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon

Bar -Jonah, flesh and blood, that is man, has

not revealed this to you, but my Father who is

in heaven. Simon Bar -Jonah means Simon, son

of Jonah. Blessed, to be blessed by God is to

be favored by God. So now here's the point. Peter

did not arrive at his understanding of who Jesus

was through human insight, nor through natural

understanding. Rather, it was through divine

illumination. Peter was blessed because God revealed

the truth to him. Knowledge of Christ, to be

able to see Jesus for who he is, does not come

through intelligence or through human understanding,

folks. Paul wrote about that in 1 Corinthians

2. He said the natural person, 1 Corinthians

2 .14. Next slide, guys. The natural person does

not accept the things of the Spirit of God. Doesn't

accept them. Doesn't get them. Why? They sound

foolish to him. Think about it. An obscure, backwoods

Jewish preacher was crucified on a cross, and

we say he rose again as king. That sounds foolish

to the world. And keep going. He's not able to

understand them because they are spiritually

discerned. The Spirit of God must open the eyes.

No one can truly understand the truth about Jesus

in his heart. You cannot understand him unless

God first opens your heart and your mind to understand.

So with Peter, it is so with us. Now, some of

you might be thinking, well, of course Peter

knew who Jesus was. I mean, Peter had the privilege

of spending three years side by side with Jesus.

Peter saw the miracles. He saw the mighty signs.

Healing the sick, check. Cleansing lepers, check.

Casting out demons, Peter was there. Raising

the dead, Peter witnessed it. So, of course he

knew. But friends, it wasn't by seeing the miracles

that Peter understood. Because the crowds had

also seen those same miracles and did not understand.

Jesus tells us why Peter understood. He says,

you understand because my Father who is in heaven,

by his grace, revealed that knowledge to you.

See, the crowd saw Jesus as a miracle worker.

But Peter saw him as the Christ. Saving knowledge

of Jesus depends on God's grace. It always has.

All of salvation is dependent upon his grace.

The most important thing you can understand about

Jesus, that you can say in your heart, he is

the Christ, yes. He's the son of the living God,

yes. That's most important because if you get

it wrong, there is no salvation. Friends, the

value of what Jesus did on that cross depends

on who he is. If Jesus were merely an ordinary

man who died on a cross, his death would have

accomplished nothing. Could not save. But because

Jesus is the son of the living God, his death

has infinite value that is able to secure the

salvation and forgiveness of our sins. The value,

the efficacy of Christ's work, of his death and

resurrection, relies on Jesus being God in the

flesh. Do you see that? Do you understand it?

Do you believe it? If so, praise God, because

in his grace he's revealed that knowledge to

you. Peter confessed the truth about Jesus. Now,

Jesus is going to reverse the tables, and he's

going to confess something about Peter. Look

at verses 18 and 19. And I also say to you that

you're Peter, and on this rock I'll build my

church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail

against it. Oh, man. I knew when I'm preaching

through Matthew, I'm like, I'm going to have

to get to verse 18 at some point. Many books

have been, and I mean books, have been written.

over what rock the church is built upon. Catholics,

Orthodox, and Protestants will often divide over

this point. I don't think we need to divide over

it, by the way. But here's the three main divisions.

Is the rock Peter? Is the rock Peter's confession?

Or is the rock Christ, whom Peter confessed?

Now the confusion comes partly because of Greek

grammar. And I thought so many ways. I'm kind

of a nerd in the language department. I get excited

about this, but I thought, no one else will,

so don't do it. Let me just say, humor me for

a minute, though. Peter is Petras. Rock is Petra.

Same etymology, same root. So what Jesus is saying,

you are, in Greek, it's what it says, you are

Petras, and upon this Petra, I will build my

church. Petros is masculine singular. Petros

is feminine singular. And people, particularly

Protestants, they say that cannot mean the same

thing. Well, they're wrong. It can. That distinction's

not really there in Greek. By the way, Jesus

and his disciples most likely weren't speaking

Greek. They would have been speaking what? Aramaic.

And when you put it in Aramaic, the confusion

really disappears. Do you all know, what's another

name for Peter? We have Simon Peter, and we also

have Cephas. Cephas is Aramaic. You know what

Cephas means? Rock. In Aramaic, it's Kepha. So

here's what Jesus probably would have said to

him. You are Kepha, and upon this Kepha, I will

build my church. Same word would have been used.

You can't do it in Greek, though, because you

have to agree with the number and gender with

the amount it modifies. There, I got it in. All

right, never mind. So what was going on there?

Jesus was using a pun. It's a word play here.

To illustrate, and give me, I hope to prove this.

Are you saying that Jesus said the church would

be built on Peter? Well, first of all, there's

no question at all that Christ is the ultimate

foundation of the church. 1 Corinthians 3, verse

1 Corinthians 3:11

11. Notice what Paul wrote. For no other foundation

can anyone lay than that which is laid. which

is Jesus Christ. You're like, case closed. Protestants

win over here. Okay. But the Apostle Paul also

wrote Ephesians and Revelation. He did not write

Revelation. The Apostle John did. But look at

Ephesians 2 .20. Paul, again. The church, that's

a subject, having been built on the foundation

of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself

being the chief cornerstone. The Apostle John

over in Revelation 21. Speaking of the New Jerusalem,

the church in its glory. Now the wall of the

city, the New Jerusalem, had 12 foundations.

And on them were the names of the 12 apostles

of the Lamb. So clearly in these verses, the

apostles were the foundation. Peter is the leading

apostle. He was the leader of the apostolic band,

there's no doubt. Peter was the first person

to preach the gospel to all people groups. Peter

preached the gospel to the Jews at Pentecost,

Acts 2. Do you know who was the first to preach

to the Samaritans? That's right, Peter, Acts

8. And when we think of Paul as the apostle to

the Gentiles, and he was, but who was the first

person to preach the gospel to the Gentiles?

Peter, to Cornelius, in Acts 10. So Peter was

the apostle who first took the gospel to Jews,

Samaritans, and Gentiles. So clearly, Peter had

a foundational role. in building the church.

He was also the first person to give voice to

this great confession, Thou art the Christ, the

Son of the living God. So yes, the rock was Peter,

but the rock was Peter functioning in his role

as the confessing apostle. This has nothing to

say about the papacy that would develop later

on. Nothing. And notice the continuation of the

text. Jesus said, I will build my church. Who

built? Christ. Whose church is it? Christ's.

Christ builds a church and Christ possesses the

church. We are told that Christ purchased the

church at the cost of his blood. What is the

church? Greek, it's ekklesia, ekkaleo, called

out. It's a called out assembly. That's it. The

church is made up of the people who have been

called out of the evil world system and given

to Christ. That's the church. And those who have

been purchased by the blood of Christ, they form

God's new covenant community. And because Christ

builds a church, he guarantees the triumph of

the church. We say it this way. The church is

invincible. Notice the text. Jesus said, the

gates of Hades will not prevail. Now, some translation

might read gates of hell, but it's Hades is the

word. Gates of Hades. Hades was the realm of

the dead. And by the way, in Caesarea Philippi,

they believe that spring led to the realm of

the dead. All this is really interesting by location.

What is Jesus saying? The gates of death cannot

stop the church. See, the gate was what they're

fortified to keep something out. These were gated

to keep invaders out. See if death has this big

strong gate in front of it, metaphorically. See

if death being gated and the church of Christ

preaching the gospel of Christ bursts through

those gates and sets people free. Death cannot

overcome or stop the advance of the church. And

that will come into clearer focus in verse 21

when Jesus speaks about his own impending death

and resurrection. The word Jesus will be killed,

but death will not be able to hold him. And since

death can't hold Christ and he's the head of

the church, death is powerless, powerless, impotent

to stop the triumph. of the church. What's this

mean? Nations and empires will rise and they

will fall. Kingdoms will come and they will go.

But the church of the Lord Jesus Christ will

never die and Christ himself guarantees that.

The church is invincible because she is united

to the invincible Christ. That's what's beautiful

about it. This is where our salvation comes from.

Verse 19. Jesus said, and I will give you the

keys. And singular plural there. I will give

you, Peter, the keys of the kingdom of heaven.

And whatever you bind on earth will be bound

in heaven. And whatever you loose on earth will

be loosed in heaven. And a lot of blood has been

spilled over this. Jesus says, Peter, I'm going

to give you the keys of the kingdom. What do

keys do? Well, they lock and they unlock. They

open and they close. Jesus gave the apostle Peter

authority. Now stay with me before you throw

stones. To open and close the kingdom of God.

We saw him open it. In Acts 2, to the Jews. In

Acts 8, to the Samaritans. Acts 10, to the Gentiles.

Throughout church history, anytime this verse

has been written about, most people believe the

keys of the kingdom are seen as the authority

given from Christ to his church, to his ministers

who preach his gospel. And when a minister preaches

the gospel of Christ, We proclaim the kingdom

of heaven open to repentant sinners, to sinners

who will repent and come to Christ in faith.

But we also use that same authority to proclaim

the kingdom of God shut to sinners who refuse

to repent. Dr. Barry York, writing on this, he

said, the imagery used here is from the Old Testament.

And I think this helps us understand. At the

time of the temple, Priests were stationed at

the gates of the courtyard. Day and night, they

guarded the entrances from those who attempted

to steal the temple treasures or enter the temple

unclean. Remember those defilement laws? They

had the keys, the priest did, to open the door

for true worshipers to enjoy freedom within the

court of the temple. But they also had the freedom

to close its doors to those who were unsuited

to enter. If you were there to rob, if you were

there unclean, they would keep the door closed.

Now to the church, he says. This is the New Testament

temple. Christ grants keys, spiritual keys, so

that those possessing them can either allow those

cleaned from their sins to enter the door of

the kingdom or to close the door to those who

remain impenitent. Peter represented the apostles

and by extension the church. They're given, the

church, the ministers of the church are given

these keys as a stewardship. Whose keys are they?

The keys belong to Christ. And only Christ can

ultimately forgive sins and only Christ can ultimately

withhold his mercy from those who refuse to repent.

The church merely proclaims what heaven has already

decided. What has heaven decided? That anyone

who comes to Christ in faith and repentance is

granted entrance into God's kingdom. But those

who reject God's son, they are denied entrance

into the kingdom of God. We should not think

that God must recognize whatever the church on

earth decides. That would be a mistake. Rather,

the church has been given authority to proclaim

what God has already decided. And again, what

has God decided? Salvation to all who receive

the Son and condemnation to all who reject Him.

Now this text, verse 20, ends with Jesus forbidding

the disciples not to tell anyone He was the Christ.

Verse 20. He commanded his disciples they should

tell no one that he was Jesus the Christ. Why?

Why keep it a secret? Because although they did

understand his identity, they did not yet understand

his mission. Even Peter, who wonderfully confessed

who Jesus was, we just read about it, woefully,

and I mean woefully, misunderstood what he had

come to do. and we'll look at this, Lord willing,

next week, but verse 21, 22, to whet your appetite.

From that time, Jesus began to show his disciples

that he must go to Jerusalem, suffer many things

from the elders and chief priests and scribes,

and be killed and be raised the third day. Then

Peter, in all his beloved impulsivity, took Jesus

aside and began to rebuke him, saying, Far be

it from you, Lord, this shall not happen to you.

That's when Jesus says, get behind me, Satan.

Even the disciples, including Peter, did not

yet understand that God's kingdom would be inaugurated

by the death of the king who would rise in victory

three days later. They could not understand at

that time that the kingdom of God would come

through a Roman cross. That understanding would

have to wait until Christ rose from the dead.

So let's close this. The important question is

not who others say that Jesus is. The important

question is who do you say that he is? Many in

our day seem as a great moral example. They love

the Sermon on the Mount. Others see him as a

wonderful, gifted teacher even. But Matthew doesn't

give us these options. Jesus is not a figure

to be admired. He is the Christ who is to be

worshipped. He is the son of the living God who

had come to die for his people. He would save

them by dying in their place and rising again

in victory. This is who Jesus is. But who in

your heart do you say that he is? Can you say

that he's the Christ and believe it? The son

of the living God? The keys. Of the kingdom would

say. To all who repent of their sin. And believe

upon him. There you're granted salvation. But

those keys lock. To reject Christ. Is to reject

salvation. And to perish forever. But there's

good news. Today is the day of salvation. We

read it earlier. But I close with this. If you

confess. With your mouth and word Jesus. And

believe in your heart. That God is raised from

the dead. You will be saved. For with the heart.

One believes into righteousness. And with the

mouth. Confession is made. Into salvation. And

I love verse 11. For the scripture says. Whoever.

Believes on him. He will never be put to shame.

Oh, friends, believe upon Christ today and be

saved. We're going to prepare our hearts for

communion. And during this time, I want you to

meditate upon what has just been said. But today,

the offer of the kingdom is extended to all those

who repent of their sin and call upon him in

faith. Jesus will save. Let's pray. Father, I

thank you, Lord, for this precious, precious

word. Lord, it's a healing balm to our weary

souls. Not by works of righteousness, which we

have done. But according to your mercy, you save

us. Your mercy. Your grace. Lord, we thank you

for that. Lord, would your spirit do the work

that only he can do. Would you open blind eyes

and give life to dead spirits? God, we pray that

you would do this for the glory of Christ. We

pray that the kingdom of God would grow through

proclaiming the gospel. God, help us to be faithful.

Lord, help us, Lord, to always look to Jesus,

our living head. It's in his blessed name we

pray. Amen. Deacons, if you'll come as the junior

church enters again. We're going to prepare for

communion.