The Hope of the Believer … No. 18

THE FIRM FOUNDATION STANDS

Nevertheless the firm foundation of God stands. —2 Tim. 2:19

It buoys up our hope to see how the God of heaven has stood by his community of believers from the moment of its inception. Jesus’ promise of “I will be with you always, even unto the consummation of the age” has never failed. His promise that “The gates of hades,” which must refer to death and all the powers of the demonic world, “shall never prevail against it” assures us of the inviolability and indestructibility of the church. It gives us confidence that the church as the Body of Christ has always been in this troubled world and always will be until the Lord comes to claim it as his own. It has never been perfect but it has always been here, holding forth the word of life.

It was an appropriate way for the ageing apostle to encourage a young evangelist It is noteworthy that he begins his grand proposition about the church with “Nevertheless.” There is much in the world and in the church that might well discourage any young man. Paul names some of the things in his letters to Timothy, describing them as “perilous times.” Peril means dangerous. God’s people have always lived in dangerous times in this world. Whether it is widespread disbelief, degeneracy, international crises, or what Paul describes as “people will be lovers of self rather than lovers of God,” we can take heart that the Scriptures give us a “Nevertheless” in the face of peril. However bad things may seem we have the “Nevertheless” promises.

The church as God’s sure foundation keeps on standing, and Paul says that it is stamped with a seal, a common metaphor in his day, which points to two significant truths. The first is that “The Lord knows those that are his.” That the Lord knows and loves his church, that he is intimately involved with it as the apple of his eye is wonderfully comforting. Others may question our faith, but the Lord knows. He not only knows us by name but he knows every thought, intent, and desire of our hearts. What is mind-boggling about this inscription is that it reads in the original Greek, “That the Lord knew those that are his,” indicating as the Scriptures often do that God called each one that is his even from eternity. What a breath-taking truth that each of us is part of God’s eternal plan!

The rest of the seal reads “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.” Here is a truth that the church has difficulty really believing and practicing, as is evidenced by its behavior through the ages, and that is that it is to be “a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:27). In a world made filthy by sin and corruption the church is to be clean. So reads its seal.

There have always been such ones upon the earth, ever since Pentecost, those that the Lord knows to be his and who have that “holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” And this is the Body of Christ in the world. Its foundation is sure and firm; it is inviolable and eternal. What a blessing to be part of such a community of believers!

Some 2,000 years ago that church grew out of a small band of ragtag disciples who followed an itinerate rabbi who had no place to lay his head. It began not in Greece or Rome but in a small and obscure province called Judea. But it was destined to become more numerous and more widespread than any other religion in the history of the world. In spite of incredible competition from other religions that were older, wealthier, and more numerous the Christian faith reached out into all the world so that today one-third of all humankind claims to be followers of Jesus of Nazareth.

One reason why the Bible describes the church as the firm foundation may be because of its incredible capacity to renew and reform itself after periods of stagnation and to endure periods of severe and prolonged persecution. The opening up of Eastern Europe is a good example, for in spite of all the atheistic assault upon the church under Communism the church not only kept its faith but was one reason why Communism failed. In Russia, for instance, Stalin murdered millions of Christians, destroyed thousands of churches, and declared the church an illegal entity. He demolished the largest and most richly decorated church in all Russia, the Church of Christ the Savior near the Kremlin. He intended to build a great Soviet palace in its place, with his own statue fixed atop its dome, symbolizing the victory of atheistic Communism. The palace was never built, and today statues of Stalin have been toppled all across the Soviet union —and Christianity is again declared legal!

While the Russian Orthodox Church lost tens of millions of members during the Communist reign of terror, they still number more than 50 million and they are now reopening their churches. Protestant churches, which were also decimated and outlawed, account for millions more, and they are again free to worship publicity and preach the gospel. After seventy years of atheistic domination Russia is still “a Christian nation.” It survived by going underground, with secret meetings and prayer groups in homes, workplaces, and even university dormitories. Even Mikhail Gorbachev admits to being a baptized Christian, and while he had to repudiate his heritage to be a member of the Communist Party and earn plum jobs, some believe that he is secretly a Christian, as is his mother who continues to attend church, and as were his grandparents who in the Stalin era hid the cross and icons behind pictures of Lenin and Stalin.

The story of the indestructible church is repeated over and over through the centuries. When Rome burned in 64 A. D., which was probably the work of emperor Nero himself since he wanted an excuse for rebuilding the city, the emperor blamed it on the Christians. He set out to destroy the church. He not only arrested and imprisoned believers, but hundreds were put to death amidst mockery. They were torn to death by dogs, crucified, and set on fire so that when darkness came they burned like torches in the night. Nero’s power was such that many believed that he would come back from the dead to rule again, and he believed that while Christ’s name would soon be forgotten his would be immortal. The verdict of history: while countless millions wear the name of Christ only dogs wear the name of Nero. And one of Nero’ s own successors as emperor not only became a Christian but declared it a recognized religion of the empire!

But Armenia, whose capital is at the foot of Mt. Ararat, was the first nation to adopt the Christian faith as its official religion, and it is that nation that has suffered the most for its faith. Early this century the Turks attempted genocide against the Armenians, an atrocious effort to wipe out the entire population. The Armenian church separated itself from Rome and became an independent church as early as 451, and it has repeatedly endured attacks against it all through the centuries, including the Turkish genocide attempt. Today it is one of those republics within the Soviet Union that is standing tall and demanding freedom. And the Armenian Christian Church lives on, vibrant with hope.

The church has sometimes been at the brink of what appeared to be total collapse. Such a time was the early centuries of the Middle Ages when the barbarian invaders swarmed over what was once the proud Holy Roman Empire, and the Moslems, by the power of the sword, were turning millions in Africa and Asia to the Islamic religion. Even the papacy had little power. The church was assailed by moral and political corruption from within and by military might from without. While Christianity declined, Islam became the dominant religion of the world until it was finally checked on the battlefields of what is now France under the leadership of warrior-chieftain Charles Martel.

While Islam ruled by the might of the sword the church quietly and secretly nurtured its scholars and reformers, mainly in monasteries where the Scriptures continued to be studied, translated, and preserved. It was in such monasteries as Cluny in France and its many daughter houses that the deep spiritual life of devotion was both preserved and disseminated. Cluny became the focal point of a new reform movement in the tenth century. There was occasionally a spiritual, reform-minded pope, such as Gregory VII in the eleventh century. In the twelfth century came Francis of Assisi and dozens of such orders as the Franciscans and the Dominicans, all committed to spiritual renewal.

But corruption and heresy from within and political intrigue from without (church and state had a volatile alliance) continued to plague the church. While there were Abelard and Aquinas to keep theological studies alive in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the church in general lost its zeal both for reform and missions. While there were now and again minor reform efforts, such as the Waldensians, and while there were always friars (brothers) in the various orders that worked for spiritual renewal, something major needed to take place to solidify the firm foundation of God.

Then came Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century, which not only changed the church but civilization itself. While this in time spawned multiple denominations, Christianity grew and flourished. The sixteenth century also produced the “radicals,” called restitutionists or restorationists, which were not satisfied with Luther’s and Calvin’s reformation. They wanted to return to the roots of the faith and restore the primitive church. These were the Anabaptists and their offspring, which included many modern movements, such as the Amish, Mennonites, Quakers, and English Baptists. Since there is no way to agree on exactly what the “restored church” should be restorationism has resulted in many divisions and subdivisions.

Amidst all this division and diversity there was vitality of faith. The church, even if imposed upon by factionalism, was still the Body of Christ in the world, God’s indestructible firm foundation.

In the nineteenth century our own people emerged in the Stone-Campbell unity movement, which took elements from both the reformation and the restoration movements, but it was primarily of the mainline Protestant reformation tradition.

As we look back over 2,000 years of church history one vital truth is evident, the firm foundation of God, which is Christ’s Body upon earth, keeps on standing. When we look at civilization as a whole, we see that the Christian faith has been the most enduring and the most dominant religion. When we look at individual nations, including those states where all the powers of Satan conspired to decimate the church —whether pagan Rome, Czarist Russia, Turkish Armenia, Nazi Germany, or the Communist Soviet Republics— we see that the church not only survived but prospered. The most hardened pagan rulers, bent on prolonged persecution, are destined to accept the fact that the church is not going to go away.

And it all began with the simple creed that Jesus is Lord. It is that that is indestructible. It was for that great truth that they laid down their lives. It is the joy of the risen Christ that will not and cannot die. The firm foundation, the church of Jesus Christ, is rooted in Christ himself. Since Christ is with and in his community of believers it will stand as long as the world stands, even if hell itself contrives against it. And in God’s tomorrow it will live on forever, joining the triumphant church that already basks in the glory of another world.

Faith of our fathers, living still

In spite of dungeon, fire and sword:

O how our hearts beat high with joy,

When-e’re we hear that glorious word:

Faith of our fathers, holy faith!

We will be true to thee till death.   —the Editor