The Church’s “Comfort”

Over the past several weeks, we have been working our way through Matthew 16…looking at The Church’s Confession…Construction…Commission…and Cost.

Recently, we turned to the final verses in Matthew 16 to examine “The Church’s Comfort”.

Why call it The Church’s Comfort? Consider these delightful words from The Heidelberg Catechism…

Question 1.What is thy only comfort in life and death?

Answer: That I with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ; who, with his precious blood, has fully satisfied for all my sins,  and delivered me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation,  and therefore, by his Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto him.

What gives rise to our “comfort” as Christians? There’s a wonderful, transforming hope associated with the Return of Christ that causes our eyes to shift their focus from the passing attractions of this world to a far, far better place…a place where we eternally behold with glorified bodies the unveiled majesty of Christ.

Thomas Chalmers, a noted Scottish pastor from the late 1700s/early 1800s, preached a message called “The Expulsive Power of a New Affection”. He spoke of what it is that absolutely transforms our lives by re-directing our affections. And those new affections give us a vibrant “comfort”! How we need that comfort in these days and times!

As we turn to Matthew 16:27-28, you will see the wonderful way God instills that comfort in His own children to strengthen and encourage them!

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