Matthew 16 verses 13 to 20

There is much confusion about the identity of Jesus. The Pharisees and Sadducees seem to think he is a false prophet. They’ve just said to him at the start of this chapter, if you really are from God as you claim to be, give us a sign from heaven.

They probably have in mind something fairly dramatic perhaps a bit like the story told in 1 Kings of Elijah and the Prophets of Baal when Elijah summoned fire down from heaven to burn an altar to show the people his God was the one they should worship.

The Pharisees request is a bit ironic given that Jesus has been healing lepers casting out demons and raising dead people to life.

Anyway Jesus turns down their request. They don’t need more signs they simply need to believe the signs they’ve already received.

This episode reminds me of a story about a Christian stranded on a rock out at sea who prays to God to rescue Him.

A boat comes along but he sends it away saying that he’s a Christian and God will save him.

A helicopter then comes along but he sends it away again saying that he’s waiting for God to save Him.

Finally a submarine surfaces and offers to rescue him but he says no, God will save me.

Eventually the man drowns and when he gets to heaven he says Lord why didn’t you rescue me.
God says to him, I sent along a boat, a helicopter and a submarine. What more could I have done for you.

Jesus has given the Pharisees and the Jewish people generally plenty of signs as to who he is. They don’t need new signs. They just need to recognise those he has already provided.

Perhaps you’ve been praying to God for something or to answer a question and perhaps He’s already answered your prayer. You don’t need him to answer it again. You just need to recognise and believe the answer he’s already given you.

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Jesus knows what the Pharisees think about him but he wants to find out what the rest of the Jewish people are saying about him. The disciples tell him there are lots of views.

Some people seem to think that he’s John the Baptist come back to life. This is quite a strange view as John the Baptist was beheaded. Resurrecting him would involve re-attaching his head which although theoretically possible for God is perhaps a tad unlikely.

Others seem to think that Jesus is Elijah come back to earth. This is perhaps a bit more understandable as 

Elijah never actually died. He was carried up to heaven in a fiery chariot and according to scripture he would one day return before the coming of the Messiah.

So this group of people recognise that Jesus is special but they don’t recognise him as the Messiah God’s special servant and representative. They’re sort of on the right tracks but not quite there.

And some think Jesus is just another prophet like Jeremiah or someone. One detects a note of boredom with these people. Prophets come along now and again but they’re not really that interested.

As I looked at this passage and the Jewish people’s response to Jesus I started to see that they reflect people’s responses today.

Some people like the Pharisees dismiss Jesus. They want nothing to do with him and are actually vehemently opposed to him. They have strong negative feelings toward him.

Some people have extremely odd theories about Jesus. They believe he wasn’t really crucified but went to live in India or that he fathered children and his earthly descendants still live on.

Some people are on the right tracks. They recognise he’s special but they haven’t yet received the full revelation of who he really is.

And others are really not that interested. He may be a prophet or something but so what?

Jesus listens to the disciples answers and then asks; “But what about you? Who do you say I am?”

Peter gives the correct answer; “You are the Christ. The son of the living God.”

Peter is saying that Jesus is the Christ, the promised Messiah. He is not just a man.  He is the Son of the living God. 

Peter speaks using words that were familiar to the Jews of his day but in short he recognises that Jesus is God.

In fact Peter seems to recognise who Jesus is quite early on in the gospels.

Luke tells us in chapter 5 of his gospel following the miraculous catch of fish;

“When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”  

Jesus tells Peter he is blessed because he has received this revelation from God the Father.

It’s not something that he has worked out himself. It’s something that has been revealed to him by God the Father who has opened his eyes to recognise that Jesus is God the son made flesh.

But what about you sitting here today in Brenchley Church who do you say that Jesus is?

Your answer to this question is extremely important because as Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans; “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

If you can honestly say that Jesus is Lord, and you sincerely believe in your heart that God did raise him from the dead - you will be saved.

Being able to say this is a sign that God the Father has opened your eyes to recognise who Jesus really is and that the Holy Spirit is living inside you. It is a sign that you are his beloved child and belong to him eternally.

It is a sign that you have crossed over from death to life and that you have eternal life.

It is a sign that God will never lose you but raise you up on the last day.

Do you remember what Jesus said; this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.  For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Truly, if like Peter you have received this revelation about Jesus’ identity, you are blessed because your salvation is not in doubt and one day you will go to heaven, and it’s not because of what you have done. It’s because of what Jesus has done for you. Rejoice and be glad because great is your reward in heaven.

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Jesus calls Peter Petros which means Rock and tells him that he will be a foundation stone in the church that he is going to build.

In his letter to the Ephesians Paul throws a bit of light on what Jesus is saying here.


Writing to the church in Ephesus Paul says; “you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, ²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. ²¹ In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.


So Jesus is the chief cornerstone on which the whole church rests but apostles and prophets will be like foundation stones in the church.


The church of course is built of people so every Christian is incorporated into the church like stones into a building, and the building itself is indwelt by the Holy spirit.


Peter along with Paul and the other disciples were Apostles which is the highest calling in the church. Apostles are really church founders and builders.


Thus in the New Testament we see the disciples, the apostles – particularly Peter and Paul, founding and building churches in various places.


Because of this role God gives them his authority which is what the keys that Jesus refers to here symbolise.


If you own a house and you trust someone to look after it while you go away – you’ll give them the keys. They have your permission to oversee your house while you are away.


So Jesus tells Peter that he will give him the keys of the kingdom of heaven. He will have the responsibility for building and looking after the church but also the authority to fulfil this role.


He will have the authority to bind and to loose. This really means he will have the authority to prevent and to allow things on earth and as he exercises this authority it will be backed up in heaven.


Now I think there is something quite important for us to grasp here. Although we are probably not apostles every Christian has a role to play in the church and God gives us authority also to fulfil the roles we have.


So although we may not exercise authority to the degree an apostle does we still have authority to bind and loose, to prevent things that might oppose or hinder our different ministries or the life of the church and to allow those things which will be beneficial.


I was trying to think of some examples of situations where we could exercise this authority. So if for instance someone wanted to convert the Bull in Brenchley into a lap dancing club - we as the church, the body of Christ in Brenchley might object. We might feel that this would be harmful to the church’s ministry, the moral climate and family life in the area.

We could therefore exercise our authority by praying to prevent this. We’d get together as the body of Christ in Brenchley and say no we prevent the use of the Bull for these purposes in Jesus’ name but we allow its use for some purpose which will benefit the community.

Another example might be if someone with an anti Christian agenda was likely to be appointed to some role which would be detrimental to the church. We could again in prayer say no in Jesus name; we prevent this appointment but we allow the appointment of such and such.

The Church is also able to do this on a national level but sadly rarely does as I think many Christians are perhaps unfamiliar with praying in these ways.

Personally when I pray in this way I see it as putting my own spiritual brick into a wall of opposition against something. As others also pray in this way and put their bricks into the wall, the wall of opposition rises and when sufficient bricks are in place the wall becomes spiritually strong enough to prevent whatever it has been erected against.

I remember a few years ago hearing the comments of a German church minister speaking after the German parliament voted to relax the country’s abortion laws. The interviewer said to him – so you lost the vote in parliament then. He said no. We lost the vote in the heavenly realms. The church in Germany didn’t rise up and exercise their authority to prevent these laws being relaxed.

In the Church of England the modern day equivalent to apostles would be bishops. However one can also see apostles at work in the lives of people who have built up churches in various parts of the world. Some of you may for instance be familiar with Jackie Pullinger.


As a young lady she went to Hong Kong and established a Christian church in the Walled City among drug addicts and prostitutes and in the midst of Triad gangs. Personally I would say that Jackie Pullinger is a modern day apostle, a foundation stone in Christ’s Church in Hong Kong.


Lastly Jesus orders his disciples not to tell anyone that he is the Messiah. This seems a bit strange. Personally I think Jesus says this because the Jewish people’s idea of what the Messiah would be like was by and large political and worldy rather than spiritual.


The Jews were expecting a Messiah in the mould of King David, a powerful political figure and king who would drive the Romans out and restore Israel’s position as a great nation.


Jesus’s kingdom however is not of this world. His kingdom is in the spiritual dimension, in the heavenly realms.


His kingdom is experienced within the hearts and lives of those who have turned towards him in repentance and who have believed in his name.


His kingdom is an eternal kingdom whereas worldly kingdoms will pass away.


This is why Paul tells us that we should fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.


What we see around us in this world with our physical eyes will pass away and cease to exist. But what we don’t yet see – the spiritual dimension will last forever.


Many Jews in Jesus’ day were looking for a wordly Messiah, a worldy king but Jesus is a spiritual king.


Those whose eyes are fixed on the world and worldy concerns fail to recognise him, but those who seek after spiritual truth will find him.


I would urge everyone here today who has not yet done so, to make their peace with the King of the spiritual domain, the King of the heavenly realms, the Lord Jesus Christ; to turn towards him and to invite him into your life and heart; to acknowledge him as Saviour and Lord, so that like Peter you too will be able to say, you are the Christ the son of the living God.


Amen

Feeding of the Five Thousand - Matthew 14 verses 13 to 21

Lord Jesus Christ open our eyes this morning to recognise that you are the creator of the universe and the bread of life, the only one who can feed our spiritual hunger. Amen

First of all let’s try and set the scene for this miracle.

Matthew and Mark tell us that Jesus has just heard about the death of his cousin John the Baptist. No doubt this was shocking and upsetting news for him and naturally he wants to escape from the crowds for a while to be alone with his disciples.

However Mark and Luke tell us also that the disciples have just returned from being sent out by Jesus to heal the sick and cast out demons. No doubt they’re bursting with stories they want to tell him about.

So Jesus and the disciples hop into a boat and try to get away from the crowds for a while. However it’s not long before they are recognised from the shore and word gets round – we’ve spotted Jesus.

The crowds are excited because he’s been doing lots of miracles so they follow the course of the boat and when Jesus lands instead of a solitary place he’s got a huge crowd of people waiting expectantly to see more miracles and hear more about the kingdom of God.

I don’t know about you but my reaction would be less than welcoming. Jesus however forgets his own need and shock at his cousin’s death and has compassion on the crowd and heals more sick people.

I think there is a little lesson here for us. Often as Christians we can feel spiritually flat or tired or fed up and if someone comes across our path who has some need, our temptation is to want to ignore them or tell them to go away until a more convenient time.

 Ideally however, like Jesus we should take our eyes off ourselves and focus on the needs of the other person. Jesus’ actions here are entirely selfless. His focus is on the crowd of people and their need for healing, to hear about his kingdom and even their most basic need which is to be fed. His own needs are forgotten and put on the back burner.

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But what does this story about the feeding of the five thousand have to say to us today?

Well the first thing I think it has to say to us is something about the identity of Jesus.

Some of you may be aware that food multiplication miracles are also found in the Old Testament.

1 Kings tells the story of how God directed Elijah to live with a poor widow in Zarephath, and how miraculously she never ran out of flour or oil during a time of famine.

And 2 Kings tells the story of how Elisha multiplied the little oil that another widow had, to make enough jars of oil for her to sell to pay off her debts. Also in a foreshadowing of Jesus' miracles, 

Elisha multiplied 20 barley loaves to feed a hundred men.

The Jews of Jesus’ day would have been familiar with these stories so this miracle points towards Jesus being a great prophet, greater even than Elijah and Elisha, the greatest Old Testament prophets, as the miracle he does is on a much greater scale. He doesn’t provide for a single widow or just 100 men but 5000 and this number doesn’t include the women and children who are present.

Of course the Jews would have been equally familiar with the story mentioned in Exodus of God, through Moses, feeding the children of Israel with manna in the desert after their escape from Egypt. Manna was a wafer like substance which miraculously appeared on the ground in the morning and which the Israelites could eat raw or ground and moulded into cakes, which were then baked.

However in this story we see Jesus miraculously feeding the children of Israel with real bread - something much better and more substantial than manna.

The bread that Moses provided wasn’t real bread and only fulfilled a temporary human need but the bread that Jesus provides is real and can satisfy not only physical hunger but spiritual hunger.

 So I think there is a symbolic truth portrayed in this story.

Matthews gospel was written particularly with a Jewish audience in mind and I believe that Matthew wants us to see that one greater than Moses and the Old Testament prophets is being portrayed here.

Interestingly in John’s gospel, the account of the feeding of the 5000 comes immediately before Jesus describes himself as the bread of life.

We read in John’s gospel that Jesus says to the Jewish people who track him down again immediately after this miracle;

“What Moses gave you was not the bread from heaven, but it is my father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives his life to the world. I am the bread of life.”

So although Jesus feeds the crowd physically in this story I believe that he wants them and us to see that he is also the one who can feed us spiritually.

If we are hungry for spiritual truth we will find that hunger satisfied by Jesus. His words can bring truth and light to our hearts.

He is the only one who can satisfy our yearning for meaning and purpose in life. And just as he provides abundant physical bread to feed the crowd he is willing to provide abundant spiritual bread to feed our hungry hearts if only we will look to him and believe in him.

You see when we read the gospels we are to read them with our physical eyes but also our spiritual eyes, to look beneath the surface of the words to the spiritual symbolism contained within the stories. As we do this God can feed us with spiritual truths and help our faith to grow.

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Some liberal commentators try to explain this miracle away by saying that Jesus didn’t actually create extra bread and fish. What he really did was to get the crowd to share the food they already had.

I think that those who think like this demonstrate their own lack of faith and spiritual blindness.

Jesus is the creator of the world. Abundant life and creation springs forth from him and in this miracle we see him bringing forth abundant bread and fish, replicating and multiplying 5 loaves and two fish into many thousands of loaves and fish.

Why should the creator of the universe not be able to create more of what he has already created? He is merely replicating what he did in the beginning.

In many of Jesus miracles we see him creating new skin, new arms, new legs, new eyes, repairing and restoring matter or sometimes changing or multiplying matter. He is the Lord of the created world and he can command and change all physical matter, whether it be flesh and bone or bread or wine or fish.

This is what he did in the beginning and this is what he still does today where people have the faith to receive it.

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I think it’s significant that this gospel story occurs immediately after Jesus has sent out his disciples to heal the sick and cast out demons. Jesus has been modelling to his disciples how to do this and then he says now it’s your turn, go and do what you’ve seen me do.

The disciples do this very successfully by all accounts and come back to Jesus delightedly saying ‘Lord even the demons submit to us in your name.’

However Jesus has more to teach them. There’s a massive crowd of hungry people. The evening is drawing in and the disciples want to wind up the meeting so the crowd can go to the nearby villages to get some food. But Jesus says to the disciples, don’t send them away – you provide them with something to eat.

The disciples are flummoxed by this suggestion and Mark tells us that their response is to say that to feed everyone there would take eight months of a man’s wages.

I think Jesus at this point was possibly a bit disappointed with his disciples. They’ve just been on a mission to the local towns and villages and seen God work amazing miracles through them.

However instead of reacting to Jesus request to feed the crowd with faith and the expectation of another miracle, they look at the situation purely through wordly eyes and how much it would cost financially to feed everyone.

The disciples would have known the stories of Elijah and Elisha but it never occurs to them that Jesus might have a similar miracle up his sleeve.

The situation seems impossible to address from a worldy perspective but when looked at through the eyes of faith it is a situation that God can deal with.

I think there can be similar situations for us today. There can be problems in our lives or the lives of those we love that seem impossible to resolve when looked at from a purely human perspective.

But when looked at them with the eyes of faith, these situations can take on a different perspective.

The bible tells us that nothing is impossible for God and that He is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask for or imagine.

Of course in practice it is often difficult for us to have the faith to receive what God is capable of doing. We know in our minds that He could do a miracle but we doubt in our hearts that He really wants to. We’re very much like the disciples in this respect.

I don’t think there are any easy answers to this. I’m reminded of the story in Mark’s gospel, following Jesus transfiguration, when a man comes to Jesus as his son has a demon and the disciples are unable to drive it out.

The man says to Jesus; “If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

Jesus replies; “If you can? Everything is possible for one who believes.”

The boy’s father replies; “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” and Jesus heals the child.

I think where there are situations like this in our lives or the lives of those we love we must be honest with God and like the man in the story confess our unbelief and ask God to give us the faith to receive whatever it is that He wants to give us, whether this is for ourselves or one we love.

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Of the 4 gospel writers who cover this story only John mentions the little boy who has the five loaves and two fish.

I think the little boy is quite important as his willingness to share what he has makes the whole miracle possible. He doesn’t have very much but what he does have he is willing to offer to Jesus.

When it is brought to Jesus, he turns it into something wonderful that feeds many people.

I think that God can do the same for us when we are prepared to offer what we have to Him.

We might not feel we have much to offer to God but if we are willing to offer Him our talents and time and our money he can do a lot with them.

If you’re willing to offer God your mouth to tell people about Jesus he can open their eyes

If you’re willing to offer God your time to pray for people He can turn their lives around

If you’re willing to offer your hands to God to serve and lay on people , he can bless and heal people through them.

If you’re willing to offer God your eyes to look at the world around you He can show you hurting people who He wants to help.

God can do amazing things through you as you offer yourself to Him.

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Lastly Jesus asks the disciples to distribute the bread and fish.

He provides them but the disciples bring them to the people.

There is a little picture here of how the church works. God is the provider of everything good that we can offer others – but He asks us to be the distributors.

We go to Him to receive love or power or wisdom or insight. He in turns asks us to share what we have received with those around us – to distribute His blessing generously and liberally with all who will receive it.

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So to conclude this story of the feeding of the 5000 points towards Jesus being greater than the greatest Old Testament prophets and greater than Moses. It points towards Him being the bread of life and the Lord of Creation.

As such he is able to meet our needs and to rescue us from situations that from a worldly point of view seem hopeless.

 As we bring what we have and what we are to him He can do wonderful things through us.

And finally as members of His body – the church, he asks us to distribute everything we receive from Him liberally and generously with all those around us, to share the blessings we have received abundantly with everyone.

In the name of the living God. Amen

A sermon from Joe - Parable of the Pearl and the Fish - Matthew 13 verses 44 to 52

When I was a child I really wanted an Action Man. Some of my friends had one and I wanted one too, so I saved up all my pocket money until I had a pound which is what they cost back then in the late 1960’s.

I remember being really excited the day I was going to get it. I got dressed and put the pound note in my pocket although we weren’t going into town for a couple of hours.

I remember giving the pound note to the man in the shop and he giving me in return a box with a brand new Action Man in it dressed in the uniform of an English private. I was overjoyed. At last I had an Action Man. It had cost me all my pocket money but as far as I was concerned I had the better part of the deal. The shop keeper had a bit of paper but I had something that would give me hours of fun

The parables of the hidden treasure and the pearl both involve people finding things they want very much – one some treasure hidden in a field and another an exquisite pearl.

Because they want these things above everything they are prepared to sell everything they have to get them and as far as they’re concerned they have the better part of the deal.

I think Jesus is saying here that this is how much God wants us to desire Him and His Kingdom. That if we really want to know Him we will be prepared to let go of our attachment to worldly distractions – whatever these may be - to find Him.

Do you remember the story of the rich young man. He wanted to inherit eternal life. Jesus said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
But the rich young man when he heard this, became very sad, because he was very wealthy.

He wanted eternal life but not enough to let go of his attachment to his wealth. His wealth was still more important to him than finding God.

As God says In Jeremiah Chapter 29; “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Its not that wealth or worldly attractions or ambitions are bad. It’s just that if our hearts and minds are fixed on them they can get in the way of finding God.

Although the parables are very similar the first man stumbles across the treasure in the field unexpectedly, while the merchant finds the pearl after a time of searching.

Thus it is with the kingdom of God. Some people are converted quite suddenly while others come to faith after a great deal of searching. Both though find something of great value that they are willing to give up everything they own for.

Indeed what price can we put on the salvation of our souls. What price can we put on eternal life and the promise of heaven. What price can we put on a relationship with the Creator of the universe. These things have an eternal value which far far outweighs money in the bank or some other temporary earthly attraction.

Years ago I read a sad story about a wealthy aristocrat who was worth £40 million pounds but who’d lost the use of his legs in a hunting accident.

I remember thinking I bet he’d give all his money just to get the use of his legs back.

Jesus offers us something far far more valuable than the use of our legs yet so many of us struggle to let go of earthly attractions which may hinder us from receiving his kingdom.

As Jesus said; “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?”

The man who buys the field and the merchant who buys the pearl make very wise decisions. They recognise the true value of what they’ve found. If we think seriously about the value of the eternal salvation that Jesus offers us, we’ll see that temporal worldly distractions are insignificant by comparison.

The parable of the net is a very straight forward parable and it echoes the message of the parable of the weeds which occurs immediately before today’s reading in Matthews gospel.

Some fishermen catch lots of different fish in a net. They collect the good fish into baskets but throw away the bad ones. Jesus tells us quite straightforwardly that this is how it will be at the end of the age when he returns to judge us all.

Angels will separate the wicked people from the righteous people and throw them into the fiery furnace.

Just to ensure that his disciples have understood what he’s said he asks them directly have you understood these things?

Equally Jesus might ask us today have you understood these things?

The gospels make it very plain indeed that both heaven and hell exist.

The gospel message is good news but there is also bad news.

If there was nothing to be saved from it would not have been necessary for Jesus to come to 

earth to save us.

Several years ago I really struggled with the concept of hell and became quite upset about it. For a couple of weeks I questioned God about the wisdom of hell and actually grumbled to Him about it. I wanted him to speak to me about it.

One evening I went to a Christian meeting with this very much on my heart. At the end of the meeting there was the opportunity to be prayed for so I went forward hoping that God would help me.

A young couple who prayed for me were very kind but really couldn’t help me.

I went to walk out of the building feeling disappointed that God hadn’t helped me. As I was walking out a young man I’d never met before approached me. He said to me – you’ve been grumbling to God haven’t you. I admitted that I had. He then said you came here tonight wanting an answer from God didn’t you. I agreed this was true.

He said here’s your answer and gave me Psalm 131 to read.
It’s a very short Psalm so I’ll read it to you


My heart is not proud, LORD,
   my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
   or things too wonderful for me.
² But I have calmed and quieted myself,
   I am like a weaned child with its mother;
   like a weaned child I am content.


My answer was that I was concerning myself with things that were beyond my understanding, and I was actually being very proud. Here was me a mere ant with extremely limited understanding questioning Almighty God about judgement.


The reason I mention this episode is that as humans our understanding of things like heaven and hell are very limited. God tells us certain things but there is much he doesn’t tell us that really we don’t need to know and in any case would probably be beyond our understanding.


He doesn’t tell us for instance how he will judge those who have never heard of the gospel or Jesus or those who are too young or mentally unable to understand it.


Ultimately judgement is God’s job not ours. He is the one who can see into our hearts, and He is the one who is perfectly just. Whatever judgements He eventually makes will be perfectly correct just as 


He is perfect.


However we do need to take seriously what God does tell us which is that those who hear the gospel and steadfastly reject or ignore the salvation that Jesus came to offer will one day go to hell.


Such people commit the unforgiveable sin which by the way is not abortion or suicide or murder. The unforgiveable sin is rejecting or ignoring Jesus’ offer of salvation. Why is it unforgiveable – because it involves rejecting or ignoring the only one who can save us.


Of course if God had his way every person would be saved. The bible tells us that God wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth and that Jesus didn’t come into the world to condemn us but to save us.


God loves you tremendously and wants to save you but he will never force you to accept his offer of salvation. That’s upto you.


So assuming we do want to be saved, how can we make sure we’re the good fish this parable speaks about and not the bad fish? and how can we be sure that we are going to be saved?


I think there is a lot of misunderstanding generally about how God will judge us. Lots of people think that as long as they perhaps go to church now and again and don’t do anything too terrible, perhaps give a bit of money to charity they’ll be fine.


They believe that God keeps a list of their good deeds and as long as the credit side looks fairly positive St Peter will let them in through the pearly gates.


They equate being a good fish with being a good or a kind person.


But this is not at all what the bible teaches.


The bible teaches us that we all have what it calls a sinful human nature that we inherited from Adam.


This sinful human nature is what causes us to sin – to lie to cheat to steal to hate to commit adultery to murder and so on.


The root of our problem isn’t so much our sin as the nature that causes us to sin. The sins we commit are a symptom of our sinful natures.


No matter how apparently good or bad a person may appear we all share this sinful nature.


Most of us can appreciate that Jesus came to pay the price for our sins on the cross but he came to do more than that. He came to make it possible for us to have new natures and to one day be free of our sinful natures.


Did you know that when you became a Christian, in God’s eyes you died and were re-born as a new person.


Paul tells us in Romans chapter 6; “We know that our old self was crucified with Christ so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin, because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.”


Christ didn’t only take our sins upon the cross he took our old sinful selves which were crucified with him so that we could be re-born as new people and freed from the ultimate control of sin in our lives.


So when you became a Christian for a split second the old you died and a new you was brought to life. Christ’s work on the cross became a reality in your life.


As Paul puts it – “You died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; The old has gone, the new has come.”

And here lies the symbolism at the heart of the baptismal service.

The old sinful human being is laid to rest in the water – dead and buried forever and the new creation comes up out of the water, holy and made righteous.

Now there are fundamental differences between the old person and the new person.

The old person was entrapped by their sinful nature, a sinner in God’s eyes and in desperate need of salvation and forgiveness.

The new person however has been saved and forgiven and has become a saint in God’s eyes. 

He or she will still retain their sinful nature until the day of their death when it will pass away, but they now also have a new nature which the bible calls Christ in you.

This is the nature to be like Christ which comes from the Holy Spirit who is now living in them and it is now the more powerful nature in the person’s life.

Thus Paul tells us a bit later on in his letter to the Romans . “You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. “

There is very good news for the new person. For instance Paul tells us that if we have been united like this with Christ in his death we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.

The new person is heaven bound and Holy in God’s eyes as the Holy Spirit is living in them.

He or she will still continue to sin until the day of their death and will face a bit of an inward battle between their sinful nature and their new nature but the Holy Spirit will help them in this battle.

When the new person dies their sinful nature will die with their old physical body and they will be resurrected with a new imperishable body and enter heaven free from sin and the desire to sin. They will become perfect for ever just as Christ is perfect.

So going back to the good fish and the bad fish, the good fish are those with the Holy Spirit living inside them those who have been re-born as children of God and the bad fish are those without the Holy Spirit living inside them, those who remain trapped by their sinful natures.

Good deeds and being a nice person are not the criteria for judgement. What counts as Paul says is being a new creation.

So figuratively speaking how do we become Good fish?

By recognising our predicament. By recognising that we do have sinful natures and by genuinely wanting God to save us, to make us new people with His Holy spirit living in us.

Like the pearl merchant and the man who finds treasure hidden in a field, we then need to recognise that what Jesus has done for us on the cross is infinitely more valuable than our worldly treasure and ambitions, and to invite the Holy spirit, the spirit of Jesus into our lives wholeheartedly.

Lets close with a time of prayer.

Lord Jesus thankyou that you love every person here today and that you have died on the cross for every person here today.

Thankyou that you have made it possible for each one of us to be forgiven and to become new people with your Holy Spirit living within us.

Quietly in your heart thank Jesus for dying for you personally

If there is anything in particular you want forgiveness for confess it to him now

And now in your own words invite the Holy spirit, the spirit of Jesus into your heart and life so that you may be forgiven and made new.