Sarah Palin's Home Church Torched

Members of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's church did not meet in their usual location this past Sunday. The congregation instead gathered in a nearby middle school after their building suffered a fire which caused an estimated million dollars in damage. The blaze was set at the main entrance Friday night and is being investigated as arson. The governor stopped by Saturday and reportedly told an assistant pastor that she was sorry if the fire was connected to the "undeserved negative attention" the church has received since she became the vice presidential candidate.

John Doak, associate pastor at Wasilla Bible Church, stated that the church’s people realized that the church is not the building but is the body of Christ. He said, "The church is still there. We are the church."

Pastor Doak is exactly right. The Bible does speak repeatedly of the church in terms of physical locations in the New Testament. (1 Thessalonians 1:1, 1 Corinthians 1:2-3) But the primary, and far more important, designation has to do with the people who gather together in any location.

The term church comes from the Greek word ‘ekklesia’ and means a calling out. In other words, the church of Jesus Christ is made up of all that have been called out of the world and into God’s family through personal faith. These are the redeemed of God. They alone possess a unique link and relationship to the God who created them and subsequently saved them.

To best understand the church and its relationship to Christ requires a general understanding of the book of Ephesians. It is there that the Apostle Paul relates the profound connection of Christ to His special people. This connection is also noted in Colossians 1:24 where Paul writes, “I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church.” Then in 1 Peter 2:9, a spiritual description of those who comprise the church is outlined. “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

Physical church buildings have been a target of God’s adversary since such places existed. So this latest attack in Alaska was not the first, nor will it be the last. The reason is simple. It is simply a matter of sin and spiritual warfare – an ongoing battle that will rage until Christ’s victorious return.

The first Christmas was all about the future building of Christ’s church on earth. This miraculous reality would become a reality not long after that first Easter morning when the entrance of the Holy Spirit ushered the new and glorious church age (Acts 2:1-4) And while structures continue to come and go, the spiritual entity that is the church will remain intact, come what may.

In Matthew 16, Jesus was questioning His disciples as to His true identity. After their relating back some of the opinions of what outsiders thought, the Lord directed the inquiry their way in verse 15. "But who do you say that I am?" It was at that juncture that Peter stepped forward and responded correctly stating, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." His words, in turn, led to one of the greatest of declarations concerning the durability of the church and its ability to thrive and survive all future persecution.

“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 shall not prevail against it." (Mathew 16: 17-18)

Bill Breckenridge