“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” – Matthew 16:18
Just before this verse, Peter gave his great confession, that he knew that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God. This confession, of course, is the foundation of our faith, the rock on which the church of Jesus Christ is built throughout the ages. Then Jesus gives this wonderful promise to the church, “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
In an age of declining faith and church attendance in the western world, many take comfort in this promise but they miss its point. Jesus wasn’t talking about an embattled church holding out desperately against the forces of hell coming at it. Gates don’t attack anything. Gates are a defensive structure. The gates of hell don’t attack the church. Rather, Jesus is making a promise about the ADVANCE of His Kingdom! He is a making a promise about the forward progress of the church in the world.
When the church – the assembly of believers – holds firmly to the truth that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and lives like it, it will move forward. We will share the Gospel with our neighbors, classmates, coworkers, friends, and strangers. We will go and make disciples of all nations. We will do what Jesus called us to do – be salt and light in a dark, decaying world. We will demonstrate the love of Christ and invite people into His Kingdom. As we do, He will move them out of Satan’s dark domain.
That advance is what the gates of hell can’t prevail against. All the forces of darkness in the world can’t stop the Gospel from moving forward if the followers of Jesus are faithful to our Lord. The gates of hell cannot prevent God from using our faithfulness to rescue people from bondage to sin and death. The gates of hell cannot prevent the Kingdom of God from breaking into countries and places that have never heard the Good News that God loves them and sent His Son to reconcile them to Him.
Be faithful! Move forward! Fear not! Be the Kingdom ambassador Jesus has raised you to be in Him. #FollowJesus