I was reading Scripture the other day, and something really jumped out at me from Matthew 16. I’ve read it a billion times, and you may have too, but this really got a hold of me:
Matthew 16:18c
“the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (the Church that God builds)”
Here’s the question that immediately arose in my head: are gates offensive weapons? No. Do they promote advancing? By no means. They are stagnant, stationary objects. Gates are immobile, defensive measures taken to protect from an invading & advancing force. For so long, I’ve thought of this verse as saying that as hell attacks the church, the church will not be overcome. In fact, that’s how some Bible translations approach this text. But I like the ESV’s translation better. And here’s why: The gates in this text are of hell…which means that the invading/advancing force is the Church of God. The Church is on offense in this text from the lips of Jesus.
The problem is, so often we confuse the two sides…which drastically affects the way we play the game. Let us remember that the Church is on the offense! We, not the enemy, are the advancing movement to be reckoned with!
What if we were the Church like Adrian Peterson is a running back? Relentless, letting no one hold him back from the goal. Watch this play from Week One of the 2009 NFL season and then think about what would happen if the Church ran like AP: eyes on the Goal and letting no enemy get in the way.
This past Sunday, we talked about religion/rebellion vs. Jesus in terms of the affliction of the daughter of Zion. We particularly focused on the fact that any theology that does not include punishment for sin drastically overlooks the main part of God: His holiness. Luckily, the punishment for us has been accomplished (Lamentations 4:22) through Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross of Calvary.