Whatever Happened to Jesus’ Church?

Jerusalem's Golden Gate.

…on this rock I will build my church, 

and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

Matthew 16:18

Jesus said he would build his church, and that the gates of Hades would not overcome it. What does that mean? Maybe a better question is this: Is the church today the anything like the one that Jesus describes here?

First, let’s table the discussion about the identity of ‘this rock’ for the time being. Suffice to say that the rock that Jesus spoke of was the revelation of himself as “the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” The rock that Jesus’ church is built on is none other than the gospel. “It is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes,” because “in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed” (Romans 1:16-17).

So, Jesus’ church is built on a message. Hmmm. Is the church today built on that message, or is it built on more than that? Think very carefully about that for a moment...

Well, apparently the gates of Hades are no match for this church Jesus builds. In the time Jesus lived, Hades was clearly understood as the unseen realm of the dead. The living had a natural fear of this realm of the dead, which no man knew anything about. So, Jesus likened it to a fortified city that his contemporaries would have been familiar with. These fortified cities had massive defensive walls, and some cities even had a double wall. These walls could be up to 20 feet thick. You might think that would make the city gate the weak point, but think again. The doors were immense, designed to withstand battering rams. Some cities even had a double set of gates so that if the attacker broke through, they were hemmed up at the second gate and slaughtered. In sum, conquering a fortified city meant the attacking force must display a fierce and resolute commitment to vanquish his enemy, notwithstanding heavy casualties.

Artist's reconstruction of the city gate at Lachish

So, the church that Jesus built was not a cowering group of saints hiding from the darkness in the world, but a fierce and resolute attacking force committed to breaking down the gates of the Enemy. Did you catch that? The church – with Christ at the Head – is the aggressor! The church is the bully! The church has picked the fight with the Enemy where he is fortified and can do the most damage.

Now here’s a question for you: Is your church really attacking the Enemy where he is fortified in this world? Be honest. What does your congregation do together that is the equivalent of suiting up for war and attacking the very gates of Hell? If you can’t answer that with something substantial, your church probably doesn’t resemble the one Jesus had in mind.

People wonder what’s wrong with this country today, not realizing that the American church has become far too comfortable. Like King David who stayed home to take it easy while Joab took the men into battle, the American church has for the most part done the same thing. The hard truth is that we enjoy all the material blessings while the persecuted church of the does the dirty work – making real disciples. They are the reason Christianity is still spreading in the world. You know why? The gospel. It’s what Jesus’ church is built on and when it’s the only thing, there’s no doubt it’s the most important thing.