Misconception About Gates

Misconception About Gates

Matthew 16:18 NKJV
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.

   Sometimes we Christians get some strange misconceptions.  One misconception is that sin has us shackled and we’re trapped by our sins.   I wrote of that last week.  This week I want to write about the misconception we often have about gates.
   I have heard scores of sermons based on this verse and most talk about, (cue “Evangelist with the Big Hair” voice) “how we frail Christians are under attack by the Gates of Hell, I say again, the very Gates of Hell!  We need to hold on under the onslaught until the bitter end when, at the last minute, Christ will come, (can I get an ‘Amen?’) Christ Himself, I say, will come to our rescue and preserve us for Himself for all eternity!”  (Mops forehead with over-size white hankie.)
   Now, I’ve seen many gates over the years and have, on occasion, handled a few of them during that time.  Not once, in all those encounters, did any of those gates attack me.  You know why?  Because gates don’t attack anyone.  They can’t.  Gates are not weapons.  Armies don’t march to war armed with gates.  The Strategic Air Command has no plans to drop gates over the enemy’s position.  Camouflaged gates don’t sneak behind the enemy’s lines to wreak havoc.  Gates have one primary function - to keep something or someone on one side separated from what’s on the other side.
   Now go back and re-read that verse from the perspective that gates are stationary items designed to keep you out of an area.  Paraphrased, “the gates of Hell shall not prevail against the Church.”  When, or if the Church advances into enemy held territory, the Gates of Hell itself will not be able to hold back that advance.  Can you grasp this promise?  The Gates of Hell cannot stop the advance of the Gospel put forth by a prayed-up Church marching forward on its collective knees.  Faith is the key to this advance; faith in God and faith in His willingness to empower us to share the Gospel with a dying, sinful world.
   This does not mean it will be easy or enjoyable work.  I watched a TV personality, (I can’t call him a minister,) spend a half-hour telling me how being a Christian was really an easy thing.  He painted a picture of happy families sitting in a happy church singing happy songs and hearing a happy sermon then going home to their happy lives.  That family and that church may exist in Mr. Roger’s neighborhood, but I think I live on the other side of the railroad tracks.
   Generations of missionaries dating clear back to Paul and Barnabas can testify that preaching the Gospel can be hard, grueling, dangerous work at times.  I’ve been in many church services where Missionaries have spoken and talked about bringing the Gospel to people who’ve never heard about Jesus before.  They’re pushing against the Gates of Hell and with the power of God behind them they are seeing those gates opening and the Gospel being preached.
   Marching on the Gates of Hell means stepping outside your comfort zone.  When you move into territory where the devil has held sway means he will challenge you.  He hates to lose territory to God and he will defend what’s his with all his considerable resources.  This is why you need to be prayed up when you challenge those gates.  You need to be under God’s protection and you need to study His Word and have it in your heart as well as in your head.  When you find yourself under attack it’s too late to stop and brush up on a couple of Bible verses and hold a prayer meeting.  You need to be ready to respond right away because hesitation or doubt can lose the chance to witness to an unsaved person.        
   There are gates like these all over; in our backyards as well as overseas.  You may find yourself with a chance to witness to a fellow employee or a hairstylist or a mechanic.  You see an unsaved person needing Jesus, the devil sees a victim about to be plucked away from his hand.  Expect resistance and distractions to interfere but push against that gate and see what God will do.

Stephen Cram                            October 16, 2011                       Colossians 2:8

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.  Colossians 2:8