Scripture Reference: Matthew 16:13-25
2. The Church’s Effectual Relationship to Christ – Continued
Third, the church only prevails and is successful through the power of Christ Jesus. After Jesus told the disciples He would build a church, He made this great promise, “The gates of hell shall not prevail against it!” When I first read that statement, I thought of the church as being shut up like a fortress with the forces of hell attacking the church. Upon closer scrutiny, I discovered that the passage taught just the opposite. Jesus said that the gates of hell could not prevail against the church. The church is attacking the gates of Hades. As the church carries out its evangelistic ministry by sharing the gospel, we batter down the gates of hell and death. As the church preaches the gospel, we snatch the lost from a burning hell that they would receive if they rejected Christ as their Savior.
The Lord here is commanding us to be an attacking army sent from heaven. “Go into all the world and preach the gospel” (Mark 16:15). The theme song of the church is not “Hold the fort!” but rather, “Onward, Christian soldiers!”
It takes faith to make a church great. Faith is the confidence, the assurance, the belief in God and His power. We can become what God wants us to be. We can do what God would have us to do. When we set out to do what God would have us to do, there will be people at every crossroad on the highway of success who will say, “It can’t be done.” They do not have the faith, and they certainly don’t have the vision. We must not allow them to rob us of our faith and our vision to attack the gates of hell. Great things are possible if we dream great dreams for God.
I like to tell the story of three survivors of a wrecked ship in the Pacific and their spirit. These men landed on a lonely Pacific island. Scouting over the island, they found no other humans there. It was a barren sort of an island just a mile or so in diameter. When Sunday came, the three men met and had church. They discovered they were all Christians. Before they dismissed on Sunday, they set a goal to have four in church the following Sunday. I like that spirit. Great things can and will happen if we will believe.
“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19). Greek scholars call this a future paraphrastic construction. It means: Whatever we bind on earth shall have already been bound in heaven! Whatever we loose on earth shall have already been loosed in heaven! Jesus told us to receive our orders from God in heaven. We have the keys of the kingdom, and we can unlock the gates of hell. On the Day of Pentecost, Peter used these keys of the kingdom, and three thousand people were loosed from the gates of hell. In Acts 10, he used these keys again, and the household of Cornelius was converted.
In striking analogies, the New Testament describes the main task of the church. Jesus compared the Christian to light, salt, water, bread, and fire, and He told us that we have the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Now, what can light, salt, water, bread, fire, and keys have in common? Penetration is the one common denominator. Light penetrates darkness, and it disappears. Salt penetrates meat, and it is preserved. Water penetrates the ground, and a harvest springs forth. Bread penetrates the body and gives strength. A key penetrates a lock, and a door is opened. And fire is dependent on penetration for its very survival.
The church of Jesus Christ is God’s penetrating force in our society. As Christians move in society, they are to preach the gospel (Mark 16:15). We are to bring the world to the foot of the cross that men and women might know Christ as Lord and Savior. The church prevails and is invincible when it has this unique relationship to Christ.
To Be Continued
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD 
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