The Church Triumphant

And the gates of hell will not prevail!
One common misconception about the church is the idea that we are on the defense. This thought is everywhere and it is very dangerous. It affects the way we view our worship, our jobs, our evangelism, our families, and our interaction (or lack thereof) with culture. My point here is not to expound on these particular effects but rather to push the correct view of the Church. The Church is NOT on the defensive! The Church is Militant. The gates of hell are on the defense. And we will devastate them. Christ told us that “on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Gates are not a weapon. You do not “go” to battle carrying gates to slay the enemy. No, gates are for protection against invasions and these specific gates will not hold. We will destroy our enemies which are Christ’s enemies. We will not be raptured out of a bad situation nor will we cower as a small remnant until the end. God is not a loser and neither is His Church. The Rock that is Christ breaks and crushes. The Rock breaks the enemy through conversion or it crushes the enemy through everlasting destruction. But it, or rather He, is never broken or crushed (outside his being broken for us in which sense he clearly was not the “loser”). When you think of this world and everything in it, think of it in terms of dominion. Think of it in terms of destroying the enemy. When you teach your children, worship in church, go to work, or evangelize realize that you are part of a Militant Church which, through all these means and many others, will crush the gates of hell.