I’ve Never Seen an Offensive Gate

“And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (Matthew 16:18).

I was reading Neil Cole’s book The Organic Church yesterday, and he said something that really bothered me. He quoted Matthew 16:18 and reminded us that gates are defensive items, not offensive items. “Police don’t pack loaded gates. Terrorists don’t hold victims at ‘gate point.’ We don’t send weapons inspectors overseas to discover ‘gates of mass destruction.’” His point is that the Church Jesus builds is to be on the offensive, not the defensive. We’ve nothing to fear about the gates of Hell. Rather, it is the gates and strongholds of Hell that should fear the Church of Jesus Christ.

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