Jesus declared, “Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18 kjv). These words reveal that Christ’s church is on the move in enemy territory. The gates of hell shall not withstand the attack of the church. “I will build” marks the advancement of Christ’s kingdom and agenda. It will occur because the Lord of the universe has said it.
In this picture, who is on the offense? The church! Christ conquered the fear of death at the cross and death itself at the resurrection. He now is King of heaven and earth. Satan is on the defense. He lost the major battle of the war for the universe. He is in retreat. Christ is leading his forces in the mopping-up operations. We are to follow Christ and his banner to the very gates of hell. The war continues between God and Satan, between truth and falsehood, between good and evil, between light and darkness, between life and death. The forces of evil are no match for the onslaught of the kingdom. The kingdom of God will prevail in the end.
This war manifests itself here on earth in very concrete ways that have consequences for both individuals and cultures. There are battles that need to be fought on many fronts. There is a battle for truth and against lies, for the culture of life and against the culture of death; another for justice and against corruption; another for beauty against the mundane and hideous; another for plenty and against hunger; another for economic sufficiency and against poverty; another for wisdom and against ignorance; and another for health and against disease. Servants of the King are to occupy themselves—using their natural gifts, talents, and abilities—to fight these battles. They are to make a unique contribution, in their life and vocation, to occupy enemy territory for Christ.
As part of God’s army, we do not fight with swords, guns, or bombs but with truth, beauty, and justice. We do not advance by ship or in tanks but on our knees and in humble service. As each Christian takes his place of deployment, he is to plant the banner of Christ.
The war in which we are summoned to serve today has ebbed and waned throughout history, sometimes the kingdom of God advancing, sometimes the forces of darkness advancing. At this moment in history there has been unparalleled advancement in evangelism and church planting. There have never been more Christians or churches in the world than there are today. But the impact of the church on Western culture is diminishing dramatically. The kingdom of darkness is deeply impacting nations even as the church is growing numerically. The church has virtually lost the West to secularism, and secularism is collapsing under the weight of greed and corruption on its insufficient foundation. Postmodernism or neo-paganism is currently making strides for the hearts and minds of nations, especially in post-Christian Europe and the major cities of North America. In much of the developing world, the mindset and value system of spiritism continue to hold sway, diminishing the impact of the numerical growth of the church.
So what is the problem? The church, in our generation, has a mindset that Satan is on the offensive and the church is on the defensive. This mentality is exactly opposite from the teaching of the Scripture and is creating a defeatist mentality in the church. We need to be reminded of who won the battle of the cross and who won the battle over death. Christ and his kingdom will continue to advance until his triumph is completed.
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