Matthew 16:18/ How is the Church Still a Thing?

 "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Matthew 16:18

 You would have been laughed out of town if you stood in the middle of Rome 2,000 years ago and said, "in 500 years the Roman empire will no longer exist." It was unimaginable that the Roman Empire could fall because it was secured by infrastructure, military might, sophisticated governance, economics, geographical strongholds, culture, fear and so on. How could an organization that powerful ever cease to exist? And yet it did exactly that.

Jesus makes a bold promise in Matthew 16:18—he said, "the gates of hell shall not prevail against [the church]." He was forming a new organization AND claiming that it would stand forever. That's bold. And what would this church be secured by? Military? Economic influence? Geographical strong holds? Sophisticated governance? Nope. The church would be secured by Jesus. The Romans would have probably laughed at that 2,000 years ago as well. But, isn't it ironic that the powerful Romans persecuted the lowly Christians and only one of these groups still exist today. 

 It's worth thinking about for a second: the powerful Romans persecuted the lowly Christians and only one of these organizations still exist today. What does this say about Jesus? It says Jesus is God. Because only God could make a promise like that and carry it out over the last 2,000 years. 

 Think about this: in 2023, God is making good on a promise right before our eyes as the church marches forward. If we are ever deceived into thinking that God is not working in the world, think of the church. How is it still here? All the persecution, all the executions, all the mockery, all the ridicule (which is still happening today by the way)—how is it that the most persecuted group of people in history with the least amount of earthly-resources to secure itself in history still exists? 

This is miraculous. It's supernatural. It's got an "otherness" about it that sets it apart from how the world typically works. It's divine. And all this despite a spiritual enemy actively working against it as well. 

 Leverage the existence of the church to sure up your faith. Meditate on the reality that Jesus has a bride in the church and like a good husband He protects and provides for His bride. Feed your faith with this miracle of God that is the church.

 If you want to dig deeper into this, need help, need prayer, or have questions—please reach out to us here: Roots Help & Prayer Form. 

Humbly, 

Pastor Kevin