Gò0dNews for Teens
At the Gates of Hell
I
by Filip Brunner
made the mistake this morning of looking at Facebook.
to protect the ones carrying the ram. It takes faithful unity to
Someone posted a picture of a young person who was
break through the Gates of Hell.
holding up a sign, and on it was written, “Going to Hell
and proud.” My initial reaction was, “Seriously?” What my reaction
should have been, what my reaction needed to be, was, “Where did I go wrong?” As Christian men and women, where did we go so wrong that a young person, or anyone
4. Hell is a real place; let us never lose sight of that fact. The Bible tells us, “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). 5. Hell is prepared for the Devil and his angels; Hell is the prison made to hold Satan and those who follow
for that matter, would rather choose a sinful lifestyle over the love of Jesus? One of the potential issues of the church’s failure is that we as the followers of Jesus are not anywhere near the battlefield. For the most part, we throw our angry insults in the general direction of the enemy from the protection of the ramparts. But what does the Word of God have to say? “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock, I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). The church of Jesus Christ is built from living rocks, but I want to look at the phrase, “…and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.” 1. Gates are a defensive fortification; they are designed to keep someone in and to keep someone out. Jesus is NOT speaking of Hell’s attacking us; rather, He is speaking of our attacking the gates of Hell in order to rescue people from it. 2. “…will not prevail against it.” Friends, we are on the
him. God does not want humans to go to it. People chose to follow Satan into it. Friends, we have the Gospel of Jesus
winning side (I speak of Christians). We need to be on the
Christ. Let us employ it together with prayer and fasting in
front lines, fighting for our children; the gates of Hell cannot
the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Let us firmly seek the favor
prevent us from rescuing sinners from the devil’s foul grasp.
of Heaven that Jesus would lead us to the perishing who
3. Breaking through gates takes effort. A battering ram
will come to Jesus as we give the witness of how Jesus saves and how they can experience forgiveness for themselves. See
employ it properly. It takes soldiers with shields of prayer
you at the gates.
26 // September 2020
About The Author
cannot be carried by one person; it takes several people to
Filip Brunner is married to his wife, Dr. Kim Brunner and together they have six children. He is a writer, author, and artist.
