Church Has Problems

Breaking Through the Gates of Hell

Problems did not destroy the church because it was not a human invention; The Lord instituted what we called the Body of Christ when He spoke to Peter, “I will build my church” (Mat 16:18). Though the church was a spiritual institution, it had problems because of its human caretakers. However, the problems do not define the church; on the contrary, when the church overcomes problems, the power of the Holy Spirit is displayed through our frail humanity, shining God’s grace and love despite our sinful condition.

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.
—Mt 16:18

Jesus’ prophetic message to Peter was that the church would face hell’s fury. The gates of Hades were meant to hold the Lord captive, but “it was not possible for him to be held by it” (Acts 2:24); God would raise Jesus from the grave, and the Lord conquered the pangs of death, possessing the keys to the gates of hell (Rev 1:18). After the Lord’s resurrection, hell unleashed its wrath in coming after the church to destroy it. In the next verse, Jesus promised Peter the keys “of the kingdom of heaven” that would unravel the power of death and the grave. The church’s political quagmire, mixed with social and spiritual disasters, illustrated Jesus’ prophetic message that hell could never prevail against the church as she weathered the tempests of hubris and arrogance.

Though the church’s problems on the surface were visibly severe in the Middle Ages, in large part, they did not affect the local congregations where people struggled with life, and the church was a place that comforted their souls. Corruptions gripped the papacy and caused deep divisions within the church’s hierarchy, but they were symptomatic of humanity’s struggle with power and authority. The invisible church continued to grow and spread throughout the world and in local communities despite visible problems at the leadership. The spread of Christianity continued to advance quietly to the nations, and the gospel advanced and changed lives irrespective of the political and power wrangling at the top. The power of the Holy Spirit worked through the church (with all its problems) in establishing new faith communities worldwide.

[The church] hath been oft in the sea, but never drowned; seldom out of the fire, but never consumed; sometimes swallowed up to reason, but, like Jonah in the whale’s belly, cast up again, as too heavy a charge for the strongest stomach that ever persecutor had to digest. The faith of this hath carried the blessed martyrs to the grave, when they swam to it in their own blood with joy, because they knew the church should have the day at last, and that they left others behind in pursuit of the victory on earth, while themselves were taken out of the field to triumph in heaven. Yea some, by prophetic spirit have foretold the very time when the persecuted truths, that were then buried with so much ignominy and scorn, should have a happy resurrection and victory over their proud enemies.
— William Gurnall (Gurnall, 1662)

Throughout the Middle Ages, the church was attacked from the outside and most grievously when it attacked itself. The sacking of Constantinople by the Crusaders represented the church at its lowest and most horrific self. Pope John Paul II wrote to Christodoulos, Archbishop of Athens, lamented, “It is tragic that the assailants, who set out to secure free access for Christians to the Holy Land, turned against their brothers in faith. The fact that they were Latin Christians fills Catholics with deep regret” (Pope, 2009). Nevertheless, in the church’s greatest darkness, the light of Christ emerged brightly on the faithful.

The church’s story does not rest on the man’s ability to steer this ship toward heaven’s gate but on the power of Christ working through our weaknesses. The church rests entirely on the sufficiency of God’s grace through the finished work of Christ at the cross. Jesus loved His church dearly. He has conquered death and the grave, so too, His church will rise from the ashes of its petulant youth, maturing into the measure and stature of the Savior.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Gurnall, W. (1662). The Christian in Complete Armour. Banner of Truth Trust.
• Pope, J. P. (2009). In the Footsteps of St Paul: Papal Visit to Greece, Syria & Malta.