Taking the next steps

After accepting Jesus as my saviour and being born-again that night on the 1st April 1981 I can remember having the desire to have a bath. Later that evening after having spent some precious time with a dear Christian pastor, Vic Pearce, I headed straight for the bathroom in res and ran a bath. The thoughts going through my mind were "need to wash the sin away". Little did I know that this was the Holy Spirit impressing on me that I needed to be water baptised.

I had grown up in a Catholic home and been through all the rituals of christening as a baby, altar boy, confirmation as a teenager, attended catechism, sang in the choir in church etc. However, none of these rituals had brought about the transformation that I had now experienced. 

My parents thought I had gone mad and kept inviting the priest over to speak to me. One evening my mother organised for a whole group of young seminarians to come and speak to me together with a few priests. We had long debates, by this time I had been attending Bible studies at the YMCA at UCT and had learned a few things about the bible. I had been introduced to Josh McDowel and his book, Evidence Demands a Verdict. I remember having intense discussions with one of the seminary students about the fact that Bible was the only standard for biblical truth and not church tradition as taught in the Catholic church. This seminary student became quite aggressive and was very rattled, but he was also desperate for truth and he asked me if he could borrow Josh McDowel's book which I gladly lent him. I never saw that book again or the seminarian but I trust that he found what he was looking for.

I became convinced that infant baptism was meaningless and unbiblical and that I needed to be baptised by full immersion as the Bible instructs. I had heard of Hatfield Baptist Church in Pretoria and went and found them and signed up to be baptised. 

I can remember how I had a new found hunger to read the bible. I had never owned my own bible, but now I had one and was devouring it daily. There were lots of things I did not understand and I was crying out to God to help me understand it better. It seemed that there was something missing but I could not place my finger on it. After being water baptised at Hatfield they took us to a room and explained about the baptism in the Holy Spirit. I had never been taught that this was something I could and needed to receive. I was game for anything that would help and bring me closer to God, so I stood in line for prayer. I did not feel any different afterwards and wondered why. They had said that you can speak in tongues after being baptised in the Spirit, but this did not happen to me. That whole week I cried out to God to baptise me and let me speak in tongues. The following Sunday I went through to Rhema in Jhb and after the service they called people up to be baptised in the Spirit. I ran forward and an elderly lady came to pray for me. She must have been a real prayer warrior, she gave me some instruction and then prayed and it happened, I began speaking in tongues. I was excited and spent hours over the next few days praying in tongues. Now when I opened the Bible, it was like the words on the page were leaping off and I could instantly understand what was written. It was such an amazing experience to be able to read the Bible and make sense of it all. I could not put it down and read it through from cover to cover. For the next month whilst I was at home on my university vacation, I spent the entire month studying the Bible for up to 8hrs a day. I knew now what it meant to be a "new creation" and have the Holy Spirit in you. I began to experience the gifts of the Holy Spirit and I felt such an incredible joy, peace and love pulsing through me. I had no desire to do the things I used to do that were not pleasing to God. I longed to please Him and be in His presence.

Its 32 years later and I still feel the same. Yes, I have been through some ups and downs, I have fallen here and there, but God's grace is sufficient - if we confess our sins He is righteous and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1John1:9). An important lesson I have learned - God does not forgive excuses, we must not make excuses when we sin. We need to acknowledge when we do, do not excuse it because everyone around you is doing it, acknowledge your sin, repent, ask for forgiveness and move on. Dont live with guilt, once you have confessed your sins, you are forgiven and cleansed. 

32 years ago I was born-again today

On this day at 9pm in 1981, I gave my heart to the Lord - 32 years ago. I was an engineering student at UCT, staying in College House. My close friend Bernard Klingenberg, who always kept a bible next to his bedside, led me to the Lord.

It was a Friday evening and we had machine drawing prac on a Friday. We had finished our usual steak, egg and chips supper in the res dining room and I had returned to my room to work on my engineering drawing homework. This weeks drawing had been a particularly difficult exercise and together with my maths, applied maths, physics and chemistry, work was piling up. It was set to be a long hard working weekend. I had discovered that studying engineering was a tough choice, but I was determined to press on. Hitting a road block with my drawing, I went to Bernard's room for help. The bible on his bedside table seemed to draw my attention. Then I heard myself saying to him, I want to be a Christian like you. Bernard looked up at me from his desk, smiled and suggested we go for a walk outside where it was quieter. There was a lot of loud music and partying going on as usual in our res, after all, it was Friday night.

We walked towards the Elma football field. Reaching the field, it was quiet and no one was in sight. We walked onto the field and as we reached the middle of the field, knelt down to pray and ask God to forgive my sins and repented. With Bernard's help, I asked Jesus to become my saviour. When I stood up, I looked across the field towards the trees around the edge, everything seemed brighter, the stars, the moon, the trees, the grass, my vision seemed to be enhanced. The burden I had felt lifted and now feeling light, almost as if I could float, a supernatural peace and joy filled my heart. I knew something had changed. These scriptures in Titus describe what it was:

Titus 2:11-14 (TLB)

For the Grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. And we are instructed to turn away from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness and devotion to God, while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, will be revealed.

He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.

3:3-7
Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other.

But when God our Saviour revealed His kindness and love, He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy.

He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out His Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Because of His Grace, He declared us Righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.

The following daily reading from Bill and Marsha Burns is also so apt as it encourages us to press on with our walk with the Lord daily:

Faith Tabernacle
April 1, 2013
THE TRUMPET by BILL BURNS:
I would have you, My people, to understand that resurrection power is available to you – the power of the kingdom to bear. The power of the authority of Christ has been given to you; use that authority; use that power. Fight the good fight of faith. Overcome all the works of the enemy that are against you. Live in freedom, liberty, and the pursuit of your joy in the kingdom of an Almighty God, who has made the way for you. All you have to do is walk in the way that has been prepared. Walk in truth. Walk in the glory of a great salvation. Walk in My presence day to day remembering the price has been paid. Do not forget the benefits that you have been given. For, the Lord says, what I have acquired and what I have laid hold of, I did for you. Get it spiritually. Press on! Never give up, never sit down, and do not allow yourself to be discouraged. I say, push toward the mark of the high calling in Christ, the Lord of glory.

SMALL STRAWS IN A SOFT WIND by MARSHA BURNS:
Draw close to Me. Let us be one, with no separation or division between us. My desire is that your heart and mind would come into complete unity with Me, says the Lord, for this is the place of absolute righteousness and peace. You can choose to position yourself to be in this perfect union so that you are never in opposition to My will. John 17:21 That they all may be one, as you, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.

_______________

God is faithful and I love this scripture from Jude 1:24

New International Version (©2011) To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy--

The Security of a Believer

While there exists a real danger of falling away as a Christian, God has given us promises in scripture, gifts of the Holy Spirit, empowerment of the Holy Spirit and the wonderful blessing of being able to confess our sins, repent and be forgiven when we fall. To benefit and appropriate these, they all require an act of our will - we need to do something - they are not automatically conferred. Furthermore, God is watching over us and He promises that no temptation too strong will come upon us, without there being a way of escape. The wonderful thing that we need to be aware of constantly is that God intensely loves everyone of us. He does not want to lose a single soul. Jesus is at the right hand of God continually interceding for us. The saints in heaven, the great cloud of witnesses, are cheering us on. We should imagine in our minds that we are running a race and that the grandstands are full of the saints who have passed on. They are cheering  us on. The Holy Spirit is along side us and giving us a helping hand. In fact, He is inside us, giving us strength to keep running. If we get side tracked and take our attention off the goal, we will stumble and fall. The Holy Spirit, Jesus and the Father will be there waiting for us to confess our sins, repent, get up and start running again. This is how the grace of God works. There is enough grace and forgiveness, the blood of Jesus is sufficient to cover all our sins, it will not run out, provided we keep confessing our sins when we fall. Then the blood of Jesus can cleanse us from all unrighteousness and put us back into the position of having the righteousness of Christ. The longer we stay in the race and keep running, the more we will have the mind of Christ. The more we think in the way God wants us to think, the more victory we will have. It will become easier and easier to overcome sin. But we need to understand the principle of sowing and reaping. If we sow to the flesh, we will reap corruption and spiritual death. If we sow to the spirit, we will reap eternal life. We must be transformed by the renewing of our minds. We need to stay connected to Christ, we are the branches and when we draw off the Holy Spirit's power, we will bear beautiful fruit. God the Father is wooing us, He is romantic, He wants us to spend intimate time with Him on a daily basis and then stay connected throughout the day. We can see in the book of the Song of Solomon, how God desires us to be His bride. He intensely loves us and does not want the enemy to pull us away from Him. However, true love has to be a choice. A robot can never show true love. That is why God had to take the risk of giving us a free will. He wants us to choose Him continually. It is when we start substituting our desire for God with other things (idols) that we start to fall away and if we don't be careful, we can eventually fall so far as to lose the salvation that was freely given. The warning of falling away is clearly cited in several places in the scripture. Paul encourages us to run the race, to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, to have a reverential fear of God, recognising that He could send us to hell if we do not obey, we must hate sin, keep repenting when we fall, cling to God, don't become over confident, lest we fall. If we keep a contrite heart, humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, resist the devil, he will flee from us. The devil is prowling around seeking whom he may devour. We must not be ignorant, we must be on our guard, we must take up the whole armour of God and recognise that we are fighting a battle. This is not a dress rehearsal or a computer game, this is a matter of life and death. We have to take our walk seriously, we must be aware that there are wolves in sheeps clothing seeking to deceive us. We have to become so familiar with the truth of scripture that we will immediately detect error creeping in. If we remain close to God, if we choose to abide under the shadow of His wings, He will protect us, His angels will watch over us and no weapon formed against us will prosper. But if we choose not to abide under His wings, we will not have His protection and will become a target and we will fall. So again, we must realise that the most powerful thing we have as humans at our disposal, is our freewill. We must choose to allow the Holy Spirit to empower us, we must choose to repent when we sin, we must keep fellowshipping with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as well as other believers. We need to stay in the word of God and absorb it as food for our souls and spirits. We need a healthy meal of the Word of God each day to have the strength to deal with what we will face that day. If we ask Him for enough grace for today, He will supply what we need. If we don't ask, we won't receive. God wants us to ask HIm for His grace every day. He wants us to ask Him for His wisdom, for His understanding, for His insight, for His love to fill our hearts, to be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit each day, each moment. We need the Holy Spirit to empower us to enable us to overcome. He desires to give us all we need, we must just cooperate with Him. Then if we keep running this race, everyday, never giving up, but persevering to the end, we will enter His Kingdom and He will say "Well done, my good and faithful servant".

So in conclusion, we can have assurance of salvation if we choose to stay close to Him after we have been born again, we can know that we are born-again and destined for heaven if we have truly repented and put our faith in the saving work of Jesus on the cross. We can have that peace that passes all understanding. We can have the confidence that nothing shall by any means be able to separate us from God's love. Neither death, nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow - not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. No power in the sky above, or in the earth below - indeed nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39).

True Grace vs False Grace

What is Grace? 
Why could there be a False Grace?

Firstly, Grace relates to God's character and His intentions towards us. In other words it has a close relationship with salvation. We are saved by Grace, through Faith in the Lord Jesus.

To understand Grace then, lets look at one of the parables that Jesus taught which relates to salvation. The parable of the ten virgins is a parable about salvation as taught by Jesus. We should therefore take this very seriously.

http://www.evangelicaloutreach.org/ten_virgins.htm

The Lord Jesus taught about salvation in at least seven different parables. The parable of the ten virgins is just one of the times. This parable shows, among other things, the need to endure, even when others do not. Ponder the Lord's salvation message carefully and you'll learn from both the wise and the foolish virgins. Here is his teaching:

● At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. (Mat 25:1,2)

Clearly, this teaching is about 10 real, genuine virgins. While none were counterfeit virgins, 5 were foolish. Again, it isn’t that those 5 virgins were never really virgins in the first place, but they were foolish virgins. That is why things ended the way they did for them. Regarding the term virgin, ponder carefully what Paul wrote to Christians:

... I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. (2 Cor 11:2)

Jesus, the bridegroom, is to be presented pure spiritual virgins as his bride. This is the type of person Jesus is referring to in his teaching on the Ten Virgins. At an earlier time, the Lord Jesus also spoke of the wise and foolish. In that case they were all house builders:

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. (Mat 7:24)

But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. (Mat 7:26)

James also wrote of the wise (and understanding):

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. (James 3:13)

(In every case, the wise are always faithful obedient followers of God’s way.) Getting back to Mt. 25:1-13, NOTE: all 10 of the virgins went out to meet the bridegroom (Jesus). This is more evidence that they all had salvation at that early point.

● The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. (Mat 25:3,4)

This is a key passage showing what made the wise virgins wise and the foolish virgins foolish. While both groups had a burning lamp, only the wise brought along extra lamp oil to keep their lamps burning while waiting to meet the bridegroom. Elsewhere Jesus taught Christians:

Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning (Luke 12:35)

NOTE: While Jesus commands the saints to keep their lamps burning, it is man’s responsibility to actually keep them burning. If it was solely left up to God, no spiritual lamp would ever stop burning. Only the wise, by bringing extra lamp oil in a jar, were able to keep their lamps burnings.

● The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. (Mat 25:5)

NOTE: Here and elsewhere Jesus taught a late coming, thus implying a post tribulation rapture. All 10 virgins became drowsy and fell asleep while awaiting the bridegroom—even the wise.

● At midnight the cry rang out: “Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!” (Mat 25:6)

At the darkest time of the night (midnight) the bridegroom came. It was then that the virgins needed to be ready.

● Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.” “No,” they replied, “there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.” (Mat 25:7-9)

The foolish had a lamp burning for God, but it was now dying out. This is a real danger which few seem to recognize. They needed oil to keep their lamps burning, but it would have to be purchased. It was not freely given, even to the wise. Again, there was a price that needed to be paid to get that oil to keep their lamps burning as God wants. The wise, who were thinking ahead and knew they would have to endure, had already paid that price and were ready at that crucial time.

●But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. (Mat 25:10)

The negligence of the foolish caught up with them. They were not ready to meet the bridegroom anymore. Only the wise, who still had a burning lamp, were ready. They alone went into the wedding banquet.

● Later the others also came. “Sir! Sir!” they said. “Open the door for us!” (Mat 25:11) But he replied, “I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.” (Mat 25:12)

The foolish returned, but the door was closed. (Apparently, the foolish didn’t have the knowledge that once the door is closed it won’t be opened for late comers, who are not ready.)

Jesus’ response to the 5 foolish virgins is most revealing about the vital need of enduring. Unlike the wise virgins, Jesus didn’t know the foolish virgins anymore. NOTE: He didn’t say to those foolish virgins, I never knew you, as he tells a different group of continuous tense evil doers:

Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” (Mat 7:23)

The Lord Jesus no longer had a relationship with the 5 foolish virgins as he did at an earlier time when their lamps were burning and they were ready to meet the bridegroom. That relationship ended because of their negligence. The Lord finishes off his teaching about the 10 virgins with a warning to all of his followers:

● Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. (Mat 25:13)

That was the second time such a warning was given. The first was in the same discourse:

Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. (Mat 24:42)

In other words, if you are a Christian, do not end up like the five foolish virgins. What happened to them could happen to you. Keep watch over yourself. Don’t let your lamp burn out. Clearly, such is a salvation issue and nothing less since the foolish ones were no longer known by the Lord.Are you now, at this time, keeping watch over your own soul? If you were once saved, is your lamp still burning or has it died out? Does Jesus still know you?

NOTE: It was 5 out of 10 or 1 out of 2 or 50% who fell away from their salvation. The parable of the ten virgins directly applies to the very end of this age when the Lord returns. Hence, Jesus taught a great falling away before his return. See also 2 Thess. 2:3 and Mt. 24:10. 

Understanding the parable of the ten virgins helps us discern when a message on Grace being taught is tending towards error. If the Grace message is leaving you with the impression that God does everything and you just cant help yourself from sinning and it actually does not matter if you keep on sinning because you are saved anyway, regardless. Then this Grace message is false and is not what the Bible teaches.

NOTE: While Jesus commands the saints to keep their lamps burning, it is man’s responsibility to actually keep them burning. If it was solely left up to God, no spiritual lamp would ever stop burning. Only the wise, by bringing extra lamp oil in a jar, were able to keep their lamps burnings.

What are the Keys of the Kingdom? What does binding and loosing mean?

What is meant by the “keys of the Kingdom” and “binding and loosing” as found in Matthew 16:19 and Matthew 1818?

“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 

In this verse, Jesus is speaking directly to the apostle Peter but also indirectly to the other apostles and all believers. 

Jesus' words meant that believers would have the right to enter the kingdom and would be given power of attorney (authority - symbolized by the possession of the keys), being able to open the kingdom of heaven to all who believe through the message of the Gospel. 

Believers are given the authority through the use of the Name of Jesus to perform signs and wonders, heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons and be an instrument of the Holy Spirit to bring the message of salvation which when believed and confessed, opens the doors to the Kingdom i.e. we are given the “Keys of the Kingdom” to open the door for ourselves and others.

The book of Acts shows this process at work through Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:14-40), Peter opened the door of the kingdom for the first time and 3000 entered.

The expressions “bind” and “loose” were common Jewish legal terms meaning to declare something forbidden or to declare it allowed as pertaining to Jewish law, and reflect an authority held by the person doing the binding or loosing. 

Jesus uses this commonly understood concept of the day to convey the truth that all believers would be given authority (an authority lost by Adam). This authority would not relate to the Jewish law, but would relate to rescuing fallen mankind from the enemy and helping them enter the Kingdom of God.

In Matthew 18:18, the usage is different in that here Jesus is referring to binding and loosing in the context of believers behavior. If one believer sins against another, Jesus  provides a process by which to deal with the situation. This principle of binding a loosing reflects an authority that is given, first at an individual level, then in the group context of the ecclesia.

On earth and in heaven:

What Jesus was saying is, “I am giving you the keys to the kingdom of heaven [or, the rulership from heaven -- the Greek word basileia means reign, or rulership].  We have been raised up and seated in heavenly places in Christ. Therefore we can speak authoritatively from that position in the heavens or spirit realm. This authority also carries across into the physical realm.

Jesus was given all authority in heaven and in earth. He has given us permission to use His authority through the use of His name. He has raised us and seated us with Him on His throne. Therefore this authority given to us, extends from the heavenly or spiritual realm all the way down to the earthly realm. When we command demons to leave a person, we are positioned in the heavenly realm in Christ and they have to submit to His Name. Any further issues in the physical realm such as sickness also have to obey and leave because the earthly realm is also subject to this authority.

The same principle of binding and loosing applies to forgiveness. Jesus told his disciples that whatever sins they retain will be retained and whatever they forgive will be forgiven. This primarily applies to how we deal with people and why it is so important to forgive others. We hinder both ourselves and others by not forgiving. 

Binding and loosing also have to do with soul ties. When you take an offense, you’re tying your soul to it. You’re binding it to you. And when you bind it to you, it’s bound in Heaven, because you made that decision. When you loose people from an offense you loose that from yourself and untie the soul tie, it is then loosed in Heaven and can’t have any hold on you. 

An interesting thought: When Steven was stoned, Paul stood by holding the jackets of those stoning him. It was at Paul’s command. Steven looked up to heaven and as he died, he said that he does not hold this sin against them and ask God to forgive those stoning him. Question: If Steven had not forgiven those stoning him, could Paul have been saved?

Ecclesia does not = church

The word. "Church" comes from the Old English and German word pronounced "kirche." In Scotland, it was "kirk."

The following entries are from the Oxford Universal English Dictionary:

Church [Old English cirice, circe; Middle English chereche, chiriche, chirche; whence churche, cherche, etc.: -Greek Kuriakon...]

Kirk The Northern English and Scottish form of CHURCH, in all its senses.

The meaning of "Ku-ri-a-kos" is understood by its root: "Ku- ri-os," which means "lord." Thus, "kuriakos" (i.e., "church") means "pertaining to the lord." It refers to something that pertains to, or belongs to, a lord. The Greek "kuriakos" eventually came to be used in Old English form as "cirice" (Kee-ree-ke), then "churche" (kerke), and eventually "church" in its traditional pronunciation. 

A church therefore is something that "pertains to, or belongs to, a lord."

The word "church" would have been an acceptable translation for the Greek word "kuriakos" but most English versions of the bible translate the Greek word “ecclesia” into the word "church", which is incorrect.

"Ecclesia" is an entirely different word with an entirely different meaning than "kuriakos." In fact, the Greek word "kuriakos" appears in the New Testament only twice. It is found once in I Corinthians 11:20 where it refers to "the Lord's supper," and once again in Revelation 1:10 where it refers to "the Lord's day." In both of those cases, it is translated "the Lord's..." - not "church." This word does not appear again in the New Testament. 

THE CORRECT MEANING OF "ECCLESIA"

The Greek word ecclesia" appears in the New Testament approximately 115 times. That's just in this one grammatical form. It appears also in other forms. And in every instance, except three, it is wrongly translated as "church" in the King James Version. Those three exceptions are found in Acts 19:32, 39, 41. In these instances the translators rendered it "assembly" instead of "church." But, the Greek word is exactly the same as the other 112 entries where it was changed to "church" wrongly.

In Acts 19, "ecclesia" is a town council: a civil body in Ephesus. 

The Greek word "ecclesia" is correctly defined as: "The called-out (ones)" [ECC = out; KALEO = call]. Thus, you can see how this word was used to indicate a civil body of select (called, elected) people.

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica:

In the New Testament, "ecclesia" (signifying convocation) is the only single word used for church. It (ecclesia) was the name given to the governmental assembly of the city of Athens, duly convoked (called out) by proper officers and possessing all political power including even juridical functions.

Obviously, in Greece an ecclesia had no resemblance to a church. An "ecclesia" was a civil assembly in Athens even before the writing of the New Testament. 

Oxford Universal English Dictionary :

Ecclesia [mediaeval Latin, and Greek - from : SUMMONED] -A regularly convoked assembly, especially the general assembly of Athenians. Later, the regular word for church.

Thus, two of the most prestigious word resources in the English language confirm the fact that an "ecclesia" was originally a select civil body, summoned or convoked for a particular purpose. 

What, then, did the writers of the New Testament mean when they used the word "ecclesia" to describe a Christian body of people? 

We can assume that they intended to convey the original Greek meaning of the word: “a body of Christians called out of the Roman and Judean system to come together into a separate civil community”

It meant a politically autonomous body of Christians under no king but Jesus; under no other jurisdiction but that of Jesus. No man ruled them! Only Christ. And that was the reason these same Christians ran into trouble with kings and rulers; were arrested, crucified and martyred. They dropped Caesar as their King and took up Christ.

In Acts 17, verses 1-6 we see that Paul and Silas had a reputation that preceded them. They were "turning the world (system) upside down." What was their inflaming message? What were these guys doing that was "turning the world system upside down"? The answer is found in verse 7: "Whom Jason hath received (into his house): and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus."

They were announcing ANOTHER KING! Not Caesar! This was a king who was bigger than Caesar. They were forming civil bodies that no longer looked to Caesar as their king. Paul and Silas weren't "church builders" they were kingdom builders! They were dethroning rulers in the minds of the people and alienating them from the mental hold Caesar had upon them. They were teaching the principles of Kingdom government. They were putting forth the call of God to whomever would hear and obey, and those whose hearts responded to the call became citizens of Christ's kingdom and joined themselves to the ecclesia, or community of believers.

William Tyndale was the fifteenth century reformer and Bible translator martyred for his unyielding love of the truth of the Word of God. Tyndale was willing to die for God's word and truth. Tyndale, and other sixteenth-century reformers did not translate the word ecclesia into "church." They used other words like "congregation," "governmental assembly," etc. 

From Wikipedia: In January 1604, King James VI of Scotland and I of England convened the Hampton Court Conference where a new English version was conceived in response to the perceived problems of the earlier translations as detected by the Puritans,[7] a faction within the Church of England.[8]

James gave the translators instructions intended to guarantee that the new version would conform to the ecclesiology and reflect the episcopal structure of the Church of England and its belief in an ordained clergy.[9] The translation was done by 47 scholars, all of whom were members of the Church of England.[10] 

(It was in the commissioning of this translation (KJV) that the word “ecclesia” was first translated as “church” in order to align the translation with the existing church structures, rather than aligning the translation with what Jesus intended as recorded in Matthew 16:18)

When you consider the fact that an "ecclesia" was "a civil body politic", this is strong proof that the Christian ecclesias we read about in the New Testament were independent civil bodies of Christians - independent from worldly kings and governors, ruled by the Theocratic government of God's Spirit. They wanted freedom to serve King Jesus. The ecclesia system, with it's Theocratic government and individual responsibility, is capable of freeing believers from the bondage of religion. True peace and liberty cannot be found outside of Christ. Christ's system is the ecclesia system.

Matthew 16: Peter understands that Jesus Is the Messiah, Jesus declares that on this “rock” i.e. revelation of this truth that Jesus is the Messiah, He will build His ecclesia

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my ecclesia, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

In this passage Jesus talks about the fact that a body of believers or ecclesia will be established through the revelation that Jesus is the Messiah. 

What are the gates of hell?

The phrase the “gates of hell” is translated in some versions as the “gates of Hades.” The gates of hell or gates of Hades is found only once in the entire Scriptures, in Matthew 16:18. In this passage, Jesus is referring to the building of His ekklesia: “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my ekklesia, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).

At this time Jesus had not yet established His ekklesia. In fact, this is the first instance of the word “ekklesia” in the New Testament. The Greek word ekklesia means the “called out” or assembly. In other words, the ekklesia that Jesus is referencing means the assembly of people who have been called out of the world by the gospel of Christ. 

Ekklesia is wrongly translated into the word "church" - see the next post on the translation of ekklesia.

Bible scholars debate the actual meaning of the phrase “and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” One of the better interpretations to the meaning of this phrase is as follows. In ancient times, the cities were surrounded by walls with gates, and in battles the gates of these cities would usually be the first place their enemies assaulted. This was because the protection of the city was determined by the strength or power of its gates.

As such, the “gates of hell” or “gates of Hades” means the power of Hades. The name “Hades” was originally the name of the god who presided over the realm of the dead and was oftentimes referred to as the “house of Hades.” It designated the place to which everyone who departs this life descends, regardless of their moral character. In the New Testament, Hades is the realm of the dead, and in this verse Hades or hell is represented as a mighty city with its gates representing its power.

Jesus refers here to His impending death. Though He would be crucified and buried, He would rise from the dead and build His ekklesia. As such, Jesus is emphasizing the fact that the powers of death could not hold Him in. Not only would the ekklesia be established in spite of the powers of Hades or hell, but the ekklesia would thrive in spite of these powers. The ekklesia will never fail, though generation after generation succumbs to the power of physical death, yet other generations will arise to perpetuate the ekklesia. And it will continue until it has filled its mission on earth as Jesus has commanded:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20).

It is clear that Jesus was declaring that death has no power to hold God's people captive. Its gates are not strong enough to overpower and keep imprisoned the ekklesia of God. The Lord has conquered death (Romans 8:2; Acts 2:24). And because “death no longer is master over Him” (Romans 6:9), it is no longer master over those who belong to Him. 

Analysing Matthew 16:18:

“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my ekklesia, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”

There are really only three parts to this expression—"The gates” is one part. “Of Hell” is another part. And “Shall not prevail against it” is the third part. Let’s take those parts in reverse order.

First, the phrase “shall not prevail” is from the Greek word katischuo, which itself comes from two Greek words kata meaning “against” or “upon” and ischuo which means “to be strong” or “to have strength.” Put them together and you have katischuo, which means to have the strength to go into battle against the foe. Not only that, it means to have the strength to have the victory over your foe. It’s not only the strength to fight; it’s also the strength to win. “Prevail” is a good translation; so is “overcome.” It’s a military term. It’s what an army needs to win the battle.

But this is in the negative. Jesus is saying that the Gates of Hell—whatever they are—may fight the ekklesia but they will not win. The battle will rage long and hard, soldiers will die on every side, and the gates of Hell may win a few skirmishes, a whole string of battles, but they will not win the war. The gates of Hell are strong, but they aren’t strong enough.

Second, the phrase “of Hell” doesn’t necessarily mean what you think it means. When we hear the word “Hell,” we think of a place with fire and brimstone, a place were lost men and women suffer eternally. The Bible indeed speaks of such a place and it is called Hell.

But the Greek word Jesus used is hades. It does not always refer to the place of eternal torment. Did you know that in Greek mythology there was a character whose name was Hades? He was the god of the underworld. Specifically, he was the god of the realm of the dead. Hades just comes from two Greek words. It literally means “not to see.” Hades in the Bible generally refers to the invisible realm of the dead. In that sense it corresponds to the Hebrew word sheol. It is that shadowy, unseen world where the dead go. And here’s an important fact: When the Bible speaks of Hades it is not necessarily making a distinction between the saved and the lost. It is simply the land of the dead.

Let me say it plainly. The Bible does teach that some will suffer eternally in a place of terrible torment. The Greek word most often used for that place is gehenna. But when the Bible speaks of the invisible realm of the dead, the word it uses is hades.

So Jesus is saying that the gates of the realm of the dead will never overpower the ekklesia. But what are the “gates?”

Third, the word “gates” is a very common Greek word. “Gates” are a means of entrance by which you pass from one realm to another. Gates serve two purposes—they keep people in and they keep people out. For instance, this same word is used for the gates of the city of Jerusalem, for the gates to the temple, and for prison gates. Gates are a means of access, a means of entry.

If hades is the land of the dead, what is the gate by which you enter that realm? Death. You have to die to enter the realm of the dead. Death is the gateway to hades.

What, then, is Jesus saying? He is saying that death and all its ugly power will never overcome the ekklesia He is building.

But why did He say that? Because He knew something his disciples didn’t know. If you have your Bible, drop down just three verses to verse 21: “From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” To us, this is old news. We’ve heard it a thousand times. But to the disciples, this was first they had heard about it. Jesus … the Messiah … the Son of God … was going to die.

Now connect verse 18 with verse 21. When Jesus said the power of death will never overcome the ekklesia, he said it because when he rose from the dead, he broke open the gates of hades. Up until Jesus’ day no one had ever escaped from the land of the dead. But Jesus did. And he came out holding the keys in his hand.

That’s what Revelation 1:18 says. “I am the Living One. I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” How do you get the keys to Hades? You break the gate wide open. You die and then you come back from the dead.

And that is why the gates of Hades—death itself—can never overpower the ekklesia. Because Jesus Christ has died and come back from the dead and he holds in his hand the keys to the gates of Hades.