The Cemetery Fence

Have you ever wondered why they put a fence around a cemetery? Is it to keep people in or out? I mean, really! The ones who are in there aren’t going anywhere . . . at least not until . . . you know . . . 1 Corinthians 15:51-52. I mean after all, those are just bodies, the souls have gone. So why the fence? I guess it is to keep out vandals and any who would do harm to the graves are to the cemetery. Unfortunately, if someone is determined to vandalize a grave a fence will not be able to stop them.

Did you know that Hell has a fence around it? And it’s not to keep people in, once they are there, they are there for eternity. The fence around Hell is to protect Hell from the onslaught of God’s people. Read this:

“… and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” – Matthew 16:18b

Jesus portrays the kingdom of satan as defenseless against the onslaught of the people of God. Jesus uses a word picture based on the meaning of Peter’s name. Petros – Peter’s name means “rock.” But Jesus referred to this rock, meaning the earlier statement Peter made - that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. That one belief, the belief that Jesus is the Son of God and Savior of the world is the one attack hell cannot withstand. There is no soul that satan can detain in his evil concentration camp that has professed its faith in Jesus.

We read in the Bible about putting on the armor of God to defend ourselves against the fiery darts of the devil. We read about the importance of being aware of his devious schemes. We can be certain that the devil is our sworn enemy and accuser. But there is area where we can attack him and we can ALWAYS win – when we lead others to faith in Christ as their Savior.

The problem in most churches is that we have forgotten who the enemy is. Oh we, attack and we conquer, alright. We attack and conquer those on our own team! We fight each other over petty issues – worship styles, carpet colors, pews/chairs, the list goes on. All the while satan sits back and watches – no, really he encourages – as we tear each other to shreds over things that matter zilch in eternity.

Folks, let’s get reoriented as to who the real enemy is. Let’s quit fighting over petty stuff. Can’t we all agree that the most important pursuit of any church, any Christian is the salvation of lost souls? You see, while we fight each other satan is taking a whole generation of precious souls captive. Don’t you think it’s time to make the main thing the main thing again?

Most of you reading this are probably thinking, “yes, that’s what’s wrong with them!” But the problem is not them . . . it’s you . . . and me. I was brought up to believe that it takes 2 to fight, so I am picking my battles. When one of my own tried to engage me, I can always walk away. Instead, I am saving my energy for the real enemy. What will you do to engage the real enemy? How about let’s you and me get busy setting some captives free, shall we?