 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Matthew 7:13-14
We are living in an age of almost total unbelief as far as the Bible is concerned. There is a lot of religion but it is not according to “thus saith the Lord”. In this scripture, there are just two gates. There is a narrow gate and there is a wide gate. There are not a multitude of gates. The narrow gate leads to where? It leads to Heaven. The wide gate leads to where? It leads to destruction and Hell. There are not a multitude of ways to get to Heaven. You have to go through one gate to get on the narrow way that leads to Heaven.
Many people think that by being religious minded or being a part of an organization; that somehow you are associated with the One Way. They think that it will somehow get you on the narrow way. The Bahá'í religion built a temple in Chicago and it has nine doors. Each door into the temple is for a different prophet and religion. The doors are for Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Taoism, Jesus, Krishna, Mohammad, Zarathustra, and Bahá'í . They say that they all lead to God; but not one of them will lead to the straight and narrow way. We can’t be born into a family that is religious and get on the way. We can’t go to a church and somehow become religious and learn church teachings and get on the way. We can’t be baptized and get on the way. What is it that gets us through the door of the gate? Repentance, there isn’t anything else. We have to repent the Bible way.
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6
If you looked at religious people around you; you might think the scripture said: I am one of the ways, part of the truth, one kind of life, no one comes to the Father unless they are religious, good, kind, or sincere in what they believe. Did Jesus say that? Jesus said: I am the way, the only true way. You can’t get to Heaven outside of Jesus. Being just church minded or religious minded doesn’t do it. You have to have a crisis experience where you know personally, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you’ve repented and forsaken your sin. There is no other way that you can get through the gate.
There are a lot of people trying to get through the gate. You don’t just automatically stumble through the gate, it doesn’t work that way. You don’t just somehow stumble along and see an open gate and go through it and get on the narrow way. There has to be a deliberate choice on your part in order to get through that one gate.
Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. Luke 13:23-24
What does the word, strive mean?
- to exert oneself vigorously,try hard
- to make strenuous efforts toward anygoal
- to contend in opposition, battle, or any conflict; compete
- to struggle vigorously, as in opposition or resistance
There has to be some effort on your part. That is why you can’t just stumble through the gate and somehow be on the narrow way, it doesn’t work that way. You have to strive. You have to show effort on your part that you are willing to go God’s way. Jesus is the door of that gate and you can’t get through that door if you don’t come by his rule. So, just wanting to be religious and wanting to read your Bible, wanting to do your own thing; it doesn’t work that way. This scripture says; many will seek to enter in and shall not be able. How come they won’t be able? What is it that will keep people out of the narrow way? Not going through Jesus will keep people off the narrow way. Sin will keep people from going through the gate. If there is sin in your heart, there is no way that you can get in the gate. You must confess, repent and forsake all sin. There is a lot of confessing going on in religious organizations today, but not forsaking. They go right back and do the same thing. They are trying to get through the gate to the narrow way with their own ideas, their own opinions, and their own religious ideas. There are two reasons why people are not willing to get on the narrow way, they are not willing to forsake their thoughts and they are not willing to forsake their way. They want to bring their thoughts and their way over onto the narrow way and it doesn’t work that way. They will never get through the gate. We’ve got to be willing to forsake our way and our thoughts. It is vitally important that when we get on the way it is a deliberate decision on our part that we are going to forsake our way and our thoughts, all sin, and go God’s way. And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Isaiah 35:8-10
What is the narrow way called? It is the highway of holiness. That is the reason why there is no one on the highway, the way, the straight and narrow way with sin in their life. They have to have a holy experience. The only way is through repentance and completely forsaking sin. Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6
Jesus said that he is the way, truth, and the life. If you don’t love truth, you will love something else which is error or falseness. You will try to incorporate the error into the narrow way and it doesn’t fit, it won’t get through the gate. That is why we need to love truth and not forsake it. We can’t try to think that somehow our way can get on and expand the borders. We are going to go God’s way or we won’t go at all. God is the one that makes the rules, we have to go His way.
Trackback(0)
|
Mature Adult 
TrackBack URI for this entry
Subscribe to this comment's feed
