the narrow path. Matthew 7:13-14. Enter ye in at the straight gate.
For wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadth to destruction, and many there be which go in there. Because straight is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadth unto life, and few there be that find it. This passage teaches us that there are two ways in life.
The wide way and the narrow way. The wide way is easy to find and many people enter through it. It is the way of the world and it leads to destruction.
It is a way that allows you to carry your sins, live in the flesh, live in lust and the pride of life. The narrow way, on the other hand, is more difficult to find and few people enter through it. It is the way of God and it leads to life.
The narrow way requires something of us. It requires that we leave our baggage behind. This baggage is our sin, our pride, our lust, our envy and more.
We cannot bring our baggage with us on the narrow way. We must leave it behind if we want to enter through the narrow gate. To leave our baggage behind, we must come to the narrow gate with an attitude of repentance.
Repentance means that we acknowledge our sin and turn away from it. We must confess our sin to God and ask for his forgiveness. Only then can we leave our baggage behind and enter through the narrow gate.
We must also come to the narrow gate with a spirit of brokenness. Brokenness means that we recognize our need for God. We realize that we cannot make it through life on our own.
We need God's help and we need his grace. Only when we are broken can we truly enter through the narrow gate. There is a danger of comparing ourselves to others who call themselves Christians.
It is easy to fall into the trap of comparing ourselves to others who label themselves as Christians. However, this is dangerous and counterproductive. For we live in a generation of a watered-own gospel, a watered down Christianity which allows people to live in their sins.
A watered-own gospel that requires no repentance, no brokenness, no righteousness, and no holiness. Stop comparing yourself to others who call themselves Christians. For we live in a generation of watered down gospel, a watered down Christianity, where people are living lives which are contrary to the word of God, where quote unquote Christians interpret and twist scripture in order to suit their own sinful desires.
Stop comparing yourselves to other Christians. Compare yourself to the word of God. Examine yourself.
2 Corinthians 13:5. Examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith. Prove your own selves.
Know ye not your own selves. How that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates. In this passage, Paul challenges the Corinthian Christians to examine themselves and consider whether or not they are truly followers of Christ.
He says, "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you?
Unless, of course, you fail the test. This is a sobering question that we must all ask ourselves. Am I really a Christian?
Am I really a Christian? It's easy to assume that we are Christians simply because we grew up in a Christian home, attend church regularly, or we have a headful of knowledge of the Bible. However, Paul reminds us that being a Christian is more than just going through the motions.
It's about having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, confessing our sins, and surrendering our lives to him. It is about traveling through the narrow way. But how do we know if we are truly saved?
Paul tells us to test ourselves. This means that we need to examine our hearts and our actions to see if they are in line with God's will. Are we willing to live a life that is pleasing to God?
Are we seeking to serve him with our whole heart? Are we growing in our faith and in our love for others? Paul tells us to test ourselves.
I cannot test you just like you cannot test me. I cannot examine you just like you cannot examine me. However, you can test yourself.
We are talking about your salvation here. We are talking about your eternity here. Our Lord told us there are two paths.
The wide gate is an entrance that everyone sees and it is a path that most people choose. It is easy, comfortable and well traveled. It is a path where you have a lot of company.
It is a path where you will be loved by the world, accepted and adored by the world. It is a path of illicit pleasures that do not last. However, it is also a path that does not require repentance, self-denial, sacrifice, or suffering in the way that the other path does.
It is a path that rejects Christ. Jesus warns that this path leads to eternal destruction, a judgment that is real and inescapable. It is a sobering thought that this very path is the path most people are traveling on and it is the one that leads to destruction and most people are completely oblivious to the destination of this broad road.
Allow me to tell you one of Satan's greatest lies that he has managed to allure society into believing. Not only has he allured society into believing this, but he has also allured some churches into even believing this. And the lie is simply this.
Most people are good people and good people go to heaven. And this is a lie because the requirement to enter heaven is not to be a good person according to societal standards. The requirement to enter heaven is through traveling through the narrow way.
The narrow gate. The narrow gate on the other hand is Christ himself. It is only through Christ and his work on the cross that we can be forgiven and welcomed onto the path toward life.
This path is hard, requiring repentance, self-denial, sacrifice, and suffering. It is a less traveled way as few will choose to humbly repent and submit to following Christ. There is no good reason for anyone to go to hell.
And God has made provision for eternity with him through our faith in Jesus Christ. When I was growing up in the church, my pastor used to say, "I know the exact location of hell, and the exact location of hell is at the end of Christ rejecting life. The narrow path is a person.
The person is our Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is not found in following a set of rules or performing good deeds, but in a person, the Lord Jesus Christ. In John 14:6, Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me. " Jesus didn't say, "I am one of the ways or I am one of the truths. " He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.
" Jesus Christ is the only way to eternal life. He is the narrow gate that leads to the path of righteousness. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we become part of his body.
We become his disciples and we walk with him on the narrow path. The narrow path is not an easy path, but it is the path that leads to eternal life. When we walk with Jesus, we experience the joy of eternal life.
The joy of spending eternity with God. The joy of seeing Jesus face to face and spending all of eternity with him. The joy of knowing that we are loved by God and that we will never be separated from him.
There is an eternal joy that awaits this path. heaven. When we think about heaven, one of the most awe inspiring realities is the fact that we will be with God forever.
We will finally see him face to face. In Revelation 22:4, it says, "They will see his face and his name will be on their foreheads. " What an incredible moment that will be to finally see the one who created us, who loved us enough to send his son to die for us, and who has been with us every step of the way.
Furthermore, we will be able to spend all of eternity with Jesus, our savior and lord. We will finally be able to thank him in person for his sacrifice and his love for us. We will see the wounds in his hands and feet.
And we will know the depth of his love for us in a way that we can't fully comprehend on this side of heaven. In John 14, Jesus says, John 14 1-4, "Let not your heart be troubled. Ye believe in God, believe also in me.
In my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also. And whether I go, ye know, and the way ye know. What an amazing promise.
We will be with him forever, and we will never again be separated from him. The joys of eternal life go beyond just being in the presence of God and Jesus. Though we will be with our loved ones who have gone before us.
We will be reunited with those who have died in Christ. And we will spend eternity together worshiping our God and Savior. We will be free from pain, sickness, and death.
And we will experience the fullness of joy and peace that only comes from being in God's presence. As we think about the joys of eternal life, let us be encouraged and motivated to live for Christ on this side of heaven. Let us be encouraged to travel on the narrow road.
Let us share the good news of salvation with those around us that they too can experience the joy of spending eternity with God. And let us live with hope and expectation, eagerly looking forward to the day when we will finally be with our Lord forever. There is no good reason for anyone to go to hell.
And God has made provision for eternity with him through our faith in Jesus Christ. When I was growing up in the church, my pastor used to say, "I know the exact location of hell, and the exact location of hell is at the end of Christ rejecting life.
