Enter Through The Narrow Gate
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it." (Mt. 7:13)
Finding Out Too Late
Recently, I grabbed my work truck keys, walked all the way to the back of the yard, and couldn't get the keys in the ignition. In my mind I had grabbed the right keys - everything about them looked the same as mine...except for one digit on the tag number. And it was somebody else that pointed that out.
Why did I bring this up? I want to use this incident to make a comparison to life and eternity. We don't want to go all the way through life thinking we have the right keys only to find out in the end we were wrong. We don't want to find out when it's too late we were on the wrong road.
Jesus said, "Not all who call me 'Lord' will enter Heaven." Many will come to Him at the Judgement and tell of their good deeds as to why He should let them in. But He will say to them, "I never knew you”, and He will cast them out (See Mt. 7:21-23).
Would you consider yourself a good person?
Are you trusting in your own goodness to get you to Heaven? Do you think you've kept God's commandments (Ex. 20:2-17)? (What I’m about to say may seem harsh, but please bear with me. I care about you very much. I’m not judging you, but I’m exhorting you to judge yourself, honestly (2 Cor. 13:5), by God’s standard. If you can get ahold of this, it will change your life.) Do you think you've kept God's commandments?
Judgement
The Bible says all liars, thieves, murderers, adulterers, blasphemers (and more) will end up in the Lake of Fire (1 Cor. 6:9-10, Gal. 5:19-21, Eph. 5:3-6, Col. 3:5-6, Heb. 13:4, Rev. 21:8). So, if God judges you by His commandments, will you go to Heaven or Hell?
You must understand that God will not judge us like we judge ourselves. He cannot just overlook sin. Offering good deeds so He will turn a blind eye is like asking Him to take a bribe to not bring justice. And telling Him, “I’m sorry, I won’t do it again” does not wipe away past sin. God is good, not a corrupt Judge. And a god that is not the God of the Bible is an idol of our imagination (Ex. 20:4). Jesus said to fear Him who can cast both body and soul into hell (Mt 10:28).
The Good News
But do you know what God did so you don't have to go to Hell? Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins (Rm. 5:8, 2 Cor. 5:21). We were guilty and Jesus paid our fine so the Judge can legally dismiss our case. Do you know what you must do to be saved? Put your faith in Jesus; don’t trust in yourself (Rm. 3:20, Gal. 2:21). Trust in Jesus like you would trust in a parachute if you were jumping from a plane. You don’t flap your arms to help the parachute; you cling to it with all your life.
If there's even the slightest bit of doubt about your salvation, make your salvation sure today. God is rich in mercy (Eph. 2:4-5) and doesn’t want anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9). Please consider listening to this brief sermon, True And False Conversion. You don't want to be wrong on the Day of Judgement.
Pray?
If you are serious about turning from sin and putting your faith in Jesus for your salvation, you could pray something like this from your heart: “Jesus, I know I’m a sinner and the penalty for sin is death (Rm. 6:23). Thank you for dying for my sins so that I might have eternal life (Jn. 3:16). Please forgive me and save me. Today, I turn from my sin and put my faith in you alone (Acts 3:19, Rm. 10:9-10).”
God bless you.
Got questions?
Need prayer?
Please ask!
Finding Out Too Late
Recently, I grabbed my work truck keys, walked all the way to the back of the yard, and couldn't get the keys in the ignition. In my mind I had grabbed the right keys - everything about them looked the same as mine...except for one digit on the tag number. And it was somebody else that pointed that out.
Why did I bring this up? I want to use this incident to make a comparison to life and eternity. We don't want to go all the way through life thinking we have the right keys only to find out in the end we were wrong. We don't want to find out when it's too late we were on the wrong road.
Jesus said, "Not all who call me 'Lord' will enter Heaven." Many will come to Him at the Judgement and tell of their good deeds as to why He should let them in. But He will say to them, "I never knew you”, and He will cast them out (See Mt. 7:21-23).
Would you consider yourself a good person?
Are you trusting in your own goodness to get you to Heaven? Do you think you've kept God's commandments (Ex. 20:2-17)? (What I’m about to say may seem harsh, but please bear with me. I care about you very much. I’m not judging you, but I’m exhorting you to judge yourself, honestly (2 Cor. 13:5), by God’s standard. If you can get ahold of this, it will change your life.) Do you think you've kept God's commandments?
- How many lies have you told in your life? What do you call someone who tells lies?
- Ever stole anything, no matter how small? What do you call someone who steals?
- Ever hated or been angry at someone? God sees that as murder in our heart (Mt. 5:21-22,1 Jn. 3:15).
- Ever looked lustfully at someone? God sees that as adultery (Mt. 5:27-28).
- Ever used God's name as a cussword? That's called blasphemy (Deut. 5:11). You wouldn't use your mother's name as a cussword. How much less should we use God’s name that way.
Judgement
The Bible says all liars, thieves, murderers, adulterers, blasphemers (and more) will end up in the Lake of Fire (1 Cor. 6:9-10, Gal. 5:19-21, Eph. 5:3-6, Col. 3:5-6, Heb. 13:4, Rev. 21:8). So, if God judges you by His commandments, will you go to Heaven or Hell?
You must understand that God will not judge us like we judge ourselves. He cannot just overlook sin. Offering good deeds so He will turn a blind eye is like asking Him to take a bribe to not bring justice. And telling Him, “I’m sorry, I won’t do it again” does not wipe away past sin. God is good, not a corrupt Judge. And a god that is not the God of the Bible is an idol of our imagination (Ex. 20:4). Jesus said to fear Him who can cast both body and soul into hell (Mt 10:28).
The Good News
But do you know what God did so you don't have to go to Hell? Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins (Rm. 5:8, 2 Cor. 5:21). We were guilty and Jesus paid our fine so the Judge can legally dismiss our case. Do you know what you must do to be saved? Put your faith in Jesus; don’t trust in yourself (Rm. 3:20, Gal. 2:21). Trust in Jesus like you would trust in a parachute if you were jumping from a plane. You don’t flap your arms to help the parachute; you cling to it with all your life.
If there's even the slightest bit of doubt about your salvation, make your salvation sure today. God is rich in mercy (Eph. 2:4-5) and doesn’t want anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9). Please consider listening to this brief sermon, True And False Conversion. You don't want to be wrong on the Day of Judgement.
Pray?
If you are serious about turning from sin and putting your faith in Jesus for your salvation, you could pray something like this from your heart: “Jesus, I know I’m a sinner and the penalty for sin is death (Rm. 6:23). Thank you for dying for my sins so that I might have eternal life (Jn. 3:16). Please forgive me and save me. Today, I turn from my sin and put my faith in you alone (Acts 3:19, Rm. 10:9-10).”
God bless you.
Got questions?
Need prayer?
Please ask!
Notes:
