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"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." 
It's hard to imagine that most people we meet are going to suffer in hell forever. It sounds a bit extreme, not very Christian. In fact, there’s a lot of Bible truth that seems harsh, hard to believe, or sometimes just plain confusing. |
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The truth is, God is not the author of confusion...” (I Corinthians 14:33) and Bible truth is not really that confusing. The truth is like a clear stream of water, but when it becomes mixed with lies that sound more appealing, then the water gets muddy and people get confused. 
Anymore it's not so easy to tell the difference between what's true and what's not. Sometimes the truth looks more evil than righteous. For instance, who's the bad guy here: the parents who makes their child to go to church, or the poor child who is forced to go against his will. Who's better, the "taddle tale," or the rule-breaker. What should be done to the teacher who is best friends with every student in school? Should he get an award or should he get fired?
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The Bible says that our heart is “deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). Take our devotion to the Lord for example. It always feels better to do some great sacrifice for God than it is to simply obey His Word. It’s easy to get enthused about our ministry for God, but obeying His every word is how He ministers to us. “...Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice...” (I Samuel 15:22) “...the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28) Ironically, it may be that pride and satisfaction from godly work actually keeps us from a hunger and thirst after HIS righteousness. That’s right, our service to God could be the biggest enemy of loving Him with all heart, soul and might. Go figure: “The biggest enemy of our devotion to Christ is our service to Him.” – Oswald Chambers. The same is true in our efforts to gain salvation. The biggest stumbling block is not actually the bad stuff we do, it’s our opinion of the good stuff – our self-righteousness. Paul found that even in his good work, evil was present: “...when I would do good, evil is present with me.” (Romans 7:21) Who in the world would believe something like that? – not many. |
Believe it or not, if we think we're healed of this plague of self-righteousness then we're the most infected by it. Jesus came to save those who are sick with sin, not those who are satisfied with their religion. "They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (Mark 2;17) Repentance is not only getting sick of our sin, it's getting tired of our failed efforts at righteousness. We must realize that we've all come short of God's standard and we all need justification through His merciful gift. Grace by definition is “the unmerited favor of God.” If our salvation is merited, or deserved in any way, what so ever, then we’re not saved by grace and we're missing the narrow way. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8, 9) |
Getting saved, then, is not making a commitment, it's taking a gift. The way into heaven is not through what we are doing for Christ - it's through believing what He has done for us. This gift is not wrapped in our precious love for God, but in His eternal love for us. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son..." (John 3:16a) So the narrow gate is only found by believing that the gift of God is all we need to give us into heaven. How hard can that be? - actually, for us, it's impossible. but then with God all things are possible. "And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible." (John 3:16b) |
The patriarch Abraham had a hard time believing that God was able to keep His promise (Gen. 16). God promised Abraham a son by his wife, Sarah, but like so many of us do, he tried to help God do His job. He fathered a son named Ishmael with Hagar, Sarah's handmaid - big mistake. Abraham finally had to send his own agenda packin' down the road and simply believe in every Word of God. "For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." (Romans4:2-5) |
Like Abraham, we must first sacrifice the works of our own hands in order to find God's gift. Our righteousness is not found in what we do for God, it's found in what we believe about Him. Let's honestly judge ourselves now before the Righteous Judge is forced to pronounce judgement on us. "For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world." (I Corinthians 11:31, 32) 
We need to ask ourselves some tough questions: Do we really believe that Jesus paid it all? Have we truly received the FULL gift of salvation by grace? Are we saved by grace? If so, then we believe that we will go to heaven no matter what we do. If we're saved by grace then we didn't get it by being good, and we won't lose it by being bad. It's not rocket science here. "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." (Psalm 139:23, 24) 
Our way to eternal life is only through the blood of Christ. It's an insult to almighty God if we think we can make His gift more acceptable by our own efforts. Believe it or not, the knowledge of what Jesus did, that is, believing that Jesus paid it all, is the only thing that will keep us out of hell. "He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities." (Isaiah 53:11) "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." (John 3:17) 
"For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." (John 3:17) "He that believeth on him is not condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God " (John 3:18) 
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