The Narrow Gate

In Matthew 7:22, we read the words of Jesus, "Not everyone who calls out to me, 'Lord, Lord!' will enter the Kingdom of heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, 'Lord! Lord! we prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.' But, I will reply, 'I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God's laws.'

Every human being on this planet was and is and will be born without salvation from sin. Please understand that. All of us are born sinful and live our lives in sin. We die as sinners. We are born on a road with hell - a real place and an eternal separation from God - as our deserved destination. God loves us, He is with us, but, outside of faith in Jesus, God has no relationship with us because we are 'born in sin' and he is sinless. (John 14:6 - Jesus says, "No one can come to the Father except through me.) Knowing that we are born with hell as our eternal destination helps us understand what we read in John 3:17, "God sent His son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him."

There is not one thing that you and I can do that will make hell more of a destination. We were born ticketed to that destination. It's ridiculous then to lower ourselves to the judging of others' sinfulness except between believers and in a spirit of protection and love for that person. (If my close friend is beginning to flirt with women outside his marriage, I'm going to confront him for his own good and because I love him). Likewise, there is not one thing that you and I can do to save ourselves from hell as a destination. In the Scripture passage, above, from Matthew 7, Jesus says people will claim they did great things in the name of spirituality, but none of it saved them.

Because God loves us, despite our sinfulness, and desires a relationship with each of us, He provides an escape - salvation - from our road to destruction. He sent his son, Jesus, to die as a substitute for each of us. Jesus bore each of our sins, died on the cross with them, was cleansed of them, and rose again to join God in heaven. Those who believe that Jesus made this sacrifice will be filled with the Holy Spirit for daily guidance, and be restored to a relationship with God. These believers will die and God will not see their sin - God will see Jesus and pardon the individual. That's the gospel presented by the apostle John in John 3:16.

Only Jesus saves. Only Jesus. None but Jesus.

In Luke 18:16, Jesus says, "Then Jesus called for the children and said to his disciples, "Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn't receive the Kingdom of God like a child (acceptance, faith, trust, and innocence) will never enter it." It takes a child's faith to respond to Jesus. That's why adults have such a struggle coming to Jesus. Adults try to logically figure it out. But, we aren't God. We must acknowledge that we need Jesus, that we have a void in our innermost being that nothing of this Earth can fill, and that only Jesus can fill that void. We acknowledge Jesus and respond - we let go of what the world calls logical. The world is a deceitful place.

Jesus tells us that most people can't or won't accept Him as their Savior.

Many of the people that I know will not be with me in heaven. That's not an indictment of their lifestyle because all of us are sinful. It's just that I know, from the words of Jesus, that only a few will enter the Kingdom. The indictment is on me to be bold in my faith and point people toward salvation. And, that indictment eats at me day and night, night and day. Who is coming to Jesus because of my life? Because of your life?

It's uncomfortable and messy to believe that many of the people I know will not be in heaven. We like to think of our comfortable little Bible Belt, where people gather in churches, have lunch afterward with mama, sign up children for Vacation Bible School, read devotion books, and revere Billy Graham. We like to think that everyone on our left and right will be with us in heaven, but the opposite is true. The question is not whether people are good or bad because many of the lost are really good people. But, being a good person doesn't lead to eternity with God - only a confessed faith in Jesus does that. If being a good person was all that's important to salvation, we could buy our salvation and that's not Biblical.

My studies and travels lead me to believe that people fall into three very loose categories:

1. The carnal lost. Those that have completely turned from faith, and have rejected it.
2. The Cultural (Carnal or Consumer) Christian. Those who believe they do the right things that "Christians are supposed to do" and by default they are saved. These people - regardless of what they do in the name of church or religiosity - are not saved. 
3. The Conversion Christian. Those who can and do publicly confess, "I love Jesus; my life stands for Jesus, and nothing else in my life matters when compared to Jesus."

The overwhelming majority of people who have lived, live today and will live tomorrow fall into categories One and Two. Jesus says in Matthew 7:13, “You can only enter God’s Kingdom through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad and its gate is wide for the many who choose the easy way. But the gateway to life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it.” How much is a few? Well, it's not a majority. A few, in the great scheme of the universe, isn't very many.

What does a Conversion Christian look like? They will have or long to have these attributes.

• There is a confessing love of Jesus, an acknowledgment of personal sinfulness and that only a faith in Jesus covers sin in the presence of Almighty God. There is an understanding that life is worth living only because Jesus lives. (Mark 8:38)
• There is an accepting that following Jesus is costly and painful to this human existence. Every believer that I know has suffered in this Earthly life because of a faith in Jesus. It is ridiculous to believe Jesus died on the cross and that we can follow Him without suffering. A believer will lose friends, lose customers, be at odds with family, be cut from the team, have children cut from the team, be laughed at, ridiculed, and struck down by this world and its forces of evil. (Matthew 5:10-12)
• There is a hunger to produce other disciples. Following Jesus is not a precious gift we lock away in a safe for our own admiration. There is a hunger to have eyes and arms wide open for people who need Jesus, and to point them toward the cross. I believe the Conversion Christian grows to a place, where he or she no longer sees people, but sees souls who need to know Jesus. Following Jesus is about "going and doing" with intention. (Matthew 28:19)
• There is a desire to be "workers" in a fellowship community - the church. There is a seriousness to the place of church in God's plan and in our lives. (Acts 2:41-47)
• There is an understanding that Salvation is not a transaction, but a conversion.It involves change. We are literally new creations manifested by repentance, love and obedience toward God and our neighbors. (James 2:14-26). To believe otherwise is to believe in a cheap grace. Salvation occurs within the heart; not within the trappings of church-based protocol or rituals.

You can see why the number are few, can't you? You can see why many buy into the deceit of the Cultural Christian that salvation can be purchased only by doing good things, connecting to a church, knowing some Scripture, attending prayer breakfasts, giving money and using influence for good, and making baptisms and confirmation classes synonymous with salvation? It's a wide gate. Some will even quote John's vision in Revelation 7 of the "multitude" in heaven, and use that to dismiss the Narrow Gate. Yes, many will be in heaven; but, still that number will only represent a few of all humanity that has ever and will ever live. Don't be deceived by the wide road. We see a lot of people on this wide road, and it feels comfortable. It's even fun. We can join the herd and be content - never even calling on the name of Jesus. But, Jesus provides the painful reminder of The Narrow Gate. Nothing about faith is ever really comfortable.

Many who read this will be confronted with the reality of Jesus' position in their lives. Non-existent, a cultural icon, or a personal Savior. For those who have not confessed Jesus as their Savior from sin, I invite you to contact me at scott@svministry.com. I invite you to attend our Sunday morning class, The V Class, at Lexington Baptist Church. God has put on my heart the need to share the gospel every week, and to stand with other believers in making disciples. We don't have it all figured out; we need others to be on the journey with us. We invite you to join with Jesus, and then join with us.

For those who are Conversion Christians, I need to speak with you here.
We can no longer assume that everyone is saved from sin by the blood of Jesus. We must assume that everyone is lost - continuing from birth on that broad road to an eternity without God. We must ache for people, not judging them, but judging ourselves. If you are a teacher, the classroom and the families behind the students become souls who need to know a Savior. If you are in sales, the customers become souls who need to know a Savior reflected through you. If you are a mechanic, a banker, a doctor, a lawyer, a coach, a dad, a mom, an aunt, an uncle, a grandmother, a grandfather, a brother, or a sister - all who come in and out of your life are souls, needing to hear about Jesus from you. This is not the pastor's job. This is not the Sunday School teacher's job. This is not the church's job.

As a Conversion Christian, this is the holy order you have been given: Make disciples, baptizing them, and teaching them about Jesus. Our holy order is to see people loosened from this world's values and knotted to faith in a risen Savior. As Christian soldiers, the Holy Spirit will teach us when to be bold and when to work in stealth.

We may not trumpet Jesus on every street corner, but we can pray daily this way, "Lord, put one person in my path today - one person - and then the courage to tell them, 'I love Jesus and I want you to know my Jesus.' Give me this divine appointment, Lord, knowing that you will give me the exact words to say."

Maybe you feel this burning inside you to stand up for Jesus, but you just don't feel equipped. No church ever equipped you. That's the future chapter of our Sunday School class. We are going to equip people who want to testify for Jesus, knowing that the Cultural Christians will be converted or slip away. I pledge to you that I will stand with you, and we will learn together. I've not yet fully arrived myself and that is not a false modesty. I am still growing as a follower of Jesus. I will not be fully made until I see my Savior in eternity. My life's calling is to share Jesus with others and to help others share their own faith.

Friends, this is what we call the Weight of God. It's heavy business that is uncomfortable.
You and I live a life that will end with judgement. This world is a temporary place for temporary bodies.
There is an eternal, supernatural world going on all around us and it's in our future. There is no denying it. There is no escaping it. There is no prolonging it. It is here, it is now and it is forever.

You and I were born separated from a God who loves us, and wants a wonderful unimaginable eternity with each of us. He sent his son, Jesus, to die for our sinfulness and restore us to God's love. Few accept this gift. Most don't. Some become deceived that they have when they haven't. None of us have the vision to see a person's deepest relationship with Jesus, but each of us - to the core - knows the truth of our salvation. Only the few will enter the Narrow Gate. Please be in that number. If you are among the few, please join me - though imperfect and sinful - in pointing others to the arms of our sweet, sweet Savior.

Jesus. Name above all Names.