Making the Path Narrower
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intro
intro
Jesus spoke about life being one of 2 paths:
A braod way and a narrow way.
13 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:
14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Many people walk on the broad way to destruction but only a few walk on the narrow way to life.
Why?
Well the big and easy answer is sin.
The more you love and hold onto your sin the less change you have of forsaking it and trusting in Jesus.
Its is a narrow path - you cannot bring sin baggage with you and so mzny people, not wanting to forsake their sin, do not walk on the narrow path.
9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
These are all fairly obvions exclusion to life.
But there is another sin, not listed here than prevents people from entering into the narrow way.
19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
The sin of unbelief.
Lets talk about this sin for just a moment.
The sin of unbelief is not necceserly the sin of athiesm, though that is the extreem end of it.
It is perfecly possible to believe in God and still commit the sin of unbelief.
It is possible to believe in Jesus, and still commit the sin of unbelief.
It is possible to go to church, pray, fast, worship nd praise, preach and teach and STILL commit the sin of unbelef.
And so long as unbelf exists in your heart - you willnot eneter in - because Jesus made the path narrow.
What then must we “not believe” to be guilty of the sin of unbelef?
The sin of unbelief is as simple as “not believing” that every single thing Jesus said is true.
What did Jesus say?
What did Jesus say?
Jesus made it clear that only those who wholeheartdly and sincerly believe in Him AND every word he spoke will enter in the narrow and have everlasting life.
24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
By doinmg this Jesus made the path narrow, because he said many things in his life that exclude many other belief systems.
For example, the panthiestic belief that there are many gods out there is exclused because Jesus said:
29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
Jesus exclused the belief that different religions are just different ways of serving the same God b y saying:
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Jesus exclused those who would follow half heartdly, thinking they could not go to church or not read the bible or still love the world when he said:
26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
Now as Jesus said all these things, with each new revelation the path became narrower and narrower and as some people did not like what he said, they could not enter in and so stopped following Him.
60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?
61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?
66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
Notice ther word Jesus used: “Offend” - Does this offend you?
To be on the narrow path means that no word of Jesus ever offends you - you recieved it by faith and believe it. - no conditions.
These are just a few examples but already Jesus has made the way extreemluy nartrow.
That God exists means that Jesus has exclused the 200 million athiests in the world.
By saying that there is one God Jesus exclused all 1.8 billion hindu’s.
By saying that we are NOT God he exclused all 500 million Buddists.
by saying that He is the only way to heaven Jesus exclused all 14 million Jews and all 2 billion muslems - not to mention all the sects, the scientologists, mormons, jerhova wittnesses...
The way is extreemly narrow.
But as if it was not narrow enough, Jesus then says something to make it even narrower. He says somethoing that not only exclused trhe athgiests, the pluralists, the muslems and everyone lese, he actually says something which excluseds 60% of all professing Christmns!!!!!
He says something which excluses millions of chsitians, hundrends of thousands of pastors.
He says somethimng which may even exclude you.
It is devistating. But before we see just what Jesus said we must first come to a very impostnat understanind.
Regarding any scripture God says:
20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
That phraise “prophecy of scripture” simplys means statment of scripture.
In other words, just because we find what Jesus says offencive we cant change its meaning. We cant say that God means thos when he said that, we cant say that this means that and that means this. Sc ripture means what it says.
ok.
So what did Jesus say, which made the way so narrow that over half professing christans are exclused?
44 How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?
45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust.
46 For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.
47 But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?
Pay very special attenting to v 47.
You cannot believe me, if you dont believe Moses.
If you dont believe that God inspired Moses to write what he did and if you dont believe what Moses wrote then you dont believe me.
And if you dont believe me (Jesus) you cannoyt enter in.
So What did Moses write that Jesus expects us to believe? Well Moses wrote a great deal of things and Jesus was tlking aboout ALL of what Moses wrote.
So allow me to draw your attention to What Moses wrote, so that which if you dont believe it, then you dont believe Jesus and are NOT on the narrow way.
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,
5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.
6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.
7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Moses wrote that the earth was made in 7 days.
Moses wrote that God made the animals on a single day.
Moses wrote that God made man out of dust and breathen onto him the brerath of Life.
Make no bons aboout it church - the theory of evolution is NOT taught my Moses or by God at all, and it will drag many into the pits of Hell.
days are days, not geological areas, God says Days, if he wanted to he could have said anything but he said days because it was days.
There is no sucj thing as thiestic evolotion. There is only satanic evoliution and it is nothing more than the sin of unblief discused uner an academic veoil of psudoscience.
God;s word is perfect and flawless, it is not outdated or archaic.
The problem is that believing tht God created the world in 7 days makes you look foolish to your frineds or family.
The problem is that believeing that od’s made man from trhe dust and woman from the rib makes you look foolish to the world.
But do you know what?
27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;