why do so many people believe we are on the narrow path?

prosperity4all said:

yes
that is a very narrow path

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Lucky for us, Christ is the light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world. Find that Light, find the way.

ChristianForCats said:

There are at least 7 billion homo sapiens on Earth. Less than 2.5 billion of them are Christians. So there are a lot more people headed to destruction than on the path we take. It is a mathematical analogy.

In Biblical times, very few people knew and believed the gospel. Without electronic communications then, face to face contact was the only way to teach it. This meant there was a huge discrepancy in believers of Jesus Christ and non-believers.

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Even those 2.5 million, He will deny a multitude who claim to be His, but actually never knew Him.

So, the number may be less than a million.

Given the trumps yet to be blown and vials yet to be poured, the number may be much less than a million.

Narrow is the gate & few find it just exactly as JESUS stated of course.

The Lord is not politically correct. As Jesus told us , He is not of this world, the world hates Him, the world hates God's truth & hates those that follow Him as the Lord warned us and as is recorded in the scriptures.

Pedra said:

The Lord is not politically correct. As Jesus told us , He is not of this world, the world hates Him, the world hates God's truth & hates those that follow Him as the Lord warned us and as is recorded in the scriptures.

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Yes simply because the ways of the Kingdom of God are contrary to the traditional self serving ways of man. Tell a money lender or a leader or and warrior they have it backwards. Counter-cultures do not go over well in this world as history has shown.

timothyu said:

Yes simply because the ways of the Kingdom of God are contrary to the traditional self serving ways of man. Tell a money lender or a leader or and warrior they have it backwards. Counter-cultures do not go over well in this world as history has shown.

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Well, that is ironic that you say that, as the comment below seems to reflect the current popular politically correct world view, however, in Matt Jesus stated that many will go through the "wide" gate & few will find or chose the "narrow" one. By my study, Jesus was actually seen as "politically divisive" by the Romans & spiritually divisive by the Pharisees who created their own religious traditions & therefore did not recognize Messiah Jesus as the fulfillment of the words of the prophets.

timothyu said:

Just those friendly to all people. Those who seek strife or love political division will not find room at that particular inn.

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Pedra said:

By my study, Jesus was actually seen as "politically divisive" by the Romans & spiritually divisive by the Pharisees who created their own religious traditions & therefore did not recognize Messiah Jesus as the fulfillment of the words of the prophets.

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He did not divide within as man does. Rather than oppose, He offered an alternative. We cannot create change by doing the same as our opponent - opposing. Ends up going in circles

re the narrow path:
excerpt from Watchman Nee "The Spiritual Man"

"How this indeed is the "narrow gate" and the hard way! It is narrow and hard because God’s will must be the standard for each footstep. It has but one rule: make no provision for self. The least deviation from this rule shall take man out of the way. Nevertheless it is not impossible, for as the soul life is lost by its habits, tastes, desires and longings being gradually broken, there shall remain no more resistance to the Lord. How lamentable that so many Christians have never passed through this gate and walked along this path; while others may have entered, yet do not patiently walk thereafter. Regardless how long or how short that difficult period may be, this alone is the way of life. This is God’s gate and God’s way. It is true and secure. Anyone who esteems the abundant life must become its pedestrian."

timothyu said:

He did not divide within as man does. He offered an alternative.

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That's not my pt. My pt is that echoing the largest commonly held politically correct view is not = to the narrow gate.

Pedra said:

By my study, Jesus was actually seen as "politically divisive" by the Romans

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Did He preach against the Romans, or against the Republicans, or against the Democrats, or against the Independents ? No. He did not advocate any of those either.

Pedra said:

That's not my pt. My pt is that echoing the largest commonly held politically correct view is not = to the narrow gate.

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No ways of man are of the Kingdom let alone it's gate.

prosperity4all said:

why do so many people believe we are on the narrow path?

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Many could be 2/3 and few could be 1/3. This is a reference to those who are actually saved. Not those that serve God. "And in all the land,” declares the LORD, “two-thirds will be cut off and perish, but a third will be left in it. This third I will bring through the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are My people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’” (Zechariah 12:8,9)

This is the passage that concerns me: "That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. Now if we judged ourselves properly, we would not come under judgment." (1Cor11:30,31)

timothyu said:

Crucifixion was necessary to cement the concept of will of God over will of man. Had the flesh failed at this point the game would have been over and no King, Kingdom or resurrection.

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Actually that is not the Gospel.
The crucifixion was necessary because there must be a payment for sin to a HOLY & JUST GOD. This is why the Bible tells us that the LORD God sent His only begotten Son to pay for the sins of all who would repent & put their faith in Jesus as their Lord & Savior.

1John 4:9, 10 " 9 THIS is how God's love was revealed among us: GOD sent His one and only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. 10 And love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.…

Pedra said:

The crucifixion was necessary because there must be a payment for sin to a HOLY & JUST GOD.

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What is the connection between the Justice of God and being good or right?

joshua 1 9 said:

What is the connection between the Justice of God and being good or right?

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Do you question God's judgment?

Pedra said:

to pay for the sins of all who would repent & put their faith in Jesus as their Lord & Savior.

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Pedra said:

as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.…

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What I said stands in accordance with the Gospel of the Kingdom. Jesus followed the will of the Father and not His own. He did nothing of His own accord. As a result man killed Him for being a threat to the system, an outlaw who promoted a counter culture. The only way to reverse what happened in the Garden was to reverse the attitude. Rather than put man's will before God's as Eve had done, Jesus put the Father's will before His fleshy own, thus atoning for the original sin and getting himself killed (sacrificed) in the process so that those who followed suit could find the Kingdom having rejected the ways and world of man and following Jesus' teachings instead.

If you think this was another lamb slaughter then I disagree. I've never known one lamb that willingly allowed itself to be killed to save mankind. Jesus was no fan of animal slaughter either. Had the priests sacrificed themselves instead of an animal, they might have been onto something.

timothyu said:

What I said stands in accordance with the Gospel of the Kingdom. Jesus followed the will of the Father and not His own. He did nothing of His own accord. As a result man killed Him for being a threat to the system, an outlaw who promoted a counter culture. The only way to reverse what happened in the Garden was to reverse the attitude. Rather than put man's will before God's as Eve had done, Jesus put the Father's will before His fleshy own, thus atoning for the original sin and getting himself killed (sacrificed) in the process so that those who followed suit could find the Kingdom having rejected the ways and world of man and following Jesus' teachings instead. .

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There is only one gospel and that is that Jesus was sent to pay the penalty for the sins of all who would repent & have faith in Jesus. 1John 3:16

public hermit said:

I am inclined to say only one person has ever found the narrow way that leads to life: Jesus Christ. That may seem an odd rendering of "few," but it is about as few as few can get.

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So...your view is that Jesus was only speaking of Himself?

timothyu said:

Had the priests sacrificed themselves instead of an animal, they might have been onto something.

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Probably they would have been lost like judas the betrayer.

Pedra said:

There is only one gospel and that is that Jesus was sent to pay the penalty for the sins of all who would repent & have faith in Jesus. 1John 3:16

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Jesus said the only gospel was the Gospel of the Kingdom, so any theology should revolve round that.