The wording means literally, "To groan" There was usually a hole in the 6 foot thick (Or thicker) walls of a major city to allow someone to shimmy through after hours if he didn't make it back in before the gates were closed. You literally lost skin squeezing through in places. Definitely not for fat people.
Now think on this. Did Jesus choose the wrong illustration? Was He mistaken? He was referring to the wide gates of the city that could pass 4 carts through at the same time, that had large crowds of people passing through easily, sometimes thousands an hour... easily. Now comparatively, how many people squeezed through the wall in a day. Understand that the "Many" who are on the broad path are those who KNOW Jesus is their Lord. They have no clue whatsoever that they aren't real Christians and that Jesus NEVER knew them. These people KNOW that they are right with God and that Jesus is their Lord. And they are doing everything every Christian is doing. Obviously if only one in thousands makes it.
Shouldn't that make people in "Christian" belief groups nervous? Shouldn't that result in every single person dedicating themselves to getting every single passage that "might" apply to the religious lost, and every single passage that "might" pertain to true Christians and then figuring out a consistent meaning of the words/root words/phrases as they are used throughout the N.T. and the Septuagint that Jesus and His disciples quoted from, holding fast to context, flow of thought and discussion, neither excluding any passages nor adding meaning, removing any meaning nor distorting any meaning to make it fit your beliefs, but getting the exact meaning of each and every passage and then combining ALL of it so nothing is left out and absolutely everything fits with everything else, again, without adding, subtracting or distorting anything … There are almost 450 passages, almost 1500 verses in the New Testament on this topic people! How many does your belief group “select” out to prove it’s beliefs are true?
Think about it. Look at the groups you believe, believe lies? What do they do?
1.) They gather passages, verses, facts, data, expert opinions … to prove their beliefs true.
2.) They gather passages, verses, facts, data, expert opinions … to prove all opposing beliefs false.
3.) They interpret all of their “selected” data in the light of their beliefs.
4.) Once they have proven their beliefs true beyond any shadow of a doubt it helps with interpreting everything else. The only correct interpretation of any passage has to fit with, or at least not negate, their beliefs, right?
Do this with any belief or set of beliefs and you can prove any belief under the sun to be correct. The more you gather things to prove your beliefs true, the more you gather things to prove all opposing beliefs false, the more you figure out how to interpret everything in the light of your beliefs, the further closed you are to even considering that your core beliefs might be wrong, the more closed you are at considering that another belief that contradicts yours could be right. Your eyes and ears are closed and you are hardened into believing whatever it was you got convinced of in the first place.
Look at that process people.
How much data must you gather to prove your current beliefs true before you recognize that that belief is a lie? Answer: It’ll never happen. You aren’t looking for that.
How much data must you gather to prove all opposing beliefs false before you see that you were wrong and that that belief is actually the truth? Answer: It will never happen. You aren’t looking for that.
How much data, how many passages … must you figure out how to interpret in the light of your beliefs before you see that your beliefs are wrong? Answer: You will never ever see, you will never ever hear, because you have closed your eyes and ears lest you see and hear and return to God?
If you use that methodology above and hold to your core beliefs as infallible, as unquestionably true, do you seek truth? Do you want ANYTHING at all to do with truth? Do you love truth? What do you love? You love your beliefs, right? You are getting what you are seeking are you not? You are getting what you want, are you not?
People: Wake UP!
I can’t seek truth for you. Yes I am putting out a book called, “Salvation: According to the Book”, BUT YOU CAN’T TRUST ME! If Jesus is right only 1 in 5000 has the correct gospel in the first place. Do you get that. No religious leader, teacher, prophet … is trustworthy. Yes, no matter what you “want” to believe EVERYONE from every belief group gets what they need to believe their beliefs, their gospel, their belief group … has the truth. If that’s what you go with, you deserve what you get.
2Th 2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 13 But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
Yes, it starts out about the lost in the end times, “but” Paul applies the same standard to those alive then in verse 13 and says that they pass this exact same test. Examine yourselves to see if you really are in the faith, or in fact do you fail the test? And don’t compare yourselves with yourselves… that is most definitely NOT wise.
Look at all the people you believe have completely missed the boat and aren't Christians in spite of what they believe. Is 2Th 2:10-12 not fully descriptive of where they are at? Where are you at?
Final thing. It's not only ourselves who we are to check to see if we pass the test. After telling people that they should examine themselves, he says, "I trust that you will see that we do not fail the test."
Get EVERYTHING God says on the topic, all the differences, every attitude, every response, every single piece and be a workman who need not stand ashamed before God because you cut every single piece out straight. Keep on continuously proving all things over and over again as a habit and way of live and hold fast to that which is true/good no matter what it does to your beliefs OR Keep proving your beliefs true and hold fast to them. Pick one.
Joh 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
