In this verse, where Jesus spoke of few finding the straight and narrow road, something seems odd about the meaning and context of the verse. Religious polls have shown there are about 2.1 billion Christians in the world (first biggest religion after Islam.) While many who go to church dont believe in God and have no interest in the bible and just attend church for cultural reasons, I do believe a significant amount (at least more than half, but i may be wrong) who attend church do believe in Jesus. If there are that many Christians in the world (people who believe in Jesus) why did Jesus said only a few people go to heaven?
Matthew 7 14.
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kristina411
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Matthew 7:21-23 sums it up for me.
In my opinion, and I realize that many will disagree... The church has become adept to saying "I am forgiven, it is not works, the law no longer applies." But it does. Jesus demands righteousness from us in order to enter the kingdom. What else do we so clearly ignore and believe the opposite?
You can not truly love and believe if you are comfortable living in sin and never expecting more. But again this is just my opinion and I realize I may be off base but I have yet to see where Jesus ever said that you should not follow the law. He even says to follow the worldly law, why would we be exempt from Gods law?
I believe righteousness is attainable. I am far from but that is my ultimate goal and I believe it is very possible. Not many are willing to lose their lives for their faith though and that's what is required. We take up the cross, we die so that he can live with us. Our sins and evil desires are abandoned for righteousness.
In my opinion, and I realize that many will disagree... The church has become adept to saying "I am forgiven, it is not works, the law no longer applies." But it does. Jesus demands righteousness from us in order to enter the kingdom. What else do we so clearly ignore and believe the opposite?
You can not truly love and believe if you are comfortable living in sin and never expecting more. But again this is just my opinion and I realize I may be off base but I have yet to see where Jesus ever said that you should not follow the law. He even says to follow the worldly law, why would we be exempt from Gods law?
I believe righteousness is attainable. I am far from but that is my ultimate goal and I believe it is very possible. Not many are willing to lose their lives for their faith though and that's what is required. We take up the cross, we die so that he can live with us. Our sins and evil desires are abandoned for righteousness.
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BryanW92
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Matthew 7 is an interesting chapter. Christians who seek to limit others zero in on that "narrow road" with laserlike focus.
But look at the whole chapter. Verses 1-6 hint that salvation is hard. Verses 7-11 hint that it is easy. Verses 12-14 hint that it is hard. Verses 15-20 hint that it is easy. Verses 21-23, hard. Verses 24-27, easy.
This kind of back and forth teaching is just like Jesus describes the Law. If you try to follow it as a roadmap to heaven, you will fail! The only salvation is in Christ and he did all the work.
But, note that the "easy" parts require you to ask and trust. The hard parts seem to imply that you must not only do things, but that you must do them perfectly. Does the rest of scripture support the idea that you can save yourself through your perfect works?
Then, why would the "narrow path" be a secret and hard-to-find pathway to salvation?
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We really have no idea as to how many billions of human beings have existed from creation, or will exist until the Great White Throne Judgment. Whatever the number, genuine regenerated Christians (people justified by grace through faith in the OT) will always be a tiny fraction of that number.
Even today, the numbers of genuine Christians in North America are marginal. Those polls and surveys mean nothing. Only God knows the hearts. So the Lord was absolutely right. Even if there are millions in Heaven, there will be multiple billions which have not come to salvation.
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There are several things God asks of us, that are not necessarily the way we'd assume religion should go.
* Jesus asks us to use faith, prayer and words to activate God's involvement in situations. By nature we would prefer to memorize an instruction book and just follow the right steps. Keep control over it. But there's a certain amount of letting-go required.
* The woes in the Old Testament come with convictions of distorting truth, oppressing underdogs, miscommunicating God's Word, using religion to pump ourselves up while trampling others, taking from the poor instead of giving. With that criteria, a lot of "good Christians" could find themselves in shock.
* Judas was part of the apostle team. Ananias and Sapphira. The people Jesus critiqued were religious leaders, and others connected with the temple he attended. They still had a chance for repentance, but needed to see the error of their ways.
* People in remote villages have had visitations from angels, found understanding of the gospel and Christ's sacrifice... God reveals Himself to people who are open to knowing Him more.
* Jesus said it would be harder for a rich man to enter than going through the eye of a needle. The term was a gate into the city, which was so narrow that a traveler had to unload the camels..preventing armies from invading, and allowing a screening process.
All the valuables had to be laid in the dust and repacked, which was annoying. They risked forgetting or losing something, things being stoled or trampled by the camels and donkeys. What seemed important to bring back home, became a burden later.
If a wealthy person resented having to unload their caravan just to get into the city, they had a choice -- either unload what seemed precious, or not enter the kingdom.
So that could be another reduction of numbers -- people who want everything, the attention at church but also the respect among peers, or luxury at the expense of honesty.
We have seen some Christian groups treat volunteers oppressively, then approve large salaries for their leaders. Or employers who cost-cut so brutally that their employees are working below minimum wage, on salaried overtime. Or spouses who demean and restrict their family members while appearing spiritual among church friends.
God sees all, and is not blind to injustice.
* Jesus asks us to use faith, prayer and words to activate God's involvement in situations. By nature we would prefer to memorize an instruction book and just follow the right steps. Keep control over it. But there's a certain amount of letting-go required.
* The woes in the Old Testament come with convictions of distorting truth, oppressing underdogs, miscommunicating God's Word, using religion to pump ourselves up while trampling others, taking from the poor instead of giving. With that criteria, a lot of "good Christians" could find themselves in shock.
* Judas was part of the apostle team. Ananias and Sapphira. The people Jesus critiqued were religious leaders, and others connected with the temple he attended. They still had a chance for repentance, but needed to see the error of their ways.
* People in remote villages have had visitations from angels, found understanding of the gospel and Christ's sacrifice... God reveals Himself to people who are open to knowing Him more.
* Jesus said it would be harder for a rich man to enter than going through the eye of a needle. The term was a gate into the city, which was so narrow that a traveler had to unload the camels..preventing armies from invading, and allowing a screening process.
All the valuables had to be laid in the dust and repacked, which was annoying. They risked forgetting or losing something, things being stoled or trampled by the camels and donkeys. What seemed important to bring back home, became a burden later.
If a wealthy person resented having to unload their caravan just to get into the city, they had a choice -- either unload what seemed precious, or not enter the kingdom.
So that could be another reduction of numbers -- people who want everything, the attention at church but also the respect among peers, or luxury at the expense of honesty.
We have seen some Christian groups treat volunteers oppressively, then approve large salaries for their leaders. Or employers who cost-cut so brutally that their employees are working below minimum wage, on salaried overtime. Or spouses who demean and restrict their family members while appearing spiritual among church friends.
God sees all, and is not blind to injustice.
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SistrNChrist
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As Jesus himself said in Matthew 7:21, "Not everyone who says to Me, "Lord, Lord," shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven." In other words, people can claim to be Christians all they want, but if they do not follow God's will, then they won't be going to heaven.
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razzelflabben
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razzelflabben
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ALoveDivine
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It is not enough to "believe in" Jesus. In fact, I'm sure most 'Christians' "believe in" Jesus meaning they acknowledge the facts of the Gospel. So does Satan, so do demons. We are saved by FAITH not by belief!
Faith is a personal trust in the living and risen Christ who died for the sins of the world. It is trusting him and him alone as the only atonement for your wickedness, it is trusting him and him alone for your only hope of holiness and eternal life. It is a living, day by day personal relationship with the creator of the universe. Such a living faith results in a progressive sanctification, a growing in holiness and a dying to self, an increasing conformity to the likeness of Christ.
Christianity is a supernatural spiritual bond between fallen humans and the Almighty thrice holy God, through Christ, in which evil creatures like ourselves are transformed into "little Christs" more and more day by day until the day we die or the world ends, whichever comes first.
Faith is a personal trust in the living and risen Christ who died for the sins of the world. It is trusting him and him alone as the only atonement for your wickedness, it is trusting him and him alone for your only hope of holiness and eternal life. It is a living, day by day personal relationship with the creator of the universe. Such a living faith results in a progressive sanctification, a growing in holiness and a dying to self, an increasing conformity to the likeness of Christ.
Christianity is a supernatural spiritual bond between fallen humans and the Almighty thrice holy God, through Christ, in which evil creatures like ourselves are transformed into "little Christs" more and more day by day until the day we die or the world ends, whichever comes first.
Yes, but we need to be careful here. Our works and our efforts do not contribute to our salvation, yet our holiness is the result of a genuine saving faith. It is a personal relationship. If we truly love Christ, will we continue to pursue the things he hates, the sins for which he suffered the wrath of God on the cross? No, not at all. We may stumble and fall, but we will no longer live for the darkness of this world if we've truly seen the light.
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razzelflabben
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sounds like you are talking about the difference between head knowledge and heart knowledge. Scripture tells us we have to believe with our hearts/will, not with our mind/intellect. AMEN
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I believe in Heaven, and a paradise earth, some few will go to heaven, the rest of us however, will live on this earth which will be transformed into a paradise...
God Bless!
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because only a few will go to heaven. compared to the number of people ever... one should zero in on 'believe in Jesus'. What does that mean? There's a lot in the NT about it. The books of John. Romans. I remember a verse about loving God with your whole heart, soul, body, mind... One can 'believe' in Jesus in their head if they've been taught that all of their life. Just like they can 'sing' the words to their favorite song - without thinking about it. It doesn't yet include the heart.
God wants ALL of you. Completely. Without any reservations about it. An all consuming love for Him. It's more than a few hours a week. It will fill every area of your life, every day, all day long. Your whole life will change and you will know it.
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There are two types of "Christians" in the world.
1. Those who base their understanding of the gospel on the Epistles of Paul and John and then interpret the things in Matthew in the Sermon on the Mount in light of those Epistles. 2. Those who base their understanding of the gospel on the Sermon on the Mount and then try to ignore Paul's teachings in the epistles.
Now how did Paul teach the gospel and how did Jesus teach it in the sermon on the mount? Answer: Paul taught salvation by faith alone apart from works and apart from the law.
Example "for we conclude that a man is justified by faith APART FROM THE WORKS OF THE LAW." and "for by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God; NOT OF WORKS lest any man should boast." and again "to him who DOES NOT WORK but BELIEVES on him who justifies THE UNGODLY his FAITH is credited to him as RIGHTEOUSNESS"
So Paul taught salvation by faith alone apart from the law and not by any works.
Now how did Jesus seem to teach salvation?
If your hand causes you to sin cut it off...If you are pure in heart you shall see God...unless your righteousness exceeds the Pharisees you will not enter the Kingdom...If you call your brother a fool you will go to hell... if you lust you better poke out your eye or you will go to hell... you have to be perfect just like the Father in Heaven is perfect.... and finally Even if you call Jesus Lord Lord and do a life of works for him even casting out demons and performing miracles for Him you will still go to hell if you don't do a good enough job of doing God's will. To the rich young ruler He said keep the commandments and sell everything... the the lawyer he said you can go to heaven if you love the lord perfectly (with all your heart soul mind and strength), and if you love your neighbor every bit as much as you love yourself etc. etc. Jesus preached the legalistic demands of the law. He left most of the gospel preaching to the disciples for after he died and rose again. That is because the gospel IS that Jesus died for our sins and rose again so prior to that time he preached not the gospel (most of the time) but the law.
I have some shocking news for some of you. In the Greek the gospel of Matthew is not called the gospel of Matthew. Matthew never titled his book the gospel according to matthew. In the greek it simply says "according to Matthew". Most likely he had in mind "the life of Jesus Christ according to Matthew"
That is because there is very little "gospel' found in Matthew. The sermon on the mount is where Jesus is describing what all the Law of Moses really requires of People if they actually want to be saved by the law. Most of Matthew is Jesus trying to convince the legalistic Pharisees that the law is so difficult that none of them can be saved by it so that they will believe in Christ for mercy instead.
Look... the gospel of John is the only one of the four "gospels" that claims to be written to explain how to be saved. (John 20:31) the other three make no such claim. Matthew was written to the Jews who trusted in the law to save them to show them that the law is impossible to keep so that when Christ finally died and rose again they would be willing to quit trying to be saved by the law and look to Christ for mercy instead and trust in His blood for salvation. Romans and John were written to explain how to be saved or justified. Matthew was written to cause you to despair of your attempts to keep the law. So go ahead and think, if you want to, that you can be saved by keeping the law which is found in Matthew in the sermon on the mount. But that isn't the gospel it is the law.
Same thing with the lawyer who asked what he needed to DO to obtain eternal life. He wanted to know what the law required him to DO. So Jesus told him that the law required him to be perfect. (Love God perfectly and love neighbor perfectly) He thought he could do it.
And the rich young ruler asked the same thing "what must I DO" Jesus said keep the law... and the young man said I have always kept it! So to show him that he wasn't really keeping the 1st commandment and the 10th one Jesus said 'sell all you have" (he was too covetous to do that,,, so that broke the 10th commandment) and follow me (he didn't have time to do that... so that broke the 1st commandment "you shall not have any gods before me" Jesus didn't ever tell the guy the gospel... he told him the 10 commandments to show him that he was a lawbreaker. By doing that Jesus was trying to cause him to despair of his attempt to gain salvation by keeping the law in order to prepare him to believe the gospel when it was preached later on. See?
later on, after Jesus died and rose again and Peter and Paul came explaining that salvation is a free gift given to those who look to Christ in faith for salvation and not to those who look to the law. only then was the man hopefully prepared to receive that message.
The book of John tells us how to be saved and Paul explains it clearly in the book of Romans.... Jesus was teaching how strict the law is so that the Jews would abandon trying to be saved by it. If you don't figure this out, and you make the same mistake the legalistic Pharisees did you cannot be saved. You cannot obtain eternal life by your works! Your righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees and the only way it will ever do that is if you do as Abraham did... "Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness" Instead of attempting to be righteous in yourself by your works just be clothed in Christ's righteousness by trusting Him to bestow it upon you. God bless.
1. Those who base their understanding of the gospel on the Epistles of Paul and John and then interpret the things in Matthew in the Sermon on the Mount in light of those Epistles. 2. Those who base their understanding of the gospel on the Sermon on the Mount and then try to ignore Paul's teachings in the epistles.
Now how did Paul teach the gospel and how did Jesus teach it in the sermon on the mount? Answer: Paul taught salvation by faith alone apart from works and apart from the law.
Example "for we conclude that a man is justified by faith APART FROM THE WORKS OF THE LAW." and "for by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God; NOT OF WORKS lest any man should boast." and again "to him who DOES NOT WORK but BELIEVES on him who justifies THE UNGODLY his FAITH is credited to him as RIGHTEOUSNESS"
So Paul taught salvation by faith alone apart from the law and not by any works.
Now how did Jesus seem to teach salvation?
If your hand causes you to sin cut it off...If you are pure in heart you shall see God...unless your righteousness exceeds the Pharisees you will not enter the Kingdom...If you call your brother a fool you will go to hell... if you lust you better poke out your eye or you will go to hell... you have to be perfect just like the Father in Heaven is perfect.... and finally Even if you call Jesus Lord Lord and do a life of works for him even casting out demons and performing miracles for Him you will still go to hell if you don't do a good enough job of doing God's will. To the rich young ruler He said keep the commandments and sell everything... the the lawyer he said you can go to heaven if you love the lord perfectly (with all your heart soul mind and strength), and if you love your neighbor every bit as much as you love yourself etc. etc. Jesus preached the legalistic demands of the law. He left most of the gospel preaching to the disciples for after he died and rose again. That is because the gospel IS that Jesus died for our sins and rose again so prior to that time he preached not the gospel (most of the time) but the law.
I have some shocking news for some of you. In the Greek the gospel of Matthew is not called the gospel of Matthew. Matthew never titled his book the gospel according to matthew. In the greek it simply says "according to Matthew". Most likely he had in mind "the life of Jesus Christ according to Matthew"
That is because there is very little "gospel' found in Matthew. The sermon on the mount is where Jesus is describing what all the Law of Moses really requires of People if they actually want to be saved by the law. Most of Matthew is Jesus trying to convince the legalistic Pharisees that the law is so difficult that none of them can be saved by it so that they will believe in Christ for mercy instead.
Look... the gospel of John is the only one of the four "gospels" that claims to be written to explain how to be saved. (John 20:31) the other three make no such claim. Matthew was written to the Jews who trusted in the law to save them to show them that the law is impossible to keep so that when Christ finally died and rose again they would be willing to quit trying to be saved by the law and look to Christ for mercy instead and trust in His blood for salvation. Romans and John were written to explain how to be saved or justified. Matthew was written to cause you to despair of your attempts to keep the law. So go ahead and think, if you want to, that you can be saved by keeping the law which is found in Matthew in the sermon on the mount. But that isn't the gospel it is the law.
Same thing with the lawyer who asked what he needed to DO to obtain eternal life. He wanted to know what the law required him to DO. So Jesus told him that the law required him to be perfect. (Love God perfectly and love neighbor perfectly) He thought he could do it.
And the rich young ruler asked the same thing "what must I DO" Jesus said keep the law... and the young man said I have always kept it! So to show him that he wasn't really keeping the 1st commandment and the 10th one Jesus said 'sell all you have" (he was too covetous to do that,,, so that broke the 10th commandment) and follow me (he didn't have time to do that... so that broke the 1st commandment "you shall not have any gods before me" Jesus didn't ever tell the guy the gospel... he told him the 10 commandments to show him that he was a lawbreaker. By doing that Jesus was trying to cause him to despair of his attempt to gain salvation by keeping the law in order to prepare him to believe the gospel when it was preached later on. See?
later on, after Jesus died and rose again and Peter and Paul came explaining that salvation is a free gift given to those who look to Christ in faith for salvation and not to those who look to the law. only then was the man hopefully prepared to receive that message.
The book of John tells us how to be saved and Paul explains it clearly in the book of Romans.... Jesus was teaching how strict the law is so that the Jews would abandon trying to be saved by it. If you don't figure this out, and you make the same mistake the legalistic Pharisees did you cannot be saved. You cannot obtain eternal life by your works! Your righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees and the only way it will ever do that is if you do as Abraham did... "Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness" Instead of attempting to be righteous in yourself by your works just be clothed in Christ's righteousness by trusting Him to bestow it upon you. God bless.
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razzelflabben
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there is a third group, those of us who allow the totality of scripture to inform us as to what God is telling us.
Be careful, it was also Christ to taught that the power to overcome was in the indwelling HS, which is consistent with what Paul and John taught. Thus no discrepancy at all. As I said before, it is a symbiotic relationship of our efforts and HS power. Which is what both Paul and Jesus taught.
you really need to study Jesus teaching about being intertwined with God. It is liberating.
actually Jesus teaches that when we come to Him, we are to go and sin no more and that the power to do this is the HS. But then again, to understand this, means you can't make the claims you are bent on making here.
where does this Love (the Love Christ is referring to) come from? Hint. Gal. 5:22-23 also look at I John 4:8
I hate it when people go to the cross and then stop as your post seems to do. The cross (aka Salvation) is the beginning of life, not the totality of it, it's all right there in scripture.
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kristina411
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♥ this!
I was saying this yesterday to my husband. It is an unfortunate understanding that our faith ends at the cross. That is the beginning! It wasn't until I gave my all, really gave it my all, that I finally saw I was stuck at the door. The door is the cross, inside is salvation and righteousness.. I had been stuck at the door with everyone else my whole life.
It makes me sad that so many stop at the cross and go no further. The cross is the reason we are able to go further. Never before were we able to be fully cleansed. Now we are but we refuse to stay clean
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razzelflabben
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Cleansing...yep...been dealing with that around here. Not only is Christ's Love for the Church one in which He wants to present her (us, the Church) cleansed, (Ephesians 5) but as a royal priesthood, we must be cleansed before we can take others to the Christ, to introduce them to the saving knowledge that began our lives and our quest to know God as fully as He knows us. Amen.♥ this!
I was saying this yesterday to my husband. It is an unfortunate understanding that our faith ends at the cross. That is the beginning! It wasn't until I gave my all, really gave it my all, that I finally saw I was stuck at the door. The door is the cross, inside is salvation and righteousness.. I had been stuck at the door with everyone else my whole life.
It makes me sad that so many stop at the cross and go no further. The cross is the reason we are able to go further. Never before were we able to be fully cleansed. Now we are but we refuse to stay clean
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razzelflabben
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how so? If you explain the difference and post the scriptures where you come to that conclusion, we can discover for ourselves what you intend here and how truthful or untruthful it is according to scripture...thanks
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Ok, let's start with some basics.
Was Abraham righteous? Was Abraham sinless? Yes. And certainly not.
Romans 4:3
What does Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."
Which was quoted from Genesis 15:6: And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
One is imputed by God, and not of ourselves, and the other is attaining legal and moral perfection. But one has got nothing to do with the other.
If sin can no longer condemn us (Romans 8:1), non-sinning doesn't save us either.
Now was Jesus righteous? Was Jesus sinless? Interesting, isn't it?
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