2010-01-15
Good Morning God’s Treasures,
I’m led to continue discussing the comparison of Christ’s Sermon on the Mount words in MT 7: 13-14 [the Narrow Gate] and LK 13: 22-30 [the Narrow Door]. Both speak of many people unable to go through the narrow gate to the hard path or the narrow door that leads to eternal life. The main reasons for this are hypocrisy, rejection of God’s call to righteousness, or waiting too late to wake up to the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When it is too late? The day of Christ’s power and glory. What will happen to those who fail to enter the Kingdom of God? They will experience spiritual death, which is conscious eternal torment from which there is no escape, i.e. separation from God. It is what I think Christ tasted temporarily, though never deserving it, during his time on the cross and for the three days He was in hell. But the big difference was Christ’s suffering would be temporary, and those not in God’s Kingdom will suffer torment permanently. This separation from God that Christ experienced is what I think was for Him the worst part of His Atonement experience.
The story of the Rich Man and Lazarus in LK 16: 19-31 points out the gulf between God and habitually sinful man in a particularly clear way. A poor man was turned away by a rich man with no sensitivity to the former’s need. Later the poor man died and was taken up into God’s Kingdom to sit beside Abraham at the wedding feast of the Lamb. Then the rich man died and was buried. In Hades he was in much pain. He saw Abraham far away and asked the patriarch to take pity on him. Abraham’s answer was (25-26), “Remember, my son, that in your lifetime you were given all the good things, while Lazarus got all the bad things. But now he is enjoying himself here, while you are in pain. Besides all that, there is a deep pit lying between us, so that those who want to cross over from here to you cannot do so, nor can anyone cross over to us from where you are.” That pit is the line that God finally draws between those who accept the truth and those who make a lifestyle out of rejecting it. It’s the same line referred to in RO 3: 26, “God did this [made Christ the Propitiation for people’s sins] in order to demonstrate His is righteous. In the past He was patient and overlooked people’s sins; but in the present time He deals with their sins, in order to demonstrate His righteousness. In this way God shows that He Himself is righteous and that He puts right everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus.” When Lazarus spoke in support of his brothers who were still alive, Abraham said, in LK 13: 29, “Your brothers have Moses and the prophets to warn them; your brothers should listen to what they say.” In response to Lazarus’ further pleas, Abraham said, in (31), “If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone were to rise from death.”
All of this tells us that each person must make his own decision when faced with the truth whether or not he will accept it. Another person can’t do this for us; we must do it for ourselves. For each of us is exposed to the same truth and the same lies. If we question whether or not someone from a primitive culture or one quite different from our western one has an excuse, the apostle Paul answers this firmly in RO 1: 18-25. The gist of this answer is that there is no excuse for exchanging the truth for a lie. Everyone has a God-consciousness and can perceive God’s creations in nature around him. Even someone who is deaf, dumb, and blind, e.g. Helen Keller, can do this. We have a class of mentally challenged students in our congregation, and even with their disability, they learned to love and worship our loving God. We must remember JN 14: 6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one goes to the Father except by Me.” So, when evil people knock on the door mentioned in LK 13, the Master of the house will answer, “I don’t know where you come from. Get away from Me, all you evildoers,” as he does in (27). JN 3: 36, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not have life, but will remain under God’s punishment.”
We can look at these Scriptures to find the same message repeated- a sure sign that God’s wants our attention to it and that He thinks it is very important. JN 10: 9, “I am the Gate. Whoever comes in by Me will be saved; He will come in and go out and will find pasture.” AC 4:12, “Salvation is to be found through Him alone; in all the world there is no one else whom God has given who can save us.” 1 TIM 2: 5, “For there is One God and there is One Who brings God and mankind together, the Man, Jesus Christ.” 1 JN 5: 12, “Whoever has the Son has the life; whoever does not have the Son does not have life.” If we get the idea just how narrow the door to eternal life is, then this author is doing her job. We are finally brought to the place in this discussion where we need to examine our own individual relationship with God, how important it is that we hold to His teaching- not only in our knowledge, but also in our heart-attitude, beliefs, and actions we take. Yes, it’s a head, heart, hands message. It’s the message that will let us know if we are taking the narrow gate that leads to the hard road to eternal life.
PRAYER: O Lord, we approach Your mighty throne with utter humility and great confidence that You care enough to hear even what seems like our most unimportant prayers. As we mature in the faith, it dawns on us that You are with us every moment of every day of our lives. Not being separated from You is a great privilege -one to be respected, nurtured. Up to this point in this discussion, we have focused on the head and heart parts of this faith; now it is time to focus also on the hands part of it, i.e. what we do in our own individual lives to live out the faith You have given us. JS 1: 8, “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” We stand ready to pray, PS 25: 4-5, “Show me Your ways, O Lord, teach me Your paths; guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.” We are acutely aware that we cannot be righteous without Your intervention and guidance. You are our wisdom, and we ask that You lead us and impart to us the wisdom we need that will allow us to live out our faith in a way which pleases and honors You. As we wait for You, our confidence in You remains strong. We utter PS 91: 1-2, knowing all the while that we find rest in You. “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God, in Whom I trust.’” We will praise and thank You, after taking time to look for what You do in our lives and recognizing it. And what is our weapon against sinning? It is found in PS 119: 11, “I have hidden Your word in my heart that I mighty not sin against You.” You have told us in COL 3 :10 that You are “constantly renewing our lives in Your image, so that we might have a better knowledge of You”. That is one more blessing and demonstration of Your love for us. We offer You eternal praise and thanks. In the holy and mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Next week, at the instruction of the Holy Spirit, I am led to write about how we need to examine ourselves, so that we might know whether or not our lives are on that hard path from the narrow gate that leads to eternal life. There is not one person on earth who can’t make right choices or approach the Lord for His guidance in the matter of making judgments. That means that God’s love and compassion is available to all. The only people who are refused entrance to the Kingdom of God are those who make a lifestyle out of rejecting Him. As with any of us, God is willing to take only so much rejection. His righteousness could never be revealed without His willingness to draw the line somewhere. Our God’s love is nothing short of amazing when we think of how many times each of us has tried His patience. IS 43: 1b-3 demonstrates His love. “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” God doesn’t want us to fail to gain eternal life with Him. He made that clear in his mission statement of EPH 1: 4-5. He sent the Lord Jesus to serve a three-year ministry on earth and then to suffer and die on the cross, so that our salvation could be possible. MICAH 6: 8, gives us necessary knowledge of what God expects from us in return. “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” This may not be the easy way, but it is right way to live. MT 6: 33 helps us to understand the priorities God wants us to have. “But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things [provision of necessities] will be given to you as well.” Who could ask for more than that? Praise and thanks be to God!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn