I mentioned last Sunday that the world tries to convince people that there is more than one way to get to heaven. God showed us in Scripture that His Son Jesus told us very plainly that He is the way, the truth, and the life, and that no one gets to the father unless they go through Jesus.
But still our world today will try to convince people that ultimately everyone goes to heaven. God makes it very clear that is not the truth. We sing the song, “When We All Get to Heaven” what a wonderful day that will be. We need to know that that song is referring to those that know Christ in a personal way. When all of us Christians get to heaven, what a wonderful day that will be.
When I was growing up, as it was with most of you, when teams were competing in sports, it was expected that one team would win and the other team would lose. Today, many kids’ sports are played with no winners or losers. No matter what, everyone gets a participation trophy, and no one gets cut from the team. That may be the easiest route, but it's not necessarily the best. There are winners and losers in the game, and not everybody will make the cut.
In much the same way, society seems to have become convinced that no matter how a person lives, they will be given a golden ticket that allows them to go to heaven automatically. This belief does not line up with what the Bible teaches. In this case, the easy path is most definitely not the best.
Let's begin with prayer and allow God to show us the truth. Prayer.
Most Christians are familiar with the teachings that Jesus taught in His sermon on the mount. In Matthew 7, Jesus spoke of a choice people must make. Every one of us must make one of these two choices. We must go through a gate that is small, and down a road that is narrow, which is the more difficult way. OR, the other way is to go through a gate that is wide, and down a road that is broad, which is the easier way.
Matthew 7:13 – 14 – “Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. 14 How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it.”
So Jesus compares the way to heaven, or eternal life with God, to an entrance through a gate. He must have used this illustration of gates because people in those days would have entered the ancient cities through gates. Some of those gates were wide and many people entered through them. But there were also private gates that were smaller and allowed for fewer people.
When Jesus speaks of the narrow gate, He is using it to symbolize the exclusive nature of Christ's kingdom. Entrance through this gate requires the disciple to do the will of the Father. We will get to that in a moment. The difficult road is talking about the hardship and persecution that we as disciples will face in life. Jewish literature often uses the symbol of the road to represent a moral path, and because the law was at times portrayed as a narrow road that a person should not deviate from, the narrow road that Jesus mentions probably represents how we should live morally.
Jesus also uses the symbol of the wide gate which is speaking of the fact that hell has an unrestricted entrance and that many will enter through that gate. The broad road allows travelers to pretty much do what they want to do when it comes to their worldly desires. The wide gate is the one through which many will go because it's easy. And in doing so, they reject the teaching of Jesus. The broad gate may be the most popular, it may be the easiest, but it's not the road anyone should choose. Far too many people want to take the easy road in life. They do pretty much what and when they want to do.
Jesus told us that the narrow road is the road we want to choose. Yes, it's more difficult, and not many people will choose it, but it's the right road. It's the only road that leads to heaven. So, to get to heaven, you have to search out the narrow gate and be willing to give up your worldly ways to follow Jesus and accept the salvation He offers in exchange. As I said before, every one of us has a choice to make.
Matthew 7:15 – 16 – “Be on your guard against false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves. 16 You’ll recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles?”
You’ve probably seen the flu commercial with the wolf roaming through a hospital with a sheepskin on its back. That's the visual image that Jesus gave us in this passage. False prophets have been around since the time Jesus walked the earth. Jesus warned his followers to beware of the false prophets. So, He compared them to wolves who dress themselves up to look like gentle, obedient sheep. He was telling them, and us, that false prophets work to lure believers away from the teachings of Jesus and His truth. So, this is a warning given to any who choose to enter through the narrow gate not to fall prey to the deceptive ways and teachings of the false prophets. Not everyone who claims to speak for God speaks the truth.
Sheep will follow obediently, where a wolf will kill and devour anything it sees as a threat. Jesus says you'll recognize false teachers through the fruit that they produce. In other words, you will recognize the false prophets by watching their character and behavior. True disciples produce good works that confirm their identity as Jesus's followers. The fruit of false prophets is their false teaching, and we could recognize such fruit as we hold it up to the light of Scripture. All of the Pharisees in that day were producing simply clones of themselves - bad fruit.
So, the true test of a prophet of God is whether the message lines up with Scripture. If what they teach isn't in line with God's word, it isn't to be believed or followed. That’s why it is so important to read the Bible and know what it says.
In our world today there seems to be an abundance of those who teach things that stand in direct contrast to what Jesus taught. False prophets or teachers today have convinced far too many by teaching half-truths of Scripture. They make their message appealing to the ears of their listeners and many have been devoured by these wolves that Jesus warned us about.
Now, just for a moment, think about some of the messages you hear in the mainstream media today. Ask yourself, “Are they half-truths or do they line up completely with the word of God?” You probably won't have to think too deeply to realize and think about some of the ways that Scripture has been twisted in our culture today.
Matthew 7:17-20 – “In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree can’t produce bad fruit; neither can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So you’ll recognize them by their fruit.”
What Jesus is reminding us of is that good fruit and bad fruit cannot coexist. You know the song. One bad Apple spoils the whole bunch.
In the orchard business, farmers will watch their trees closely. Those that produce fruit will continue to be allowed to live. Those trees that are barren, will usually be cut down and new trees will be planted in their place.
In this passage, Jesus describes two types of trees - the good tree that produces good fruit and the bad tree that produces bad fruit. In talking about the tree that bears good fruit, Jesus was referring to a life that has been changed because of faith in Christ. everything God created in nature reproduces itself, including people. It's no different when we're talking about things in the spiritual realm.
So Jesus clarifies for us that every good tree produces good fruit and He stresses that a good tree cannot produce bad fruit. In other words, those whose lives have been radically changed by Christ and who are striving to live the life God intended, will reproduce good fruit in others as they live out their lives in Christ. But on the other side, those who reject Christ and the truth He brings will only produce bad fruit. The two kinds of trees will never mix.
In the Hill country of Texas, over the years there has been an infestation of some sort of disease that affects the oak trees. The trees that are infected with the disease will spread that disease to the other trees and kill them also. The same is true for fruit trees.
Jesus continues with His fruit tree example. “Every tree that doesn't produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire,” he says. The reason for this is so the bad trees don't infect the remaining good trees in the orchard. Jesus is referring here to the Pharisees who were only producing bad fruit and should be removed, so their message doesn't infect true disciples. That should make us stop and think, what kind of fruit am I bearing?
Matthew 7:21-23 – “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name?’ 23 Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!’
Now we get back to that choice that every one of us will have to make. Jesus said at the end of the broad road there will be judgment. The false prophets and all those who follow their teaching will be denied entrance into heaven. It doesn't matter if they've done great works in Jesus's name. Those who don't have a personal relationship with Jesus won't see heaven.
Jesus refers to them as law breakers. That's what Jesus called those who were never truly His disciples. They chose the broad, easy road instead of the narrow, hard road. Those who will be allowed into heaven realize it isn't enough just to believe the truth of what Jesus taught. They must choose to live for Jesus and trust their lives to Him.
For those of you who are computer-minded, you will know that to gain access to certain sites on your computer, you need to know the access code. To get into your accounts, you need a username and a passcode. Without that code you will be denied entrance into that application or account. Just understanding what computers do isn't enough to be able to access that inside information.
In the same way, knowing the access code to eternity has to be learned. Jesus tells us here that on the day of judgment, those who just know about Him won't be allowed access to heaven. There will be people who say they know Him but who never made a decision to follow Him. There will be those who pretend to do things in His name. There will be some who prophesy, cast out demons, and even perform miracles in His name. All these people will be denied access to heaven as Jesus declares He never knew them. He never knew them because they never truly accepted Him as their personal Savior.
So the Bible says that only those people who have done the will of my Father in heaven will be allowed. So just what is the will of his father? His will is that everyone comes into a personal relationship with His Son Jesus. The tragedy is that the majority of people won't realize it until it's too late that they never really knew Him at all. Hearing something and doing something with what you hear aren't the same thing. Look at how Luke records this story:
Luke 13:22-27 – “He went through one town and village after another, teaching and making his way to Jerusalem. 23 “Lord,” someone asked him, “are only a few people going to be saved?”
********He said to them, 24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because I tell you, many will try to enter and won’t be able 25 once the homeowner gets up and shuts the door. Then you will stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open up for us!’ He will answer you, ‘I don’t know you or where you’re from.’
******** 26 Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I don’t know you or where you’re from. Get away from me, all you evildoers!’
Now, try to place yourself inside this story. Imagine walking along with Jesus and the other disciples. You've visited several villages and heard Jesus teach about the kingdom of God and what it takes to be part of it. You’re coming to one of the villages and someone asks him, “Lord are only a few people going to be saved?”
Jesus didn't answer that question but instead focused on making sure the person asking the question was saved. He referred to walking through the narrow door. Jesus got very specific and told the person that there will be many who won't make it once the homeowner, meaning God, closes the door. That time will be when Jesus comes again. And that person won't make it through because a decision to have a personal relationship with Jesus was never made.
Jesus explained that after the door is shut, many people will continue to knock, asking God to open it, but to no avail. The people will say, “Lord, open up for us!” He will answer, “I don't know you or where you're from.”
There will be more people who will be lost than those who have come to Jesus. People will claim that they heard the teachings of Jesus Christ, much like you are hearing the words today, but hearing something and doing something with what you hear are two different things. Doing a lifetime of good deeds and just going to church won't get you into heaven.
What a terrible day that is going to be for so many people who believe they lived good lives and should be allowed into heaven, only to find out that they've been answering all the wrong questions about what to do with Jesus. When it comes to the reality of it all, they never truly accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior and followed Him in obedience.
So, I ask you again, are you absolutely sure that if you were to die today and stand in front of Jesus that He would welcome you into heaven? If not, why not make sure and reach out to Him and simply ask Him to come into your heart and into your life.
