Is God Narrow Minded?

Image result for the narrow door of jesus

The Narrow Door

22 Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” He said to them, 24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door,because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.
Many people misunderstand this parable for many reasons.  
1. The narrow door means God is stingy and narrow minded.  He makes it hard for people to get to heaven.
2. When we see the words, "Make every effort", it means we get to heaven by trying harder or doing more things for God.  
3.  There are going to be relatively few people that are going to get into heaven.
It is good to note that within Jewish teaching, one school said that only a few Jews will be saved, and another school thought all Jews would be saved.  So the man asks the question, "Are only a few people going to be saved." 
So what does Jesus mean when he says this?
1. The door is narrow because it comes through a person, Jesus.  
2. If one rejects Jesus they will miss the opportunity to be saved.  
3.  Just because the door is narrow does not mean that many can't go through it.  
Remember too that at this point Jesus is speaking to a mainly Jewish audience.  The biggest issue with the Jewish people will be their rejection of Jesus.  Although Jesus claims to be God and proves He is God, the Jewish people can't accept him.  Jesus did not fit the mold they were looking for in a Messiah.  They were looking for a Messiah who would lead them to conquer their enemy, the Romans, and bring them back into power.  
But Jesus taught about the kingdom of God how to enter into it.  The kingdom of God had come through him and to enter the kingdom they needed to go through Him.  But they wanted to build their own kingdom.  Thus the door was narrow because it caused all people to humble themselves and turn to Jesus to be saved.  To turn to Jesus to be saved is to admit you are powerless over sin and cannot earn your way to heaven.  It goes against our human nature, especially pride.  This is why Jesus says, "The first will be last, and the last will be first."  The first are those who think they are something special and deserve to enter the kingdom because of their own merits.  The last are those who turn to Jesus to be saved and realize there is nothing extrinsically good about themselves.  They are saved by a gift from the One who created them has sent His Son to open the door for all people to be saved. 
Will you make every effort to enter the narrow door? Will you humble yourself and realize that Jesus is the only hope you have to be saved?  Though the door is narrow, God desires all people to go through it.  But we go through it by what He has done not by what we have done.   

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Acts 22 - Paul Sees the Light

Image
6  “About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.   7  I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me,  ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’  8  “‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.  “  ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth,  whom you are persecuting,’  he replied.   9  My companions saw the light,  but they did not understand the voice  of him who was speaking to me.  10  “‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked. “  ‘Get up,’  the Lord said,  ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do. This is the famous story of the apostle Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus.  Paul was going there to persecute Jewish Christians and throw them into prison and he meets Jesus is a spectacular way.  Not only is he blinded by a briliant light, but he hears the Lord's voice audibly.  And the Lord asks him, "Lord, Lord why are you persecuting me!"  Paul thought he was serving the Lord, but he was persecuting him b
Read more

2 Timothy 4 - Fight the Good Fight! Finish the Race!

Click Here to Read or Listen to 2 Timothy 4 4 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. Paul gives a closing charge to Timothy. First of all, he is to preach the word. God's Word speaks to all situations and seasons. The Word of God will sometimes correct us. Our lives can get of out alignment with God's will as outlined in
Read more

Hebrews 6 - Have You Graduated From Elementary School of Faith Yet?

Click Here to Read or Listen to Hebrews 6 6 Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, 2 instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And God permitting, we will do so. The author once again picks up with the theme of moving on to Christian maturity.  He teaches them to move on from the "elementary" teachings about Christ. What does he mean by that?  He gives clues by citing repentance, faith, cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, and teaching on the judgment and resurrection from the dead. We might call these the basics of the Christian faith. If you read through the Apostle's Creed, which our church confesses in our 8am service, it contains many of these core doctrines.  Click here to see the Apostle's Creed Written Around “When we consider the
Read more