The Narrow Gate
Jesus said in Matthew 7:13, enter through the narrow gate and avoid the wide gate. For me, the only interpretation of this command is, don't follow the herd. Which, following the herd, is what most Christians do. The "wide gate" verse backs up my views on the churches' deficiencies, as described in my page, Are We True Christians?
Matthew 7:13-14
13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
It is not that the narrow gate is difficult to find, and the wide gate is easy. It is that the majority of people don't care about truly seeking God, and therefore end up in the wide gate. Only the few that have genuine interest in seeking God will find the narrow gate. If we were to guess at who is in the wide gate, we'll find a combination of: "Christians" that are Christians for the social aspect of it, "Christians" misled by their churches of all denominations, and non-Christians.
Although I am trying hard in this website to help people see clearly, I think Jesus' statement of "the narrow gate" will stand regardless. This is because only a few people have eyes that see and ears that hear. Do you want to ensure you make it to the narrow gate? Look here: How to Be True Christians.
Note, there is a seemingly contradicting reference from the apostle John in Revelation 7:
Revelation 7:9-10
After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”
Before we declare this as contradicting to the "narrow gate", let's look at some world stats. From public records, as of today the total number of people that ever lived on earth since creation is around 117 billion. Even a small fraction of this number (example 1%) would be in billions and would qualify for "a multitude too numerous to count". Thus "the narrow gate" is not contradicting when we put things into perspective.
Jesus using these particular terms "narrow" and "wide" to describe the picture is clear that there is a big difference between them. That is, it is not close to half and half, and not even quarter / 3-quarter. It's a bigger difference than that.
So, if 1% of the total population of earth since creation is in Billions, then it could be one possible number of the narrow gate! Although this percentage could translate to say about 5% of all Christians, are you in this number? I'm only stirring things up, so you re-evaluate your spiritual status. Look at all the other links on this website and see where you are. Are you in the 5% number (narrow gate)? Or in the 95% number (wide gate)?
It doesn't matter how happy you are at your church right now. The sun will continue to shine on the "righteous" and the "wicked"; God is not striking down atheists and devil-worshippers either! I would worry about being in the "I never knew you" line at judgment, Matthew 7:23.
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