Psalms 118:19-21 NIV
“Open for me the gates of the righteous;
I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.
This is the gate of the Lord
through which the righteous may enter.
I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
you have become my salvation.”
Reading this brought to mind this passage from Matthew
7:13-14 NIV:
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
And it also brought to mind this passage from John
10:7-10 NIV:
“Therefore Jesus said again, ‘Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.’”
There are two paths which we may follow in this life, and
two gates through which we may enter. The first one is the narrow gate through which
the sheep enter and the narrow path which the sheep follow, which is Jesus
Christ. The second is a broad (or wide) gate and path through which the world
enters and on which the world travels.
The gate of the righteous, which is the gate of the Lord,
which is Jesus Christ, is the door (the way) to salvation from sin and eternal
life with God. It is also the door into God’s eternal kingdom. But it is also a
door into communion and fellowship with our maker, with our creator God, Jesus
Christ, God the Son.
So, how do we enter through this gate and get on this narrow
path? Through faith in Jesus Christ? Yes! But only if the Father first draws us
to Christ, i.e., persuades us to follow Jesus Christ with our lives. He gifts
us with the faith to believe in Jesus Christ for salvation from sin and eternal
life with God.
So, what does that look like exactly?
We read in Ephesians 2:8-9 that it is by God’s grace that we
are saved, through faith, and not of ourselves; it is the gift of God, not of
works lest any of us should boast. But that’s not the whole thing. V. 10 then
says that we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works
which God prepared in advance that we should walk in them. Message complete.
Let’s look at some other verses that say the same thing. We
read in 1 Peter 2:24 that Jesus died that we might die with him to sin and live
to him and to his righteousness. We read in 2 Corinthians 5:15 that Jesus died
that we might no longer live for ourselves but for him who gave his life up for
us.
We read in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 that Jesus shed his blood
for us on that cross to redeem us (to buy us back for God) so that we would now
honor God with our bodies (with our lives). And we read in Romans 6:6-18 that
our old self was crucified with Christ so that the body ruled by sin might be
done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin but slaves to
righteousness.
Do you see a pattern developing here?
Let’s look at Ephesians 4:17-24. We aren’t supposed to live
like we did before we were saved, if we were saved. We aren’t supposed to give
ourselves over to sensuality to engage in every kind of impurity. That isn’t
what we should have been taught regarding our salvation.
What we should have been taught, with regard to our former
way of life, is that we are to put off our old self, which is being corrupted
by its deceitful desires. We are to be made new in the attitude of our minds,
of the Spirit, and we are to put on the new self in Christ Jesus, created to be
like God in true righteousness and holiness.
And then let’s look at Titus 2:11-14. The grace of God which
brings us salvation trains (instructs) us to say “No!” to ungodliness and
fleshly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we
await our Lord’s soon return.
Then, let’s look at what Paul taught in Romans 8. We are to
walk according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh. The mind governed
by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.
The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s
law nor can it do so. And if we live according to the flesh, we will die.
And then in 1 John 3:6-7 we read that if we make sin our
practice, we do not know the Lord. But if righteousness is what we practice,
then we are righteous. And then we read in 1 John 2:3-6 that we have come to know
the Lord if we keep (are obeying) his commands, for if we are not obeying his
commands, as a matter of practice, then we don’t know him.
Do you see what this is all saying?
Salvation from sin is not a one-time deal – we are in the
kingdom of God, we live our lives, and when we die we get to go to heaven. We
are saved (past), we are being saved (present) and we will be saved (future)
when Jesus returns and our salvation is complete.
But we have to walk according to the Spirit and not
according to the flesh. We have to abide in Christ and his word must abide in
us. We must walk in obedience to his commands, and we must make righteousness
our practice. And we must love our brethren and not hate them if we want to
have salvation from sin and eternal life with God.
This is why the gate and the road are narrow and that few
enter. We must die with Christ daily to sin and walk in obedience to our Lord,
and we must not make sin our practice if we want to be saved and have eternal
life with God.
Now, this brings me to this Scripture from Revelation
3:19-20 NIV:
“Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.”
Jesus is talking to the church which is neither on fire for
him or altogether opposed to him, but which is lukewarm, and so he is about to
spit them out of his mouth. But he loves them and so he is still pursuing them.
But in order to get them to turn back to him (or to him) he will have to
discipline them. For, they are not following him. They are not on the narrow
path.
Many people today who make professions of faith in Jesus
Christ are not strongly opposed to Jesus but they also are not following him
with their lives. They are still turning to the flesh to satisfy them instead
of turning to God. They are still turning to their fleshly lusts instead of
turning to walk on the path of righteousness. For their hearts are not
surrendered to Christ.
According to Scripture, if they remain on that course, they
will die in their sins, not have eternal life with God. So, if that is where
you are today, take this to heart.
My
Sheep
An
Original Work / June 24, 2012
Based
off John 10:1-18 NIV
My sheep hear me. They know me.
They listen to my voice and obey.
I call them and lead them.
They know my voice, so they follow me.
They will never follow strangers.
They will run away from them.
The voice of a stranger they know not;
They do not follow him.
So, I tell you the truth that
I am the gate, so you enter in.
Whoever does enter
Will find forgiveness and will be saved.
Nonetheless whoever enters
Not by the gate; other way,
He is the thief and a robber.
Listen not, the sheep to him.
Oh, I am the Good Shepherd,
Who laid his own life down for the sheep.
I know them. They know me.
They will live with me eternally.
The thief only comes to steal and
Kill and to destroy the church.
I have come to give you life that
You may have it to the full…
They know my voice, so they follow me.
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