What is JESUS telling us in this simple sounding parable? The gate is the spiritual doorway to eternity. The gate you enter and road you choose represent the spiritual choices you make during your (testing) time here on earth. The narrow gate and hard road symbolize obedience to GOD; going by the wide road means doing whatever you want according to your worldly materialistic desires.
JESUS gave us what he called the greatest (most important) commandment: “…You must love the Lord your God with your whole heart, your whole soul, and your whole mind. This is the greatest command, and is first in importance. The second is like it: You must love your neighbor as you do yourself. The essence of the whole law and the prophets (the Old Testament) is packed into these two commands.” Mat 7:12, Mat 22:37 The word translated “love” in this verse is the Greek word “agapaeo.” In this context, it means to love and prefer what GOD loves and prefers. So, the way to stay on the narrow road to eternal salvation is to make a serious lifelong effort to do what GOD prefers and to love those who GOD loves; which is everyone, including you, other sinners, and your enemies.
Living according to GOD’s will:
The BIBLE spells out the attitudes and actions that GOD prefers, in a very straight forward way. In Gal 5:22 we are told that if the SPIRIT of GOD is working in people, they will show the following as evidence:
- Love
- Joy
- Peace
- Patience
- Kindness
- Goodness
- Faithfulness
- Gentleness
- Self-control
Living according to Man’s will:
Living according to your own will is what the BIBLE calls living according to the flesh. Gal 5:19-21 “…(T)he works of the flesh are obvious:
- Adultery, fornication (sexual immorality)
- Uncleanness (moral and spiritual sinfulness)
- Idolatry (loving anything as much as or more than GOD)
- Sorcery (drug related spirituality/witchcraft)
- Enmity (hatred/hostility)
- Disputes (love for arguments and drama)
- Jealousy
- Anger
- Intrigues (rivalry, ambition, back-stabbing)
- Dissensions (faction; causing others to separate from each other)
- Envy
- Partying, drunkenness, carousing (drunken parties with a sexual outcome)
Outro - The Right-wing Political Church
Are you striving to do GOD's will (per the Great Commandment) or are you doing your own will and telling yourself you are OK, salvation-wise, because of your good intentions? Amazingly, many individuals and denominations decide for themselves which of GOD's commandments they are going to follow and then convince themselves that it will be good enough for them to be saved – even when the BIBLE says exactly the opposite. Examples are: love of the world (prosperity gospel, racial politics and greed), hate (racism and bigotry), once saved always saved (refusal to repent of sinful attitudes), etc. Such self-deception would not be possible if people would read the BIBLE for themselves.
Speaking of self-deception, exactly how is it that people who call themselves Christians support an obvious anti-christ figure; a venal sinner of the type that the BIBLE tells us not to associate with, in the person of Donald Trump?
Cor 5:9-11: "I (Paul) wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people - not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people."
It’s almost as if this verse was written as a description of Trump. Those who idolize Trump do so because he validates their anti-christian self-deception stemming from hypocrisy and self-righteousness. Their version of “Christianity” is based on who they hate and what they are against, as opposed to showing love to all people (including their enemies) as JESUS commands. Religious people who's real motivation is to get and maintain social, monetary, and political power are serving an idol (the same idol that Donald Trump serves - themselves.) They try to convince anyone who will listen that they are seeking power to serve GOD – but people, especially non-believers, can easily discern that they are just hypocrites. Needless to say, those who call out church racism and warn GOD’s people to repent are harshly criticized. This is what the BIBLE says about criticizing the church:
"What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. "Expel the wicked person from among you." I COR 5:12-13
Summary
Are you striving to do GOD’s will, per the Great Commandment? JESUS says straight up, it is much harder to live a life worthy of salvation than it is to just do what you want. Those who try to come to CHRIST according to their own will (compromising with the world) and not according to the WORD, will be rejected. The unfortunate truth is that many more people are lost than are saved. The "broad road" or the "narrow road" represents your choice to do your own will or to do GOD’s will – to honor JESUS’ sacrifice or to trample it under your feet. Obey or disobey.
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