THROUGH THE BIBLE IN THREE YEARS
A man reached the age of 100, and a reporter was interviewing him.
"To what do you attribute your ability to reach 100?" asked the reporter.
The man said, "Well, son; I never drank, smoked, or chewed. I ate only health food, and walked five miles each day."
The reporter said, "Hmmm. I had an uncle that did that same thing. He died at 62."
The man said, "Well, son; all I can say is, he didn't keep on keeping on."
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________SCRIPTURE_____________________________________________________
Matt 7:13-14
13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
KJV
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_______THOUGHT_________________________________________________________
Reading this statement, we have to just exclaim "WOW!" to Jesus' choices of vocabulary in relation to His audience. Some of the audience were already believers, and some were not.
"Gate" reflects the opening to something.
"Way" reflects the ROAD.
And note that "destruction" is used as an opposite to "life," which is eternal joy with Christ.
With those terms in mind, one can readily see that Jesus is putting salvation and life after salvation on a personal level!
First, to receive salvation we must "Enter YE in at the straight gate..."
That gate is narrow, like the opening to a sheep fold. And Jesus said HE is the "door" of entry for sheep (people) who want to have eternal life (See John 10:9). That indeed is a NARROW gate! If one would be saved, he/she MUST surrender to Jesus as Lord! There is NO OTHER gate!! (See John 14:6).
Second, once we enter the Gate, we must walk the "Way."
The WAY (road) of destruction is an easy road. All we have to do is just let ourselves go. There are a billion ways to hell. But there is only ONE "way" to heaven; that is to walk WITH Christ. And that road is both unpopular and uphill! It is unpopular because it is morally right and we, along with all other humans, are morally wrong. It is uphill because it means constant striving to improve our moral character.
Yes. Salvation is a PERSONAL commitment to Christ.
And once we have committed to Him, then living is a personal struggle of integrity.
Love ya,
Bruce