Hell Will Be Filled With People Who Admire Jesus

[Mrs. Sharon B. Hodge]

Sunday, October 12, 2008


Hell will be filled with people who admire Jesus
Category: Religion and Philosophy

Hell will be filled with people who admire Jesus

Stunning statement really and clearly taught in the bible. Religion usually is a huge stumbling block when it comes to joining Jesus' narrow way to salvation. Imagine what it was like when Jesus had a huge crowd listening to His every word and He makes the following statement: "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. "For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. (Matthew 7:13-14).

Jesus didn't seem to be going after kudos with His teaching. In fact, He spoke favorably to the few and not so nicely to the majority. Some reading this blog might think there are many choices on how to properly live for God; there are only two and they are pointed out as the "narrow gate" or the "wide gate". Jesus says there is a religion that is true and the rest are false. Just how good do we need to be? "For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:20 "He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt" Luke 18:9. So being self-righteous in a religious way is part of the broad gate.
Both gates claim heaven but only one leads there. One is self-righteous and the other is Divine righteous. So we must be more than fascinated with Jesus and enter His "narrow gate." Jesus says, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no man comes to the Father but by Me." Jesus says, "I am the Door, if any man tries to come in any other way, he is a thief and a robber." In Acts 4:12 it says, "There is no salvation in any other name, for there's no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved." There's only one way to be saved, there's only one person who is the Savior and faith in that Jesus is required for salvation.

How about 1 Timothy 2:5, "There is one God, one Mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." No other Mediator, no other Savior, no other Way. Faith, saving faith, demands...Romans 10:17 says...hearing with faith the message of Christ. Faith comes by hearing the message concerning Christ. Christ and Christ alone is the gate. No Christ, no salvation. No Christ, no heaven.

We must enter that gate alone. Joining a religion doesn't do it. It's personal and it's not by being baptized or self-righteous but an intensely personal relationship and it may require you giving up every relationship and everything you have here on earth (Matthew 10:34). Are you starting to realize just how narrow this gate is? "Few there be that find it" shatters the easy believe "ism" that has swept our nation the past several decades … ever wonder why Jesus just didn't tell all those people they only had to say a little prayer and ask "Him" into their lives? You know why, because that's not the gospel. How flippant and careless we have become about the gospel.

Repentance, surrendering our self-focused wills, and having our lives restructured by His word is the tough "narrow gate" we are commanded to pursue. We are to become slaves to God and This is not a soft option, we're to deny ourselves, fight off pride and be humble, attack compromise and leave our personal desires behind. One must declare war on the forces of Satan and sin, this is no easy and simple conversion decision. It's against our human will and it's against the tide of the majority. Luke 12:32 says "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."
It was Spurgeon who said this, "You and your sins must separate, or you and your God cannot come together. No one sin...he said...may you keep, they must all be recognized for what they are. They must be brought out like the Canaanite his kings from the cave and hanged up in the sun. You must forsake them, abhor them and ask the Lord to overcome them." This is what the New Testament calls "turning from sin to serve the living God."

2 Corinthians 13:5-6: Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? -unless indeed you fail to meet the test! I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test.
Note: Pastor John MacArthur's sermons are challenging and thought provoking, www.gty.org. Video and audio available for computers or i-pods.