...the premise of my third book [Final Daze: God's Way or the Highway] is built around the text found in Matthew 7:14-23 “You can enter God’s Kingdom
only through the narrow gate. The
highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and
the road is difficult, and
only a few ever find it.
(Therefore): “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.
“
Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’
will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day
many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord!
We prophesied in your name and
cast out demons in your name and
performed many miracles in your name.’But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’" (NLT)
It is evident to me, that the road to hell is traveled by a large number of folks. Some are rotten to the core sinners, and many more are well meaning, good intentioned people.
However, the fact remains: Jesus said that, Unless you have been born-again" you will not see heaven!
That doesn't say unless you are a Methodist; Lutheran, Catholic; Baptist; AofG; WOF; Independent; Non-denominational; Presbyterian; Episcopal; Mennonite; CoG in Christ; Mormon; Seven-Day Adventist; etc., etc., etc.!
Unfortunately, the highway to hell is crowded, and unless those folks that have trusted in the catechism, church membership, infant baptism or whatever come to Jesus and confess Him as Lord and be born-again, as Jesus told Nicodemus to do, there looks like God has no other option but to send them packing for eternity in hell!
Believe me, this makes me sad, because I have many family members, as does my wife, who are trusting things other than Jesus to get them to heaven, and because they think that I am some kind of nut or fanatic by preaching ye must be born-again, they too will be lost.
I'd love to believe something else, and I secretly hope I am wrong, but the Word of God seems concise and matter of fact when it comes to this, and that leaves me with a very heavy heart.
My first youth pastor job was in the United Church of Christ. I loved the pastor and his sweet wife, as did I love all the wonderful, supportive folks in that church. HOWEVER, when I caught a Billy Graham message on television and saw him holding an alter call and getting respondents to pray the sinner's prayer, a light went off within me, and I started to hold alter calls after each youth service, and before I knew it, there were more than 300 kids in the Jr-Sr High groups, and most of them had accepted Jesus as Savior.
One night the pastor came to a youth group concert I scheduled, and after the group finished singing, I had a short message and encouraged kids to come forward and accept Jesus and pray the sinner's prayer.
This infuriated the pastor, and the next day he sat me down and told me that this was not how [people came to Christ. He believed in the eight weekly classes and confirmation of the attendees being taught how to become a Christian, and their given a membership card once they knew the creeds and could recite the membership statement in front of the church at which time they were given their official cards, and their names were written in the church roles.
I was given an ultimatum, to quit doing alter calls, or resign. I resigned.
raying:
