Pressing In And Moving On

Today in the western world and in much of the Body of Christ there is a crisis that has happened and is still happening. We have seen the devastation of legalism on the human heart through the fruit of a hell fire and brimstone message. This type of message although it was truth, came across as a human effort trying to help people stay pure. Rebellion to the message of legalistic holiness was countered with what I’m calling a cheap grace message. Cheap grace is a subtle but destructive message that perverts the true grace of God empowering us to live in sin and compromise as though God doesn’t mind. The Church in this hour is not in need of a message that gets us off the hook. What it does need is a clear understanding of what I am going to call happy holiness. In this Mini-Series I am going to be covering the idea of you and I living before God and Man on the Straight and Narrow.

In the Book of Matthew chapters five through seven Jesus lays out line by line Christianity 101. He walks us through the idea of a New Covenant lifestyle, dealing not as much with the outward but the inward. He talks about what a Christian’s heart should look like and what his new outward actions and reactions to this present age should be. Our outward reaction is now called to come from an inward condition. Matthew chapter seven and verse’s thirteen and fourteen say this;

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it”.

Here Jesus lays out the basic premise that the way you and I enter into eternity is through a narrow gate as opposed to a large wide one. Today more than ever before we see our culture inviting us to enter into a so called eternity though a wide door that includes many eastern and humanistic ideas of empty and vain religions. The word “many” that Jesus uses in this passage is a word that is translated majority. Jesus is telling us that the majority of humanity even folks who call themselves Christians will travel the busy, wide, easy road to a eminent destruction. As beleivers in Christ who are looking for a city who’s builder and maker is God we have need of this wise counsel. In the Gospel of Luke chapter thirteen and verse twenty-four Jesus uses the word strive when He says this, “strive to enter the narrow gate”. That word strive is a word that is translated fight, or contend. These are not words of ease and passivity asking us to enjoy our liberties in Christ but words that should provoke great thought and concern in the hearts of hunger beleivers. So many today in the Church are calling this narrow gate that Jesus Himself calls humanity into a path of legalism and a cumbersome load that we shouldn’t have to bare. The goal of this life in my opinion is not trying to see how close we can get to the fire of sin and compromise and still love God. Many would call that idea, you and I enjoying our liberty in Christ. If that’s what were going to call liberty in Christ I don’t want anything to do with it. That liberty leaves me dull, disconnected and board in my relationship with this Beautiful Man.

In my upcoming posts I am going to talk more about the straight and narrow, cheap grace, a permissible Gospel and how we live in this present hour. Those are in no specific order. Until next time…..