Seeking The Narrow Way

If you do not desire salvation and think it not worth the pains of diligently seeking, then you are most likely to perish eternally.  If you continue to live in any known sin as stated in 1 Corinthians 6:9 and Galatians 5:19-21, you will most assuredly be in torment for eternity.  It needs to be clearly understood that I am not talking about other churches or people, but rather I am speaking to you and to myself.

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Having been mislead about salvation most of my life, I now realize the danger I face in spending eternity in hell.  This is not some cute testimony about how someone "found" Jesus through an addiction to drugs, sex, alcohol, or a marital challenge or life crisis, by praying or raising a hand.  But rather a striving, self-examining, self-denying, and enduring process fighting for salvation before it is too late, and realizing the danger of spending eternity in utter despair and anguish. 

 

Philippians 2:12 "...work out your salvation with fear and trembling."  Many in the church will tell you that salvation is easy to begin with and then the "hard work" begins.  This is utterly false and if you believe such nonsense then you are on a dangerous path to destruction.  This is why the Bible always states Lord first and Savior second and not the other way around as the church would want you to believe.

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Logically speaking, we know that anyone who starts a business/career or is engaged in athletic competitions has to make many sacrifices and train hard in order to succeed.   If you already had the "gold medal" or successful business/career to start with why would you even want to earnestly pursue the prize of success if you already had it?  As stated in God's Word 1 Corinthians 9:25-27, "Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things...  Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim, I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified."

 

Who hopes in something they already have?  If you already had the prize then there is no need to hope or endure to the end if you already have it.  Like Jacob in Genesis 32:25-26 "...Jacob wrestled with an angel of the Lord... and said I will not let you go unless you bless me."  Jacob fought and endured to receive the great prize of salvation and the Lord gave him this great blessing, not on the basis of Jacob striving or working hard but rather on God's mercy towards him.  Reader if you do not think this prize is worth diligently pursuing or you give a haphazard attempt towards obedience to God's Word than I can assure you that you will perish for all of eternity.   This is the WAY He has decreed whom He will save for all of eternity.  Some He will suffer long in saving and others He will save sooner, but you need to accept the Way He has established in His word, and not pretend you are the god of your salvation.  

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How do you awaken someone in or outside the church to the dangers of hell?  2 Corinthians 5:11, "Therefore, knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men..."  That means you urge or exhort people to understand the other attributes of who God is (wrath, judgement, hatred of sin, etc.)  You would be hard pressed to find anyone in the church speaking of the terror of the Lord today.  Most preachers and teachers in the church are silent to the doctrine of hell or give only "lip service" to hell.  If they do, they say that hell is "separation from God" or hell is a "bad place."

 

To most churches and people, God is all merciful and loving and only sends really, really, bad people to hell.  The rest of us have some jaded sense of what true Christianity really looks like, or we live good moral lives that give us a false sense of peace and security.  Separation from God is exactly what most people want.  They want to be their own god.  God is omnipresent; so it is foolish to think that you can separate yourself from Him.