Skip to main content

The Wide Gate

Other than being wide, Jesus does not describe the gate. In my past, I thought of a narrow gate as a garden gate and a wide gate as a cattle gate. This dream had a gate much wider. If we were describing the gate we would say “very, very” or “extremely” wide. In my dream I did not see any gate posts. They were beyond my horizon. Nor did I see a swinging gate. It was always open, of course wide open, and crowded with people entering it. It would seem that this should be a toll gate, but there was no evidence of any ticket dispenser. The absence of these allowed a conclusion that this was a free way. This was apparently a planned deception, for the broadway was a toll road and payment was made at the destination. Few, if any, of the people on the road know that there is payment at the end.

Some people on the road suspect that there is payment required, but they are not worried because they think their credit is good. That is a minor error. The major deception is that they believe that these many, almost parallel, broad roads are leading to Heaven and they have good credit for Heaven. These roads are going to destruction and everyone has earned his way.

Jesus said many people go in the wide gate. A gate does not have to be wide for many people to go in it. They can go in one at a time in single file. However, the gate has to be wide for many people to enter at the same time. That is the case here. Hundreds of thousands are entering the wide gate daily.

The road is described as broad, but it is not described as short or long.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ripe for Harvest: Prepared to Give an Answer

As you read through the book of Acts, look at every conversion, and see what happened right before it: what was said, who said it. The situations are the same today.     A long time ago, my duty in the Officer’s Christian Fellowship was the east coast of the United States. I went to an officer’s office at Fort Lee, VA, and stayed overnight, then I went on to Norfolk and Fort Bragg.    Forty years later, I was no longer on the staff of OCF, but I had to go to Denver. While I was in Denver, I checked in at the OCF offices. There was the same Air Force officer I had met in Fort Lee, retired now, a colonel. I had stayed in his house when he was a first lieutenant. He asked me, “Do you know what happened when you stayed overnight?” I said, “No, I just remember staying in your home.” He said, “You led the next-door neighbor to Christ.” I had no memory of it.    Ten years after that, I was speaking at a banquet at the Hotel Salisbury, and who was th...

Why Is Obedience So Hard?

There are several reasons why obedience seems hard. I will comment on some of them and then speak positively on how obedience is easy. We think: 1) Obedience is an infringement on freedom. Since we are free in Christ, and obedience is somehow contrary to that freedom, we conclude that obedience is not good. Yet we know it is good. Thus, we become confused about obedience and are not single-minded. 2) Obedience is works. We who have been justified by grace through faith are opposed to works; therefore, we are opposed to obedience. 3) We have tried to obey and have failed—frequently. Therefore, the only solution is to disobey and later confess to receive forgiveness. It is easier to be forgiven by grace than to obey by effort. 4) We confuse obedience to men with obedience to God. Although these are sometimes one and the same (see Romans 13, 1 Peter 2-3, Ephesians 5-6, Colossians 3, and Titus 2), sometimes they are not the same (see Colossians 2:20-23, Mark 7, 1 Timothy 4:1-5, a...

Marriage Counseling, Part 2

Dear Friend, This letter is long overdue. It has been in my head for months. First, I think you know that I both love you and like you and respect you. If you do not know that, please take my word for it. You know that I am willing to be confronted without dissimulation. In the many years we have known each other, I have assumed you were a Christian. I do not have to know absolutely (God knows those who are His). You have had an interest and an education in Christianity. Even if you were not, or are not, a Christian, this does not affect my love, like, or respect for you. The last few times we have been together, you have assured me that any adultery was in the past and that you were ready to get right with the church and with your family and that you had repented toward God. You assured me that you loved your wife and your children and you were committed to them. I recognize that Christians can (and sometimes do) sin repeatedly. I also understand that it is possible for Chri...