Matthew 7:13-14
The Narrow Way
13 “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. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
[Mainstream Doctrine teaches us that everyone who believes in Jesus will go to Heaven. While there are scriptures that seem to indicate this is true, they have to be isolated from all other scripture in order to create this doctrine. Jesus’ words in Matthew 7 inform us that few will find the narrow path. Yes, Jesus really said this.]
Matthew 7:21-23
I Never Knew You
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
[Just a few verses later, Jesus tells us this bit of scary scripture. While all scripture is important, I think we should pay very close attention to the words of Jesus, especially when He is providing a warning. In this passage, Jesus tells us only those who do the will of His Father in heaven will enter the kingdom of heaven. What is the will of the Father? He gave it to us in Torah instruction, even writing some of it in stone tablets with His own finger. Yes, I’m talking about ‘the law’.
Many claim to have done good works in the name of Jesus, but how does He respond?
“I never knew you.”
“Depart from me,”
“you who practice lawlessness.”
Whoa… That is harsh.
Jesus does not say depart from me you who follow the law.
He sends away those who do not follow the law.
We are not taught this in church.
But, yes, Jesus really said that.]
Matthew 19:16-22
Jesus Counsels the Rich Young Ruler
16 Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” 17 So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ 19 ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” 20 The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
[In this story, a young man asks Jesus what he must do to have eternal life.
Did you catch how Jesus answered His question?
“But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
What do you think? Should we listen to Jesus?
Should we obey the commandments?
I say yes, we should.]
Matthew 23:1-3
Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2 saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.
[Matthew 23 is one of the harshest chapters in the whole bible. It consists of Jesus rebuking the Pharisees for turning away from the word of God and burdening the people with their own traditions.
But He begins by telling the people to “observe and do” what the Pharisees teach from Moses’ seat. Through research, we learn that teaching from the seat of Moses consisted of reading from the Torah scroll word for word. Jesus is telling the people to observe and do the law given in Torah, but then He goes on to tell them not to do what the Pharisees teach and do of their own accord.
Yes, Jesus just told the people of His time, and every person to read this afterwards to follow Torah.]
John 14:15
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
[This one is short and sweet. Jesus tells us to keep His commandments, as that shows our love for Him.]
John 14:
“He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.”
[Just a few verses later, we get a very similar statement. It must be important for Jesus to tell us this twice, in rapid succession. Maybe we should do it? I vote yes.]
John 5:45-47
Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you trust. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”
[Again, Jesus tells us that the words of Moses’ are valid. Jesus goes so far to ask why would we believe Him if we don’t believe the words of Moses?
If Jesus thinks this is important, then maybe WE should think this is important. Have you read the words of Moses, with the idea that they are valid, as Jesus indicates multiple times?]
Matthew 28:16-20
The Great Commission
16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
[Ahhh, yes, the Great Commission…
Everybody knows this one, right? Can you quote it word for word?
Don’t forget verse 20: “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.”
Refer to Matthew 23:2-3
Yes, Jesus just told us to teach our disciples to follow the law.]
Luke 16:19-31
The Rich Man and Lazarus
19 “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. 20 But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, 21 desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. 26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’ 27 “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, 28 for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ 29 Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’”
[Did you catch that in verse 31? In this story, Jesus tells us we need to listen to Moses and the prophets. What did they teach us?]
Matthew 5:17-19
17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
[These verses are Jesus’ preface to the Sermon on the Mount, where He directs people to follow Torah law instead of the man-made doctrine that the Pharisees teach.
Did you catch that in verse 18?
Not one pen stroke of the law will pass until heaven and earth have passed away. That hasn’t happened yet, but it will happen…
Did you catch that in verse 19?
If you break the least of one of these commandments, and teach to break – will be considered the least.
If you do and teach to do the commandments of the Torah law, you will be considered the greatest.
Straight from the mouth of Jesus.
Do you want to be considered great or least by Jesus?]
Revelation 14:12
Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
[Church doctrine has made a mess of things, going back many centuries and many generations. Thankfully, Jesus gave us some instructions for the future, just in case we get confused along the way.
In Rev 14:12, Jesus tells us who the saints are…
Did you catch that? He gave us two criteria.
1. Keep the commandments of God
2. Have faith in Jesus
Whoa…
Churches do a great job of teaching #2. But what about #1??
They teach the exact opposite!!
What warning does Jesus give us in Revelation about not following what He says in the book of Revelation?
Revelation 22:19
“ and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”
Do you want to be removed from the Book of Life? Do you want to be excluded from the city of New Jerusalem?
You might want to start working on #1 above, as Jesus tells us it takes two criteria to be a saint.]
Revelation 12:17
And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
[In this passage, Jesus tells us about the remnant of the church in end times. It is this remnant that Satan will attempt to destroy. How is the remnant described?
1. Keep the commandments of God
2. Have the testimony of Jesus
This is the second time Jesus has made this point. Should we listen?
What was the punishment for removing words from the book of Revelation?
Should we teach and do both #1 and #2?
I think yes.]
Revelation 22:12-15
Jesus Testifies to the Churches
12 “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” 14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. 15 But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.
[Again, a third time, when Jesus testifies to the churches, He tells us to do His commandments. Three times, in one book. Maybe we should listen to Him. Do you want to have the right to the tree of life? You had better not be loving and practicing a lie.
Is it a lie to teach and practice to NOT follow the commandments of God?
According to Jesus, yes, it is.
What do you practice?]
In case you missed it, these are the words of your Messiah.
Direct quotes of Jesus.
Will you obey what He says?
You may be thinking this is not what you have been taught. I also was not taught these things…
But we can clearly see what is important to Jesus.
Will you follow Him?
Or will you reject His words and continue to believe the mainstream church message?
If you are wondering how the church has gotten this wrong, check out 2 Peter 3:14-18.
We are warned against what the mainstream church teaches.
Be Steadfast
14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; 15 and consider that the long suffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, 16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures. 17 You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; 18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.
We are taught by the mainstream message that we are saved by faith in Jesus (yes, that is half of it), and that we are not required to “do” anything, except believe in Grace…
Does this teaching pass the test of comparing it to what Jesus said?
Who will you believe and follow?
Your pastor, who bases His doctrine off the misunderstood writings of Paul (via Seminary teachings)?
Or will you believe and follow Jesus?
