165-Wide Gate and Narrow Gate#
165-Wide Gate and Narrow Gate
(JP Text Group - Sister Ren Wei's Compilation)
Today, the topic we share is the wide gate and the narrow gate.
The New Testament, Gospel of Luke, Chapter 13, Verses 22-30:
Jesus went through the cities and villages, teaching as He made His way to Jerusalem. Someone asked Him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And He said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, you will begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us!’
He will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ But He will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. And people will come from east and west, and from north and south and recline at table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your care and grace, allowing us to worship and praise You together. Lord Jesus, You are our Savior, You are our everything. Today we come before You, seeking You, knowing that we are saved because we believe in You. Please help us through this time today, renew our strength, and receive Your abundant supply for the new week ahead. Holy Spirit, guide me personally at this moment, help me to correctly understand You through Your words. Thank You and praise You, in the name of Lord Jesus, we pray, Amen.
The Bible actually has always been about two main lines:
God loves us very much, and He never forces us to accept His salvation. He also does not force us to accept His blessings; He gives us the opportunity to choose freely.
In the Garden of Eden, there were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and you could choose to eat or not to eat.
In Noah's time, there was the ark, and you could choose to enter or not to enter.
In Jesus' time, you could choose to believe in Him or choose not to believe in Him. To believe or not to believe.
People have the right to choose freely. When you choose which gate to enter, it determines that your life will be different after you enter that gate. Adam made the wrong choice from the beginning. God hoped he would choose the fruit from the tree of life, but he chose the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, resulting in a complete change in our lives.
Jesus came; Jesus is that tree of life. So we need to choose correctly. In the past, Adam made the wrong choice; today we must choose correctly.
At this moment, you should tell the person next to you: “Today, you must choose correctly.” Do not make the wrong choice again, because Adam has already missed it once. We cannot miss it again. Jesus is that tree of life.
Many people do not understand the issue of the narrow gate. Some even worry that if they sin, they will be disciplined by God. They believe that the most severe discipline is to have your name blotted out from the Book of Life and to be “thrown out” from the gate.
In some other religions, there is the concept of “purgatory.” The “purgatory theory” suggests that when your behavior is bad, you cannot directly enter the kingdom of heaven; this person is too terrible, and if they enter the kingdom of heaven directly, they would bring their sins in, so they are placed in purgatory for a while to suffer, to be burned by fire, and then when they awaken, they are taken out of purgatory and thrown into the kingdom of heaven.
Doesn’t that sound reasonable? How could a person as bad as me directly enter the kingdom of heaven? How could a person as corrupt as me directly enter the kingdom of heaven? It seems that this explanation is reasonable, but it does not conform to the Bible.
The Bible says there are only two gates: one is the narrow gate, and one is the wide gate. There are only two trees: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; you must choose one. There are no other gates between heaven and hell. If you do not choose Jesus, you can only choose destruction. So do not believe those who give you some wrong teachings: when your behavior is bad, God blots out your name and throws you into hell. Those who speak this way are mixing behavior with salvation.
We repeatedly emphasize: Our salvation has nothing to do with behavior.
Ephesians Chapter 2 makes it very clear: we are saved by the grace of God, Amen.
If we look at behavior, we are always uncertain. Some people say: the kingdom of heaven is not so easy to enter; you must endure many sufferings, and these sufferings are the lessons God gives us! If there are no sufferings, don’t think about entering the kingdom of heaven. So they start to pray: “Lord! Give me some suffering! I cannot live so comfortably! Those who say peace, peace are false prophets; Lord, please do not let me be too comfortable. If I am comfortable, I will fall away, and I will be far from You.”
It sounds like these people are just looking for a beating to feel comfortable. When Jesus came, He did not say, “I see you are living too comfortably, so I will give you some diseases and troubles to make you believe in me.” We are already suffering enough in this world; Jesus did not come to give you more pain; Jesus came to save you.
The meaning of Jesus’ name is that He will save His people from sin, not give us more sin. He saves us into His peace and into His joy. If entering the kingdom of heaven requires so much suffering, how many people could endure it?
But this statement is not entirely wrong; in the last days, during the last three and a half years, there will indeed be great suffering for those who have not accepted Jesus. During that time, those who want to accept Jesus must meet one condition—being killed. That is real suffering.
But that is not for us; it is for the Jews. The Bible says that when the number of Gentiles is complete, all of Israel will be saved. But they will suffer many tribulations before they can enter the kingdom of God. However, today is the age of grace, and all churches acknowledge that today is a time of grace. God freely gives us all that He has.
So we should not believe those wrong teachings; many people strive to seek suffering, striving to enter the narrow gate to avoid being cast away. They believe that the number of saved people is very few. They say, “Don’t think that just because you call on the Lord today, you can enter; only a few can enter. Some even misinterpret Revelation to say that in the future, only 144,000 people will be in the kingdom of heaven. Others should not think about going; the kingdom of heaven only has 144,000 people. Is that still called a ‘kingdom’? It has fewer people than our city!” This kind of statement is wrong.
The Bible indeed says, “Many are called, but few are chosen.” This means that many are invited, but very few can accept Jesus. Today we have invited many people to believe in Jesus; we have invited our friends, those around us, and those we meet, telling them to come and believe in Jesus! But did all those invited accept Jesus? No, only a small number accepted. This is what it means that many are called, but few are chosen.
So many people misunderstand this verse, thinking that today everyone enters the church, believes in Jesus, but still needs to be chosen; the victorious enter the kingdom of heaven, and the defeated go to hell. This kind of statement has no biblical basis.
So many people, in order to enter the narrow gate and be saved, make great sacrifices. Do you know why so many heretics abandon their families to preach the gospel? To enter the narrow gate. How many people do not believe they have already entered but are still trying to enter this narrow gate? They have not yet entered that gate. But we have already entered that gate and are beginning to enjoy the abundant blessings of Jesus. Do not say you have not entered; if you say you have not entered, your life will be miserable. This statement is incorrect. Is the kingdom of heaven really that hard to enter?
Let’s look at a passage from Matthew Chapter 7, Verses 13-14:
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
Unfortunately, this verse has also been misinterpreted by many people, turning it into a verse to scare believers. They say, “Don’t think that just because you enter this place, you are saved; I tell you, only our church can save you. Other churches cannot save you because the Bible says that the gate leading to destruction is wide and the way is easy, while the gate leading to eternal life is narrow.” In reality, some churches have made their church doors very narrow; if a person is too fat, they cannot enter. Does that mean fat people cannot be saved? Do they have to lose weight first?
We need to understand the Bible correctly: the Bible tells us there are two gates, one leading to destruction, which is wide. Many people also misunderstand God’s grace. They say, “Those who say you can be saved just by believing are liars. Those people have widened the gate; it’s not that easy to enter the kingdom of heaven.” This statement is completely inconsistent with the Bible.
Jesus indeed said, “You must strive to enter through the narrow gate,” and the meaning of “strive” here is to work hard; you should exert as much effort as you can and then start to enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus also said that the gate leading to destruction is wide, and many enter it. These words sound like there will indeed be very few people in the kingdom of heaven; it seems that there will not be many people in the kingdom of heaven. God’s words are indeed written this way. But we must believe that God is indeed a good God. He desires all to be saved and does not wish for anyone to perish. Therefore, God is particularly willing to reveal His truth to His people.
Let’s look at Revelation Chapter 7, Verse 9: After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.
Revelation has already told us that the number of people entering the kingdom of heaven will be so great that no one can count them. Is it that our intelligence is so poor that we cannot even count? This is the number of people saved by God. This is the answer the Bible gives us. This passage seems to contradict the earlier verse we read about “many are called, but few are chosen.” The Bible will never contradict itself.
Let’s first look at when Jesus said, “You must strive to enter through the narrow gate,” it was in the Old Testament. Please remember, the distinction between the Old and New Testaments is not the new and old in the Bible, but whether Jesus has been crucified. The New Testament only began when Jesus was crucified and His blood was shed. Before that, it was all the Old Testament. The Bible says, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. (Mark 14:24)” Only when He was crucified and His blood was shed did the New Testament truly begin.
At that time, Jesus had not yet been crucified; He was still under the Old Testament, and Jesus was explaining the contents of the New Testament to them. Brothers and sisters, what do you think the wide gate refers to?—Hell? This gate leads to destruction; it cannot be said that this gate is the gate of hell. It leads people to destruction. What can cause death? Is it not the law? That’s right.
The first point we share today: The wide gate refers to the law.
Luke Chapter 13, Verse 23: Someone asked Him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?”
This person’s question is problematic; he thinks that there cannot be too many people in the kingdom of heaven because at that time, Jesus was still under the Old Testament. This person means to say, “Lord! Are there very few people following You?” At that time, indeed, there were not many people following Jesus, and he thought that the number of saved people was also not many.
Based on the context, Jesus responded with the following words: “You must strive to enter through the narrow gate.” The salvation mentioned here does not refer to those who have already entered eternal life, those who have been washed by the precious blood, and those who are filled with the Holy Spirit. The people at that time were still under the law; the salvation mentioned here refers to those who became Jesus’ disciples during His preaching.
In other words, this person’s implication is: If only a few people follow You, then surely the number of saved people must also be very few, right? What is told here does not refer to those who will be saved in the future but is a questioning of Jesus by the person asking the question, to which Jesus replied: You must strive to enter through the narrow gate. Why did Jesus tell this person to keep the law? Do not forget, the law was given by Moses, while grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Jesus hopes that everyone will be saved; why did He give the law to this person?
To some people, Jesus gives them the law; these people are very proud and self-righteous. When this person says this, he is unwilling to follow Jesus. So Jesus says, “Since you say that the number of people saved by following me is so few, then you strive to enter through the narrow gate! You go keep your law! Go be saved by the law!” Then Jesus says, “I tell you, many will seek to enter and will not be able.” So Jesus means that you can choose not to accept me today, but remember, many will want to enter in the future and will not be able to. Do you understand?
Why did Jesus tell him to strive to enter through the narrow gate? Because they are unwilling to understand; these people often boast about the law; they boast using the law. For such people, Jesus gives them the law. This is a wisdom we need to learn today; for some people, we cannot give grace because the Bible clearly says: Do not give what is holy to the dogs, and do not cast your pearls before swine. Why can’t we give to pigs? Because they will bite you. For this group of proud people, self-righteous people who think they are strong, Jesus means to say: “Fine! Go keep the law! You don’t need to come to me.” Because he looks down on Jesus’ words.
Today in our lives, some people insist on believing that sickness is God’s love for them, that accidents are the best gifts God has given them, and that sickness is God’s lesson to refine them into pure gold. So what should you do? You should learn Jesus’ wisdom and say to them: “Fine! Then you refine a bit more! Strive to be purer.”
Do not argue with them. Just like this person said, “Lord! Are there very few people saved?” His implication is that there are so few people following You, so surely the number of saved people must be very few. Jesus never says, “Hurry and come follow me! This is the narrow gate! It’s very easy to enter!” For these proud people, Jesus will not invite them. But for those who sincerely seek Him, like tax collectors, soldiers, and prostitutes, Jesus personally reveals Himself.
So the Bible says, “God gives grace to the humble, but opposes the proud.” If you think you are strong, then go keep the law! Strive to enter through the narrow gate! So many people believe that suffering, sickness, and accidents are blessings from God. We just say, “Fine! May God bless you.” Do not argue with them; since they are willing to believe this way, let them believe it.
The gate leading to destruction in Greek originally means a large gate; the city gate; the palace gate; the temple gate; the prison gate. The second meaning refers to the great gate of hell. This is the gate that Jesus speaks of that leads to destruction, which is wide, using this term to refer to the city gate. Why must it be said to be the gate of the law? We need to have biblical basis to draw a conclusion.
In Deuteronomy Chapter 16, Verses 18-19:
You shall appoint judges and officers in all your towns that the Lord your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality, and you shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of the righteous.
This tells us that every city has judges. Each judge must judge according to righteousness. Where do they work? Do you know?
Let’s look at Deuteronomy Chapter 17, Verse 5: Then you shall bring out to your gates that man or woman who has done this evil thing, and you shall stone that man or woman to death with stones.
This describes that if someone worships false gods and is discovered, they will be judged and executed by stoning. So the place of their judgment is at the city gate. The city gate is where they carry out judgments! In ancient Israel, those sitting at the city gate were people of great status. When the people entered through the city gate, they began to receive various judgments. Any issues within your family would be judged at the city gate. Therefore, the city gate in the Old Testament refers to the place of judgment, where judges sit and begin to execute judgment according to God’s word and the law. When they find that some people have broken the law and deserve to die, they are punished there. So when these people commit a capital offense, they are taken outside the city gate and executed on the spot. This is the gate of the law.
Brothers and sisters, you see, if we are all under the law today, how many people can live? Some say, “I think I can keep all the laws.” Well, try it. Without saying anything else, just compare the Ten Commandments, and you will know whether you can live. In the future, when many want to enter this gate, they will find that the gate leads to death. When you walk through the gate of the law, you must ensure that you have no sin at all. Can this road be traversed?—No. But today, too many people are walking this way. Today, those who do not accept Jesus are under this gate, under the gate of judgment, while those who believe are not under that wide gate.
Please remember, brothers and sisters, those who do not accept Jesus and do not believe in Jesus are all under that wide gate today. That is the gate of the law. Once you make a mistake, judgment must be executed. Therefore, we must “interpret the Bible with the Bible” to let you understand that although many people walk the wide gate, the wide gate never exists with grace.
The law—the Ten Commandments were promulgated, and at the foot of the mountain, three thousand people died. Why did they die? Because these people worshiped the golden calf; they failed. At that time, Moses issued a command: each of you must take a sword and kill your brothers. The other side stands as my family, and now I must take up the sword and kill him. This is the law. There is no kinship or friendship; you cannot see grace in the law. Living under the law is very miserable. In the future, you will say, “Lord! Have mercy on me!” It will be too late. At that time, the death penalty must be executed, and you will go to hell.
This is why you must tell those around you to enter through the narrow gate because there is still time. The gate of the law leads many people to death. Today, many people question whether they must believe in Jesus to enter the kingdom of heaven. They think that doing good deeds and accumulating merit will allow them to enter the kingdom of heaven. This is entering through the wide gate, and such people will undoubtedly die. Because they have walked through a wide gate, they think that road is passable. In fact, it is wrong; there is only one road. Therefore, the wide gate refers to the law, while the narrow gate refers to the grace of Jesus Christ.
Let’s look at the word for narrow gate; it is a Greek word. It is the same as the previous one, a feminine noun. But the root is different. The meaning of this narrow gate is the entrance, the passage, the door for the sheep to enter, referring to the one who grants salvation to the followers, which here refers to Jesus. The open door is used to refer to opportunities, and it also means the gate of the kingdom of heaven. The Bible clearly remembers that the wide gate leads to death. That is the gate of the law, the gate of condemnation. Although this gate is a city gate, it is large and beautiful, it is dead. But this narrow gate does not mean the gate is small; it means that only through Jesus can one enter.
Jesus said clearly:
I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
In the original text, the expression is more accurate: I am the only way. Do not think about looking for another way; He is the only way to the kingdom of heaven.
In John Chapter 10, Verse 7: So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.”
Here, the door of the sheep uses the same word we just examined. Jesus said, “I am that narrow gate.”
In John Chapter 10, Verse 9: I am the door; if anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
This clearly tells us that Jesus is the door of the sheep; entering through the door of grace will surely lead to salvation. But is there anyone saved by entering the wide gate of the law? Yes. Only one person, Jesus. Jesus passed through that wide gate of the law, Amen!
The Bible says clearly:
Galatians 4:4-5 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
Please remember, throughout history, all who passed through the gate of the law have died! Only one person survived—Jesus. Jesus’ life was offered by Him, which means Jesus kept all the laws perfectly, but Jesus died under the law for us. In this sense, indeed, under the gate of the law, no one is alive; they are all dead. But entering through Jesus’ gate, that narrow gate, will surely lead to salvation, and you will go in and out and find pasture. Jesus wants to give you “pasture,” Amen! For sheep, grass is their most delicious food. Jesus said clearly: I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. This is Jesus Christ and His grace.
I previously spoke about the “eye of the needle” gate. It says that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. So the disciples said, “Then who can enter the kingdom of heaven?” Jesus replied, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Many people do not understand that passage.
Today I will briefly explain: that gate refers to a small door under the large city gate. That door is called the narrow gate, also referred to as the eye of the needle gate. At night, when the large city gate is closed, the small door opens. During the day, when the large city gate is open, the small door is closed. The large city gate refers to the gate of the law, which leads people to death. At night, when the gate of the law is closed, the door of grace opens.
To put it simply, when Jesus Christ came, He fulfilled the law, closed the gate of the law, and opened the door of grace. If you enter the city through this small door, can you still see those judges sitting at the city gate? Where did they go? They went off duty. They work during the day and do not work at night. So when Jesus Christ came, the law went off duty; it went home to sleep, didn’t it?
When you enter through this door into the kingdom of heaven, you cannot see the law teachers. But if it is daytime and you want to enter through that large city gate, those law teachers will be on duty, which is judgment. So I wish for each of us to enter through this small door, where you will see the abundant grace of Jesus Christ. Jesus did not say, “I am the door; you must strive to enter my door.” Jesus did not say “strive”; He said to those proud and self-righteous people, “You strive to enter the narrow gate by your own efforts.” When they find they cannot enter, Jesus says, “I am the door of the sheep; you can enter through me!” It is very easy to enter through Jesus’ door, Amen!
I will ask a common-sense question: Is it hard to enter the kingdom of heaven? If relying on oneself, it is very hard. It is almost impossible. Therefore, in the matter of entering the kingdom of heaven, do not think about adding your own behavior; adding your behavior means you cannot enter. Jesus said that for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle at night, it must unload all its burdens to enter independently. In other words, today, if you want to enter your kingdom of heaven, do not think about relying on any of your strengths, abilities, or achievements; just believe alone is enough. If you want to enter Jesus’ door, put down all the things you boast about in the past. Just believe in Him, and that is enough. Hallelujah.
So once you enter, you will receive that abundant grace. If you carry too many burdens, saying you cannot throw this or that away, you will not be able to enter. Jesus does not want you to carry these things because after you enter, He has prepared something better for you. Amen!
I will give a simple example: I have a very beautiful piece of jewelry made of pure gold; when I enter the kingdom of heaven, I must take that thing with me. Can I take it with me? Jesus says you should not bring these things. When you enter the kingdom of heaven, you will not need these things because there is something better inside the kingdom of heaven. This is what Jesus means when He says: “Those who enter through me will find pasture! I will give you the best.” Those who enter the kingdom of heaven, God prepares the best for them.
Entering the narrow gate is relying on the grace of Jesus Christ. After entering, learn to live by looking up to Jesus Christ every day. Hallelujah! Therefore, under the wide gate of the law, only Jesus Christ entered. Under this gate of grace, as long as you believe, everyone can receive it. Therefore, this gate symbolizes grace, mercy, and peace.
We must know that the gate is the place where the sin offering is presented. In the book of Genesis, Cain killed his brother Abel. Why did he kill his brother? Because his deeds were evil, not because his offering was worse than his brother’s. What was the issue? It was the issue of sacrifice.
In Genesis Chapter 4, Verses 6-7:
The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”
If we interpret this passage according to the text, it can be very binding. “You must strive to do good deeds, and then God will like you.” How many people live like this? How many people are trying hard to improve their reputation, status, and education to gain others’ acceptance? How many people are desperately trying to make themselves look beautiful so that others will accept them? These rely on behavior, relying on themselves. But God does not look at these things; God sees that Cain did such a thing, and in fact, God gave him an opportunity.
That is to say, when you do not do well, God says, “Look, I have given you an opportunity to be accepted just like your brother.” What is that? I have already placed the sin offering before you. So in the original text, “sin” and “sin offering” are completely the same word. According to the context, it should be translated as “sin offering.” When God sees that Cain’s behavior is not good and sees that Cain is angry, God is a loving God; He says, “Look, Cain, do not think that because you are doing poorly, you should harbor jealousy and regret. I give you an opportunity. Now the sin offering is at your door.”
Its desire is for you means it is always waiting for you; you must rule over it means you should take it and present it before me. Do you see God’s love? Even though Cain did such a thing, God gave him this opportunity, saying, “You present the sin offering that I have placed at your door before me, and you will be accepted by me.”
Today, God treats us the same way. Today, although we have sin and cannot be directly accepted by God, God says: “I have placed a sin offering at your door; take it and present it to me!” That refers to our Jesus. To put it simply, if you feel that your behavior is very bad, if you feel that the world cannot accept you, then please accept Jesus! Through Jesus, God will accept you, bless you, and lift you up. Hallelujah. The “sin” and “sin offering” mentioned here are the same, so God hopes that Cain does not kill his brother Abel. God hopes that he kills that sin offering. Hallelujah.
Jesus is our sin offering; God has already offered Him. This is a real sign of God’s love for us. Brothers and sisters, let’s present Jesus today. When you are willing to accept Jesus, you are presenting Jesus. “Lord Jesus, I acknowledge that I am a sinner! Jesus, You died on the cross for my sins; You are my sin offering.” When we believe this way, God has already accepted you. Because the blood of Jesus has already been presented before God. But one thing, our God has treated Cain with such grace; God says, “If you feel that you are doing poorly, look, I have placed the sin offering at your door. Present it to me.” This is our salvation. Why can’t God directly offer it for him?
Please remember: You cannot believe for your family, you cannot believe for your children. You can introduce this sin offering to them, tell them this is the door of the sheep. You can tell them this is the only way to enter the kingdom of heaven. But you cannot replace them in entering through the door. God can prepare the sin offering, but God cannot directly present the sin offering on our behalf. Salvation must be believed to be received. Do not believe others who say, “It doesn’t matter; when you go to heaven, I will grab your clothes and go up with you.” Do not accept such lies.
The problem is that Cain rejected it; he gave it up. He killed his brother, and as a result, he became more and more evil! The sin offering and the burnt offering were presented at the entrance of the tabernacle. Jesus is the door of the sheep; at the entrance, there is the sin offering. If there is no sin offering, no one can enter the holy place.
The tabernacle has one entrance; entering this entrance has a courtyard. Between the courtyard and the holy place of the tabernacle is the altar of burnt offering. Only the priests can enter the door of the tabernacle, and only the high priest can enter the Most Holy Place. Today, when Jesus presents the sin offering for us, all of us can directly enter the Most Holy Place. For 1500 years, the Jews could not keep the law. Today, do not try it either, because in terms of behavior, we are far worse than the Jews. So today we do not rely on good behavior; we do not enter the kingdom of heaven through the wide gate; we enter through the burnt offering and sin offering presented by Jesus Christ.
Let’s look at Exodus Chapter 40, Verse 29: And he set the altar of burnt offering at the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as the Lord commanded Moses.
Why must the burnt offering be presented at the entrance? The altar of burnt offering is where the burnt offering is presented; Jesus is our offering, so through Jesus, you can enter into the kingdom of heaven. This is the gate; Jesus opened a new way for us with His body. The key is whether people are willing to accept it. We have talked so much; if you say, “I do not accept, I do not believe.” There is nothing we can do; you are still under that wide gate. So for those who are very stubborn, we can only say: “Fine, then you strive to enter!” This is Jesus’ method.
Brothers and sisters, today do not miss this time because now is the time when the door of grace is open; entering means experiencing grace. One day, when the time comes, the door of grace will close. All churches today acknowledge that grace cannot go on indefinitely.
Let’s look at the next passage:
Luke 13:25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, you will begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us!’ He will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’
Wow! At this time, this group of people began to get close. “Lord, look, haven’t we eaten and drunk in your presence? Didn’t you teach in our streets?” Did they hear Jesus’ teachings?—Yes, but they may not necessarily be saved. So in Verse 27, the Lord repeats to them: “I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!” Today, if you believe in Jesus, you are a righteous person; the righteous are different from the wicked. The Bible calls them wicked; when the door of grace closes and judgment begins, those who cannot keep the entire law are called wicked.
Let’s continue to look at a passage from Hebrews Chapter 10, Verses 26-29:
For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?
Many people also use this passage to scare believers. “See, if you believe in Jesus today and then deliberately sin, there is no longer a sacrifice for sins; you can only go to hell.” Have many of us been scared by this? “Even if you believe in Jesus, if you dare to sin deliberately, just wait to die.” Ask the brothers and sisters if they have ever sinned deliberately? Everyone has sinned.
I will give you a very simple example: Do you know that hating someone is a sin? After you believe in Jesus, have you ever hated someone? This is deliberate sin, and according to this reasoning, no one can enter. Have you ever not forgiven someone? Wow. You all are very honest! This is knowing the truth and then deliberately sinning; what should we do? There is no longer a sacrifice for sins, so your confession is useless. Interpreting the Bible this way is too easy; it directly sends you to hell.
But we need to understand this sentence correctly. First, I will point out the important part for you.
For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, knowing the truth does not mean believing; this refers to unbelievers.
Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ (Luke 13:26)
Do these people know Jesus? Yes, they know what Jesus teaches, right? Jesus has told them many times, “Believe in me, and you will have eternal life; believe in me, for I am the one sent by God to save you.” They have all heard it, but the Bible never says that hearing means being saved. Knowing the truth proves you have heard it, but you have not accepted it. If today we tell you that Jesus is the only way to enter the kingdom of heaven, and you say, “I know.” Knowing does not mean you are saved; you must accept it. When a person hears about Jesus and knows about Jesus but deliberately sins, it means he is deliberately not believing.
Hebrews is a transitional book. These people clearly know that Jesus is the sin offering. They do not believe in Jesus and deliberately continue to offer bulls, sheep, and doves; this is despising Jesus. They do not believe that Jesus’ blood has cleansed their sins; they do not believe in Jesus and continue to offer animal sacrifices. This is deliberate sin. Jesus’ blood has already been offered, and they rely on animal sin offerings. They do not believe; the only outcome is death.
Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?
Do you know how people trample on Jesus? By insulting Jesus, beating Jesus, and not acknowledging Jesus as God; all of these are trampling on Jesus. They treat the blood that sanctifies them as common. Today, how many people treat the precious blood of Jesus as common? In the Old Testament, the blood of bulls and goats could atone for sins for a year; the blood of Jesus atones for sins for less than a day. In the morning, you say, “Jesus, thank You! Please keep me today and do not let me sin.”
Then you deliberately sin again, and by evening you say, “Lord! Please let Your precious blood cleanse me again!” How long?—A day. They treat the blood that sanctifies them as common. They do not believe that the blood of Jesus has eternal atoning power; they still rely on animal sin offerings. This is despising the blood of the covenant that sanctifies.
“And has outraged the Spirit of grace” tells us about the Spirit of grace! Do you know how many people today use the Holy Spirit? “You should seek the Holy Spirit to illuminate your sins!” Is the Holy Spirit doing this? The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of grace. Today, the Holy Spirit constantly reminds you: You are righteous in Christ, reminding you that you can live a life like Lord Jesus and reign; this is the work of the Holy Spirit. And we often think that the Holy Spirit is doing the work of the law. This is not believing in the Holy Spirit, blaspheming the Holy Spirit, and slandering the Holy Spirit.
Jesus clearly cast out demons by the Holy Spirit, and they said they used the prince of demons to cast out demons; isn’t this blaspheming the Holy Spirit? So today, if you do not understand, it does not matter, but do not mock the work of the Holy Spirit, “Those who speak in tongues are all heretics; they are using demonic things.” Do not say such things because you do not know what you are saying. If they are using the power of the Holy Spirit, you are attacking God.
Those under the law treat the blood of Jesus as common, blaspheme the Holy Spirit, and look down on the work of the Holy Spirit; what kind of punishment will they deserve? Because they are all under the law, such people are unbelievers! If they are believers, then your life is just a little pitiful.
Will those who have already accepted Jesus and believed in Jesus return to the law?—Yes. So today, many Christians have already accepted Jesus, have entered through that small door, but have returned to the law, seeking the high priest to judge them, seeking the Ten Commandments to correct them. Many people are like this! But you will find that they are very miserable, living very tired and suffering, yet they have to believe; this is their state. Today, we are not here; we are in Jesus Christ. God wants to give you abundant pasture and let you enjoy it.
The last passage, Revelation Chapter 3, Verses 20-21:
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.
This verse tells you today to be a victorious Christian; you have already accepted Jesus inside you; you are already sitting with Jesus. Today, rely on the power of Jesus to live a victorious life, Amen!
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father, we especially thank and praise You. We know that today we have a significant responsibility. Because many people around me have not yet entered through this narrow gate. They are still under the wide gate of the law, suffering in agony. Lord, give me strength to convey this way of life to them, so they can correctly believe in Jesus. I know I am in Your grace; I do not wish to return to the law and live by myself. I wish to rely on Your wisdom every day in my life.
Thank You and praise You, Jesus, You love me so much, You let me sit with You, and You also give me Your strength, allowing me to live by looking up to Your grace this week. You said that the victorious will sit with Him on the throne. Because You are victorious, I believe that today I am also victorious in this world.
Today, I do not rely on my own strength; I rely on Your strength. You are loved by God, and I am also loved by God; I am a person in Your kingdom. Thank You and praise You for loving us so much; all glory be to You. In the name of Lord Jesus, we pray, Amen!