The Narrow Gate ~ Blog
The Ramp / Chosen - The Narrow Road / YouTube
Beloved,
You might be mistaken if you have been taught and still believe that Matthew 25:31-46 regarding the separation of the sheep from the goats means God will separate all the Christians from all the non-Christians. Read it again below...
Matthew 25:31-46 NKJV
31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
44 “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
No, beloved, there are even those in the camp of the Lord that are not His. It is those who have a heart to serve His people that He calls His sheep. It is those who kick against Him, His Word, and His ways that make themselves out to be goats. This very much aligns with Luke 13.
Luke 13:24-27
24 “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ 26 then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ 27 But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’
It is time, beloved. Time to get right with God. Ask Him to give you His heart for those around you, including your own family. Jesus loved, served, and sacrificed. When you look at your family and friends, imagine Jesus walking the earth for 3 1/2 years with the 12 He'd chosen to follow Him. He didn't choose the wisest, smartest, kindest, or even the most popular. He chose men who needed Him every single day. He chose people who needed to be discipled into His Kingdom ways and the Kingdom mindset. And in the end, God got all the glory for the lives that were changed and the ministry that went forth because they could never have done it on their own.
I will close this out by saying, 'therefore strive to enter through the narrow gate.' Let me share with you, beloved, what the word strive actually means.
- To devote serious effort or energy.
- To try very hard to do something or to make something happen, especially for a long time or against difficulties.
- To struggle or fight forcefully' contend.
Comments
Post a Comment