The Question Of Salvation: The Narrow Door
And someone said to Him, 'Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?" 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. Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, 'Lord, open up to us!' then He will answer and say to you, 'I do not know where you are from.' Then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets'; and He will say, 'I tell you, I do not know where you are from; Depart from Me, all you evildoers.'
Luke 13:23-27 (NASB)
Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father Who is in Heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your Name, and in Your Name cast out demons, and in Your Name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.'
Matthew 7:21-23 (NASB)
Clearly, the sobering Scriptures above encourage us to study salvation.
Our Father says, life here is 'But a breath' (Job 7:7), while life beyond this world is eternal… 'Which God, Who cannot lie, promised long ago' (Titus 1:2). As our Teacher, Jesus put it this way: 'This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom You have sent' (John 17:3).
But what if Christians don't truly know Him? Or much worse, what if He doesn't know them?
At this life’s conclusion, two doors await. Stunningly clear will be Heaven’s Bright Door. At that grand moment, no one wants to hear: 'I never knew you. Depart from Me.'
These warnings aren’t for the world, but for us: We who claim to be His body, His church. Because some who prophesy, fight demons, and perform miracles… are pretenders. The spirit inside of them isn’t God’s.
Jesus calls them lawless evildoers. Is He warning us? Yes! But also them.
So we don’t mindlessly follow them.
So they might repent before it's too late.
Puffed-up saints can’t fit through the Narrow Door.
The Question Of Salvation: The Narrow Door (Part 3)
NOTE: This is a 2023 update of a 2013 Carey Lewis Devotion. You may see notes to 'Actors, Models & Talent for Christ.' If you think you're not in show business, think again. Shakespeare said, 'All the world's a stage and all its men and women merely players. Mostly true. But you're not merely players. You are messengers and ambassadors for the King of kings.