Travel the Right Road Matthew 7:13-14; John 14:6

It is often said that in America, “you can do anything that you want to do.” Now, this sounds good but this statement is more of an ideal than a reality. When I was in school the Green Bay Packers won the National Football League (NFL) championship. I was learning to play football and I thought that maybe I will grow up and become a Green Bay Packers. However, after I make our high school football team I have to face some realities. I will never be big enough and fast enough to make a professional football team. In this case I cannot be what I want to be. So, I ask myself this question: What do we mean when we say that in America anyone can be whatever they want be and do anything that they want to do? It means that there are no laws that prevent one from being anything that they want to do. There are some other factors that may prevent a person from doing what they want to do. This is a reality that has been proven to be true in the history of our country that we call “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” In this article I will address the factors that can prevent one from getting into heaven; the place where God the Father resides. According to Jesus there is only one way or one road that can get us into heaven.

The way to heaven is an important topic for the church today. Today, there are many people that believe that all religions worship the same God. It is also believed that all religions lead to God. I believe that the scriptures record that according to the words of the prophets, Jesus, and the apostles this teaching is absolutely false. Some will say that the Bible is just an ancient text that tells us about two faith communities, the Israelites (Judaism) and Christianity. Other religions have their sacred text, and they are just as valid as the bible. Since I am writing for the benefit of a Christian audience primarily, I will address this topic from a biblical point of view. The bible is the Christian’s guide for faith and practice. So, although there are many roads to travel in life, we hold that there is only one road that leads to heaven and to God. Let us look at the scriptures.

I believe that the first thing that a person should know is that there is only one God. God cannot be known except God reveals Himself to us. Moses, like a lot of people searched for God. Each person has their own reason that they want to find God. In Moses’ case, He wants to know why some people suffer at the hands of other people. Moses searches for God, but Moses cannot find God. Then, one day Moses looks up into a mountain. He sees a bush that is burning. In this desert it is common to see a bush on fire. This bush, however, is different. The bush continues to burn. Moses decides to investigate this phenomenon. When Moses is getting close to the bush God calls him by his name. God reveals Himself to Moses. He tells Moses that He is the same God that had called Abraham. From this point on the in the Old Testament God is described as the only God. God can be known only if God reveals Himself.

The second thing that we need to know is that God does not change His mind. Because God does not change His mind, God does not change His Word and His words. John begins his Gospel by saying, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Greek word logos is translated into the English as “Word.” Logos refers to the mind of God. It is how God thinks. God is eternal and therefore everything about God is eternal. There is nothing about God that ever changes. Because God never changes we can be assured that whatever God says today is the same that He said from the beginning. This is important because any religion and its leader that disputes what the Christian God says are to be regarded in the same way that the false prophets were regarded in Old Testament times. The god that they speak about is not God. Isaiah writes, “‘Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and His redeemer, the LORD of hosts: ‘I am the first am I am the last, and there is no God besides Me’” (Isa. 44:6, NASB).

In the Scriptures God proclaims that He alone is able to redeem mankind. God alone can restore us to a right relationship to Himself. It is not the words written in a book that redeems us. The books record what God says and what God does on our behalf for God’s own glory. Now there are many Christian theologians that describe the Bible as the written Word of God written by the hands of men that are inspired by the Spirit of God. This makes the Bible a valid and true document given to us by God. Thus, we must believe what is written in the Bible. Jesus gives us this description of the Scriptures: He says, “‘You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me’” (Jn. 5:39, NASB). In this discussion with the religious leaders Jesus declare that He is sent from the Father whom they have never seen His form or heard His voice (Jn 6:37-38, NASB). Jesus is the Word of God come in human flesh to reveal to us the mind of God. Thus the words that Jesus speaks are the mind of God. What does Jesus say about the road to heaven?

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus gives us a description of two roads that a person might travel. We get on the road by entering through a gate. In modern times we might say that a person must take the right exit to get on the right road to a particular destination. Jesus says “‘Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it’” (Matt. 7:13-14, NASB). Matthew records these words of Jesus because he is writing to an audience that has diverse opinions about how one gets into the kingdom of heaven where God resides. Matthew wants his audience to know that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God. He is the Redeemer sent from God. Jesus knows that most people that hear His words do not believe in Him. Their disbelief proves that they do not believe the words of God found in the writing of the prophets and the psalmists. They do not believe the Scriptures.

Jesus says that only a few people believe in Him. Jesus does not meet the qualifications that most people have for the Savior. I have noticed that people often read their bible to find words that they can use to support their own points of view; their agendas. Jesus says that the Scriptures and our own limited understanding of them are not written to support our agendas. Rather, they are written to tell us about the God that redeems us through the suffering servant Jesus Christ.

We must believe in Jesus. We must believe His words. John 5 records Jesus defense of Himself and His works. Jesus heals a man on the Sabbath Day, a violation of Law according to the views of the Jews. Jesus says to His opponents, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working” (Jn 5:17, NASB). The Jews reject Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God, but Jesus defends His work saying, “‘Truly, truly, I say to you, , the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner’” (5:19).

Jesus completes His earthly ministry. Before he goes to the cross to die for the sins of the world Jesus prepares His disciples for His return to the Father. He is giving them the assignment to proclaim to the world that Jesus is the Redeemer sent from God. John 14-17 records a significant amount of Jesus’ last instructions to His disciples. “Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (Jn. 14:6, NASB). John records these words of Jesus because his primary audience is confronted by many philosophies and religious group that claim to be the way to the Father and eternal life. In this verse the definite article “the” means that Jesus says that He is the exclusive; and the one and only way (road) to God. These words of Jesus recorded in John are words that declare that the words that Matthew records in 7:13-14 have the same meaning. Most people look for a way to God through means that exclude Jesus. Only those that find the narrow gate who is Jesus travel the road to the Father and eternal life.