NeoTheism
The Narrow Gate
Matthew 7:13-14
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.
NKJV
We need to develop two of these points - one is fairly simple, namely, that Jesus is the only road to salvation.
John 14:6 (NIV)
6 Jesus answered,
I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me.
John 3:18 (NIV)
Whoever
believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands
condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one
and only Son.
John 3:36 (NIV)
Whoever
believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will
not see life, for God's wrath remains on him.
These are but a few of the verses that make it clear God has established a single pathway to salvation and eternal life, namely full belief and trust in Jesus as Lord, King, and Savior. For more information on Jesus as God review our studies on God and the Trinity.
There is a second point we need to use as a foundation to the discussion that follows. This point deals with the Attributes of God, His character and essence. In particular, we should keep in mind that God is all-powerful and all-knowing. He is outside of our time. If you would like a human analogy, the time and space of earth is like a vast river flowing through a deep canyon full of twists and turns. A person at the mouth of the canyon (the beginning of time) cannot see what lies beyond the next bend, let alone see the end of the canyon (“the end of history”). God sits so high above the canyon, that He may see the entire expanse all at the same time. He sees all things.
But, this attribute stretches beyond the canyon, for God sees not only the actual events, but He understands what events might occur if certain other events occur. He understands and knows how an individual person will react in a given set of circumstances at a given point in time. In other words, God not only knows what does occur (from our perspective) but also all of the possibilities that might have occurred and their consequences. This includes understanding how these different possibilities would interact with each other.
