Not everyone …
If all you did was go to funerals, you would conclude that everyone goes to heaven. We know that is not true. In fact, Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it (Matthew 7:13-14 HCSB). Now I am not saying that we should stand up and say the person in the casket is going to hell, that is not the time or the place. But I do wonder if we have subtly bought into the lie that all good people go to heaven. In our head we know that is not true, but it seems to me that we live like it is true. Let’s face it, if we lived like it were true, wouldn’t we be more aggressive in winning the lost? Wouldn’t our prayer time be filled with prayers about family members and friends who are lost?
That concerns me, but what concerns me even more are Jesus’ words later in this passage that I mentioned in the message Sunday. Here it is: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but ⌊only⌋ the one who does the will of My Father in heaven. On that day many will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, drive out demons in Your name, and do many miracles in Your name?’ Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you! Depart from Me, you lawbreakers!’ (Matthew 7:21-23 HCSB). Now we are not talking about people in caskets, or friends and loved ones that don’t know the Lord. We are talking about people in our church … in all churches … who attend faithfully, have done most of the right things and are cast out of Jesus’ presence with the term lawbreakers (evil doers in some translations). What is the problem? They don’t know Jesus. They know about Him, they just don’t know Him. What is the difference? To know Jesus, He has to be a part of every part of your life. He doesn’t just get Sundays and Wednesdays, He gets it all. To be sure, you have to know about Him to know Him, it just doesn’t stop there. So let’s get to know Jesus more and more, and let’s have such a fire in our hearts for those that don’t know Him, that we won’t let it drop until they do. Put aside the excuses, because eternity is at stake. There is a heaven, and there is a hell. We need to make sure that as many people as possible take the narrow road that leads to life in heaven.
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