Lie #2: There Are Many Roads That Lead to Heaven

 

October 4, 2020                                    NOTES NOT EDITED

Lies We Tell Ourselves About God 
#2:  There are Many Roads that Lead to Heaven
Matthew 7:13-21

SIS: Many people believe there are many roads that lead to heaven but there are only two paths to try and only one that leads to heaven.

Warnings are very important.  In most households you will find one or more smoke alarms.  If you hear these alarms go off in the night, you know that you must escape to safety.  There are warning lights on your car.  When they go off, you know that you must take your car to get it serviced.  When a warning is sounded, you know that something is wrong and appropriate action must be taken.

There are warnings in the Bible.  In fact, warnings are scattered throughout the Bible text.  It would be correct to say, “The whole Bible is a warning.”  The Bible warns us against false beliefs that give us a false view of God that leads to a false sense of security that causes a person to experience a terrible loss in eternity.  False beliefs cause people to feel they are going to heaven when the die, when in fact, they are headed to hell.  Listen to this solemn warning from Jesus, Himself: (Matthew 7:21ff)

21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23 Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you.

OUCH!

At the end of the sermon we call, The Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives people a warning.  Jesus talks about the two ways that people choose in order to reach God.  You may often hear people say, “There are many paths that lead to God.”  This is false for two reasons.  First, there is only ONE WAY that leads to eternal life.  Second, there are only TWO options, not many, to choose from in the first place – one leading to heaven, the other leading to hell.  Now, the false road to heaven may have many variations, but it is still the same old tired route the Bible calls “the broad way of destruction.”

 In the Sermon on the Mount we are going to read this evening Jesus uses 6 different illustrations to show the difference between the ONE WAY that leads to eternal life, and the OTHER WAY that leads to eternal death.  Follow along in your Bibles as I read that passage this morning: Matt 7:13-27

13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. 15 "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. 21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23 Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' 24 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

 When it comes to making a choice where you will spend eternity, there are only two options.  Jesus illustrates this truthby giving us six different contrasts.

1.  Two Gates (verses 7:13a)

We’ve all seen gates.  The gate is the part of a fence that provides access into a yard or onto someone’s property.  This is the only “acceptable” way into or onto a property.  Of course, you can try to climb the security fence, but you will get shot by the security guards.  The only acceptable way onto a fenced property is through the gate.

The gate restricts access.

 By now many of you have come to understand that the N.T. was originally written in Greek – a very clear and precise language, unlike the more general and less precise English that we read.  The word “narrow” in this passage is stenēs.  It refers to “something standing in the way” such as an obstacle.  The way of salvation is not the easy road (as we will see in a moment).  The way of salvation is very difficult to follow.  It is like a dangerous mountain road.

I lived in an area a while ago that had a famous mountain road, know as the, Apache Trail, that connects the Valley of Phoenix with the mountains of Roosevelt.  This is the road that was used to build the Roosevelt Dam.  It is like driving your car on the edge of the Grand Canyon.  The road is rough and unpaved.  There are shear drop offs falling hundreds of feet.  In many places, there is only room for one car to pass at a time.  It is a difficult way to get back and forth from Phoenix to Roosevelt.

That’s an example of the “narrow” gate of salvation.  It opens to a  very difficult road and only a few will dare to  travel that road. 

On the other hand, there is the  “wide” gate that leads to the “wide” road.  The original word used here refers to a “large platt of open ground” or a large open space like Time Square where hundreds of people gather daily.  The “wide” gate seems far more inviting.  It is a picture of worldliness.  It is always exciting and enticing to the eye.  Whereas the “narrow” gate is highly restrictive, the “wide” gate is open and inviting.  The big difference of course is that behind the “narrow” gate is the way of life and salvation, and behind the “wide” gate is death and destruction.  This leads to the second contrast Jesus uses to show the difference between the “way of salvation” and the “way of damnation.”

2.  Two Roads (14)

 Jesus teaches about the “narrow” road and the “broad road.” The word for narrow here is the related to the word for persecution, or tribulation.  Like the narrow gate, the narrow road points out the difficulty of following Jesus Christ.  Those who truly follow Jesus accept a life that is difficult and sacrificial.  It is a restrictive life.  There are “do’s and don’ts.”  Eventhough salvation is free, it is not cheap.  There is a cost to becoming disciple of Jesus Christ.  Unlike the broad road that is easy and inviting, the narrow road is hard and full of tribulation. 

Since the way of salvation is so hard it is not surprising that there are so few that accept Jesus Christ.  Many mushy-minded preachers try to make Christianity more acceptable than it really is.  We must be careful to be honest with people in our preaching.  The narrow road of salvation behind the narrow gate is full of hard work and sacrifice in this life.  It is not the road that is popular with the masses like the “broad road.”  A few years ago a research group took a survey of people who signed a “salvation card” at a Billy Graham crusade in 1974.  Twenty years later it was discovered that only 5 out of 100 of those people were still active in the church.  The rest had drifted away. 

 This is not an indictment against the wonderful ministry of Billy Graham who has helped millions come to understand the love of God and get saved.  This survey simply points out what the Jesus was teaching: “narrow is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life [eternal life] and only a few find it.”

 3.  Jesus taught about Two Trees (verses 15-20)

  "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

 I grew up in a small town in West Virginia.  All around our town was country-side dotted with small farms.  A couple of my great aunts lived on one of these little country spreads.  I remember playing with my cousins and brothers out in the pasture fields when we would visit our aunts.  We loved to play hide and seek.  But, after a while we would get hungry.  But, like all self-respecting young boys, we would never let hunger interfere with play.  So . . . we would find a crab apple tree that grew in abundance in the woods.  Now, we knew what would happen if we ate crab apples.  But, we ate them any way.  The result – a little while later we had terrible tummy aches.  Not only did crab apples taste bitter, they made your tummy ache.

 Now, you say, “How stupid to eat crab apples when you knew they were going to give you a tummy ache.”  But, is this not exactly what we see people doing everyday who follow every false prophet and false teaching imaginable many times knowing that it is NOT THE TEACHING OF THE BIBLE?

 Millions of people are deceived every day by false prophets.

Think of all the millions of Muslims that are led into eternal destruction by the teachings of Mohammed.  Think of the hundreds of neighbors in our own city that are being led into eternal damnation following the false teachings of Joseph Smith.  The list of false religions and cults is almost endless.  They all lead to eternal tummy aches and yet there are millions that follow.  Why?  The Bible says    2 Thess 2:9-12

9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, 10 and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie 12 and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.

People believe false prophets for the same reason that we boys ate crab apples – it gave us what we wanted when we wanted it and we ignored the consequences.

Following a false prophet is like petting a wolf – it may look pretty and feel cuddly but in the end it will eat you up.

Jesus tells us to use the “fruit test” for those who preach.

How do we test the fruit of a preacher?  We use the Word of God.  We line up what we hear with the Word of God.  If it lines up – we obey it.  If it is off the Bible mark – we reject it.  2 Tim 4:2-3 says

Rebuke and encourage-with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

Doctrine matters.  Doctrine is simply the result of lining

up Scripture with Scripture.  False preachers look like sheep but they are wolves according to what Jesus is saying here.  They look like a grapevine but they are really a thorn bush.  False prophets appear to be fine figs but they are really nasty thistles.  You can learn the difference by testing them against the sure fruit of Bible doctrine.

False prophets deny Biblical truth.  They deny that Jesus Christ is God Almighty.  They deny that they Bible is the innerant, inspired Word from God, Himself.  False teachers deny the existence of literal, tormenting hell.  False teachers deny that Jesus Christ is the only way to escape hell and enter heaven.  To know whether a tree is good or bad, you must test its fruit against the message of the Bible. 

4.  Jesus gives us another illustration of the difference between the True way that leads to God and the false way that leads to eternal damnation – Two Opinions (Verses 21-23)

 21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23 Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!

When all the dust of life settles and the end of all things comes you will find two groups of people standing before the judgement seat of God.  Each will be given a final destination as a result of whether or not each individual accepted Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of one’s life.  The Bible describes this final judgement:  Rev 20:11-15

11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Your destination in eternity is determined by which gate you opened in life, which road you took in life, which tree you ate from in life and which foundation you built you life on.  After you die, it is too late – your destination is sealed by the choice you make in this life – that is, the choice that you make today. 

5.  Jesus also taught about Two Foundations (verses 24-27)

24 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

The two houses represents two lives being lived.  The rainrepresents divine judgment that will come on all.  The foundations represent what a person is trusting in for salvation – human works or the mercy of God poured out by Christ upon the cross.

If you are trusting in anything but a solid relationship with Jesus to save you from hell after you die, you are going to be terribly disappointed.

I remember reading about a guy who came back to work after Christmas vacation with his right eye black and nearly swollen shut.  His co-workers asked, “What in the world happened to you?”  The man answered, “Well, I asked my wife what she wanted for Christmas.  She said, ‘Oh, just surprise me.’  So, about 3 0'clock Christmas morning I leaned over and shouted, BOO!”

Not all surprises are good!  If you are building your life

on any other foundation other than the foundation of a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ of the Bible, you are going to be quite surprised come judgement day – and it won’t be a pleasant surprise!
Here is a final contrast we find in passage

Two Choices—One Savior (verse 24)

Let’s go back to a verse we read earlier:

24 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock

In order to be saved, you must make a choice between the One True Way and the False Way.  You must choose now.  You must choose today.  You must choose Christ.  This week we buried a dear brother in Christ.  David Plumer got sick and died in only a few short days.  But, here is the real kicker of the story.  David was 78 years old in the world, but two years old in the Lord.  David was saved and baptized here in this church two years ago.  David missed hell by on two years!  David made a choice that changed his eternity.  Today, I’m going to ask you to make that same choice.  To day you can miss hell and hit heaven.

I remember going to the movie theater to watch the epic drama, The Titanic.  Supposedly, the Titanic  was such a marvel of modern technology that it was considered, unsinkable because of 16 watertight compartments.  On one fateful night, however, in April 14, 1912,  the Titanic hit an iceberg.  It would take only a few minutes for this massive marvel of modern technology to sink taking the lives of over 1500 people.  Interestingly, while the Titanic was sinking many people choose to stay on board this unsinkable ship rather than take safety in the lifeboats.  Believing that lie sent many needless souls to a chilling watery grave.

Today, many people believe the lie that “many paths lead to God.” Believing this lie results in millions of souls falling needlessly into the fiery pit of hell.  There are not many ways to God.

There is only one: Jesus is the Way!