Tag Archives: the Second death

The Promises

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I wanted to post this this morning.  But I wasn’t sure how it would be received.  As the day passed however, it’s urgency hasn’t left my mind.

Most people, if they love to listen to the words of the Bible, enjoy the pleasantries that God has in store for us.  But when we speak of the warnings God has delivered to us, we often find a deaf ear.

Revelation 21 speaks of the beautiful promise of eternal life in the Glorious City of God.  It’s a passage one might find in a modern devotional.  But I don’t remember ever reading the words that follow that passage in any devotional.

These are the words that follow the beautiful promise of joy:

6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. 8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

“NARROW!” I Said, “Narrow!”

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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.” (Matthew 7)

What is this “narrow gate”?  And why did Jesus say, “few there are who find it”?

The narrow gate is this: “37 . . .Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the first and greatest commandment.” (Matthew 22)

“Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.” (Luke 13:24)

The reason why there are so few who find it and enter, has everything to do with greed.  Men are destroyed because they want everything for nothing.

No man will enter the hope and Holy will of God, thus eternal life, without putting Christ first among all his things.  Take note of how greedy desire restrains you.  Take note of how callously you use the name of Christ Jesus.  Take notice how carefully you avoid prayer.  Take note of how many pages in your new Bible are still uncut.

How can any man travel any distance while he has tethered himself to a heavy weight?  All the pleasures that belong to this world will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Nor will the man who holds them dear.

Look within you.  See, with honesty, what you hold dear.  Is it the will of God?  Or is it love for what you can gain here? 

You say you don’t know the will of God.  I ask you, have you looked into it?  Or have you preoccupied yourself with all the pleasures of this world you can gather?

There are two reasons why most men never enter the narrow gate.  The first is that they hate restriction.  The second is they love pleasure more than they love God.

If you want more provocation to do what is right, consider this, “Broad is the way that leads to destruction and many go in there by.”  If you are one of those, you will certainly be destroyed.

If you don’t care if you are destroyed, what more can be said.  But if you care about whether you live or die, be wise.  The choice is entirely yours. 

Follow the crowd and you will die.  Follow after God and you will live.  Follow the crowd and you will feel safe.  Follow after God and they will abandon you.

By His Grace