Jesus said:
- "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few." (Mat 7:13–14).
- "Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able." (Luk 13:24).
"This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it. I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation." (Psalm 118:20–21).
See The Parable of the Good Shepherd.
It's not enough to know something about Jesus (Luk 13:25–27). Even believing in God or being raised in a Christian home isn't enough. Satan believes that God exists. Even the demons believe in God and shudder (James 2:19b). There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when people realize that they didn't make it
(Luk 13:28).
There is a cost to following Jesus; to be a disciple of Jesus (Luk 9:57–58). see time 1:53–11:17 in Luke 9 (Part 5) :57-62 • Putting Jesus first. Jesus said:
"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple." (Luk 14:26). Jesus sometimes used extreme language to make a point, see this explained at time 2:54–26:24 in Luke 14 (Part 2) :25-35 • Counting the Cost.
Jesus wants us to be aware of the cost of following him (Luk 14:18–32). Some people wait for a specific event to happen before they do it (Luk 9:59–60), see time 11:19–19:11 in Luke 9 (Part 5) :57-62 • Putting Jesus first. Some people set conditions for following Jesus (Luk 9:61–62), see time 19:15–28:43 in
Luke 9 (Part 5) :57-62 • Putting Jesus first. One reason is our human pride, we aren't good enough to follow Jesus in our own strength, and therefore don't want to go there. We don't measure up in ourselves. We need the power of the Holy Spirit.
There will be people from all over the world in God's Heaven (Luk 13:29).
"Some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last."
(Luk 13:30, Mat 19:30, 20:16), see The Parable about the Laborers in the Vineyard.
See also Who is the Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?
The narrow gate and the way we must go define:
- Jesus:
Jesus is the narrow gate (John 10:7–9), see The Parable of the Good Shepherd. Jesus said: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6).
This makes Christianity exclusive. Watch the animated video:
How Can Jesus Be the Only Way? See also
What Happens to Those Who Have Never Heard About Jesus? - Our faith:
"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." (Eph 2:8–9). This distinguishes Christianity from other world religions. Every single one of them requires you to be good enough. It's salvation by works. This makes Christianity narrow, because we can't boast about our salvation, see Salvation. Pride makes people brag. They refuse to see themselves as sinners, which we all are
(Rom 3:23, 1 John 1:8–10). - Our lifestyle after we are saved:
We must deny ourselves, take up his cross, and follow him
(Mat 16:24–25), see 1. Deny oneself and 2. Take up his cross in
The Apostle Peter. See also The Book of John. The reason is that we can't serve two masters (Mat 6:24). See also the last part of The Book of Colossians. See also The Parables of the Talents and the Ten Minas.
