The Cost of the KingdomSample

STRIVE TO ENTER

MAIN IDEAS

• JESUS conveys to the people that in order to enter the Kingdom they need to make an effort, as access into the Kingdom is through the narrow gate, through which few choose to enter.

• Time is also limited; first, because life is uncertain, and second because there is a period of grace during which the doors to the Kingdom are open and which will come to an end.

• The arguments brought by those left outside will be of no avail, no matter how interesting and convincing they may seem.

JESUS warns people that access to the Kingdom requires some hard work, and this will be too difficult for the many who prefer the wide gate, while the few who have the discipline to struggle through the narrow gate shall be the ones who enter into the Kingdom. The people are warned that belonging to a religion, obeying the teachings proclaimed by JESUS, and approving of them does not always mean access to the Kingdom. This warning should startle up those people who are content with belonging to some cult which can easily leave them out.

Entering a religion is not equivalent to entering the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. The ones who truly enter THE KINGDOM are driven by the biblical principles of THE KINGDOM and they bring spiritual fruit worthy of that KINGDOM. Surely, those who remain on the outside will try to protest it, but that won’t help. Some will say that they were born in a certain religion, while others will say that they did serve God in that religion or that they were leaders in their churches; but in the absence of humility and true repentance, they will not be permitted to enter. Now, as you are reading these lines, is the time to enter through the narrow gate of repentance into the Kingdom; the right moment is now since you can’t be sure you’ll be alive tomorrow, or if this world has not come to an end.