MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO ENTER THE DOOR OF DISTINCTION
The Lord Jesus Christ came to guide men’s consciences, not to gratify their common curiosities and make easy the burdens of their internal struggles with immorality and idolatry.
Someone once asked Jesus as he was traveling to Jerusalem,
“Lord, will only a few be saved?”
Jesus replied,
“Work hard to enter the narrow gate to God’s Kingdom, for many will try to enter but will fail."
“Make every effort” Jesus taught. The word he used in the Greek, agonizesthe, translates “Agonize, therefore, now by faith, prayer, holiness, and patience”
Jesus, time after time, from parable to parable talked about striving to enter in at the strait gate. He taught that we must undergo a complete change to the extent that we're being born again. It's no easy matter to get to heaven, it won't be gained without a great deal of difficulty and diligence. And after all our efforts and striving, our sins will follow us.
"...be sure your sin will find you out."
Numbers 32:23
Many folks have developed a good mind for blessedness. Many folks have good opinions about holiness. And yet both their convictions are often weak. Many do not consider what they know and believe about the kingdom, and consequently, their desires are cold. Many of their endeavours are feeble, and there is no steadiness in their resolutions. They come up short, because they didn't press on, they didn't strive forward to discover the truth.
Picture this:
There is currently the holy of holies, the temple of worship, Christ's house. And there in his temple home is a distinct door that stands between his outer courts and beyond the veil. This door of distinction stands open between both. And in his temples outer courts there are those who worship and live worldly ways. likewise there are spiritual professors of faith who worship beyond the veil and some mingle promiscuously among the rest as they worship in spirit and in truth. The sinners currently stand among the congregation of the righteous. It's all very much at large.
Then, at his appointed time, the Master of the house will call to everyone to come beyond the veil. He'll stand up and he'll close the door of distinction. Today, and for a very long time, the door stands open as a door of mercy and grace. And on that day, the door will close and become a door of exclusion and denial. In the same way that God, not Noah, shut the door of the ark, Christ alone has the power and authority to exclude and keep the sanctuary safe.
Many will not strive to enter that door, hoping to climb up some other way by their own merits. They relied upon shelters of their own making. By their own calculations they made light of Christ's authority. Hypocrites, under the disguise of their external testimonials. They were Christ hearers. Jesus doesn't deny they drank and ate with him, but he doesn't know them.
Example:
Judas ate bread with Christ, dipped with him in the cup.
Jesus tells them to go away from the door of distinction.
And Jesus tells them why, "you are workers of iniquity." Under a pretence of piety, they kept secret haunts of sin.
And probably the most interesting aspect of this exclusion is that these workers of iniquity will observe beyond the veil those very same prophets and teachers whose testimonies they had denied and hated. They'll look from without at the kingdom and its inhabitants, and see there those who did strive to keep the truth. They'll witness, as they struggle to thrust their way in, the rest prepared for those who made every effort before to enter straight away into the door of distinction.
Conclusion:
Some where along the way, being Christian must have a life changing impact upon your life.
Jesus is the way.
Jesus is the truth.
Jesus is the life.
Jesus is the true light.
Jesus is the true bread from heaven.
Upon these incarnations of truth we build a foundation for our lives. We cannot have a true moment of truth until we've met the Lord Jesus Christ. And we must accept his mercy, blessings, and commands. We must obey his truth. Out of respect we must want to be like him. He challenges us and we must strive to face those challenges. He inspires us to change our hearts, transformed and conformed into his image. And he cheers us up with hopeful words and signs. These life changing evidences reveal to us that he knows us and we are his. And therefore we have confidence in our faith.