Narrow Minded
How would people describe you? Are you a liberal or conservative? Progressive thinker or old fashioned? Do you tend to be politically correct or not? Are you a capitalist or socialist? God rejector or God fearer? Are you broad minded or narrow minded? How would those closest to you describe you tonight?
I’m asking these questions because I am a Bible believing, God fearing, Christ follower that is narrow minded. But when people hear these descriptions nowadays, they generally think of a narrow minded person as being a bigot or a hater. In today’s culture, true Christians are considered as being behind the times. We are considered haters because we believe in God and believe His word.
But nothing could be farther than the truth. Sometimes when I witness at MSU, I tell students that I don’t hate them. It is out of love that I share the Gospel with them. If I hated them, I’d go home for lunch and visit with my lovely wife (which I love to do). But I don’t hate the students. I am not a bigot.
Love Not Hate
It’s not out of hate, but out of love that I share the Gospel with others. I love others because God first loved me. Not only did He love me, but he saved me from my sins and has given me eternal life. That’s why I share the Gospel with students and that’s why I share the Gospel in downtown Springfield. MO and in other places.
Actually, when people call me narrow minded (not the bigot and hater part), I take it as a compliment. If people are calling me narrow minded then that means they see and/or hear that I am a follower of Jesus Christ my Lord. Being narrow minded does not mean you are legalistic. In fact, being legalistic is being like the Pharisees. That’s when someone puts more emphasis on tradition or what men say than focusing on Christ Himself.
Being narrow minded is a good thing and it is biblical. Please listen to what Jesus said: Enter in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and many there be which go in there at: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads unto life, and few there be that find it (Matthew 7:13-14).
Enter In At The Narrow Way
Did you catch that? Jesus said enter in at the narrow way, through the strait or difficult gate. How can you do these things if you are broad minded? When you are broad minded, you might be politically correct in today’s society, but it will cause you to miss the narrow way. When you believe anything goes, then you won’t have ears to hear the call of the Lord Jesus to the narrow way.
Jesus said the broad way leads to destruction. Do you understand what He’s saying here? The broad road to destruction is eternal damnation; it is Hell. Many times people say we are unloving for talking about Hell, that we are not being Christ-like. But Jesus talked about Hell more than anyone else in the Bible.
Hell is real and it’s an awful place. But the majority of people are lost, spiritually dead in their trespasses and sins and are going on the broad road right now. What do you have to do to go to Hell? Absolutely nothing. Just continue on the path that you are on. Jesus said that all liars will have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone (Revelation 21:8).
Have You Ever Lied?
Have you ever told a lie? Of course you have. We all have. Let God be true and every man a liar. Since all unrepentant liars are headed to Hell, then you have nothing else to do. You’ve already lied, plus committed other sins. I’m not judging you, I’m stating the truth. We’ve all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. There is none righteous but God.
So even though I don’t know you, I do know this: if you are alive and breathing, then you have sinned against God. None of us have loved God with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength all of our lives. We’ve all rebelled against God. None of us are worthy of salvation. Not a single one of us can earn or work our way to Heaven.
If Jesus is not your Lord and Savior, then all you are working for in this life is death. Physical death and the second death, which is never ending pain and agony. The second death is eternal suffering and torments. The broad road to destruction leads here. Jesus said many are on the broad way to Hell. Does this describe you tonight? If you have never repented from your sins and surrendered your life to Jesus then this is you! You are the person Jesus is talking about!
This Should Scare You!
Oh folks, this should scare you tonight! This should cause your heart to skip a beat. Yes, this should cause you to lose sleep at night. Even the demons believe in God and they tremble. No, demons are not saved, yet they have enough sense to know that they have chosen the wrong side. They recognize that they have rebelled against God. A lot of people foolishly wander through life without acknowledging God, without admitting that they have sinned against Almighty God.
But there will be no excuses on Judgment Day. The Bible says that every mouth will be stopped. No excuses, no place to hide. Being broad minded may seem like it is the politically correct way to be, but it isn’t the right way to be spiritually. The broad way is wide. It is the easy path. It is the path you are on unless God in His mercy shines the light on the narrow way. When God does this, He reveals His Holiness to you and shows you how sinful you really are.
Jesus is the Light, the great Light that has come into the world. When God convicts you over your sins, you then realize that you are not a good person after all. When you truly see yourself as God sees you, as a rebel who has said no to God and gone your own way, oh, then you can cry out for God to have mercy upon you. Without Jesus Christ, your very best you have to offer is as filthy rags, to a Holy and righteous God.
Come To Christ Jesus
So tonight, I plead with you to come to Christ Jesus. He is the way, the only way of salvation. Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by me (John 14:6). Folks, there is no other Savior. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12).
The broad road leads to eternal destruction. The narrow way leads to life. Oh, Jesus said few there be that find it. If God is convicting you tonight over your sins, do not harden your heart. Do not reject such a great salvation. Today is the day to get right with God. The Bible says today is the day of salvation.
Recognize that you are a sinner. Ask God to forgive you for your sins. Cry out for God to have mercy upon you. Repent and believe the Gospel. Surrender your life fully and completely to Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus doesn’t tell us to ask Him into our hearts. No, He says you must deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow Him daily. It is dying to self and coming alive in Christ.
Confess And Believe
Be saved tonight. That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God hath raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
For the scripture says, Whosoever believes on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:9-13).
Call upon the precious name of Jesus; call upon the mighty name of Jesus tonight and be saved. Don’t continue going through life racing down the broad road to destruction. Many people in America are elbowing each other out of the way, racing toward Hell. They foolishly are running from God and going their own way. Don’t continue with a madhouse kind of life.
Don’t continue racing through life living for the pleasures of sin. Sin is pleasurable for a season, but it isn’t long lasting. You will never find true joy, lasting joy in drugs, alcohol or immoral sexual relations. Sin always take you farther than you want to go and keeps you longer than you want to stay. But eventually you wake up as a drug addict, or an alcoholic or a sex addict.
Never Enough
Sin never says enough is enough. Satan never says enough is enough. Hell never says enough is enough. Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoices, shall descend into it.
And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled: But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness (Isaiah 5:14-16).
Joy is only found in the Lord. God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Repent and put your faith in Jesus. The Lord said come all who are thirsty. Come all who are hungry. Come all who are weary and heaven laden and He will give you rest. Jesus is the way; He is the narrow way. Surrender your life to Jesus Christ and receive life, everlasting life. Then you too will think of Christ continually and say with the apostle Paul, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Repent and believe the Gospel. Do this today and be saved. Then you will truly understand what it means to be narrow minded and that it is a good way to be. Be a follower of Jesus Christ.
(This message was lifted up in downtown Springfield, MO on January 4, 2019)