Gates, Fruit, and Judgement

¹³Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

¹⁴Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

¹⁵Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

¹⁶Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

¹⁷Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

¹⁸A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

¹⁹Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

²⁰Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

²¹Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

²²Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

²³And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

~ Matthew 7:13-23 (KJV)

At the beginning of these verses it refers to the Narrow Gate and the Broad Gate. Entering through the Narrow Gate is going to be difficult. It is going to be hard to find and most will overlook it. Only a few will find it. Think about what that means. Think of all the people who are alive today, and all of the people who have ever lived. Only a very small number of all of these people will find this Narrow Gate. The one that leads to destruction is the one that most people are on. It is the one most people are content with, and the one that they will remain on. Only a few will leave behind the Broad Gate in favor of the Narrow Gate. Only a few will be saved . . . Only a few will escape condemnation. Not only is the gate narrow, but once you go through it, it is going to be difficult. It is not going to be easy. You will hear some people say that Jesus will change everything in your life. Which is true, but they say He will make it all easier, better, happier, and your whole life will fall into place . . . that everything will be so good. But that is not true in the way they are saying it. Yes things will change, and yes you will change. Jesus will change things in your life entirely, but it is not going to be easy. It is not supposed to be easy. If it is easy, then something is wrong. If you are finding yourself just floating through life, having it all so laid back, then something is wrong. Either you are not moving forward on this path, or you are not on it at all.

So how do you go about checking yourself? It is always good to check yourself. It is always good to know exactly where it is you are standing spiritually. What fruit are you bearing? If you are on the right path, the Spirit is going to be moving in you. It will be alive and moving through you. There will not be any guess work. You and those around you will know that the Spirit is alive in you. It can be seen in your life, your deeds, and your words. You will follow God's word. Not because you feel you have to, but because you want to. You will be seeking to please God. You will want what He wants of you. The Spirit will be moving you there, guiding you, and you will be producing good fruit. But if you are looking like the world, that is when you need to watch out. If you want the things of this world, if you are being envious, prideful, lustful, angry, hateful, feeling apathy, vengeful, and so on; then you are producing bad fruit. I am not saying that any of us will be without sin, because even when we are saved we are still sinful beings while in the flesh.

What is it you see when you look at your life? What is it that' i driving you? Do you want to be saved, but then live worldly? Do you repent daily? Do you strive to change? Strive to grow? Are you aiming for holiness, because God is holy? When you examine your life, what do you see? Not everyone who professes Jesus to be Lord will enter into Heaven. Even Satan knows that Jesus is Lord. He acknowledges this, but you and I both know that he is not going to Heaven. So what makes us so certain that just because we say we believe Jesus is Lord . . . how do we know that simply acknowledging this is enough to get us to Heaven?

There are a lot of people out there who claim to be Christians. Many who profess themselves to be saved, but they are going to be turned away. They will say, "Lord, didn't I do this for you, and didn't I do that?" They're going to live their lives assuming they are okay, but on Judgement Day when they are standing before the Lord, He will say to them, "Depart from Me, I never knew you". This is why it is so important for us to examine ourselves, so we can make sure.

You might say, "Sure I'm saved. I got saved when I was younger." But did you really? Are you sure? Jesus tells us that only those who do the Father's Will will enter into Heaven. Does this mean that salvation is by works? Of course not. The Bible tells us that salvation is by grace, but when you are truly saved, the works will follow. When you are truly saved, you will be made new. The Bible does not say that you can get saved and then live like you have always lived prior to that, but it says that you are to turn from your old ways and to seek God. Seek the will of the Father, and become a new creation.

Examine yourself carefully. Not just once and then you are done, but make sure that you examine yourself regularly. Repent daily and make sure which path you are on. Keep an eye on what fruit you are bearing. You do not want to just assume that you are okay, that you are good to go. Then realize when you are standing before the Savior on Judgement Day that you made a mistake and was not okay after all. At that point, you will not be able to change your path, your actions or anything. It will be a done deal. You want to take NOW, the time you have now and whatever time you have left, to make sure you get it right. Now is the time, then it will be too late.