NASHVILLE (BP) – This weekly Bible study appears in Baptist Press in a partnership with Lifeway Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Through its Leadership and Adult Publishing team, Lifeway publishes Sunday School curricula and additional resources for all age groups.
This week’s Bible study is adapted from the Bible Studies For Life curriculum.
Bible Passage: Matthew 7:13-23
Discussion Question:
- What’s one of your favorite roads to travel?
Food for Thought by Freddy Davis:
Many people think of heaven like a mountain. There can be many routes and paths for climbing a mountain, but no matter which path you take, you eventually make it to the top.
That’s fine for climbing mountains, but heaven is not a mountain.
The belief that everyone ultimately goes to heaven is called Universalism, and it is a rather common belief these days. For instance, when was the last time you attended a funeral and heard someone say that the deceased would not be in heaven? No, what we mostly hear is, “We know that he is in a better place.”
As hard as it might be to face the truth, not all people will end up in heaven. Scripture tells us that more people will reject God and enter eternity separated from Him than those who will receive Him and go to heaven.
To put it bluntly, the Bible tells us most human beings won’t go to heaven. This truth has nothing to do with competency or demand; instead, the reason for so few getting into heaven has to do with their lack of belief in Christ.
According to one poll, about 54 percent of Americans believe they will go to heaven when they die. In addition, 48 percent believe they will go to heaven if they are “generally good” or “do enough good things.” Another revealing statistic is that only about one-third of people believe salvation comes by accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior. If we take seriously what the Bible teaches about eternal life, these statistics reveal a serious problem.
One of the most profound teachings we have from Jesus is His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Toward the end of the sermon, Jesus spoke specifically about how a person can enter God’s kingdom, and He painted a rather bleak picture.
In Matthew 7:13, Jesus spoke of a choice people must make. They must go through a gate that is small and walk down a path that is narrow, thus more difficult. The other option is to go through a gate that is wide and walk down a path that is broad, which is the easier way.
The wide gate and broad path represent a life that is not concerned with God, the things of God or a personal relationship with Him. Entering through the narrow gate calls for a desire to follow Jesus by faith, but that calls for setting aside the sins and easy way of life found on the broad path. This calls for a surrender to Christ’s lordship, to live life in that relationship.
Following Jesus is not the easy road, but it is the only path that leads to abundant and eternal life. To be clear, God does want all people to be in His eternal kingdom with Him. As the apostle Paul told Timothy, God “wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4), but entrance into heaven is on God’s terms.
But there’s good news in God’s terms! When we recognize we are lawbreakers – no matter how good we see ourselves – and turn in repentance to Christ for forgiveness and salvation, we are made new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17) and granted citizenship in His eternal kingdom. That’s how we enter heaven. “Our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly wait for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20).
As Jesus Himself made abundantly clear, not everyone gets into heaven. Those who wish to spend eternity in heaven must purposefully entrust their lives to Christ.
Freddy Davis is the president of MarketFaith Ministries.
Bible Studies for Life connects the Bible to life for adults, students, and kids. Bible Studies for Life helps individuals and groups know God’s Word through trustworthy content, creates biblical community through engaging and conversational group studies, and helps people engage the culture missionally by unpacking what the Bible says about real-life issues. More information can be found at Lifeway.com/biblestudiesforlife.
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