Tag: holiness

A Gate, A Way & An End

Published on by Christopher C. ChapmanLeave a comment

Matthew 7:13-14

13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 “Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. -NKJV

Jesus compares Christianity to a gate, a way, and an end.

All people have turned away from God and must be converted through repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We must be born again. We must enter the gate.

After we enter the gate the journey is not over, it has only just begun. We must walk the narrow road that leads to life by continuing to trust in Christ and submit to Him as Lord. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we must put sin to death.

At the end of the road, we will be judged according to our works. We are reconciled to God through faith in Christ, but our faith will be judged by what we have done.

For more on this topic here is a short video:

The Father’s Discipline (Kingdom Salvation #10)

Published on by Christopher C. ChapmanLeave a comment

16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. 

– Hebrews 4:16 NKJV

In the last post we started to consider God’s gracious support of believers in their walk down the narrow road to eternal life. In that post we pointed out that justification is a continual gift to the humble believer. When we stumble into sin, God does not immediately cast us off, but accepts us through the sacrifice of His Son. Nevertheless, we are responsible to confess our sins before the throne of grace where His mercies are new every morning. At the throne of grace we are not only offered mercy for sin, but also empowering grace to overcome and live in victory over the sins that often beset us. We will turn now to consider this gracious support.

The Pruning Process

1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 

– John 15:1-2 NKJV

Those that abide in Christ, those that trust, love and obey Him, will bear the fruit of holiness in their lives. Those who were once in Christ, but have walked away from Him back into a life of willful rebellion, will suffer eternal exile in hell. This is a frightening fact that should make us cling to Christ and thus bear godly fruit in our lives. This is our duty, we must abide in Christ. But God does not leave us to do this without His sanctifying grace. 

Continue reading “The Father’s Discipline (Kingdom Salvation #10)” →