The Narrow Gate

Good News

The Narrow Gate
 by Shevanthi Kanaganayagam

The Author with her husband James K

Christianity is often accused of being a “narrow religion”  Those who follow it are criticized for being close minded and exclusive.  This is no surprise as Jesus’ teachings prove it.   We have a narrow faith because our Lord taught the “truth” which is narrow.

The God of the Bible says that the way is narrow (Matthew 7:19).  He declares that many are called (invited), but few chosen (Matt.22:14.

Some Christians find this narrowness a difficulty.  We would like to think of God in terms of grading us for our good ness.  Of course we expect to be graded against a Hitler not a Mother Theresa.

The parable of the narrow door found in Luke 13:22- 30 is part of the long collection of narratives and teachings that took place as Jesus made His way to Jerusalem for the last time.  As Jesus taught, it was inevitable that someone would ask “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?”  (Luke 13:23).  The Jewish people thought that their genetic tie to Abraham would secure them a place in the kingdom of heaven.  Jesus’ teachings were contrary to this thought.  Jesus clearly taught that those who thought their position was secure needed to look again at  the criteria for membership.

Jesus’ answer showed the listeners that they were not asking the right questions.  Rather than asking how many would be in the kingdom, they should be discovering what they must do to be included in the kingdom.

Ad Jesus began to answer the question He admonished his listeners to strive to enter through the narrow door (Luke 13:24).  The word used her for strive is whole hearted effort.  Involvement of soul, mind and body.  In other words Jesus was saying that no one will enter the kingdom hanging on the coattails of his or genetic origin.  Sure salvation is a gift from God (Eph. 2:8-9), but God does not drop it in on sinners who don’t want it. 

Once the owner of the house closes the door, the opportunity for entrance is over (Luke. 13: 25-30) God is not capricious.  He is long suffering and merciful.  The illustrations in Luke 13: 34,35 depicts it.  But once the door closes, entrance is no longer possible.

Pic. Credit: sxc.hu

The objection of those shut out of the house began with the defense that they had physical proximity to Christ (Luke 13:26).  Our membership in a church or the many activities that we are involved does not earn us a ticket to heave.

The final paragraph of the parable describes the severe results of rejecting Christ (Luke. 13: 28-30).  “The weeping and wailing indicate an inconsolable grief.  The gnashing of the teeth express  the ultimate anger and frustration”  (Leon Morris).  The people had missed their only hope and they could never regain it.

Today the parable still speaks a warning to those who reject the truth of Christ.  It also warns those who have been listening carelessly with a false assurance of belonging to God.  Toady is the day of salvation, so lets go out and proclaim the Good News that, “Jesus is the only way, the truth and life.” CL

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Confident Living Magazine, Secunderabad India

Originally published in the Guidelines Magazine, Sri Lanka.

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How Long In The Grave?

Theodore H Epp

Pic. Credit: awakenthebride d32-news

It is possible to be so caught up in the discussion of when Christ died that we overlook why He died.

A question that I am frequently asked is, “Was Christ crucified on Friday?”  If so, how could He be in the grave three days and three nights and arise on Sunday”?

The question can be answered from the Word of God.  But before we do that, we need to be reminded that we are not to be judged by the days we keep (see Colossians 2:16).  Some regard one day holy and some another.  We should be careful about legalism on this point.

First, notice a few verses from Matthew 12.  certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered (Jesus) saying, “Master, we would see a sign from thee” (v. 38) They wanted a sign to know that Jesus was truly Christ, the Messiah who was coming.

But He answered and said unto them,  “An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah” (v. 39).  What was the sign of the prophet Jonah?  “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly, so shall the son of the man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (v. 40).  So Jesus gave them a sign.

If Jesus had not been in the heart of the earth three days and three nights, He would not have been the Messiah.  Jesus said that by this sign, they could tell whether it was true or not.  And the Pharisees and the scribes understood that to be so, for in Matthew 27: 63,64 we read that on the day after the crucifixion and burial, the chief priests and Pharisees came to Pilate and said, Sir, we remember that, that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, after three days, I will rise again.  Command therefore, that the sepulcher be made sure until the third day,  lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people He is risen from the dead, so the last error shall be worse than the first.

Whereas the scribes and Pharisees wanted to prove their point – that He was not the Messiah – they unknowingly become the very proof that He was.  For they set a guard there, and the guard was the proof that He rose on the third day and that He was not stolen.

Now this is where the conflict of thought comes.  Because we read in the scriptures that Jesus died on the day before the Sabbath, and the Sabbath is always Saturday, it has been presumed that He died on Friday.  However, something very important has been overlooked.  Namely that the Israelites had seven different feasts during the year; and in these seven feasts, they always had a High Sabbath (s special Sabbath) which could be on any day of the week.  The day did not make any difference, but it had to fit into the particular feast that they were keeping.  When it came to the Feast of the Passover, there was a preparation day before Passover, which was Wednesday.  Following this was a High Sabbath, the height of the Passover Feast, which was on Thursday.  Then there was a Friday in between, and then came the regular Sabbath – the  weekday Sabbath.  After this, of course came the first day of the week.  Having that in mind, the answer is very simple.

The Passover lamb, in Jewish history, was always slain on the night before the High Sabbath.  And in the case of Israel, it was slain on that Wednesday night before the High Sabbath on Thursday.  Jesus was the real Lamb to be slain, and all types had been pointing to Him.  He, therefore, also had to be slain on the same day (Wednesday) that the lambs were slain for the regular Passover.  Thus, Jesus was  slain on Wednesday, just before the high Sabbath.

Sometime during the evening, Joseph of Arimathaea came and asked for the body of Jesus, that He might be buried.  Sometime after Jesus died at three in the afternoon, maybe in the early part of the Sabbath evening.  Joseph came and took Jesus and buried Him.  So Jesus went into the grave – it could have been six O Clock in the evening, which was the end of Wednesday and the beginning of the High Sabbath.

Now, note Matthew 23:1,2 “In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulcher.  And behold, there  was a great earthquake; for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven , and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.”  So,  evidently, even before the sun rose on that first day, Mary Magdalene and Mary came to see the sepulcher.  They came there wondering how they would roll the stone away.  As they stood nearby, there was an earth quake as the angel descended from heaven, rolled the stone from the door and sat upon it.  When did he roll the stone away?  He did it while to women were there.  Is that when Jesus arose?  No, that is not what the Bible says.  There was no stone that could keep Jesus in the grave.  But somewhere between six o’ clock on the Sabbath day and this morning, Jesus rose – possibly after the Sabbath.  The only ones who saw Him were the soldiers who were watching the door at the time. Jesus did not have to have the stone rolled away for His resurrection; but the angel rolled it away and said to the women,  “come and see that He is not here.”  So then Jesus definitely was in the grave three days and three nights.

Let me emphasize again Colossians 2:16.  we are not to judge one another on the basis of which day we are commemorating, because that is not the real issue.  THE REAL ISSUE IS CHRIST.   What I have explained here simply proves that Jesus is the Messiah, according to the Scriptures, and history will corroborate this.  But though some have chosen Friday (and we call it Good Friday) as the day of the death of Jesus, this does not mean that we cannot take that day to remember it.   I have no problem with that for the day does not make any difference.  The fact remains, though, that Jesus died and rose again and was in the grave three days and three nights.  Along this line, some people have felt that it is wrong to observe Easter as a memorial to Christ’s resurrection because of its pagan historical associations.

I would say that on Easter we remember the death of Jesus Christ.  Make it a real thing.  Do not make Easter a time to parade new clothing or to emphasize Easter rabbits, eggs and so forth.  Rather, make it a time to remember the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  He is the one whom we honor—it is not the day, but it is Jesus Christ.  So let us thing of Christ. CL

For More Information and for the Print edition of Confident Living Magazine Please Contact at the following address:

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Picture Credit: sxu.hu

 

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Insights Into Bible Times and Customs

By G. Christian Weiss

Foot Washing

In John 13 we read the moving account of Jesus’ washing the feet of His disciples.  During the Last Supper, Jesus got up from the table,  laid aside His out garments and tied a towel around Himself.  Then, pouring water into a basin, He stooped down to wash the disciples’ feet.  With this act of self-humiliation complete, He said to His disciples, “If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.  For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you” (vv. 14,15).

Pic. Credit: kyouko_takara/sxu.hu

Some Christians have understood from this that foot washing should be practiced in the church as an ordinance much like the Lord’s Supper and baptism.  There is evidence that Ambrose, the bishop of Milan, practiced this in his church in the latter part of the fourth century.  Augustine, though he did not positively sponsor the practice, did intimate that to do this would be a commendable act of humility.  Certain religious denominations  and groups practice literal foot washing to this day.

The godly old commentator Matthew Henry wrote:  “(1) Some have understood this literally… (2)  But doubtless it is to be understood figuratively… Three things our Master hereby designed to teach us:-[1]  A humble condescension… Christ had often taught his disciples humility, and they had forgotten the lesson; but now he teaches them in such a way as surely they could never forget.  [2] A condescension to be serviceable.  To wash one another’s feet is to stoop to the meanest office of love, for the real good and benefit one of another. … [3] A serviceableness to the sanctification one of another:  Ye ought to wash one another’s feet, from the pollutions of sin… We cannot satisfy for one another’s sins, but we may help to purify one another from sin… We must sorrow for the failings and follies of our brethren… must wash our brethren’s polluted feet in tears.”

My own experiences in a land where the practices and customs of Bible times have been perpetuated lead me to agree with this view, though not in any way indicting or disparaging those who feel otherwise.

In the countries we call “Bible lands,” the majority of the people wore only sandals, and their feet readily became soiled.  Most roads were not hard surfaced, and in the rainy season they became extremely muddy and unsanitary.

Because the feet became dirty so easily, it was customary for a man entering a home to remove his sandals in the vestibule and wash his feet before proceeding into the house.  The homes of men who were affluent enough to have several servants always had a particular servant at the door assigned to the task of washing the feet of all who entered, particularly guests.  The Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary edited by Merril C. Tenny, states that when a visitor enters a house, the lowest servant is detailed to wash his feet.  This I can personally verify.  The washing of feet was the least desirable of all the tasks of servitude and was considered to be extremely humiliating.

The relationship between the guest and the servant at the time of foot washing was vividly demonstrated to me on one occasion when I was visiting the house of a district chieftain in Morocco.  We had been preaching in a nearby marketplace, which had turned to a sea of mud because of heavy rains.  When we arrived at the chieftain’s home, a servant was dispatched to wash our feet at the entrance.  It is always  humiliating for a servant to be assigned to wash a guest’s feet, but for a proud Muslim to have to wash the feet of a despised Christian was doubly humiliating and irritating. 

The foot washing of Jo 13 occurred at the time of the Passover, when the spring rains were falling.  The streets Jerusalem were no doubt particularly muddy and unclean at the time.  Obviously, the disciples should not have come to the Passover table with unwashed feet, but apparently they did.  While sharing the Last Supper with them, Jesus insisted that their feet be clean.  Apparently not one of the disciples had volunteered to wash the feet of the other, therefore, the Lord Jesus stooped to this most humiliating of all tasks and washed their feet Himself.

He had washed their feet, He said in essence, “As I have stooped to render to you the lowliest and most humiliating of all services, so ought you to be prepared to render to one another the lowliest and humblest service.” The Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown commentary says that the words, “ought to wash one another’s feet,” should be taken,  “not in the narrow sense of a literal washing, profanely caricatured by Popes and Emperors, but by the very humblest real services one to another.”

That this is the correct understanding is indicated by the words of Jesus in verse 7:  “What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.”  If literal foot washing had been meant, such words would have been pointless.  He also said,  “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me” (v.8).  Surely this could not apply to the literal washing of physical feet.  Jesus went on to say, “He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean very whit” (v.10).  He must have been referring to spiritual cleansing rather than to physical washing.

Matthew Henry aptly wrote: “ The transaction was very solemn, … and four reasons are here intimated by Christ did this:-

1.  That he might testify his love to his disciples, v. 1, 2.

2.  That he might give an instance of his own voluntary humility and condescension, v. 3-5. 

3. That he might signify to them spiritual washing, which is referred to in his discourse with Peter, v. 6-11.

4.  That he might set them an example v. 12-17.”

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He Is Risen: He Is Alive:

Dr. Woodrow Kroll

Picture Credit: CartoonistWill/sxc.hu

Perhaps in the most astounding event ever to take place early in the morning occurred on the first resurrection day morning. God is in the habit of doing things early in the morning, but on this particular morning He did something very special. He raised Jesus Christ from the dead, and the mighty power of God was proven by the post-resurrection appearances of our Lord. 

  

In Mark 16, three such appearances of the risen Saviour are recorded.  Verse 14 indicates that Jesus “appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat”.  The disciples had assembled themselves, except Thomas, and were not given to believing the reports that Jesus was alive.  Suddenly He appeared in their midst, the doors of the room being shut, and they perceived Him to be a spirit.  But He called unto them to feel His body.  He showed them the wounds in His hands, His feet and His side.  As some doubted, He ate food before them all.  He rebuked them for their lack of faith, but He also commissioned them:  “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (v 15).  This was the last of His appearances on that great resurrection day.

Prior to this occasion, however, He appeared to two individuals walking on the road to Emmaus.  Although only briefly mentioned by Mark, the interesting narrative given by Luke tells us that Cleopas and another had left the city after visiting the sepulcher and were on their way to the village of Emmaus,  some seven miles from Jerusalem.  As they were engaged in conversation, Jesus Himself joined them.  They invited Him to accompany them to the home of Cleopas; they did not recognize Him as the risen Lord.  Suddenly, “beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them all the scriptures concerning himself” (Luke 24:27).  Still, when they reported to the others that they had met the risen Lord, the disciples found that difficult to believe.

But to whom was the first post resurrection appearance made?  Did Jesus first appear to Peter, the principal preacher of Christianity in the first century?  Did He appear to John, the beloved disciple, the disciple whom Jesus loved?  No, He appeared to one whose devotion to Him could not be excelled.  He appeared to one whose dedication to Him could not be surpassed.  He appeared first to one who was an unlikely candidate to such an honor000.  Mark 16:9 says, “Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.”  Yes, Mary Magdalene would be the first one to see the risen Lord, even though she was not an apostle nor would she ever be used of God to write a single line of scripture.  Her only qualification for this high honor was her deep and abiding affection for her Lord.

The Gospel of Luke records that when Jesus was preaching in every city and village, the 12 disciples being with Him, a company of women followed them.  They did this out of sheer gratitude for what the Lord had done in their behalf.  One of them was Mary Magdalene, out of whom Jesus cast seven devils.  From the moment of her exorcism by the Lord Jesus, Mary followed her Master and the disciple band and ministered unto Him as did the other women, of their substance (Luke 8:1-3).  This unremitting devotion was the quality found by the Lord to be the most rewardable of all.

Source:
Confident Living Magazine, Secunderabad, A.P, India
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Genuine or Imitation

Theodore H Epp

Pic. Credit:  sxc tattoedmi

Do you know the difference between synthetic and genuine leather? It is said that the main observable difference is in the smell. Would you be able to tell the difference between a genuine diamond and a plastic one? I have that some plastic “diamonds” are made to look so much like the real thing that most people cannot tell the difference. It takes a good

Jeweler—an expert—can tell them apart.

Many years ago when the X ray was first discovered, a group of wealthy women were having a club meeting. They wanted their entertainment to be both educational and constructive, so they invited an outstanding scientist to speak to them and to demonstrate the new X-ray machine. The scientist explained how X rays worked and what men could do with them. Then, in order to demonstrate his machine, he asked several of the women for permission to examine some of the diamonds and other precious stones they were wearing.  He told them that the X rays would reveal whether or not their jewelry was genuine. Since these women were all sure that their jewels were genuine, they agreed to the test. 

 In many cases he was able to assure these well-dressed women that their jewels were real, but he also found some imitations. Of course, the women with the imitations thought they had genuine stones. No doubt their husbands also thought they were genuine when they bought them. But they had been  fooled. They had been cheated. The women were humiliated; some became angry; a few even refused to believe the evidence, though that did not alter the fact.  

Perhaps you have seen a monkey that acted very much like a man. He rode around on a bicycle, wore a police uniform and did many other things that men do. But no matter how you looked at the monkey, he was still a monkey. Doing things like a man did not make him a man. He was still just a fake, mimic, a pretense or an imitation.

But then there is the genuine item. “Genuine” comes from word whose root meaning is to be born.” For instances, because you are born of your parents, you actually belong to them. You are a genuine, real member of their family. There is no hypocrisy, no pretending about that. It is all true.

The dictionary tells us that an imitation is a copy of a pattern. It may look like the real thing, and it may seem to be genuine, but it isn’t.

Are you an imitation or are you genuine? Are you a fake, or are you the real thing? I’m referring to the fact of being a Christian. God’s X ray, the Bible, will reveal it. 

A Christian is a person who has accepted Jesus Christ as personal Savior; he has been born again. Some people think that going to church and being good will make them Christians. But the Bible teaches that good works done to earn salvation are just like filthy rags

(see Isa. 64:6).

Others think that patterning their lives after Jesus and imitation His actions will change their lives; but God’s Word says each person must be born from above by the Holy Spirit (See John. 3:3,7). We must confess our sin and ask Christ to forgive us and make us His children.

If you haven’t had this experience, you need to say, “Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. In know You died for my sins. I now confess my sinful life and ask You to forgive me.” Then believe that He has forgiven you.  He will if you ask and believe: “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37). “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts. 16:31).

You see, it requires more than imitating Him. Alone, you can’t live like Christ. The Bible says, “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked” (I John 2:6). This is not possible unless He lives His life in you. So heed what He says: “Behind, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Rev.3:20).

Are you a genuine Christian, or are you just the church-going, Sunday school-going imitation?  Are you a mimic?  A fake? Or are you genuinely born from above? Remember, God’s X rays reveal the truth. CL

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Inventions Good and Bad

by Ord L Morrow

Bluetooth Pens
Carry a computer inside their belly!

Of all the creatures on the earth, man is the great inventor.  It would not surprise me if every person dreams of inventing something that will make the world happy—and make them rich!  I have always wanted to invent a house that did not need cleaning or come up with some gadget that one could step into, fly a thousand miles in, step out of, fold up, and put under one’s arm as he went about his business.  I don’t know about girls, but every boy in his imagination has flown to the moon and back—Buck Rogers and others heroes notwithstanding.  I have a lot of ideas that I would like to make work if I were to get the time.  There is nothing wrong with inventions if they are used properly.    We are no more holy reading by candlelight than we are by using electricity.  We are no more holy doing our wash on an old piece of tin that we are by letting Maytag do it for us.

We live in exciting times.  We can listen to music or news as we drive down the high way in our air-conditioned cars or as we plow the fields in our air-conditioned tractors.  Think of the thousands of jobs that electricity does for us.  Who has not been amazed as he stood and watched a computer do in seconds what a man could not do in a lifetime?  I know that we sometimes do crazy things with our inventions.  We invent a flying machine, and about the first thing we think of a flying up over the heads of our brothers and dropping bombs down on them.  But the fault is not with the plane.  Likewise, the automobile may turn out to be more of a blight that a blessing.  As for me, I enjoy living in a world where there are many inventions, and I do not doubt that we have seen but the beginning.

Now we must contend with a word from Solomon:  “Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions” (Eccles. 7:29).  What was the cleaver king referring to?  Note that he was contrasting inventions with uprightness.  He was talking about our inventing ways of appearing upright when, in fact, we are not upright at all.  He was speaking about things we invent to make us appear to seek uprightness and morality while all the time we continue on in our own course.  We invent little mottoes and stick them around for all to see, in order that they will be impressed with our upright position!  We give a pittance to the poor, help the weak and once in a while go to the house of worship, and it all may be nothing more than an invention to make us appear upright when, in fact, our hearts have not known change at all.

The Word of God says plainly,  “All have sinned” (Rom. 3:23).  Do we accept that word?  Not at all.  We invent a way around that by saying, “Now, how in the world can that be?  After all, we are just creatures of chance and change.  We are the products of our environment.  We were not made, we just happened.  We are not responsible to anyone!”   Who says we are not Clever  inventors?  The eternal decree has it:  “There is none righteous” (Rom. 3:10).  But we invent a thousand little ways to make ourselves appear righteous at least to each other.

God’s Plan for us is to partake of a righteousness of another, and this righteousness is not an invention—it is a gift.  Only those who surrender to the righteous One will ever known this righteousness.  A surrender to this righteous Lord not only makes one righteous, it actually changes a man’s total outlook on life.

Touchscreen Invention.
One of the greatest electronic inventions of the decade

I expect that man will go on inventing a thousand gadgets which will make life on earth a bit easier, and I am glad.  It is said that the next ten years will change our world more than our total past history, and I think we will be excited about these strange and wonderful inventions.  Our danger is that we continue to invent excuses so that we may continue on in our sin.  Our danger is that we will invent ways, ideas and philosophies which will give us a false hope of righteousness.

Righteousness is an issue that we must meet head-on and settle in God’s way. 

Coming to know the righteous One means that we will never invent another way of making ourselves appear to be what we are not.  We will never again invent a wall which will shut us in and shut God out.  After all, that is not inventiveness that is insanity.  As we come to make the righteous One Lord, we will desire to walk only in the ways that please Him and will spurn every invention to the contrary.  God made us upright in the beginning, and we spoiled it.  Let us throw out our foolish humanistic inventions and ask Him to make us upright once again END

Source:
Confident Living Magazine for Bible Teaching (Bacl to the Bible)
Pic. Credit: Gizmowatch.com (Bluetooth pens)
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