"You can enter God's Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell (destruction) is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it." Matthew 7:13-14 NLT

When Dante wrote his terrifying poem The Divine Comedy in 1320, he placed an inscription over the gates leading into hell, "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here." The soundtrack playing in the background was the terrifying screams of those who were condemned in this never-ending burning inferno.

We modern folk have abandoned not hope, but the whole idea of hell or a pathway to destruction. I am betting you that most people, if they think about what comes after this life on earth, believe all dogs go to heaven. Wherever that is. Whatever that is. Or worse, they believe there is nothing other than this life here on planet earth.

Few in this generation have heard the hellfire and damnation tear-filled preaching that I listened to in a small and humble Alabama church many years ago. It has gone out of style. And some of us might agree, "Good riddance." But in doing so, we must ignore the words of the ancient Hebrew scriptures. And the words of Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount. And the vision of his disciple John in Revelation. And we must ignore the little nagging thought in the back of our mind that whispers, "Well, what does happen to those people who leave a path of destruction in their wake? Do they continue to just go along their merry way?"

No one wants to think about hell. Hell is for those people who are not like us, right? Oddly, I think to even acknowledge this idea of hell, we have to start with something that is very different from the idea of hell – and that is holiness. God's holiness, to be exact.

God is Holy. Who can comprehend this? We cannot. If we could, we would be terrified. We would be on the ground, with our faces hidden. 

We are blind and deaf and arrogant enough to think that we created God out of our own imaginations. We own Him. We control Him. We keep Him captive in our little prayers and we keep Him at bay by our own 'good' actions. We like to keep Him small. And manageable. We place Him in the corner in time out until He can play well with others. We bring Him out to show Him off when we want to impress our guests.

I am afraid of the stupid words that escape from our hearts and onto our tongues when we buy into that sorry way of thinking.

If you are interested in that Jewish rabbi named Jesus, you might be interested in what he had to say about H-E-double hockey sticks. Because he said quite a lot.

When he saw the great faith of the outsider Roman Centurion, he told his disciples that many outside Israel would come from the east and the west to recline at the table with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while others (who thought they belonged in the kingdom) would be thrown outside into the darkness, where there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 8:10-12). So maybe entrance into the kingdom is dependent on faith and not heritage?

Jesus told of his return accompanied by angels when he would sit on a glorious throne in judgment and he would separate people from one another - much as a shepherd separates his sheep from the goats. He would remind them of how they had fed him or clothed him or welcomed him into their presence. He would remember the times they visited him when he was sick and in need or in prison. To those goats on his left who had ignored the needs of the least, he would command them to depart from him. He would call them cursed. He would send them to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Eternal punishment? Or eternal life? (Matthew 25:31-46). Could Jesus, this man of light and love, be teaching that our actions have consequences? And in this story, it looks like our actions don't have to be as severe as evil atrocities… but may be as convenient as ignoring others in need.

Jesus cautioned his followers to avoid sinning at all costs. (This is another subject we don't talk much about these days.) He spoke of being 'thrown into hell' and described it as a place 'where the maggots never die and the fire never goes out.' (Mark 9:43-48).

Hmm… This is the Jesus who offers grace and forgiveness but also warns of the terrible danger of our sinfulness. "And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out. It's better to enter the Kingdom of God with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell…" That sounds harsh, doesn't it?

Apparently, Jesus saw hell as a very real and terrible place. He warned as a parent warns a child not to chase the ball into the street, do not go there.

If you want to just go ahead and skip to the end of the story, flip open to Revelation 21 when there is the final judgment after the new heaven has descended to the new earth and God sits on His throne making all things new. There is a description of what all this newness will be like, but there is also a horrible last moment of judgment and defeat. This is the part we don't care to read.

"But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death." Revelation 21:8

Oh. I am noticing that being a coward and an unbeliever and a liar (even those little white ones?) is grouped right on in there with those who murder and are immoral. So much for my thinking my sin is not as bad as their sin. Shoot!

Hell. Is it real? Jesus seemed to think so. 

His ancestor, the warrior Joshua told the great story of God's faithfulness to His people, the tribes of Israel. He challenged his extended family around him to "choose today whom you will serve…". They agreed as Joshua that "as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15

We rarely look at the chilling warning Joshua left them with: 

Then Joshua warned the people, "You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy and jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins." Joshua 24:19

This is the problem in a nutshell. This is the problem with a Holy God. We can't, we won't be able to match His Holiness. We are left at a great loss. We are damned. Damn.

Except. Jesus, unlike Dante, inscribed something very different over a very different gate:

"…I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me." John 14:6 

This is the invitation to enter through the narrow gate; the one that can easily be missed. It is known as The Way. It is a difficult road paved with truth. It is the only way to life eternal - life with the Father in His Kingdom.

God had warned, through his prophet (Ezekiel 34) that He would be sending a new shepherd. One like David. One who cared which path you wandered along. One who noticed the robbers climbing over the fence to plunder and destroy. When Jesus showed up, he claimed he was not only the good shepherd – he alone could open the gate. 

"Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved." John 10:9

"Saved from what?" you may ask. I think he was talking about the wide path. The one paved with good intentions. The easy one that is popular and well-traveled. I think you know the one. 

These are the things we do not want to think about; the hard, sharp words that we do not want to entertain. We hold tightly to this world because we have been convinced this is all there is. Or we think we already have a ticket for heaven stashed somewhere in a drawer. Look around. Is your path wide and well-traveled and you have found it easy to go with the flow? You might want to stop for a moment. Do you remember going through a narrow gate? The one held open by a nail-scarred shepherd?

"And as for you, my flock, this is what the Sovereign Lord says to his people: I will judge between one animal of the flock and another, separating the sheep from the goats. And I will set over them one shepherd, my servant David. He will feed them and be a shepherd to them. And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be a prince among my people. I, the Lord, have spoken!" Ezekiel 34:17,23,24

Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn't understand what he meant, so he explained it to them: "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. …I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep." John 10:6-9,11

Is He Worthy? Chris Tomlin           Written by Andrew Peterson 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkRiYsTN7KY

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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