We all make mistakes! None of us are perfect! People have said, “To err is human.” And except for Jesus, who was perfect, I agree! That’s how things are down here in this world – imperfect.

Thankfully, there is a God in heaven who forgives sins and offenses.

A lot of people don't know this, but the Bible tells us that God forgave some pretty bad sins. For example, God forgave a murderer. Do you know what his name was? Moses! Surprised? Moses murdered an Egyptian, but God forgave him. God also forgave his brother, Aaron, who built an idol to worship – a golden calf. And God forgave a prostitute named Rahab. He forgave an adulterer named David. He forgave a woman who had been possessed by seven demons – Mary Magdalene. God also forgave a religious man named Saul who threw Christians in jail just for being Christians.

God forgives sins! And that is why it is possible to turn from those moral errors and, by God's grace, be forgiven and learn to move beyond them.

But there are three sins – three spiritual mistakes - people make all the time, that no one can move beyond, because they are errors they are not aware they are committing.

What are they? Unfortunately because of sin and selfishness in each of us, our internal detecting device about lies and spiritual danger has been greatly weakened. We are susceptible to dangerous lies because the lies themselves seem to make sense to us in our self-centered way of thinking. These lies even can make us feel good about ourselves when the truth is that we are far from OK.

What many folks don't want to acknowledge is, that just because we say everything is fine in our lives, doesn't mean everything is indeed fine. In everyone's rush not to judge others, and to make everybody equal -- reality still remains reality! We have to face God's unbending standards about what is acceptable and what is not. We don't change reality by thinking differently than God does. We only set ourselves up for future disappointment!

Yet for some reason, when it comes to eternal, spiritual matters, many think, "Whatever you believe is OK as long as you are sincere." Have you heard that said before? That's not only fraught with logical problems (since the beliefs of people are contradictory) it's also spiritually dangerous. God warns us that there are eternal mistakes with eternal consequences, bringing real eternal pain and shame. There are lies out there about heaven & hell and eternity & God, that if you believe them, you may feel good about yourself now, but in the future you are going to slam into a wall called Truth. And then it will be too late to correct your errors.

So now is the time to do the tough job of making sure you know the truth about God and yourself and your future.

But how will you be able to do that? In order to know the truth, you are going to have to trust someone - someone besides yourself - who you know speaks for God. But how can you know who really speaks for God? And how do we know that only one religion speaks for God?

That's a tough question, but there is a good answer to that question. Just ask yourself these questions: Out of all the religious people and philosophers in the world, who alone was the one who claimed to come down from heaven and speak the truth to us? And who alone proved His words were true by being raised bodily from the dead? Who said He knew God fully? Whose life alone fulfilled dozens of predictions made about him hundreds of years before he was even born? Who alone performed hundreds of miracles before the eyes of thousands of people, on many occasions, to prove the reality of His power to such an extent that not even his enemies could say he was a fraud? Who alone demonstrated the most loving way to live, and who taught His followers to live the same way? Who attempted to take no advantage of people or spare people from any warning about the future just for the sake of popularity?

And whose teachings have been preserved from the ancient world, are studied the most today, and have changed more lives for good in the history of the world than any other?

Those are pretty good credentials! And only one person fits that description – Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus Christ!

I want to pass on to you some lies Jesus warned his followers about – that, He said, would lead to eternal destruction if they were believed. They come from the Bible in the Gospel of Matthew 7:13-23. These are Jesus' words:

Matthew 7:13-23: "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. "For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. "You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? "So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. "A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. "So then, you will know them by their fruits. "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'"

The first lie is this: "Most people go to Heaven, so I'm probably OK." Have you heard that one before? Do you know why this lie works? Because there is safety in numbers - or so people think. I have heard people tell me, "There is no way God would be saving only a few and condemning the rest. God is just not like that." But the first thing that ought to grab you about Jesus' teaching here is that not everybody can enter into the kingdom of heaven. People who just assume they have a right of passage into heaven, Jesus says, are making a huge mistake.

Now this lie comes in many forms today. You hear people say things like: "As long as you don't kill anyone or something like that, you're OK." However, if that were true, then God would have some pretty low standards. People also say, "I'm as good as the next guy!" That may be true, but how do you know the next guy will get into heaven?

Also some say, "All spiritual paths lead to God!" But how would they know? Did they travel all of them and get to heaven already to tell us? Many think, "We all worship the same God." But God doesn't seem to agree. He tells us in the Bible to worship only Him and honor no other name or idol.

Jesus says there are qualifications that must be met to get into the kingdom of heaven, and not all people meet those qualifications. He taught his followers to, "Enter through the narrow gate;" Why? " … for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it."

Most people choose to attempt to enter by the wide gate and walk down the broad path. What does that refer to? That path is broad and spacious! It's popular! Maybe it's even easier to travel. In fact, he says many are those who go that way.

And where does the broad road end up? In destruction! That's a warning from the One who knows.

So what do we have to do? Notice that a choice has to be made by us, otherwise Jesus would not be telling his disciples to choose one to enter. We have to make a choice! We will go down one of the two ways. We will enter one of the two gates.

So Jesus gives an exhortation to enter the narrow way. He doesn't tell His disciples to admire the narrow gate or - to put it in post-modern terms - "to tolerate the gate," but to enter it!! He wants them to find life!

He wants the best for you!

You have to know who to listen to! Other people on the broad road are not going to get bent out of shape because you are on it with them. They think that way is great! It takes someone on the narrow road to warn you of the danger. You have to get off that road – despite all the people traveling it, even your friends or colleagues – yes, even your family - and enter onto the narrow path.

You don't want to be eternally destroyed, and you shouldn't want them to be destroyed either.

Today is your opportunity to get off that broad road and get to the narrow gate.

Remember, Jesus said, "Few find it!" You know what that means, right? It means it is easily overlooked. That way won't seem attractive at first. It may not seem like the answer to your life's problems. Many folks think it is a rinky-dink looking gate – so who would go that way? So you decide to go where most of the others are doing. But there is false comfort in numbers and outward appearance.

Remember most people in Jesus' day rejected him. But even so - millions have chosen the narrow path to life, and you can too! If you believe in Jesus you will be on that narrow way to life.

Listen to another verse in the Bible:

Romans 10:9-10 "that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."

Also listen to this promise from God's holy word:

John 5:21-24 "For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes. "For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life."

If you are willing to call Jesus your own Lord and if you believe God raised Him from the dead you can be saved today. Simply hearing God's word and believing it will rescue you from spiritual death into life. That's a promise from God's unerring word!

Please contact us if you would like a free CD of the sermon on this message and learn about the other two lies that Jesus said would lead to eternal destruction.

And contact us if you want to talk more about faith in Jesus Christ and how to get on that narrow road that leads to life.

Blessings to you in Christ,
Pastor Leake