Psalm 119: Focus On God's Word Pt. 91 Enter the Straight Gate and Walk On The Narrow Path that Leads to Eternal Life.

Psalm 119:25-29  DALETH. My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word. 26)  I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me: teach me thy statutes. 27)  Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of thy wondrous works. 28)  My soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen thou me according unto thy word. 29)  Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me thy law graciously. 

Psalm 119:30  I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments have I laid before me.

In our last post we learned that God does allow controversy over the way of truth and the right worship of God. There is one true religion. 

All other forms of religion are the false ways of lying, the Devil's counterfeit religions that are intended to entrap and deceive mankind.

There is One Lord, One Spirit, One Father, One Faith, One Way of Truth.

Ephesians 4:3-6  Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4)  There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5)  One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6)  One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. 

Paul wrote of unity in the Spirit. Unity in the body of Christ is paramount if we are going to be a likeminded people who are devoted to our core mission of evangelizing the world (Matthew 28:20). 

Unity is evident in the word of God. There is only one source of truth and that is found in the book God gave to us. His holy Word. 

Unity is evident in purity of doctrine. There is One body of Christ, His church. There no other. There is One Holy Spirit who alone, can convict the hearts of man with God's truth and regenerate the repentant heart. All others are false spirits who seek to deceive us. There is One Christian gospel by which sinners can be converted to Jesus Christ for salvation. 

There is One Lord, Jesus Christ. All others are false Messiahs, the spirit of antichrist. There is one faith which is faith in Jesus Christ. There is one hope of salvation. These all connect to Jesus being the way, the truth, the resurrection and the life. 

There is one spiritual baptism whereby the Holy Spirit places a new believer into the organic, living body of Christ, known as His Church. 

There is only One True God and Father who is above all created things, whose will permeates the universe, and who is connected to each believer through faith in Christ. 

There is One Mediator between man and God. 

1 Timothy 2:3-6  For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 4)  Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 5)  For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6)  Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. 

The pure doctrine of the Christian faith teaches us what is pleasing to God and what He accepts. His heart is for all people to be born again and adopted into the family of God.

Just as there is only One King of kings and Lord of lords, so there is only One Mediator between man and God. The God-Man, Jesus Christ. 

All other mediators are made up in the imaginations of men's wicked minds. Jesus is the sole, solitary and only mediator, because He alone can reconcile man to God. 

God will give us One heart and show us One Way to follow, His Way!

Jeremiah 32:38-40  And they shall be my people, and I will be their God: 39)  And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: 40)  And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me. 

The prophet Jeremiah, like Ezekiel and Isaiah, spoke about the future promises of God to put His law into our hearts and to put His Spirit in us, so that we can be transformed into His righteous people. 

He will give all believers a unity of heart to do His will and He will show us the one way, the way of truth, so that we may walk therein. 

His covenant is an eternal one and His plans for those who love Him, are good.

We must know the One "Only True God and Jesus Christ."  

John 17:1-3  These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: 2)  As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. 3)  And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. 

This is the beginning of Jesus' prayer for all believers and as such, it is the prayer of our Great High Priest, who is exalted in heaven and who saves us to the uttermost. 

This is the prayer of Jesus right before He was betrayed in the garden of Gethsemane. as Jesus prayed to His Father, He stated a clear mission. That all might know "the only true God and Jesus Christ" His glorious Son!

Any religion that teaches something other than this essential truth is a false religion. No person can ever be saved or born again, unless they know and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Test all things and hang on to the good things of God. 

1 Thessalonians 5:21  Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. 

When a person's conscience is awakened to the one way of truth, they must seek it diligently. It is not enough to somehow stumble onto the truth of the gospel, but we must knowingly pursue this one faith with the conviction of its veracity and excellence. 

We must take up our copy of the scriptures and "prove" all things. The word "prove" means to test all things, scrutinize them fully in order to determine it's genuineness. 

We are to "hold fast" that which is good, as defined by God's Word. The words "hold fast" was a nautical term referring to keeping the speed of a ship at a certain limit, and not letting it exceed that speed. Thus, it is like hindering the progress of the ship in order to keep it safe and under control. 

The idea is that we learn and retain the good things God has revealed to us in His Word. 

Titus 1:9  Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers. 

Paul included holding fast the faithful pure word of God as a qualification for an elder. The fact is, all Christians should be well grounded and settled in our faith, so that we are holding fast to the way of truth that the Psalmist is teaching us about. 

"Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind." (Romans 14:5). This is where the Psalmist is leading us. To be fully convinced, fully persuaded of the way of truth we find in the scriptures.  It means to sift through the evidence presented in the Bible and be fully convinced so that there is no possibility of having your faith waver. 

Two gate, two paths, two destinations, but only one leads to eternal life. 

Matthew 7:13,14  Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14)  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. 

Jesus also taught plain, understandable truth about the way of life. Here, Jesus calls believers to enter the straight gate. The word "straight" means narrow, restrictive and is especially appropriate because we have the singular way of truth before us, and multiple other false ways around us. 

The straight gate is placed in stark contrast to the wide gate that encompasses all other false ways devised by man to lead to God. 

The word "wide" means broad and flat like large, open farmland. The wide gate leads to a "broad" way that is spacious, and accommodating to all because it represents all the false religions in the world. 

The straight gate leads to a narrow way, the way of truth. There cannot be multiple sources of truth. God is the singular source of unchangeable truth (Malachi 4:6). 

The word "narrow" means to press upon hard like treading grapes. It has the idea of being forced to walk in single file on a narrow path. 

Thoughts to Ponder...

The picture painted by the Psalmist and our Lord, is very clear. Many competing "ways" exists, but only one way is the way of truth, the way to heaven, the way to eternal life, the way to the Father. 

And that way is entered through the straight gate of repentant faith in Jesus Christ and the narrow way of following Him.

Throngs of people go through the wide gate and walk on the broad way, but this road leads to eternal damnation. 

Those who enter through the straight gate and walk on the narrow way, are those who find eternal life in Christ. 

Hear the words of the Psalmist again. "I have chosen the way of truth." May this be our driving passion each day that we awaken from sleep. May we open the Bible, ask the Spirit of God to teach us so that we might choose the way of truth today, tomorrow and each day until Christ calls us home. 

May the words of Jeremiah the prophet, guide us this day into choosing the good way, the safe, old paths, the way of truth marked out by Jehovah in the scriptures. 

Bob

Jeremiah 6:16  Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.