A Word from Our President
As God’s people proceed toward the kingdom of God, there is a road they must travel—an elevated Road—a highway—that leads to that destination. No other road can take them to the kingdom of God. The Bible speaks often about this highway. With lots of help from Him, God’s people should, as the expression goes, “keep it between the ditches” of that road. This is the most important highway of all, the “Highway of holiness,” the narrow path, that leads to eternal life.
Human life has a purpose. The Author and Giver of life had a purpose in mind when He created the world, all the plants and creatures, and then His ultimate handiwork, mankind made in His own image (Genesis 1:27; Hebrews 2:10). Since human life has a purpose, it is important for people to know about, understand, and fulfill that purpose lest they be out of sync with their fundamental reason for existing. Ultimately, everyone will know this purpose, but in today’s world, not many do. People need to know how to proceed toward fulfilling God’s purpose for them. They need to know the way. The Bible reveals that way.
Obviously, across the world, millions of people feel religious. Many of them come under the title “Christian,” but have absolutely no hope of entering Heaven and escaping hell. Even millions who claim to believe in Jesus believe in His life, death, and resurrection. There were people like that that Jesus ran into Himself, according to the last couple of verses in John chapter 2. There were many who believed on Him, but He didn’t commit Himself to them because He knew what was in their hearts. It was a superficial kind of belief. It was a self-serving kind of belief. It lacked the character, depth, repentant attitude, and full knowledge of Christ to be real, saving faith.
This fact is clearly stated by our Lord in verse 21 of John chapter 2, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven.” And He then says, “Many will say that.” This looks at the future when people arrive into the presence of the Lord and say, “Lord, Lord, we’re here,” to which He will respond, “I never knew you.” Then in verse 23 He says, “Depart from me into hell, you who practice lawlessness.”
Scripture is clear that the only way of salvation is through Jesus Christ. He is the one Mediator between God and man. He is the one Savior, the world’s only Savior. No man comes to God the Father except through Him. There is no salvation in any other than Him; Scripture makes that clear. It says, “Salvation comes through faith, and faith comes by hearing a message concerning Christ, in Romans 10. In Ephesians 2 we see again, “Salvation is by grace through faith, not works.”
You cannot mix the religion of human achievement with the religion of divine accomplishment; they don’t mix. Paul in Romans says, “If you add any works to grace, grace is no more grace.” And that redefinition is deadly. You only come by grace through faith, not through any acquired morality, religiosity, sacraments, achievements, and human goodness.
There are only two categories of people in the world. There are those who believe the gospel and those who are the enemies of the gospel. Jesus said, “There are those who are with Me and those who are against Me.” Those who are with Him are fully committed to the true gospel as revealed in Scripture. Those who are against Him come in endless religious forms. The true way to Heaven is spelled out, and it is the narrow way. “It is the narrow way,” says verse 14, “that leads to life. It is the broad way that leads,” verse 13 says, “to destruction.”
The question now is which road have you CHOSEN to take?