The Narrow Way

There is no person so lost as the person falsely assured that he is saved. The devil knows his Bible and recalls that Jesus said:

On that day many will say to me, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?" And then will I declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness." (Matthew 7:22-23, ESV)

The devil wants to maximize that "many." He wants as many people as possible to put confidence in their sincere confession ("Lord, Lord!"), spiritual gifts (which can be faked and counterfeited), or good works (which can be deceitful). He wants to rob God of glory and rob his children of eternal life.

This book wasn't written to steal away your assurance. It was written to explore how Jesus defined the fully-converted life. It was written to light the path that Jesus said his disciples would walk as they followed him. It was written to mark off false paths that lead to deception, death, and ruin. It was written to provide a Biblical grid to support honest self-reflection so that a person might look at the picture of fully-converted Christian living provided by Jesus Christ and fall to their knees and pray, "Is this born in me?" Ask him that and let him give you the only assurance that ever mattered. False assurance has sent more men and women to hell than just about anything else I can think of. The Bible says:

Let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. (1 Corinthians 10:12, ESV)

Wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction and many there are who go that way. Narrow is the gate and difficult the way that leads to life and there are few who find it. This is the Narrow Way. Blessed are all who walk it.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Paul Carter lives and pastors in the city of Orillia, Ontario. He is passionate about the Word of God and the ministry of the local church. You can visit him online at www.beaconcitypublishing.com.