Greetings, dear ones.
Tazzy has not been his spunky self—and declined going with me on my jog this morning. Don’t really know what’s going on with him.
If you are residing in the Pacific Northwest of the USA, you are facing the hottest day of the year. My cell phone is reporting 97 degrees at this 3:55pm hour. Yet I can’t remain here inside and drink ice tea. I need to get out into the heat and finish up some urgent sawmill work.
May your hot day be nevertheless blessed. Ray.
How is it possible to read this passage again without being re-impacted with both the awesome wonderful yet terrible TRUTH of the Biblical Gospel?! If Jesus’ words are to be believed, as opposed to the popular rejection or popular theological twisting of His words, the Gospel does not just represent wall-to-wall GOOD NEWS—that everyone is to be eventually ushered into God’s final kingdom of ETERNAL LIFE. In fact Jesus clearly states that only a few actually make it. The Biblical Gospel also represents hideous and horrible gut-wrenching BAD NEWS surrounding the fate and destiny of those who are careless or presumptuous in managing their life choices that resist the exclusive one-and-only narrow doorway (FAITH IN AND COMMITMENT TO JESUS CHRIST) that plays out to disqualify them and exclude them from ETERNAL LIFE.
When Jesus describes the anguished cries of those who thought they were IN but then come to face the reality that they are very far OUT, I am imagining a common complaint being voiced to go something like this: “I was led to believe that your love was UNCONDITIONAL!!”
Please do not be mistaken on this crucial point. Jesus is pointing out that many are! I have no alternative but to view the Biblical Gospel as being highly CONDITIONAL. And the core reason why Jesus predicts that so many people will be devastated in final judgment is that they failed to meet the critically important CONDITIONS of the Biblical Gospel when they could have—or when they thought they had complied with the CONDITIONS according to their own personal or public opinions.
Reviewing some basic points from this passage seems appropriate. But I need to get to work on other things. So rather than me taking time to list them out here, I’d like to suggest that you do so, along with their scriptural supports. And to help clarify things further, I’ll suggest that you also make a list of the basic terms and conditions of the Biblical Gospel that guarantee the benefits thereof.