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    The Narrow Gate
    The Narrow Gate
    The Narrow Gate
    Ebook69 pages1 hour

    The Narrow Gate

    By David Bergsland

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    This is extremely important during the "Great Falling Away"

    This book is direct and to the point. In it we share a word the church does not want to hear in this modern age of political correctness. But we really need to consider the implications.

    "You can enter God's Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it." [Matthew 7:13–14 NLT]

    We must start with the narrowness. Many people are made nervous by this. It is obvious that most pastors and priests are. How can you build a church by telling the people things like this? It is not good to talk about exclusiveness. This is certainly part of the narrowness of the gate. In modern America this is where we get into trouble very quickly from the PC media police.

    Jesus could not have made it more clear. This aspect of the narrowness is made clear by many things he said. If you are into the words of Jesus typeset in red ink—these are in red. He lays it out boldly—in a way that cannot be ignored.

    "Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved." [John 10:9 NLT]

    However, it is obvious to us all that today many local church pastors have trouble saying that Jesus is the gate, the door to the life abundant. It is commonly not preached because the whole approach sounds a bit narrow-minded. But it is much stronger than that.

    As you will see in this book, many powerful, active church members will find themselves outside with no way to enter heaven.

    You need to read this book.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRadiqx Press
    Release dateAug 22, 2013
    ISBN9781497703056
    The Narrow Gate
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    Author

    David Bergsland

    For me, my early life culminated with the great rebellion of the sixties. Ending up as a fine artist and heavy user of pot and acid, I needed help. I met Jesus in 1974, and my life began, for real. The Lord gave me an amazing Godly woman for my wife in 1976. I became a graphic designer, font designer, and desktop publisher. In 1991, I began teaching printing and digital publishing. That resulted in writing dozens of books and booklets about the practical processes, using InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator. In 2009, I began the transformation into an author of fiction. By the end of 2022, I had 17 novels in five series, as I have developed my craft. This book is #20, and is the third book of the sixth series. I’m using Christian contemporary speculative fiction with some Biblical romance to share stories about the reality of how Jesus touches our day-to-day lives, while being strongly focused upon Biblical truth. I put the stereotypical Bible quoters in the same category as robo-callers. I attempt to reveal Jesus within a realistic world sharing my experiences. The goal is to reveal Jesus as a loving Creator building people into what they are designed to be. I currently assume time is running short, and the final harvest is here.

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      Book preview

      The Narrow Gate - David Bergsland

      Jesus is seen as a wide, obvious gate

      The way that the church teaches, the gate is not very narrow. There are several common practices in the modern church that seem to provide a wide open gate. But it is an illusion. That gate is very narrow. Let’s take a look at some of the practices which can confuse church members. We need to be very careful to help them understand the truth.

      Salvation through baptism is a very wide gate

      In some denominations, we see this in the doctrine of salvation through baptism. This teaching suggests that simple baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit will do what is necessary for us to have eternal salvation.

      My wife was taught in one of her seminary classes that baptizing an unconscious man at a car accident, just before he died, would save him. Maybe. But there is no scriptural evidence for this. In fact, scripture says that you must repent and be baptized. Baptism is not a magic act of power. It is the result of an adult decision.

      Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brothers, what shall we do? And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. [Acts 2:37–38 esv]

      We find the same in the Gospels

      He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. [mark 16:16]

      Here we see that belief is what is required. In reading the following verses from Paul about the requirements for salvation, we see that baptism is not even mentioned.

      if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. [romans 10:9 esv]
      Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household. [Acts 16:31 esv]

      Baptism is certainly important. Jesus told John the Baptist that He needed to be baptized to fulfill all righteousness. But there is no evidence that baptism provides salvation, it is a ceremonial event of public proclamation and a ritual of cleansing. It can be a wonderful way for new believers to cement their relationship in the kingdom.

      Be careful of doctrines

      Wrangling about doctrines is not something we want to do. I’ve talked in other books about the essential nature of baptism and my lack of scriptural certainty about the method of that baptism. All that is clear is that you must be baptized after you believe. It’s an exercise in obedience.

      If you have any personal concerns about whether your baptism was real or not, get dunked—as in fully immersed—as an adult. But I know many true believers who only have a baby sprinkling—and I have seen everything in between those limits.

      What is clear is that a belief in Jesus is essential. We must believe He is who He said He is. But we must be talking about something more than that also. What do we do with a scripture like this?

      You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. [James 2:19 niv]

      The key to this confusion seems to be in a portion of the Romans verse we quoted above—if you confess with your mouth. Demons may believe it, but they will certainly never confess it as truth (unless forced to do so). But then that is problematical also. Some people are saved in the privacy of their home with no one there but the

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