Jesus is the Only Way to God! The strait gate and narrow way which leadeth unto to life.
“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: Because strait [is] the gate, and narrow [is] the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).
Also exposing Joel Osteen’s Luciferian “word of faith” gospel of the self and his broad message of all-inclusiveness, along with Billy Graham and Oprah Winfrey.
Preached by Afshin Yaghtin, New Covenant Baptist Church.
The Strait and Narrow
• Matthew 7:13-14
The Bible tells us that the way which leads to life – to eternal life – is narrow.
The path is not wide. You can’t go every which way, there’s only one way to God the Father.
But what you often hear from people is that:
“Every religion, every faith, is basically the same, that we all worship the same God.
& That as long as we believe in a God & are generally good,
That we’ll make it to heaven. That God just looks at the heart.
But what does the Bible say about the heart?
It says in Jeremiah 17:9: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
So if you’re relying on the goodness of you heart to save you, you’re not going to make it!
They’ll say things like: the God of Christianity is the same God of Judaism, the same God of Islam, and Hinduism & New Agism, & whatever else ism & they’ll claim that it’s all one.
That God is the “Source” or the “Higher Power” or a cosmic energy or all matter & space. And they end up serving the creature more than the creator.
& That is what the Bible calls the “broad way” … the “wide gate”.
And it’s a picture of an impersonal, unknowable God, a God without form, a force, a singularity, Christ-consciousness, the power of the mind or the illusion of time and space, and they get into this spiritual mumbo jumbo that doesn’t really say anything or mean anything …
… Other than that it’s All-Inclusive.
It’s non-judgmental, it’s genderless, it’s synergistic (instead of individualistic), and they get into the Tao and Unity and ecumenism, and universalism …
And ultimately, the broad way encompasses a moral relativity to the point that sin becomes an illusion or a condition of cultural upbringing.
That’s what they claim. Be a good person and you’ll make it to heaven.
The problem with that is that no one is good. No one is righteous 100% of the time!
“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.”
Jesus said, “Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.”
The reason Jesus said that is because He was saying that only God is righteous and good, and He was equating Himself with God.
The Bible says in Acts 4:12: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
But by which name?
“That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth.” (Philippians 2:10).
And the Bible calls this the strait gate and the narrow way.
• And btw: just as a sidenote, the NKJV, the so-called New King James Version, changes the word “narrow” to “difficult”.
• Instead of making salvation narrowly exclusive to Jesus Christ, it makes salvation difficult, and introduces a works-based mentality.
If you remember, Matthew 7:14 says: “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
But the NKJV changes it to: “Because[a] narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
So, again, we see a corruption every time that we steer away from the tried & true King James Bible!
& The word “strait”, S – T – R – A – I – T, does not mean just a linear, straight pathway, like we think of. It actually means narrow.
Like the “straits of Giblator”, which is a narrow waterway that connects The Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean sea.
It’s just a narrow pathway.
And so that’s an analogy for the 1 single, solitary, exclusive, narrow pathway that leads to God.
There’s 1 way to God.
There’s 1 way to be saved, contrary to what the world today teaches!
And the Bible says that few will find it and so not many will be saved.
• And many people will look at Christians & think that’s an arrogant statement to make …
• …to claim that we & only we as Bible-believing Christians have an exclusive foothold on the truth.
• That truth is absolute and exclusive to the true Christian faith.
But you have to understand that the vast majority of people in this world – perhaps even the majority of people that you know in this life – will end up in the Lake of Fire and brimstone and will be tormented day and night forever.
That’s what the Bible teaches. Let that sink in for a minute.
The majority of people born in this world will end up burning in the Lake of Fire.
That’s why it’s important to preach the Gospel – when you let that sink in … it should create an immense desire in you to preach the Gospel and to pull people out of the fire.
In fact, further in the same chapter, Mathew 7, Jesus said in v. 22-23:
22 MANY will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
The Bible uses the word, “MANY”.
• And we know that the majority of people in this world do not consider themselves Christians.
• So the majority of people, the Bible teaches, are on their way to Hell.
• But even among the minority who call themselves Christians, Jesus said, MANY of those are not really saved!
Because there are a lot of people who put on Christian clothing, but are not really Christians.
So truly, strait is the gate & narrow is the way.
Mormons are one example, Jehovah’s False Witnesses another.
Mormons do not worship the same Jesus that I do. They believe that Jesus is Lucifer’s brother and that God the Father was once human and progressed to Godhead by marrying multiple wives and having many children. That’s why the Mormons, the Latter Day Satans promote polygamy.
That’s not the Jesus that I preach.
And you can’t be born into Christianity. The Bible says you must be born again.
“Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).
So the Bible teaches that the majority of the population of the world will not make it to heaven …
And even among so-called Christians, MANY who claim to be Christian, will not make it either!
STATS:
32% of the world’s population consider themselves Christian (2.2 billion out of the world’s population of 7 billion). This is general: includes Christians/Catholics/Anglicans/etc.
[1.2 billion Catholics/800 million Protestants/250 million Orthodox/85 million Anglicans/100 million Baptists / less than 1% of the population]
And I don’t believe that Baptists are the only ones that are saved. But the reason I highlight Baptists is because we clearly believe that salvation is by faith alone, apart from the works of the Law. That Atonement is by the blood of Jesus alone.
2nd most popular religion: Islam / Muslims 23%
16% don’t affiliate with any religion (roughly 1.1 billion, or 1 in 6 people), 3rd largest group.
15% Hindus
7% Buddhists
6% Other religions (Baha’i, Jainism, Sikhism, Wicca, Satanism, Zoroastrianism, etc.)
Less than 1% Jews (0.2%) (41% live in America, 44% in Middle East).
So if 32% of the population consider themselves Christians, which is still a minority … the Bible says that of that 32%, MANY are not saved.
So it’s critical, it’s life & death, to be sure that you’re entering in through the strait gate and the narrow way and not trying to wedge your way in through some other path.
JESUS SAID: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6).
The Bible says that Jesus is: “is the propitiation for our sins” not Christ-consciousness or enlightenment of the mind.
It’s CHRIST HIMSELF, JESUS CRUCIFIED.
1 Timothy 2:5: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus”
Jesus said in John 11:25-26: “I AM the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in ME, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die …”
John 17:3: “And this is life eternal, that they might know THEE THE ONLY TRUE GOD, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
Look at all the I AM statements!
When God appeared to Moses in the bush which burned with fire, He identified Himself as I AM THAT I AM:
Exodus 3:14: “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”
And Jesus identified Himself with I AM.
• There are 8 “I AM” Statements in the Gospel of John, in which Jesus identified Himself as God, as the only God, as the I AM that appeared to Moses.
John 6:48 I am the bread of life
John 8: 12 I am the light of the world
John 8:58 Before Abraham was, I am
John 10:9 I am the door
John 10:11 I am the good shepherd
John 11:25 I am the resurrection, and the life
John 14:6 I am the way, the truth, and the life
John 15:1 I am the true vine
What do all those I AM statements say?
That Jesus is God; the same God who appeared to Moses as I AM THAT I AM.
John 10:1-2
1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
There’s only 1 shepherd of the sheep and He enters through the door, because it’s his place, it’s his sheepfold. He has lawful entry.
And those who say there is another way to God or many ways to God, the Bible says they’re thieves and robbers, who try to break in some other way.
Isaiah 30:9-10 says of preachers and prophets who are not preaching the 1 way, who are not preaching the strait & narrow: “That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD: Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:”
Romans 16:17-18: Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.
For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
And the #1 pastor today who’s preaching lies & deceits, who’s preaching smooth things & tickling itching ears, who’s dressed up as a lamb but is ravening wolf inside is Joel Osteen.
By good words and fair speeches, Osteen is deceiving the hearts of the simple.
He preaches the “Victorious life”, the “abundant life”.
He says you can have “your best life now”, while neglecting the heart of the Gospel message salvation from sin & Hell and repentance from dead works to faith towards God.
Paul admonishes us in the book of Timothy to: “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”
Now first of all, you never hear Osteen reproving or rebuking anybody, ever.
In fact, he’s said in his own words that he never talks about sin. In an interview with Larry King on CNN, King asked him:
“How about issues that the church has feelings about? Abortion? Same-sex marriages?”
OSTEEN: “Yeah, you know what, Larry? I don’t go there.”
KING: “But you have thoughts, though?”
OSTEEN: “I just, you know, I don’t think that a same-sex marriage is the way God intended it to be. I don’t think abortion is the best. I think there are other, you know, a better way to live your life. But I’m not going to condemn those people. I tell them all the time our church is open for everybody.”
KING: you don’t call them sinners?
OSTEEN: “I don’t.”
KING: Is that a word you don’t use?
OSTEEN: I don’t use it.
But the Bible uses the word “sin”, “sinneth” & “sinner” over 500 times!
But Joel Osteen considers it a dirty word.
The Bible says to be instant in season, out of season: that means that whether the message you’re preaching is popular, whether it’s in season, or whether it’s unpopular, out of season, that we are supposed to preach the same message, the same doctrine!
But Osteen preaches what the crowd wants to hear … he’s a popular preacher becomes he tailors his sermons for the tickling ears of the populace.
2 Timothy 4:3-4 says: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away [their] ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
Osteen preaches that that man has power within himself to change his own reality & control his own destiny.
And so he preaches material success & happiness as the primary focus of this life.
But James 5:1-3 says:
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
James 4:3-4: “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
At the center of Osteen’s teachings is the idea that man has the power within himself to speak reality into existence.
Osteen wants you to think positive thoughts, speak positive words, have a positive attitude, so that you will attract these things to yourself.
He says: “Your words affect your future”.
He’ll say things like: “Now get up & say this is gonna be a great day. I’m excited about my future. Somethin’ good is gonna happen to me.
He’ll say: “You gotta send your words out in the direction you want your life to go … Words are like seeds, if you continue to say them and believe them and listen to them they can become a reality in your life.”
He says: “Like a magnet you draw in what you are constantly thinking about … Believe, visualize, speak out loud.”
That’s why it’s called the “word of faith movement”.
It’s name it & claim it theology.
But where does this type of thinking come from?
It comes from the New-Age Occult concept of the LAW OF ATTRACTION.
And the LAW OF ATTRACTION is not new.
It comes from the NEW THOUGHT movement of the late 19th century and the mystics of the new age theosophical society, such as Madame Blavatsky and Annie Besant.
It then spread to the New Age occult as a whole, such as in the “Secret” which was promoted heavily by Oprah.
This is what Osteen is preaching and calling it Christianity.
This is not Christianity, this is Luciferean theology.
It’s occult, New Age Luciferianism.
And think about it: WHAT IS LUCIFEREAN theology?
It is the theology of the devil …
it is the theology that exalts the self above God.
Isaiah 14:12-14:
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Remember, Osteen believes in the LAW OF ATTRACTION
… the power of words and thoughts to attract what you desire in this life.
Now, listen to Helena Blavatsky, New Age Luciferean & occult leader of the 1800s:
“It is the universal law which is understood by Plato & Timaeus as the attraction of lesser bodies to larger ones and of similar bodies to similar, the latter exhibiting a magnetic power …”
Here also is Annie Besant, Blavatsky’s disciple:
“This is the secret of right receptivity: the mind responds according to its constitution: it answers to all that is of like nature to itself. We make it positive towards evil, negative towards good, by habitual good thinking … we must think of that which we desire to receive, and refuse to think of that which we desire not to receive.”
Doesn’t that sound just like Joel Osteen?
I mean compare to again to what Osteen says: “Like a magnet, we draw in what we are constantly thinking about … we must think about what we desire to receive.”
• Look, this isn’t some babe in Christ who doesn’t have his doctrine straight.
• Osteen is the pastor of a mega-church, in fact the biggest church in America.
• He has over 40,000 members and preaches to millions of people across the media.
• Lakewood church purchased the Compaq center sports arena in Houston for untold millions and then spent somewhere between $75-$95 million renovating it.
• Osteen knows what he’s doing and what he’s preaching.
Joel Osteen is a devilish preacher! He’s not saved! He’s not a believer! He’s a charlatan!
He’s faking it! He’s going to Hell!
He’s turning away millions of people from hearing the true saving Gospel of Jesus Christ!
Joel Osteen is preaching the broad way … not the narrow way, not the strait gate …
… because he doesn’t believe in God, and he doesn’t believe in sin, the devil, Hell, any of it!
Because he’s not a true believer!
Here is on Larry King Live again on CNN in front of millions of viewers:
Larry King: What if you’re Christian or Muslim and don’t accept Christ at all?
Osteen: You know, I’m just very careful about saying who would and wouldn’t go to heaven?
King: But you BELIEVE you have to believe in Christ, right? They’re wrong aren’t they? (speaking Muslims & Jews)
Osteen: Well, I don’t know if I believe they’re wrong …
Here is Osteen on the Oprah Winfrey show:
Oprah: So here’s the big question: are there many paths to get to the One God?
Osteen: Well, I believe, Oprah, that Jesus is the way to the One God, but I believe THERE ARE MANY PATHS TO JESUS. You don’t know how Jesus would reveal Himself to somebody.
The same was true about Billy Balaam Graham, you know Billy Graham, the most famous preacher of all time.
Billy Graham appeared in a TV interview with Robert Schuller of the Crystal Cathedral in CA in 1997.
Schuller: “Tell me, what is the future of Christianity?”
Graham: “Well, Christianity and being a true believer, you know, I think there’s the body of Christ which comes from all the Christian groups around the world, or outside the Christian groups. I think that everybody that loves Christ or knows Christ, whether they’re conscious of it or not, they’re members of the body of Christ. And I don’t think that we’re going to see a great sweeping revival that will turn the whole world to Christ at any time. What God is doing today is calling people out of the world for His name. Whether they come from the Muslim world, or the Buddhist world, or the Christian world, or the non-believing world, they are members of the body of Christ because they’ve been called by God. They may not even know the name of Jesus, but they know in their hearts they need something that they don’t have and they turn to the only light they have and I think they’re saved and they’re going to be with us in heaven.”
Schuller: “What I hear you saying is that it’s possible for Jesus Christ to come into a human heart and soul and life even if they’ve been born in darkness and have never had exposure to the Bible. Is that a correct interpretation of what you’re saying?”
Graham: “Yes it is because I believe that. I’ve met people in various parts of the world in tribal situations that they have never seen a Bible or heard about a Bible, have never heard of Jesus but they’ve believed in their hearts that there is a God and they tried to live a life that was quite apart from the surrounding community in which they lived.”
Schuller: “This is fantastic. I’m so thrilled to hear you say that. There’s a wideness in God’s mercy.
Graham: There is. There definitely is.
All these false preachers preach a WIDE ROAD.
Osteen even believes that homos will get to heaven.
So why are they so inclusive? Because more people = more money! That’s what they’re about!
Micah 3:11 sums it up perfectly: “The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? none evil can come upon us.”
You see, the false prophets were preaching a positive message for gain.
THE BOTTOM LINE IS THIS: The Bible teaches that there is one way and one way only to heaven only and that is through faith alone in Jesus Christ.
The Bible says: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”
It’s the 1st commandment!
But people like Joel Osteen, favorites like Billy Balaam (and I’ve got a video clip of Billy Graham that I’ll post after this sermon in case you don’t believe me), and celebrities like Oprah Winfrey all teach that: broad is the way and wide is the gate that leads to life ….
& That as long as you believe in a general God and do good, that you’ll make it to heaven.
But Isaiah 64:6 says: “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.”
& Prosperity preachers like Joel Osteen are teaching that we must live for today while sending droves of people to Hell tomorrow.
Mark 8:36-37: “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”
Colossians 1:15-18, speaking of Jesus, says:
15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether [they be] thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all [things] he might have the preeminence.
Make sure you’re entering in through the strait gate and the narrow way which leadeth unto life.
