The Way Is Very Narrow And The Gate Is Very Strait

 Key Scripture:

whatever is not of supernatural belief and trust is sin. Romans 14:23b

Whoever does miss the mark (sin) also does lawlessness, for sin is lawlessness. * 1 John 3:4

Owe no one anything, but to love one another: for whoever loves another has fulfilled the law.  For this: You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, You shall not covet--and if there is any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this utterance, namely, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  Love works no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.  And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.  The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.  Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in wild parties and drunkenness, not in adultery and lasciviousness, not in zealous contention.  But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not make provision into the flesh, to fulfill the desire for forbidden things.  Romans 13:8-14

Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God, and knows God.  He who does NOT love, does NOT know God; for God is love. 1 John 4:7-8

The human mind:

The human mind was never created to function outside of the anointing of God. God created the human mind to literally flow with the holy anointing oil of the Holy Spirit. The book of Proverbs tells us that all knowledge, wisdom, and understanding come from God. Given that reality, who would want to be unplugged?

The Scripture is clear that we are three part beings. We have a spirit, soul, and body. The word for soul is also translated as mind, heart, and life. It appears that when we are born again our spirits are joined to the Holy Spirit in an amazing way. From that moment on, it is a battle for the mind. If we yield to the Holy Spirit, that puts our spirit in control of the mind. Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed--literally transfigured--by the renewing of your mind. That's all in passive voice, so it means that someone else is doing the renewing and the transfiguring--the Holy Spirit.

We believe that this transformation will include a changed life and much more. The word that God uses here, He does not use lightly. It is only used in three Scriptures. The Greek word is metamorphoo. It refers to a metamorphosis. It is used when Paul says that we are to present our bodies as living sacrifices and prove what is the good, acceptable and complete will of God is and to be transformed (metamorphoo) by the renewing of our minds. It is used to tell us that as we all take the veil away from our faces and see the glory of the Lord in those who are reflecting His glory, those who are being made into the image of God, that we will be transformed (metamorphoo) into the same image from glory to ever increasing glory and this will be done by the Spirit of the Lord. The real meaning, though is seen in the transfiguration of Jesus. Jesus was transfigured (metamorphoo) before them. If you can receive it, this is what is meant my this word. Salvation is much greater than we think. And four references of Scripture point to this transfiguration as the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ in His Kingdom and in His power. I don't say that I fully understand this. Perhaps no one does. At the same time, I don't want to tell God what His limits are. I want to walk into everything that He has for me. How about you?

Understanding some biblical terms:

Some time ago, God showed me that grace is not forgiveness. The Greek word, charis, means free gift or unmerited favor. Paul says that, when he does good works, it is not he, Paul, who does the works but grace that lives in Paul. There are other verses that equate charis with the Holy Spirit and that equate charis with power. I don't claim to understand this one hundred percent, but I have touched the edges of that power.

Faith is the other word. The Greek word, pistis, literally means stability. The Bible gives us some clues as to what it is. First, it is a substance--the substance of things hoped for. It is also evidence--the evidence of things not seen. And faith without works is dead. Also, Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Literally, that is: faith comes by hearing and hearing comes by "A" word from God. We know from a multitude of other scriptures that God does speak. Anyone who will explore finds out by experience that God can be found. We also know that we can learn to discern His voice from other spriits and from our own minds and that it is a sin to speak a vision out of our own minds,

By grace through faith:

God showed me a vision of a leaf and it was being carried by the wind. The shape of the leaf is faith. The wind is the Holy Spirit. The Spirit can take the leaf wherever it wants because of the shape of the leaf. The Holy Spirit can take us wherever He wants if we just have faith. If the leaf were a rock, the wind would have little effect on the leaf/rock. When we hear God's voice, and He tells us something, we can either obey or not. When we obey, our senses are exercised by reason of use and we can hear better the next time. When we disobey, our consciences are seared by a hot iron and we have a bit of spiritual hearing loss.

Strait and narrow:

Now, here is the amazing thing that I just realized about the strait and narrow way. We just never realized how strait and how narrow this way is. Of course, we know that strait is not straight. Strait is the gate. So it is a constricted gate. Jesus is the Way. Jesus is the door.

Take what the Bible says about faith and add one more point from Scripture: whatever is not of faith is sin. That means that if God didn't tell me to do it,then it is sin for me. If God tells me to do something and I don't do it, then it is sin to me. It is disobedience. It is falling short. The reality is that God directs our lives. When He does, we either obey or we don't. There are no gray areas. There are no shades or shadows. When God directs us to take one of two very good and Scriptural choices, only one of them is the direction of God. Not only that, but God never contradicts Himself--that is, His direction is always in line with Scripture. And the Scripture cannot be broken.

Whatever Is Not Of faith Is Sin

Romans 14:23 tells us simply that anything that is not of faith is sin. Faith comes from God. (James 1:17) Faith comes by hearing the word of God. (Romans 10:17) It is possible to read the Bible and not hear the word of God. (2 Corinthians 3:14) We must remain connected to Christ. (John 15:5) We can become disconnected. (Colossians 2:19)

Everything that doesn't originate from God is sin.

What Is Sin?

Sin Is Falling Short Of The Glory Of God, The Glory That God Planned For You.

God has a good plan for you, to attain to God's glory.

God's glory is very high. The glory that God has planned for us is beyond our ability to imagine or reach for. God is Love, and the world has rebelled against Love. God's glory is true love. We aren't talking about the counterfeit love, the snake oil that cannot satisfy, which Hollywood and hedonism is selling. God's glory is full of real love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, humility, strength, and faith, and some people are missing out on purpose. They are purposefully missing out, and that is sin.

To miss all of this glory is sin. This is literally what sin is...

... sin is missing the mark. Sin is failure. This is the sin that Jesus came to overcome. Jesus came to set us free from sin, from continually missing the mark.Jesus removes the stain and guilt. Jesus forgives.Jesus gives the Holy Spirit so we can begin to be led by the Spirit.Jesus gives power to walk in the Spirit and do what is right and good--to overcome SIN.

Sin is not walking into the glory that God has planned for us. Rebellion separates us from God. When we are separated from God, we cannot be godly--how would it be possible to be godly? When we are separated from God, we miss out on His leading and His power. When we are joined to God, we have His leading and power. His leading always leads us into righteousness. His power is power to do righteousness.

The lack of love is also known as sin. Jesus said that if you love Him, you will keep His commandments. His commandment is to love. Adultery, Fornication, Stealing, Lying, Cheating, Envying, Killing; these are all examples of a lack of love.

This sin is rebellion against God, which results in missing the mark. Sin is failing to attain to the glory of God. It is a desire to NOT commune with God. It is a desire to NOT glorify and respect God and NOT hold Him in holy reverence. It is a desire to add to and take away from God's Word and to follow one's own mind and will, which leads to spiritual death and is the cause of physical misery, sickness, and death.

See also: What Else Can We Know About Sin?

How Can I Be Free Of Sin And Walk In Holiness?

I asked my brother, "Isn't it true that the Bible, taken as it is written, has the promise that we who walk in the Spirit could walk right into total holiness?" My brother was silent for a moment, then thoughtfully said, "Yes; but don't we walk one step at a time?"

Many have lost the hope of holiness. Many have, as a result, re-defined holiness. The Bible is very bold in stating that holiness is the kind of holiness that the Father has and that it is available to us through Christ.

How?

By walking in the Spirit.

Some have said that the Holy Spirit is given to help us to walk in holiness. This is only partly correct, and it misses the most important things.

• We, in our nature, have no ability to walk in holiness.
• We can emulate holiness in order to impress ourselves or others that we are holy.
  • in order to impress ourselves or others that we are holy.
  • by trying to obey a set of rules or laws or principles
    • lines drawn in the sand.
    • these cannot bring true holiness.
    • these can lead to false hope, hypocrisy, and spiritual deadness (read the bood of Galatians, which was a letter to believers, not unbelievers).
• We cannot deny the reality that
  • there are thoughts that enter our minds that are not pure,
  • we get angry,
  • we become discouraged,
  • there are times when we are not flowing in the ultimate anointing of God,
  • there are times when God is not the most prominent focus of our minds,
  • we have not come the manifestation of Jesus Christ in our lives,
  • our bodies have not been redeemed fully.
• God's Spirit is given so that we can learn to yield our minds to Him.
  • As we yield, our minds are renewed by the Spirit. (He does the work.)
  • As we yield, He thinks His thoughts through us. (He is the source of all wisdom, knowledge, and understanding.)
  • As we yield, He says His words through us. (We begin to speak as the oracles of God.)
  • As we yield, He does His works through us. (We never do our own will, but only the will of our Father.)
• The Scriptural pattern for the church is an integral part of this transformation, which is why God is in process of restoring it.
• From time to time, we see a flash of His glory in our lives.
  • It is not continuous.
  • It is not complete.
  • Mostly, we are in process of coming into His glory.
  • His forgiveness is continual and perpetual, covering our missteps.
  • God's desire is to continue to flow through us until we are conformed into His very image in every facet of our being. When that happens, we will be transfigured by the renewing of our minds.

Have I really sinned and come short of God's glory and holiness standard?

Yes. God's standard is absolute, and only He has a right to hold out such a high goal for you.

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Romans 3:23

That includes you, but you can be one of those who is saved. Since you can't do it, God arranged that He would do it for you.

Click to understand how you can be born again?

Topic: Sin

This particular response happens more often in those who have been born again than it does in those who have not been born again. The seed, the gospel of the Kingdom of the Heavens, lands on the trampled path of the heart in a Christian. How did that path get trampled and hardened? Isn\'t a Christian\'s heart supposed to be soft toward God? The heart becomes hardened by repeatedly missing...

 Key Scripture: whatever is not of supernatural belief and trust is sin. Romans 14:23b Whoever does miss the mark (sin) also does lawlessness, for sin is lawlessness. * 1 John 3:4 Owe no one anything, but to love one another: for whoever loves another has fulfilled the law.  For this: You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, You shall not covet--and...

1 John 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. Keep in mind that love fulfills all the commandments.  The entire law can be summed up in the one word, love, but it so important that we are not deceived.  There are many lies about love.  We need to know what love truly is. The sure way to create a self-righteous hypocrite is to...

Sin: Acknowledging lies rather than Truth, so you step or slip off the narrow and restricted Way that leads to the genuine and absolute fullness of Life. Jesus: The Way, the Truth, and the Life.    Key Scripture: whatever is not of supernatural belief and trust is sin. Romans 14:23b Whoever does miss the mark (sin) also does lawlessness, for sin is lawlessness. * 1 John 3:4 Owe no one anything, but to love one another:...

God provided a way of salvation, and He is looking for those who will accept it. He is looking for those who will not reject Him. Those who reject God's salvation are rejecting a wonderful gift. They are exhibiting the ultimate in rebellion against God. There is no way to sugar-coat this situation. Those who reject Jesus are rejecting God and are condemned already. John 12:48 John 3:18 ...

Definition of Leaven: Leaven is a type of prideful sin. Definition of Leaven - Define Leaven from Old Testament Scripture Ex 12:19 Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land. (we...

The word, \"sin,\" is often translated from a word that means straying from the way/path. Sin is missing the Strait (that is, constrained) and Narrow way/path. This would be the narrow way that leads to eternal life. Jesus is the Way, and Jesus is the Life, so Jesis is both the way to reach the goal, but Jesus is also the goal. The word, \"sin,\" is often translated from two...

 All that is good comes from God     Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding,       Forgiveness,       Repentance,       love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, meekness, temperance,       Faith       Righteousness   Don\'t try to make your own.     Yield your members to God\'s righteousness. Don\'t try to make your own righteousness.       Stand in His presence and receive...

1 Peter 1:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit to unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: You see that they have purified their souls (soul, mind, heart, life are all the same Greek word.)  This purification is holiness.  There is a measure of holiness in those who follow Jesus.  It is accomplished by obeying...

 \"But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind have taken us away.\"  Isaiah 64:6 \"For God hath not called us to uncleanness, but to holiness\" (I Thessalonians 4:7).  Some theologians assume that Scriptures that seem so completely opposed as these two are an indication that one of the Scriptures must be...

Topic: Love

God loves you because that is His nature.  God is love.  1 John 4:16-20 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.  There...

Love; so much has been written about it.  Think of all the love songs and also the songs that have been written to tell us about love.  All we need is love.  What the world needs now is love, sweet love.  And the many romance novels seem to sell very well, plus the many books written to teach us about love.  Here are two facts about love.  God is Love.  Love...

Before you can understand anything about true love, you must realize that all true, genuine, love comes from God. The sad thing is that there are many definitions of love, and it is harder than ever to tell the difference between true love and the many things that are falsely called love. It seems as if not only love but all the important words have been re-defined. Satan has redefined...

All love comes from God. There is no other source of true love.  God is love.  Love fulfills the 10 Commandments and every other pattern and ordinance of God.  Fake love is not righteousness, but real love is righteousness.  Love always starts with God\'s leading followed by God\'s faith (supernatural belief) coming, which gives access to God\'s grace.  God\'s grace then flows in, thinking God\'s thoughts, speaking God\'s words, and...

The only way to have more love is to have a closer relationship with God who is love. The only way to have more faith is to walk more closely with God and to listen to Him, obey Him, when He speaks. FREE on-line BOOK (a classic): The Real Faith, by Charles S. Price FREE on-line BOOK (a classic): The Meaning Of Faith, by Charles S. Price When God speaks, He doesn\'t...

Love is the fulfillment of the law, Romans 13:8-10.  Sin is breaking the law, 1  John 3:4.  Love is what righteousness is and has many facets as 1  Corinthians 13 says.  God is love.  We cannot have righteousness  without having God.  We cannot have love without having God.  In fact,  righteousness is a free gift from God, Romans 5:17.  Righteousness is by grace through faith.  The children of Israel made ...

Real Love: God is Love.  Love is God.  Love is fulfillment of the Law.  Love is righteousness. Without God, there is no True love. Without True love, you do not know God. You must find True Love, the God Who is True  Love. True love, of course, does not conform to the false love or the gods of Hollywood.  You must find The True Love, Who is the creator of the universe....

Topic: Holy Spirit

Why would anyone reject God. Why would anyone reject the Holy Spirit? Jeremiah 2:12-14 Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD.  For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.  Is Israel a servant? is he a homeborn slave? why is...

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The Holy Spirit The baptism of the Holy Spirit is real and available to you today. Scripture speaks of two distinct types of tongues. Liberalism rejects the power of the Holy Spirit It is puzzling why some Christians become upset about speaking in tongues. Why would anyone want to reject the free gift of God? Speaking In Tongues Is Biblical. What does the Bible say? First, it must be stated that tongues can...

Topic: Holiness, Sanctification, and Stability

\"It is because of him [the Father] that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.\"   1 Corinthians 1:30 NIV   Holiness is progressive.  It is a change in what we are. It is a basic change in our very nature. You were designed for righteousness, holiness, and total redemption.  There is an upward spiral of righteousness, holiness, and redemption...

1 Peter 1:6 & 7  Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found to praise and honour and glory at the appearing [Apokalupsis: removal of a covering or veil] of Jesus Christ FREE on-line BOOK (a...

Isaiah 48:10-11 Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory to another. Many are called, but few are chosen.  Look at the place where the chosen are chosen: the furnace of affliction.  God does...

 \"But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind have taken us away.\"  Isaiah 64:6 \"For God hath not called us to uncleanness, but to holiness\" (I Thessalonians 4:7).  Some theologians assume that Scriptures that seem so completely opposed as these two are an indication that one of the Scriptures must be...

If God requires total holiness, how can a Christian live total holiness? Is it even possible? Yes, It is possible to live in total holiness, but watch out for this. Do not modify holiness to be something that you can do. Do not think that holiness is something that you can do. Holiness is something that God causes you to become. You just receive it or reject it. There is a...

The Scripture Testifies to Holiness as the Heritage of the Church 1 John 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 1 John 2:8 Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now...

Ephesians 4:24-30 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him...

Ephesians 4:20 But ye have not so learned Christ; Ephesians 4:21 If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: Ephesians 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation (conversation refers to the whole manner of life) the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; Ephesians 4:23 And be renewed in the spirit of your...

Question: I\'m 28 years old and I\'m from the United Kingdom. I said the sinners\' prayer in 2005 with some other Christians and I\'ve been going to church ever since. I got baptized in 2006. I was drinking very excessively before I started coming to church and I continued to live in this sin of drunkenness even when I was hearing the gospel at church and after I got baptized. When...

Many years ago while preaching about the harlot who washed the feet of Jesus, the late evangelist JOHN ALEXANDER DOWIE (1847-1907) of Zion City, Illinois, related the following: "This poor woman, a harlot, who came in from the streets is called 'Hamartolos'; in the original word, that is to say, a prostitute, a poor, wretched, outcast woman, a harlot. Oh, is there any being upon earth so much to be pitied,...

1 Peter 1:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit to unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: You see that they have purified their souls (soul, mind, heart, life are all the same Greek word.)  This purification is holiness.  There is a measure of holiness in those who follow Jesus.  It is accomplished by obeying...

Topic: The Strait and Narrow Way

Sin: Acknowledging lies rather than Truth, so you step or slip off the narrow and restricted Way that leads to the genuine and absolute fullness of Life. Jesus: The Way, the Truth, and the Life.    Key Scripture: whatever is not of supernatural belief and trust is sin. Romans 14:23b Whoever does miss the mark (sin) also does lawlessness, for sin is lawlessness. * 1 John 3:4 Owe no one anything, but to love one another:...

Romans 14:23 tells us simply that anything that is not of faith is sin. Faith comes from God. (James 1:17) Faith comes by hearing the word of God. (Romans 10:17) It is possible to read the Bible and not hear the word of God. (2 Corinthians 3:14) We must remain connected to Christ. (John 15:5) We can become disconnected. (Colossians 2:19) FREE on-line BOOK (a classic): The Real Faith, by Charles...

Love is the fulfillment of the law, Romans 13:8-10.  Sin is breaking the law, 1  John 3:4.  Love is what righteousness is and has many facets as 1  Corinthians 13 says.  God is love.  We cannot have righteousness  without having God.  We cannot have love without having God.  In fact,  righteousness is a free gift from God, Romans 5:17.  Righteousness is by grace through faith.  The children of Israel made ...

The human mind: The human mind was never created to function outside of the anointing of God. God created the human mind to literally flow with the holy anointing oil of the Holy Spirit. The book of Proverbs tells us that all knowledge, wisdom, and understanding come from God. Given that reality, who would want to be unplugged? The Scripture is clear that we are three part beings. We have a spirit,...

We may have never realized just how very strait (constricted) (Luke 13:24) and narrow (Matthew 7:14) that way of righteousness is. It is very narrow and constricted. If God didn\'t tell us to think it, say it or do it, then it is sin. It is missing the mark. If God did tell us to do it and we get our flesh involved at all, to the extent that we...

This particular response happens more often in those who have been born again than it does in those who have not been born again. The seed, the gospel of the Kingdom of the Heavens, lands on the trampled path of the heart in a Christian. How did that path get trampled and hardened? Isn\'t a Christian\'s heart supposed to be soft toward God? The heart becomes hardened by repeatedly missing...

The narrow way is very narrow indeed.  In every moment, God directs, and we either yield to Him or resist Him. Matthew 7:13 & 14 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 to life, and few there...

Love; so much has been written about it.  Think of all the love songs and also the songs that have been written to tell us about love.  All we need is love.  What the world needs now is love, sweet love.  And the many romance novels seem to sell very well, plus the many books written to teach us about love.  Here are two facts about love.  God is Love.  Love...

Jesus said, \"And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to me.\" John 12:32  This came to pass in North Carolina at the Camp.  Glory to God! We were drawn to Him in a miraculous way.  In First Corinthians Chapter one verse 10, we are admonished by the Apostle Paul to all speak the same thing, to have no divisions among us, and that...

Luke 13:24 Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say to you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.   Real righteousness is by grace through faith.  ...

Question: I have been a member of a denominational church for about 19 years. How can I introduce foundational truth about the Five Fold Gifting to the house and still be submitted to my Pastor? I am sold out for God and I do not want Him to say to that I did not do as he has commanded me to do. Now I know that my commission is great. I...