meaning of MAKE EVERY EFFORT (or strive) to enter in through the narrow gate.

  • Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.

    If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!

    To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.
4

4ChristAlone

Guest
I'm confused. You just wrote:

"I accept your apology and forgive you."

I'm curious . . . what were you trying to do, there, to a Christian Brother? Is this a game for you?
No game for me. You were the first to adress me on two posts not me you
 

Jackson123

Senior Member
Feb 6, 2014
11,769
1,371
113
Yes, We are to come to Jesus just as we are. We cannot wash away the stain of sin. Only the Bood of Jesus can do this.(y)


Yes, We are to love God and love our fellow man. When we stumble, all we need do is repent in a spirit of humility and meekness. Repentance is not a one time thing for the man of God.(y)
So what do you believe
1. As long as you have faith, murder still go to heaven no need repent because salvation not by work or

2. Faith will lead you to repent and stop murder.

Those are 2 different believe system
 

Jackson123

Senior Member
Feb 6, 2014
11,769
1,371
113
I agree, so it is impossible for a man that have real faith but never repent from sin. It may repent for awhile than fall to the same sin again, but in his heart there is guilty felling every time doing sin.
 

Pilgrimshope

Well-known member
Sep 2, 2020
14,181
5,727
113
In other word, you can't have faith and keep murder in the same time, am I correct?
faith is made of believing what Jesus said , that’s not going to allow for us to or lead us to Murder , no . Definitely not

Brother all Sin , even a liar has this that is certain

“He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭21:7-8‬ ‭

There’s no coming back from that so that’s why we have to repent and be baptized for remission of our sins so we don’t die in them. Jesus doesn’t make us able to continue in sin he makes us able to come out of it and he offers us patience , mercy and forebearance while we do

your answers are not in my words but in Jesus words brother , I believe if we learn about his teachings he’s able to give us each what we need in ways we each can understand it but we should always remember he told us to pray if we really want to know things and ask him to open our understanding and help us know What we need to know

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me;

for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭11:28-30‬ ‭KJV‬‬

salvation is hidden in that statement for a believer
 

Pilgrimshope

Well-known member
Sep 2, 2020
14,181
5,727
113
I agree, so it is impossible for a man that have real faith but never repent from sin. It may repent for awhile than fall to the same sin again, but in his heart there is guilty felling every time doing sin.
Amen to this for sure you understand perfectly I think I’ve confused you haha

I apologize

that guilty feeling that arises is what keeps us on the straight and narrow , we stumble but we always repent because of the godly sorrow that sin becomes To our conscience
 

Jackson123

Senior Member
Feb 6, 2014
11,769
1,371
113
No. Believing on the Lord Jesus Christ is the requirement for salvation.
Don't you believe, believing in Jesus is pleasing God?
You are correct believing is the requirement, but Jesus say do the will of the Father is the requirement.

I think is a matter of the way to say.

If you believe in Jesus than you do what He want you to do and He want you to do the will of the a Father.
Matt 7;21

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
 

Jackson123

Senior Member
Feb 6, 2014
11,769
1,371
113
faith is made of believing what Jesus said , that’s not going to allow for us to or lead us to Murder , no . Definitely not

Brother all Sin , even a liar has this that is certain

“He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭21:7-8‬ ‭

There’s no coming back from that so that’s why we have to repent and be baptized for remission of our sins so we don’t die in them. Jesus doesn’t make us able to continue in sin he makes us able to come out of it and he offers us patience , mercy and forebearance while we do

your answers are not in my words but in Jesus words brother , I believe if we learn about his teachings he’s able to give us each what we need in ways we each can understand it but we should always remember he told us to pray if we really want to know things and ask him to open our understanding and help us know What we need to know

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me;

for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭11:28-30‬ ‭KJV‬‬

salvation is hidden in that statement for a believer
Yep. Faith manifest itself in the form of love a God and love fellow man, not murder.
 

mailmandan

Senior Member
Apr 7, 2014
25,490
13,428
113
58
“The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:”
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭3:21‬ ‭KJV‬‬

in other words if we accept that God established that baptism is for remission of sins , and we obey this and donor because we believe . Then we have Gods pledge that we have done what he said would remit our sins .

faith is simple if God established anything and we believe it we will do it , if we don’t believe baptism is about remission of sins like Gods word actually teaches we aren’t going to bother it would be just a ritual at that point meaning nothing

but if we hear the word and believe what he said , it’s going to be Gods pledge of remission in christs death formoir sins

honestly I don’t think there’s any other purpose of getting baptized but what God said it’s for and I don’t see a reason to swerve around it

It’s orettt important stuff if we don’t do that
In 1 Peter 3:21, Peter tells us that baptism now saves you, yet when Peter uses this phrase he continues in the same sentence to explain exactly what he means by it. He said that baptism now saves you-not the removal of dirt from the flesh (that is, not as an outward, physical act which washes dirt from the body--that is not what saves you), "but an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (that is, as an inward, spiritual transaction between God and the individual, a transaction that is symbolized by the outward ceremony of water baptism).

*Just as the eight people in the ark were "saved THROUGH water" as they were IN THE ARK. They were not literally saved "by" the water. Hebrews 11:7 is clear on this point (..built an ARK for the SAVING of his household). NOTE: The context reveals that ONLY the righteous (Noah and his family) were DRY and therefore SAFE. In contrast, ONLY the wicked in Noah's day came in contract with the water and they all perished.

Your faith is in water baptism for salvation and is not in Christ alone. We are saved through faith in Christ alone. (Romans 4:5-6; Ephesians 2:8,9) Water baptism is in regards to/on the basis of the remission of sins received upon repentance/faith and not in order to obtain the remission of sins. Baptism is an act of faith, just as multiple acts of obedience which follow saving faith in Christ are also acts of faith, but not faith itself. Faith is not baptism and faith precedes baptism and we are saved through faith in Christ alone. It's just that simple.
 

mailmandan

Senior Member
Apr 7, 2014
25,490
13,428
113
58
“Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭6:3-4‬ ‭KJV‬‬

I know we can argue about what we each think baptism Means or is but if we just accept that it’s for remission of sins we should be overjoyed to go get baptized and have Gods pledge that our sins are remitted
In regards to Romans 6:3-4, as Greek scholar AT Robertson explains - Baptism is the public proclamation of one's inward spiritual relation to Christ attained before the baptism. See on "Galatians 3:27" where it is like putting on an outward garment or uniform. Into his death (ei ton qanaton autou). So here "unto his death," "in relation to his death," which relation Paul proceeds to explain by the symbolism of the ordinance. The picture in baptism points two ways, backwards to Christ's death and burial and to our death to sin, forward to Christ's resurrection from the dead and to our new life pledged by the coming out of the watery grave to walk on the other side of the baptismal grave. There is the further picture of our own resurrection from the grave. It is a tragedy that Paul's majestic picture here has been so blurred by controversy that some refuse to see it. It should be said also that a symbol is not the reality, but the picture of the reality.

https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/rwp/romans-6.html

Before mentioning baptism in chapter 6, Paul had repeatedly emphasized that faith, not baptism is the instrumental cause of salvation/justification (Romans 1:16, 3:22-30; 4:4-6, 13; 5:1). That is when the old man was put to death and united in the likeness of His death, which water baptism symbolizes and pictures. Righteousness is "imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised up because of our justification." (Romans 4:24,25)

Since believers receive the benefits of Christ’s death and resurrection (justification), and that through faith, believers must be spiritually united to Him (delivered and raised up with Him). If baptism is taken as the instrumental cause, then Paul contradicts what he had established before, namely that justification is by faith, not baptism. *Hermeneutics. Paul clearly teaches that what is signified in baptism (buried and raised with Christ) actually occurs "through faith." Christians are "buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead" (Colossians 2:12). Justification on account of union in Christ's death, burial and resurrection is brought about "through faith" - and is properly symbolized by dipping the new believer in and out of the water.
 

mailmandan

Senior Member
Apr 7, 2014
25,490
13,428
113
58
“For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭3:26-27‬ ‭KJV‬‬

I’m not sure why we would want to argue about the necessary of baptism but I don’t believe that Godnis wanting to throw us away because we didn’t understand baptism I’m not sure why you went to baptism but my own view and that’s all it is is above .

I think we need to learn to believe right because of we do we will begin to act right baptism is a simple offer from God that if you believe what he’s saying and act in that belief he will wash away your sins
Galatians 3:26 - For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus (Period.) Not through faith and water baptism. Also read John 1:12 - But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name. *Received Him, given the right to become children of God, through believing in His name, not through water baptism.

Galatians 3:27 - For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on/clothed yourself with Christ. The Greek word for "put on" is "enduo" and means to enclose oneself in, as when one "puts on" clothes or armor or some other item. Involved in this is the idea of "imitation" and "identification." Just as 1 Corinthians 10:2 says that all (the Israelites) were "baptized into Moses" in the cloud and in the sea, but this does not mean that the Israelites were literally water baptized into the body of Moses.

So how does one "put on" Christ in baptism? Is it because one becomes a "child of God" through water baptism? NO. Is Paul saying that we become children of God by water baptism as much as children of God by faith in Christ? NO.

"Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light...put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof." (Romans 13:12,14) This exhortation is written to Christians (those already saved). Evidently then, baptism is not the only way to "put on" Christ. To "put on" Christ is to conform to Him, imitate Him. So it is in baptism; we "put on" Christ, conforming to Him in the ordinance that declares Him to be our Savior. So if "put on" Christ means saved through water baptism, apparently we are not saved yet. We must also "put on" Christ by making no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts in order to be saved as well. (Romans 13:14) Right? NO. This exhortation is to those ALREADY SAVED.

"Put off," wrote Paul, "the old man," and "put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness" (Ephesians 4:22,24); And, "put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." (Ephesians 6:11)

The allusion is to putting off old clothes and putting on new ones, to enclosing oneself in armor, etc. When a soldier puts on armor he is imitating his superiors and trainers, is revealing himself to be a soldier. One does not put on a uniform in order to become a soldier. Simply putting on a soldier's uniform does not make one become a soldier. Once one is made a soldier one is then able to put on and wear the uniform that distinguishes or marks them as a soldier.

It's the same with putting on a judge's robe. Simply putting on a robe in of itself, does not make anyone become a judge, but, one who has been made a judge is qualified to put on judicial robes and thus declare their qualifications.

So too with being water baptized, the Christian puts on robes for which they has previously been qualified to wear. The putting on of Christ is not what makes one become a Christian, but one which becomes a token of it, as in Romans 13:14. If one sets out to put on the clothes of a Christian, in water baptism, without first becoming a Christian (child of God through faith), then one becomes an imposter, and is declaring, in baptism, to be what they are not.

Do you attend the church of Christ? :unsure:
 

mailmandan

Senior Member
Apr 7, 2014
25,490
13,428
113
58
Don't you believe, believing in Jesus is pleasing God?
You are correct believing is the requirement, but Jesus say do the will of the Father is the requirement.

I think is a matter of the way to say.

If you believe in Jesus than you do what He want you to do and He want you to do the will of the a Father.
Matt 7;21

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
John 6:40 - For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.

There is a difference between doing God's will IN ORDER TO BECOME SAVED as we see in John 6:40 and doing God's will AFTER WE HAVE BEEN SAVED as we see in 1 Thessalonians 5:14 - Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. 15 See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
 

Evmur

Well-known member
Feb 28, 2021
5,219
2,618
113
London
christianchat.com
God not hire me to be fruit infect or.

But we try to understand in this topic, why Jesus say narrow is the way and only few will get the salvation.
Than we learn to be humble and ask ourselves, am I in the few group?

The will of the Father is believe and love Jesus.
If we hate Jesus we not save

Love Jesus mean love other, if a man or myself say I love god but hate other, I am a liar, and not love god
Not Love God not save.

Not to judge, but try to understand why Jesus narrow is the way, not only believe that Jesus is God, but love Him, that mean love other.
No but if salvation is to be earned how can you discern who is saved except by judging their works or inspecting their fruit.?

Jesus didn't say only a few will get saved ... He said MANY would come from east and west and sit at table with Abe, Ike and Jake in the Kingdom of Heaven, He said the wedding feast will be PACKED. And John the divine saw the saved in Heaven and said the number of them was impossible to count.

Peter asked Jesus "Lord will few be saved?" and Jesus did not answer directly, why didn't He simply say "yea Peter you are only too right"
instead He said "strive to enter in at the narrow gate for many I tell you will seek to enter and will not be able"

We are called narrow minded and bigoted, because we believe the bible. We have doctrines which we hold on fast to.

He is giving Peter the key to soul saving, if you want to be soul winner, if you long that the multitudes would be saved, if you care about people and want to help them

then strive to enter in at the narrow gate. You have got to get your doctrines right, you've got to be focussed if you want to save souls.

That is what Jesus told Peter, He said never mind who will get saved few or many, that is not your business, that is MY business. Your business Peter is to be focussed on the truth.
 

mailmandan

Senior Member
Apr 7, 2014
25,490
13,428
113
58
I agree work is the fruit of salvation not the requirement of salvation.
Amen! Freeze frame that thought. :)

The problem what I hear some people believe there isn't correlation between work and salvation.
They believe it doesn't matter what you do, example murder etc as long as you have faith you save
Murder reduce your reward but not make you lose your salvation.
I listen debate between Christian and Muslim, Muslim accused Christian encourage murder because that doctrine. One day a Muslim talk to me, he want to convert to Christian than rob the bank. I said, police will arrest you.
He say, than I will tell police, I have faith in Jesus, my sin forgiven, you don't have the right to arrest me because Jesus the King of king die for my sin.
Some people in my church your faith not your work save you, they interpreted, murder don't need repent for salvation, only for reward.
Once we are saved we become new creations in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:17) Murder and robbing banks is not the fruit of salvation. Faith works through love. (Galatians 5:6) Those who say I have faith, but I can sin all I want/live like the devil etc.. need to honestly examine themselves to see whether or not they are in the faith. (2 Corinthians 13:5) There are genuine Christians and there are "nominal" Christians. There are genuine believers and there are make believers.
 

Evmur

Well-known member
Feb 28, 2021
5,219
2,618
113
London
christianchat.com
What are you adressing on my post is what I mean when I ask who is saying what you are saying.

What on my post are you adressing?
I'm saying salvation is a free gift to who so ever believes the good news, it's given freely. therefore this saying "strive to enter in at the narrow gate" is not speaking about salvation.