The Door

One of the greatest, yet most subtle lies that has ever been foisted upon mankind, has been in redefining what happiness means. At least in the realm of modern Western civilization, happiness has become synonymous with success and freedom. Now, don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with happiness, freedom, or success, but I want to address the version this world has become accustomed to, meaning, freedom and success are always being associated with wealth or at a minimum, financial liberty (i.e., not beholden to anyone).

If we think back to the old commercials from the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, they almost always went something like "Live your best life" (Oprah's brand), "Go for the gusto" (Schlitz), "Success is a Journey, Not a Destination," (American Express), etc. Commercial marketing agencies spend billions of dollars each year crafting a relentless barrage of slick marketing campaigns aimed at creating this desire in all of us for something tangible. They are masters of creating whatever want or need they need to create in the minds of their consumers. This want or need creates a false illusion in the consumer that if they only had this thing, or that car, or this trip, or that lifestyle, they would finally find happiness and contentment.

Moreover, the world relentlessly pushes these messages out equating the pursuit of consumerism and materialism, as the be-all, end-all source of our joy which they define by things and stuff. So let's break down the worldly definition of success:

• You are wealthy

• You are comfortable

• You are content

• You are independent

They argue this should lead to freedom. Thus, the definition of freedom (in light of success) is that you are:

• Wealthy: You have financial independence

• Comfortable: You have ample means to provide for your happiness

• Content: You have need of nothing

• Independence: You are beholden to no one

However, Jesus summarizes material wealth and success in this world with the following passage:

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Mark 8:36

Indeed. What profit is it to the wealthiest man or woman in the world, who lives anywhere for 70-100 years, but then dies, and now must spend eternity separated from his or her Creator? What good would all the trillions of dollars, euros, yens, yuans, bitcoins, etc. account for, if you have no access to it the very second your heart pumps its last beat? The old saying (or any variation) is "Life is short, follow your dreams." This too is a lie from the pit of hell.

The reality is, "Life is short, eternity is forever."

The only way to prepare for eternity is to go to the Author of Eternity and make your petition before Him at the foot of the Cross. We are not simply physical beings, like animals, who live, die, and then blink off into nothingness. No, we are amphibious (so to speak) in that we are both physical and spiritual beings. Our flesh was designed for mortality; our spirit for immortality. [See here for Pets]

At the end of our lives (however long that may be), our bodies die, but our spirit will live on for all eternity in either one of two destinations. Yes, there are only two destinations that a human soul can go to after death, either with God or apart from Him. The Bible is crystal clear that God is the source of all that is good, holy, joyful, peaceful, restful, loving, light, fun, comfort, and so forth. Ergo, if you are separated from your Creator at the point of death, God will respect your wishes and allow you to enter into the destination YOU chose that is apart from Himself.

Now, if you remove God (and all He represents) from that location you chose, it is a place of eternal: darkness, pain, misery, discomfort, anger, bitterness, wickedness, hate, hopelessness, torment, loneliness, regret, fear, thirst, hunger, desolation, and despair. This is what the Bible describes hell (sheol, hades) as being- a place devoid of God and all that is good. At the end of this present age, even hell will be cast into the lake of fire (Rev 20:11-15) where you will spend eternity drowning in a burning sulfuric lake whose fire is never quenched nor even provides a place to stand (footing) unless that footing comes by stepping on the head of another person beneath you. As in the case of this life or the next, there is no rest for the wicked (Isaiah 48:22).

Alternative

But that horrific and terrifying thought doesn't have to be your fate. In Christ, you can not only have peace in the life to come but in this life as well. Now, before moving forward, we need to give a Biblical definition of peace:

• Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. – Romans 5:1

• But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness. – Galatians 5:22

You see, our default position coming into this world is eternal damnation. That isn't your fault or mine, because that began with the first two humans, Adam and Eve. We have inherited a sinful nature.

• Romans 3:23:  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

• Romans 5:12: Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—

• Psalm 51:5: Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.

• Ephesians 2:1-2: And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,

• Ephesians 2:3: among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

But God, who is loving and longsuffering that none should perish (2 Peter 3:9) came in the form of a Man through a miraculous virgin birth, then lived the life as a man, doing so perfectly without sin, became the perfect propitiatory sacrifice as the sinless Lamb of God satiating God's wrath against sin by transferring that wrath upon Himself. This sacrifice was perfect and met the impossible demands (impossible for us, not for God) thereby providing a way through to eternal life to live with God in peace and happiness, forever. (Gen. 22:8, Lev. 17:11, John 1:29, Heb. 10:14, Rev 5:12)

But it is not in Christ's death alone that we have eternal life. He provides the perfect sacrifice through His death for which we find our justification. But we have eternal life in His resurrection. Because, if the "wages of sin is death," (Rom. 6:23) and Christ never sinned, therefore death had no hold or power over Him.

I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. Revelation 1:18

Thus, if we are covered in the blood of His Son, then God the Father no longer looks at me and sees me simply as a "son of disobedience" destined for eternal wrath, but sees me covered in the blood of His only Son, who satisfied the impossible demands of God's perfect law. Thus, Christ extends His perfect righteousness to cover me (a fallen sinner) to now become acceptable before God the Father.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:17-21

Most of the modern world states that inner peace can only come through financial success and personal freedom. But as we all have found out, your wealth and freedom can be taken from you. If you seek true peace and happiness now, you MUST first reconcile yourself to God through Jesus Christ. We cannot find inner peace within ourselves, because are (as stated above) born into a state of sinfulness where our thoughts are constantly at enmity with God.

But at the moment of our spiritual rebirth (John 3:3), the Father deposits God the Holy Spirit in us a deposit, sealing us until the day of redemption (the Rapture) so that we cannot lose our salvation. (Eph. 1:11-14, 2 Cor. 1:21-22, Eph. 4:30) With the Holy Spirit indwelling us, we (our newly reborn spiritual man) become attuned to the things of God rather than the things of man. This new nature opens our eyes and changes our perspective as to what is important in this life and what is not.

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. Matthew 6:19-20

Now, that is not to say that all born-again believers are dutiful in listening to the still small voice of God. Some of the most miserable people I've ever met have been born-again believers still living in the carnality of this world. I should know, I was one of them. But when God sorts us out and pulls His lost sheep back into the fold, God can then begin to use us to great effect. It is then, that we can find true freedom in Christ, which means we are finally at peace with God. Success!

FREEDOM:

1. John 8:36: "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed."

2. Galatians 5:1: "Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage."

3. 2 Corinthians 3:17: "Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."

4. Romans 8:2: "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death."

5. Psalm 118:5: "I called on the Lord in distress; the Lord answered me and set me in a broad place."

   
   

SUCCESS:

1. Joshua 1:8: "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success."

2. Proverbs 16:3: "Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established."

3. Psalm 1:1-3: "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper."

4. Proverbs 3:5-6: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."

5. Philippians 4:13: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

6. Deuteronomy 8:18: "And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day."

7. Proverbs 21:31: "The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but deliverance is of the Lord."

Conclusion

I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

John 10:9

Let me close with this thought. I know many will look around at their present circumstances and allow perplexion to lay siege to their thoughts. They will ask things like, I'm following God. I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing. So why am I broke? Why do I have all these health issues? Why is my marriage falling apart? Why are my kids so rebellious towards God? Why..Why...Why?

Perhaps it's not as black and white as I am making it appear? Yes, life can become incredibly complicated. But those complications (regardless of their intricacies and entanglements) apply to us finite beings, not to an infinite God. Why God allows certain circumstances in our lives is often a mystery to us, but they are not a mystery to God. There is a reason, and whatever that reason is, you can rest assured that its purpose and conclusion are not superfluous.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

So are My ways higher than your ways,

And My thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:8-9

The truth is, while we are making our best attempts at reconciling ourselves before God in the here and now, the choices we make (and have made) often have lasting and durable consequences. This goes back to the push and pull of free will versus predestination. Yes, God knows the end from the beginning (Isa 46:9-10, Matt 25:34, Eph. 1:4, et al.) but we still have the free will to determine what path we will take even if God's sovereignty dictates that He already knows what will become of that path. I am particularly drawn to Ironside's description of this dilemma in putting it in a picture that makes the best sense.

It has been pictured in this way. Here is a vast host of people hurrying down the broad road with their minds fixed upon their sins, and one stands calling attention to yonder door, the entrance into the narrow way that leads to life eternal. On it is plainly depicted the text, "Whosoever will, let him come."...[But some will say], "I am going inside: I will accept the invitation; I will enter that door," and as he presses his way in and it shuts behind him. As he turns about he finds written on the inside of the door the words, "Chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world.

Harry A. Ironside, In the Heavenlies (Ephesians), pages 27-28

God, who knew you before He created the world, decided you would live in this time, and at this place (wherever you are). He saw your life play out without Him in it and then pre-positioned Himself so that the Gospel of your salvation would either be accepted, or rejected in some sense that would represent a form of finality (sealing up as it were) your destination. Knowing that God is longsuffering that NONE should perish, He puts the Gospel in your life to every degree possible so that if you reject this free offer of salvation, it would only be because you crawled over the cross and refused it anyway.

If I may build upon Ironside’s analogy of the door, consider this: Many who make the right choice—entering through the door that leads to eternal life—never venture much further beyond the threshold. While the door is the only entrance to eternal life, standing just inside it is not the destination. It opens to a journey, one marked by sanctification—the process by which we grow in Christ.

The question is: Do we remain spiritual infants, content with milk, or do we press forward, embracing the deeper truths that strengthen our faith and deepen our knowledge of the Lord (Eph. 4:11-16)? Too many believers step inside, only to settle just beyond the doorway, fetally curled up in complacency, nursing milk bottles as if nothing more were required of them. From their vantage point, they glance back, still captivated by their former life, longing for the company of those who, though appearing to enjoy themselves, are blindly marching toward eternal destruction.

The door was never meant to be a stopping point. It is the beginning of the greatest journey of all.

Still, the growing and laboring in the Lord, does not rest in our sanctification alone, as if neverending learning was in itself, the end state. No, our rest, comes from the Lord Jesus Christ, in His finished work, knowing that we cannot add one iota to our own salvation. The works we do after our spiritual rebirth are done for His glory and in His strength. Thus, the journey of sanctification, regardless of how the born-again believer chooses to travel it, will one day result in our glorification (post-mortality), which comes either at the moment we die and graduate into glory, or we are caught up alive to be with our Lord in the heavenly realms.

Either way, we will be with the Lord in glory, forever.

Now, I do not possess the answers to all the questions that people have regarding their hardships in this life. No human does. But our Father in Heaven does. And He put you and I here, to live in this moment in time, to do what He has called us to do, according to His sovereign purposes. And whatever trials and tribulations lie in our paths, know that our Father believes we are up to the task, or else He wouldn't have allowed it in our lives. You and I do not know the future, we only know the past and the present. But God knows the future, and whatever it is that is set before us, we must trust in the infinite, goodness, longsuffering, and kindness of God that it is something He will give us the strength to endure for His name's sake.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Cor. 4:16-18

The truth is, no true believer in Jesus Christ can exist without being broken. We must be broken when we come to the foot of the cross and acknowledge our inability to save ourselves. And once this happens, the world (which is presently under the control of Satan) will invest everything it has to break us down and make us of no effect. If they can't get to us, they will go through our friends and family. We are enemy number one to the countless ranks of principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this age, and spiritual hosts of wickedness (Eph 6:12). We, like Peter, are walking targets earmarked by Satan who seeks to 'sift you like wheat' (Luke 22:31). We are like sheep being led to the slaughter, earmarked for their destruction.

But God.

God alone knows how to restore and transform us into the new man or woman He has called us to be. The old self must be cast off, and the new must take its place. Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).

We must remember that even the Devil is God’s devil—he has no power beyond what God permits. Not a single hair on your head can be touched without His sovereign will. And if God allows it, it is for His glory, and there is victory in the refining. But perhaps the greater question is this: If you are not facing opposition from Satan or his forces in this life, why not?

To those suffering, yes, life is unfair—sometimes unbearably so. But how do we respond to that unfairness? Do we endure it with the steadfastness of Job? Do we rationalize it away, like his friends? Or do we curse it, like his wife?

That choice is yours. But one thing remains certain:

...that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. Romans 8:28-30