Narrow is the Gate

Week 1 – Lessons From a Near Death Experience by Pastor Mark Cowart

In 1979, a man named Howard Pittman had a near-death experience about which he shared on the 700 Club (a Christian television show) the following year. In 2015, I interviewed this man in person for his compelling testimony. Mr. Pittman said that he was shown the entrance to heaven during the 15 minutes he was technically dead. In that time, out of approximately 2000 souls who sought entry, only about 50 were admitted. That’s 2.5%! While you should not rely on “near-death” experiences for absolute truth, you should revisit the scriptures that pertain to questions regarding your eternal destiny.

We don’t want to believe that our loving God would allow so many to go to hell as Mr. Pittman saw. But, we must remember, He has made the way, He is the way, and it is up to us to follow only Him until the end. In many places in the gospels, Jesus warns us that this will not be easy. We must seek to understand the full importance and meaning of His words in the following passages.

Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Matthew 7:13-14 NKJV

If you are not certain which gate you’ve taken and which way you are following, you need to deal with this – pray and ask God for clarity on this, and then study it out. What could be more important?!

A few different sources online offer a “world population clock” to track roughly the number of people who die and are born every minute, hour, day, and year. The exact numbers are not as important as the small percentage reported in Howard’s vision who entered into life eternal. Most people believe they are bound for heaven after this life. In recent man-on-the-street interviews, it is reported that most people believe there is a heaven and a hell. The majority of those also state that they fully expect to spend eternity with God. There is a reason for that. Humans are not hardwired to contemplate pain and rejection. This is a defense mechanism of our psyche. In fact, very few “near-death” experiences record a glimpse into hell. The vast majority of those reported experiences center on a bright, warm light, accompanied by the sight of loved ones and all that they hold dear.

It is reported that people who have had “hell” experiences in that circumstance have found them so painful they refuse to bring them up. It takes the grace of God to recall the absolute torment, and even then, I’ve seen them have emotional meltdowns.

It is important to remember that Jesus said hell was not created for human beings. Hell was created for the devil and his angels. However, after Adam and Eve committed high treason in the Garden of Eden, according to the Word of God, death came on all mankind. When people rebel against God, by default, they align themselves with the devil’s forces and choose a path that leads them to hell.

Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’ Matthew 25:41 NKJV

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. Matthew 7:21 NIV

Jesus is talking about people here who seriously believe that He is Lord. The doubling of the word emphasizes that meaning. The scripture goes on to describe their operating in spiritual power, to prophesy, cast out demons, and do many wonders. These are not satan worshippers, atheists or idol worshippers. These are people who gave mental assent to the lordship of Jesus Christ, but they failed to progress to belief and conviction that changed their hearts and behaviors. This can be illustrated in the following scenario.

A room full of people is informed the building that they are in is on fire and will soon explode. They might nod and state that they agree this is true. However, if they do not get up and run out of the building, their believing it has not affected them in a constructive way. In the same way, by your actions, it can be seen whether you really believe God’s Word.

So today, we have people claiming to be Christians, saying they believe the Bible and they believe the Lord, but whose lifestyles do not show them walking in that light. It is to this group that His warnings are addressed. It is possible that even ministers of the Gospel are going to hear these most fearful, frightening words at their judgment.

But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’ 
Luke 13:27 NKJV

I know this is a heavy message. Let me assure you that the Lord does not speak these things to intimidate us into following Him. He means to warn us, to prepare us, and to preserve us, because He loves us. A lot of people these days are saying, “You just need to be more like Jesus, you just need to have the love of God.” While that is true, I have to ask, “Which Jesus are you talking about?”

There are three distinct interpretations of who Jesus is, and only one is real and true. There is the “universal” Jesus that is a creation of peoples’ hearts and minds. This is a representation of the Savior that simply adds Him to whatever else you believe or desire. We see this in other cultures where they simply add Jesus to their local religion, be it Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, or whatever. In America, it would be other things. That is not acceptable to God. He says we cannot serve Him and other gods.

You shall have no other gods before Me. Exodus 20:3 NKJV

A second Christ on the market today is the “religious” Jesus. This one is like the Pharisees, clean on the outside but dirty on the inside. Lots of rules with very little real love.

These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. Matthew 15:8 NKJV

Religious people caused the most trouble for the Lord in His earthly walk and ministry. He observed their ways and boldly called them out, knowing they would kill Him for it.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. Matthew 23:15 NKJV

That’s the real Jesus, unafraid to confront evil. Religion has done more damage to people than anything else in the world, and He brought it to light, with reference to the leaders in that day and for all time.

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 NKJV

We hear a lot of people today who just go in the ditch on grace, claiming that you can live any way you want, do anything you want once you are saved. It doesn’t matter because Jesus died on the cross for all your sins. You don’t have to worry about anything. It’s all covered with His blood. That is deception. That is darkness and is not consistent with what the Word tells us. Yes, the real Jesus we are talking about came into the world to die for the sins of His disciples. Who is that? How are we truly His disciples?

I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 

I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. 
John 15:1-8 NKJV

He says we abide in Him, His word abides in us, and we bear much fruit. Then, we find out that the branches that don’t bear fruit will be disconnected and burned. These are some difficult words of our Lord that we need to study out.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. Matthew 16:24 NIV

I don’t know if we can understand the full impact of what Jesus was saying to his disciples. These men knew what crucifixion was. It was a hideous, intimidating form of punishment with a stigma of evil attached. He used this metaphor to communicate the difficulty of the challenge. Focus in on the “deny yourself” part. Self -preservation is one of the strongest instincts of human beings. Even people with a supposed death wish will usually react to save their own lives when faced with a real threat. Then, the Lord said:

For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 
Matthew 16:25 NKJV

What does it mean to lose your life for His sake? In most cases, this is not to physically die. These things are so counter-intuitive, but Jesus brings it home in the next verse.

For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? Matthew 16:26 NKJV

He makes it very clear that the stakes are high to find your way to deny yourself, and lose your life for His sake. Your very soul hangs in the balance. Indeed, He makes it sound almost impossible to be truly saved. He wasn’t trying to discourage people. He wanted to make it clear that this is serious. Finding that narrow gate determines your eternal destiny.

In Howard Pittman’s near-death experience vision, the majority of people did not make it into heaven. People say, “I just don’t believe a loving God would do that.” I understand how we can reason things out like that, but we need to be careful. The Word of God is the final authority on any topic. Howard’s vision did not disagree with the Word of God, as outlined here. What he saw does not contradict the Bible, the eternal Word of God.

Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. Matthew 24:35 KJV

So, the bottom line is if your name is not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, you will not make heaven. There are only two types of people in this world, saved and unsaved. That’s it. There are hundreds or even maybe thousands of religions, but there is only one true gospel. And then, we have to remember that we have an adversary. He is able only to kill, steal, and destroy. The Greek word for “destroy” means to gulp down, totally annihilate. Really, what it is saying is to take a person to hell. That is his goal for you.

I hate to say this, but the scripture bears it out – there are a lot of “good people” who are going to hell. Again, you wonder how a loving God could allow that. Because, first, He is a holy God. We cannot comprehend his power and holiness. The Bible says He cannot even look upon sin.

Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: Habakkuk 1:13a KJV

Yet, our God sent His Son to become sin and die for us so that we could be saved and spend eternity with Him. Doesn’t that make you want to know Him and follow Him, whatever the cost?

For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Romans 10:12-13 KJV