By Jeffery M. Leonard, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biblical & Religious Studies, Samford University
WON’T ALL PEOPLE ULTIMATELY GO TO HEAVEN?
Matthew 7:13–23
The opening chapters of the Book of Amos are a rhetorical tour de force. In his opening salvo, the prophet thunders forth the Lord’s message: “I will not relent from punishing Damascus for three crimes, even four.”
After detailing the sins of this northern neighbor and the punishment they have invited, Amos then moves on to pronounce the same judgment on Gaza: “I will not relent from punishing Gaza for three crimes, even four.” Step by step, in a veritable geography lesson, the prophet turns his withering gaze from Gaza to Tyre, from Tyre to Edom, from Edom to Ammon and from Ammon to Moab. Finally, he arrives at Judah. For Amos’s audience in the northern kingdom, Israel, this must have been almost too good to be true.
Righteous little Judah with its temple and its palace was getting its comeuppance too. “Preach, Amos!” they might have yelled, right up to the moment when Amos arrived at his real target. “I will not relent from punishing Israel for three crimes, even four.”
It is not hard to misunderstand one’s place in the biblical story. Reading the account of the Israelites wandering in the wilderness, it is easy to imagine that we are Moses, the one person following God, while all those “others” keep going astray. It ruffles our sensibilities a bit when we realize our place in the story is not that of Moses, but that of the Israelites. The story of these stubborn, stiff-necked, untrusting people looks at us and declares, “Thou art the man!”
Most people will not go to heaven. (13–14)
What is true for Amos’ message and true for the account of Israel’s wilderness wanderings is no less true for the Sermon on the Mount. When we read the sermon, we are apt to imagine ourselves standing beside Jesus, casting a stern look of disappointment down on that audience full of folks who just can’t get it right. But Jesus’ warning, “enter through the narrow gate,” is a warning meant for us.
It is a call for us to examine our own hearts (and, as we will see below, our own behavior) to make sure we, ourselves, have entered the narrow gate that leads to life rather than the broad way that leads to destruction.
Not all who claim to speak for God speak the truth. (15–20)
One challenge we will face in this process of self-examination is that of deciding which voices we ought to be listening to. Amos was challenged by the priest Amaziah (Amos 7), and Jeremiah wrangled with the false prophet Hananiah (Jer. 28).
Jesus warns His hearers to watch out for false prophets. The key, He says, is examining the fruit these prophets produce. Though their messages may sound good, their pleasant words are merely “sheep’s clothing,” disguising their wolf-like character within.
Only those who trust and obey God will enter the kingdom of heaven. (21–23)
If prophets can be false, so can we. It is for that reason that this section of the Sermon on the Mount culminates with a warning about our own character.
It is possible to proclaim to the heavens that we are followers of Christ while our hearts still remain far from Him. We can even do great things in Jesus’ name while not truly belonging to Him.
Jesus warns us that true discipleship results in true obedience. If we do not show the latter, we do not have the former.
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