Open our Bibles to the Book of Matthew Chapter 6.

Part 1

Jesus Christ is revealed in God’s

word as love personified. As we look at this

doctrine of the grave and of Eternal destruction of Torment and Damnation.

We need to remember that Jesus is Love personified. In fact in Christ’s daily life he was most observed by those closest to him as being characterized by being full of compassion.

Also when Jesus gives gives us a self-description. He says I am meek and lowly in heart. He’s love personified filled with compassion, meek and lowly.

In Mark chap 6 Jesus shows us what his response will be toward those who ignore or reject his free gift of his gracious offering of himself.

In a culture where dogmatics, conviction, absolutes and exclusive policies are frowned upon at best and scoffed at most often. What does Jesus actually teach us about the destiny of those who don’t get saved. Of those who don’t look at him lifted up.

Who don’t confess that they are doomed, hopeless and lost.

One thing we can note about Christ teaching is that when it comes to Salvation with Jesus there’s no middle ground, Even though he’s personified by love. He’s filled with compassion. Though he is meek and lowly Jesus is not like most of us.

We are like in the middle ground. You know we don’t want to be the extremes.

We kind of like to be safe. Jesus said there’s no middle ground when it comes to Salvation.

There’s no middle- of the road position when it comes to Christ’s view of life, death and Eternity.

Jesus declares he is the one and only one who controls entrance into heaven.

Let me show you what I mean. If you’ve never done the highlights of his Sermon on the Mount.

Starting in Matthew Chapter 6:19-24.

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other;  or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

If we look at some of the contrast that Jesus gave as he taught the longest sermon of all his longest message called The Sermon on the Mount starting in verse 19-21

Jesus said there’s two kinds of Banks. All of us are either depositing in the Bank of Earth or the Bank of Heaven.

He says you really can’t have your focus on both. He said you got to choose between them now.

It doesn’t mean that you’re not prudent and safe but the goal of life for an individual can’t be mixed. It either the goal is to accumulate and stack up as much stuff as we can here

or the goal is to stack up and accumulate as much as we can there.

He said you can’t do both continuing look at at verse 22.

Jesus said there’s two kinds of eyes. Good eyes and bad eyes Verses 22 and 23.

Then in verse 24 he says there’s two kinds of Masters. Notice he’s a one or the other kind of person. One or the other bank. One or the other eyes. One of or the other Masters, either God or Mammon. If you flip over to Matthew Chapter 7

look at verse 13 and 14.

13 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:

14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Jesus says in 13 and 14 there are two kinds of gates there are

two kinds of roads, destinations and travelers. Either you’re going through the wide gate or the small gate. The wide or the narrow.

You’re going through the broad the the the wide way or the narrow

way. The big gate or the little gate. Or you’re part of the the many or the few.

Or you’re headed to destruction or life.

I mean it’s just it’s just stunning contrast there’s no medium Road.

There’s not the Middle Road. There’s not the ones that have

those passes that can go in the HOV lanes. I don’t think we have many of them around here but you know what I mean. There isn’t another option.

(High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes are reserved for vehicles with a minimum number of occupants, such as carpools, vanpools, buses, and motorcycles. HOV lanes are also known as carpool or diamond lanes.)

If you look at  Matthew 7:15-20

15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Jesus said there’s two kinds of trees either you’re fruitful or

fruitless reading down through verse 20.

Then you get to verse 21 down through 23 Jesus said

there are two kinds of Lifestyles. Those who say all the right things and those who do the will of God.

Some people say that they’re God’s followers. Some people show that they’re God’s followers basically when you get down to

Matthew 7:24-29

24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:

29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

verse 24 through 29 all of these are summed up. Jesus said that you can say that you’re either building your life in those verses either on the Rock Christ.

Or on the sand of the world. In all of Christ stories he leads to one of two inevitable ends.

Either being thrown in the fire or you are going into the banquet in the Kingdom of Heaven.

There isn’t Middle Ground.

That’s why religion likes to make a middle ground. That’s why the medieval Church invented this whole idea of limbo in Purgatory. This whole kind of you were didn’t quite make it.

So you can be in the middle for a while and then get to the right place.

No you can not. Jesus did not believe that. In fact Jesus after his evening discussion with Nicodemus. We saw Jesus taught about people that go in the wrong door.

They have a bad ending that’s just the the sum of his view. One or the other.

He said the worst words anyone could ever hear would be his words I never knew you.

You didn’t come my way. You didn’t come to me. You didn’t know me.

So basically what will the ending be like for those who live only for investing their lives in Earth’s bank and only have eyes that hunger for that which is bad and evil.

Those who serve only Mammon instead of God. Those who enter through the wide gate and head down the broad Road and walk along with the many who are headed to destruction but they live only as fruitless trees.

They only talk the ways of God but never walking them. They only build their lives on Sand.instead of rocks.

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