TWO GATES & TWO WAYS

HAVE A STRAWBERRY!
Hi everybody! Well, here in Canada “Winter” is on it’s way! We are all beginning to prepare for the snow that will soon be falling softly or flying fast. Yesterday it came for about a half hour, and it fell in thick, beautiful flakes, but it melted as fast as it fell! But it is a warning: winter is coming!

For the next two Postings, we want to consider some portions in Scripture that talk about TWO WAYS OR ROADS AND TWO GATES OR DOORS: very interesting and at the same time very thought provoking! (Note: some translations use the words: gate for door and road for way)

In the book of Matthew chapter seven and verses thirteen and fourteen, the Lord is speaking about a wide gate and a narrow gate. According to Jesus, the wide or spacious gate leads to destruction, whereas the narrow gate opens to the narrow road that leads to life.

What is more, the Lord emphasizes that many enter through the wide gate, which leads to destruction, whereas only a few will find the narrow door that leads to life. Why do you not take your Bible and read for yourself the following Scriptures to see what Jesus is saying here: Mathew 7:13,14 and also Luke 13:22-30).

According to these Scriptures, Jesus gave this warning, and invitation in answer to a question put to Him by somebody there, which was: “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” Then Jesus answered all those that were gathered around at this moment. And we can in reality also say that Jesus is, in answering them, also answering us when we have similar questions in our hearts and minds. Give close attention to the fact that Jesus is saying that only a few will find the door and the way that leads to life, whereas in Luke chapter thirteen, Jesus says that many will try to enter but will not be able to.

Dear friends, Christ died and arose again for us, and that is why it is so important that we read, or listen to what God says in His Word to us, instead of listening to the teachings of mortal man who contradicts the Word of God.

For example: the Bible tells us, and here I can say God Himself is saying,: “that it is not we who sought after God, but He sought us in Christ. If we seek the teachings of man without searching the Scriptures to find if it is so, is the same as if a blind man follows the guidance of another one who also is blind. The end result is that both will fall in the same pit.”
In Luke 19:10 we read, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.” We can also read the following in Romans 3:11-18: “There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Pay close attention to the fact that it does not say here that it is the pagans who live these kind of lives, nor does it say it is the Jews; but, what is written here includes all of us. Be that a person that is well-educated, or one who is ignorant, or one who is great, small, rich or poor. Romans 3:9,10 tells us this: “What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written: there is no one righteous, no not one.”

It is possible for someone to come with this question: If this is how it is, who then can be saved?

Let us read Romans 3, beginning with verse 19, where we read the following: “ Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth be silenced, and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in His sight by observing the law; rather through the law we become conscious of sin.”

Let’s try to understand something now about the wide door and the narrow door that we read about in Matthew 7:13,14. Observe that MANY enter the wide door. It does not say that many seek the wide door or the wide road. But about the narrow door and the narrow road, our Lord says that only a FEW will find it. In the same way as with other Scriptures, it is important that we compare the teaching here of our Lord Jesus, that is speaking of the same topic. We have already mentioned Romans 3:11-18 earlier in this message. There we can see so clearly that there is not one single human being that is good in the sight of God. And there are also other scriptures that affirm this fact. Therefore, since we are born with a sinful nature, we are ready to continue on the wide road, which leads to destruction. Even such who are born into Christian homes of exemplary Christian parents, growing up and hearing the Word of God, will realize, as they grow older and mature, that they, too, are sinners and have the sinful nature within them, and must repent of their sin and obey the Gospel.

Dear friends, you who are reading this message: On which road are you at this moment? Maybe you are asking , "Which is the way to eternal life? How can we know the way?"

Jesus gives the answer to this question clear and sure. It is this: “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6 N.I.V.) How can we find this way? The answer is that the way to eternal life has come to us today through Jesus, Who came to this world to seek and to save sinners. The Bible is very clear about the fact that it is not us who sought God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a propitious sacrifice for our sins. (1 John 4:10) This means that the life of Jesus, a life without sin; His death on the cross, His resurrection from the dead, and His exaltation to the right hand of God, the Father, took place, that we might be reconciled to God today, by repenting for the forgiveness of our sins will receive eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” (John 3:36)

Friends, to enter the narrow gate and narrow road is to repent of our sins, and put our faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Have any questions? Write us at bbhenriquez@shaw.ca We would love to hear from you.
Please pass this message from God's Word to your family and friends.

Our Message to you today is:

Here in Canada it is Thanksgiving Day to-morrow, but in many churches it was celebrated today. However, all over the world we can thank God for His great love manifested to mankind in giving His Son as our Saviour: that "whosoever- which means you" believeth in Him (JesusChrist) should not perish, but have everlasting life." Are you believing in Him today? If not, we invite you to do so TODAY.

Bicento and Betty

CONFESSION - continuation

What a beautiful morning to you from Canada!
Hello everyone! Trust that you are being encouraged and helped by reading our Blog. If you indeed are encouraged, then pass on our blogspot address to other of your family, friends and acquaintances.

As we said, we would continue on the topic of CONFESSION, so lets, together, see what more the Scriptures teach us about this subject-matter. This word is very well known in Aruba, as well as in the Antilles. In particular: auricular confession., which means to confess audibly to another person of what you did or did not do.

In our previous message about this topic, we read a portion of Scripture that speaks to us about this in Romans 10:8-11. We also suggested that you read the entire chapter ten of the Book of Romans. We hope you took time to do this, for it is important. Because, in this passage it clearly and authoritatively emphasizes the absolute necessity of personally confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord and that God raised Jesus from the dead, in order to be saved. It emphasizes here that it is with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth each must confess to be saved. That is why, I again beseech each one of you who read this, that you read the entire tenth chapter of Romans. And while, or even before, pray to God, that He will help you understand, and give you to courage to obey. You will never ever be sorry that you decided to put your trust in the Lord Jesus.

The other part of CONFESSION is that of confessing Christ before people. If you think that this is easy and uncomplicated, think again! We can be very mistaken. Sadly, very many people turn back to perdition, because of being afraid of other. Fear of Religious Leaders, fear of fellow family members, friends and co-workers, or your ties to social life, sports, etc., etc.

We call to your attention again, that for a person to obey the blessed Gospel of God, he himself needs the power of God in his life to make this decision. But thanks be unto God, that this power accompanied the Gospel from the beginning, and accompanies it to this very day, and will do so until the end if the age. That is why God gave the Holy Spirit to the Lord Jesus, Who sent this Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, to remain with us to the end of this age. You can read this in John 15:26,27, and John 16:5-16, and also in Acts 2:29-33.

Now, going back to the importance of confessing Jesus before others. We can read the following words in Matthew 10:32: “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns Me before men, I will disown him before My Father in heaven.”

Friends, that is why there is such an urgency in these words in the Scripture: “As fellow workers, we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain, for He says, In the time of My Favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you. I tell you now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” 2 Corinthians 6:1, 2

What’s more in the book of Acts we are given this exhortation: “In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent. For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising Him from the dead.” (New International Version).

Dear friends, we join you in asking God for His help at the right time to obey the Gospel, and be freed and liberated in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

Remember: Procrastination is Disobedience.
Written and prepared by Bicento & Betty Henriquez: bbhenriques@shaw.ca

CONFESSION - what does it mean?

Un mainta tipical na cas di nos sobrino y su esposa!

Welcome to our Blogspot! Here in Canada we are in the FALL SEASON. Our trees are turning from green to yellow, orange, brown, and red! The leaves are falling fast, leaving the trees bare and desolate. Winter is around the corner.

Today we want to talk about Confession, or what it means to confess. To this very day this was, and still is something that is well known here in Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles.

In the Scriptures the word “confess” has more than one meaning. We will try and discuss two of them today. The first is found in Romans 10: 8-11: “But what does it say? The Word is near you: It is in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord”, and believe in your heart, that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trust in Him will never be put to shame.” I would recommend that you read the entire chapter ten of Romans, and also Matthew 10:32-33.

The invitation here to receive pardon and eternal life is offered to all people everywhere in the world without exception. Please pay very close attention to the fact that this word of confession must come out of each person’s own mouth, when or after we have believed in our hearts.

Friends, no one, but no one can believe for us, or confess for us. The word “to confess” means to admit, or to acknowledge. It is we who have to admit and acknowledge, and no one else, that we are sinners, and must believe from our hearts, that God raised His Son from the dead. And we must understand that it is for our very own sins He died, because He, Himself, did not know sin, and no untruth was found in His mouth. We must understand very well that we cannot hide sin before God. He knows each one of us exactly as we are!

The word confession can also mean: “conceding or to say the same thing”. This means that we concede, agree, or say the same thing as to what God already knows about us. We may ask: “How is it possible for God to love a sinner as me, when in fact He already knows how I really am?” The answer is clearly and truthfully written for us in the Scriptures. For example in the book of Romans 5:6-8 we read: “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will a man die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly die. But God demonstrates His love for us in this: While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Therefore, friends, do not turn a deaf ear to the loving call of God today. Repent of your sins, and accept the pardon that God offers to you today. Do not close your heart’s door, because no one knows what the day may bring forth.

The Lord willing, we will POST the second part of this message on Confession in a few days. Have a good and safe day. We would love to hear from you either under COMMENTS or bbhenriquez@shaw.ca

Your friends,
Bicento and Betty Henriquez, writing from our retirement home at 534, 120, LaRonge Road, Saskatoon, SK., Canada, S7K 7Z9