Over 500 years ago, Thomas a Kempis wrote:
To many, the saying, “Deny thyself, take up thy cross and follow Me” (Matt. 16:24), seems hard, but it will be much harder to hear that final word: “Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire” (Mat 25:41). Those who hear the word of the cross and follow it willingly now, need not fear that they will hear of eternal damnation on the day of judgment.
–Thomas à Kempis
These words are just as true today as they were 500 years ago and they were just as true 500 years ago as they were when they were written about 1500 years before that. And they will remain true 500 years into the future and 1500 years into the future. Because God’s Word – the Bible – is true.
I hope you are convinced of the truth of God’s Holy Bible. It has been tested, tried, researched, examined, critiqued… and what we find is that it stands the test of time, the test of internal evidence, the test of external evidence, and the manuscript/bibliography test. What we hold in our hands in the form of the Bible is the Word of God that He has preserved for us so that He could reveal Himself and His truths to us.
And if this is the case (and it is!), then according to God’s Word, there are only two choices – to choose For Jesus or to reject Jesus – one way is narrow and one way is broad, but only one leads to God and to heaven. There is exclusivity in the gospel message of Jesus – but that is OK, because there are some answers that are very narrow. 2+2 only has one answer. How do you get to heaven to live with God also has only one answer. Jesus himself said: I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father but by Me. Therefore the ultimate question is have you chosen the narrow Way of belief in Jesus? And the next is are you sharing the truth of this one narrow Way with anyone else?