One of the most provocative statements that Jesus Christ made was this one: "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." (Matthew 7:13-14)
What was Christ talking about? He was talking about the genuine path of faith that leads to God and eternal life versus the counterfeit path that leads to eternal damnation.
How can we determine the difference? The genuine path has been provided by Christ Himself who infuriated the rabbis when He said this: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the (Heavenly) Father except through me." (John 14:6)
The rabbis were incensed when Christ said that because He claimed that salvation was completely contingent upon faith in Him rather than upon following the rituals and customs of a man-made religion.
What? The religion of ancient Israel that the Jews were following during the time of Christ wasn't legitimate? How so? It was a counterfeit that had been copied from the original covenant that God had established with Moses. And that counterfeit had been in practice for centuries before Christ appeared on earth.
The counterfeit religion had been established by the ancient rabbis to force the Jews to follow them and obey their rules rather than God and His law established through Moses. Christ revealed that during His scathing denunciation of the rabbis, as recorded in Matthew's gospel: "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach." (Matthew 23:2-3)
One of Christ's missions in ancient Israel was to lead the Jews back to God and away from a sham religion. While many would argue that He failed, He didn't. Had Christ failed, the gospel would've quickly been forgotten.
Although Israel corporately rejected Christ, many Jews embraced Him as their Messiah and the gospel was eventually preached to the gentile world. Remember that even before He went to the cross to die for the sins of mankind, Christ revealed that only a few people would truly accept Him as their Lord and Savior.
Certainly, the religion of ancient Israel that we now call Rabbinic Judaism, isn't the only religion that offers a counterfeit path to eternal life.
All world religions apart from Christ are counterfeits that lead their adherents to hell. They are all based on various forms of customs, rituals and even occult techniques that promise heaven and deliver eternal destruction. Of these religions, the writer of Proverbs said it best: "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." (Proverbs 14:12)
Some of these religions purport to be Christian. Without a doubt, the largest form of counterfeit Christianity is Roman Catholicism that emphasizes baptism, works and adherence to its sacraments as the path to salvation and eternal life.
Though this sounds cruel, I'll say it anyway: The Roman Catholic Church has sent millions of people to hell throughout the centuries because of her false gospel.
That false gospel motivated a Catholic Monk named Martin Luther to leave his church in the 16th century after God opened his eyes to the truth. While he was on his knees reading the Bible one day, Luther came across this scripture verse written by the apostle Paul: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Luther went on to write his 95 Theses that contained his charges against the Catholic Church. Thus, he launched what became known as the Protestant Reformation that led millions of people out of Rome's darkness into the light of Christ's true gospel.
Unfortunately, many Protestant churches that were born through Luther's rebellion are now slinking back toward Rome and her false gospel. The ecumenical movement, which would sicken Luther if he was alive today, is rebuilding the broad road that leads directly to the gates of hell.
Indeed, Christ was prophetic when He stated that only a few people ever find the narrow road that leads to eternal life. How sad.
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