Next Step Class: How To Biblically and Personally Follow Jesus

Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers… So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:41-43

Matthew chapter seven has haunted me for years. My heart aches for the multitude of people who have had or are having regular contact with the church but will blindly end up in hell. In spite of the loving efforts of Christians to share the GOOD NEWS with their family, friends, and neighbors Americans in this generation have hardened their hearts. They will not turn from their sins and receive eternal life through Jesus Christ.

Many want to go to heaven but with no strings attached. They want God to give them a free ticket on their terms instead of humbling themselves before the Almighty God of creation and begging Him to allow them into His eternal home in Heaven. The narrow gate of forgiveness is rejected by most people.

Matthew 7:13-14 (NLT) “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. 14  But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.

1/ Most church people will not get to heaven (14 “only a few ever find it.”)

The world is God’s enemy and already facing eternal judgment. But because the gateway to eternal life is so narrow and difficult many try to broaden the road instead of following what Jesus specifically commands. But what about everyone who attends church services and thinks they are going to heaven?  Is Jesus speaking of “few” church people or the whole world in this scripture? If we examine verse 21 we must include the majority of people who mix with the church on a regular basis!

Matthew 7:21-23 (NLT)

21  “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.

22  On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’

23  But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

Many people will gather with the church and call Jesus Lord. The world does not listen to preachers (prophets), only church people. Atheists and followers of other religions do not listen to Christian preachers. Only hypocrites, seekers, and true Christians listen to preachers. But only hypocrites call Jesus Lord and do not obey and follow Him. And remember Jesus explained that hypocrites are easily exposed by their actions.

Jesus Christ is God! The second person of the Triune God. He came to earth 2000 years ago and revealed His Good News to mankind. He died for our crimes, was buried and resurrected from the dead. He offers forgiveness to everyone who accepts His sacrifice and follows Him. Millions claim to be Christians, but are they really, Biblically, personally following Jesus?

How many will end in eternal hell?

MOST people go on the easy way that ends in eternal damnation in hell. They just simply do what they want, follow their dreams, and believe in themselves. Millions and millions will be eternally separated from God for all eternity.

How many will end in eternal life with Jesus?

Notice Jesus was clear that only the people who enter the narrow gate go to heaven. This means those who think they deserve heaven and even if they truly believe they are Christians must be verified by one criterion, have they entered through the narrow gate? The very narrow gate that takes every Christian on a very difficult life only a FEW ever finds.

But why do so few find the narrow gate?

The Lord Jesus immediately points to false preachers for the reason that so few will find heaven. False preachers are deceived about the narrow gate and the wide gate. They really think they are going to heaven. They have wolf-like evil hearts and are not really Christians. In spite of their sincere beliefs, their actions are not good. Their evil hearts expose them. Their actions reveal them to be really traveling down the wide road to hell.

Actions always expose an evil heart. Never trust what a person says until you see the fruit of their lives.

What can a preacher do to block people from entering heaven? How do some try to widen the narrow gate to heaven?

Jude 1:4 (NLT)

I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives. The condemnation of such people was recorded long ago, for they have denied our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Some add to the gospel Jesus and the apostles preached 2000 years ago. And Jude reveals the deceived people who do this are inside the “church”. Not just those we call false preachers, but many who are in all appearance accepted by the church as Christians, are actually ungodly, not godly. Wolves, not sheep.

Their message contradicts the words of Jesus. They try to widen the gate to let their loved ones and friends into heaven, but falsely assure them that they all get to heaven. They make excuses for sin and stretch grace to mean constant forgiveness in spite of the absence of repentance. The Amplified Bible reveals the depth of the Greek words used, “pervert the grace (the spiritual blessing and favor) of our God into lawlessness and wantonness and immorality, and disown and deny our sole Master and Lord, Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).”

This is not the gospel message of the Bible. Let’s look closely at Jesus’ words.

Matthew 7:21-23 (NLT)

“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. 22  On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ 23  But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

Let’s examine Judas Iscariot’s story to prove this terrible evidence of false believers.

Judas Iscariot followed Jesus. He was one of the inner circle of apostles who was trained by Jesus. He preached (prophesied) the gospel, cast out demons, and performed miracles in Jesus name.

Matthew 10:5-8 (NLT)

5  Jesus sent out the twelve apostles with these instructions: “Don’t go to the Gentiles or the Samaritans, 6  but only to the people of Israel—God’s lost sheep. 7  Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. 8  Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received!

In spite of Judas being able to look like the other apostles, he was a wolf in sheep’s clothes. Unlike the others, he did not “actually do the will of my Father“. Jesus never knew him spiritually like the other apostles because he was one of the many “who break God’s laws” and ended in hell.

Judas hid his sin so well that only Jesus knew his secret sin. When Jesus exposed a traitor would sell him out, none pointed to Judas because he was such a hypocrite. No, they did not know his secret. Only many years later was John able to explain, “But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him… Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself.” John 12:4-6 (NLT)

Even though many, many, many will boldly run to Jesus at Judgment Day calling Jesus their Lord, they will be stunned to find they were deceived because they never stopped doing their will, but kept disobeying God. The haunting truth is the local churches of our day are full of wolves in sheep’s clothes.

The people we speak of proclaim and truly believe they are Christians. They prayed a prayer and asked Jesus into their lives. Or in some other way think they are Christians. But this is not the narrow way that Jesus explains is salvation. And you must understand that this is the mistaken way that confused preachers and sincere people have followed to broaden the door into heaven, and at the same time obstruct the true narrow way.

Jesus warns us in Matthew 7:15-20 (NLT)

15  “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves.

16  You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?

17  A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit.

18  A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit.

19  So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire.

20  Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.

Currently, hypocrites are identified by the information they themselves share through polls and questionnaires. For example, Barna Research found:

30% of Americans claim to be born again

90% of those say the Word of God does not influence how they live their lives

10% of all the people in the U.S. who say they are Christians actually follow Jesus

And what did Jesus say again? “Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.” Barna’s research proves “many” which means MOST American “Christians” admit their actions are not influenced by God. They live outside of the will of God.

It does not stop there. ChristianMingle found:

89% of self-identified Christian singles are having sex or will have sex before marriage which is clearly against the will of God.

Another survey by LifeWay revealed:

77% of people who claim to be followers of Jesus say they want to grow and mature in their faith but,…

20% actively obey and are involved in some form of discipleship activity. Again most church attendees prove their talk does not match their actions. And again Jesus states our actions are what identify us.

Also, Barna Research found:

91% of the adults who claim to be born again  DO NOT HAVE a biblical worldview. And only

7% of Protestants who say they are born again actually agree with the Bible and follow it. What this means is about 9% of people who claim they love God will end up in heaven.

Lifeway Research also discovered:

64% of all American Evangelicals think everyone goes to heaven

48% of Evangelicals agreed that God accepts all kinds of worship

This proves the spiritual ignorance has grown so bad that most people attending church services, in supposed good Bible teaching churches, think going to heaven is automatically a free gift and not what the person does, thinks, or believes. And almost half of the people already inside Bible teaching churches think God is all loving with Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Mormons, etc all worshiping the same God.

2/   It’s not what stuff you think but what you are stuffed with (23 “I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.”)

The whole point Jesus makes through Matthew 5-7 is that He blesses mankind with the Good News and after Jesus died for all people’s sin He would give His Holy Spirit only to those that humble themselves, acknowledge their sin, repent and follow Him. His Spirit is overwhelming and pours out the fruit of His presence leaving true believers with righteousness and power as they obey and follow Jesus.

But, in spite of His mercy and grace, most people inside and outside of the church will not take His offer but create their own religious ways and demand Christ accept their way into His heaven. You have heard of the song demanding that “Me and Jesus have our own thing going.”

But the haunting truth is God makes the rules, and controls the door into His heaven. Those who scream, “Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name,” are like Judas and keep breaking God’s laws. All of them will be rejected.

To most people, Jesus will have to say, “I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.”

But to the true followers of Jesus, he will say…

“‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.” Matthew 25:21 (NKJV)

We must understand the magnitude of the issue in our day is shocking. Remember Barna Research found:

30% of Americans claim to be born again

90% of those say the Word of God does not influence how they live their lives

10% of all the people in the U.S. who say they are Christians actually follow Jesus

Again most church attendees prove their talk does not match their actions. And also remember Jesus states our actions are what identify us. (Matthew 7:15-16,20)

Because there is such ignorance surrounding what it really means to be a born-again Christian, we are challenged to ask ourselves Are we really, Biblically, personally following Jesus?

Everyone is born with an evil heart.

Why does mankind need the miraculous gospel of the Lord Jesus?

First, we must understand why we are born with an evil heart, not a good heart. As we read in  Galatians 3:22 (NLT2) “But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ.” We are not born good and learn to be bad. Instead, we are born with an evil heart and He reveals it to us in His Word.

Adam and Eve were given life with a good heart, free will, and direct communion with God. This is revealed in Genesis. But they chose to disobey God’s very simple command and thrust mankind into a cursed life from birth. Now, all are born under the bondage of sin.

What does this actually mean?

Paul tells Christians, “Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.” 1 Thessalonians 5:23 (NLT) It is hard to understand that there is a division in our makeup. But God reveals we have a spirit and soul, and they are separate pieces of us in a similar way that our body has different divisions.

A soul is made up of your mind, will, and emotions. An animal has a soul. For instance, a dog has a mind, definitely has a will, and also shows emotion. But an animal does not have an eternal spirit. We learn this in Genesis when God created everything. He breathed life into man but created all other life.

But what are the functions of the human spirit? Your conscience, creativity, faith, fellowship, passion and drive, enthusiasm, wisdom, joy and peace are all products of your heart. Since we are created in God’s image our spirit reflects God’s but is ruined by our evil hearts. God is spirit and connects to man through the spirit. Then discernment, spiritual gifts, etc. can come to life. It will be explained later.

For now, let me explain to you how the stubborn heart of disobedience affects the human spirit? We must begin with Christ’s words.

Matthew 12:34,35 (NLT)

For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart.

These are the words of God, and I do not care about the theories of psychologists or other ideas of men. Do not be fooled, God says evil hearted people can only produce evil things. This evil heart pours out into a person’s words and actions and affects every part of a person’s life. Even if you think a person is good, like Judas Iscariot, their secret sin reveals their crimes to God who sees all people’s motives and secrets.

Romans 3:10-18 (GW)

10  as Scripture says, “Not one person has God’s approval.

11  No one understands. No one searches for God.

12  Everyone has turned away. Together they have become rotten to the core. No one does anything good, not even one person.

13  Their throats are open graves. Their tongues practice deception. Their lips hide the venom of poisonous snakes.

14  Their mouths are full of curses and bitter resentment.

15  They run quickly to murder people.

16  There is ruin and suffering wherever they go.

17  They have not learned to live in peace.

18  They are not terrified of God.”

You really need to understand the seriousness of the stubborn heart because it means everybody is an enemy of God inherently bent to love the things God hates. And all are stubborn, self-centered, and unconcerned about the things of God. No one can fix themselves or change their eternal destiny. We are a lost race of humanity.

1/ God in the flesh helped his original followers understand our horrible evil condition. He taught:

“Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds: The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts.” Matthew 13:18-19 (NLT)

Like he explained in Matthew 12:34,35 Jesus deciphers the truth about the evil heart but here he explains the three different types of evil hearts to the disciples. The hardcore sinner has nothing to do with the gospel of Jesus, period! This is your relative or friend who shuts you up the moment you want to talk about their sin and the gospel. They are content and happy with their “religion” and supposed relationship with God. They have created a god in their minds that accepts them the way they are.

For example, the rich young ruler that Jesus spoke to claimed his relationship with God was already perfect. He had no understanding of his true condition. He saw himself as righteous and pleasing to God just the way he was. When the Lord exposed his greed he immediately rejected the gospel. His stubbornly disobedient heart chose the riches of this world over eternal life and immediately walked away.

2/ Next, Jesus revealed the truth about those that many call backsliders.

“The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word.” Matthew 13:20-21(NLT)

Millions of sincerely religious “Christians” will be stunned at Judgment Day when they finally see their evil hearts have never been changed and they are rejected by Jesus. Even though they choose with their mind, will, and emotions to accept Christ their hearts are still evil and they really do not understand the truth of the Kingdom. 

John 6:60-66 (NLT2)

60  Many of his disciples said, “This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?”

61  Jesus was aware that his disciples were complaining, so he said to them, “Does this offend you? 62  Then what will you think if you see the Son of Man ascend to heaven again?

63  The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64  But some of you do not believe me.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning which ones didn’t believe, and he knew who would betray him.)

65  Then he said, “That is why I said that people can’t come to me unless the Father gives them to me.” 66  At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him.

Still with an evil heart, they cannot produce good fruit. Human effort will only leave a person powerless to obey and serve Jesus. Just like many of Jesus’ first disciples,  they will give up over time and depart from the church.

3/ Then Jesus explains the great mystery of the deceived who live among the saints.

“The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced.” Matthew 13:22 (NLT)

As this group of people lives among the Christians they really only focus their attention on their families and careers. They are too busy to really, Biblically, personally follow Jesus. They hold to the doctrines that make them feel eternally safe and if they choose a local church they are not committed. They read their Bibles but do not obey what it says. 

Just like Judas, the Bible does not affect the way they live their lives. They can attend a church each week or once a month and have no worries that they will miss heaven. After all, they prayed a little prayer and accepted Christ in their minds.

Paul explains it this way.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 (NLT)

1  You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times.

2  For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred.

3  They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good.

4  They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God.

5  They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!

Finally, the Savior reveals the extreme good the person with a good heart produces.

“The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” Matthew 13:23 (NLT) [We will study this in week 3]

The only way people are able to do good and be flooded with goodness (righteousness) is when they have a good heart NOT an evil heart. And this dilemma can only be solved by a miracle that God can do. You must be born again. [See week 2]