Some will mortify themselves in many things, and so almost every thing in religion but one; unfortunately, that one is the test of their obedience, and the very thing required of them. (Thomas Adam, Private Thoughts on Religion)
“The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).
Some will mortify themselves in many things, and so almost every thing in religion but one; unfortunately, that one is the test of their obedience, It seems brutal to some that God would be so exact and His requirements so strict that a person that will do almost everything in religion but one would be lost. But the person that is holing on to one cherished sin is actually a person that has not truly repented of self and pride. That is a person that loves a sin for the sake of self so much that s/he is his or her own idol when s/he prefers self to God. This clearly is a violation of the Greatest Commandment and of the First Table of the Ten Commandments as well. That one sin, then, is not just one sin, but is the defiant act of a hardened idolater and enemy of God. It is a person that will serve self rather than serve the living God. It is a person that will do all for his or her own pleasure rather than do all for the pleasure of God. It is a person that will live for his or her own glory rather than live for the glory of God. It is, therefore, something that shows that a person is like the devil rather than Christ who spoke and lived exclusively for the glory of God.
Matthew 7:13 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14 “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
The passage (just above) in Matthew 7 is extremely instructive. Out of all the people on the planet, how many are truly seeking to get to heaven on the basis of Christianity? I doubt the percentage is all that high. However, out of the percentage of those who are trying to get to heaven based on Christianity, most of those have entered in through the wide gate and are on the broad road that leads to destruction. The narrow gate and the narrow path, on the other hand, there will only be few that are found on it. That narrow gate is so narrow that a person cannot get through it while holding to a cherished sin. The narrow path is so narrow that there is only room for the person and not enough for the person and a cherished or bosom sin. So instead of thinking ill of God on this account, we should see that true grace will truly change the heart of a person and they will repent of sin instead of holding to it with clutching fingers.
Luke 13:23 And someone said to Him, “Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?” And He said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 “Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ 26 “Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets’; 27 and He will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from; DEPART FROM ME, ALL YOU EVILDOERS.’
When Jesus was asked whether just a few would be saved, He did not answer in a direct manner with a yes or no. He answered in a way that shows that just a few will be saved. He tells the people to strive to enter at the narrow door. Note, He did not say make a decision to enter at the narrow door, but to strive. Entering at the narrow requires effort and agony. It will require a lot of repentance from sin and a striving to know God. So one reason that one is to enter through the narrow door is because it is the only true door. A second reason that Jesus gives us is that many will seek to enter rather than strive to enter. They will be told to depart from Him as an evildoer.
Entering through the narrow door or entering through the narrow gate is not something that many are willing to do. They will hang on to some cherished sin whether it be family, business, money, or perhaps a lust of the heart. This shows the wickedness of the heart that it will deceive itself and hang on to sin rather than repent and enter through the narrow door. This shows what a wicked heart it is that will refuse to bow to the living God and hold on to some sin rather than enter into life. What a hard and wicked heart it will take to do so, but it seems that many have one.
God Loves... Himself 
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