Kingdom of Admission

Summary

People always want to know: who is in (eternally)? Jesus ends the Sermon on the Mount by addressing this question. He does it by process of elimination; by pointing out the people who are NOT part of His kingdom. He begins with the narrow gate, pointing to the fact that His people are not those who are concerned with inclusion, but those who faithfully choose the exclusivity of Jesus. Jesus then warns of the false prophets, those who talk about Jesus, but do not live as people who have been given grace. The third group that Jesus denies admission to is much more ambiguous: they are those who seem to have lived as Christians, but in the end are not known by God. The Kingdom is not entered through good theology, good deeds, or widespread acceptance; it is only through trusting Jesus fully for salvation and living for His glory.

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