“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).

These words which Jesus spoke are plain and simple. There isn’t any way around this statement. There are many who are going in by the wide gate that leads to destruction. There are few who will find the difficult way which leads to life.

A common reason given as to why there are so many denominations within the “Christian” religion is, “We are all going to Heaven. We’re just taking different paths.” This statement is easily seen as a contradiction of Matthew 7:13-14. How does one explain the different paths that lead to heaven when Jesus says there is only one?

When considering Jesus’ statement in Matthew 7, people tend to only see the words “few” and “many.” “Jesus says there are few who find the way to life, and many who find the way to destruction. He must be talking about the ‘few’ who claim to be Christians, and the ‘many’ who claim other titles.” If this were the case it could be argued with statistics.

A study was conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion and Public Life regarding statistics of different religions. It was discovered that “There are 5.8 billion religiously affiliated adults and children around the globe, representing 84 percent of the 2010 world population of 6.9 billion.” Within that group of religious people are 2.2 billion that identify with “Christianity.” This group of “Christians” include 32 percent of the world’s population. This percentage of people are those who are apparently “all going to Heaven, just taking different paths.” With these statistics in mind, those who claim there is more than one path to Heaven can justify Jesus statement in Matthew 7. There are more people who will perish (4.7 billion) than there are who will go to Heaven (2.2 billion). But can such a view be true? Not if you consider the rest of Jesus’ teaching!

The problem behind all differences (especially this) is the failure to take every single verse of the Bible into consideration. Romans 10:9 says, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” This must mean that everyone who professes to be a Christian is going to heaven! Wrong. Consider the latter verses in Matthew 7. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). Lord is translated from the Greek word “kurios,” meaning supreme in authority. It is evident that those who call Jesus Lord believe He is the Christ. They recognize His supreme authority. Most people who label themselves as “Christians” would claim Jesus as the ruler of their lives who has all authority. However, this claim in and of itself is insufficient. It is clear that Jesus condensed the “few” down to those who fall into a single category, they do His Father’s will.

“Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matthew 7:22-23). It is obvious that the “many” Jesus is talking about are not the 68 percent of people who serve other religions. A Buddhist is not going to claim he served Jesus. The same is true of all the remaining religions. The label “Christian” is not going to save you. It does not matter if you are part of the statistical analysis that renders you a minority to the rest of the general religious population. We have to seek more than that! “But he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). It is not enough to claim Christ. That is merely the first step. We must do His will!

If we place our faith in statistics we will become complacent. We will ease our worries by concluding that the “few” Jesus speaks of are the ones that are within 32 percent of the world’s population. However, making ourselves feel better will not save us.

“And it shall come to pass at that time that I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and punish the men who are settled in complacency” (Zephaniah 1:12). It is not enough that we are the few in the world who claim to be Christians. We must seek more! We must “lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save (our) souls” (James 1:21).