Matthew 7:20-29 “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.”

Text John 14:6 “Jesus saith . . . I am the way . . . no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

The presence of global communications has permitted us to have access to a large variety of cultures, dialects, and religious beliefs. Because of this, there is an ever growing emphasis on the question, “Is there more than one way to heaven?” For the inquiring mind, the answer in found in the words of Jesus. The first thing that we notice is that all religions, fall into one of two classes; those that rest upon the deeds of the creature; “Lord, Lord, have we not . . . done” (vs.22), and those that rest upon the death of the Christ; “there is . . . one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all” (I Timothy 2:5-6). Within the text, the two classes are pictured for us as a house upon “the sand” and a house upon “a rock.” Every person’s eternal destiny is either resting on the sand, which is representative of their good deeds, or a singular rock, which is the complete and finished work of Christ’s death on the cross! Both foundations are adequate in the sunshine of this world, but the difference is determined by the storm of judgment to come; “And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house” (vs.25). Everyone’s house must face the storm (see vs.25&27)! Paul said, “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12). The last thing we notice is that while there are two ways to attempt heaven, there is only one way to get there; Christ! Those upon the sand will be turned away; “depart from me” (vs.23)! What are you resting on?