Matthew 7:13-14

Click Here to read Matthew 7:13-14.

• What one word or idea stood out to you and why?
• What do you think Jesus is teaching about the Kingdom of God/Heaven?
• Why doesn’t everyone get into heaven?
• What if everyone got into Disneyland for free?
• Even better, what if the whole world was Disneyland, you didn’t have to pay to get in and you never had to leave. 
• How would they pay for all of that? Who would the workers be if everyone got in?
• Would it still be special? Would all of the rides still seem cool if you could go on them every day?

Have you ever tried to mix oil and water? They do not ever blend together, no matter how much you mix them. God is like that with one thing. This one thing keeps God separated from people. That thing is sin. When we break the commands of God we sin so we cannot mix with God. We are also less loving, patient, kind, wise and fun. God is righteous, which means there is no sin in Him. It also means He is completely loving, patient, kind, wise and fun. 

God took care of this big problem through Jesus. He washed us clean of our sin (the oil) so that we could be together with Him (the water). “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:8-9 God removes our sin so that we can be with Him. We are perfectly pure because of what Jesus did for us. 

Some people say that you just need to be a good person to get into heaven. Ask them how good you need to be to get in? 80% good? 51% good? Who decides what good is? If you had a really hard life, do you need to be less good? Jesus was the only person who was 100% good. That made Him the perfect sacrifice for our sin. Or the perfect admission ticket into heaven/Disneyland. 

Saying everyone should get into heaven is like saying everyone should get into Disneyland. There is not enough money and resources in the world to spread Disneyland all over the planet and make it free. There is a cost to enter Disneyland, just like there is a cost to enter heaven. Jesus paid that cost so that we could enter for for free. Your cost to entering heaven is giving your whole life to Jesus. As we have learned in previous lessons, that is the best deal in the world!