The Two Ways

Psalm 1:6 "For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.”

I read this short devotional the other day that hit me hard. The inescapable truth in life is that there are only two roads and that there are two destinations to which they lead in eternity. The word “way” (Hebrew, derek) means “road.” There is only one way leading to heaven—the way of the righteous; and one way leading to hell—the way of the ungodly. The equivalent Greek word in the New Testament is hodos, also meaning “road.” Its literal meaning—that of an actual roadway—lends itself very easily to the figure of a style of life whose practice leads inevitably to a certain destiny. Since there are only two basic ways of looking at life—the God-centered viewpoint and the man-centered viewpoint—there are only two ways of life, the way of the godly and the way of the ungodly. The one leads to life; the other to death.

Catch this reality, because it is vitally important: There is no other way and we have to choose which way we go, because to make “no choice” or pretend that there is no God is to take the default road to eternal damnation due to “original sin” and the unforgiven sins we commit in our lifetime. How can we not have a sense of urgency on this life and death issue? Paul explains how we are all on the road to Perdition in Ephesians 2:1-3 saying, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time,  gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.” How much do we not want to hear these unpleasant words about this highway to hell? But, truth be told, because of sin, we all have been on that road and no matter how “good” we are, Paul explains in Romans 3:23 “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”, and “The wages of sin is death.” Thank God, He made a second way for us!

.The Lord Jesus taught in Matthew 7:13-14: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

But what is the way of the righteous that leads to life? The Lord tells in John 14:4,6 “ You know the way.” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."  Have you come to the place in your spiritual life where you know for certain that if you were to die today you would go to heaven? What way are you going? Follow Jesus.

In Christ, Brian