^{Matthew 7:13 & 14}

 “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. ¹⁴ Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. NKJV

“You can enter God’s kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. NLT

Most Christians are familiar with Jesus teaching in Matthew about gates that open to a pair of spiritual roads and where they lead. We know very well where the broad and narrow roads lead and the end result of each, but what many don’t know is that for the last 200 years or so, a large portion of the church has been following a theology espousing a new road, a third road, a middle ground road that leads to a fruitless, ineffectual Christian walk.

Even though it was introduced and promoted by well-meaning Christians, someone with less than good intentions came up with a compromise solution as an alternative way to try to navigate through our life’s journey on earth. This third-way doctrine claims that Christians should do nothing at all to affect our culture in any way except wait for Jesus to return. This is exactly opposite of what Jesus taught and can only produce failure, which is precisely what Satan wants.

In an effort to avoid making the difficult decision that Jesus declared we must make about our choice of roads, many church leaders readily adapted it as the premier and guiding doctrine of the church. I believe it was engineered in another realm by deceiving spirits in order to neutralize the church and make us of non-effect in society. Misguided believers allowed the enemy to whisper in their ear, and in receiving it, they were deceived and quickly proceeded to deceive others.

This distortion of Jesus illustration about choosing the pattern for your life’s direction actually fits Paul’s description of a “doctrine of demons.” (Timothy 4:1) Whether it is that or not, the “third road doctrine” certainly is resulting in hell’s desired outcome of an apathetic church.

There is no doubt that our society worldwide today is in a hell of a mess. I say one hell of a mess because hell has made tremendous progress in its planned encroachment into human affairs and especially into governments. To those who believe or will protest that it’s supposed to be that way before the Lord returns, you, my friend, are a victim of one of the devil’s slickest deceptions, that of Jesus having to return to rescue us from the enemy.

He already did that, but we act as if he hasn’t yet, and we are waiting for him to do so. The “getting worse” inferences in scripture were spoken to, and were for, the first century folks at the ending of their old covenant and the results of rejecting the Messiah. Our present “worse and worse hell on earth” was brought about by neglecting the work of the Messiah in delivering us from Satan’s grasp and allowing him to continue as if he still had the authority to do so.

The present sad conditions in our nations and governments are not as they're supposed to be before his return; it’s how they were when he left. But he left us with the authority and power to neutralize all of Satan’s schemes and plans. (Luke 10:19) Our neglect to use what Jesus came to give us is why things have gotten worse and worse.

The modern church is very close to becoming like the lazy servant who buried his gift and talents in the parable of the talents in Luke 19:12–28.
Allowing the ongoing burial of talents to continue within our churches today is bringing about the indifference and lack of concern that Satan yearns for us to have.

We have the means to stop and reverse it. We have a covenant with the living, all-powerful God who has given us his blessing and the means to reverse the present situation and send it back to hell, where it belongs.

A famous quote of the “do nothing” group is “It’s useless to do anything; it’s like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.” This attitude is one of the major reasons we are in the shape we are in today. This misapplied statement is right in one sense. We don’t need to rearrange the deck chairs on the floating disaster that this destructive doctrine has brought about, but we do need to change course from that do-nothing frame of mind and set our course toward doing as Jesus said in the talents parable, “occupy till I come.” Occupying entails such activities as: being about our Father's business of rejecting the enemy and all of his advancements in our society; and actively tearing down strongholds he has established throughout the earth.

It is our job as children and servants of God and brothers and sisters of Jesus the Messiah to be about the business of defeating the devil wherever we find him and establishing God's kingdom in its place. Not sitting and idly twiddling our thumbs, waiting for him to rescue us from what he already rescued us from. He came as the Messiah to deliver us from the enemy, and he did. He is coming the next time to reap his reward, his harvest of seed sown among his children. Not a second time to deliver us again, but as a king claiming his kingdom. Our part in his harvest is that we are supposed to be removing any of Satan's influence that we can and establishing God's kingdom on earth.

Jesus came the first time to kick Satan's butt, deliver us from his hands, and give us authority and power over him, and he did. He is not coming physically a second time to do the same thing, but this time to claim what is due him. He is returning this time, like the master in the parable of the lazy servant, to collect interest on the gifts he gave us.

He isn’t supposed to come again physically to do what he did the first time, as false doctrines say, but he is coming to reap his reward, the harvest that his children, brothers, sisters, and servants have gained for him. A harvest of people who were rescued from Satan’s grasp and delivered to the king, not the wood, hay, and stubble that the third road leads toward.

When we have taken care of our Father's business to the point that most of the people on planet Earth have thoroughly and completely rejected Satan and he has fled, that results in his enemies being his footstool. When all of humanity chooses to do no evil but only good, Satan will have to flee (James 4:7), and all of Jesus’ enemies will be his footstool. He will have conquered them through his spirit, which dwells firmly and strongly in his children. Then Jesus will return and claim his due reward, and then he will do as Paul told the believers in 1 Corinthians 15:24: Turn all the kingdoms of the world over to the Father, and we shall reign with him forever.

Ray Cleghorn is a retired pastor with several books listed on Amazon.com and elsewhere. His books and articles topics range from theological and eschatological to contemporary issues facing Christians today.