Shane Idleman emphasizes in his sermon 'This Way Is the Only Way' that spiritual nearness to God is insufficient for salvation; one must fully embrace Christ. He illustrates this with examples of people who are close to the truth yet remain far from true faith, stressing that mere knowledge or upbringing in a Christian environment does not equate to a genuine relationship with Jesus. Idleman warns of the urgency in accepting the gospel, as many are unaware of the impending judgment for those who reject it. He concludes by affirming that Jesus is the only way to the Father, urging listeners to fully surrender their lives to Him and to actively share the gospel with others.

The title of the message this morning is, The Right Way Is The Only Way. The right way is the only way, and with so many things in life, this is true for spiritual things, you can be so close to something yet so far. How many people are so close to meeting God, driving right by the church, every day walking their dogs right by the church, and they're destined to eternity, separate from God unless they make a change. So close yet so far, and as a story that stood out to me, I want to share with you, the headline simply said a Spanish, or actually the tagline, a Spanish television reporter appeared to celebrate and quit her job on live television, after realizing she had just won the lottery. But it was a decision she would soon forget, and she would soon apologize for, I should say. She won a whopping $5,000, and she needed her job back. So close yet so far. And even, I don't really agree with the lottery of course, but if you read the stories on how many people had every number except the last number, and it can change your lives forever. So close yet so far. How much more should we focus on this area in spiritual matters? And one scripture, actually two scriptures that I want to share with you this morning, that really bring this home, are found in Luke and Mark, Luke 10, 11. Jesus said, the very dust of your city, which clings to us, talking actually to the disciples, we're talking to the cities, we wipe off against you. Nevertheless, know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you. But I say to you that it will be more tolerable in the day for Sodom than for that city. So Jesus is saying it's more, there's a judgment coming. So there seems to be levels of judgment. I don't know how that works at all, levels of punishment. We don't know for certain, but he said it's going to be more tolerable in the day of Sodom. Remember Sodom? Sodom and Gomorrah? Why is it more tolerable? Because these cities heard the good news of the gospel that the Messiah had come and they rejected him. And in the Old Testament, a sign of that was wiping off the dust of the feet from that city and going forward. And he said the kingdom of God has come near to you. So we see here that nearness is not enough. Being close to somebody in church is not enough. And we see this a lot where people say, well, Shane, I was raised in a Christian home. That's why you'll hear me say this a lot. Because I ask people about their faith. They say, well, yeah, I was raised in a Christian home. We've been going to church, boy, since I was a baby. I went to a Christian school. Well, so close, yet so far. There's a nearness where people almost feel comfortable because they can go to church and hear something and think because they heard it, they have been justified before God because they know it, they have head knowledge. Oh yes, take a survey of the United States of America. How many people, if you interviewed them, who was Jesus? Well, you get a lot of opinions, of course, but well, good teacher, someone we should model. Isn't he the guy that died on the cross for our sins? People say that and not embrace it via repentance, but have a head knowledge so you can be near. Nearness is not enough. There has to be a total embracing of Christ and who he is. And then Mark 12, by the way, we're in the true Christian series. That's why we're talking about these indications of what is a true Christian. This is part three. Mark 12, when Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, you are not far from the kingdom of God. In other words, this person was questioning Jesus and the question went back on this person. And he said, well, the greatest commandment is to love the Lord and love your God. And Jesus said, you're close. See, he had intellectual knowledge. How many people know what the Bible says? How many Jews today, Orthodox Jews, know what the Bible says? Many of them sometimes are taught at a young age to memorize the Torah. There's a closeness or what I would say is a knowledge. They have a knowledge, but knowledge is not enough. So we see that nearness is not enough. Being near to something is not enough. Having the knowledge is not enough. And I'm often reminded of the words of Jesus when he said, strive to enter the broad gate. This is participation right now, right? Strive to enter the narrow gate. Now, you might say, well, isn't that works-based? You know, you gotta work for it. No, the word, it's actually the word in Greek is where we get our word agonized from. It's a, I think it's agonizo. It's fighting against the tendency of the flesh to reject Christ and striving, repenting, going forward to where Christ is. Strive to enter that narrow gate, for broad is the road to destruction, and many go by it. So there's a striving, but it's interesting. That verse actually says, strive to enter the narrow gate for many will seek, and they will not be able to enter. That doesn't make a lot of sense. Well, this is the beauty of studying the original language, because then you see, because when they translate the Bible, they try to pick the best English words, and they did an incredible job, but to look at the original language, that word seek, many will seek, it means they will ponder, they will contemplate, they will think about, they will consider it, many will think about it, many will consider it, many will ponder it, but that's not enough. The Bible's clear that you repent, and you, in other words, I'm all in. I think that's where that, I don't know where that phrase originated, but it needs to be originating from the New Testament 2,000 years ago. I'm all in. Well, Shane, I'm not perfect, I'm messed up. Right, we all are. You don't come to God when you're cleaned up. He cleaned you up. But you're all in, saying I have picked up my cross, I'm carrying my cross, I'm following him, I'm dead to the old man, like Paul would say, that old life is dead to me, and Jesus, I'm following you. Now, I've turned from my sin, I've repented, I'm agonized, so I'm striving through that narrow gate. It's hard, it pulls against the flesh, but I need to find you, Jesus, and he sets you free and saves you. And now, the key verse on this, the right way is the only way, which I'm sure many of you have already thought about, is John 14, six. Jesus answered, I am the way. I'm gonna paraphrase for emphasis here. I am the only way. I am the only truth. I am the only life, spiritual life, spiritual truth, the only way, no one can get to the Father except through the cross. That is an essential of the Christian faith. So once you begin to divide on the essentials, you're no longer part of historical Christianity. That's where the word cult comes from, or heresy. You hear, boy, those sound like heresy, heretical. Those are big terms. Well, they're serious terms, but they really mean a self-righteous opinion that opposes the truth. And so that's why you see Christians, Bible-believing Christians in Ethiopia to Canada to the United States are those who agree on the essentials, that Jesus is the only way to the Father. That's where you see divides, especially in other religions, don't you? Even in those who call themselves Christians, and you have to separate on the essentials of the faith if they don't agree with you. So if they say, you know what, Jesus wasn't really God. He's not the only way. Scriptures, you know, it's pretty good, but we have this book that's better. That's why we can't all be united, because the Holy Spirit is united in faith of doctrine and truth. The Holy Spirit's united in truth. Did you know unity is not unity for the sake of unity? That's why it cracks me up when people say, can't we all just get along? Can't we all just come to the table and just agree that, you know, God is bigger than we are, and my truth might not necessarily be their truth as long as they're sincere. But you can be sincerely wrong. We can get lunch together. I can get lunch together with the church down the street's leadership, but I cannot worship God, because their view of God is off according to Scripture, according to the truth. Isn't it interesting the times we live in? I don't know if you've been watching the news, but the Pope just now said recently that civil unions are okay between same-sex couples, and we have many differences from Roman Catholicism. I won't talk about that right now, but one of the reasons that the Protestants, you hear that word Protestants, it comes from the word protest, and there are people, not even 1500s, like 1300s, 1200s, that would go against the papal decrees. When the Pope would say, I'm the final authority, they'd say, no, God's word is the final authority. When you'd say, you have to go to a priest, we say, no, you go to Jesus Christ directly. When they would say that you have to go in a place called purgatory to be purged from your sins, and then you can go to heaven, you say, no, that's blasphemy. Because of the price that Christ paid on the cross, I can go directly to the throne room of grace. When you say, Mary intercedes for me, I say, no, she doesn't. Christ intercedes for you. There's so much there that really opposes the truth, and I have to speak the truth. And so that's why we look at the essentials of the faith. I am the way, the truth, the life. Nobody comes to the Father except through me. Basically, nobody can get to the Father without the shedding blood of Jesus Christ cleansing. See, if I were to stand before God, I would evaporate. Sinful man cannot stand with a holy, righteous God. We would just, I don't even know if evaporate's as strong as it were. We would disintegrate, who knows? But because of the atonement, the atoning work of Jesus Christ on the cross, that's why he said to Telestai, it is finished. I'm done fulfilling and taking on the wrath of God, absorbing that wrath, that big word, propitiation, that Jesus absorbed the wrath on the cross, and now I can stand before God someday because of what he did. Imputed righteousness, the righteousness of Christ is imputed onto the believer. No other religion offers that. That's why this is not a religion. This is a relationship. All religions are about man reaching up to God. Christ is reaching, God is reaching down to man through Christ. It's about relationship. The right way is the only way. There are no other options. He didn't say, well, I am a way. I am one way. And I thought about this a lot this week because why do people get so upset about that? I mean, they don't get upset at other absolutes. You don't see them challenging the law of thermodynamics. You don't see them upset at gravity. Where's the gravity protests? Where's the signs out there? Why is two plus two, why does it equal four? We think two plus two should equal five. That is pretty narrow-minded. You are a mathematician bigot. You are a racist. You hate mathematicians. Why, and see, they just, no, because those have nothing to do, nothing to do with the way you live, who you bow your knee to, who is Lord and Savior of your life. Are you the captain of your own ship? Are you God? Because that's basically what it is, right? Self-exaltation. I control my life. I don't want some God telling me what to do, and it's a spirit of pride and rebellion. That's the big issue right now with the abortion debate. They call it, it's my body, my choice. You can't tell me what to do with my body. Hey, we're not talking about removing a mole. We're talking about removing a life that God has created. So that's why there's a problem with this, because it challenges us to our very core. You know, you run into people, right, when you say, hey, you need Jesus. Why? You have to repent of your, I'm not a sinner. Well, that's bad, that's bad, that's bad, that's bad. What are you gonna do in front, oh, that's not, who are you to tell me what's bad? Who are you to tell me, you arrogant, narrow-minded, right-wing fundamentalist? Who are you? I'm just, this is what the Bible says. And also, it's because the name of Jesus Christ shakes, literally shakes the spiritual realm. The name of Jesus Christ shakes the spiritual realm. You can mention any other name. You can go, and we've prayed with people. I'm sure some of you have too. You pray, they're fine with you. You mention Harry Krishna, or you mention Allah, or you mention Mickey Mouse, or you mention Joseph Smith, or Brigham Young University, or you pray in the name of the Pope, or, no big deal. You can actually pray in all of that, at city council names, and LA council, maybe city council, but when you say, I'm gonna pray in the name of Jesus. Why? Because many who are filled with demonic influences hate that name. It's a spiritual, why? Because they know that they don't have the power over that name. What other name can set you free? That's why I love that song, just speak the name. Just speak the name. If you would go into your house, and you would just speak that name, devil, you have no authority in here. We bow our knee to Jesus Christ. My son, my daughter might be out causing all kinds of chaos out there, but I know that that name is above all other names. We give you allegiance this morning. Jesus Christ, you are welcome here. We will pray in the name of Jesus. We will follow Jesus, and we will carry our cross. We will bear that burden. Oh, the name of Jesus. Oh, I know who you are, the son of God, when he would walk into a certain place. We know who you are. He wouldn't even say anything. We know who you are. He'd say, be quiet, my time has not yet come. Show me what demon overpowered Jesus in the New Testament. They were so scared, they would ask for permission. Can we just go into some swine? Don't throw us into the abyss just yet. Don't throw us into the place of darkness where there's gnashing of teeth and outer darkness and weeping. Don't, don't, can we just, can we go into the pigs? And Jesus would command, come out of her. They didn't argue, they didn't debate, they didn't, well, no, no, I'm gonna fight you on this. You know, there's no fighting. When Jesus commands it, they have to listen. And I believe that's why there's a great attack on the pulpits of America and the pulpits in England. We get emails now from Australia and Welsh, the UK of people saying, we need to hear truth. We need, we don't hear this anymore. We're being lulled to sleep with bedtime stories. There's not a passion and a boldness to turn back to God. So that's why there's a great attack on the pulpits because God uses the pulpits often to regulate the spiritual condition of the people. That's His means, that's His choice. That's what He has called us to do in many areas. People who have a calling like I do in others. Romans says, for whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved, the only name. How then shall they call on Him, the only name? How shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him who they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? Now, you're not off the hook because this is not just about me and pastors. How shall they hear without a preacher could be a sent one, someone who goes to them with the good news. So I'm just kind of gonna maybe step on some toes this morning but you're all preachers in this sense. I'm preaching corporately to a large body. We're all called individually to bring the good news at the individual level. So you're not off the hook. I am running to people a lot that are like, oh, if I could just get my next door neighbor there to hear the gospel, I'm like, why don't you present it? Well, that's your job. No, that's not my job. I'll be happy to do it but that's your job. Well, I don't know what to say. Just tell them how God has changed your life. You don't have to get out, well, here's my PhD in theology, let me just take you down the Roman's road here for a minute and let me, no, they just wanna hear your heart, God saved me and he set me free. I repented of my sin and God took that burden away. He calls us all because how will they hear if we're not sent? How will the neighbors next door, all of us, I know in our neighborhood, we have people we could talk to in the grocery store or wherever you're at that need to hear the good news. And you don't have to just come through a flyer and say Jesus saves, Jesus saves and push it in their face. You build that relationship, you listen to them. People will talk, they'll say I'm going through a lot right now or it's a challenging day. I'll ask cashiers at a grocery store, how are you doing? Oh, I just hate these masks, they'll say. And I'm having a hard time and then there's open doors with people and you go out, we are called the sent ones. This actually isn't our final destiny on Sunday, it's our pep rally for Monday. And later in the day, and how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace who bring glad tidings of good things. And people might say, well Shane, how is this a good thing? I listen to you, I listen to others. How is the judgment of God and hell and all, how is that a good thing? You tell me Shane, how is that a good thing? Good thing, I'll tell you why it's a good thing because God presents the bad news so you understand the good news. It's a very good thing, the only thing separating you from God is something called pride and arrogance. I don't want there to be a God, he'll ruin my life. He'll send me to Africa. That's what I was scared of in my 20s. Oh boy, oh boy, I see those kids starving on TV and that's where God's gonna send me. God sends you where he gives you the desire. God gives you a desire of your heart and you want to please your father. As you're doing that desire, as you're doing that, there's joy that comes unspeakable because now you're in the center of God's will. It's miserable trying to run away from him when you're a Christian. Jonah, I don't wanna go to the Ninevites, they're wicked people. I'm gonna go the other direction. Have you ever been there? Oh man, I could tell you stories. I've said many times, I told my wife, I don't know, we were married too long, I said, I'm glad I don't speak to teenagers because that's a hard group of people. They don't listen, they're all dudes and then God has me writing a book and then for the next year, I'm speaking to teenage girls and young adults. So be careful when you say, well, I don't want to help in children's ministry, I'm not good with kids. God might put you there. Now, if you're really not good with kids, we don't want you there. But if it's just an excuse, I could go through this audience right now and I could pick out about 20 good children ministry helpers. I'm gonna start naming names right now if you want me to. You need to see Pastor Abram afterwards because with the church growing so much, we've lost a lot of helpers. So we need ushers and children's ministry, sound media, all areas of life and I believe that's a way to give back what you've been receiving. God uses areas of ministry to have us grow as well. So remember that it is the good news. It is the good news. People make it the bad news because they reject it. Well, how do you know your way's the right way, Shane? Well, I've challenged you many times before. You try to prove the Bible's wrong. Look at the historical accuracy. It's history, it's not a history book, but it's dead on with history. Look at the archeological findings. You can go to the city of David. You can go see the tomb of this person. You can go to all these different places. Do you know this? That even the Book of Mormon, they still cannot find one city. They can't find one city, one tool they used, one coin, nothing. It's like it's a fable or something. Listen, I'm not poking fun. I love people, but when people are deceived, what about if we didn't point out the deception because we don't want to offend? That's actually a coward, and that's what's happening right now in America. That's why you, what's wrong with these churches? And they're not cowardliness. If they're spending time with God, the outflow will be boldness. You cannot spend a lot of time with God and fast and pray and just look at his word and be very passive and meek. That comes from our flesh. Boldness comes from the work of the Holy Spirit in you. And many of us, I need that on a daily basis. People ask me, aren't you worried about what's going on? I mean, who wouldn't be worried? But we're not given a spirit of fear. We're not supposed to worry. We remember that God is on the throne no matter what happens in November 4th. Personally, I don't think you're gonna know anything on that date. It's gonna be a while. It's probably gonna go to the Supreme Court. They're gonna, oh, we found 150,000 ballots in Pennsylvania in this trash can. I mean, it's gonna be, it's incredible what we're dealing with here. So that is not our only, that's not our hope. Jesus Christ is our only hope. What I'm gonna be doing on the day after the election, I'm gonna be here 6 a.m. praying and thanking God or seeking God, both, right? And we're just gonna go on and we're gonna do what we've been called to do. And then verse 16, but they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah said, Lord, who has believed our report? In other words, not everyone has believed our report. And he reminds us here, so then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. This word, hearing, is giving an audience to, considering. So what happens, what really happens when a person comes to know the Lord or has a deep relationship with God, it's right here. Faith comes by hearing. So people hear the word of God being preached. The Holy Spirit, without the Holy Spirit, we are lost. The Holy Spirit then begins to convict and draw and nobody comes to the Father except through this belief in Christ. So the Holy Spirit is working, He's convicting, and you open your ears, you give audience to, you consider, or you close off. And for many years, I've wondered, why are, I mean, I love preaching at funerals, but they are hard. Even my mom's was hard. You can sense, because I think people come in already knowing what they're going to hear and they close off. I'm going to a church, here we go again, Jesus, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, closed off. They give no audience to it. But at a church, sometimes people, often people are coming here because they want, God's drawing them, they want to know more. They don't like it sometimes, but there's an openness about it. They're not just coming to come because they have to come and honor somebody. They're coming because God is drawing them and they're open, they're giving audience to something. They want to consider the truth of God's word. And that's why many people come to church. They want more, they know they need more. And also faith needs persuasion and conviction often. When you're calling a person to faith, sometimes they need to be persuaded. Didn't Paul say that? Oh, King Agrippa, I wish to God that you would know him. I want to persuade you. There's a persuading, there's a making a case for, there's a pleading. Jesus would often plead to Jerusalem, Jerusalem, oh, I wish that you would come to me. And you see this desire for people to know the Lord when Luke preached and when Peter preached and there was this persuasiveness. It wasn't just like, well, here's some points you might want to consider and we'll see you next week. There was a persuasion there. People who believe in just election Calvinism where just only God saves a certain amount of people. But throughout all of the Bible, I see there's a persuasion, a pleading, that man is responsible for the choices he's going to make. And that's why there's a level of pleading and oh, God, I wish that you would come to know him. And because I believe that that's indication too that God has given man the ability to accept or reject him. That's not a good work. It's a gift of God to reach out and accept God's gracious gift of salvation or reject it. He's judged because he did not accept the gift that God offered. It's hard for me to fathom how a person can be judged because they're not able to perform what's been asked. In other words, if God calls you to repentance, that tells me man has the ability to repent or else God wouldn't call you to repent. It would be like telling a one-month-old child, right here, a one-month-old laying down, come on, get up and walk. Get up and walk right now. And then punishing them because they can't get up and walk. And so that's why this, for me, persuasion throughout the Bible, Paul is pleading. The writers are pleading to come to know God. And God uses the calling of preaching from Noah to Jesus and from early church fathers to the Reformation to now. God uses that platform of preaching. George Whitefield said, it is a poor sermon. Here's a good way to judge sermons. You ready for this? It's a poor sermon that gives no offense, that does not make the hearer displeased with himself nor with the preacher. In other words, and he's absolutely right, if the sermon is boring and dead, does not challenge, does not convict, does not get to the root issues of our problems, if it's just a man up here talking about stories and giving poetry and encouraging things, that's not a biblical sermon because all those sermons will be encouraging and they're seasons. The majority of the time, a sermon, God's word will convict us to get back on track. In a book I'm reading, The Christian Pulpit, it says this, when God moves across the church with refreshing winds of renewal, he always does it by means of God-fearing, spirit-filled preachers and preaching. That's his means, that's what God uses to reignite a dead church. And now one more quote I wanna share with you. I don't know if you followed Art Katz at all, but he wrote a pretty cool article, but I just pulled an excerpt from it because he asked this question, why do prophets seem unloving? Maybe Old Testament, New Testament. Let's just put in here for those who don't like that word, why do preachers sometimes feel unloving? Or why do they come across unloving? Why do they? You might be surprised at this, but I've been called that quite a bit. Oh, you mean passion is unloving? Yeah, you're just unloving, unloving. Oh, that guy's unloving. When he has a great explanation here. When the preacher whom God has raised up early and sent often is not heard and the word is rejected, then the next and last thing to happen is judgment. It is therefore no wonder that there is an urgency in the speaker, an urgency in the pastor. His words are designed to shock, not edify. The preacher is therefore often seen as, being seen as horrid and slashing and shocking. The most common accusation against him is unloving. And he just has to bear it. And that is so true. Because people think you're unloving if you're urgent, if you're serious. Because I guess the definition of love is to make me feel good. Boy, we'd be in trouble as parents if that was the definition of loving our children. What little Johnny, you wanna play Minecraft again? You wanna play Fortnite again? You want some more candy and some more cereal and some more ice cream? What else do you want? You wanna watch TV all day long? I just want you to feel good. See, my parents love me so much. No, they don't love you so much. They want the easy way out and not have to deal with little Johnny who's gonna throw a fit. But real loving parents, preachers, pastors, teachers will tell you the truth. There's a sense of urgency. There's a sense of turning to God. I've never spoke to the same audience every single Sunday. All of you will not be here next Sunday in the same seats, in the same balcony. None of you, not all of you will be here, the same group. It's always a different group. There's a rotation, someone from in a town, someone coming dealing with depression, suicide. They will, let me see what this guy's saying. And there's always an urgency to turn to Christ. Throughout the book of Hebrews, here today when you hear his voice, they would say three times in one book of the Bible, today when you hear his voice, harden not your heart, turn to Christ. There might not be another chance where you're just trying to scare me. I'm just trying to tell you the truth. Turn today, turn to the one who loves you and wants to set you free, because there comes a time when your ear becomes a little deaf. And that's what happens, the hardness of sin. Paul talks about your heart becomes harder and harder and calloused. And that's why it's so good to reach kids. We had a young boy just come to the prayer tent last night. I'm just so excited today. He said, I need Jesus. And he was saved. And so much for kids are bored in the service, right? We've seen, I don't know how many kids baptized, dozens and dozens and dozens of kids baptized. I need Jesus, I want, well, you're not old enough. You can't really understand at 10. No, you better get him at 10, but by the time he's 28, he's got it all down and all figured out. He knows what's right, he knows what's wrong. And that he's now become calloused and hard to the things of God. I've seen it, the younger you can talk to, not at an age where they don't understand, but that, oh, somebody said childlike faith. Jesus, if you come to me with a PhD in theology, if you went and studied with Gamaliel like Paul, if you went to higher learnings and have educated yourself, if you come to me, he said, with childlike faith. Man, can you know, can you, a 10 year old or 11 year old, or nine, you tell them, they're just so excited, so excited. You get the 29 year old, well, how do you know you're right? That Bible was written by men. The early church tried to suppress it and the council of Nicaea, and they tried to remove all these things. It was a power control trip. And like, where do you get this information from? Well, you're so narrow-minded. Didn't you know Christianity's been disproven? And they have all these arguments that are just pointless. And their heart becomes more callous, and more callous, and more callous. And that's a concern sometimes even for senior citizens, right? Boy, when they're, you've heard that term, set in their ways, like concrete. That's why there's an urgency. There's a tugging of the heart that cannot be ignored. And I thought of this, I mean, God gave me this point this week, and it really, really made sense. If all ways lead to God, why is there urgency? You see the urgency in the Old Testament too. The prophets would plead with the people. The book of Lamentations is Jeremiah lamenting that the people didn't listen. They would plead with, turn back to God. Turn back to God. Maybe there's still a hope for revival, and turn back to God. And if all ways lead to God, there's no urgency in our preaching. There's no urgency in the Bible. They wouldn't, it's like, well, I mean, you'll find him, you'll get there. Matthew 7, 13, enter by the narrow gate, which is the only gate. 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. Young adults, teenagers, junior high, let me give you some great advice. You can even write this down if you want to. Often, if the world is going in that direction, you're probably gonna wanna be going in that direction. From what you watch, to what you view, to who you hang out with, to what you do. If the world is embracing something, be careful. If you ever come home and say, mom, dad, but everybody is, I mean, I don't know if I've ever seen, if everybody's stopping by fast food, better go home and get your broccoli. No, but isn't that funny how that applies in all areas of life, spiritually, physically? The world is on a path to destruction from entertainment choices and relationships, and everybody, I've already told my kids, don't keep telling me, everybody's got a phone. I don't care if they have a phone at nine, you're not gonna have one just yet. But dad, everybody's doing, everybody, everybody, huh? But see, that shouldn't make you cave in. That just shows you. But Shane, everybody is doing this. Everybody's watching these things. Everybody's going in this direction. Be careful, because the Christian is often not flowing downstream. He's swimming upstream against the tides of the culture, against the waves of the culture. It's opposing views. That's why you're called names. Narrow-minded, narrow-minded. And something wonderful came out of the Reformation. And people ask sometimes, are you Protestant? I'm just, I'm what the Bible's been for 2,000 years. Because the Protestant movement in Geneva, John Calvin, Calvinism, or Presbyterians, or Luther, Martin Luther, Lutherans, and they didn't quite reform everything. There's still some issues there. But we go back to 2,000 years ago. We don't have to say, well, I'm this. What does the early church teach? But they did bring something out that was very important. It's called the five solas. It's a Latin word. They grabbed these words from the Latin. And they are faith alone, through Christ alone, through grace alone, through scripture alone, to the glory of God alone. That is the gospel really summed up through faith alone, no other way, through Christ alone, no other person, through scripture alone, the only gauge of truth, through grace alone, it's God's grace. We are saved by grace, not by works, lest any man should what? Boast. So that came out. What they were doing is they were bringing us back to faith alone, not works. Because the Protestant Reformation came out of Roman Catholicism, works-based. You would work your way to heaven. You could pay for people to get out of purgatory, and all these different things. Faith alone, and Christ alone, through grace alone, scripture alone, to the glory of God alone. And the Bible also is crystal clear on this issue. I don't wanna leave you without a few scriptures. We repent and turn from our sins, Matthew 5. We give our undivided and our devotion to God and to Jesus Christ, Matthew 6. We publicly acknowledge Jesus before others, Matthew 10. The Bible is very clear that the narrow way is the only way, and the right way is the only way. So I just wanna close with Luke again. The very dust of your city, which clings to us, we wipe off against you. Nevertheless, know this. Know this, that the kingdom of heaven has come near you. So I wanted to end with that question, and people listening, too, as well, from all over. Think about that question. Has the gospel come near you? Kids, young adults, older parents, maybe you've grown cold and callous. Is the gospel, is it right there? It's right there, but you can't be coming, you can't just say, well, I go to Westside and be good. I'm a Baptist, that doesn't matter. Why I'm this, that doesn't matter. I've been a Christian all my life, but have you repented of your sin and believed in the only way that saves, Jesus Christ? And I wanna encourage you, though, as I said last night, I'm a broken man with a broken past, with a broken life, but I know a perfect, whole, complete, untarnished, faultless, and flawless Savior that you can turn your life over to this morning. Praise God. And I know most of you in here already know God, but how many of you have fully surrendered your lives? How many of you have truly given God everything? Finances, your health, your appetites, everything, or is there things you're still kinda holding onto? We wanna get rid of those things this morning. But we also have prayer team members who can pray with you. They can pray for your marriage, for your issues that you're dealing with, and we believe that God hears the prayers of His people.