“I will make it.” “In one way or another I will be there.” We often hear this affirmation made by different people, meaning that they expect to go to heaven by whatever way they may choose. They seem to think that all roads take men to the same destination. Whether they enter in through the gate or jump over the fence, they suppose that either way will suffice. But is that so? Can one go to heaven in any other way except he enter in through the gate? What is the gate of heaven, anyway?
In the Bible we find some verses that show what the gate—or door—is, through which one must enter, in order to reach heaven. Jesus said:
a) “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. . . . I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” John 10:1, 2, 9.
b) “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” Matthew 7:13, 14.
Any person who desires salvation will come to Jesus. He must also come to His church, the body of Christ, the gate of heaven. Many well-meaning Christians think that all they should do is to accept Christ, and then they are saved. True, the first step in our salvation is to accept Christ as our own personal Saviour. But is it possible to receive Christ, the Head of the church, and refuse to acknowledge His body? This is the crucial question to be answered.
The Bible tells us that those that come to Christ are baptized into the church, which is Christ’s body: “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:12, 13.
There is no such thing as accepting Jesus as the Head, and rejecting His body, the church. One either rejects both or accepts both, for Jesus Christ is always connected to His visible, organized and acknowledged church.
In the conversion of Saul there is a very important warning to all those who wish to act independently from the organized body of Christ. Saul of Tarsus was an educated man, and he knew the Scriptures very well. Being a member of the Sanhedrin, he enjoyed the confidence of the Jews. On the way to Damascus—where he intended to imprison the members of the Christian church—Jesus appeared to him. When Saul asked the Lord what he should do, Jesus told him to go to the city and there the church officers would tell him what to do. Saul could have reasoned that Ananias was a simple man, without much education, and that he himself knew more about the Scriptures than Ananias did. Yet he listened to the voice of Jesus, and humbly obeyed the words of Ananias. We do not have much information about Ananias—only that he was a disciple in Damascus. “In this case Ananias represents Christ, and also represents Christ’s ministers upon the earth, who are appointed to act in His stead.” 1
“The Redeemer of the world does not sanction experience and exercise in religious matters independent of his organized and acknowledged church. Many have an idea that they are responsible to Christ alone for their light and experience, independent of His recognized followers on earth. But in the history of the conversion of Saul, important principles are given us, which we should ever bear in mind. He was brought directly into the presence of Christ. He was one whom Christ intended for a most important work, one who was to be ‘a chosen vessel’ unto Him; yet He does not personally impart to him the lessons of truth. He arrests his course and convicts him; but when asked by him, ‘What wilt thou have me to do?’ the Saviour places him in connection with His church, and lets them direct him what to do.” 2
No one should expect to reach heaven unless he enters through the gate. The patriarch Jacob understood what the gate of heaven was: “And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” Genesis 28:16, 17.
“To the humble, believing soul, the house of God on earth is the gate of heaven. The song of praise, the prayer, the words spoken by Christ’s representatives, are God’s appointed agencies to prepare a people for the church above, for that loftier worship into which there can enter nothing that defileth.” 3
In our busy life, rushing to and fro, struggling for survival, we often are tempted to neglect our morning and evening worship. In the fear that we will lose a few minutes of our time, we hurry away from home without bringing the family together to commune with the Lord. But if we pay close attention to the events of that day, we realize that success is lacking, and we do not accomplish as much as we would have if we had dedicated more time in communion with God. Our priorities should be set aright if we truly desire God’s blessings, protection and guidance.
“Fathers and mothers should often lift up their hearts to God in humble supplication for themselves and their children. Let the father, as priest of the household, lay upon the altar of God the morning and evening sacrifice, while the wife and children unite in prayer and praise. In such a household Jesus will love to tarry.” 4
The whole family should take part in the worship hour. Long, tedious reading should be avoided. Let the members of the household take part in the reading and prayer. The hour of worship is to be regarded as the best time of the day. Its return will be welcomed if the worship hour is made interesting and attractive. All will have a desire to be present at the morning and evening sacrifice. God’s blessings will be poured out upon the home that takes time to commune with heaven.
The presence of Jesus and the angels in our home makes it sacred. Without them, the place of worship in our home is just as common as the marketplace, or the middle of a street. A special room or place should be dedicated for our time of devotions. Every opportunity should be improved to invite friends or neighbors for the worship hour. Let them see and feel the powerful influence of the Holy Spirit working in the household of a devoted family.
Pompous and costly edifices are very attractive to most people, and in the erection of cathedrals and churches, great sums of money are spent. But it is not such luxury that invites the presence of God. “The most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands.” Acts 7:48.
God loves the beautiful—there’s no question about that. The chapel where we worship Him should be kept clean, tidy, and tastefully adorned. In the Old Testament times the priests had to wipe off the dust from their shoes, for the little particles of dust would defile the precincts of the temple, and drive away God’s presence. A place of worship may be attractive, without being sumptuous and extravagant. Though simple, the house of worship can be made appealing. “The house where Jesus is to meet with His people should be neat and attractive.” 5
The spirit in which the worshipers meet should attract the presence of God and of the angels, and consecrate the place of worship. Then the message presented there will have a powerful effect upon the hearers:
“Our house of worship may be very humble, but it is none the less acknowledged by God. If we worship in spirit, and in truth, and in the beauty of holiness, it will be to us the very gate of heaven. As lessons of the wondrous works of God are repeated, and as the heart’s gratitude is expressed in prayer and song, angels from heaven take up the strain, and unite in praise and thanksgiving to God. These exercises drive back the power of Satan. They expel murmurings and complainings, and Satan loses ground.” 6
“A humble house of worship will give character to the work. Buildings give character to the work only when those who build do so in the counsel and spirit of the Lord, when the work is carried forward with an eye single to the glory of God and according to His instruction.” 7
Whenever possible, a chapel should be erected where the people may come to worship. Inviting people to attend meetings in a private home is not as advantageous as inviting them to a chapel. Our home is a place of worship for the family, but a chapel is for public worship.
“If there are but few believers in a place, put up a neat but humble house, and by dedicating it to God invite Jesus to come as your guest. How does He look upon His people when they have every convenience that heart could wish, but are willing to meet for His worship in a barn, some miserable, out-of-the-way building, or some cheap, forsaken apartment? You work for your friends, you expend means to make everything around them as attractive as possible; but Jesus, the One who gave everything for you, even His precious life—He who is the Majesty of heaven, the King of kings and Lord of lords—is favored with a place on earth but little better than the stable which was His first home. Shall we not look at these things as God looks at them? Shall we not test our motives and see what kind of faith we possess?” 8
The special day set aside for praising God and worshiping our Creator is the seventh-day Sabbath. Although through the whole week we—together with our families—worship the Lord in our homes, on the Sabbath we have a special occasion to meet with other children of God, and study together the messages that He has for His people, to sing hymns of praise, and offer prayers to the throne of grace.
Our first duty as we enter the church, the place of worship, is recorded in the following words:
“As you enter the place of worship, ask the Lord to remove all evil from your heart. Bring to His house only that which He can bless. Kneel before God in His temple, and consecrate to Him His own, which He has purchased with the blood of Christ. Pray for the speaker or the leader of the meeting. Pray that great blessing may come through the one who is to hold forth the word of life. Strive earnestly to lay hold of a blessing for yourself.” 9
“The Sabbath—oh!— make it the sweetest, the most blessed day of the whole week. Parents should not allow their children to be out with others in play or amusement. I have found that on the Sabbath day many are indifferent, and do not know where their children are or what they are doing. Parents can and should give attention to their children, reading to them the most attractive portions of Bible history, educating them to reverence the Sabbath day, keeping it according to the commandment.” 10
“All who love God should do what they can to make the Sabbath a delight, holy and honorable. . . . The Sabbath should be made so interesting to our families that its weekly return will be hailed with joy. In no better way can parents exalt and honor the Sabbath than to devise means to impart proper instruction to their families, and to interest them in spiritual things, giving them correct views of the character of God, and what he requires of us, in order to perfect Christian characters and to attain to eternal life. Parents, make the Sabbath a delight, that your children shall look forward to it, and have a welcome in their hearts for it.” 11
“Above everything, take care of your children upon the Sabbath. Do not let them violate it, for you may just as well violate it yourself as to let your children do it. When you suffer your children to play upon the Sabbath, God looks upon you as a commandment breaker. You transgress His Sabbath.” 12
Besides the Sabbath meetings in the worship hour, parents should give special attention to the spiritual needs of their families. A part of the Sabbath should be devoted to contemplate God’s handiwork.
“We should devote time to interesting our children. A change will have a happy influence upon them. We can walk out with them in the open air; we can sit with them in the groves and in the bright sunshine, and give their restless minds something to feed upon by conversing with them upon the works of God, and can inspire them with love and reverence by calling their attention to the beautiful objects in nature.” 13
“The place dedicated to God should not be a room where worldly business is transacted. If the children assemble to worship God in a room that is used during the week for a school or a storeroom, they will be more than human if, mingled with their devotional thoughts, they do not also have thoughts of their studies or of things that have happened during the week. . . . Parents should not only teach, but command, their children to enter the sanctuary with sobriety and reverence.” 14
“The house of God is often desecrated by Sabbath-keepers’ children. Their parents allow them to run about the house, play, talk, take the attention of the people, and manifest their evil tempers in the very meetings where they have assembled to worship God. I have seen that in the assembly of the saints a holy stillness should reign. But the house where God’s people assemble is often made a perfect Babylon, a place of confusion and disorder. This is displeasing to God. If the parents have not government, and cannot control their children in meeting, God would be better pleased for them to remain at home with their unruly children. They had better suffer the loss of meetings, than to have a large number annoyed, and their meetings spoiled. If parents leave their children uncontrolled, unsubdued at home, they cannot have them do as they wish in meeting. Who should be the sufferers in this case? Certainly, the parents. They should not feel afflicted if others do not wish to have their peace disturbed when they meet to worship God.” 15
Have you ever entered a large cathedral? If so, you certainly noticed the solemn quietness inside the building. When people enter the chapel, no one dares to whisper or talk. They keep an appropriate degree of reverence that is not seen in any other place. Even though their reverence is caused by a wrong motive (fear), we can learn a lesson from them.
One evil which should be corrected is permitting children to do what they please inside the place of worship. What should be done to children that run in and out, talk, laugh, and disrespect the place dedicated to worship? Why do parents permit their children to eat and drink inside the sanctuary? Parents who allow this should be warned and corrected. If Jesus were there in person, He surely would take a whip and chase all those desecraters out of the holy precincts. If parents do not correct their children, they are responsible to God for their lack of reverence, and must bear the consequences.
“There should be a sacred spot, like the sanctuary of old, where God is to meet with His people. That place should not be used as a lunchroom or as a business room, but simply for the worship of God.” 16
“From the sacredness which was attached to the earthly sanctuary, Christians may learn how they should regard the place where the Lord meets with His people. There has been a great change, not for the better, but for the worse, in the habits and customs of the people in reference to religious worship. The precious, the sacred things which connect us with God are fast losing their hold upon our minds and hearts and are being brought down to the level of the common things. The reverence which the people had anciently for the sanctuary, where they met with God in sacred service, has largely passed away. Nevertheless God Himself gave the order of His service, exalting it high above everything of a temporal nature.” 17
“The church of God below is one with the church of God above. Believers on the earth and the beings in heaven who have never fallen constitute one church. Every heavenly intelligence is interested in the assemblies of the saints who on earth meet to worship God. In the inner court of heaven they listen to the testimony of the witnesses for Christ in the outer court on earth, and the praise and thanksgiving from the worshipers below is taken up in the heavenly anthem, and praise and rejoicing sound through the heavenly courts because Christ has not died in vain for the fallen sons of Adam. While angels drink from the fountainhead, the saints on earth drink of the pure streams flowing from the throne, the streams that make glad the city of our God. Oh, that we could all realize the nearness of heaven to earth! When the earthborn children know it not, they have angels of light as their companions. . . . Let us all bear in mind that in every assembly of the saints below are angels of God, listening to the testimonies, songs, and prayers. Let us remember that our praises are supplemented by the choirs of the angelic host above.” 18
How beautiful and encouraging it is to know that the congregation who meet in Jesus’ name on earth to do God’s will, along with the created beings in heaven, all constitute but one church. When we sing, joy fills the hearts of the heavenly beings, and they unite with us in praising God. The angels are our brethren, our fellowservants, who surround and protect us.
When we will find ourselves in the blessed hereafter, we will not only see the face of God, of Jesus and of the angels, but will dwell with them. We will wing tireless flights to other planets and will admire the great creation of our Father and rejoice in association with the other members of God’s great family. We will also have the privilege of knowing the other members of God’s great family who are living in the worlds afar off. The inhabitants of other planets will know us, and we will converse with them personally. What matchless love of God!
“The church is God’s fortress, His city of refuge, which He holds in a revolted world. Any betrayal of the church is treachery to Him who has bought mankind with the blood of His only-begotten Son. From the beginning, faithful souls have constituted the church on earth. In every age the Lord has had His watchmen, who have borne a faithful testimony to the generation in which they lived. These sentinels gave the message of warning; and when they were called to lay off their armor, others took up the work. God brought these witnesses into covenant relation with Himself, uniting the church on earth with the church in heaven. He has sent forth His angels to minister to His church, and the gates of hell have not been able to prevail against His people.” 19
“I am instructed to say to Seventh-day Adventists the world over, God has called us as a people to be a peculiar treasure unto Himself. He has appointed that His church on earth shall stand perfectly united in the Spirit and counsel of the Lord of hosts to the end of time.” 20
“The church of Christ is the only object on the earth upon which He bestows His supreme regard. . . . They are members of His mystical body. Christ is their living head, controlling all the members of the body. Jesus Himself, in His infinite mercy, is experimenting on human hearts, and by His efforts, effecting spiritual transformations so amazing that angels look on with astonishment and joy.” 21