The October 2026 DMW’s Monthly Website Update

This October 2026 Website Update for DMWs Website is a Bible Study of Matthew 7:13-14 and Matthew 12:30a. We have all heard the two verses from near the end of the Sermon on the Mount: Matthew 7:13-14 ESV “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” I think that Scripture leads to another saying that I have heard: There are two kinds of people in the world: those few that are doing the will of God and everyone else who is doing the will of Satan. Of course, that also might have come from a famous quote by C. S. Lewis from his 1945 book The Great Divorce, Chapter 9. That quote goes something like this: There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, ‘All right, then, have it your way.’

 Then there is Matthew 12:30a ESV where Jesus says, “Whoever is not with me is against me…”

 Now from the Bruner Commentary on Matthew pg 565 Vol 1, “This sentence rings the death knell to neutralism toward Jesus. Those who hedge about devotion to Jesus as “pietism,” or about the importance of a clear decision for him as “fundamentalism,” who question Jesus’ exclusivity as “fanaticism” and who disdain his gathering work of evangelism as “proselytism” – they are in trouble. They are not merely neutral or middle-of-the-road or broad-minded; they are “against me.”

 I asked Google AI this question: Are there two kinds of people in the world: those that do Satan’s will and those that do God’s will? The response was:

 This perspective reflects a traditional dualistic and theological view found in various religious frameworks, where human choices are seen as aligned with either divine or opposing spiritual forces.

Theological Context:

·      Binary Division: Many faith traditions teach a fundamental moral split between following spiritual truth or acting outside it.

·      The “Broad Road”: The idea that the majority of humanity aligns with the former path often connects to scriptural passages like Matthew 7:13-14, which describes the gate to destruction as wide and traveled by many, and the gate to life as narrow with few finders.

·      Alternative Framing: Other thinkers, such as writer C. S. Lewis, framed this division not strictly as an active service to malice versus good, but rather as those who submit to God’s will versus those who insist on their own way.

 I find the above alternative framing a bit odd. I think in fact that those that submit to God’s will are choosing good over malice and those who insist on their own way are choosing malice instead of good.

 To articulate the Christian view, I found an excellent article by Pastor Jim Feeney, Ph. D titled: Jesus Recognizes Only 2 Kinds of People, Which One Are You?

 I am only going to use a brief part of this article:

 Summary: Consider these two options: (1) salvation, eternal life, God as your Father, resurrection in a glorified and immortal body, and rejoicing eternally with God and his angels in heaven, Or (2) the wrath of God, living this life in darkness under Satan’s iron fist, then spending eternity in the fires of hell. Which would you choose? Clearly number (1), right? The option that will become yours is entirely dependent on which of the two simple prepositions you choose—to be “with” or “against” Jesus Christ.

 Matthew 12:30 (Jesus said) “Whoever is not with me is against me…”

 This is a clearcut, definitive statement by Jesus. It leaves no middle ground, no neutral place, no room for indifference or compromise. The Lord said that there are only two kinds of people: those who are with him and (2) those who are against him.

 The agnostic, for example, says that he or she “doesn’t know” if there is a God. On the surface that sounds like the person is being candid and honest. But the reality of Jesus as the Son of God has been clearly revealed to this world by the Scriptures, by God’s very creation, by the Holy Spirit speaking to our hearts, and by Jesus’s historical life on this earth 20 centuries ago.

 Jesus did not define three kinds of people – with Him, against Him, or somewhere in between – but just two. He said every living person is either with Him or is against Him. This is the end of my quote from Pastor Feeney’s article.

 In my research I have learned that of those that are against Jesus, there are mostly three groups of people. Two are the committed secularists and the materialists. But I was quite surprised by the huge third group. And to introduce the third group I want to relate a true story.

 When Judi and I first came to Christ we were going to church at the First Presbyterian Church of Santa Rosa, CA. Our Associate Pastor introduced the church to the Alpha Class which is a class that teaches the basics of the Christian religion. It is often called Christianity 101. In our first Alpha Class Judi and I were table leaders and an older couple at our table were Jeff and Sally (not their real names). Sally was a Christian, but her husband Jeff was not. It turned out that Jeff had been in Alcoholics Anonymous for many years, and he told us they taught a form of nonreligious spirituality. We had a great class and toward the end of the class Jeff accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior. Several years later Jeff died, and I am very much looking forward to being with him in the Intermediate Heaven.

 I was intrigued to learn more about the nonreligious spirituality that Jeff had told us about. I asked Google AI to comment on this statement: there is a rather large number of people who are not God fearing but instead consider themselves spiritual.

 This is the response I got:

 The Rise of Spirituality Without Religion

·      Broad Appeal: Data from the Pew Research Center shows that 70% of US adults consider themselves spiritual in some way. [That 70% is around 189,000,000 adults.]

·      Personalized Beliefs: Instead of following strict religious dogmas or fearing divine judgement, these individuals often focus on personal well-being, intuition, and a connection to the universe.

·      Shared Concepts: Many spiritual people still believe in a soul, an afterlife, or a higher power, even if they reject formal church attendance.

 Why People Choose Spirituality

·      Autonomy: People want the freedom to choose their own values without obeying religious leaders or ancient texts.

·      Inclusion: Traditional religions can feel rigid or judgmental, whereas modern spirituality emphasizes acceptance and open-mindedness.

·      Nature and Energy: Many find transcendence in nature, mediation, or yoga rather than in a house of worship.

(See Question 7 below.

The rise of spirituality then has apparently become the largest segment of all those that Jesus describes as against him. For Satan this huge group of those that are spiritual must be seen by him as an amazing accomplishment. Unfortunately, I have a cousin that is into spirituality.

 I want to quote from an article by Dr. Peter Kreft, Satan and the Millennium, January 13, 2020.

 This author describes those against Jesus in three categories, the two smallest segments are materialists and secularists and “It is the muddled majority in the middle that is Satan’s greatest triumph. They are not “religious” like Christians (though most of them think they are Christians), and they are not materialistic like secularists, they are “spiritual.” They see religions greatest plus as fostering morality (i. e. compassion) and religion’s greatest minus as fostering fanaticism (i. e. sanctity).  They are very spiritual and skeptical of “organized religion.” This is the end of quoting Dr Kreft.

 My last thought on Matthew 12:30a is that given the rampant evil and depravity that dominates our world, it should not be a surprise to us that those against Jesus are so prevalent. They are everywhere and sadly I suspect that some of them are even in the church pews next to us. Dr. Kreft seems to think that many of those into spirituality think they are Christians. I pray that those that Satan has convinced to be Spiritual instead of being “with” Jesus will come to realize that they need to switch from being “against” Jesus to being “with” Jesus. Perhaps our prayers to that affect will be successful.

 Questions:

1.    Are you one of the few who are finding life and going through the narrow gate?

2.    Do you know people that are on the “spirituality” track?

3.    Have you ever been to a Unitarian church service, because I get the impression that the Unitarians are in fact following spirituality?

4.    I would suspect that every Christian and many on the spirituality track would say they are “with” Jesus in Matthew 12:30a. What do you think?

5.    I think the rise of spirituality is a tragedy! Do you agree?

6.    Does the rise of spirituality, open up evangelism possibilities for our Christian churches in the US right here at home?

7.    Above I quoted Google AI as to why people choose spirituality, but I found the biggest reason missing. I think they find following Jesus’ commandments too difficult. His rules won’t let them sin like they want too. They are too selfish or too lazy to follow Jesus. What do you think?