Jesus divided all of mankind into two categories. Every single man, woman, and child on this planet, every person who has ever lived or will live, falls into one of these two categories. Jesus vividly describes these two types of people, recorded in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. I have searched and come up with thirty-nine contrasts!

God wants all of us to realize that we belong in one of only two groups that exist in this world. Jesus wants us to think about this continually. The sheer volume of His teachings on this drives home this point.

Most of these contrasts are either stated clearly or implied in the Gospel accounts. My goal is to expose us to this strong emphasis in Christ’s teaching. Later we will discuss why meditating on this is so important. I encourage you to read this list devotionally, taking time to read it slowly and prayerfully.

Christ’s Line in the Sand

  1. Narrow gate/Wide road–There are few who believe, who enter by the narrow gate, finding life; the rest includes the masses who are on the wide road leading to eternal destruction (Mt 7:13-14; 22:14).
  2. Good fruit/Bad fruit–Those whose lives bring forth good fruit and remain, versus those whose lives bear bad fruit and must be cut down and thrown into the fire and destroyed (Mt 7:18-19; Lk 13:6-9; Jn 15:2,6).
  3. Wise builder/Foolish builder–There are the wise who build their lives upon the foundation of Christ’s teachings and live, and there are those who build their lives on weak foundations that lead to their destruction (Mt 7:24-27; Lk 6:46-49).
  4. Two eternal destinations–Some will join the OT saints in the kingdom of heaven while others are thrown into outer darkness, the place of great suffering, fire, weeping, and gnashing of teeth, a place of eternal torment, for Jesus will reject them (Mt 8:11-12; 22:13; Lk 13:23-28; 16:22-26).
  5. Cross-bearers/Rejectors–There are those that will take up their cross and follow Jesus, while others will refuse to do so (Mt 10:38)
  6. Self-deniers/Self-seekers–Some will deny themselves and sacrifice for Jesus now, gaining eternal life, while others will choose living for themselves now and lose their own souls (Mt 10:38-39; 16:24-26; Mk 8:34-37; Lk 9:24; 14:26-27; Jn 12:24).
  7. Weighed down/Found rest–Many are harassed, helpless, burdened down, and without spiritual guidance, while others know rest for their souls as they serve their gentle Lord whose burden is light (Mt 9:36; 11:28-30).
  8. Wheat/Tares–Some are like good seed that brings a harvest of righteousness and pleases the Lord while others are like bad seed that fails to produce anything but sin and lawlessness and so must be destroyed in the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth (Mt 13:24-30; 36-42)
  9. Good fish/Discarded fish–Mankind is compared to a great catch of fish in a net. Good fish are kept, but bad fish are thrown away, illustrating the last judgment of how God will throw the wicked into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Mt 13:47-50).
  10. Seeking earthly treasure/Seeking heavenly treasure–Some live for the master of possessions and wealth, living for what they can get on this earth, while others live to be rich in ways that please God their Master instead (Mat 19:23-24; Lk 12:15-21; 16:13).
  11. First/Last and Last/First–There are those who have their prominence and glory now, but will lose it all for eternity, while others, last in this life, according to the world’s standards, will have glory with God for ever (Mat 19:30; 20:16; Lk 13:30).
  12. Pride/Humility–Some are condemned by God for their pride, self-righteousness, and hypocrisy, while others are received by God through their humility and repentance (Mt 23; Mk 2:17; Lk 5:31-32; Lk 18:17).
  13. Façade of faith/Enduring faith–There are those who appear to believe for a time, but fall away, and there are others who endure to the end and will be saved (Mt 24:13; Lk. 9:62).
  14. Prepared for Christ’s coming/Unprepared–Some will be ready when Jesus comes again as Judge, but others will be unprepared, living in sin and weighed down by the affairs of life, and will suffer great punishment (Mt 24:42-51; 25:13; Lk 12:35-38; 21:34).
  15. Raised to life and reward/Raised to judgment–On resurrection day, there will be some who are raised up to receive their reward and eternal life while others will receive judgement (Lk 14:14; Jn 5:28-29).
  16. Sheep/Goats–At Christ’s return there will be two kinds of people who will be separated from one another forever. They are described as sheep and goats separated from one another by Jesus the Great Shepherd. The sheep are blessed by God and will inherit God’s kingdom while the goats will be cast into eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Mt 25:31-34, 41, 46).
  17. False worshipers/True worshipers–Some claim to worship God, but they really believe deceitful doctrines made up by men. Others worship the Lord in spirit and in truth (Mk 7:6-7; Jn 4:24).
  18. Repentant/Unrepentant–There are those that repent and turn from sin and so find entrance into the kingdom of God. The rest, however, will find themselves in hell, the place where the worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched (Mk 9:42-29).
  19. Hearing/Willfully deaf–One hears Jesus and receives Him and His words; another rejects Him and is against Him, so will be judged (Lk 10:16; 11:23; 16:31; 20:17-18; Jn 1:11-12; 12:48; 13:20).
  20. Documented citizens/Persona non grata–There are those whose names are written in heaven while the names of others are absent, for they have no citizenship there (Lk 10:20).
  21. Personal relationship with Christ/Estranged–Some know the Son of God, have a relationship with Him, while others don’t know Him (Jn 1:9ff; 8:19; 10:15; 13:7; 17:3).
  22. Child of God/Child of Satan–Every person is either a child of God through Jesus or a child of Satan (Jn 1:12; 8:44).
  23. Born again/Born only once–A person is ether born again and will see the kingdom of God, or he/she is not born again and will never see God’s kingdom (Jn 3:3-7).
  24. No longer condemned/Under condemnation–There are those who believe on Jesus and have eternal life, and the rest remain condemned before God (Jn 3:14-18; 36; 5:24; 6:40; 8:24; 11:25-27).
  25. Love light/Love darkness–Some love the light of God and His truth while others love lies and spiritual darkness (Jn 3:19-21; 8:12; 12:46; 18:37).
  26. Overflowing with living water/Thirsty–Some drink of the living water that is Christ, while others remain dying of spiritual thirst in their sins (Jn 4:13-14; 7:37-39).
  27. Seeking God’s approval/Seeking man’s approval–There are those who seek God’s approval above all else, while others seek the approval of others above God (Jn 5:44).
  28. Receiving the Bread of Life/Starving spiritually–The Bread of Life, Jesus, is received by some to give life to their souls, the rest remain in state of spiritual starvation (Jn 6).
  29. Set free/Enslaved–Some are set free from sin and death, while others remain enslaved and doomed to die in their sins (Jn 8:32-26).
  30. Believe the Son like Abraham/Hate Christ like Satan–Some share the same faith of believers throughout all of history while others remain held by Satan who has deceived the masses since the beginning (Jn 8:38-47).
  31. Life in the Spirit/Life in the flesh–There are those that live life in the Spirit, abiding in Jesus, while everyone else lives life according to the flesh without God (Jn 6:63; 14:16-17; 15:5-6).
  32. Obedient/Disobedient–Some obey Jesus, keeping His words, while many refuse to do so (Jn 8:31, 52).
  33. Seeing/Blind–Spiritual blindness darkens the hearts of many, but some see God and His truth (Jn 9:39-41).
  34. Followers of the True Shepherd/Followers of false shepherds–Some are God’s sheep and follow the Great Shepherd, Jesus, and have abundant life, but many instead follow false shepherds and are killed and destroyed (Jn 10:1-10, 27; 12:26).
  35. Safe from all harm/Fearful–Some are safe in the hand of God the Father and God the Son; these have eternal life and will never perish. Others, however, have no eternal security. They have every reason to fear (Jn 10:28).
  36. Clean/Filthy–There are those that have been made clean by God’s grace as they have responded in faith to God’s Word, while others remain unclean before God in their sins (Jn 13:10-11; 15:3).
  37. Followers of the Way/No access to the Father–Some will go to the Father through Jesus–the Way, the Truth, and the Life–but others have no way to the Father (Jn 14:6).
  38. Secure in the Father’s love/His love unknown–Some love Jesus and so have the Father’s love, while others, without Jesus, cannot know the Father’s love (Jn 14:21-24; 15:23-24).
  39. Belong to this world/Belong to Christ–There are those that belong to this sin-cursed world and those that instead now belong to Jesus, God’s Son (Jn 17:6-11; 17:14-16).

A Sobering Exercise

It is obvious who the two categories of people are: those who are God’s people, who have repented of their sins and believe on Jesus Christ, and those who are not yet God’s people. To be one of God’s people is the highest possible privilege–a blessing far beyond our comprehension. Likewise, to fail to become one of God’s people is a tragedy whose sorrow is beyond our finite comprehension.

If you took the time to meditate on all of these summarized Scriptures, you feel quite sober-minded at the moment. You may well have mixed emotions.

In the next article, we explore some ways that we should respond to Jesus’s emphasis on this sharp division between these two types of people. You can find that here: 5 Responses to Christ’s Line in the Sand.

(Artwork courtesy of Firm Foundations, New Tribes Mission)