What prevents people from entering the straight gate?
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Personal righteousness prevents people from entering the straight gate, as it leads to reliance on self instead of Christ.
The primary barrier to entering the straight gate is personal righteousness. Many individuals, like the Pharisee in the parable, trust in their own deeds and merits rather than recognizing their sinful state and need for a Savior. In contrast, Jesus indicates that the humble and repentant heart, typified by the tax collector who cried out for mercy, is the one that finds access to the straight gate. This reveals a key aspect of sovereign grace: the understanding that we cannot earn our way to God, and only through Christ's merit can we gain entrance into eternal life. Thus, entering requires recognizing our inadequacy and coming to Christ solely by faith.
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