this morning's message comes
from two portions of scripture which are related in Matthew
chapter 7 verse 13 we read enter through the narrow gate for wide
is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction
and many enter through it but small is the gate and narrow
the road that leads to life and only a few find it and then in
Luke chapter 13 beginning at verse 22 we read this Then Jesus
went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to
Jerusalem. Someone asked him, Lord, are
only a few people going to be saved? He said to them, Make
every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many,
I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Now
our Lord said, Make every effort to enter through the narrow door.
is the way the King James puts it. The Greek word is where we
get our word agonize and was used with regard to athletic
contests as men would agonize and strain in order to reach
the goal. And so our Lord said make every
effort, strive, agonize to enter through the narrow door, or as
the King James puts it, the straight gate. Now, our Lord made this
statement in response to a question. Someone asked him, are only a
few people going to be saved? Now this is an interesting question,
and I wish I had the answer to it. The scriptures are not clear
on this matter as to whether in the end there shall be more
saved than lost. We have scriptures that tell
us there will be a multitude no one can number. And then we
also have scriptures that tell us that many are called but few
are chosen. So we don't know exactly what
to say about this. Now, our Lord's answer didn't
really deal with the question directly, but this man's question
did tell us something about the fellow that asked it. It shows
us that he knew we were in need of salvation. He says, shall
only a few be saved. He recognized everybody needed
to be saved. The question is, how many shall
be saved? So he was already way ahead of
the curve. with a lot of the people of his day. Secondly,
he understood that salvation was of the Lord. He asked the
Lord the question. He went to the source of salvation
to find out this information about salvation. Salvation is
of the Lord. It's not of the will of man.
It's not of the power of man. As it says in Romans chapter
9, it's not of him that wills or of him that that works, but
rather it's of God that shows mercy. This man's understanding
is further revealed in the fact that he knew that this salvation
was for a chosen or predetermined people. He says, shall many be
saved. Now, that question would make
no sense at all were it not already determined how many will be saved. The Lord Jesus Christ did not
come here in an attempt to save everyone. God never intended
to save everyone in the world. He came for a chosen people.
And the man who asked this question is also shown to be wise in this. that he realized that not only
do we need salvation, not only was salvation of the Lord, and
not only did he understand that salvation was for a chosen or
predetermined people, he also realized that the Lord knew that
number, he knew those people. As it is written, the foundation
of God stands sure, having this seal, the Lord knows them that
are his. But you know, as interesting
as this question is, and as much wisdom as it revealed on the
part of the man who asked the question, our Lord did not answer
his question directly. In fact, he kind of dismissed
it as irrelevant. The answer that the Lord gave,
the gist of it is this, whether salvation be for many or for
few, you be sure that you are one of them. You know, we may
be very theologically wise, and yet very spiritually foolish.
We may be full of an understanding of theology and yet not be wise
unto salvation because we seek answers to theological points
without ourselves taking action on the truth. Our Lord said as
much as to this man that it doesn't matter whether it shall be a
few or it shall be many. You strive to enter in. You see,
even as I preach now, some of you may be listening merely to
see if I'll preach true doctrine. I intend to do so and I pray
by the grace of God that I will. But here's the important question
for you. Have you entered in this narrow
gate? Don't bother your minds over
whether others are, whether they be few or many. The question
comes to you. Do you strive to enter in by
that straight gate? Why else would anybody ask whether
there were many or few to be saved were it not for this, that
they figure if there's a lot of people going to be saved,
they have a better chance of salvation than if a few shall
be saved. But you know salvation's not
by chance. God has already determined salvation. But you and I don't
live in that timeless eternity where God determines all things.
We live in time and space. And to us is given this responsibility,
this command. Strive to enter. by the straight
gate. The Lord shows us that our hope
of salvation does not lie in whether there be few or many
that shall be saved, but our hope lies in who it is that does
the saving. And the word to us is to take
that sure and certain way, though it be narrow, take the sure and
certain way to God's salvation. Now let's look at five points
about entering the kingdom of God through the straight gate,
the narrow door. The first point is this, there
is an entering. Now what do I mean by that? I
mean this, if a person is ever to be in the kingdom of God,
there must come a time in his life when he actually enters
it. You see, we are not born into the Kingdom of God. We come
into this world, how? As sinners. We come into this
world as outcasts. We come into this world as those
who are dead in trespasses and sins, without hope, and without
God in the world. That's how we come in. And you
know there's nothing that anybody else can do to put you in the
kingdom of God. Your church can't put you in
the kingdom of God. Your church is not the kingdom
of God. Nobody's church is the kingdom of God. So the church
can't put you in. Your parents can't put you in.
You know, some people seem to think that if they're born into
a Christian family, they're somehow already at least halfway in the
kingdom, or at least got some little advantage in getting in
the kingdom. That's got nothing to do with it. They may sprinkle
water on your forehead. They may dip you completely under
the water. They may do all kinds of things
to you, but none of those things will cause you to enter into
the kingdom of God. You see, our Lord addressed these
people and He said to them that they must enter in. They must
strive to enter in, and so must you. It must be something that
you do in your lifetime. It's not something that someone
else does for you. There is a time when a person
passes from death to life, from darkness to light, from being
outside the kingdom to being inside the kingdom. As the scriptures
say, let us go forth outside the camp unto Christ. And for
everyone who's ever in Christ, for everyone who's ever in the
kingdom of God, there is a time when they actually, and with
purpose of mind and heart, enter the kingdom, lay hold of Christ
Jesus. Now, I don't want to make too
much of this, but I don't want to make too little of it either.
I know that some think that you have to be able to pinpoint a
specific time when this happened. It doesn't, it isn't necessary
that you know when it happened, It's only necessary that it happen.
Have you entered the kingdom of God? Some people say, well,
I've been a Christian all my life. That's too long. You can't
be a Christian all your life. You'd have to be born a Christian,
and nobody's born a Christian. Well, I've loved God all my life.
No, you haven't. Nobody's loved God all their life. We are born
as enemies of God. There must come a time when a
change is made. Have you entered the kingdom
of God or have you just always been in church? You were born
in the church and you were raised in the church and when you turned
the right age you made a profession of faith in the church and everybody
thinks everything's okay. Strive to enter in by the narrow
gate. The second point is this, that
this narrow gate is Christ alone. Now everyone knows That is, everybody
that claims to be a Christian knows that Christ is necessary
for salvation. But here's the point. Christ
alone. That's all that's necessary. Christ is sufficient. Everything
you need in order to get to God, everything you need in order
to be a part of His kingdom, is given in Christ Jesus. This is the hard part of the
Gospel. This is why we must strive. We'll see that in just a second.
But here's the striving. That it's Christ alone. People
want it to be Christ plus their church, Christ plus their works,
Christ plus their ceremonies, Christ plus taking the Lord's
table, Christ plus getting baptized, Christ plus going to church,
all these kind of things. Christ plus is the broad road
that leads to destruction. Christ alone is the narrow road. You see, in order to get in the
Kingdom of God, you must go through a gate that is so narrow that
only you can go through. You can't go through with your
parents. You can't go through with your church. You can't even
go clothed in your own righteousness. The gate's so narrow, the only
thing that can get through is a naked sinner. Have you ever
come to God with nothing to offer? That's coming to God by Christ
alone. Strive, we strive to enter the gate because it is Christ
alone. There's where the strife is.
It is so hard to deny our own righteousness. It is so hard
to give up everything for the sake of Christ. And by that I
mean, give up everything for the sake of having Christ. Paul
says, I tell you that if you be circumcised, Christ profits
you nothing. What did he mean by that? Well,
there were people saying that you had to be circumcised, you
had to add circumcision to trusting Christ in order to be saved.
And he says, if you be circumcised, Christ is nothing. And you know,
if you add anything to Christ, you make Him without value to
you. You make Him useless to you. It shall be Christ alone,
or not Christ at all. And that's the hard part. That's
why there's such a striving within our own souls, because we always
want to bring something in addition, something of our own, something
we did, or something that somebody did for us. But beloved, if we're
going to be saved, if we're going to enter the kingdom of God,
we must do so by Christ alone. And also, We must strive in order
to enter through that straight gate because quite often it'll
cost us everything we have in this world. You know, salvation,
we have it without paying anything to God, but the world may extract
a horrible price from you for trusting Christ alone. Family
might leave you. Business partners might leave
you. If you're a businessman, you might lose customers over
this, but that'll be all right. If you gain Christ, you gain
everything. So strive to enter by that narrow
gate. Here's the fourth point, that
the way is as narrow as the door, for the door and the way are
the same. It's the Lord Jesus Christ. We
begin with Christ and our whole way to the presence of God is
by Christ. Walking the way involves as much
strife and agony as entering through the gate. Now the word
used to describe the narrowness of the way means trouble, tribulation. It's the same word Paul used
when he said in Acts chapter 14, we must go through many tribulations
to enter the kingdom. And that's true friends. You
go through that straight gate, Christ alone, and you're on that
narrow road, which is Christ alone, and it's going to be trouble.
This world is no friend of Christ, and it'll be no friend of those
who love Christ. Those who live godly in Christ
Jesus will suffer persecution. And so this way, be prepared
that it be difficult. You say, I thought it was going
to be easy to believe. No. Many of the preachers on television
that have you believe that that's the way it is, they're religious
hucksters who are making money off of making people think they
can believe God. and have this prosperous life
in this world. No, it's not likely. The way
is difficult. The way is full of trouble and
trial and tribulation. Nonetheless, the way takes you
into the presence of God without fault and with great joy. And
then lastly, there is help. I wouldn't have you think that
you have to walk this way alone. Rather, the scriptures tell us
in Isaiah chapter 30, verse 20, Although the Lord gives you the
bread of adversity and the water of affliction. That's the narrow
way. Your teachers will be hidden no more. With your own eyes you
will see them. Listen to those that preach the
gospel. God sends them to help you. Listen to those who tell
you about the grace of God in Christ and Christ alone. And
don't listen to the others who are always telling you what you
must do. Listen to those who will tell you what great things
God has done. And then in verse 21 of Isaiah
chapter 30, it says, whether you turn to the right or to the
left, Your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, this is the
way, walk in it. Those who go through the straight
gate will find that they have God within them to direct them
on the narrow way, to keep them there, that they not fall away. God give you grace to enter in,
to strive to enter in by the narrow gate. The Lord bless you.