Hi everybody, great to be with
you. Would you turn to Matthew chapter 7? I'd like to read verses 13 and
14 of Matthew chapter 7. Enter ye in at the straight gate. For wide is the gate, and broad
is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in
thereat. Because straight is the gate,
and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that
find it." Now, this is the conclusion to what is known as the Sermon
on the Mount. I suppose this is the most well-known
of the Lord's sermons. Look in Matthew chapter 5, verse
1. And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain. And
when he was set, his disciples came unto him." There's where
the term the Sermon on the Mount comes from. And he opened his
mouth and taught them. Wouldn't you like to be somebody
he teaches? I want you to look at the concluding words of this
sermon in verse 28. After the Lord had finished,
this is Matthew's comment on this sermon. And it came to pass
when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at
his doctrine. They'd never heard anything like
this. They were astonished. For he taught them as one having
authority. Everything he said recommended
itself as the very Word of God. And I love Matthew's slam, not
as the scribes. He spake as one having authority,
not as the scribes. Now, in this message, he demonstrated
what his authority was. Fourteen times in this sermon
he said, you've heard it said of them of old, and even quote
a scripture, but I say unto you. That's so powerful. He would
even quote scripture, the scripture you've heard them say that thou
shalt, but I say unto you, I am the authority, the Lord never
said, thus saith the Lord. He only said, I say unto you. He spake as one having authority
and not as scribes. I love the way the blesser declares
who the blessed are at the beginning of this message. He declares
who's been blessed. You know, I'm running people
all the time. They say I'm blessed. I'm blessed." Well, I hope you
are, but you are if you fit the description of the one the Lord
says is blessed. Blessed are the poor who have
nothing. Theirs is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are they that mourn and mourn over their sin, for they
shall be comforted. That's the person he's blessed.
Blessed are the meek, meek before God. Blessed are they that hunger
and thirst after righteousness. The blesser declares who the
blessed are. And the lawgiver tells us what
the law really means. Look in Matthew chapter five,
verse 21. You've heard that it was said
by them of old time, thou shalt not kill. And whosoever shall
kill shall be in the danger of judgment. But I say unto you,
here's what it really means. that whosoever is angry with
his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.
Look down in verse 27. You've heard that it be said
of them of old time, thou shalt not commit adultery. But I say
unto you, here's what this means. Whosoever looketh on a woman
to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in
his heart. Only the lawgiver can tell us
what the law means. And he tells us in the Sermon
on the Mount. In Matthew chapter 6, he describes to us what pure
religion and true religion is. He speaks of works of charity,
almsgiving, that's our works toward other men. He speaks of
works of devotion, that's prayer, that's our attitude toward God.
He speaks of works of self-denial represented by fasting. That's
our attitude toward ourself. And I love what he says about
all these works. Don't do them like the hypocrites
do. All their works they do to be
seen of men. Now, what a rule of all of our
actions. Don't do what you do to be seen
of men. If you do, you have your reward, and a miserable reward
it is. And the things he said in this
sermon are glorious. I love the first verse of chapter
seven, judge not. But judge not. But they're wrong,
judge not. You are unqualified to be a judge
of anybody. Judge not that you be not judged. And on down in chapter seven,
he gives us this glorious assurance. If you ask, you shall receive.
If you seek, you shall find. If you knock, it shall be opened
unto you. And look with me in chapter seven,
verse 12, he gives, and I hesitate the word to use the word brilliant
with regard to anything the Lord said, because he's omniscient.
He's God, and I don't want to bring it down, but what a glorious
statement he makes that there's our rule of conduct in every
case. This is good for everything. Therefore, all things whatsoever
you would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them. How you want to be treated, that's
how to treat others. That's true in every instance,
what's known as the golden rule. There's so much in this glorious
chapter. I remember hearing one man speak
of this sermon, and he said, the blood's not in this sermon.
Only follow me. Well, the word blood's not in
the sermon, but the word blood is behind everything that's said.
You can't understand this sermon. apart from the blood, the righteousness,
and the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the passage of scripture
I just read actually is his closing statement with regard to everything
he had said up to this point. He says, enter ye in at the straight
gate. Everything that he says after
this is an amplification of this. For instance, he talks about
two trees. He talks about two men, one doing the will of God
and the other not doing the will of God. He talks about two foundations. Those are simply amplifications
of what he says here. Enter ye in at the straight gate,
for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction. and many there be that go in
there at. But straight is the gate, narrow
is the way that leads to life, and few there be that find it. Now we read in this passage of
scripture of two gates, two paths, two crowds, and two destinations. We read of the straight gate,
the narrow constricted gate, and the wide gate. We read of
the narrow road, the narrow path, and the wide path. We read of
two different crowds, the few and the many. And we read of
two destinations, everlasting life, and destruction. And we know that destruction
is talking about eternal punishment. Now listen to what the Lord says.
He doesn't say, make your choice. You've got this wide gate. You've
got this narrow gate. Choose which one you're going
to go through. Nothing like that at all. This is a command, enter
in. Not make a decision. Enter in. I'm so thankful this is a command.
Enter in at the straight gate. He doesn't say first, get your
life straightened out. He doesn't say first, make sure
you're not committing this sin and you're doing this good work.
Nothing of the sort. The command right now, present
tense, is enter in. You and I are commanded by Jesus
Christ to enter in at the straight gate. Turn with me for a moment
to Luke chapter 13. Hold your finger there and turn
to Luke chapter 13. Now, I know every one of us have thought,
how come so few people believe the gospel? How come the gospel
doesn't seem to have much of a hearing in our day? Why is
there so many in false religion and so few that believe the gospel? Why is that? Well, verse 22 of
Luke chapter 13, and he went through the cities and the villages
teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. He was going there
to go to the cross. Then said one unto him, Lord,
are there few? that be saved? You've asked that
question. I've thought it. Are there few
to be saved? Strive is you strive. Whether
there are many or few, you strive to enter in at the straight gate. Don't worry about anybody else.
You know, people only go in one at a time. You Strive to enter
in at the straight gate. For many, I say unto you, will
seek to enter in and shall not be able. Enter in. This is his
command. Don't try to make yourself worthy.
Don't try to make yourself better. Don't try to make yourself fit.
I love that line. Let not conscience make you linger,
nor fitness fondly dream. The only fitness he requireth
is to have a need of him. Now, I've changed that a little
bit. It said in the original is to feel your need of him.
Well, you don't feel your need of him and I don't feel my need
of him anywhere near as much as we ought to, but I do have
a need and I like that better. Not go, not do, come. Enter in the gate. Revelation
22, 17, the spirit and the bride say, come right now. Let him that say heareth say
come, whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. Now, somebody may be thinking
or wondering, what does it mean to come? It's not a physical thing. He's
seated at the right hand of the Father. What does it mean to
come to Christ? You know, as soon as this sermon
is over, we're given perhaps the clearest example of what
it means to come to Christ. Look at Matthew chapter 8, right
at the end of this sermon. And when he was come down from
the mountain, great multitudes followed him and behold, there
came a leper. Mark's account says there came
a leper to him. Now here we have somebody we know that came to
Christ. There's no question about this. Behold, there came a leper
and worshiped him. Now here's where we got to begin.
He's to be worshiped, whether he does anything for me or not,
because of who he is. Is he worthy of worship if he
lets you go to hell? Is he? Yes, he is. And this is to be settled before
we can go on. He's to be worshipped for who
he is. And behold, there came a leper
and worshipped him, saying, Lord. Not only did he worship him,
he proved he knew who he was. That's why he worshipped him.
He's the Lord. He's the absolute dictator. He's the Lord of creation,
the Lord of providence. He's the first cause behind everything.
He's the Lord of salvation. That means my salvation is up
to him. It's not up to me or you, it's up to him. Lord, if
you will, if you will, my salvation is totally up to you. If you
will, you can, you have the ability to make me clean. Now that's what it is to come
to Christ. You worship him. Lord, if you will, you can make
me clean. Enter in, enter in, enter in
at the straight gate. Now, I think this is interesting
when we're talking about entering. There's four things in the New
Testament that is said with regard to that person who enters in. Two of them are in the Sermon
on the Mount. In Matthew 5, verse 20, he said, For I say unto you that except
your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes
and Pharisees, you shall in no case enter the kingdom of heaven. Now, for me and you to enter
the kingdom of heaven, we're going to have to have better
than any human righteousness. It's going to have to be the
righteousness of Jesus Christ. That's the only way I can enter
in. And then I love John chapter
three, except a man be born of water and of the spirit. He cannot enter the kingdom of
heaven. The only way you can, I can enter
in to this gate is if we're born of God and born from above. And
then in Matthew chapter seven, you can, since we're there, you
can turn with me, not first 21, Matthew 7, 21, not everyone that
saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven,
but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
The only ones who are gonna enter in are those who actually do
his will. And if you go on reading that
passage of scripture, these fellows thought they did. Lord, Lord,
have we not preached in your name? Have we not cast out demons
in your name? In your name have we not done
many wonderful works? He said, depart from me, ye that
work iniquity. They thought they'd done his
will, but they'd never believed the gospel. That is his will,
to believe the gospel. And then in Matthew chapter 18,
he said, except you be converted and become as little children,
you shall in no case enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoso will
not humble himself as a little child, in order to get through
this gate, I must. humble myself. Take the lowest
seat, the lowest place. That's who enters in at this
straight gate. What a command. Enter. It's a command. Enter. Believe on Christ. Enter right
now. If you haven't before, do it
now. Enter in at the straight gate. For wide is the gate and
broad is the way that leadeth to destruction. Now, when he's talking about
destruction, he is talking about eternal punishment. It's something
I don't like to think about. I don't like to talk about. You
know, I think it's interesting that the Apostle Paul, in all
of his writings, never used the word hell. He talked about condemnation
and destruction and damnation. It was such a terrible thought
that he couldn't even bring himself to use the word. But you know,
the Lord had quite a bit to say about hell. He described hell
a lot more than he did heaven, as far as what it's like. And
he says, wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to
destruction, eternal punishment. Now, why is it such a wide gate?
Well, it's wide because there's so many to go through this wide
gate. The atheist and the theist go in side by side. The moral
and the immoral. The Calvinist and the Arminian. The reformed and the charismatic. The Buddhist and the Baptist. The Protestant and the Catholic. The religious and the irreligious. The left-wing liberal Democrat
and the right-wing conservative Republican. The partiers and the teetotalers. All religions can go through
this wide gate. And the way is very wide and
comfortable. It's easy. It's easy. Wide is
the gate. It's not hard to get through.
Wide is the gate. Broad is the way. that leads
to destruction. And guess who goes in that way?
The majority. The many. Can so many be wrong? Yes. Yes. Wide is the gate. Broad is the
way that leads to destruction. Now, what prevents a man from
entering what prevents a woman from entering the straight gate? Not many enter it, just a few. I want to be one of those people.
What is it that prevents one from entering in to the straight
gate? The answer may surprise you.
your righteousness. The only thing that will prevent
me or you from entering in the straight gate and walking along
the narrow way is my personal righteousness. You know, I love
that parable of the Pharisee and the publican, don't you?
The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself. He was on
the Broadway. He entered the wide gate. Lord, I thank thee
that I'm not as other men are. He gave God the credit. He talked
about what he did do and he didn't do. And then the publican entered
through the narrow gate, walking along the narrow path, crying,
God be merciful to me, the sinner. Now, let me tell you how this
man did this. He knew he didn't have any personal righteousness.
He was sure of it. He was born again. That's why
I said this in the first place. He had been humbled himself as
a little child. He did the will of God in confessing
who he was, crying out for mercy. Now, let me Ask this question
as we see that the narrow way, the narrow gate
I must enter in. Let's leave the wide gate, look
upon this straight gate. The word straight is most often
translated narrow and small. This gate we're speaking of that
the Lord says enter in this narrow, small gate. This gate is so narrow. Listen to me. This gate is so
narrow that if you have anything other than Christ alone, you
can't get through. As a matter of fact, the only
one who makes it through this gate is the Lord himself and
all those in him. If you have anything other than
Christ alone, you cannot get through this gate. Now what's meant by that? It's really very simple. Colossians
chapter three, verse 11 says, Christ is all. That means if
he's all I got, that means I don't have anything else. If you have
anything else, he's not all to you. If you can plead anything
else, he's not all to you. The only way you can get through
this gate is if Christ is all that you have. You have no other
way of entrance. Christ alone. Nothing more, nothing
less, and nothing else. Christ alone. You wouldn't come any other way.
It's not Christ and, Christ and my works, Christ and my doctrine,
Christ and my experience. Christ and the way I've changed
my life. And no, you try coming that way. You can't get through. The only
way you can enter through this gate is through Christ alone. Somebody says, if all I have
is Christ, is that enough? It is if he's all you've got.
If you've got anything else, you can't get through. My hope
is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest
frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus. This is all my righteousness,
nothing but the blood of Jesus. This is all my hope and peace,
nothing but the blood of Jesus. That's the way you enter in only
when you have Christ alone. If you have anything else, you
can't get through. Enter ye in at the straight gate and walk along this narrow way. And that other way was a broad
way, wasn't it? Now he speaks of the narrow way. Now, when
we think of the narrow way, we think of walking this real disciplined,
strict walk. And I don't want to just talk
the talk. I want to walk the walk. And
we think of how careful is, well, we ought to be careful. I'm not
saying anything against that. We ought to be careful. But that
has nothing to do with what the Lord means when He talks about
this narrow way. Why do you say that? Because
He said, I am the way. The only way you're in this way
is if you're in Him. Listen to this scripture, John
chapter 14, verse 6. I am the way. The truth and the life. No man
cometh to the Father, but by me. The only way I can come to
the Father is if I'm in Him. And He comes to the Father, and
I come with Him. That's why Paul said, Oh, that
I may win Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faithfulness
of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. The
only way You're in the narrow path as if you're in the Lord
Jesus Christ. The only way you get to the Father
is by being in him. Now, this way, this narrow way is
called the way of life. All other ways is the way of
death. It's called the way of God. Any
other way is just the way of man, and it won't get you there.
It's called the right way. All other ways are wrong ways. It's called the way of righteousness.
All other ways are the way of unrighteousness. It's called
the way of peace. The peace of justification. Being
justified by faith, we have peace with God. Let me remind you what
justification means. If I'm justified, that means
I've never sinned. That means I stand before God as one who
has never sinned. And only the Bible tells us how
that could be, because I know in myself I have sinned. But
yet, when I stand before God because of the work of Christ
on my behalf, I'm going to stand before God as one who has never
sinned, who has kept God's law perfectly. This is the way of
peace, the way of truth. All other ways are the ways of
lies. I love the way the writer to
the Hebrews calls this the new and living way. Now that word
new means freshly slaughtered. You know when I come In Christ, his blood is not something
that just happened a long time ago. It's always new, fresh,
and poignant. And that's the only way I come.
It's the living way as opposed to some dead way. Paul called it the way which
they call heresy. Somebody will hear this and say,
well, that's heretical. Well, after the way they call
heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers. believing all
things that are written in the law and in the prophets. Now he says, enter in, verse
13, enter ye in, you, me, enter ye in at the straight gate for
wide is the gate, broad is the way that leads to destruction
and many there be which go in there at because straight is
the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, eternal
life, everlasting life, union with Christ, a life that had
no beginning and will have no end. The life of Christ being
my life. That's what that's talking about. His life is my life. That's my only way of coming
into God's presence. The life of being conformed to
his image, the life of eternity spent beholding his glory. Now, what does it mean to enter in? Real simply, believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. Believe, not work. Believe, rest, rely on him. Believe on the Lord. Do you believe
that Jesus Christ is Lord? You know, the thief on the cross
did, didn't he? He knew he couldn't see it by
seeing hanging there on the cross, but he knew who he was. He's
the Lord. Lord, remember me when you come
into your kingdom. Jesus. Savior thou should call
his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins the
Christ God's prophet the very word of God God's priest if he
brings me into the presence of God I must be accepted God's
king the one who causes me as an almighty king to do everything
he commands me to do Oh, don't you need him in all of his offices
as prophet, priest, and king? What does it mean to enter in?
It means to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And thou shalt be saved. You've already entered in. And
guess what? If you're in the way, the way
is already in heaven. You are, too, in the person of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.