I welcome you as well. It's good
to see you out this morning. You can see that my text will
be Luke 13. If you want to follow along with
me there, you can go ahead and turn. If I ask you today, came to you
individually, ask you, how did you get here this morning? Some
of you would tell me you drove. Some of you would tell me that
you rode with someone. Probably in a car. Some of you
might have ridden a bicycle. I don't know. Maybe you came
by bus. But I'm not going to ask you because it's not important
how you got here. How is not important. You're
here. I'm glad you're here under the
sound of the gospel. There are some issues in life,
though, where how is important. Think back with me for a moment
to your math class in school. It's not enough that you just
get the right answer. You've got to be able to know
how to get the right answer. If you don't know how to get
the right answer, it's going to be counted wrong, because
that's just as important a part of getting to that answer as
the answer itself. Or think about a criminal case,
maybe a murder trial. A lawyer, he needs evidence. evidence to convict a criminal,
but how he obtains that evidence, how the police obtain that evidence,
vitally important, because if it's not obtained legally, if
he doesn't get the proper search warrant, if he doesn't have reasonable
cause to search, those things come into play. That evidence
will be thrown out. It'll never go to trial because the judge
will dismiss the evidence and there won't be a case. So how
is important in certain instances? Well, today we're going to be
looking at a situation where how is important. The title is
enter in at the straight gate. How does a sinner enter in to
heaven? How? How does a sinner in this
lifetime enter into the kingdom of God? That's what we're going
to be concentrating on here. So look at, look with me at Luke
13 and verse 23. Then said one unto Christ, Lord,
are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, strive
to enter in at the straight gate. For many, I say unto you will
seek to enter in and shall not be able. Now let's think about
who Christ is addressing here. He's not addressing the unconcerned
here, you can tell by their question. He's not talking to religiously
indifferent people. He's speaking to those that are
concerned about salvation. They have an interest in heaven.
And Christ answers their question. Though probably not the answer
they were looking for, but he does answer their question as
we'll see in our message. Christ's focus is not on who
is seeking or how many, the question they ask. It is rather on how
sinners are to seek. How are sinners to seek to enter
in? In other words, not are you fit
for heaven, but what makes you fit for heaven? How did you become
fit for heaven? Not are you in the kingdom of
God, but how do you think you got there? How did you enter
into the kingdom of God? How are sinners to seek to enter
in? Look at Luke 13, 24a here. first part of that verse 24.
It says, strive to enter in at the straight gate. Now this is
not just a command to enter in. Many in this world are seeking
to enter in. Many in this world think they've
entered in. So that's not the issue. But
it's a command to enter in a certain way. The emphasis is on the way
to enter in. That's what Christ is focusing
on here. This is a command to enter into heaven, enter into
eternal life, heaven itself, through Christ alone. Now, why
must sinners seek to enter this way, this certain way, this specific
way? Because this is the way, the
only way of life. Look at Matthew 7. Verse 13a
and 14. We see these words recorded again
here in Matthew that we saw in Luke. He said, enter ye in at
the straight gate because straight is the gate and narrow is the
way which leads to life. The straight gate leads to life. The straight gate is the way
to salvation and final glory. The straight gate is Christ crucified
alone. The straight gate is Christ,
the surety of those he was given. God the Father made Christ responsible
for the salvation of a multitude of sinners before this world
ever began. He gave them to Christ. He made
Christ accountable for their complete salvation from its beginning,
all the way back in their choosing, all the way to their final glory
in heaven. He laid that total responsibility upon Christ. There's
no responsibility on those sinners to save themselves or to keep
themselves saved. That responsibility is Christ
alone. Christ was delivered because
of the offenses of those he was given. That's what Romans 4.25
tells us. He was delivered because of our
offenses, it says. He was delivered because the
offenses of those He was given were laid on Him. They were charged
to His account. And He was raised again, it said,
because of our justification. Same ones for whose offenses
He was delivered, they stand justified before God because
Christ did everything required for God to justify them on the
basis of His righteousness imputed. God declares those sinners forever
righteous based on Christ's imputed righteousness alone. Christ is
the straight gate through which sinners find life. all without
exception who seek to enter into life, who seek to enter into
salvation through Christ alone. They'll find the salvation they're
seeking. That's the testimony of the scriptures. Seek through
him and you shall find. In another context, Christ identifies
himself as the door of the sheep. Look at John chapter 10, verses
7 through 9. It says, then said Jesus unto
them again, verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the
sheep. All that ever came before me
are thieves and robbers, but the thief, the sheep, did not
hear them. I am the door. By me, if any
man enter in, he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find
pasture. Christ is the door of the sheep.
The key little phrase in this is, by me. By me, if any enter
in. All who enter through Christ
will be saved. All who enter through him will
find safety. All who enter through him will
go in and out and find pasture. They'll move in and out freely.
Christ crucified and risen again is the emphasis of the scriptures.
It's what the scripture is about from Genesis to Revelation. Look
at Hebrews 7, verses 22 through 25. Now you know Hebrews is a book
of comparisons. Christ, better than, better than
angels, better than the priest under the Old Testament. He's
the priest of a better covenant. That's what this scripture is
comparing him to. It says here in verse 22, by so much was Jesus
made a surety of a better testament, a better covenant. Better than
that given to Israel, the nation, through Moses. A better covenant
than that. And they truly were many priests
under that Mosaic covenant. They were many priests. Because
they were not suffered to continue by reason of death. They died
and had to be replaced. But this man, Christ, because
he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore, he is
able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God
by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. You see that little phrase again,
by him? all who come unto God by Him.
Christ is the surety of a better and everlasting covenant, better
than the Mosaic covenant. He's the high priest that needs
no replacement. He continueth ever. He's the
sure Savior of all who come unto God by Him. He's the straight
gate through which a sinner finds life. Christ is that gate. All who enter through him find
life and eternal blessedness. Thus Christ's command to his
hearers here in Luke is strive to enter in at the straight gate. Strive, that's a word that means
work at it. Work diligently. Make a conscious
effort at it. Be determined to enter this way,
by this gate. Know assuredly that this is the
only way to eternal life. And know assuredly that all without
exception who enter this way find life. Christ's command here
is not a one-time thing. It's a continuous thing. This
is a continuous action. The sense is strive to enter
in and keep on striving to enter in. Let this be the focus of
your spiritual life. Let nothing confuse you. Let
nothing sidetrack you. Let nothing deter you from striving
to enter in by Christ alone. But we live in this world. We
have families. We have jobs. We have confrontations
in this world. And everything in this world,
including our own consciences, are designed to draw us away
from Christ, take our eyes off Christ, cause us to wonder, to
doubt, And so we have to do this striving continually. It's not
a one-time thing. Now, how do we do this? How do
we strive to enter in at the straight gate? How do we keep
on doing that? Well, we do like Randy taught
us a few weeks back from his message on strongholds and imaginations. You'll remember some part of
that, especially when I remind you of it. On spiritual warfare,
our weapons are not carnal. You don't need carnal weapons
to fight a spiritual warfare, you need spiritual weapons. So
our weapons are not carnal, they're mighty to the pulling down of
strongholds. And look at 2 Corinthians 10,
verse 5. It says, casting down imaginations
and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge
of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience
of Christ. Now remember that the scripture
here is emphasizing one obedience towards sinners. One thing. One
thing only. That is that we strive to rest
in Christ alone. We strive to find all our hope
in Christ alone. We strive to bring every thought
into captivity to Christ's obedience. To his obedience unto death.
To the righteousness he worked out. Bring our thoughts. When
the world takes us away, and it will, We need to be under
the gospel continually, that our thoughts might be brought
back to where our true hope is, and that's Christ alone. Be continually
convinced that Christ has done all that is required to bring
every sinner he was given, every sinner he died for, to final
glory. Be convinced of that and strive
in that endeavor. And why are we to keep on striving
to rest in Christ alone? Look at Romans 10 and verse 11.
Here's the reason. For the scripture saith, whosoever
believeth on him shall not be ashamed. Remember what Bill said
in the 10 o'clock hour? We repent daily. We change our
thinking daily because we're drawn out into this world. This
scripture says whoever believes in Christ shall not be ashamed.
No one believing in Christ, no one entering in by the straight
gate, no one entering in by Christ alone will ever be ashamed. That
word translated ashamed, it means put to the blush. We won't ever
be ashamed that our Savior is Christ. Those who enter in by
Christ, you won't ever be ashamed that He's your Savior. That word
also means put to flight. No one resting their whole salvation
will ever be put to flight. There are refuges that men enter
into in this world, and God is going to sweep away those refuges,
but the refuge of Christ, it's a sure refuge. It's the only
refuge that will withstand God's wrath in the final judgment.
There are two vital reasons why sinners should, why we must strive
to enter in at the straight gate. First, because the straight gate
is Christ and Him crucified, and He's the only way to eternal
life. And second, because all without
exception who enter through Him, they find life. Seek through
Him and you shall find. Now next in our message, there
are two obstacles that keep sinners from obeying this command, from
entering in through Christ alone and finding that life in Him.
The first of those obstacles, the scriptures speak of another
way. There's the straight way, but
there's another way. Look at Matthew. We'll look at these full verses
here in Matthew 7, 13, and 14. It says, 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. You see, the scriptures speak
of another way, but it's not a way to life. It's a way of
destruction. This gate is wide and its way
is broad and it's popular. Many go in at this gate, but
its end is destruction. The straight gate alone is the
way of life. Any other way is a way of eternal
death. Now if there were just one way,
Just one gate and one way, this would be a simple problem and
it'd have a simple, logical, reasonable solution. But there's
a wide gate and a broad way which stands in contrast to the straight
gate and the narrow way. There's salvation by the doing
and dying of Christ alone. That's the straight gate. Then
there's every other way, any other supposed way. The first
obstacle to sinners entering in at the straight gate, there's
another way declared in the scriptures. And I said there were two obstacles.
Here's the second of those obstacles, standing in the way of sinners
entering in at that straight gate. By nature, none of us know
which gate is which. None of us know which way is
which. By nature, on this issue, we
are our own worst enemies. We can see some things. We can
see there's a straight gate and a wide gate. We can see there's
a narrow way and a broad way. We can understand that the scriptures
declare more than one way. We can even understand that only
one of these ways leads to life. We can understand all this, the
natural mind, I'm saying. can understand this. We don't
have to be spiritually endowed to understand these things. But the problem with all of us
by nature, we don't know which way is which. We don't know how
to tell the difference between these two ways. When the gospel
comes to all of us, we think we're already on the narrow way. But in reality, we're not. We're on the broad way. The gospel
finds no center it addresses for the first time on the straight
way, the narrow way. It finds us all on the broad
way that's leading to destruction. Look back at our context here
in Luke 13 and look at verse 24. Christ said, strive to enter
in at the straight gate. For many, I say unto you, will
seek to enter in and shall not be able. Many will seek to enter
in and shall not be able. Who are these many who will seek
to enter in and not be able? And why will they not be able
to enter in? It's not that many will seek
to enter in through Christ and not be able. The scripture's
clear. Sinners who come by Christ, they'll
find what they're looking for. They'll find eternal life. They'll
find blessedness based on Christ's work alone. He's the narrow way.
He's the way, the truth, and the life. All who come through
Christ will be able to enter in. All who come by Him will
be saved. All who believe in Him have eternal
life, the scripture says. In other words, their believing
doesn't give them life. Their believing gives evidence
that they already have life. That's why they believe. The
many who seek to enter in and shall not be able are those who
seek to enter in another way. One of those other ways. away
other than the straight gate. They're those not seeking to
enter by Christ alone. These are the ones who seek to
enter in and will not be able. These are those who were never
delivered off the broad way that leads to destruction. You see,
we're on that way by nature. We all start out there. And we
have to be delivered off that way if we're saved. If we're
saved, we are delivered off that way. Christ describes these sinners
I'm talking about here who are never delivered off the Broadway
here in our context. So look at Luke 13 in verse 25
through 27. He says here, when once the master
of the house has risen up and has shut to the door, and you
begin to stand without and to knock at the door, saying, Lord,
Lord, open to us, and he shall answer and say unto you, I know
not whence you are. Then shall you begin to say,
we have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught
in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you,
I know not whence you are. Depart from me, all you workers
of iniquity. Now, the context here in the
Eastern culture the householder, the master of the household.
He would feed his family and maybe entertain some guests.
And after that time had passed, when entertaining was over and
he had ushered all his guests out, his family, his loved ones,
those he was in charge of protecting through the night, they were
inside with him, so he closed the door. Anybody come knocking
on that door after that, especially anyone claiming to belong in
that household, he's not going to let them in. Forget it. It's
not going to happen. What he's alluding to here is
the age of grace. See, we live in the age of grace.
We live in the age where the gospel is going forth. We live
in the age where God is calling forth sinners out of darkness
by the revelation of Christ and his finished work. But this is
alluding to that time when the age of grace is over. Sinners
will be standing outside, knocking, seeking to enter in, but they
won't be able. The time of salvation has passed.
The age of grace is over. And the testimony of these in
this little story here, their own testimony incriminates them.
They said, we were with you. We walked with you. We saw your
miracles. We heard your claims. We were
under your preaching. But the problem is they didn't
embrace him as the Messiah that his miracles and his message
declared him to be. They rejected him. Christ is
describing the Canes of this world that heard the right way
to approach God, but then came by the best of their hands. He's describing the Pharisee
who heard even Christ preached, but who came by his obedience
to the law. I've fasted. I've given up my
tithes. I'm not like this publican, the
Pharisee said. He's describing the zealous religionist
who comes by what he thinks God has enabled him to do. Lord,
Lord, have we not prophesied, cast out demons, done many wonderful
works, attributing those things to God? But Christ said, depart
from me, you that work iniquity, I never knew you. Christ is describing
any sinner here in any generation who comes to God seeking acceptance
by anything but the shed blood. the imputed righteousness of
the Lord Jesus Christ. He's describing any sinner in
any generation who has not been delivered off the broad way that's
leading to destruction. The great deception in the minds
of all of us by nature is that we think we're on the narrow
way, which leads to life, when in reality, we're on the broad
way that leads to destruction. Now, by nature, all without exception
are deceived right here. You were deceived, I was deceived,
all are deceived right here. Look at Jeremiah 17, 9. The heart
is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked who can
know it. Now the heart's not deceived
about everything, but on the issue before us here today, how
a sinner enters into the kingdom of heaven, we're all deceived
here by nature. The heart is the mind, affections,
and the will. The matter of how God saves sinners
is unknown to the natural heart. How God is just to show mercy
to sinners? Sinners who deserve nothing but
His wrath and judgment, eternal condemnation. How He can be just
to show mercy to such sinners? That's not known to us by nature.
In fact, it's not even considered by us by nature. It's not even
considered important to us by nature. We have to come to the
gospel before that's even an issue. I know you're all familiar
with Romans 3 verses 10 through 18, and we're not going to put
it up on the screen, and I'm not going to try to go through
all of them. Let me just give you a summary of what those verses
say. It says there's none righteous. No natural-born sinner has any Hope has any claim of being righteous
within himself. Not righteous based on anything
he's done. And that's before or after salvation.
No sinner in this world can claim to be righteous before God based
on anything found in them. There's none righteous. No, not
one. There's none that's seeking after God, it says in Romans
3. None seeking after God. Now we're seeking a God, but
we're not seeking after a just God and Savior. We're not seeking
after the only God there is, the true and living God. There's none doing good, there's
no fear of God before their eyes. The bottom line on the indictment
against fallen humanity, and that's what that is in Romans
3, 10 through 18, there's no fear of God before their eyes.
There's none who have a reverence for God as a just God and a Savior. None who sees the God who saves
based on Christ's work alone. Now it's this deceived and desperately
wicked heart that we saw in Jeremiah 9. This deceived and desperately
wicked heart. This is what chooses the way
for us. before God brings us to the gospel.
This is the heart that chooses the way that seems right to us
by nature. Look at Proverbs 14 and verse
12. This is also recorded in Proverbs
16, 25, but it says, there is a way which seemeth right unto
a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. The way that
seems right to us all by nature, it's a popular way. Many are
on this way. It's the way that seems right.
It's the way that seems to give the most sinners a chance to
be saved. And if salvation were by chance,
That might have some merit, the one that gave the most, the best
chance to be saved. But salvation, friends, is not
by chance. Salvation is by the sovereign hand of God. God chose
a people, and he gave them to Christ, and he's chosen those
who'll be saved. It's by the work of Christ alone,
so it's not by chance. This way that seems right and
the broad way spoken of in Matthew 7 are one and the same way. How
can you tell? You can tell because of where
they both end up. It speaks of destruction in one
and death in the other. Destruction and eternal death.
They both end up in the same place. And yet, this is the way
that all of us choose by nature. It's the way that seems right
to all of us by nature. It's the way that naturally seems
right. Now Christ declares the end of
this way in our context. Look at Luke 13, 28. He says, there shall be weeping
and gnashing of teeth when you shall see Abraham and Isaac and
Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves
thrust out. Like I already said, these were
under the sound of the gospel. The prophets preached the gospel.
Christ himself preached the gospel. The issue won't be whether you
heard the gospel, that is, whether you were under the sound of the
gospel. The issue will be whether you believed it, whether you
embraced it, whether you submitted to the righteousness of God revealed
in that gospel as a sinner's only hope of being just in God's
sight. Look on at Luke 13, 29. It says, and they shall come
from the east and from the west and from the north and from the
south and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. God made a covenant
with national Israel through Moses. This covenant, it didn't
include Gentiles. It was strictly for the nation
Israel. But this covenant pictured and typified another covenant,
an everlasting covenant, a covenant of grace made with spiritual
Israel through Christ in old eternity. This everlasting covenant
includes Jew and Gentile, those of every kindred, tribe, tongue,
and nation. These are those whom God will
call out from the East, West, North, and South, out of this
world, in every generation, under the preaching of the gospel.
Look on to Luke 13.30. It says, And behold, there are
last that shall be first, and there are first which shall be
last. National Israel was first. in this story. They were given
many advantages. They had the patriarchs, the
fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They had the promised
Messiah. They had the law. They had the
prophets. But national Israel as a whole perverted the law
they were given. They saw it as a means to find
righteousness and to further righteousness in themselves.
They didn't follow the patriarchs. Abraham rejoiced to see the day
of Christ, but the majority of national Israel, his natural
offspring, they didn't follow him in that faith. They refused
the teaching of Moses and the prophets, all of which testified
of Christ. Moses wrote of me, and to Christ,
all the prophets give witness. And they despised and rejected
Christ when he came. The Gentiles, on the other hand,
they didn't have any of these advantages. They didn't have
the patriarchs. They didn't have the promise. They weren't under
any semblance of gospel. Look at Ephesians 2. Paul is describing the Ephesian
believers here before they came to belief, to faith in Christ.
Ephesians 2.12. He says that at that time you
were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel
and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and
without God in this world. You see, the Gentiles had no
advantages. And they were scorned and hated by the Jews. But the
Gentiles who believed the gospel and sought righteousness by Christ
alone, they're the last that shall be first. They didn't start
out under any advantage, but they're going to end up under
advantage because they heard the gospel and they repented
and they believed in Christ. The Jews who had all the advantages
but rejected Christ, they're the first that shall be last.
Now, I'm giving you the first application of this. I'm going
to give you an application toward us here in a minute, but the
first application is toward the Jews and the Gentiles because
that's what Christ is, that's who Christ is addressing here
in this issue. Overall, the last that shall
be first are those who don't start out under the gospel. Now,
who is that? That's me. That's you. That's
all of us by nature. The last that shall be first
are those under a false gospel. In other words, they're under
a gospel that tells sinners that God will save you if, if you
just meet this one condition, if you just walk down that aisle,
pray the sinner's prayer, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, if
you just accept Him as your Savior, if that's a false gospel. But these last that shall be
first are those who will be brought into the kingdom of God through
the gospel. They didn't start out under the
gospel. They start out on the broad way that leads to destruction.
But they'll be delivered off that way under the preaching
of the gospel. All start out this way. This
way, this broad way seems right to us all. And all remain here
until God delivers us from the way that seems right to the way
that is right according to his strict law and inflexible justice,
the way of Christ and him crucified alone. Now, how does all this
apply to you and me? Well, you and I live in a world
of big religion. They got big buildings. They
got big audiences. They got big influence. Their
way seems right, and it seems right so much so that it took
every one of us in by nature. See, that's big religion of this
world. By nature, we all think like
those on the broad way. That's how we start out thinking.
We think just like these that Christ is addressing here in
this context. Look back at Luke 13, 23 in the
first part of this. Then said one unto him, Lord,
are there few that be saved? Now that seems like a good question,
but the focus of those asking is misdirected. They're concerned
about numbers. They could have been concerned
about baptism. You know, do you have to be baptized
to be saved? They could have been concerned
about what day you're supposed to worship on. Is it Saturday?
Is it Sunday? Is it some other day? They could
have been concerned about a number of issues that come up in the
religious minds of people. He chose this one issue, but
it could have been a number of any issues. But Christ directs
their thinking to the crucial, the vital issue. It's like Robert
said in his message last week. We address sinners where they
are. That's what Christ is doing here.
He's addressing these sinners where they are. Now he's not
answering their question the way they expected him to. I'm
almost positive of that. He directs them to how can God
be just and still save sinners? Why does he do this? He does
it because until this matter, this is the vital, premier matter
of the gospel, until this matter is settled, is settled in your
mind, in my mind, nothing else matters. I mean, nothing else
is going to have a viable conclusion for you until this matter is
settled. Numbers don't matter. Buildings
don't matter. Election doesn't matter. Nothing
matters until how God saves a sinner and is just to do so is settled
in your mind. Nothing matters until we see
how God is just to justify ungodly sinners based on that righteousness
Christ worked out alone. The way is Christ and Him crucified. Until a sinner is resting in
Christ alone, there's no basis to consider anything else a right. You can consider things, but
not a right. I know from experience. I have
to go back and bring everything I ever learned. I learned a lot
of scripture. I learned a lot of, I could quote
a lot of scripture. Still can from my studies in
false religion. But I had to go back and see
how that applies to how God is just to justify the ungodly,
to get it straight. Because before I didn't have
it straight. I had it way out of line. It matters not just
that you've entered into life. Do you have eternal life? It
matters how you think you got it. It matters how you come to
God. We think there are many ways.
By nature, we think there are many ways to come to God, but
there's only one way. That way is Christ and Him crucified. The straight gate is the way
of salvation. Now, if you've entered in through
the straight gate onto the narrow way that leads to life, And you've
been taught which way's which. You know about the broad way,
and you know about the narrow way. You know about the straight
gate, and you know about the wide gate. You know how to tell
the difference if you've entered in through that straight gate,
you do. You've been delivered off the broad way that leads
to destruction. You know that if God had not
had mercy on you for Christ's sake alone, you'd still be on
that way that was leading you to destruction without recourse. Now that's something that's known
in the mind of every regenerate sinner. You've been delivered and this
deliverance, Delivered off the broad way that's leading to destruction. This deliverance is one of the
main evidences that you're in Christ. It's one of the main
evidences that you've entered in by the straight gate. Strive
to enter in by the straight gate. Because the straight gate is
Christ and Him crucified, and He's the only way of eternal
life. And because all without exception who enter through Him
will find life and blessedness. See, understand, discern the
difference between the narrow way and the broad way. Know that
the broad way is every sinner's way of choice. It's what we choose
by nature. And know that you're still on
that way. Listen to me. You're still on
that way, expecting to be saved if God has not shown you mercy
and delivered you off that way by the gospel. If you've been
delivered off the broad way, be thankful. because it's God's
mercy and grace that delivers you. If you've not yet been delivered,
just keep listening to the gospel. Keep considering that salvation
in its entirety is based on Christ's finished work and on that work
alone. Either way, whether you've been
delivered off the Broadway or whether you've not yet been delivered,
either way, keep on striving to enter in at the straight gate.