It's good to see you here today.
If you would be turning in your Bibles to Matthew 7, we're continuing
our study of the Sermon on the Mount there. And our text for
today is verses 7 through 14 of Matthew 7. Now, if you were
here last week, you'll recall we actually have already looked
at part of this passage in detail, but because of our time constraints
last week, the first part of this morning's message will be
somewhat of a continuation of the study that we started last
week. And as always, today I hope to accurately point you toward
Christ as He's revealed in the Scriptures. And I want to be
as clear as possible. I want to talk candid with you,
frank with you. I want to shoot straight with
you. And I've titled today's message, Straight Talk. But while
I certainly want to talk clear to you and without any ambiguity,
actually that's taken from verses 13 and 14, and it's not spelled
A-I-G-H-T, S-T-R-A-I-T, where it speaks of the straight gate. And so it's not referring to
a straight line or something that's linear, but rather to
a narrow passageway, a straight. And as some of you know, I've
kind of used that play on words before, but all of that aside,
it's really my desire to talk to you straight, S-T-R-A-I-T,
this morning, because I want to point you to Christ, who is
the straight gate. Picking up where we left off
last week back in verse 7, Christ is continuing here in his sermon
on the mountain. He says, Ask and it shall be
given you. Seek and ye shall find. Knock
and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth,
and he that seeketh findeth. And to him that knocketh it shall
be opened. For what man is there of you
Whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he
ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being
evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much
more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things
to them that ask him? Therefore, all things whatsoever
you would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them. For this is the law and the prophets. 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." Last week, I spent a great deal of
time showing why I believe that Christ was staying right here
on subject. in this portion of the sermon
by still emphasizing, and I showed you that by emphasizing the context
in which he was speaking and had been speaking and continued
to speak. He's sticking, see, with the
theme of the Sermon on the Mount, the gospel of the kingdom. Again,
that kingdom being a dominion, a rule, a reign of grace, grace
reigning through righteousness, Romans 5, 21. And you're going
to probably you may be tired of hearing me say that, but it's
going to be true throughout the remainder of this sermon. That
is the theme of this sermon. It's about righteousness, the
righteousness of his kingdom. It helps us to understand if
we would just keep in mind that he's continuing in our passage
today to address the vital issues of the kingdom of God, of the
kingdom of heaven, of the way of entrance into heaven. And
so we're speaking of a way of righteousness, and as always,
when we Speak of that righteousness, the righteousness of God. I want
to make sure you know what I'm referring to, that which Christ
alone accomplished in his life and death by making perfect satisfaction
to God's justice. That is his perfect obedience,
even unto death, as the scriptures put it, satisfying the law's
precepts. That is by simply obeying the
law, sinlessly perfect obedience. as well as paying the penalty,
see, for sins that were imputed to him, that is, that were charged
to his account, the sins of every one of those that he represented,
all those for whom he lived and died, those whose sins, see,
were imputed, charged, or laid upon him. Now, last week we covered
verses 7 through 11, as I've already indicated, but I want
to share some additional thoughts and some related scriptures.
that give us even greater clarity, particularly with regard to these
bold assertions that Christ makes here in verses 7 and 8, where
he says very clearly there in verse 8, everyone that asketh
receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh
it shall be opened. Here we can conclude that if
we understand of whom and for what we are to ask for and what
we are to seek, and the door upon which we are to knock, and
then act accordingly, we know that we shall receive it, we
shall find it, and that the door shall be opened." And we saw
how in verses 9 and 10, you may recall, Christ put God's character
really on the line here. His character as a loving father
by asserting, look, if you sinners be an evil, you know how to give
good things to your children, good gifts to them. He says,
how much more shall the Heavenly Father give good things? And
we saw in the Luke, you'll recall the good things he referred to
as the Holy Spirit to them that ask him. So he obviously means
it here when he declares, seek and find. And much of this was
covered in last week's message. It was titled Ask, Seek and Knock
for those of you who weren't here. And I would encourage you
to get a copy. in particular this week of that message because
this one is really a continuation of it and it's very complementary
to it. But today I'm going to take a
few minutes and elaborate some more on how these assertions
in verses 7 and 8 are to be understood. Keep in mind from last week,
we know from the immediate context as well as from the message of
all the scriptures that point us to Christ, to salvation by
grace that is conditioned on Christ and Him alone. We know
that any sinner who does then receive, find, and have the door
of God's eternal blessings opened unto them, they discover God's
way of salvation. And that's a way, as we talked
last week, that excludes the asking, the seeking, and the
knocking of having any kind of causal role in receiving these
blessings. While it's clear that all who
find shall seek, they do not find because they seek. Christ teaches us in John 6.44
there, he said, no man can come unto me except the Father which
hath sent me. Draw him. He's teaching that
apart from God's intercession, see, we cannot come to him. And that proves that we will
not, of our own accord, ask, seek, and knock. Not according
to God's way of salvation. Not based on Him, Christ, having
met all of the conditions. You see, the asking, the seeking,
and the knocking, they are the fruits and the effects of that
which He accomplished for us. The gift of faith and repentance
that He procured for us. Christ bought this gift for His
people. And it's not the other way around.
We didn't procure that gift. If you'll think back to our study
on the initial part of Christ's Sermon on the Mountain, we spent
a great deal of time on those verses called the Beatitudes
that begin, blessed are. And we established there really
from the whole of Scripture, from the whole message of grace
in the Bible, that the various descriptions of the eternally
blessed, they were not conditions, but rather evidences. And that's
the same case here. For example, Christ said, blessed
are the poor in spirit. And we established that they
are not eternally blessed because they became poor in spirit, but
rather they were poor in spirit as an evidence that was characteristic
of those who are eternally blessed because they've been eternally
blessed. And so likewise, and complementary
to our text today, we read in the Beatitudes, blessed are they
which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall
be filled. And we establish then, you'll
recall, that they are not eternally blessed because they hunger and
thirst after righteousness. But rather, that's what one does
who has been blessed of God. They earnestly ask, they diligently
seek, they persistently knock, see, because after righteousness,
because they've been blessed to have been given a hunger and
thirst after righteousness and nothing else will do for them.
They've been given that hunger and that thirst. I know I'm beating
that to death, but to get that wrong is a terrible and fatal
error. To support it further, consider
what Paul said in Romans 10.20. He was quoting God's words as
they were spoken through the prophet Isaiah. And it reads,
he said, I was, this is God speaking through Isaiah now, I was found
of them that sought me not. I was made manifest unto them
that ask not after me. Now this declares that those
who find God, they do not initiate the seeking. So then how are
we to understand Matthew 7 where he says, seek and find. Who will
come to God? Well, in John 6, 37, Christ said
this, All that the Father giveth me shall come to me. And then
down in verse 44 of that same chapter, he goes on to say, But
no man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me
drawing. So sinners, see, we do not find
this precious spiritual treasure, this eternal blessing, because
we seek it, but rather we seek it and come to Christ because
we were given to Christ and only a sinner who was given to Christ
by God the Father and who Christ in his incarnation came and substituted
himself for that sinner. Only them, only they as a result
are in time in each successive generation drawn to look to Christ
alone by God's irresistible drawing. And so it's a fruit and effect
of that which was purchased for them on the cross some 2,000
years ago. It was his doing and his dying. So the faith exercise, see, by
God's elect, as Ephesians 2, 8, 9 says, for by grace are you
saved through faith. And that faith, not of yourself,
see, it's the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should
boast. Now some accept this indisputable
fact that God then is sovereign in all things. They believe the
scripture we just looked at. No man can come to me except
the Father draw him. So they accept that even God
is sovereign in salvation. And thereby they rightly conclude
that that means their own efforts to do anything to seek God It
would have no causal role in the finding. They recognize,
see that God's purposes shall come to pass. But some react
to that truth and it is a truth, but they react to that truth
by choosing the path of fatalism. That is, and they do so see in
defiance to God's clear commands for us to ask, seek, and knock. So they deny man's responsibility. Reasoning look if it's really
all of God that I don't have anything do it. Well, then why
should I do anything? We'll just wait and see what happens and
And if you think about it If we're honest, that's a natural
reaction to any who are confronted with the sovereignty of God That's
the way we all initially look at it but what we pray that all
men are confronted with by God's Spirit is this to that I that
that mindset is really a reflection of the natural mind's sinful,
self-serving determination. See, that there's not a good
reason for me to act, that I will only act if I think my actions
can gain something for me. See, such fatalistic reasoning
is accompanied by the sinful assumption that there is no other
valid motive. The only valid motive for me
to seek God, to do anything, is that which would be self-serving.
And so, they ignore the commands to seek salvation, God's way,
and they do it in rebellion against God. And they do it in defiance
of the clear commands of Scripture. But look, instead, in recognition
of the fact that God is sovereign, even in salvation, we should
be encouraged to do what? to bow down and plead for mercy. Bow at His feet. And in the Scriptures,
that's the description that's given for all those who ultimately
inhabit His kingdom, who go to heaven. In Romans 9, we read
how the Israelites of old, they sought after God, but it said
their efforts were futile because they sought it out by the works
of the law. And that's the way we all seek
God initially. unless and until the Holy Spirit
gives us life. Once again, we see then that
religion fits in what? Two categories. We have the religion
of works, of imagining that we meet a condition or a requirement,
or the religion of grace, of salvation conditioned on Christ
and on Him alone. See, to seek salvation conditioned
on the merits of Christ alone, His righteousness, that's the
religion of grace, and that is God's way of salvation. By grace
are you saved. Any other way makes salvation
condition on the center of the religion of works. And that's
equivalent to seeking after God by the works of the law. And
it's really, it's that simple. Seeking God based upon grounds
that he has excluded C, shall prove to be a fruitless search. But as he said in Matthew 6,
33, seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,
seek and find. Now, I wanted to speak some more
about this sense that we're to take from these commands and
the sinner's responsibility to ask and seek and knock. As we
discussed last week, we're to ask God in recognition that salvation
truly is of the Lord, bowing to his sovereignty and salvation.
He says in the scriptures, you know, I'll have mercy on whom
I will have mercy. And men go, well, that's just
not fair. And he answers that in Romans 9 also. He says, who
are you, the clay, to say to the potter, why did you make
me this way? You see, we just don't want to
bow. But that's the God we're to ask for. And as such, that
asking has the connotation, see, of an earnest plea for mercy
before a holy and sovereign God. And likewise, when he says to
seek, I believe that indicates a diligent determination that
God places in our hearts. It implies, excuse me. It implies
more than simply saying, OK, he said, I ask and you shall
receive. So I'll ask God, I'll check that one off, you know,
God, show me, show me your way, you know, in this way of righteousness
and all that. And then go on about my business
and say, well, we'll see what he does. That's not how Those
who are his sheep who enter his kingdom who've been given life
It's not how they're portrayed in the scripture not those blessed
in Christ as we studied back in chapter 5 remember if we just
looked at there or I just mentioned to you he gives them a hunger
and a thirst for his righteousness and that would be evidence then
by diligent seeking and lastly he says knock and And I believe
that's descriptive of beggars who are knocking at the door.
You see, and they just won't go away. They will not be deterred. And there's a good illustration.
Hold your hold your place there in Matthew 7, but turn over to
Matthew 15. There's a good illustration, I think, of this there. You know,
you almost get the sense that you have this earnest asker and
this diligent seeker, and all of a sudden he's confronted by
a closed door. He has to knock. to enter. See, God is not begging the sinner.
Rather, the sinner is the one that's reduced to begging, having
been blessed to find that he is among the poor in spirit. Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. In other words, they
find themselves poor in spirit with nothing to commend themselves
unto God. He needs, that sinner needs mercy.
And the sense of this is that it's like Christ is saying, look,
even so, be not discouraged. Continue your quest. Knock, for
it shall be open. So to illustrate that, look with
me down in verse 22 of Matthew 15. This is a story of the Canaanite
woman who cried unto our Lord to help her daughter. Read in
verse 22. And behold, a woman of Canaan
came out of the same coast and cried unto him, saying, Have
mercy on me, O Lord. The son of David, my daughter
is grievously vexed with the devil. But he answered her, not
a word. And his disciples came and besought
him, saying, send her away, for she cried after us, bugging us. And you get that sense. But he
answered and he said, I am not sent, but unto the lost sheep
of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped
him saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and he said,
it is not meat, that is, it's not a good or a proper thing
to take the children's bread and to cast it to dogs. And she
said, truth, Lord, yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall
from their master's table. Then Jesus answered and said
unto her, O woman, great is thy faith. Be it unto thee even as
thou wilt, and her daughter was made whole from that very hour. Now, this doesn't present a picture
of a pleading Savior. The anxiously awaiting to enter
your heart as I and regrettably some of you used to sing in that
old invitation song. The Savior's waiting, won't you
please let him come in. That's not the picture we have
here. Notice that initially our Lord didn't even answer her.
And when he finally did, his words rang similar to those that
we looked at last week in our text in Matthew 7, 5, when he
said, don't give that which is holy to the dogs, where he was
instructing them to hold off. And I believe this is an excellent
picture here of one who is knocking at the door of Christ. This Canaanite
woman, see, she had no other option. She knew she needed the
crumbs. God irresistibly calls his people
and they beg for mercy at his feet. They discover, see, they
have no other hope but that God be merciful to them, the sinner. God's not the beggar. Instead,
the blessed of God are brought to fall down at his feet and
plead for what? Mercy. The mercy that is found
in Christ alone and worship him. And there, see, in Christ, they
find their relief because there their need is met. It really
is blessed to be made poor in spirit. As I say, I think this
is an excellent picture of this mocking those who see are so
convinced by God, the Holy Spirit of their need for Christ and
the imputation of the righteousness he produce that they don't have
anywhere else to go. And so they not with determination
is one who will not be deterred from entering in this one sure
way. Now, picking up where we left
off last week, I want to direct your attention to verse 12 of
Matthew 7. I want to get a sense how this
verse that is commonly known as the Golden Rule fits in to
the context of this passage. You know, when I first read this,
I didn't really see how it looked like it just was plucked out
of somewhere and put in here, and I didn't see its relationship,
but I believe I do now. In verse 12, it says, therefore,
all things whatsoever you would that men should do to you, Do
ye even so to them, for this is the law and the prophets.
Now notice the verse begins with, therefore, so we should know
that it is there in this context for a purpose. And if you'll
remember the flow real briefly here, the sermon, this section
of the sermon, getting back up with verse one of chapter seven,
he had begun there in verses one through five, speaking of
matters of eternal judgment. of the standard of judgment.
And he mentions, you remember, the analogy of the beam and the
moat and the eye of the understanding. In other words, that beam being
a large timber in the eye obstructing our vision is something that
would have to be removed if one was going to be qualified to
deal with the moats, the splinters, so to speak, in the eyes of others. That is, until one is blessed
of God to see the necessity of the righteousness of God established
by Christ alone. that blindness, not to see that
beam in his eye, until that's been removed, then they are not
qualified, he's saying, to address the sin problems of any others
not seeing their own. They must first adopt God's standard
of judgment as their own. And then in verse six, he says,
as if to those who have been so blessed, he says, don't cast
your pearls before swine, don't share this blessed truth, see,
with those who, you know, want nothing to do with it. And then
beginning in verse seven, as if to those who are interested
to say, but what about me? He says, ask and you shall find,
seek, ask, ask and you shall receive, ask, seek, knock, and
it shall be given, found, and open. And he supports that in
verses 9 through 11, you'll recall, and that brings us up to verse
12, that begins, therefore. Now, Christ makes it clear here
that this is, I believe, a broad sweeping command when he says,
for this is the law and the prophets. Remember, in Matthew 22, Christ
was asked what were the great commandments? I believe I'm not
saying that exactly right. But he basically said, well,
there's two. First, love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, mind, soul, and body. And the second is like
unto it, love thy neighbor as thyself. And he said, on these
two hang all the law and the prophets. It was a summary of
the entire law. Love God perfectly. and love
your neighbor as yourself. So we know that his referral
here in Matthew 7 to that portion of this summary of the law that
pertains to dealing with our fellow man, it does have a very
broad application. But in this context, I believe
the specific application pertains to treating others how we would
want to be treated with regards to the subject he's speaking
on, to the ministry of the gospel, speaking again, as he was back
in verse 6, of the wisdom that we're to use. There, in verse
6, you remember, he said, don't share this valuable truth with
those who want nothing to do with it, who have animosity towards
it. And then he encourages those,
beginning in verse 7, to seek him, to ask, seek, not. So I
believe here the application in this immediate context is
that we should treat others the way we want to be treated in
witnessing and sharing this most precious truth, the gospel of
the kingdom. Look, if you don't want something, wouldn't you rather people leave
you alone about it and not try to shove it down your throat?
And you know, my initial response to that is, yeah, but it's for
their own good. We just read God's got to draw people. We
don't do we don't do that. We God must make them willing
and ready in the day of his power. And likewise, if you're seeking
something. When you want others who have
already discovered the truth, who have the answers to be ready
to give an answer to you, why you certainly would. And if God's
gospel of sovereign grace has been revealed to you, you're
grateful for those who who God used to communicate it to his
way of salvation. I know that I am and I know many
of you are as well. Now, I believe this application
of his words here in verse 12 helps us see how it fits in the
context. But as I said, this verse does
reference the summary of the law as given in Matthew 22. And so, again, we know that it
also amplifies how we are absolutely unable to abide by the strict
perfection that's required before a holy God. You know, elsewhere
in Scripture, it says your neighbor includes your very worst enemy.
So that tells us right off, if you've had any ill will toward
your worst enemy, you fall short. And of course, this broader context
then is consistent with the overall message of the sermon. You remember
back in verse 17 of Matthew 5, Christ himself said, think not
that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets. Same phraseology. He said, I'm not come to destroy,
but to fulfill. So we're reminded here that there's
no merit, see, in our very best efforts. We should strive to
act in accordance with this God's reveal will here. This what some
call the golden rule, but not in order to gain or maintain
favor with God thereby, because Christ just got through telling
us in Matthew five. No, that's his work. That's work
he came to do. He came to fulfill the law and
the prophets. So we dare not assign any merit
to our very best efforts to follow this golden rule, because that
would be placing our self-righteousness, attempting to place it in a position
of rivalry with the only righteousness which satisfies God, that produced
by the Lord our righteousness. So turn with me now to Luke 13,
if you would. before we move on into verses
13 and 14 of our text for today. I believe this discourse here
in Luke 13 with Christ will help us see the connection between
the seeking that's described in verses 7 and 8 and the command
of verse 13 that says, enter ye in at the straight gate. Look
at verse 23 there in Luke 13. There our Lord was asked, Lord,
Are there few that be saved? And so we see here that he is
discussing salvation itself. And he said unto them in verse
24, 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, how does this square with
seek and find is set forth in today's text? It's true that
many seek after eternal life, yet fail to find it. Can one
actually seek to enter into fellowship with God and yet not be able? Well, that's what his words say
here in Luke 13 that we just read. Yet we have a command and
an encouragement to strive to enter in God's way, the straight
gate, while making it clear that many will seek to enter, yet
not be able. From other passages, we learn
that this inability, see, is derived from a refusal to seek
salvation God's way. Paul told Timothy, speaking of
religious folks, the time will come when they will not endure
sound doctrine. But after their own lusts, shall
they, after their own unlawful desires, their own wishes, see,
they shall keep to themselves teachers having itching ears. You see, they were religious.
They wanted teachers. but they will not endure sound
doctrine. God's truth. His way of salvation. In other words, they won't end
heaven. They just don't want to end God's way. So simply desiring
salvation and fellowship with God then, in and of itself, will
not ensure an effectual search for the truth. That's not the
same as searching for Christ who said, I am the way, the truth,
the life. We must seek the truth. salvation
God's way to the exclusion of any other. So who then seeks
to enter into fellowship with God that is unable? Well, the
answer is the sinner who seeks salvation or strives to gain
entrance into heaven to gain favor with God based on anything
other than the one basis upon which a holy God is reconciled
the righteousness of God. that is wrought out by Christ,
see, on the cross. His satisfaction that was made
and freely imputed are reckoned to the account of all those for
whom he died, whose sins he bore. To strive to enter into fellowship
with God based upon anything else is to be, as Christ described
here in Luke 13, is to be unable. It's to fail to find eternal
life in favor with God. Now, with that backdrop, let's
move on into back in Matthew 7 to verses 13 and 14. There
Christ is continuing and he 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 there at because straight is
the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life and few
there be that find it. Notice here he's talking about
a gate and a way, the gate being the entry into the way. And he
speaks of only two options. One way leads to destruction,
the other way leads to life. And we know from Luke 13 that
he's speaking of eternal life and eternal destruction. Recall
his command was strive to enter in at the straight gate, that
it was in answer to the question, Lord, are there few that be saved?
He's talking about the way of salvation here in Matthew 7.
Now, since there are only two destinations, life, heaven, destruction,
hell, all then shall ultimately arrive at one or the other. And
we know that even people who are indifferent, who aren't giving
any thought to religious things, or spiritual things, they're
still proceeding down the road to destruction because there
are only two destinations. But in this context, I think
Christ is more specifically speaking to religious folks because he's
talking to those who, first of all, they're attentive, they're
listening, they are consciously choosing a way. A way that they
believe shall lead to eternal life. And we see this in the
context of the words that follow after these verses 13, 14. Down
in verse 15, we'll see later that he warns against false prophets.
He said they're like wolves that come in sheep's clothing. In
other words, for you who are going away, I'm telling you there
will be those who will mislead you. And then down in verse 21,
that passage many of you are familiar with, where it says,
Lord, Lord, have I not prophesied thy name and done many wonderful
works? And he'll say, depart from me, you workers. Now, they
were working for the Lord, so to speak, or thought they were.
In other words, and he says, he says of these, not all shall
enter the kingdom of heaven. And so we know from that, we're
going to examine that later, but this just proves that simply
desiring heaven, simply proceeding down a way does not ensure that
it's the way that leads to eternal life. You know, multitudes of
people seem to believe that simply being on the road, being religious
and sincerely desiring eternal life puts them on the road to
heaven. How many times have you heard
people say, well, at least they're going to church somewhere? But
think of how foolish. Do you go to the bus station
or to the airport and you go up to the counter to buy a ticket
and they say, where would you like to go? Oh, just a ticket, you know,
just any plane will do or any bus. Now, do you imagine that
you'll get to your desired destination that way? See, when it comes
to religion, we're just all born blind, to put it bluntly. They may say, well, there's a
few distinctions about my way. You know, you've got to believe
God. You've got to do the best you can. You've got to believe
the Bible's true. You've got to believe in Jesus.
Accept Him as your Savior. But, you know, here's what they're
not doing on that way. They're not seeking after something
that is contrary to their natural persuasion. You see, that's easy
to go that way because it doesn't require any change of mind, heart,
thought, or anything. It's not a straight gate, a narrow
one, in a narrow way. In Proverbs 16, 25, we read,
there is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof
are the ways of death. Now, think about that verse.
Shouldn't that prompt all of us to evaluate whether or not
we've discovered a way, see, that is contrary to what previously
seemed right to us. In that passage in Luke 13, where
Christ said to strive to enter in at the straight gate, that
word strive, it means to struggle or labor fervently, almost like
agonize. You see, the reason is a way
of salvation has to be revealed to us that is contrary, 180 degrees
contrary to our sinful preconceived notions. It is a straight gate
and a narrow way. Now, let's consider these two
alternative paths. First, we've got the wide gate,
the broad way that leads to destruction, contrasted with the straight
gate and the narrow way that leads to life. You know, we often
hear religious people, they say, I'm walking the straight and
narrow. And by that, they usually mean,
sometimes that's said in jest, I know, but oftentimes there's
some truth behind that. They think they're communicating,
you know, I've kind of cleaned my act up. I'm going to church
or I've got myself some morals now, you know, or I've become
serious about religion. I've reformed my life. And sadly,
in reality, more often than not, they're still describing the
broad way that leads to destruction and not the narrow way that leads
to eternal life. Now, how can you say that? Certainly
the way to eternal life is not immoral. It's certainly not irreligious. Here's how. They imagine that
those things, having cleaned up their acts, so to speak, that
it merits some favor before God. It counts for something. Look
at the adjectives that describe this way that leads to destruction.
Its entry is called a wide gate, and the way is called a broad
way. And those descriptions now are
exact opposites of how Christ describes the way that leads
to everlasting life, straight, narrow. So you would think with
such opposite descriptions that it would be easy to recognize
one from the other. But remember, John 3, 19 tells
us, this is the condemnation. Lights come into the world. Men
loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.
We just don't like that way. naturally. As I quoted from Proverbs
16, see, this way which leads to destruction is the way that
seemeth right unto men. It's broad and it's wide. And
so, as such, it's very agreeable to the flesh, you know, to what
we naturally would assume. It's easy to enter into because
it requires no miraculous work of grace. in the heart of the
sinner to proceed down this road. Christ might as well not have
said to Nicodemus, ye must be born again. You see, it's the
religion of works, of salvation condition, in some way, to some
degree, on the sinner. That is based upon some requirement
that they presume to satisfy. And listen now, it's the path
that we all begin our religious journey on. as we mistakenly
presume that our eternal destiny is in our own hands. We'll say,
thank you, God, like that Pharisee who prayed that I'm not like
other men. And then we'll say, now let me go do my part. We
presume there's something that we can do or that we've been
enabled to do to make the difference. You know, it isn't the first
interest in spiritual things. We've talked about this before,
but it's usually accompanied with some inquiry in our minds.
that goes something like this, well, what must I do to be saved? And you know, it's good to inquire
about salvation, but the nature of that inquiry tells on us,
doesn't it? What must I do to be saved? You see, the broad
road is comprised of travelers who assume that their salvation
is conditioned on something other than or in addition to that which
Christ alone merited in his perfect satisfaction to God's justice. And if we imagine that this,
listen to this, if we imagine that the righteousness of God
in Christ becomes ours because of or by means of any other way
than God's merciful, judicial reckoning of it to our account,
by the free imputation of it, if we think that we do something
to acquire it, to procure it, then we're still just putting
another condition on our salvation. We're still in league, that's
still to be in league with the religion of works, and that's
still to be on the path to destruction. This religious pursuit, call
it a broad way, is the course of this world. In Ephesians 2,
1, we read, and you hath he quickened, that means given spiritual life
to, who were dead in trespasses and sins, wherein in time past
ye walked according to the course of this world." That means any
safe sinner once walked according to the course of this world,
so we all begin there. You see, it's a wide gate because
it's easy to enter. No miraculous quickening needs
to take place to enter this wide gate. You know, a dead fish can
float with the water down the stream. But it takes a live one
to swim upstream against the current. This broad way is easy
because it doesn't require a new birth. And the resulting radical
change of heart and mind to see that the way which seemed right
to me couldn't be more wrong. There's no real repentance or
radical change of heart and mind necessary on that broad way.
It really doesn't upset your apple cart, so to speak. It's
really all downhill. Think of it. Meet the requirement.
Do your little part. Now, I know that some religions,
they've got a lot of parts, you know, they'll put you to work
and they can line up, but they're all doable by you. And so when
compared to what God's standard of judgment is, we've studied
the very righteousness of God that only Christ alone established. It is just a little part. So
that's what they imagine. Do meet the requirement. Do your
little part and go to heaven. And that's what we all initially
imagined to be the way of salvation, but it's a broad way. We can
see something of just how broad this road is when we consider
that there's one common characteristic that's found to be true now of
every religion known to man with one solitary exception. You name
it, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and yeah, most of so-called Christianity. They got one thing in common,
see. Oh, they got all kinds of different aspects and characteristics,
but this is a common denominator. They all seek and expect to attain
their concept of eternal bliss or paradise based at least in
part on something done by them, in them, or through them, the
sinner. And that's the religion of works. And as we learned from
Ephesians 2, 16, by works of the law, by your meeting a condition
or requirement, shall no flesh be justified. Now note that Christ
says of this broad way also, many there be which go in there
at. It's a crowded road and being
wide, it's attractive to us. Unless you're just a hermit or
a loner, we love company. And there's plenty of company
on this road because there's really room for all and all mankind
really start out in it by nature. And unless, see, and until a
miracle of grace takes place in the sinner's heart, we don't
have any desire whatsoever to be diverted off of that road.
As God said through the prophet Isaiah, you know, I was found
with them that sought me not. But that road's a deceptive road.
As I've indicated, those traveling, they have no idea where that
road's taken them. They wouldn't go down that road if they did.
It seems right, but it leads to death. It's an eternally fatal
road. But what about that? straight
gate and that narrow way that leads to life. Well, it's exactly
the opposite of the way that seems right. Straight, as I said,
it doesn't mean like a straight line, but a narrow passageway.
So a sinner cannot and he will not find this gate unless a miraculous
work of grace takes place, unless God draws the sinner to look
to Christ and to him alone for all their salvation. This straight
gate is Christ. You may remember from last week
In John 10, we read where Christ said he is the door of the sheep. He is the way. And this narrow
way is also the way of the religion of grace, which sets forth, see
that all of salvation is conditioned on Christ alone with no contribution
whatsoever from you, the sinner. If not, you don't need mercy.
It is narrow because there's only one truth and there's no
room for any other. The narrow way is the way of
righteousness, see. The theme of the sermon, it's
the righteousness, though, of another, the Lord Jesus Christ.
It's a narrow way, because look, it's also in this sense, it's
the only way that God can be both a just God and a savior,
not just clearing the guilty or dispensing with his justice
in order to show his mercy to save sinners, but rather showing
mercy to sinners based upon satisfaction being made to justice. by a substitute,
the sinner's substitute, Christ himself. As Christ said in John
14, no man cometh to the Father but by me. His righteousness,
see, must have been charged to my account, just as my sins must
have been laid to his account so that he might put them away.
And that I might be found righteous in him, accepted in the beloved.
And why did I say must? Because if God convinces you
of this way, nothing else will do. This is the door you have
to knock at. And such is the case for all
who travel down the narrow road. In the death of Christ, he procured
for all those he represented, all grace here and all glory
hereafter. And that includes the grace,
see, of the new birth and the spiritual gift of faith and repentance
that would do what? Cause me to enter in at the straight
gate. The way leading to eternal life
is narrow and few find it, but not because sinners lack the
mental capacity to comprehend it. Look. This way isn't conditioned
on the sinner. It can't be conditioned on the
sinner's intellect or anything else from the sinner. The scriptures
declare that God justifies the ungodly. So there's no sinner
too sinful to be saved. But he declared, seek and ye
shall find. Seek what? He told us, seek ye
first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. This way of
righteousness. based upon the satisfaction made
by Christ in His life and death. And that alone, see, just will
not allow or accommodate any other way of salvation. God's
not going to share His glory. Christ is going to get all the
preeminence in salvation. But whosoever desires salvation
God's way, based solely upon the righteousness that Christ
established and imputed to the sinner, they shall find it. Now,
Christ says of this way, this narrow way that leads to life,
he said, few there be that find it. There's not a lot of company
on this road. We like large gates and broad
ways, and I like a lot of company. I don't know about you, but it's
not a popular way. And so sinners will not choose
it of their own accord. Those who do choose it, see,
have been confronted with their own sinfulness and their own
helplessness. To save themselves, their world,
their apple cart is upset. Their world is really turned
upside down and they're humbled. See, they're brought in spiritually
destitute. The poor in spirit with nothing
to plead but for mercy before this just and holy God, based
upon the satisfaction that Christ made to God's justice, Christ,
to whom the scriptures called the mercy seat. It is indeed
a narrow way. Not a lot of company. Not very
popular. So why should we strive to enter in that gate? Well,
obviously, we ought to be encouraged because of its sure and certain
and exclusive destination. Eternal life. In Jeremiah 21.8,
we read, Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I set before you the
way of life and the way of death. And that's what we're talking
about here. This stuff is of vital, eternal significance.
That's what he's speaking of in Matthew 7, two destinations. And he began in verse 13 with
a command. He said, enter ye in at the straight
gate. It must be entered into. In Matthew
18, 3, Christ said, Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted
and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom
of heaven. And if we're to enter into this
straight gate, this narrow gate, Then we have to jettison, see,
all our baggage. There's not room for it. All
those preconceived ideas and notions, the way that seems right
to us, and receive the truth as a little child. And it's my
prayer that God will so richly bless everyone who hears this
message. As we saw back in verse 8, we have all the encouragement
in the world. He says, everyone that asketh
receiveth. And he that seeketh findeth,
and him that knocketh it shall be opened. So strive to enter
in at the straight gate.