Let's take our Bibles now and
turn to Matthew chapter 7. Matthew chapter 7. This is the last of the Lord's
Sermon on the Mount that we've been looking at. Matthew chapter
7, beginning with verse 13. Enter ye 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. Beware of false prophets which
come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening
wolves. You shall know them by their
fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns
or figs of thistles? Even so, every good tree bringeth
forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth
evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not
forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire, wherefore
by their fruits shall you know them." Now the lesson this morning
is on the closing words of the Lord's Sermon on the Mount the
straight and narrow way. I've been hearing that term all
my life. Walk the straight and narrow. You've heard people talk about
that. Well, I'll tell you one thing about that woman. She walks
the straight and narrow. Well, that's what this portion
of the Lord's Sermon on the Mount is about. He's already described
the true work of God. That inward work of Christ in
the heart. He's already described what He
has done in those who believe. And He's changed their person.
They're not the same person that they were. They're not what they
want to be. They're not what they're going to be. But they
are what they are by the grace of God. And there is a visible
change in them. And that change is the work of
God. In verses 13 and 14, we're told
of two ways set before men. The one is described as the wide
gate, which stands at the end of the broad way. There's a broad
way. At the end of it is a wide gate. The other is a straight gate,
which stands at the end of a narrow way. The wide gate and the broad
way, he says, leads to destruction. This is the way of the world. When he's talking about the wide
gate, he's talking about the gate and the way of the multitudes. He's talking about the way of
the world, the way of the multitudes, the way of the majority. Many,
he said, there be. Many there be that go in there
at. The narrow way and the straight
gate describe the way to life and pardon and peace according
to our Lord. And he says, few there be, few
there be on this narrow way, few there be that find it. Most of them, most of them go
down the broad way. Most of them attempt to enter
in by the wide gate. But a few, a few, can I add these
words? A chosen few enter in on this
narrow way and go pass through this narrow gate. Now, throughout
the Lord's Sermon on the Mount, He makes a clear distinction
between true and false religion. He tells us the difference between
outward ceremonialism and inward godliness. There's a difference.
Anybody can keep a ceremony. Not everybody can love God. Anybody
can walk down an aisle. Few people can walk with God.
You see what I'm saying? There's a difference. And all
through this sermon, he keeps pointing out the difference between
ceremonialism and inward godliness. He tells us the difference between
religious hypocrisy and true spirituality. The hypocrite prays
on the corner to be seen of men. The hypocrite stands before men
to be seen of men. He prays so that you can see
him. When he gives, he gives so you can see him. When he talks
and witnesses, he does it in a crowd. He does what he does
to be seen of men. That's hypocrisy. That's hypocrisy. And then all through chapters
5 and 6, he described the true character of the believer and
the character of true worship and the necessity of faith in
both our walk and our worship. Then in verses 13 through 20,
we're plainly told that there is a right way and a wrong way.
The right way leadeth to life and the wrong way leadeth to
destruction. And there's nothing that I've ever read, I want you
to keep this in mind as I'm talking to you. Because a lot of folks,
when you begin to talk about religion and talk about this
world and talk about the multitudes, they get offended. It's like,
I heard Brother Mahan say one time, it's like there's some
kind of unwritten rule that you can't say, you dare not say anything
about these religions of the world. But our Lord's very plain
concerning these things. His apostles were very plain
concerning these things. And there's nothing I've ever
read in the Word of God to cause me to believe that this book
teaches us to be sympathetic or considerate or tolerant of
this world's religious ideas, concepts, philosophies, or their
denominations. God's people have always been
an isolated few. They always have from the get-go,
even back when the type, under the types and shadows of the
Old Testament, they were a minority, a very small minority. And they've
always been manifested in a minority of people compared to the organized
and established religions of the world. Solomon tells us this
twice in Proverbs and He uses the exact same words. He tells
us once in Proverbs 14, 12, and again in Proverbs 16, 25, that
there is a way. That's what we're talking about,
a right way and a wrong way. The way of the multitude and
the way of the minority. And he tells us here in these
two chapters, there is a way which seemeth right unto a man. He looks at this way, he hears
this way, he considers this way, and he considers the multitudes,
and he considers their influence, and he says the majority has
to be right. If this wasn't right, the majority
wouldn't do it. If this wasn't right, everybody
wouldn't be doing it. And yet you say you're right
and you're in the minority. You see what he's saying here?
There is a way that seemeth right unto a man. But that's not the
end of what he says. The end thereof are the ways
of death. Now, I'm telling you this, and
I hope you'll listen to me this morning. The Bible doesn't say
everything. It says something. It says something. And whatever it says, our Lord
said it divides between those who believe not and those who
believe. There's something this Bible
declares to be believed. It doesn't say everything. It
doesn't tell us to believe everything. It doesn't leave you to believe
in everything. He tells you there's something
particular. Something very narrow. Something
very straight. When John the Baptist was prophesied
to come into the world, the greatest preacher born of woman, greatest
man. And here he is, and he comes. And what was his work as the
forerunner of Christ? What was he come to tell the
people? What was his mission? What was
his ministry all about? To make straight the way of the
Lord. Now that's what it is. Because
this way is straight and narrow. And the people didn't believe
that. The people were into ceremonialism, the people were into legalism,
the people were into all kind of isms. They'd adopted some
of the religions from the Gentile world into the Jewish economy. And they were doing many things,
many things. And it wasn't the narrow way.
John the Baptist come to make straight the way to prepare them
for the coming of Christ. The Bible doesn't say everything,
it says something. And the Bible doesn't give credence
to lies and falsehood and deceit. It doesn't make allowances for
man's good intentions if he really has one, or his goal if he's
really set one. The Bible sets before men truth
and error. It tells you the truth and then
it tells you what's not the truth. The Bible accurately describes
them both. We live in a time where men and
women are being taught lies under the disguise of truth. This is
what our Lord is talking about here. Beware these false prophets.
They come to you in sheep's clothing. In other words, they come pretending
to be sheep. They're wolves. They're ravening
wolves. They come to destroy you, but
they don't tell you that. They don't tell you that. They
come in sheep's clothing. They come to gain an entrance.
They come to be among you. He said they'll privately, they'll
creep in like spiders and insects, they'll creep in unawares. And we live in a time when men
and women are being taught lies under the disguise of truth and
on every corner, on every county and every parish in our country,
the great whore. That's how false religions are
described by God in the Word of God as the great whore. has
set up her house on every corner to entice men and women. And
you can't talk to anybody about spiritual things because they're
convinced that they already know the truth. If it wasn't for that,
you take a man who doesn't know anything, you can sit down with
a Bible and show him what the Bible says. Now, he may not agree
with the Bible, but at least he'll look at it and consider
it. But you take a man who's under all these preconceived
notions, and he's been raised in some kind of a false religious
environment, and he's been taught ceremonialism, legalism, all
these other isms, and walking down aisles and accepting Jesus
as his personal savior and all this other kind of garbage, and
his mind is so filled with these preconceived notions that even
when you read him something plain in the script, oh, that's the
old King James Version. Well, it was good for 400 years. God blessed this version like
He's blessed no other version of the Bible. And all of a sudden,
what it says is shrouded in mystery. What's up with that? I'll tell
you what's up with that. His doctrine of false religion
won't stand in the light of God's Word. That's what's wrong with
that. You can't talk to anybody about spiritual things. They're
convinced they already know the truth. Most are not familiar
at all with the Word of God, and if they are, they've been
convinced that the King James Version and its offshoots are
not even worth reading, and that somehow its ancient text has
been shrouded so that the truth for ordinary people cannot be
understood. I read a text in 2 Corinthians
5.21 to a man one time, And it says, for he hath made
him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made
the righteousness of God in him. And he said, yeah, but he said
that word made, that's the old text. He said, that's not what
that means. And I said, well, I've got an
Oxford English Dictionary that'll take you back to the 1600s when
the King James Version was written. And I believe, if you look at
it, you'll find out that that word made, as it's used commonly
among the people on advertisements and everything, means exactly
the same thing it means today. It means made. Truth is, our generation don't
know God, and the lies they preach can't stand in the light of Holy
Scripture. So they printed their own versions
in the name of simplicity and took away every troublesome text
so that they can more easily promote their lives. Now that's
the truth of it. The gospel of Jesus Christ is
the only way to God. It's the only way to God. Jesus told Thomas, He said, we
don't know where you're going and how can we know the way?
He said, Thomas, I am the way. I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. The way is not in a creed. It's
not in a covenant. The way is not in a decision
or commitment. The way is not through the ordinances.
It's not through the church. The way is not through reform
and change. The way is not accepting Jesus
as your personal Savior. The way is a person, the Lord
Jesus Christ. I am the way. Isn't that what
He says? Sure it is. In Luke 24, after
the death of Christ and His rumored resurrection, His disciples walked
the road to Emmaus, having sold out left their friends, put themselves
at odds with their friends and their families. These two men
were walking, and the Christ, this one that they believed that
ought to have been the Christ, who ought to have ascended to
the throne and led Israel out of bondage, this one had died.
And he died a horrible death under the judgment of the Romans. And the Jews, all alike, rejected
him, despised him. and wouldn't have anything else
except for him to be killed. And they were walking down that
road disappointed and frustrated and confused. And the Lord appeared
to them, but He didn't let them know who He was. He just appeared
as a man walking with them. And He said, what's your problem?
They said, where you been? You don't know what all has happened.
And they begin to tell him what all has happened. And then some
women went down there and they come back and said the stone
rolled back and somebody come in and took his body out of there.
And they are saying something about angels telling them about
him being raised from the dead and all these things. Here is
what the Lord told them. He said, and slow in heart to
believe all, all, A-double-L-L, all that the prophets had written
of Him. Ought not Christ to have suffered
these things? I'm reading from Luke 24, 26.
Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into
His glory? And beginning at Moses and all
the prophets, He expounded unto them and all the Scriptures the
things concerning Himself. That's what the Scriptures proclaim. That's what they declare. To
Him give all the prophets witness. That was their testimony. That's
why God sealed them and called them and inspired them was to
testify of Him. The Word of God is about the
glory of God manifested in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
It's about His eternal appointments. Well, you ask the average religionist
about God's eternal appointments of Christ and they'll say, what?
What are you talking about? What are you talking about? I'm
talking about his eternal appointments. When did he become Christ? What
is the Christ? What's that all about? Is that
an office or what is this Christ business? He's the creator. You mean Christ
created the world? That's what it says. Without
him was not anything made that was made. What it says. He's the mediator. He's the one
who mediates the Father's will. He's the one who goes forth to
accomplish what the Father sent him to do. He's the mediator. He's the surety. And this will really blow their
mind if you tell them this, that God had an everlasting covenant
of grace and appointed his son to be the surety of that covenant.
That covenant stands and falls on his son and what his son does,
and who his son is, and what his son accomplishes. Not on
what you think. He's prophet, priest, and king. He's the Redeemer. He's the Intercessor. And He alone is the Revealer
of God. He's the Revealer of God. You
know most men think they know God until you ask them who God
is. And all of a sudden they get this disease of stuttering.
They can't tell you nothing about God because they don't know God. Christ is the Revealer of God.
It's about His eternal appointments. Listen to how Paul talked. This
is how the old apostles talked. This is how those preachers who
preached to those Jews who were steeped in ceremonialism and
legalism, this is how they preached to them. After the Holy Spirit
came into the world and took up His abode in them, and God
taught them the truth in their heart, and called them, and anointed
them to preach His gospel. This is how they talked. 2 Timothy
1.9. He said, God hath saved us and
called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but
according to His own purpose and grace which was given us
in Christ Jesus before the world began. That's the very first
thing He told us. That the God of glory appointed
and purposed all things in His Son, Jesus Christ. It's about
His eternal appointment. And I'll tell you this, if you're
looking for a text that justifies universal redemption and universal
love and salvation by circumstance, you're going to have a hard time
in the Bible because the Bible flat don't teach it. It teaches
particular redemption. The Bible tells us about the
one mediator into whose hands God committed all things, creation,
providence, and salvation. And secondly, the Bible sets
forth Christ as the way of revelation. He's the way of revelation. No
man knoweth the Father save the Son, and He to whom the Son will
reveal Him. You'll never know God apart from
Christ. John said, we know that the Son
of God has come and has given us an understanding. That's 1
John 5, verse 20, if you take a note. We know that the Son of God has
come and has given us an understanding that we may know Him that is
true. In other words, that we might know God. And that we're
in Him that is true. Even in His Son, Jesus Christ,
this is the true God and eternal life. In Him, Paul said, dwelleth
all the fullness of the Godhead. It's ridiculous to stand over
here in point of doctrine and argue back and forth about who
God is. All we need to do is look at
God incarnate. God came into the flesh, walked
among us, and we saw His glory, the glory as of the only begotten
of the Father. Whatever men say of God, if it
be not manifested in His Son, it cannot be the God of this
book. And then we've got other issues. Is God just? Will God really punish sin? Huh? Now we could argue that over
points of doctrine, couldn't we? We could go back in the corner
and I could tell you what I think, and you could tell me what you
think, and then I could tell you what John Gill said, and you
can tell me what Billy Graham said, and we can go back and
forth all day long giving our opinions. Is God just? Will He really and truly punish
all sin? Will He really vindicate all
wrongdoing? Is it really true that the soul
that sinneth shall surely die? Look at the cross. Look at Him on whom God laid
our iniquity. Look at Him. What did God do?
Did He tolerate that sin? This is His own Son. I'm going
to tell you something. If God's not just, if there's
any injustice in God at all, if there's any tolerance of sin
in God, He'd spare His Son. But God spared not His own son. That's what the Scripture says.
Look to that substitute for sinners. Look to Him whom the prophets
described as stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. Look to
Him who was wounded for their transgression and bruised for
their iniquities. Look to Him upon whom God said
He laid the iniquity of us all on Him. Is God just? Without question. Is God righteous? Will God always do right? Always, I mean in every circumstance,
no matter what it is, will God, is He righteous? Well, in the free justification
of sinners, If you take a note, just jot
down Romans chapter 3 and read through the whole chapter. Through
there he tells you that the Jews with all their knowledge was
no better than the Gentiles. Why? Because they were all under
sin. And then he begins to describe
what that means to be under sin. There's none righteous. No, not
one. There's none that understandeth.
There's none that seeketh after God. They're all gone out of
the way. They are together become unprofitable. And on and on and
on. The poison of the asp is under their lips. No fear of
God before their eyes. And he goes through there and
he said, this is what the law says about sinners. This is how
the law describes sinners. And what thing soever the law
saith, it saith to them who are under the law, that every mouth
may be stopped, and the whole world become guilty before God.
Then he goes on to tell you about the free justification of grace. in Christ. And you know what
he says about that? Freely justified in Christ, whom
God set forth to be the propitiation for our sin through faith in
His blood, to declare God's righteousness. Ain't that what he says? To declare
God's righteousness. That God might be just in His
justification of all them that believe. God is righteous. And
any other faith other than that which evidences the righteousness
of God is not the faith of God's elect, and it cannot therefore
be the way. Love. What about God's love? God manifested His love for us
in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. And while
we were enemies, Romans 5, 8 through 10, while we were enemies, He
reconciled us to God. God was in Christ reconciling
the world, that is, chosen sinners throughout the world. You know,
the King James Version uses that word world a lot, don't it? And
this is what the Armenians take and try to sell you on the idea
that God's redeemed every man. He made redemption possible.
Well, anybody who knows God knows that God don't just make things
possible. God accomplishes everything He
desires to do. But this is how they do it. The
reason they use that word world, that's not mistranslation. That's
not a bad translation. It's a good translation. But
up until that point, the Jews thought they were the only people
on the top side of God's earth that God was going to save. And
he's simply telling them that as a figure and a type, he separated
them. But as his true church is represented
in them, they come out of every nation, kindred, tribe, tongue
under heaven. And so they use that word world,
that word world. It simply means God's elect who
are scattered throughout the world. That's what it means. God was in Christ reconciling
all those chosen of him throughout the world, and he chose them
unto himself, not charging their trespasses unto them. If God
lays your sin to your charge, there's no way in eternity for
you to ever pay the debt. Can't do it. Our only hope is
that when our great Redeemer came into this world, that we
were represented in Him. He is the way. He is the way. You follow Him from His eternal
appointments to His incarnation as a man, to what He accomplished.
He was made of a woman, made under the law. Why? To redeem
them that were under the law. He was raised up. What happened
with that? Well, He raised us up with Him. He was delivered for our offenses,
Paul said, and raised again for our justification. He was put
to death with our sins on His back. Did He put away those sins?
God raised Him from the dead to declare that He did. He put
them away. Now the broad way is a way that
adds to the revelation of Christ. I'm going to run out of time.
It denies the election of God. It denies particular redemption.
It denies an atonement that makes an end to sin. The broad way
is any way that denies the holy character of Christ, His sinless
person, God in human flesh, all of the fullness of the Godhead
bodily manifested in Him. The broad way is any way that
denies the efficacy of Christ's death. Whoever He died for are
saved. Now, He's going to call them
in time. He's going to give them faith in time. He's going to
send His Spirit to take up His abode in their heart. They will
be born of God. They will persevere in the way. They'll persevere in faith. These
all died in faith. All of them did. And those will all be raised
at the last resurrection. The broad way is any way that
denies the efficacy of Christ's death. that wants to add to or
take away from the sufficiency of His blood. Listen to these
Scriptures. The Scripture says, "...in whom
we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins."
The Scripture says, "...whom God has set forth to be a propitiation
through faith in His blood." And the Scripture says, "...the
blood of Christ cleanseth us from all sin." Ain't that what
it says? And this gives us confidence
that our sins and iniquities, God will remember no more. That's
what it says. The broad way is any way that
denies the grace of God. By grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. And indeed, he says, if it be
of grace, then it's no more of works. Otherwise, grace is no
more grace. Now, there's a broad way. There's
a broad way. Where is it at? It's everywhere.
Everywhere. I defy you. I challenge you.
Go down on any corner in any church, anywhere around here,
and see if I'm not telling you the truth. Go here for yourself. Don't take
my word on it. There's a broad way, and it's
the way that seemeth right unto a man. Everything they tell you
will seem right, but you can't find it in the Word of God. And
therefore, they read very little. They incorporate very little
of this book into their services. Our Lord said when they went
to pick his servant, David, he went down to Jesse's house and
he Jesse didn't even call David in. He left David out there with
the sheep. He just ruled him out. His own father ruled him
out. And he brought in all of his proud sons. He brought in
his eldest first. And they looked at him. He said,
this is not him. And they looked at the next one
and the next one. And he wasn't among them. He said, is this
all the children, all the sons? He said, no. He said, I've got
one more out there, a little ruddy boy out there tending.
He said, go get him. And he brought him in. And that
was the one. That's the one. That was God's
chosen man, David. And he said, the Lord, he said,
don't look like you look. He said, you look on the outward
countenance. God looks on the heart. God looks
on the heart. Oh, the broad way. It's the way
that seemeth right unto a man. Our Lord said, your ways are
not my ways, saith the Lord. And many, he said, many, the
vast majorities, the worldwide denominations, the religious,
all these religions accepted and honored in the eyes of man,
the majority opinion, there is a broad way, a broad way, and
many there be that travel on that way. And it ends in the
way of death. But there's a straight gate and
a narrow way, and Christ is that way. He is that way. He likens this, there was a time
when the old prophet laid in the cave. Jezebel was hounding
him and trying to kill him. And he said, Lord, he said, just
take me home. He said, there's nobody out here. I'm alone. I'm the last one. And the Lord told him, how many
people was it? 5,000. I've got 5,000 men who
have not bowed the knee to Baal. Paul reached back and got a hold
of that. And he brought it right up to
date over there in Romans chapter 11. And he said, even so at this
present time, there remaineth a remnant. You know what a remnant
is? That's a piece of cloth left
over. And you just take it and throw
it in the box. Remnant. Even so at this present time,
there remains a remnant. How'd they get to be here? According
to the election of grace. Isn't that what it says? You
look it up and see if that ain't what it says. Well, what are
you going to say about those things? It said, here's what
he said about them after he got through telling the folks about
it there in Romans chapter 11. He said, therefore Israel didn't
get what they sought for, but the election obtained it and
the rest were blinded. That's what it says. There is
a straight and narrow way, and then there's a broad way. Now
he said, you better beware of these false prophets, because
they're standing out on that broad way. I said, come on, come
on. It's easy. It's easy. Let me
give you A, B, C. Come down the aisle. Do this.
Do that. Join up. We'll have you teaching
Sunday school next week. Never even read the Bible. Our Father, thank you for this
opportunity. Stand before those that you've
brought here this morning. and testify these things. Use
them from thy name's honor and glory. We ask it for Christ's
sake. Amen.