Let's turn to Matthew 7. Matthew 7, verse 13. We're gonna
look at two verses. Matthew 7, 13. Enter ye in at the straight gate,
for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction,
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. Let's pray together. Our Lord,
we thank you for bringing us here this morning, for giving
us another opportunity to hear of you and hear of your finished
work. Lord, we ask that we'd be found
in Christ and that you would give us the grace to lean on
you and rely on you and to look to you alone for all that we
need. We ask this for Our loved ones, we ask this for our children. Lord, we ask that you would bless
Bible School to our children last week, that you would please
save the children in this congregation. We're so thankful that you've
provided us with them and ask that you would save them in your
due time. Please be with your other congregations
that preach your word. Please feed your sheep and give
them hope in you. It's in Christ's name that we
pray, amen. Let's read verse 13 again. Now we're getting near the end
of the Lord's Sermon on the Mount that's found in Matthew chapters
5, 6, and 7, a message that the Lord brought himself and many
consider it to be the greatest message ever preached. And what
a blessing to have a recorded message from the Lord himself.
Our Lord can preach in ways that we cannot preach. He can preach
and actually make men understand. He can save through his preaching.
We can preach the word, but what the Lord does with that is his
doing. He can bless it to one and not
bless it to another. God can preach and give understanding.
He said everything perfectly in this message with perfect
grace, understanding, the perfect context to what he was saying.
There's so much flaw in every message because men are preaching
and it's called the foolishness of preaching. And anytime that
the gospel is preached by a man it's only because the Lord enables
that man and speaks through that man and removes that man from
himself. The only time that the gospel was ever preached because
of who was preaching was when the Lord spoke. Because he is
the holy one. He is the gospel. And he can preach the gospel
in ways that we cannot. That's the significance of what
we're gonna look at this morning. Sermon on the Mount. Now we're
gonna start by looking at the straight gate and the narrow
way, and then we'll come back and we'll look at the wide and the
broad. Verse 13. Enter ye in at the
straight gate. That is a command from our Lord.
It's not an invitation. He doesn't tell us to tarry.
He doesn't tell us to consider entering in at the gate. We are
commanded to actively enter in at the straight gate in the narrow
way. It says that the gate is straight and the way is narrow.
Now when I read straight and narrow there's some things that
I think come to our mind that can bring misunderstanding when
we read this. When something is straight or
narrow, we might think it's difficult to go through. It's more difficult
to drive your car through something that you have two inches of clearance
on each side than something where you have a mile of clearance
on each side. We might think this is a difficult way. This
is a hard way. We might think it's hidden. It's hard to see. It's secret. It's only available
to some. We might think there's only so
much capacity in this way because it's narrow. Only so many can
fit through this way. These are things that we naturally
think when we hear about something that is straight and something
that is narrow. That could not be further from the truth. This
way is open to anybody that wants to come this way. And anybody
that wants to come on the parameters of what the narrow way is and
to call on what the narrow way is can enter in it this way.
Let's look down in verse seven. Ask, and it shall be given you.
Seek, and ye shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened
to you. And that goes for the straight
gate and the narrow way. He says, knock, and it will be opened
to you. For everyone that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh
findeth, and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened. This way
is open to all. to all centers that want to come
on these grounds that want to enter in at the narrow way that
ask the Lord truly to come by this way. So if it's not hard
to come through and it's not there's no capacity to it and
it's not hidden demand then why is it called straight and narrow.
It's called that because of the singularity of the way and the
singularity of the gate. There is one way and one gate. We'll talk about the broad and
the wide in a bit, but that way is, there's multiple ways to
go down that way. You can believe whatever you
want and you can be on the broad way, but the narrow way is restricted
to one way, one belief, and most importantly, one God, the God
of the Bible. Let's turn to John 14. John 14,
verse one. This is the Lord speaking again.
John 14, verse 1. Let not your heart be troubled.
Ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are
many mansions. If it were not so, I would have
told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself,
that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye
know, and the way ye know." Now what he's saying is where I am
is the way, and to know where I am is to know the way. That's
to know where he is in his word, to know where he is in the preaching
of the gospel, to know where he is in prayer. Wherever the
Lord is, that is the way, that is the straight gate. Let's keep
reading verse five. Thomas saith unto him, Lord,
we know not whither thou goest, and how can we know the way? That is a great question. That
is the question. How can we know the way? Our
response to the narrow way is not to wonder why it's so narrow. It's not to wonder how many there
are. It's not to wonder, can I make, can this fit into the
way I want my life to be? It is, how can we know the way?
End of story. Whatever the Lord's way is to
save, we wanna know it. Because we have nothing else
to go to. We have nothing else to cling to. If we're not in
this way, we're done for. That's the question when we hear
about the narrow way. How can we know the way? Let's
look down in verse six. The Lord's gonna answer that
question. Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and
the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me. The narrow way is to be found.
In Christ it is to believe on Christ alone. Paul said oh that
I may win Christ and be found in him and that is literally
in him in his life that is to have his life as our life to
have his history is our history to have his faith as our faith
to have his belief is our belief. That is what it means to be found
in Christ. Paul didn't ask to be found behind
Christ following him and trying to mimic him he didn't ask to
be beside him. assisting him, walking through
life with him, both of them working for their salvation. He certainly
didn't say, let me be found ahead of Christ and lead him and allow
him to do what I want him to do. That's so offensive when
man say that because our Lord is sovereign in saving his people
and being found in him is to really be found in him, to be
found in his perfect finished work. And I want to call out,
Jesus saith unto him, I am the singular way, the singular truth,
the singular life, the only way, the only truth, the only life
is this narrow way. Let's turn to Revelation 22 for
a second. Revelation chapter 22, verse
14. Blessed are they that do his
commandments That they may have right to the tree of life and
may enter in through the gates the same straight gate into the
city Now without what we just read without John 14 We would
have no hope in reading Revelation 22 who has kept his commandments. None of us have in this room
We have not kept his commandments enact in thought in desire. It's never happened And it says
here that who that is who is going to enter in they that do
his commandments. But he said I am the way the
truth and the life and because of that in him we can read this
and we can rest because we have kept his commandments in Christ
not in ourselves but in him. And we wouldn't say that if the
word didn't say it and if God didn't teach it but he's teaching
it to us right now and we can rest in that turn to Psalm 118. This will teach us a little bit
more about the straight gate. Psalm 118 verse 19. Open to me the gates of righteousness. I will go into them and I will
praise the Lord. This gate of the Lord into which
the righteous shall enter. I will praise thee for thou hast
heard me and art become my salvation. Whose gate is the straight gate?
It is the gate of the Lord. It's his gate. And he is in control
of everybody that enters in. Anybody that entered in only
entered in because he caused them to enter in. He gave them
the grace to enter in, to seek him. He saved them. He called
them. That is what it is to enter in
at the straight gate. And it says, the righteous shall
enter. Now again, if the word didn't
teach that, we would have no hope. If John 14 didn't say,
I am the way, What righteousness do we have in and of ourselves
to say that we can enter in at this gate, that we'll enter into
the gates of the city? We can say it because he said,
I am the way, the truth, and the life. We have his righteousness
in Christ, not our own, but his. And he is righteous. And we have
his righteousness. I think when We hear about the
straight gate and the narrow way. This is where the term straight,
getting on the straight and narrow, that's where it comes from. It
comes from this passage right here. And that's man's natural
inclination is to try to get on the straight and narrow when
they hear about this. And it'll be our desire if the Lord doesn't
keep us from that. They want to straighten up their
life. They want to stop doing certain sins. They want to clean
up. They want to be more God-fearing. Whatever it is, they want to
straighten out their life. That is not our desire when we
read this because our hope is not in our life but in the life
of our representative. And as far as the straight and
narrow, the Lord came to this earth and never sinned. He was
God on this earth. you're not going to do better
than that. So that is our desire to have that perfect life as
our life that when he walked on the earth we did when he died
and went to the cross our sins were in him when he arose we
were in him and as he sits on the throne today spiritually
we are saved in him right now literally. All right let's turn
back to Matthew 7 and we're going to look at the wide gate in the
Broadway now. Matthew 7 verse 13, 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. Now unlike
the narrow and the straight, this way is not singular. You
can believe whatever you want, and you can be on this way, and
you can enter in at this gate. You can believe in no God at
all. You can deny that God exists.
And people that do that, they think that they are not on a
way. and they think that they are not there's not a gate that
they're going to enter in it. They are on a way and they are
going to enter in at a gate and it's going to lead to destruction.
Anybody everybody is going to be on one of the two ways the
narrow or the broad. There's no other option. There
are two religions in this world and you are not going to avoid
it because you want to deny that God exists. You can believe in
a being other than God and you can praise that. That's the broad
way you can believe in. God and you like what I was talking
about holding hands with God and walking through life and
you doing works and him doing works and he'll pick up the pieces
where you fall short. You can be you can believe that. That's
the Broadway. You could even believe that salvation
is of grace alone and utterly dependent on him. All that you
have to do first is accept him and then he can work in your
life. You can believe that. And that's the Broadway. And
somebody asked well isn't that closer to the gospel than the
one that doesn't believe any God. It's really not. Again there's
two religions in this world and all of those things I just said
are the broad way. Anything outside of the narrow
way is the broad way. Anything outside of belief in
the Lord as he is revealed in his word. not our thoughts about
the Lord but what does the word say he is. Anything that is outside
of belief in that, hope in that, trust in that and anything outside
of the Lord saving us on the grounds of what it says in his
word is the Broadway. Let's turn to Romans 3 for a
second. Romans 3 verse 10. says, as it is written, there
is none righteous, no, not one. There's none that understandeth.
There's none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of
the way. They are together become unprofitable.
There's none that do with good, no, not one. Now what will take
us off of the narrow way? What is our risk to being taken
off the narrow way and put on the broad way and led to destruction? It is righteousness. I think
a lot of people think sin is what will put us on the Broadway
and sin is in no way acceptable, sin is always evil. The Lord
said Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Sin is
one thing, righteousness in that sin is another thing. That will
keep us from our Lord, that will put us on the Broadway to take
those sins to our Lord is acceptable. And to take the works of our
hands to the Lord is acceptable. You can look no further than
Cain and Abel and you can see that that's the case. We do not
want to be put out of the way. It says earlier in the sermon
in the mount when the Lord's talking about who's blessed he
said blessed are the meek. and I find that the Lord is gonna
give his people the grace to be meek, to realize that our
works of our hands are not suitable to come before the Lord, but
only the works of Jesus Christ. Let's turn to Matthew 23. Matthew 23, verse five. And it
says, the way is broad that leadeth to destruction, Matthew 23 verse
5, and enlarge the borders of their
garments. This is the same broad way, the
same broad phylactery, the same broad garments. When men go on
the Broadway, one thing that you can use to see it is their
reason for hope will be seen of men. It will be an outward
thing. It will be a show. First Samuel
16 verse 7 for man looketh on the outward appearance but the
Lord looketh on the heart. If you want to know if you're
on the broad way or the narrow way you can ask yourself this question
is your hope in things man can see or in things that only the
Lord can see. I know that when the Lord saves
a sinner there's going to be outward signs of that they're
going to believe they're going to profess the Lord. I think
for me it's so encouraging when you hear Brethren talk about
the Lord and speak highly of the Lord. That is certainly evidence
that the Lord has done something for somebody and it's an encouragement
to us when we hear that. But the real evidence of the
Lord saving a sinner in the narrow way is a new heart and a new
nature and we cannot see that. I can't see if you have a new
heart. You can't see if I have a new heart. but the Lord can
see it. He's all seeing, he's all powerful.
He looketh on the heart and our hope is in that new heart. My
hope is not in what you can see, my hope is in that the Lord can
see that he has given me a new heart, that he has saved me and
that when he looks on me, he is not gonna see me but rather
my representative for God. All right, let's turn back to
Matthew 7. We're gonna look at the two results
of this way and this gate. Matthew 7 verse 13, enter ye
in at the straight gate for wide's 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. It says destruction
is waiting those that enter in at the wide gate and the broad
way. I'm not gonna speak about the
destruction too much. All I wanna tell you is what
the scriptures say about the Lord's destruction when I looked
up and read about the Lord's destruction, what it said. It
was described as mighty, bitter, great, deadly, and I think the
scariest of all, everlasting. That's the destruction that awaits
those that enter at the wide gate. What is the hope then what's
the hope for somebody that doesn't want that and nobody wants that
after reading that nobody wants to experience the Lord's wrath.
So what's the hope. Verse 14 because straight is
the gate and narrows the way which leadeth unto life and few
there be that find it. This is not our life on this
earth but rather the life that is given in the new birth. This
is eternal life. I'll show that to you turn over
to John 17. John 17, verse one. Again, the words of the Lord.
These words spake Jesus and lifted up his eyes to heaven and said,
Father, the hours come, glorify thy son, that thy son also may
glorify thee, as thou has given him power over all flesh, that
he should give eternal life to as many as thou has given him.
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only
true God. and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. Life on this
earth is not eternal. Everybody in here is going to
die. We've all got a timer on us, and every one of us are going
to pass. Life in the Lord is life eternal,
and we have that life right now, and when we pass from this earth,
that's all the life we're going to have is life eternal. It says
the destruction is everlasting, but thankfully the Lord's grace
is everlasting. His mercy is everlasting, his
love is everlasting, and what a glorious thought to get to
be with our Lord for eternity. It says that they might know
thee, the only true God. That's what eternal life is,
to know him. If he's given you a trust in him and a belief in
him, we have eternal life right now, spiritual eternal life.
through our Savior. Again, having His life as our
life, that when the Father looks on us, He'll only see His darling
Son. Let's turn back to Matthew 7.
Matthew 7, verse 13. 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. The Lord describes the few and
the many. Few are gonna enter in at the
straight gate, and many are gonna enter in at the wide gate. Now,
somebody asks, how few and how many? We don't know. We don't
need to know. The Lord knows, and his people
are numbered, Somebody asked him that in Luke's account of
this same passage, then said one unto him, Lord, are there
few that be saved? And he said unto them, strive
to enter in at the straight gate. Our concern is each of us to
enter in at the straight gate. It's not how many men the Lord
saved. It's not how narrow it is. We are concerned with each
of us entering in at the straight gate. Few in this world can mean insignificant. It can be less important than
many. Not the case here. And our Lord showed many times
in the scriptures that few were significant to him. The Lord
was going to destroy Sodom and Abraham came to the Lord and
said, if there be 50 righteous men in Sodom, will you spare
it? And the Lord said, yeah, I'll spare it for 50. And Abraham
started moving that number down more and more and he got down
to 10 and he said if there's 10 righteous men will you spare
Sodom and the Lord said he would spare Sodom for 10 righteous
men 10 of his people in Sodom. That was significant enough for
the Lord to spare that entire city when the Lord sent the flood
eight people in the ark. the rest of the world destroyed. Those eight people were significant
to the Lord. The arch pictures being hidden in Christ being
found in Christ and protected in him and those eight people
were a significant eight people to our Lord. And when I think
about the few and the many I'm brought back to something that
our pastor that I've heard since I was a teenager I've heard this
so many times in regards to the story of Jacob and Esau and we
know the story of Jacob and Esau. And you want to talk about two
men whose sin was displayed clearly in the scriptures it's Jacob
and Esau. You can look at the story of the birthright and see
so much sin in both of these men so clearly displayed. And yet the Lord said Jacob have
I loved and Esau have I hated. And the comment that we've heard
so many times is that we understand the hatred for Esau. We get it. Esau was an evil, wicked, sinful
man. He was what we are by nature. And the Lord said he hates him
because he sinned against him. And we understand that. What
we're amazed by is that the Lord would love Jacob. That is what
is hard to wrap our head around. That is what is so, that's what
the mystery of the gospel is, is that the Lord would save Jacob. And when I think about the few
and the many, I think we understand the many. We are by nature the
many and without the Lord's grace we're going to be found as one
of the many but we're so amazed that he'd save a few and however
few that is if it was one what an act of love one would be what
an act of love one is when the Lord saves a sinner. The Lord
saved the thief on the cross right before he died. I think
there was more love in saving the thief than has been shown
in humanity since then. the love that it takes to just
save one and our Lord has saved more than one. There was more
than one saved in his word and he's saved his people. If we're
one of his people he saved us and how thankful to be one of
the few. That's all we want to be. We
want to be nothing more than one of the few and the few are
hidden in him. They're his children and people
in today's age they want to be one of the many they want to
be part of something. We wanna be part of this select few that
our Lord has shown mercy to. All right, back to Matthew 7,
and look down at verse 28. Matthew 7, 28, and this is the
end of the Lord's message. This is after he's finished,
just finished his sermon. Matthew 7, 28, and it came to
pass when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished
at his doctrine, for he taught them as one having authority. and not as the scribes. What
gives the Lord the authority to teach us about these two gates
these two ways these two results the few and the many what gives
him the authority. He has the authority to teach about the
wide and the broad because he has seen so many go that way.
In Luke's account he says many are going to try to enter at
the straight gate and will not be able. And the Lord has seen
that happen in judgment. People that come and thought
they were on the narrow way and it turns out they weren't, they
were on the broad way. He has authority to teach us about this. Why does he have authority to
teach us about the straight and narrow? Because I am the way. because he is that literal way. And again, when our Lord speaks,
he has perfect understanding of the gospel. The most important
thing in the gospel is who God is. And this was God himself
speaking. When our Lord speaks in the word,
it is done with the ultimate authority. And how thankful we
are that today, all this time after our Lord spake these words,
that we can read, find comfort and hope in him. All right.