I want to attempt to preach upon
the subject, entering the kingdom of God. I want to be someone
who enters the kingdom of God. In Matthew chapter five, verse
20, for I say unto you that except your righteousness shall exceed
the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees, you shall
in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. How does one enter
this kingdom? I suppose the first thing we
need to consider is what is the kingdom of God or what is the
kingdom of heaven? I know this, it's not an earthly
political kingdom. Which of us do not get riled
up when we talk about politics or earthly kingdoms? But this
kingdom has absolutely nothing to do with an earthly political
kingdom. The Lord said, my kingdom is
not of this world. I'm glad it's not, aren't you?
He said, if it were, my servants would fight that I wouldn't be
delivered from hence, but my kingdom is not from hence. It's
infinitely greater than any earthly kingdom. Well, a kingdom by definition
is the sphere of rule. The kingdom of God is the sphere
of God's rule. Now, we know he rules everywhere,
but more precisely, it's where the sphere of God's rule is willingly
embraced and delighted in and rejoiced in. you delight in being
in the kingdom of heaven. And there are many who are not
subjects of this kingdom. While God is absolutely sovereign
and he rules over all, the kingdom of heaven is not for everybody
and woe be to the enemies of the great king. The Lord said
there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you shall see Abraham
and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God
and you yourselves thrust out. And he said, not everyone that
saith to me, Lord, Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven,
but he that doeth the will of my father, which is in heaven.
And we also read of those who could not enter in because of
unbelief. Now I know the kingdom of heaven
has something to do with repentance and faith. We just read that
passage of scripture when he came preaching the kingdom of
heaven saying, repent and believe the gospel. Now I'd like to give
you seven scriptures that give us what is necessary to enter
the kingdom of heaven. And I want to enter this kingdom.
I want to enter into this kingdom tonight. I want to stay in this
kingdom. And the first one's that passage
of scripture I just read, but we should turn to Matthew chapter
five, beginning in verse 17. The Lord said, think not that
I'm come to destroy the law or the prophets. I'm not come to
destroy, but to fulfill, to complete everything that's been said.
For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, One jot
or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be
fulfilled. Not the dotting of one eye or
the crossing of one T will be done away with. Every commandment
is going to be kept perfectly. You know, there is somebody who
fulfilled God's holy law. Every type will be realized in
its substance and every prophecy fulfilled. And then he says in
verse 19, whosoever therefore shall break one of these least
commandments and shall teach men so, he shall be called the
least in the kingdom of heaven. But whosoever shall do and teach
them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Who's the one person that describes?
There's only one who's done and taught every commandment. He's
the one who's called great in the kingdom of heaven. And we're
saying that right now, aren't we? We're saying he is great. Verse 20, for I say unto you
that except your righteousness shall exceed, shall surpass,
the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees, you shall
in no case enter the kingdom of heaven." Now, what kind of
righteousness did the scribes and Pharisees have? Well, you
and I know that it wasn't a real righteousness, but Paul did say
this concerning his own righteousness before God saved him. He says,
as touching the law, I was blameless. That is an amazing thing to think
about. He said, regarding the Ten Commandments, outwardly,
I kept them. Like the rich young ruler who
said, all these have I kept from my youth up. Now, we know that
he hadn't kept any of them, but as far as he felt, he kept them. He had outwardly obeyed the law. Now, except you have a righteousness
that's better than that. You shall in no case enter the
kingdom of heaven. You see, if I'm going to be entering
the kingdom of heaven, I'm going to have to have the very righteousness
of God as my personal righteousness. Now, that's an awesome thing
to think about. I talk about it, I guess, about every time
I preach, but it gets more awesome the more I think about it. For
me to enter into heaven, I'm going to have to have the very
righteousness of God himself. Nothing else will do. Paul said
in Philippians 3, 8, 9, Oh, that I may win Christ and be found
in him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that
which through the faithfulness of Christ, the righteousness,
which is of God by faith. Huh. Under no case shall a man enter
the kingdom of heaven without having the very righteousness
of God as his personal righteousness. Now somebody said that's out
of my reach. You're right there. It is out of your reach, but
he can give it to you. He can give it to you. Everybody
who is saved has nothing less than the very righteousness of
God. And I'm asking for it. Lord,
give me your righteousness. I don't want to be found in my
own. I want the very righteousness of Jesus Christ as my personal
righteousness before God. I want it. So all God sees is
the Lord Jesus Christ from the very depths of my heart. I don't
want him. I don't want him to see me in
any other way, but in the righteousness and merits of Jesus Christ, the
Lord. And I'm not getting near the
kingdom of heaven, except I have the very righteousness God. John chapter 3. Before I go on to this point,
you've got to have the righteousness of God. Well, how do you have
it? I shouldn't go on without talking about that. How do you
have the righteousness of God? Beloved, if you look right now
to the Lord Jesus Christ as your righteousness before God, you
look to Him and you plead nothing else, His righteousness is yours. Now can you do that right now?
Can you look to Christ only as your righteousness before God
and you plead only Him? If you do, that's what faith
is. His righteousness is yours. to
think that I've got the very righteousness of God. John 3,
verse 5, Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except
a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into
the kingdom of God. To enter the kingdom of God,
we must be born of the spirit. We must be born from above. The spirit of God has to give
us a spiritual birth or we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.
Now I've got a question. How much did you have to do with
your first birth? That's a very simple question.
You say, well, nothing. You're right. Nothing. And it's
no different with the second birth. Let me quote this scripture
to you. John 1, 12, and 13. But as many
as received Him. To them gave ye the power to
become the sons of God, even to them which believe on His
name. What's it mean to receive Him?
It means to believe on His name. To believe His name is your entrance
into heaven. That He saves for His name's
sake. And these people who believe on His name, He says, which were
born. which were birthed, which were given life, not of blood. I'm not saved because my mom
and dad or any fleshly connection, not of the will of the flesh,
not as an act of my will, not by the will of man, not because
a bunch of men got together and said, I'm going to pray for them.
I'm not going to let them alone till they're saved. The only way someone
is born again, they're born of God. a sovereign work of God
where he says live through the preaching of his gospel and you
live. Except a man be born from above,
born again, he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. You see, it
takes the new birth to believe the gospel. Something as simple
as just believing the gospel, God's got to give me life from
the dead. I have to have spiritual life. I have to be made a partaker
of the divine nature. or I can't believe, or I can't
repent, or I can't love. Look in John chapter three, verse
six. He says, that which is born of
the flesh is flesh. And that which is born of the
spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I say unto you,
you must be born again. The wind blows where it listeth
or where it wills. You hear the sound thereof, but
can't not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth. So is everyone
that's born of the Spirit. Turn to John chapter 10. There's a door into the kingdom
of heaven. there is a door into the kingdom
of heaven. I wanna walk through that door, don't you? I wanna
gain access by that door into the kingdom of heaven. I wanna
come into this place of God's rule, in this willing embracing
of God's rule, his kingdom, a willing subject, a happy subject of the
kingdom of heaven. Now there's a door whereby we
gain entrance into the kingdom of heaven. Now, in the Kingdom
of Heaven, I have to have the righteousness of Christ. And
the only way I'm going to have that is if God gives it to me. And so the
best thing to do is start asking for it. Ask Him for it. I can't
enter the Kingdom of Heaven without being born from above, being
given a new birth, a new nature. I'm at, Lord, birth me. Create in me a clean heart. Renew a right spirit within me.
I can't come up with the goods. Do this for me. And then in John
chapter 10, verse nine, the Lord said, I am the door by me. If any man enter in, he shall
be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture. Now I love the way the Lord uses
a door to describe who he is. A door is used for four purposes.
lets people in and lets people out. And it keeps
people in and it keeps people out. It's very simple, isn't
it? I am the door. He lets people
in. Do you want in the kingdom of
heaven? You can only come by Christ.
He's the door. He said, no man cometh to the
father but by me. And the only way I'm going to
enter the kingdom of heaven is by him, the door. Now, what I
love about this passage of scripture, he says, by me, if any man enter
in. I like that any man, don't you?
Any man, why not me? Why not you? By me, if any man
enter in, he'll be saved. He lets people in. Christ is the door that lets
sinners in. And Christ is the door that keeps
Those who are not sinners, out. Now, there's two kinds of people
in this world. I want to say this the right way because I
realize when I talk about self-righteous people, I know I have so much
self-righteousness in me and you do too, I realize that. But
still, there's two kinds of people in this world. There's saved,
there's lost, there's believers and unbelievers. There's those
who have no righteousness and those who are self-righteous.
That's the only kind of people there are. Those who have no
righteousness at all in and of themselves and those who have
self-righteousness. They have some kind of righteousness
that comes from themselves. Now, anybody who comes with no
righteousness, they can come in the door. Come and welcome. And anyone who has self-righteousness,
the door is closed. I can't come in except I come
in empty-handed. He's the door open to any sinner
who will come. Whosoever will, let him take
the water of life freely. The door's open. Come on in. The only thing that can prevent
a man from coming is not his sin, it's his righteousness.
That's the only thing that prevents. And he's a door closed to anybody
who comes in in his own works. He said, by me, if any man enter
in, he'll be saved. I am the way, the truth, and
the life. No man comes to the Father but by me. Now, I love
thinking about this. No man comes to the father but
by me. You know what that means? That means if I'm in him, when
he comes, I come. I come by him. I don't come beside
him. I don't come behind him. I come
in him. So that when he comes to the
father, I come to the father. That's the way I get to the father,
by him, in him, not in myself, in him. That's the only way I
come. Oh, how do you know that you're
in him? I'll tell you this, everybody that comes when he comes, everybody
that's in him, this is what they plead. They plead only him. Hear me for his sake. Save me for his sake. I have no other plea. Save me for Christ's sake. Can you say that? Can you say,
save me for Christ's sake? I don't have any other reason.
I don't have anything else to play. If you can say that by
the grace of God, you've already come to the father by him. That's
the evidence of doing it. He's the door. He's the door
that lets in sinners. He's the door that keeps those
who trust their own righteousness out. But a door is also used
to let people out. open them up to liberty and to
freedom. If the Son shall make you free,
you're free indeed. You've been set free. And Christ
is the door that shuts His people in in preservation. And doors
also used to keep people in and not let them out. And aren't
you thankful that the Lord doesn't let you out? He keeps me in. I love the way after the Scripture
says those people entered the ark, what happened? The Lord
shut him in. I won't shut in to Christ, don't
you? I won't shut in so I can't get out. Christ is the door of
entrance to the Father. He's the door closed to everybody
who comes with their works. He's the door that opens us up
to liberty, and he's the door that shuts his people in in preservation. Hebrews 7.25 says, wherefore
he is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God
by him. Now turn back to Matthew chapter
18. This is a passage of scripture. I want to say some things. I
might've said these things before, but I don't think I have. Matthew chapter 18, beginning
in verse one. At the same time came the disciples
unto Jesus saying, who's the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
And Jesus called a little child unto him and set him in the midst
of them and said, verily I say unto you, except you be converted
and become as little children. Now that word is infants. It's
not a toddler that's two or three years old and can walk and so
on. Talking about an infant. except you be converted and become
as infants, you shall in no case, you shall not enter the kingdom
of heaven. Now, I do believe, I can't prove it
from the scriptures. I think the scriptures seem to
imply it. And I think it's a doctrine that the Lord has purposely not
given us real clear statements regarding the salvation of infants.
I think the Lord saves infants. I think he does. Now, if an infant
is saved, what's it going to take? Well, first, it's going
to take an act of the sovereign will of God to will that infant
salvation. He can't be saved without the
will of God willing his salvation. Second, that infant's a sinner. The reason
infants die is because they're sinners. That infant is born
with a wicked nature. That infant is going to have
to have his sins washed away in the blood of Christ. And that
infant is going to have to have the righteousness of Christ charged
to him. And he doesn't have any ability
to do any of that, does he? It has to be God and God alone
who does that for that infant. That infant's sinful. And we're
born into this world sinners, and his sin has to be washed
away, and he has to be given the very righteousness of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And thirdly, for that infant
to enter the kingdom of heaven, he has to be born above, from
a sovereign work of God. He's got to be, he's got to be
given a new nature. And I read a sermon by Spurgeon
on what he called infant salvation, and I wouldn't deny this, but
he said somehow that they're actually made to believe. He
doesn't know how they do it, but he said nobody's going to end
without faith, but they're actually somehow supernaturally made to
believe. How can an infant believe? I don't know, but how do you
believe? By sovereign supernatural work of God. That's how you do
it. It's not like you're smart enough to figure it out. But
the point is, it's all a work of God. Now, I also see that
it's, I think it's interesting the way the Lord in the Bible
does not tell us positively that infants are saved. Because if
he did, what would happen? Why? Somebody thinks the best
thing we can do is kill them. I mean, that's the best thing
you can do. And if he positively said infants are damned, can
you imagine the despair that would create when somebody had
a baby and they lost their baby? And they would be so upset. But the Lord, in his mercy, has
not let us know. That's why I don't think it's
wise to make real strong dogmatic statements about this is the
way it is. But I'll tell you this. If an infant is saved,
he's going to be saved because God elected. and caused him to
be saved. If he's saved, it's because God
washed away his sins through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ,
gave him the very righteousness of Christ, gave him the new birth,
and caused him to hear the gospel and bring them into the kingdom
of heaven. And you think of an infant. Who is more helpless and dependent
than an infant? He can't feed himself. He can't clean himself. He has
to be carried wherever he goes. And all he can do is cry. That's
a believer, isn't it? That's our experience of grace.
except you be converted and become as infants, you shall in no case
enter the kingdom of heaven. So that's what it takes. I have
to be converted. I have to be turned and made
as an infant. Turn to Luke chapter 13. Verse
23. Then said one unto him, Lord,
are there few that be saved? Who hadn't thought about that?
Are there few to be saved? It didn't seem like many people
are interested in the gospel of God's grace. There's a lot
of religion, but it doesn't seem like many people really believe
the gospel. Every one of us have asked that
question or thought about it. Lord, are there few to be saved?
And I love the way the Lord answers him. You strive. You don't worry about whether
there's many or there's few. You strive to enter in at the
straight gate. For many I say unto you will
seek to enter in and shall not be able When once the master
of the house has risen up and has shut the door, and you begin
to stand without and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord,
open to us. And he shall answer and say unto
you, I know not whence you are. Then shall you begin to say,
we've eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught
in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not
whence you are. Depart from me, all ye workers
of iniquity. there shall be weeping and gnashing
of teeth when you shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the
prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves thrust out.
Strive, strive to enter in at the straight gate. Let me read
Matthew's account. Enter ye in at the straight gate
for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction
and many there be, many there be. Not a few, many there be
that go in there at because straight is the gate and narrow is the
way that leads to life and few there be that find it. Now to
enter into the kingdom of heaven, I'm going to have to enter in
the straight and the narrow gate. And the picture is a narrow crevice
between rocks and there's just enough space to get through it
if you have nothing else. If you try to keep your fig leaves
on, you won't be able to make it through the crack. You can't
do it. The only way you can get through
this crevice is naked, is without anything else. If I have any
merit of my own, it will prevent me from entering in. Strive. agonized to enter in the straight
gate. And there is no entrance in the
kingdom of heaven except through this straight and narrow way. May God give me the grace to
let go of everything else and come in empty-handed, naked,
with nothing to commend me. Matthew 7. Verse 21, Not everyone that saith unto
me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he
that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will
say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, Have we not prophesied
in thy name? And in thy name have cast out
devils? And in thy name done many wonderful
works? And then will I profess unto
them, I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work
iniquity. Now they had a high opinion of
their works, many and wonderful. But the Lord said, depart from
me, you workers of iniquity. Now, who is it that enters the
kingdom of heaven? He that doeth the will of the
Lord. of the Father of the Lord Jesus
Christ, God the Father, who's in heaven. There must be an actual
doing of His will. Not an admiration of His will,
not simply a knowledge of His will, but an actual doing of
His will. Turn to John chapter six. I'm gonna show you what the will
of God is. The Lord said in verse 38, For I came down from heaven. Aren't you thankful the Lord
came down from heaven? You know, I think of the rain
coming down today, rain coming down from heaven. I think of
the Lord withholding the rain. And I think of the Lord sending
the rain, you know, he can withhold it or he can send mighty showers
and he can do so spiritually too. He can withhold his presence
or he can send down mighty showers. I pray for the showers of his
blessing, don't you? Both physically and spiritually. Oh, that he would rain down upon
us for Christ's sake as a sovereign act. But the Lord came down from
heaven. Not to do mine own will, but
the will of him that sent me. Remember, he said we must do
this one's will who sent him. Well, here it is. And this is
the Father's will which has sent me, that of all which he hath
given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again
at the last day. Now, first, here's God's will.
It's God's will for everybody that Christ died for to be saved.
And God's will is not gonna be thwarted. Everybody Christ died
for must be saved. I love effectual redemption,
don't you? I love his successful redemption,
his definite atonement, what he accomplished for his people.
When he said it is finished, the salvation of everybody he
died for was accomplished. And I love that. I love thinking
about it. He saved us and he called us, which came first,
the saving or the calling? The saving. He saved us and he
called us. It's God's will that everybody
Christ died for be saved. And let me also say this, somebody
that preaches that Jesus Christ died to make salvation available
for all men does not know God and does not know the gospel.
The hope we have is that Christ actually accomplished salvation. Now verse 39 or verse 40, excuse
me, he didn't, he's not finished. And this is the will of him that
sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have
everlasting life. And I'll raise him up at the
last day. I talked to a guy this week that said the Lord appeared
to him. He saw it, and he talked to him audibly. I don't believe
it for a second. What's he talking about when
he says, everyone that seeeth the Son? Well, I do see this. I see that the only way I can
be brought into glory is the Son. I see that. And I see that He is the eternal,
altogether lovely, uncreated Son of God, the second person
of the blessed Trinity. And I see that if He brings me,
if I come to the Father by Him, if He brings me, I'm brought.
Now, not only do I see the Son, I see who He is. He's the Lord. I see who He is. He's the Lord
of glory. He's the creator of the universe.
He's the only savior of sinners. I see Him. But not only do I
see Him, I believe on Him. Look in the same chapter in verse
26. Jesus answered them and said,
Verily, verily, I say unto you, you seek me not because you saw
the miracles, but because you did eat of the loaves and were
filled. Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that
meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man shall
give unto you. For him hath God the Father sealed. Then said
they unto him, what shall we do that we might work the works
of God? You talk about laboring for that
meat that doesn't perish. What is it that we might do that
we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto
them, this is the work of God, that you believe on him whom
he hath sent. Well, I've done my best. Well, for one thing, that's a
lie. You haven't done your best. And for another thing, that's
not what he said anyway. He didn't say the work of God was for you
to do your best. This is the work of God, that
you believe on Him whom He has sent. Well, I've changed. I've
tried to stop sinning. I've tried to start doing...
This is the work of God, that you believe on Him whom He hath
sent. You rely upon the Lord Jesus
Christ, the one God sent. You believe what God sent Him
for. He was sent to save His people from their sins. Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.
Thou should call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people
from their sins. That's what He was sent for.
And you believe, you rely on Him. Now that's the doing of
His will. It's not, those folks said, well, we've preached in
your name. We've cast out demons in your name. We've done many
wonderful works in your name. Have you believed on his son?
That's the one question. That's what he's looking for.
This is the work of God, that you believe on him whom he hath
sent. That is the doing of his will. And only those who do his will
will enter the kingdom of heaven. And the last one is found in
Acts chapter 14. Beginning in verse 19, And there
came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded
the people. Acts 14, 19. And having stoned
Paul, they drug him out of the city, supposing that he'd been
dead. I guess they were putting him
in a garbage dump. He was dead. So they thought.
Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, He rose up. I love to picture that in my
mind, don't you? All of a sudden he opens his eyes and gets up,
so sore and pain, and came into the city. And the next day he
departed with Barnabas to Derbe. And when they preached the gospel
to that city and taught many, they returned again to Lystra
and to Iconium and Antioch, the place where he had been stoned,
confirming the souls of the disciples and exhorting them to continue
in the faith and that we must through much tribulation enter
into the kingdom of heaven. Let me give you the different
ways that word tribulation is translated. Anguish, burden, distress, persecution,
trouble. Now, what that tells me is we
will be tested and tried in so many different ways in entering the kingdom of heaven.
I'm going to be tested with persecution. I'm going to be tested with failure.
I'm going to be tested with prosperity. I'm going to be tested with disappointment,
heartache, and loss. I'm going to be tested with temptation
and it's only in persevering through all that that we enter
the kingdom of heaven. It's only that one who endures
to the end that should be saved through all these trials and
tribulations and troubles and the things the Lord puts before
us. And he's the one who does it. Everything that happens to
me, ever what I think is a good thing and ever what I think is
a bad thing, he put it there. And it's through much tribulation,
trial and anguish, we enter into the kingdom of heaven. But remember
this, in entering into the kingdom of heaven, we enter into rest. Now, our rest is here in the
sense that I'm resting in Christ. I remember somebody wrote a book
called The Saints Everlasting Rest, and he said, the rest is
not here. Oh, yes, it is. Oh, yes, it is. There is a rest for the people
of God, for he that's entered into his rest has ceased from
his own works as God did from his. There is a rest right now
of simply resting in the Lord Jesus Christ and doing nothing.
But when I enter the kingdom of heaven on that last day, all
the tribulation and all the trouble is going to be gone. I won't
even remember what sin's like. I won't remember what conflict's
like. I won't remember what trouble
is like. I will behold the face of the Lord Jesus Christ in righteousness,
and I'll behold his face eternally, and that's gonna be enough to
keep me satisfied throughout all eternity. When by his grace
I shall look on his face, that will be glory. be glory for me. May God give us all grace to
enter into the kingdom of heaven. Let's pray.