Let's turn back in our Bible
again to Matthew chapter 7. Matthew chapter 7. I'm taking
the title for the message from verse 14. Straight is the gate,
narrow is the way. Straight is the gate, narrow
is the way. There is the wide gate. There
is the broad way that leads to destruction. It is the straight
gate and the narrow gate that leads to eternal life in the
Lord Jesus Christ. Now there are just two religions
in this world. It doesn't matter what you call
it, what you name it, what it is. There's just two religions
in this world, pictured in the story of Cain and of Abel. One of grace, pictured in Abel
and his sacrifice, pointing to the Lord Jesus Christ and him
crucified. Abel is a way of grace. He brought
the blood offering of the Lamb. God had respect under that offering. Abel was justified by believing
in the Lord Jesus Christ. And the other religion in this
world is that of works. One of grace, one of works, pictured
in Cain, Abel's brother. Cain, you remember, he brought
the labor of his hands and God had no respect to the offering. Remember what happened when God
rejected the sacrifice of Cain and received the sacrifice of
Abel? Cain got very angry. He was really
angry with God. But because he could not grab
God, who sits on the throne of absolute dominion, he laid hold
of God's servant, Abel, and he killed him. The first murder
in human history was over the fact, how does God save sinners? Think about it. There's two religions
in this world. There's the straight gate. And
there's a broad way. The straight gate we know is
Christ. He's the narrow way that leads to eternal life. There
is that broad road, the wide gate that leads to destruction. Many, many are going that way. Few are going the other way.
Few are going the other way. Now, be sure you know and understand
this about the salvation of sinners. God saves guilty sinners who
he wisely and powerfully saves by his eternal purpose in the
Lord Jesus Christ. And he saves them just one way.
There's just one way of salvation. Just one way of salvation. When
Peter and John were before that Sanhedrin council, being questioned
on how they had healed this man in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And they replied to that counsel, Be it known unto you,
neither is there salvation in any other, for there is no other
name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. There is no other way of salvation
but that Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world. We know that straight gate and
that narrow way is only found in the Lord Jesus Christ. As
we often say, salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is of the
Lord in His person. He is the one who saves us by
His grace. Salvation is of the Lord in His doing, in His work,
for He worked out salvation for us. Salvation through His blood
sacrifice for us, we're redeemed with the precious blood of Christ.
Salvation is by the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, by
His obedience that's freely imputed unto His people. So God saved
sinners who He wisely saved by His purpose and grace, given
us in Christ before the foundation of the world. It's God who saved
us and called us. When Paul writes back to young
Timothy from a prison cell in Rome, and encouraging him in
the Gospel, he said, don't be ashamed of me, ignore the Gospel.
Because it's God who saved us. It's God who called us with a
holy calling, not according to our works, but according to God's
own purpose and grace. Grace. Now, I was thinking about
something along this line about salvation and how God saves us
by His grace. Now, you younger people won't
remember this, but if you're a student of history, you will.
Remember in 1960, 1960, John Kennedy was elected as President
of the United States. And in his inauguration speech,
he said this, don't ask what your country can do for you,
but what you can do for your country. That's pretty good politically. It's a good political statement.
But you know in the gospel, it's just the opposite. It's just
the opposite in the gospel. In the gospel, it's just the
opposite. We must ask God to do all for us because we cannot
do anything for ourselves. It's all in His hands. Salvation
is His doing, His purpose, His grace. who then can be saved
with men, it is impossible with God. All things are possible,
possible in him. He has performed all things for
us. So, it's not what we do for salvation,
it's what God has done for us already in Christ. As I've often
said to you over the years here, our wise God hedges his people
about with Warnings, dire warnings, lest we presume. And also he
hedges us about with exceeding great and precious promises,
lest we despair of any hope of the mercy and grace of God. We
see both those things in this scripture today. Warnings, beware
of false prophets. and then promises. Enter into
the straight gate for there is eternal life in Christ. Now let's look at the first part
of this, verse 13 and verse 14, and let's read it one more time.
Enter ye in at the straight gate. It doesn't say look at it, admire
it. He said go through it. Enter
in. For wide is the gate, that word
therefore can That can be rendered because wide is the gate and
broad is the way. There is a broad way that leads
to destruction and many there be which go in there at. Because
or how straight is the gate and narrow is the way which leads
unto life and few there be that find it. Now what a contrast.
The Lord plainly tells us in just a few words the way of salvation
in him. And he does so by this way of
contrast, contrasting the straight gate to the other gate, the wide
gate, and then the narrow way to the broad way. And there's
just two ways of salvation. Let me put it different. There's
just two religions, one way of salvation, the way of grace and
the way of works. The wide gate and the broad way
leads to eternal destruction. It says here in the text, many
are on that way. It's a way of unbelief. It's
a way of rebellion against God. It's the way of works pictured
by, go back and read it, Genesis chapter 4, the way of Cain. Our Lord said, He that believeth
on the Son hath everlasting life. He that believeth not the Son
shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. Notice
this gate here, this broad way that leads to destruction is
a wide gate. It's a wide gate, no restrictions,
wide open, wide open. The way of the sinful flesh is
wide open, doing whatever seems right in your own eyes, catering
to our depraved nature, living only to satisfy the flesh. That's
the wide gate, that's the broad way. John writes about it this
way, for all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, The lust
of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the father, but
is of this world. So it's a wide gate that leads
to destruction. It's the broad way, the broad
way. Broad in doctrine, broad in morals,
anything goes, everything goes. Broad in thinking, they're broad-minded
people. They're broad-minded in their
thinking about God and how God saves sinners. It's the most
popular way. It's a popular way because it's
agreeing to the flesh. Many are on this road that leads
to eternal ruin and death. The wise man Solomon writes about
it this way. There is a way that seems right
unto men, but the end of that way is death. What appeals to
the flesh? That's the wrong way. I know
the gospel of the sovereign grace of God is contrary to the flesh. That's the way of salvation. That is the straight gate in
Christ. There are many religions in this
world. How many religions in this world? Three or four thousand
different religions. There's just one way of salvation,
and that one way is Christ. There's many ways that lead to
destruction, there's only one way that leads to life, and that
is being found in the Lord Jesus Christ. As I've often said, salvation
is in a person, not a profession, not a pool, not a persuasion,
in a person, in the Lord Jesus Christ. This broad way and this
wide gate is a fatal road that leads to eternal ruin. All men
by nature are born on this road of destruction and have no desire
to depart from it except by the grace of God. It takes an absolute
miracle of God to be taken off this broad road and put in the
one way of salvation that's found only in the Lord Jesus Christ.
He must translate us out of the kingdom of darkness and put us
in the kingdom of God's dear Son. He must command the light
to shine in our hearts that we might see the glory of God that
shines in the face of Jesus Christ. By nature we love darkness, not
the light. By nature we love the wide gate
and the broad way. Don't go that way. Pray that
God will give you grace to turn from that way. And then the other
thing he says, there's a straight gate and the narrow way that
lead to eternal life in the Lord Jesus Christ. God had given him
power over all flesh that he should give eternal life to as
many as the Father had given to him. And this is eternal life
that they might know thee. This is eternal life that they
might know thee the only true God, Jesus Christ, whom He has
sent. This straight gate is Christ,
the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our entrance into salvation,
and all spiritual blessings are found in Him. He not only called
the gate, but you remember in John chapter 10, one of the seven
I am's, He said, I am the way, the truth, the life. We read
a moment ago. And then He says, I am the door.
By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved. Christ is the
forerunner, our surety, sacrifice, and high priest, who has entered
into heaven for us, and we only enter in through him. It's a
narrow way. It's a straight gate. It's a
narrow way. That is, if you look up that
word narrow, it means restricted. It's a restricted way. It's an
exclusive way. And the only one way of salvation,
which is a complete way of salvation accomplished by the Lord Jesus
Christ. This way is so restrictive, the
only way you can get through this narrow way and this straight
gate is if you have the Lord Jesus Christ only. If you bring
something else, you're not going to go through that gate. The
way is so narrow and so restricted that if you bring your works,
your morality, your righteousness, He'll say, depart from Me. I
never knew you. It must be Christ alone. Nothing more, nothing less, nothing
else, but the Lord Jesus Christ in Him alone. This gate in this
narrow way is a blessed gate, a blessed way, because it leads
to eternal life. You see that? Verse 14, "...which
liveth unto life." Now we are dying creatures. We are dying
creatures. We are spiritually dead in sin. He must quicken us and give us
life in the Lord Jesus Christ. He that hath son hath life. Now
notice it says, "...there are few..." You see that word? Contrast to the word, many. who
are on this road to destruction, there's few that are on this
narrow way that leads to eternal life. Few there be that find
the way of salvation. Now, why is it this way? Why
is it the few? Remember in the days of Noah,
how many souls were saved? Wherein few, eight souls were
saved. They say in the days of Noah,
there were millions of people. 2,000 years from Adam to Noah. Millions
of people, and God saved eight. He saved them in an ark. That
ark is a picture of what? That ark is a picture of Christ,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Few there be that find it. Why
is it this way? Well, because it's God's purpose.
Because it only comes by the sovereign revelation of Christ
to our heart. Turn, if you will, just a couple
pages. Matthew 11, turn over there, Matthew 11. Look at verse
25. At that time, Matthew 11, 25, The Lord answered and said, I
thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you
have hid these things from the wise and prudent and revealed
them unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed
good in thy sight. All things are delivered unto
me of my Father, and no man knoweth the Son but the Father. Neither
knoweth any man the Father save the Son, and he to whomsoever
the Son will reveal Him." It comes by revelation. Turn to
Matthew 16. Turn over there. Remember the
Lord asked the question, whom do men say that I, the Son of
Man am? Matthew 16, verse 13. And they said, well, some say
you're John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others Jeremiah
or one of the prophets. And He said unto them, but whom
do you say? Matthew 16, verse 15. Simon Peter
answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living
God. And the Lord answered and said, Blessed art thou, Simon
Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee,
but my Father which is in heaven." Salvation is by revelation. It's a revelation of Christ who
is in the narrow way. It's a revelation of Christ who
is the straight gate and salvation in Him. In Luke chapter 13, there's a
question asked the Lord Jesus Christ. And the question was,
Lord, are there few that be saved? And here's the way He replied.
Strive and seek to enter in at the straight gate, for I say
unto you that many will seek to enter in and shall not be
able to. Strive to enter into that gate
today, right now, is the day of salvation. Strive to enter
in to the Lord Jesus Christ right now. How? By faith. By faith
in Him. By faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Spirit and the Bride say,
Come. Let Him that heareth say, Come. Revelation 22. Let Him
that hath thirst come, and whosoever will, let him take the water
of life freely. Take the water of life. in Christ,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember, we had this last week. Look at Matthew 7, verse 7. Ask, and it shall be given you.
Seek, and you shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened
unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh
findeth. To him that knocketh it shall
be opened. Seek salvation where it's found in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Don't look at the gate or admire
the gate, the straight gate. Enter in through the straight
gate. Enter in to all spiritual blessings through Christ this
gate and door and eternal life. How? You may ask, by bowing,
believing, submitting to the whole record of Scripture, believing
all things that are written in the Word of God. By faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ, he that heareth my word, and believeth
on him that sent me, hath everlasting life." What does that mean? Got
it. Hath everlasting life. He that heareth my word, and
believeth on me, has eternal life. By faith in him, he said,
I am the bread of life, he that cometh to me shall never hunger,
he that believeth on me shall never thirst. by willing and
complete submission and surrender to the absolute Lordship of Jesus
Christ. Salvation is surrender to His
Lordship, His Lordship. The old preacher that came to
Ashland in 1950, old Rob Barnard, He came there and he got all
those religious folks just tore up. He tore them up. Someone
said, Ashland, Kentucky has never been the same town since that
man hit town. He was the John the Baptist of
his day. He was Elijah of his day. And he said, don't tell
me who your Savior is. Tell me who your Lord is. If
He's not your Lord, He's not your Savior. You see, it's the
Lord Jesus Christ that saves. Those folks in that meeting,
April 1950, they were singing a song about Jesus saved, Jesus
saves. And the old preacher was sitting
there listening to that. And he got up and he said, it's
the Lord Jesus Christ that saves. If He's not Lord, He can't save.
And that's true. He's the only just God and Savior
And the Lord said, look unto Me, and be ye saved. All the
ends of the earth, I am God. Now every one of us here, by
nature on that broad way, it's only by His grace that we're
in the narrow way. Strive to enter in. Ask the Lord
to put you in that way. Ask the Lord to reveal Christ
to your heart. And see Him as everything in
salvation. Now the second thing I want us
to look at in verse 15, down through verse 20. There are only
two religions in this world, right? One of grace, one of works. One is right, one is wrong. There's
also two kinds of preachers in this world. Ones who are true,
ones who are false. I'm either one or the other.
I'm either a true preacher or I'm not. And there's no middle
ground. Those, he says in verse 15, beware
of false prophets. Take heed, beware. And they come
unto you in sheep's clothing. They look like believers. But
inwardly, they're ravening wolves. Verse 16, you shall know them
by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorn
or figs of thistles? Even so, every good tree bringeth
forth good fruits, But a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit,
and this fruit here is doctrine. 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 or good news is hewn down and cast into the
fire. Wherefore, by the fruit you shall
know them." Now this is talking about preachers. This is not
talking about identifying believers. People often say, well, you know,
I'm a fruit inspector. I'm watching him. I'm checking
out his fruit. That's not talking about judging believers. He's
talking about identifying false preachers. Beware of false preachers. You shall know them. By their
doctrine, you shall know them." Those who are called and sent
and commissioned of God with the gospel, they're just two
kinds. Those sent of God with the gospel
of God, and those who are self-appointed preachers, preaching what the
Apostle called another gospel, that cannot save, that can only
condemn. If we would keep clear from the
broad way of works and salvation by the deeds of the law, if we
would keep clear from the broad way of work salvation, we must
at all cost avoid false preachers, false teachers. He says, beware
of them. They come dressed up and they
look like nice, respectable folks. They're not easily detected.
They're not easily detected. They don't hold up a sign and
say, I'm a false prophet. They'll come to you and swear
up and down, they're a true prophet, son of God. They're not easily
detected because they come dressed up like a sheep. But inwardly,
the Lord says here, they're ravening, devouring wolves. They don't
look out for your good, do they? The Apostle Paul writes about
it this way, they have a form of godliness, but denying the
power thereof. The Apostle describes them for
us. Turn over here, if you will,
to 2 Corinthians 11. 2 Corinthians 11. They preach these who are false
prophets who are dressed up in sheep's clothing, but inwardly
they are wicked, notorious men. In 2 Corinthians 11, verse 13. These who are in sheep's clothing,
they preach morality for righteousness. Look at verse 13. 2 Corinthians
11, 13. For such are false apostles,
deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles
of Christ. deceitful workers, transforming
themselves. They've not been translated by
God, and no marvel for Satan himself is transformed into an
angel of light, therefore it's no great thing if his ministers
also be transformed as ministers of righteousness, whose end shall
be according to their works." They're on the broad way that
leads to destruction. Now what kind of righteousness,
when they talk about ministers of righteousness, what are they
talking about? Those who preach morality for
salvation, who preach good works for salvation. Now, how can we
know the difference? How can we tell the difference?
He said, by their fruits you shall know them. We won't recognize
them by their manners. Well, they're mannerly people.
I mean, they come with a tie and a three-piece suit. They
have their hair all slicked back and they look good. We won't
know them by their manners, but we will know them by their message.
By their message, what they preach. By their fruits, that is, by
their doctrine. By their doctrine, unsound false
doctrine. Now, turn to 2 John. John says here, beware of false
prophets. Believe not every spirit, but
try the spirits, for they are of God, because many false prophets
are gone out into the world. 2 John, can you find 2 John? There's just one chapter, verse
7. 2 John, page 336, if you got to Cambridge and I have, 336.
2 John, verse 7. Many deceivers are entered into
the world who confess not that Jesus Christ has come in the
flesh. They deny the deity of Christ. This is a deceiver and
antichrist. Look to yourselves, or beware,
that you lose not those things which we have wrought, but that
we receive a full reward. Whosoever transgresses and abideth
not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth
in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the
Son. If there come any unto you and bring not this doctrine of
his deity, of his accomplished salvation, receive him not in
your house, neither bid him God's speed. For he that biddeth him
God's speed is a partaker of his evil deeds. So beware of
false prophets. Beware of false prophets. How
do you know them? By their message. What they teach on who the Lord
Jesus Christ is. If they deny the deity of the
Lord Jesus Christ, mark it down, he's a false prophet. What does
the scripture teach? Without controversy, great is
the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh.
A false prophet would depreciate his person and deny his deity. Secondly, A false prophet will
deny what the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished in Calvary. He will
say something to the fact that the Lord laid down His life for
all the sins of all men, and He's trying to save everybody,
but you have to add something to it to make His work complete.
False prophet. They deny the accomplishment
of the Lord Jesus Christ at Calvary. That He actually secured the
eternal salvation of His people. If we study Matthew 1 verse 21,
He is the Savior who saves His people from their sin. When He
by Himself purged our sin, He sat down on the right hand of
God. So they depreciate His person. They deny His deity. They deny
the blood atonement of Christ as being sufficient to put away
our sin, and the scripture said he appeared once in the end of
the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Thirdly,
they deny how God saves sinners, by his sovereign mercy, his sovereign
love, and his sovereign grace. What does the scripture teach?
I don't care what the tradition of the fathers are, or what your
neighbor said, or what your mom or dad believed. My dad taught
me salvation was why I do it. My dad taught me that salvation
was in a certain church, doing a certain thing, doing good deeds. He was wrong. Thank God the Lord
was pleased to single me out by His grace and teach me. It's
not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth, but of God
that shows mercy. He'll have mercy on whom He will.
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according
to His mercy, He saved us. So they deny His person, they
deny His work, and they deny how God saves sinners. They say,
God's done all He can do. He's waiting on you. Why don't
you decide for Jesus? That's a false prophet. Mark
it down, that's a false prophet. Who gets to glory in salvation?
God alone. God alone gets to glory. You
see, we're so dead and so depraved, if God doesn't do something for
us, we'll perish in our sin. Salvation is not by our free
will. Salvation is by God's will, God's
choice, God's purpose. True preachers are those made
good trees. Notice they're not corrupt trees.
They're that by nature, but they've been made good trees. That is,
trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord. They bring forth
right doctrine and good fruit to His glory. Every good tree
brings forth good doctrine. It's the doctrine of Christ.
But a corrupt tree, a corrupt preacher, all he can do is bring
evil fruit. A false preacher of corruptry
cannot bring forth good fruit, good news. You can't tell what
you don't know. A false preacher doesn't know
the truth. You can't tell what you don't know. He might quote
some Scripture, and they always do. They might quote some Scripture,
but they always apply it wrong. They use the same words that
we use, grace, mercy, salvation. They use the same Bible that
we use, quote the same Scripture that we use, but they always
make the wrong application. Now give me a good example of
that. There's a Scripture that's often quoted when we talk about
the sovereign mercy of God and the sovereign grace of God. And
oftentimes people will say, what about this Scripture? What about
this Scripture? And what about that Scripture?
And one of their favorite ones that they like to use as an argument
against the sovereign grace of God, they say in 2 Peter 3.9,
the Scripture said, God's not willing that any man should perish.
They'll all come to repentance. Is that what that verse says?
You quoted part of it, but you left out the main part. God is
long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish,
but all should come to repentance. You see how they twist the Scripture
and manipulate the Scripture? Who is the us-ward? Who is he
writing to? The elect according to the foreknowledge
of God, given to Christ before the foundation of the world. A false message cannot reveal
the truth. Can it? And oftentimes a false
preacher is not so much identified by what he says, but by what
he doesn't say. And it's pretty good to know
everything, right? If I told you that I had some
information on somebody that was coming to your house to do
some malicious things to your family, and I called you up and
said that two o'clock tomorrow somebody's coming to see you,
what if I leave out that other part? I didn't tell the whole
truth, did I? You need the whole truth, nothing
but the truth. John said this, I've not written
unto you because you know not the truth, but because you know
it, that no lie is of the truth. You don't arrive at the truth
through lies. That's impossible. It's impossible. It is the truth that sets sinners
free. It's not the lies of men. Not
the lies of men. Our Lord said that in John chapter
8, you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.
Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has set us free. Two religions
in this world, a straight gate that leads to eternal life, the
Broadway, the wide gate, destruction. There's just two kinds of preachers
in this world. True ones and false ones. True preachers give God all the
honor and glory for the salvation of the Lord. I found this statement
here and I'll read it to you in closing. It's the business
of false religion to patch up a righteousness in which the
sinner is to stand before God. It is the business of the glorious
gospel to bring near to us, by the hand of the Holy Spirit,
a righteousness ready wrought, a robe of perfection ready made,
wherein God's people, to all purposes of justification and
happiness, stand perfect, without fault, before God. A righteousness
ready made. Who is that? We're not going
about to establish a righteousness of our own, but we're resting
in the Lord Jesus Christ, who of God is made unto us wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Wherefore, by
their fruits, their doctrine, or their doctrines, you shall
know them as doctrines of devils. Okay.