Enter Through the Narrow Gate

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Matthew 7:13-14

"Enter through the narrow gate.  For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

This is one of the shortest sections of the Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus gives the command, and then states the corollary between destruction and life.  This comparison is so straight forward that it doesn't need any further teaching for an audience that is already trying to get to heaven by observing the Law.  So what does this mean for us?  Can we earn heaven by simply obeying all of God's commands?

To answer those questions, we first need to be clear on what each of those paths is.  

The wide gate and broad road is our sinful nature, the world around us, and Satan's attacks on us which ultimately end in Hell.  

The small gate and narrow road is the sanctified life- daily striving to live a Godly life that honors and glorifies Jesus which leads to Heaven.

Thankfully God did not leave either of these paths open to our own interpretation.  He had the Apostle Paul clearly define each of them for us in his letter to the Galatians.

Galatians 5:19-21

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious:  sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.  I warn you as I did before, those who live like this will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

This is the broad road that leads to destruction, just as Paul also warns.  Look at how that list breaks down:

1. Sexual sin
2. Idolatry
3. Sins against other people
4. Public sins

This list of sins that the ancient people of Galatia were dealing with doesn't seem much different than what our culture/society is faced with today.  Apparently Solomon knew what he was talking about when he wrote:

What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.  Is there anything of which one can say, "Look!  This is something new"?

It was here already, long ago: it was here before our time.  There is no remembrance of men of old, and even those who are yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow.

(Ecclesiastes 1:9-11).

Look at that list.  Is there any one of those that you can say is not prevalent in our culture today?

The only one that I could see someone even attempting to make a case for is- idolatry and witchcraft.  If you are inclined to argue for that you will find, very quickly, that your argument does not hold water.

Materialism and relativism permeate the American landscape.  Here is a short list of American Idols:  Buddha, Allah, Brahma, self, money, TV/entertainment, celebrities, government, stuff, career, the environment, academic credentials, "experts", and the list goes on and on.

Witchcraft, even though it isn't often called by that name, also has a very strong presence in our society, beginning with the increasing growth of false religions:  Wicca, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Environmentalism, Paganism.  You may try to claim that none of these is "witchcraft".

Witchcraft is not what we have been taught to think it is.  It is not a bunch of old hags stirring up a sinister brew in their black cauldron and mischievously casting spells on people. 

Witchcraft is demon and Satan worship.  We see its popularity in the presence of horoscopes, tarot readings, palm readings, Ouija boards (marketed as a game); and movies/TV shows like Harry Potter, Twilight, The Good Witch, Charmed, etc.   

The American culture is immersed with idolatry and witchcraft.  Ironic isn't it?  That a culture that prides itself on being so "scientific" is so in love with the occult. 

Notice where all of this leads: to destruction.  Everything that I just went through in the last couple of paragraphs leads to Hell!  You can argue for your sin all you want.  It will only lead you through the wide gate, which is the gate of Hell.

Why do you think the gate is wide and the road is broad?  It is because there are a lot of people traveling that road, and passing through that gate.  Significantly more people than those who are traveling the narrow path, looking to enter through the small gate.  This is the ultimate reason not to run with the herd.  You don't want to get swept up by the stampede on the broad path and carried through the wide gate.  Be very careful and intentional about your associations.

With that, let's leave the broad road behind.  Let's take a look at the narrow road, as defined by Paul.

Galatians 5:22-25

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.  Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

We all know in our head that this is how we are supposed to live.  We all know that this is how we are supposed to treat other people.  We know it because this is how we expect others to treat us.  Not only do we expect it from everyone else, often we demand it.  Do you see how narrow the road is?

As soon as we demand these things of others we have stumbled onto the broad path, acting out of our sinful nature, not "living by the Spirit".  This is why we can never work our way into heaven.  The narrow road is so narrow that we can not stay on it by ourselves.

Thankfully, we don't have to walk it by ourselves.  The Holy Spirit has been assigned to help us.  It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit living and working in us that we are able to walk the narrow path.  That is why Paul calls these attributes the Fruit of the Spirit, because they are truly gifts from the Holy Spirit.  Without the gift of the Holy Spirit living in us, and the gift of faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior that He works in us, we can never truly experience any of these things.  Without the Holy Spirit we are left empty...hollow, attempting to accomplish all of these things on our own.  Without faith in Jesus and the Holy Spirit living in us we would be stuck in the situation that Solomon opens Ecclesiastes with:

"Meaningless!  Meaningless!"  says the Teacher.  

"Utterly meaningless!  Everything is meaningless." (Ecclesiastes 1:2)

It is only with the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit that we can walk the narrow path, live a purposeful life, and ultimately walk through that small gate one day to enter Paradise. This is all by God's grace.  By His grace alone.  Yes, Jesus commands us to enter through the narrow gate, but He also knows that we can't do it by ourselves.  Thankfully, our Heavenly Father has given us a Helper to empower us to live a sanctified life, the Holy Spirit.

God bless

Jason Fredrick