Matthew 7.13-14, Luke 13.23-24.
Most people are
Doesn’t matter how much they want nothing to do with God in this life. They might be
The problem is Jesus said he’s not gonna let everybody in. More than once. Today’s verses are two of the instances.
Matthew 7.13-14 KWL - 13 “Enter through the narrow gate: The broad gate, the wide road, leads to destruction.
- Many are entering destruction by it.
- 14 The narrow gate, the tight road, leads people to life.
- Few are finding it.”
Luke 13.23-24 KWL - 23 Someone told Jesus, “Master, the saved are few.”
- Jesus told them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door.
- I tell you many will seek to enter, and not be able to.”
In a number of early copies of Matthew, Jesus only said, “The broad, wide road leads to destruction.” Possibly some copyist threw an extra
There’s a broad gate and a narrow one. A wide road and a tight one. An easy way in, and a somewhat difficult way in. You wanna take the difficult way; that’s the right one.
It’s not because Jesus wants to make it difficult. Not because God doesn’t wanna save everyone. He does.
There’s an open invitation, an open door, and plenty of room. But people would much rather go to their destruction. Partly ’cause it’s the path of least effort: They can be absolutely self-centered and awful to everybody, and
Partly ’cause they think their path is exclusive and smarter… but in reality it’s still the much, much larger crowd. Yeah, the folks on the road to destruction is the larger crowd. Wish they weren’t. But that’s humanity for ya.
Two paths.
The idea of “There are two roads you could travel; choose wisely” is an ancient one. It’s such a cliché, people even apply it where it doesn’t belong. (Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken,” fr’instance. It’s about taking a different path than the usual one, and it turns out not to be the best one. But people constantly assume otherwise.) Anybody who’s taken a wrong turn has learned it by experience.
Yet for some naïve reason, pagans and popular culture insist all roads lead to God. So it doesn’t matter which one you’re on. There is no evil way. And if there is—well, if you’re well-directed, then you’re protected from it. You can do what you want to. (And other Journey lyrics.)
On the other extreme, some Christians take Jesus’s idea that few find the narrow gate,
Jesus actually doesn’t say the narrow gate is intentionally hard to find. For it’s not. He only said
Christians who presume the kingdom is exclusive, are
Jesus isn’t hiding the narrow gate. Nor the narrow road. He’s pointing it out to us! He wants us to point it out to everyone else. He’s not limiting atonement,
Strive to get through the right gate. But bear in mind not everyone’s getting through.
Few are finding it.
Now if God wants as many people saved as possible,
Because the kingdom is for heavenly people. If you put unheavenly people in it—if you put hellish people in it—it’s gonna suck. Won’t be heaven.
Galatians 5.21 KJV - Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
It’s not that envious people, murderers, drunks, and partiers are never getting forgiven. They can be! But these traits can’t be brought with them into the kingdom. They’re already undermining the church; they’re not gonna be allowed to wreck the kingdom too. They have to give up those things before they enter in. And if they won’t… then they have to stay outside.
If that sounds harsh, bear in mind they’ve had plenty of fair warning.
Matthew 7.21-23 KJV - 21 Not every one 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. 22 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? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Jesus tells them—tells us—to cut it out, throughout the gospels, particularly
They think God owes them heaven because they said the sinner’s prayer once.
It’s why Jesus told his students to
Yeah, God wants to save us. Wants us so bad Jesus died for us. Wants us so bad we could totally take our salvation for granted. But don’t be that kind of jerk. Be better than that. Strive.
