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The Two Gates
Text: Matthew 7:13-14
Matthew 7:13-14
13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Matthew 7:13-14 (AMP)
13 Enter through the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and spacious and broad is the way that leads away to destruction, and many are those who are entering through it.
14 But the gate is narrow (contracted by pressure) and the way is straitened and compressed that leads away to life, and few are those who find it.
I. INTRODUCTION
A. CONTRASTS OF BELIEFS
1. In the closing verses of the Sermon on the Mount, four different contrasts represent four warnings that focus on future final judgment.
a. There are two ways (7:13-14), two types of trees (7:15-20), two kinds of followers (7:21-23), and two ways to build (7:24-27).
(1) Jesus was still speaking about the kingdom of heaven, describing clearly that some will enter it and some will not.
(a) The basis for a person’s final destination begins with that person’s decisions about Jesus himself. (from The Life Application Commentary Series)
2. A sad thing has happened in our day.
a. It seems today that the vast majority of people believe that, somehow, the greater part of people will go to heaven when they die, regardless of what kind of life they lived.
3. If anyone attends church, no matter how worldly he or she may be, or how crooked his or her business dealings, friends will say something like, “He is at rest.”
a. In the funeral sermon the preacher is expected to say something about how the deceased lived such a moral, Christian life.
(1) And somewhere in the sermon, the preacher is supposed to say that he “is better off where he is.”
4. It seems that people today believe that hell is reserved for the worst of humanity – people like Osama bin Ladin, Adolf Hitler, or some such person.
a. The adulterous and sinful generation we live in believes heaven can be reached without going the only way that leads there.
b. They do not believe what Paul said in Romans 8:13 to be true…
(1) Romans 8:13 – For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
(a) That word, “mortify”, in the Greek means, literally, “to put to death” or to “make dead.”
(b) We must not weaken Paul’s language into some such phrase as, “subdue all that is inconsistent with the highest ideals.”
(c) Paul is stating emphatically that we must destroy, not merely subdue, the deeds or desires of the flesh.
5. People today are convinced that man can serve two masters and succeed in making the best of two worlds.
a. In short, they do not believe that Jesus meant what He said in our text – that “strait is the gate and narrow is the way, which leads to life.”
B. TWO CHOICES
1. As these verses point out, there are two gates from which we choose to enter our final, eternal destination.
a. There are two choices before us.
b. Two classes of people we may choose to be with for eternity.
(1) But we may only choose one of the two.
2. As we study the Scripture, we find that the Bible often speaks of two ways.
a. In fact, the bible speaks of ONLY two ways:
(1) The way up; the way down.
(2) The way to life; the way to death.
(3) The way to Heaven; the way to hell.
(4) The way of good; and the way of evil.
3. There are two gates…
a. Two ways…
(1) Two destinations…
(a) TWO CHOICES.
4. In Jesus’ invitation to enter the narrow gate, He described two lives.
a. Each life has a “gate” consistent with its “way.”
b. People take the wide gateway, but they find the narrow gateway.
(1) The wide gateway that leads to destruction defines the normal human experience, except for the few who find and enter the narrow gateway.
(2) Jesus’ invitation to enter confronts the disciples with the gate itself.
(3) They have found the gate; He is standing before them.
(4) They can enter by trusting Him completely. (from The Life Application Commentary Series)
II. BODY
A. WIDE GATE AND BROAD WAY
1. Jesus said, “Wide is the gate.”
a. A wide way is easy to enter.
b. You can enter into the wide gate loaded down with anything you’re big enough to carry.
(1) You can enter the wide gate loaded down with the world.
(2) Because the wide gate is wide enough to enter without having to put anything off.
(a) Through the wide gate, anything goes!
(b) There are no restrictions whatsoever!
2. Through the wide gate, however, the road is easy.
a. This gate is easy to find; the path is easy to follow.
(1) There is plenty of room for many people to wander in and continue in whatever direction they wish.
(2) This road leads to destruction – to hell itself.
3. The way that leads to the wide gate is broad.
a. It is an accommodating highway that leads to the wide gate.
(1) It usually is.
4. If you want a multitude of people to see what you have to offer, you should make it an easy place to get to – and if you can, make the way broad in order to accommodate the people.
a. That is exactly what Satan has done
(1) You’ll have no trouble traveling the broad way that leads to the wide gate.
(2) This is the way the crowd is going, and there’s always plenty of room for more.
(3) All you have to do is drift with the crowd.
5. But you must be warned that this way that leads to the wide gate is the road to destruction.
a. Many people want the gate that is wide and the way that is broad, but they do not want the consequences that go with it.
(1) The only way to avoid the consequences, however, is to change direction!
(2) There is a better destination with much better consequences, but one must be willing to change the direction of his or her life to get there!
B. STRAIT GATE AND NARROW WAY
1. The other choice that Jesus offers to us is the Strait Gate and the Narrow Way.
a. Notice how the word is spelled…
b. It is not S-T-R-A-I-G-H-T, but S-T-R-A-I-T
(1) Jesus is comparing the way to life to an entrance through a gate.
(2) The words “straight” and “strait” have very different meanings.
(a) The former means “not crooked;”
(b) The latter means, “pent up, narrow, difficult to be entered.”
1) This is the word used here, and it means that the way to heaven is “pent up, narrow, close,” and not obviously entered.
2) The way to death is open, broad, and thronged.
2. In Luke 13:24, Jesus said that we should “Strive to enter in at the strait gate.”
a. The word “strive” comes from the Greek word agonizomai – the word from which we get our English word AGONIZE.
(1) The same word is translated “Laboring fervently” in Colossians 4:12.
(2) Paul used it again in I Timothy 6:12, when he told Timothy to “Fight the good fight of faith.”
(a) So it means that a person must really desire to enter the narrow gate if he or she ever expects to make it to heaven – one must strive for it, fight for it.
(b) This makes null and void the cheap and “easy believism” of our day!
1) Living for God and getting to heaven requires one to “fight the good fight of faith!”
3. Like a difficult and confining narrow body of water connecting two large bodies of water, the strait gate connects two worlds – this world and heaven.
a. And it is the only connection!
4. One must first find this Strait Gate before he or she can enter into it.
a. Listen to Pastor:
(1) I want you to notice that you do not have to find the broad way – you are born on it!
(2) But you must find the narrow way.
5. And, although the gate is strait and the way is narrow, thank God it is not closed!
a. It is opened to anybody – whosoever will – that is willing to look for it!
C. THE KEYS TO THE GATE
1. In Matthew 16:19, Jesus gave Peter the keys to the Strait Gate.
a. He told Him, “Whatsoever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven; and whatsoever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven.”
2. Using those keys, Peter opened the door to salvation in Acts chapter 2.
a. He told those who inquired as to how to be saved:
(1) “Repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost….”
(2) Acts 4:12 – “Neither is there salvation in any other (speaking of the name of Jesus) for there is none other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
3. To enter this gate, you must press into it, according to Luke 16:16.
a. According to Jesus as quoted in Matthew 18:3, you must become as a little child.
b. You must put off the old man, according to Paul in Ephesians 4:22.
c. To enter this gate, you must be born again of water and Spirit, according to Jesus in John 3:5.
(1) Peter proved this to be true in Acts 2:38-39…
(a) One is “born of water” when he or she has repented and is baptized in Jesus’ name.
(b) One is “born of Spirit” when he or she experiences the infilling of the Holy Ghost, which is evidenced with speaking in an unknown tongue.
III. CLOSE
A. THE WAY IS NARROW
1. Jesus emphatically tells us that the way, which leads to the Strait Gate, is a Narrow Way.
2. But even though the way is narrow, it is open and not closed!
B. ALTAR CALL
1. Along the way, there will be wilderness experiences, trials, and battles to fight.
a. But, like the Children of Israel, God will provide the necessary protection – the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night.
2. So, let us purpose today to be one of the few that find the way to God!
a. If you have not started your journey on the “Strait and Narrow,” why not begin today?
3. Won’t you come?
