Living In The Kingdom 20 Series

Living in the Kingdom 20

Scripture: Matthew 7:13-14; Deuteronomy 30:19; Jeremiah 21:8

This is a continuation of my series “Living in the Kingdom” and this morning and next Sunday we will be looking at two verses that truly stand out in this whole series. The two verses are Matthew 7:13-14 which says, “13. Enter in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and many there be who go in there. 14. Because narrow is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads unto life, and few there be that find it.” Some of you hearing this message over the next two Sundays might become a little uncomfortable because Jesus makes it clear that there will be more people going to hell than will be going to heaven. The reason for this is simple – being a Christian requires work – it requires a change of heart. These two verses are an introduction to what will follow in the rest of the chapter where Jesus explains how we will know those who truly belong to Him by the fruit they bear, not by their role(s) in the Church. He then tells us that not everyone who says that they know Him and believe in Him will necessarily gain access to heaven – meaning that while they might have attended Church faithfully, healed the sick or even preached from a pulpit, they will still end up in hell. These two verses are critical for all Christians to understand, especially for those who believe that because they were baptized they can continue living however they choose by grace.

Here is something for you to chew on. When you walk through any cemetery you will find many tombstones with the letters “RIP” or the words “Rest in Peace” engraved on them. When someone dies, people often say that they “are in a better place” regardless of how they lived here on earth. People often state or pray that God will have mercy on someone’s soul after they have died because mercy is what they will need to stay out of hell. Why do we say these things? Why do we state that someone is “resting in peace” when in reality if they lived a horrible life without ever accepting Christ as their personal Savior they died and went to hell? Do we really believe that people in hell are resting in peace? The only way to keep some people from going to hell is to be honest about those who are actually there! Remember the story of the rich man in Luke chapter sixteen? He died and went to hell and in his suffering asked Abraham to send Lazarus to his brothers to inform them of the place so that they could change. That rich man was not resting in peace! We make these statements because it is hard for us to imagine someone being in hell and burning in the lake of fire forever. Even though it is hard for us to imagine these things, Jesus makes it clear that there are two gates we can enter – the one that leads to eternal life with Him or the one that leads to an eternity without Him. The gate that leads to an eternity with Jesus is very narrow. Jesus said, “13. Enter in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and many there be who go in there. 14. Because narrow is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads unto life, and few there be that find it.” I am going to read how the Amplified Bible renders these verses, but before I do I want to draw your attention to something that’s very important. Jesus says the wide gate leads to destruction and many will go through it. And then He brings the point home by saying few will find the narrow gate. New Light, Jesus says far more people will spend an eternity in a place not called heaven than those who do. New Light, far more people will spend an eternity in a place not called heaven than those who will.

Now, let’s read these verses from the Amplified Bible. It reads, “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 don’t want to rush pass the depth of understanding that the Amplified brings out in these two verses. It says the wide gate is “spacious and broad.” When a room or place is spacious and broad, there are fewer things that get in the way that restrict us and keep us from doing what we want to do. In other words, the wide gate gives a person the freedom to move about and do as they please. They live their lives based on what they believe is best for them. But for those who enter the narrow gate, there is pressure on it that makes it contracts. What is the pressure? It’s the standard that Jesus has set for the narrow gate, which includes following Him and His Word. The Bible is the standard for how we are to live and it is the centerpiece of the narrow gate and that’s why it leads to life. For the person who enters the wide gate, they are their own standard for how they are to live and that’s why their lives are headed for destruction, for an eternity without Jesus. I know I have spent several minutes on this, but it was imperative for me to do so. New Light, all of us must understand this as our eternity depends on it. So, let’s continue to see this from another perspective.