Living in the Kingdom 21
Scripture: Matthew 7:13-14; 15:18-19; Romans 6:1-7; 12-18
This is part two of the message I started last week. If you recall from last Sunday, Matthew 7:13-14 says, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” I told you on last Sunday that Jesus makes it clear that there will be more people going to a place not called heaven than there will be going to heaven. The reason that will happen is because man has the freedom to choose their final destination based on the choices that they make. Our lives here on earth are temporary. Regardless of the number of years we spend here, it is temporary. As we live our temporary lives we make decisions that give us temporary pleasures. How ever pleasurable these decisions may be, they are and always will be temporary. In our making of these temporary decisions, we fail to realize that they will ultimately lead to an everlasting final destination. We live temporary lives, making temporary decisions for temporary pleasures leading to a gate that’s eternal and may or may not be the one leading to “resting in peace” as we like to say. Last week we read Matthew 7:13-14 from the Amplified Bible. In the description of the narrow gate, it read, “the gate is narrow (contracted by pressure)…” This morning I will review some of the pressures that make this gate so narrow. I am doing this not because I think any of you are living in sin and are on your way to hell, but because all of us probably know someone who is and as Christians we should be doing something to help them – especially if they believe they are going to heaven simply because they have been baptized.
We are living in a time in world history where the idea of sin is up for interpretation in the minds of many in the Church. Understand, I did not say in the minds of those living in sin; I said in the minds of those who are supposed to understand what sin is and how God interprets it and how He responds to it. You see, the understanding of sin, what it is and what it isn’t, is the one thing that all of us must understand if we are to enter into the narrow gate. The idea of sin has always been the issue and it always will be. And because no one wants to accuse a “good, caring person” of living in sin because in our eyes, they truly are a good and caring person, so we do not discuss it. And because some things are no longer considered sin, if you are in the minority and say that something is sin, you’re talked about, called named and are subject to having people labeling you a bigot or “holier than thou” and the like. I read an article this week that in one large U.S. Protestant denomination 70 churches in one state disaffiliated from the denomination because of the issue of same-sex relationships. Those who believed it should be accepted chose to leave when the majority decided to stay with the traditional interpretation of marriage. What is interesting is that when the leadership of this denomination took their vote, most of the leadership in the U.S. voted against the traditional view but were overridden by the number of votes from African and Philippian nations. Had the vote been taken only in the U.S., this denomination would have made a different decision relating to same-sex relationships. This message is not a message about same-sex relationships, but I call this out because this particular issue for the Church is totally based on how those in the Church are interpreting what the Bible says and how the Church at large is slowly drifting away from God. And it further establishes the point of what Jesus says about the gates. Which gate we enter is determined by our interpretation of what sin is or what sin is not. Jesus said clearly, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” (John 14:15) We cannot keep His commandments if we do not agree with them or believe that they have been misinterpreted. This is why I keep reminding you of Proverbs 14:12 which says, “There is a way which seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” The only “right” way is what the Bible says, but it is the responsibility of each individual to believe it for him or herself.
So let’s examine some “life journeys” that will lead to the narrow gate versus those that will lead to the wide gate. I use the word “journeys” because the word itself means “a trip or expedition from one place to another.” We are all in one place now (here on earth) and we are journeying to another place. The gate we will enter at our final destination is based on the decisions we make along our journey – and I am not just talking about the decision to accept Christ and be baptized. I am talking about the decisions we make after we have accepted Christ and been baptized. This will become much clearer in the next couple of weeks. But remember that everything Jesus said in this sermon was written to those who had chosen to follow Him. What we will discuss in the final messages of this series is proof positive that He was talking to Christians – people who think they are going through the narrow gate, but are living in ways that will cause them to end up at the wide gate. If you are wondering how someone could be confused on which gate they are headed for, let review a few Scriptural references and reduce the confusion.
Christians know that the Bible says any type of sexual immorality is sinful and will lead to hell if the person does not repent and stop the sin. It does not matter how “good” they are or how much they attend Church or how much they put into the offering plate, sexual immorality is wrong and has long-term consequences. It does not matter how you choose to define it. Dating is not fornication. Fornication is having sex outside of marriage. So please do not get this twisted and think that Jesus is okay with anyone having sex outside of marriage as long as you are in a “committed” relationship. This was not acceptable to Him then and neither is it acceptable to Him now – regardless of how we have normalized it! Jesus said in Matthew 15:18-19, “18. But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. 19. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.” Jesus lists several things that can defile us and we must note that if we are defiled because of one of these sins, we will not be entering the narrow gate. How do I know this? Because the Bible tells us that grace covers our defilement (sin) when we accept Christ as our personal Savior and leave behind, stop doing, things that we were defiling us.
This initial cleansing happens when we truly accept Christ and began living according to His will – walking away from things that we were so comfortable doing before. We have a change in thinking and a change in lifestyle. This is the first contrast of the two gates. Those entering the narrow gate understand that they should not be sinning and when they do fall short they immediately feel bad, repent and take steps to avoid the sin in the future. This is important because in Revelation 21:1-2 the Apostle John wrote, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.” The Apostle John was allowed to see what was coming – the new heaven, the new earth and the New Jerusalem. But I want you to see who he said would never enter it. Revelation 21:27 says, “And nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.” We cannot live defiled lives and expect to enter heaven. That would include those who practice abominations, liars, etc. Only those whose names are found in the Book of Life shall enter. Only those who enter through the narrow gate will enter.
Before I go further, some have questioned if what the Apostles wrote pertaining to sin was “their” interpretation or was it what Jesus really meant. John writes in First John 1:3-4 the following: “What we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4. These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.” So, when John wrote “no one who practices abomination…” would ever enter the New Jerusalem, he was casting a broad net and, this is important, he also was writing what Jesus told him to write. The word “abomination” is any behavior that is immoral, disgusting and shameful. If you read the Old Testament, you will find several things that are listed as abominations to God. What is important to note is that the Bible says God does not change so if it was an abomination then, it’s an abomination now. Here are just a few examples that further illustrate why the narrow gate is so “contracted by pressure”:
Leviticus 18:22: “You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination.” Living a homosexual lifestyle is sin. There are many in the Church who refuse to accept homosexuality as sin, especially if they have family and friends who are involved in that lifestyle.
Proverbs 6:16-19: “16. There are six things which the LORD hates, yes, seven which are an abomination to Him. 17. Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood. 18. A heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil. 19. A false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers.” It’s interesting to me that the first abomination is pride, which is a heart issue. A person walking in pride is not walking with God. Now, look at the other abominations that follow pride. The Lord hates the person who is will tell a lie when it’s to their benefit, and the person who is willing to kill the innocent, the guiltless for their own personal desires. The Lord also hates the person who purposefully prepares to do wicked things and takes pleasure in evil. He also hates the person who is willing to lie, even under oath and the person who sows strife and division. I understand that this is found in the book of Proverbs, but do you think God feels any differently about them today?
Proverbs 17:15: “He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous, both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD.” This verse also reminds me of what is written in Isaiah 5:20 – “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” Are we not seeing this playing out in our country today?
Proverbs 28:9: “He who turns away his ear from listening to the law, even his prayer is an abomination.” When we reject the parts of the Bible that don’t fit our personal belief system, we are in rebellion to God and our prayers will not be answered. We see a similar principle in the next verse.
Ezekiel 18:24: "But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity and does according to all the abominations that a wicked man does, will he live? All his righteous deeds which he has done will not be remembered for his treachery which he has committed and his sin which he has committed; for them he will die.” This is an Old Testament verse that actually speaks against the belief of “once saved always saved.”
These are just a few examples as there are over 100 Scriptural verses that used the terms abomination(s). I chose the above verses because they truly speak to what is in the heart of man. We are seeing today so many righteous people saying what the Bible says and are being vilified in the social media because what they are saying goes against what society now finds acceptable. Proverbs 17:15 truly speaks to this behavior as an abomination to God. But if you truly believe that the sins you commits after accepting Christ does not matter, you need to meditate on what was recorded in Ezekiel 18:24. Our lives are serious and the decisions we make are likewise extremely serious and have eternal-altering consequences.
Now, although the Word says all of this, the wide gate continues to draw many people. People going through the wide gate truly believe that they are still “sinners saved by grace” and therefore all of their past, present and future sins are covered because they are “saved.” They do not feel bad nor have a sense of urgency to stop living in sin because they are already covered by the blood. However, this is what Paul said about the topic of continuing in sin because you’re covered by grace. “1. What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2. May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? 3. Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4. Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6. knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7. for he who has died is freed from sin.” (Romans 6:1-7) If we died with Christ and was resurrected with Him (and we were when we got saved) we were freed from sin! If we continue to sin, we are no different that the Hebrew Christians. The writer of Hebrews writes “How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?” (Hebrews 10:29)
Paul also wrote later in Romans 6, “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, 13. and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. 15. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! 16. Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? 17. But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, 18. and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.” (Romans 6:12-18) In verse fifteen Paul asked the question about continuing in sin because they were no longer under the law but under grace. The answer was absolutely not! Why? Because he said the one we are serving (righteousness or sin) that is the one that is our master. If sin is my master then I am defiled and will not be going through the narrow gate – no matter how many sermons I preach in my lifetime. If you are going through the narrow gate, sin is not your friend. Sin is not your master. If you are going through the wide gate, then sin is just that, something we were born into, continue in, and something we cannot overcome in our flesh. But when you read what Paul said, does his statement agree with this belief?
I want you to pay close attention to what Paul wrote to the Church in Corinth. He said, “9. I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; 10. I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. 11. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler, not even to eat with such a one.” (First Corinthians 5:9-11) Paul told the Corinthians not to associate with “so-called brothers” who were immoral. These were people who called themselves Christians but were living immoral lives as evidenced by their sin, false worship, drinking, cheating, etc. Not only did Paul say not associate with someone like this, he said do not even sit down and eat with them. If we followed this rule there would be many Church dinners with half the attendees because many “so-called” Christians would fall into this category when you examine how they are living. These so-called Christians are on the road to the wide gate and they do not even realize it! But Paul did not stop there!
In the sixth chapter of First Corinthians Paul lays out an extensive list of activities Christians are doing all while thinking they are going to heaven. He makes it perfectly clear in this list that the Christians doing these things will not be entering the narrow gate, but will be entering the wide gate. This is what he said in the sixth chapter, “9. Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10. nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” (First Corinthians 6:9-11) Paul gives a list full of activities that purely fall under the term “self-gratification.” He speaks not only of perverse sexual sins (any sexual contact outside of the marriage between a man and woman) but also include those who steal, drinks to excess, cheaters, and those living lascivious lifestyles. What is interesting is that he said in verse eleven “Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” He said that some of them had participated in these activities but they had been washed, sanctified and justified. You see, they had been washed, sanctified and justified which is past tense and therefore completed. They no longer needed this because they have no longer been doing these things! When he said, “Such were some of you….” he was stating a fact that a person used to do those things but had stopped. A person entering the narrow gate is not doing these things any longer because they had been washed, sanctified and justified.
Jude said the following in Jude 4. He said, “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” When you read the entire book of Jude you will see this is what we are seeing today. Jude continues by saying, “6. And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, 7. just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.” (Jude 6-7) He references the angels who chose to rebel against God and were cast out of heaven likened the situation of what happened with Sodom and Gomorrah which were destroyed because of their sexual immorality. Then he writes, “17. But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, 18. that they were saying to you, ‘In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.’ 19. These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit. 20. But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21. keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.” (Jude 17-21) Jude says the Church, as we are seeing today, will be infiltrated with people who will be following their own ungodly lusts and thus cause divisions because they are worldly-minded and devoid of the Spirit. Instead of self-restraint these so-called Christians lived lascivious lives. They justified it as the “freedom of the children of God.” From the very times of the apostles there have been those who held the belief that what was sin to others might be permitted to the sanctified. They asserted that the spirit on the inside was not defiled by the sins of the body. Therefore sin was restricted to the flesh only and had no impact on the spirit and thus the spirit would always be saved regardless of what was done in the flesh. Are we not witnessing this today? Are we not seeing divisions amongst the Church as it relates to worldly issues? Jude warns us of this day coming and tells us to keep ourselves in the love of God. And how do we do this? By keeping His commandments!
Jesus said that there will be more people going to hell than there are going to heaven and yet we believe most people that we know and like are going to heaven – REGARDLESS OF HOW THEY LIVE! We believe if a person is a “good” person then they must be going to heaven. Jesus, followed by the apostles, made it clear that those practicing sin will not enter into heaven. Why is this so? It’s because God has made a way for us. We do not have to “stumble”, we choose to. Jude 24 says, “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy….” Jesus is able to keep us from stumbling and make us stand in the presence of His glory if we make the choice to allow Him to. So which gate will you enter – not which gate you are planning or hoping to enter? You can know today, right now which gate you will enter. Do not miss this opportunity to be sure.
Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
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