Warnings are very important. If your smoke detector goes off, it’s giving you a warning. If the lights on the dash of your car, or truck comes on, it’s a warning that something needs to be given attention. Sometimes those lights don’t mean a thing. You
may have driven a car for years and a warning light stays on whether the car is running okay, or not. It’s like the fire alarm where I work....when it comes on you don’t know whether to leave the building or stay. We’ve had so many false alarms. So you have to
make a decision whether to believe the alarm and take appropriate action, or to disregard the alarm and go on with your business.
There are warnings in the Bible. Every person must make a decision to believe the warnings and take the appropriate action. There is a warning given by Jesus in Matthew 7. It is a warning to folks who really think they are okay. There are millions of folks who really believe they are safe from the coming judgment. They have a false sense of security. It’s like when that huge oceanliner, the Titantic, was struck by an iceberg. It was a matter of a few hours and it would sink to the bottom of the ocean. Many people rejected the lifeboats thinking that they were more secure on the Titantic than the
lifeboats.
Matthew 7:13-28
7:13 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:
7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth
good fruit.
7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
7:21 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.
7:22 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?
7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
7:25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
7:26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
7:27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
7:28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
7:29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
In this last part of the chapter, we see the description of two ways, two types of people, two destinations, two gates, two kinds of trees, two kinds of fruit, two foundations with two kinds of builders. When it comes to making a choice as to where you spend eternity, there are only two options. It is heaven, or it is hell. A third option is not given.
When it comes to choosing the way to get to heaven, there is only two options. There is the right way, and then there is the wrong way. American culture does not want to accept this. Burger King caught on to what
Americans like so they came up with a catchy phrase, “have it your way”. When it comes to making preparation for heaven, you can’t do it your way. It is either God’s way, or it is the wrong way.
Jesus says in verse 13 “Enter by the narrow gate: for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.”
I. There are two roads people are traveling to go to heaven: the BROAD way, and the NARROW way.
No one purposely gets on the road that leads Hell. Everyone thinks they are on the right road. If they really believe they’re on the wrong road, they would do something about it.
Proverbs 16:25 There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
The road to Hell is not labeled “Hell”. It is labeled “Heaven”. Man thinks he is on the
right road, but actually he is heading toward the place of eternal destruction. It is called the Broad Way, because there are so many people on this road.
Look at vv.13,14, there will be more people going to Hell, than there will be going to Heaven. Some people think the majority is always right, but in this case the majority is going to Hell. That majority includes the hardened sinner, the drunkard, the fornicator, the idolator, the homosexual, and it includes the religious person who is depending upon their own righteousness. Hell is full of what the world would consider “good” people. The moral
person, the generous person, the good neighbor, the friendly person, that good-nature person, that person who is basing their acceptance with God on their own good merits.
It is called the Broad Way, because it will allow anything, and anyone to travel it. You can carry all kinds of baggage with you. You can carry any sin. You don’t have to give up a thing. You can come just as you are, and not make any changes. There is no
repentance on the Broad Way! No Life Changes have to be made. Anything, and anyone is allowed, no exceptions! That’s the way of the world. We have room for everyone, except for one person. It was made plain in Bethelehem. When Jesus was born, there
was no room in the inn. This world has no room for Jesus.
Yet, on the broad way...everything else is allowed. The promoters of the Broad Way says..You can make a profession of faith in Christ and hang on to your sins. You don’t have to change anything!!!
The Narrow Way is narrow because there is only ONE entrance to heaven.
There is Only one entrance into the portals of Heaven.
John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.’”
John 10:9 “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me,he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” There are not 2 doors, or 3 doors or 5 doors, there is only one.
It is not a Baptist door, or a Church of Christ door, it is a JESUS DOOR!
Will there be any exceptions? Will there be any loopholes? No exceptions! No Loopholes! No way to get around this one!
John 10:1 “Truly, truly I say to you,he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber.”
It is Narrow because it is a difficult way....v.14 “difficult is the way”
It is difficult because the flesh cannot enter into it. You can’t bring the unconverted life into heaven. See Matthew 19:16-24 The rich man went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Jesus said “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
He held tightly to his riches. He held tightly to his possessions. Millions of people turn from Christ because they will not turn lose of their lives. They will not surrender to the control of God in their lives. They do not want to give up! The rich man did not offer to give up a small portion of what he had. It would have done no good. Jesus did not ask
for a small portion. The rich young man knew what Jesus required. Jesus required 100% surrender. Jesus will not save you when you bargain with only a 25% surrender, or a 50%, or 90% surrender. The rich man did not ride the fence and try to bargain for
both...Jesus did not provide a fence. You can’t be a fence sitter when it comes to following Jesus. Jesus demands a total commitment, a better word is SURRENDER! I surrender all!
Jesus said it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. We live in a country of wealth-- One of the richest nations in the world. We value our possessions, money, our things, our toys, our time, our
vacations, our families, our homes. Until we are willing to surrender all that we have, all that we value to Christ, we cannot be His follower.
The Broad Way promoters say you can be saved, and still have all you desire of this world. They say you don’t have to give up anything! That’s the reason why many folks are joining up with this popular religion.....It promises health, wealth, pleasures,
prosperity and heaven too. That is not the gospel according to Jesus!
Holding on to this world will send your soul to Hell! That’s the gospel according to Jesus!
Luke 9:23-25 “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. 24 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. 25 For what is a
man profited if he gains the whole world,and loses or forfeits himself?”
II. There are 2 kinds of teachings that promote the Broad and Narrow way:
One is bad fruit from a bad tree, and the other is good fruit from a good tree.
The false prophet is dressed up like a true shepherd. He wears the clothing of a shepherd. Shepherds wear the sheep’s clothing. The false prophet is not interested in helping the sheep like the shepherd, he is a ravenous wolf. He comes to devour, misuse and abuse the sheep. How do you know if he is a false prophet? Check out his fruit, or his teaching.
What is he teaching? Here is what he is teaching...that the broad way is the correct way.
The false prophet says you don’t have to give up anything because that’s too cruel. Have
it your way!
You will know a false prophet by their fruits. The fruit is what they are teaching.
2Timothy 4:3-4 “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires. and they will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.”
False teachers deny the Bible as the Inspired, innerant Word of God. False teachers deny
the existence of a literal burning Hell. False teachers deny Christ as the only Way to
escape Hell and enter the kingdom of Heaven.
The good teaching is from Christ. (See Matthew 7:28-29) His teaching is authoritative. His teaching is what we have in the Word of God! His teaching is what will judge us on judgment day. His teaching is what we should pay close attention to, and be diligent to
obey. His teaching is the will of the Father in heaven. (see v.21) God’s will is not just to
be heard, admired, and discussed. It is to be followed and pursued by an obedient heart.
See vv.21-23
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. You can read the Bible, or hear it being read. You can even say you believe it, and that it is God’s Word, but if you do not do the will
of My Father in heaven, how can you say you are going to heaven? If you don’t do what this book says, how can you say you are going to heaven? Jesus says it is the person who works iniquity, or practices lawlessness who will be kept out of heaven. A Christian will certainly sin, and do wrong, but what Jesus is saying......the person who has an unbroken
pattern of sin, rebellion, and are continually breaking God’s laws they are not going to
heaven.
There are many people who do not live for Jesus, they live for themselves. The Bible is not a part of their life. Prayer is not a part of their life. Church is not a part of their life. Witnessing for Jesus is not part of their life. Living for Jesus is not in their daily routine.
But many of these same people believe that just because they walked an aisle one time, or they came forward in a church service, and were baptized, or they attended church that that makes them saved. THERE IS NOTHING IN THE BIBLE where a person’s
salvation is proven by looking back to some time in the past when you made a profession
of faith. You can tell a tree by it’s fruit. Look at the fruit. What’s going on in your life today?
We know that once a person is saved, they do not loose salvation. Jesus said in John 10:28 “and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.” What about a person who claims to have been saved, but now they live continually out of God’s will? If they are saved, they will receive chastisement according to Hebrews 12 and they will either leave this world early, or get right with God. If not, they were never saved in the first place. They only made a false
surrender to Christ.
III. The two foundations vv. 24-27
1. The house represents a human life.
We will either stand or fall. Our house, our soul will either be eternally safe, or eternally
doomed. It all depends upon what kind of foundation we have. That’s why you need to prepare to meet God now. You can’t wait on that final day to get things all prepared.
2. The rain represents divine judgment. Just as the rain came down in Noah’s Day to bring in a global flood of jugment, there is coming a judgment for every person. Noah was not harmed by the rains and the flood. He is an excellent example of how everyone should be prepared.
3. The foundation that stands is one that is obedient to God’s Word. The wise man built his house upon a Rock. He was on a solid foundation. He heard the
words of the Lord, and He was obedient to the Lord’s Word. The floods came, the winds blew and beat upon his house but it did not fall.
The foolish man built his house on the sand. He heard the words of the Lord, but he did not put it into practice. The floods came, winds blew and beat upon his house. It fell. And great was its fall.
That foolish man could scream to the top of his lungs all day long about how much he believe in God, and how much he believed God’s Word, and he could holler “I believe, I believe, I believe” everyday and every year of his life. Until he puts into practice what
God says, all that he says from his mouth doesn’t mean a thing. YOU ONLY BELIEVE WHAT YOU PUT INTO PRACTICE.
Noah believed God. Noah didn’t just stand around and claim how much he believed God. Noah didn’t give all lip service to his faith in God. Noah put faith into practice.
What did Noah do? The Bible says in Hebrews 11 “he prepared an ark to the saving of his house..” Noah had a solid foundation to stand on when the floods of jugment came.
The Bible says in James 2:14 “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? v.17 “Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”
Here is the warning from our Lord. You may say to the Lord one day, “But God, look, I really believed in You. I went to church. I walked the aisle one Sunday. I made a profession of faith. I even sung in the choir. I taught Sunday School class. I pastored a
church. I helped to build a building for the church. I’ve done many wonderful works.
But Jesus will say, You practiced a life of wickedness. Your lips may have spoken my
name on Sunday. Your feet may have carried you to the church house on Sunday, but your heart was far from me. You never really loved me. You had no desire to live for me. You only gave outward signs of being a believer. Inside you were empty. You did not have love for people. You did not have a love for the Bible. You did not have a heart that wanted to really worship me. You never wanted to share Me with others that they too might become a Christian. I saw those times when you were so happy when the church service was dismissed so you could watch a movie on TV. Your life was full of gossipping all the time. You had great pleasure in running people down. You smiled
everytime you heard of someone getting caught up in some sexual scandal. Your life was full of lust. You constantly looked at other women. You constantly gazed upon pornographic material. You did sing a few times in church, but your heart was really on
worldly music. You would rather attend a Blue Grass festival, or a Rock Concert, or the Grand Old Opry rather than listening and singing praises to My Name. The Bible had no place in your life. Outwardly, you gave some signs of being a believer, but in your heart
you had no room for Me. We never fellowshipped. You did not have a love for Me. You only lived for your self.
2Cor 13:5
Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
Jesus is not promoting a salvation by works. We do not do all the above things to earn, or merit salvation. When we have truly trusted Jesus, and Jesus alone, by faith alone, by grace alone to save us, there will be evidence of obedience to God’s Word.
There will be evidence of repentance--a turning from sin and a turning to God.
The storms of judgment are coming. The warning is plain! Where will you stand on that
final day? Are you trusting totally in Jesus for salvation? Is your house upon the foundation of a Rock.
Jesus is that Rock. Jesus told Peter in Matthew 16:18 “...on this rock I will build My
church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.”
The rock is refering to Peter’s confession that He believed upon Jesus as the Son of God.
That rock is not good works, it is not personal righteousness that we have, it is not baptism, church membership, or a church affliation, or denomination. That Rock is Jesus! Are you standing on Jesus? Is your faith totally in Him?
If so, then that means you will surrender to His Lordship. That means you will desire His Word, the Bible. That means you will want to follow Him. That means you will want to serve Him and Worship Him and Witness of Him to others. That means you will
want to give of your time, your talents, your money to further His work in your life and in the life of His church. That means you will want to support His church...by loving the fellowship, loving the brethren, supporting one another in prayer and not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. That means, we submit to the ordinances of the church, such as baptism, and the Lord’s Table. That means, we submit to one another in the fear of the Lord.
We will never be perfect, and without sin until Jesus comes. We are just not perfect..yet.
But if we truly are believers in Jesus, there should be some evidence of that.
If you have never trusted Jesus to save you and to make you His child, Jesus says in the
Word of God...
Come unto me, and I will give you Rest.
You don’t have to carry those sins one day longer.
You don’t have to be an unbeliever any longer.
You don’t have to be outside of God’s family any longer.
