Fix Your Path
Matthew 7:13-23
Intro. One day when mom asked little Johnny what he’d learned about in Bible school he replied that they had studies Enoch. What did you learn about Enoch? Mom asked. Well, Enoch and God used to walk together every day. And they walked longer and longer and one day, they got to looking around and God said, “Enoch, it’s getting late and we’re closer to my house than we are to yours so why you just come on home with me today?” Don’t you wonder what it was like to walk with God? Adam did it, Abraham did it and Enoch did it. Jesus tells us how to walk with God here at the end of the sermon on the mount. It’s time to extend the invitation on the Sermon on the Mount and Jesus decides to make it very plain. You’ve heard this good teaching, now what are you going to do with it? Are you going to be like Emperor Severus that we talked about last week? Remember he thought the Golden Rule was so good that everyone ought to follow it, but he never became a Christian himself? You can do that with good teaching. You can try to be a good person without being a Christian. And we all know good people that aren’t Christians. But Jesus makes it clear that there are only two choices. He says in Matthew 17:13-14 “ 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. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” I am struck by several things in these two verses There’s an easy way and a difficult way, did you catch that? It’s easy to go with the flow. You might even hear people say, “So many people can’t be wrong, can they?” Ask Noah that question, and he’ll ask you how long you can tread water. Look at this folks, Jesus says that most people are headed the wrong direction. As a general rule, people won’t be Christians. So don’t follow this world! It’s headed in the wrong direction.
Another thing that I am struck by is that there is a significant difference between the broad way and the narrow way. Not just in where they lead, but even in the way they are traveled. That means that there is a difference between Christians and the world even as they live out their lives right now, not just in where they will spend eternity. If there is no difference between us and the world, then perhaps we haven’t found the narrow way. There are lots of people in church today who don’t want to hear this. But how is it that we believe that we can dress like the world, talk like the world, think like the world, conduct business like the world, serve the dollar and cut corners like the world, cheat and lie about it like the world, watch movies and listen to music like the world and then tell the world that we are different? Folks, you can’t walk on the broad path and secretly serve God. That’s the plain and honest truth. There is a way that is difficult to travel and few people find it. Have you ever wondered about that? Doesn’t it sound like the way to eternal life is this tiny secret path that is almost impossible to find? And unless you happen to be one of the lucky ones who stumbles across it, then it’s just tough for you. Certainly we have all wondered about those people who die without hearing the Gospel. Maybe we’ve even wondered about our own faith and whether or not we have missed some important piece of truth. I don’t have the definitive answer to those questions, but I do know that Jesus has just finished promising that if you seek, you will find. If we honestly seek to follow the Lord, then we will find that narrow way. Perhaps there aren’t many who find it because there aren’t many who seek it.
Jesus says that Christianity is hard work. Don’t get me wrong, the rewards are worth it, He covers that, too, but it’s tough. Did you notice that he says the narrow way is difficult? Don’t let anybody lie to you and tell you that Christianity is the easiest thing you’ll ever do. I hope, after all the time we have spent on the Sermon on the Mount and talking about the lifestyle Jesus expects from us that you don’t have any false ideas that the road is easy. If you aren’t prepared to give up the world and traveling on that broad and easy way, then you aren’t prepared to go through the narrow gate.
But you know, there are a lot of people out there who will tell you otherwise. They will tell you that the Christian life is the easiest life to live. They will tell you that if you will just give your heart to God, He will bless you with everything you need in this life. Jesus knew that there would be people who would try to sell Christianity as cheap and easy and he warned his listeners about them. Read with me as we look at verses 15- 20. “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” How can I tell false teaching from good teaching? By the fruit of the teacher. When you want to evaluate a teacher, look at his life. A good man will have good fruit and an evil man will have bad fruit. Speaking as one who teaches this makes me study and work hard. I can read what happens to those who teach false doctrine and I don’t want that to be me. Your lifestyle must match your message. Isn’t that the whole point of the Sermon on the Mount? Aren’t these false teachers the people we talked about earlier who want to walk down the broad path and still claim to follow Christ? This is why we listen to great Christians, because their life makes us want to learn from them. Jesus says that we should guard our lives carefully.
Incidentally, this is also why you won’t hear me name names from this pulpit and call down hellfire and brimstone on certain individuals or groups. The way I read, the gardener takes care of the bad trees. It’s my job to be a good tree and bear good fruit. I will oppose false teaching, but it is not my job to remove trees from the garden. Jesus makes it very clear that God takes care of punishing those people, not me. I am, at most, licensed to be a fruit inspector, not a tree killer.
Just in case you wondered, Jesus makes it very clear that our job is to take care of our own lives. He talked about two paths and two trees, now he makes it plain that you can’t have it both ways. You can’t straddle the fence. Read 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. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ’Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 "And then I will declare to them, ’I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” Do you see what Jesus is saying here? Good people will not go to heaven. Only saved people will go to heaven. Lots of people are counting on their way of life to get them into heaven. They truly believe that they are good people, and most of them are good people. But Jesus says only perfect people go to Heaven. They will say, But Jesus, we’ve followed your rules, we’ve tried to live like a Christian and he will say, you lived outside my law. You followed some of my rules because you wanted to. The only people who get into heaven are those who followed my rules because I am the Lord of their life. You see, if you live a good life outside of Jesus Christ, you still won’t be perfect. And if you’ve never been baptized into His blood, then what will cover those imperfections in your life? I know you may not have many, but it only takes one unforgiven sin to keep you from heaven. You know, it’s interesting that Jesus mentioned specifically the gate to this narrow path. That’s where you get on the path, where the path begins. That’s what a lot of people have trouble with. But Jesus himself said, Mark 16:16
“He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” Baptism is the narrow gate to the narrow road. In every instance where people decide to come to Jesus and obey his teaching, they are told to be baptized or that is the first thing they do. Have you been baptized? Have you been trying to live according to God’s rules without being washed in the blood? The narrow gate is the easy part. Don’t make it difficult. It’s the road after the gate that is hard. Trust the promise of God and be baptized. If you started the narrow path and got off then you can get back on. If, for whatever reason, your life is not right with God this morning, you have a wonderful opportunity. This is an exit ramp from the road that leads to destruction. I don’t know how many more there will be. This is the invitation of Jesus, not me. I am merely here to give it to you. But Jesus invites you to start walking the narrow road this morning.
