The Road Less Traveled

Matthew 7:13,14

The Road Less Traveled

On the outskirts of particular town there was a big

old hickory tree located inside a cemetery alongside the fence of the cemetery. One day two boys were filling up a bucket with hickory nuts as they sat down by that tree. One of the boys said, “One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me,” as they were counting out the hickory nuts a few of them spilled out and rolled down toward the fence.

Now another boy was riding along the road on his bicycle. As he passed, he thought he heard voices from inside the cemetery. He slowed down to investigate. Sure enough, he heard, “One for you, one for me. One for you and one for me.” Well, he just knew what it was. He said, “Oh my! It’s Satan, and the Lord dividing the souls at the cemetery.”

He jumped back on his bike and rode off. Just around the bend he met an old man with a cane, hobbling along. The boy said, “Come here quick! You won’t believe what I just heard. Satan and the Lord are down at the cemetery dividing up the souls.”

The man doubted what he’d heard but figured he’d teach the boy about lying, and so he hobbled over to the cemetery. Standing outside by the fence they both heard the voice: “One for you, one for me. One for you and one for me.”

The old man whispered, “Boy, you’ve been telling the truth! Let’s see if we can see the devil himself.” Shaking with fear, they peered through the fence, yet were still unable to see anything. The old man and the boy gripped the iron bars of the fence tighter and tighter as they tried to get a glimpse of Satan.

At last they heard, “One for you, one for me; one for you and one for me. Now, let’s go get those nuts by the fence, and we’ll be done.” They say the old man beat the boy back to town!

It’s a silly old story but a reminder that, choosing is something that is unavoidable.

At the grocery store some people prefer paper sacks and some prefer plastic. Using a card, some choose credit, some choose debit. Some see a glass half-full and others see a glass half-empty.

As Jesus was nearing the end of His sermon on the mount, he takes up the matter of choosing. He mentions two roads that every man must choose between. The two roads lead to two different destinations.

Everyone may be divided up into one category or

the other. Every person in this room, every person listening to this message, every little boy and little girl, every young person, every mom and every dad, every person in Wilkes county, every person in the world is either going down one road or the other.

Now we’ll take a few minutes this morning and talk about each of these ways. There are some truths for us to learn about the broad way and the narrow way.

I. A FUNDAMENTAL DIVISION

As Jesus talked about these two ways He thought of all mankind in one of two groups. We often divide people in groups due to nationality, color of skin, social standing, education, etc. When it came to dividing people Jesus used neither of these factors. He divided people based on spiritual standards.

We see the division of all mankind in the words "many" (Vs. 13) and "few" (Vs. 14). Every person in this place is either in the "many" or the "few." The fact is all of mankind is one or the other. It matters not the color of ones skin or what your social standing, each person is either in the "many" or they are in the "few."

A. The MANY represent those that have REFUSED Christ

The "many" are those who have never been saved. The word "many" would imply that the majority in this world are in this class.

In this “many” there are many divisons of people. It is made up of depraved people. Among this crowd are those who favor the pleasures of sin and follow the paths of sin.

According to a CBS News report, more than $10 billion is spent each year in the U.S. on adult entertainment and pornography. In the U.S. there is more than $128 billion spent on alcoholic drinks. Our society is marked by indulgence, sensuality, and immorality.

This crowd is also made up of decent people. Not everyone in the “many” is sin and pleasure crazy. There are many in this “many” that are good, honest, moral and decent people. Some of the finest people you would ever meet are in this group. They are hard working employees, good neighbors, and outstanding citizens.