This morning, we have Pastor Ryan Bevin with us, Pastor Josh's older brother, and he doesn't have an NIL deal with Just for Men, but no, just kidding. He likes to joke with pastor on that, but you will be blessed by his preaching of the Word this morning. He went and started the church in Chillicothe in 2003, and Pastor Josh worked for him for five years. I'm sure you can share some stories on that. But make Pastor Ryan feel welcome as he comes this morning. Amen. Well, you see, I saw him at that Just for Men that Josh has been using.
You know, Pastor Josh has been using. Well, you tease him. We're about three years apart. He got everything I didn't get. He got the height, got the good looks, everything else. You know, he got some genetics I didn't get, but I've been teasing him every time I see him or preach here or something that it was definitely something that he's helping because we both come from the same gene pool. So he should look like this, right?
But whatever he's using, he doesn't look like this, all right? I do have three years on him, but you are blessed to have Brother Josh and Sister Candice and their family here. God has done a tremendous work, and we were so blessed to have them with us when God was moving on my wife and I's heart. We had just had our second child, and we moved to Chillicothe to plant the church there, Lighthouse Baptist Church, in 2003. Brother Josh and Sister Candice had just graduated from college, and they could have taken obviously many jobs somewhere in ministry, but felt led of the Lord to come and help us and be able to learn firsthand what it was like to start a church. So they moved over, bought this house.
It looked like something out of the hills of West Virginia, you know, and it was out in the booties. And so, but they lived there, just got secular jobs and worked and whatever that required helped with the church, set up, tear down, door knock, visit, lead the youth ministry. We always tease because when the youth ministry started, we were in this little hotel conference room and we just were renting it, and the youth ministry, our nursery started in what was kind of like a bar setting.
Our kids started in a phone booth, that's feasible to think about, a six by nine little phone booth area, and then our youth started in the closet, led by Brother Josh and Sister Candice. We're just glad they came out of the closet, amen, you know, and we finally moved them out of that. But they were there for over five years, and God getting a move on their heart.
You could only hold a tiger back so long, you know what I'm saying, and He couldn't stay in an assistant role forever. And so then in 2009, they came here and of course it's been a blessing to this city and community ever since, and God has done exceedingly abundantly above all we could think or ask, amen. I remember when we first started knocking doors over here, people said we don't need another church, another Baptist church in town, God has already provided enough, but I'd say today is pretty good evidence that somebody was wrong when somebody else was right, amen. And so we thank the Lord for that, for what He's done over these now 15 years, congratulations. It says a lot for your faithfulness, for God's grace and His mercy and His work of the Spirit, and we just trust that's just going to continue. We're excited for what God's done here and through here and your other ministries you've been able to help start, and looking forward to other works that you'll be able to be a part of to help start as well in the future.
So we kind of enjoy to be a sister church, and God has blessed our ministries there, blessed here and elsewhere, so thank you so much for letting me come and fill in. What a blessing it is to be able to, one, have rain today, amen. It was just not very long ago, we're all praying for rain, now we may be praying for it to hold up a little bit.
Lord, you might have blessed a little too much today. Anybody here been without power at all the last few days? Anybody still without power? All right, that's how I was. I mean, I was like trying to get ready this morning, we lost power.
Fortunately, our church had power, that was a blessing, but many in our area still without power as likewise here, but so many around the world, especially today in our country, really with the damaging effects from this, many lost their lives, and so we definitely need to remember those families in prayer today, and then just be grateful, amen. Sometimes when you're tempted to kind of gripe and complain, not have all the amenities, and oh, the internet doesn't work, and you think life's going to stop and cease as you know it, and then you realize, I said the other night, I said, what did our forefathers do when it got to this time? I mean, it's evening time, it's dark, and then my wife said, I think they just went to bed.
I think they just went to bed, all right? So anyway, what's good to be with you this morning? Go to Matthew 7 and verse number 13, and we're going to read two verses. We'll talk today about the way to heaven, so if you find your place there, I invite you to stand with me today to honor God's Word. Matthew 7 verse 13 and verse 14. So thankful we were yesterday trying to figure out, because the power, of course, for a time was out at the church, and so we're trying to figure out how to make the services work today and everything, so I'm so thankful that God saw fit to get the power back on, and we can all come and assemble in this manner in the way that we are. Matthew 7 verse 13 and 14, two very familiar verses, but I trust that today God will use this for the time that we are together this morning. Verse 13, 14, Matthew 7.
Enter ye in at the straight gate, for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in there at, because straight is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Let's pray today. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for your Word, we thank you for the rain, for the opportunity we can come, and yet even in a time like this where maybe it's not always easy to get ready and to come, and things kind of stand in our way, God we're blessed, and we count our blessings today, and sometimes with the loss of things we're reminded of the blessedness that you give us. I pray for all those around our country and our world that are hurting. Many have lost lives, and many others are really have lost their homes and everything, and so we just pray for their needs and that you administer to them through your body of Christ. We pray you touch every heart today, God as we preach about heaven and the way to life eternal, God that we would see that there is a way that leads to life, and there is a way that promises life but leads to death. God may we be able to see and discern the difference, and if there be any here today, or many that are without Christ, may this be the day they come to receive you, and also Lord for all of us as believers, may we recognize that there is a world who all mostly believe they're on their way to heaven, but the signs have been switched, and they're not on their way to heaven, and may we be propagators of this true gospel that they might see, hear, and believe in Christ's name, amen.
May be seated today. You know we live in a day where it's hard to ever hear the truth. There was a day it felt like you could listen to someone's word and pretty much believe it. Today I think when you think about news, and you think about social media, so much you really almost have to kind of take it tongue in cheek and say am I really hearing the truth, and so much today is no more just stating the facts, but it is jaded in propaganda and trying to slant a certain position or view, and so then the question comes where can we find truth, and you know you would think in these days and times that you could come to church and you could hear of truth, you know I think always the church house should always have been, and for many years was a beacon of truth, and upheld the light of the truth of God's word and of the gospel, but there's nothing like coming to church and not being able to hear truth, so much today where the truth of God's word has become watered down, has been diluted, and the word of God is not proclaimed and not being stated as it ought to be. Now understand today as we preach truth that we are always to love people, and when we love people we love them so much that we can only give them truth. Some people today think that if you give someone truth that you hate them, but to me hatred is telling someone a lie. If I love you I will speak the truth of God's word to you, and so clearly God's word is the truth that we must proclaim, and that is the most loving thing that we can do. Now there are passages in the Bible that are like John 3.16 right, those are kind of easy to hear, easy to take in, they're sweet sounding to our ears and they go down smooth, but there are other passages maybe that are a little bit more direct that may fall into the gospel messages that we may define as the hard sayings of Christ that may be a little more difficult to process, but it doesn't change the fact that God's word is the truth, and we are not called to preach parts of it but to proclaim the whole counsel of the word of God. And you are blessed to have a pastor who unashamedly and unapologetically proclaims the whole counsel of God's word. You don't know how blessed you are to have that.
That is truly a blessing. So many today don't want to tell the whole truth and want to water that down, and when you think about what is on the line, that the souls, the eternal souls of mankind hang in the balance, how important is it that we unashamedly with love, grace, and truth give the whole truth, give it as it is. I remember this quote, C.S. Lewis said he once went to hear a young parson deliver a sermon and very much an earnest young man ended his message like this, and now my friends, if you do not believe these truths, there may be for you grave eschatological consequences.
C.S. Lewis later visited a young minister and asked him, did you mean that they would be in danger of hell? Why yes, said the parson.
Lewis said, then why in the world didn't you say so? So often times today we find that to be the case. God's word will convict and convert, and it will tell us of God in the way of salvation and enriches us with all the promises of God for His children. Listen, it's better to be hurt from God's word and then be healed than to be comforted by a lie and then be killed.
So we need to hear what may hurt, what may not come down or may not swallow easily, but so often times that's the starting point. We have to get to the place where God tails up the soil, breaks us of our pride, gets us to the place where our soil is fertile, ready to receive. Now today we talk about the way to heaven, and when you talk about the way to heaven, it seems that everybody's going there. Everybody talking about heaven ain't going there.
We're going to see that very clearly today. Most everyone believes that they're going to make it, that all religions promise the same thing. You know the truth of the matter is, all religions espouse heaven. They all tell you this is the way to heaven. All road signs of religion would say heaven up ahead, but as Proverbs 14 verse 12 makes very clear, there is a way that's same as right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
We have to make sure that we are on the right road, that we are on the right path, the path that leads to life. Now we come to Matthew 7. Jesus is bringing a Sermon on the Mount to this point of exhortation. At this point, what should they do with what they've heard?
He's built to this crescendo. He's contrasted then in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5, 6 and 7, the false teachings of the Pharisees and scribes, the religious leaders of that day with His true constitution of Christianity. He's told them that now is the time for decision, to count the cost, to choose, to decide.
And as they did, they needed to consider the options. He's contrasting the good and true and right way with the false way that they were accustomed to and they had heard. Jesus is teaching yet again by way of contrast. And all throughout the Bible that is one of the chief ways that we find that the Word of God is able to teach us the way of wisdom, the way of folly. And so we see all throughout, that is the course, and now He comes to where He's calling us to a point of decision.
And He can't make it any clearer. He comes down and He says essentially, there aren't many ways, there are only two ways. And He gives us by contrast here, He shows us two gates, two ways, two travelers, two prophets, two fruits, two professions, two foundations that ultimately end up in two destinations. And as we think about this, we look at the straight and narrow way that the Savior is showing us. And remember something, this isn't merely to the irreligious crowd.
He preaches this message. He proclaims this sermon to those who were not merely irreligious, but to those who were likely more religious than anyone we've ever met. They had, many of which, memorized whole sections of the law. They had added so many criteria, so many additional teachings to what the law, the Word of God had declared.
They were more religious and Jesus had already said in Matthew 5 in verse 19 and 20 that if your righteousness doesn't exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees and the scribes, you're not going to enter in. And so He's already set the tone in a sense for the kind of righteousness that they had. And so please understand that this wasn't merely a contrast from those who are quote unquote religious to those who are God haters and are laying in a gutter this morning after being drunk in the bar last night. He is clearly showing to religious people that there are those who are religious who believe they're on the right way, but they're on the road that says heaven, but it doesn't end up there.
And it's a very different way. He's not merely showing the way of sin and then the way of salvation. He's showing the way of a works-based righteous system, self-righteousness that leads to death and the way of faith and grace and His way that leads to true salvation.
There was a salvation of works and there's a salvation of grace. Notice in Romans chapter 10 he highlights this in verses 1 down to verse number 4 when he talks about, or Paul talks about this. He says in Romans 10, 1, Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved. And he goes on to say in verse 2, For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. Verse 3, For they, being ignorant of God's righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. He says in verse number 4, For Christ, for Christ is the end of the law of righteousness to everyone that believeth.
He talked about the Jews that were there. And Paul said, my heart's desire is for these religious people to be saved. That they might come to the true knowledge of Jesus Christ. That they might find the true righteousness. And righteousness is to be as God is. To be as you ought to be.
To be as in a state as God is. And so they of their own accord did not submit themselves to God's way. They were zealous for that way, but they had a zeal that lacked knowledge. And they ultimately, as it said there in those verses, they failed to submit. They failed to come under God's way of righteousness.
They were ignorant of that way. And today I pray that you are not lacking knowledge of the way to heaven. Dear friend, what tragedy, what travesty it would be to live your entire life believing you were right with God. That you were religious.
That you sat in services like this. To wake up one day and think you're going to be in heaven and to find that one moment after you die and in hell is the next three words about your eternity. And in that moment it will be too late. So please take this message to heart. If you're uncertain of your salvation or if you're here today and you think about your lost loved ones and friends and co-workers and neighbors.
How many people are firmly convinced just like the Pharisees and scribes and Jesus obviously needed to teach and correct him as did Paul. Then the question comes today, doesn't everyone go to heaven? It sure seems that way. As though hell is only reserved for the devil and the fallen angels and the kind of quote unquote Adolf Hitler's of the world.
Is this really the case? Jesus gives in Matthew 7 here a very shocking message to all who would adhere to any that would take heed. Notice what Jesus says here that many refuse to come through him to enter life. That few will be the ones who find him. That come to him. That walk on the narrow way and make it to life eternal.
Yet notice the stark contrast. Yet many, most, the majority who will want and seek for heaven making attempts at religion and good works will not end up in life but will end up in destruction. So today we look at the way to heaven. I'm going to give you four thoughts. The first two gates, two ways, two groups and two destinations. We'll come to those one by one. First the two gates. Notice here the two gates. Now we read this and we often times think about this and we think about the two ways.
But you need to back up a little bit. People say, well I'm on the straight and narrow. And what we many times forget is it's not the straight and narrow.
That's not where it begins. It begins with the gate. And the gate, remember dear friend, is a point of entry.
It's a point of entry. Notice here there are two gates. Matthew 7, 13 he says, enter ye in at the straight gate. Again in verse 14 he opens and he says because straight is the gate. As we'll see in a moment we know what that gate to be. That gate to be none other than Jesus Christ.
And we'll come back to that. But notice here to begin with in verse 13 as we walk into these verses together we begin with the two gates. There's a straight gate and then we see as well there is a wide gate. When we think about this he says first enter. This is something you may never have given a lot of consideration to.
He starts with the word enter. That presupposes something. That you are not inside the gate. You are not naturally on the way. That you begin life as every human being does and that is outside the gate of salvation. There are many who will espouse that you are born good.
You are an emanation of divine light. That you begin as innocent and the only reason you have a difficult life or life doesn't turn out the way you think is because of your circumstances and your environment or your parents and because of all that then you have gone astray and things have unfolded but it really is what's been done to you. But that's not what the Bible teaches.
The Bible says you start outside the gate. All are sinners. All have fallen short. None are righteous. None are as God is. Matthew 5 48 says be ye therefore perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. You may be here today you need to understand something. You are not right with God unless you are perfect as God is. So when you begin to think about am I in a right standing with God don't line yourself up to someone else because inevitably what you do is you find the worst person. Well compared to them I'm good.
Or you think about the person you say well I know so and so across the church this morning. I know who they are. I know what they're up to and I'm better than them. If they're getting in you better believe I'm getting in.
But we know something. God doesn't compare you to the drunk in the alley this morning. God doesn't compare you to the person across the pew this morning. God compares you to Himself to His Son and that is perfection. So you look next to God and you say I bow my head in shame.
I am outside the gate. All are sinners. None are born good. We are born in sin. Listen to what the psalmist said Psalm 51 5. He said behold I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me. I was brought forth in sin. Psalm 58 and verse number three says the wicked are estranged from the womb. They go astray as soon as they be born speaking lies. If you think that sin nature is something that they is that is caught or is taught you're wrong.
It is something that is brought into this world by the seed of Adam that has been passed all the way down. If you think about this there are so many good nature well-meaning parents who do the best to try to protect and coddle especially the first child they get all the special treatment and privileges. Josh and I were the two middle children so we kind of got a little bit less.
But the first you know you got thousands of pictures of the first by the fourth one you may not even have any pictures. Oh by the way I do have another kid you know. But you try to protect those kids at all costs.
You say I try to keep from all those things. You say well no they've learned it. They caught it at school. They caught it from grandparents.
They saw me in my worst state. No you take one toy and you drop it between two little toddlers and you got world war three breaking out. Amen. I mean you don't have to teach a child to be selfish that is inbred in them through the sin nature of Adam that was passed down to them. The Bible says in Romans 5 12 wherefore is by one man sin entered in the world death by sin so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned. You see you are commanded to enter the gate. I want you to get this.
It is an imperative command. We oftentimes think about God and we get the wrong view of him. We almost think that God's like up up in heaven. He's like he reminds me like you know some would see him like like my grandmother. My my grandmother she's just going to be with the Lord but but every time I come over she she was probably like any good-natured grandma.
When I would come over to her house she'd say oh Ryan I'm so happy to see you. Won't you come in for some tea and cookies? And you know what what's grandson could turn away his grandmother's tea and cookies because she made a mean cookie and had some great sweet tea you know.
I come in there and sit with grandma. Sometimes we look up at God I'm like oh you know God's this big grandpa figure in the sky and he's just kind of reaching over like a big grandpa and he just wants to give us some some goodies in life. Won't you just come to me and I've got so many goodies to to bless you with. There is a sense where yes that God does invite you to come but but be not mistaken we get this wrong.
It's not an invitation. It's an imperative. It's a command. He's commanding. He's commanding and he has every right to command. He created you.
He created all that is. He says enter. That is not an ask. That is not a question. That is not a plea.
That is not the little grandpa trying to get some time with you. He's commanding you to leave where you are and enter through the gate. It is an imperative command. We need to begin to see it that way. So that means something as Hebrews 2 verse 3 says how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation. Hebrews 2 3 talks about that. There is a sense where all the days of your life every day that you fail to obey the command of God to enter through the gate you are living in open persistent sin.
You are living in rebellion. Every sinner listen listen to me. People say well why did God do that? Why did God allow that?
What about these people that died in this flood? God has not wronged anybody. Every sinner in the face of the planet has the same command to immediately come to immediately enter that it is not upon God.
He's not required to do these things. He commands us to come and so long as we don't. We're not just guilty on judgment day when all of our sin is cumulative. No we're guilty every day because we refuse him. God is commanding you to come.
So please hear me if you're here today without Christ. We're not just merely asking you to come. God is saying enter. God is saying now. If a father looked to his son and said take out the trash the little boy doesn't need to say well I wonder if that was an invitation or an imperative. No that was an imperative.
Get out take the trash out rain or shine. And God says to us enter. You are commanded. So we find dear friend how important it is that we not trample underfoot the Son of God. Jesus stepped on the scene in the beginning of his earthly ministry with this message in Mark 1 15 and saying the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent ye and believe the gospel.
Those are not invitations. Those are commands. The command for you today is to repent. To metanoia. To turn around.
To do an about faith. To stop where you're going. Turn around. Repent toward God and have faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ.
And in his immediate repent. Believe. Enter. You must do more than see the gate. You must do more than hear about the gate. It's not enough that you can talk about the gate and get close to the gate. You must enter the gate. And it says in verse 13 enter ye. I want you to see here the ye there right? This is personal.
I think about the aspect that you go to a ball game you know the bingles haven't been much to watch lately but if you ever were to go or go to a Reds game they haven't been much to watch either. But anyway you go to those gates and you see these turnstiles right? And you go to that singular gate and it's a turnstile and it's one person at a time. It's click click click. Click click click.
Click click click. And you go and it's one person at a time. You can't come as a group.
You can't come with your friends and family. You must individually come. It's a personal decision.
So many people today say well if everybody goes forward to get saved then I'll come forward with them in the crowd. Getting saved is a personal decision. It is a personal commitment.
It is something that you must individually do. You can't wait on your spouse. You can't wait on your parents. You can't wait on your kids.
You can't wait on your BFFs. You have to come yourself through the gate. You must make a personal decision. Dear friend enter ye.
You must do it. And then notice something else. It says enter ye at the gate. Notice something there. It's not a gate. It's the gate. There aren't many gates that lead to heaven.
There's only one. John 10 verse 7. Then said Jesus unto them again verily verily saying to you I am the door of the sheep. Verse number 9.
He says it again. I am the door by me if any man enter in he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture and he would come that they might have life and have it more abundantly. John 14 6 we find yet again Jesus said I am the way the truth and the life. No man cometh unto the father but by me. Acts 4 verse number 12. Peter said neither is there salvation in any other for there is none other name given among men whereby we must be saved. He that hath the son hath life. He that hath not the son of God hath not life. Notice it's not a gate.
It's the gate. If you do like the Ohio State Bucket, that's about the only thing worth rooting for in Ohio right now. I live closer to the east and there's a lot more Browns fans over there and even Steeler fans so Sundays are a precarious place right now.
So you pray for me as I go back to our home church tonight. But nonetheless when you think about Ohio State there's something that's always significant about Ohio State. If you ever see one of the professional players that had been at the Ohio State University when they say you know John Doe THE Ohio State University. What are they saying when they say THE Ohio State University?
They don't just say Ohio State they say THE. What are they saying with that definite article? That definite article is saying we are the only one.
There are no other ones. Can I say to you Jesus is not a gate? He is THE gate.
He is THE door. He is THE way. He is THE truth.
He is THE life. There aren't many paths to heaven. There is only one and it's Jesus Christ.
If you're going to come to God you're going to come the only way and it is THE Son, THE Christ of THE Living God. Dear friend we must understand that. We see it's also not only that but it's the straight gate but then it's the wide gate. Notice in verse 13 he says the next option is the wide gate. The straight gate is the constricted narrow gate. But then we see the wide gate.
He says for wide is the gate and broad is the way that lead to destruction and many there be that go in there have the wide gate. This entrance allows you to come as you are. To stay as you are.
To come with the crowd. It has no strings attached. It is a works-based self-righteous system. It enables you to come to God on your own terms. It's not narrow. It's not constricted as some claim.
It is wide, open, accepting, affirming and tolerant of all views. It turns away no one that wants to come in. Now listen, in the context of Matthew 7 we could obviously see that this was alluding to the Pharisees and scribes in the sense that they were offering up to God all of their works-based system. They were going to come to God. They were going to come their way. They were going to come keeping their commandments. They were going to come keeping all the minutia of the law. And then they were going to present to God as Luke chapter 18 says, I, I, I, right? I stand before you because of what I have done and what I have given.
I'm not like this lowly Pharisee over here. And all the tension comes back to them. And so it's the works-based system. You can drag it all in. It's a wide gate. It's not constricted. It's not narrow. But I also think there's another sense as we look at today where doesn't the world say it in a different light today?
This is a wide gate. The world, if it used to be where they try to make it a workspace system, they still do that yet today, but they're also like what the Pope just came out a couple of weeks ago and said. What did he in a sense say? All religions are pathways to God. All religions are just like different languages, but we all have the same God. Heresy, heresy, heresy. This is the entrance promising heaven that asks nothing, costs nothing, and ultimately is worth nothing.
It says in the wide gate, come as you are, stay as you are. You need not give up anything. You need not repent of sin. You can live the life you want and God will understand.
He is a God of love and not judgment, but it refuses the beatitude attitude, doesn't it? It refuses to come as Jesus said in the opening of the Sermon on the Mount that you must come poor in spirit, that you must come. Listen, when you come to God, you're not offering anything. You're like the beggar, the panhammer on the side of the road who's ashamed to lift up his head and he just holds out his hand in desperation. He's got nothing to offer and when you think about coming to God, you have to come saying there is nothing that I bring.
I simply come as the rock of ages to the cross, I claim. You have to come poor in spirit. If you're coming bringing anything, you're coming like the Pharisees and scribes and you're going to miss out.
You're going to be on a road that you think leads to heaven, but you've come through the wide gate that leads to destruction. You must come with poor in spirit. You must come mourning. You must come meek.
You must come meek. Literally it means broken like a horse. Broken like a horse.
You have to be broken. You have to come hungry and thirsting after His righteousness. Today's gospel is so tolerant of everything, so tolerant of everyone.
It asks nothing, costs nothing, and is worth nothing. We have to make sure as we see here that we are espousing the true gospel of Jesus Christ. So we see first the two gates, secondly the two ways.
Now this is the part we all kind of become more familiar with. We think about the straight and narrow way, the broad way. We think about that, but there's a sense where the way first began with the gate. So the gate is Christ, or the gate is a workspace system.
Self-righteousness, religion. Notice next though, the gates open up to two different ways. We begin with verse 13. He says, in broad is the way. We find that the wide gate leads to the broad way.
Broad is the way. This is the way of the world. This is conformity to the present evil system. This is to be at friendship with the world. When the world, you can walk the way of the world, there are no out of bounds.
Nothing is off limits. It's a workspace system of religion that allows you to approach God on your own terms. We have this mentality today that our works will be judged one day. So many people say, well, when I get to heaven, God's going to judge me and He's going to put all the good that I did in one scale and then on the other side all the evil I've done and so long as my good deeds slightly outweigh my bad deeds, He's going to let me in. We begin to think that this is the way that God accepts us. We like to come to God on our own terms.
Could you imagine how facetious this is? Could you imagine someone showing up at your house on their schedule, according to their time, with all their rights and prerogatives views and think they're going to invite themselves into your home, make themselves welcome, live in your home and move in on a permanent basis based on what they think. You're going to be like, look, I'll give you a cup of tea and send you on your way. I might let you stay for a little bit, but you ain't moving in here. What in the world makes us think that we're going to come to heaven, we're going to stand at the gates of heaven and we're going to tell God how we're going to come in on our terms and in our time.
Will this work for anyone in the world? Of course not. How in the world do we think God will accept us? We find the way, the broad, the wide gate leads to the broad way. And then we see secondly, the straight gate, this constricted gate leads to the narrow way. You see the gate is like that turnstile. You must come singular. You must enter. You must come through Christ.
He is the only way. But then it says it leads to narrow is the way, verse 14, narrow is the way. This narrow means literally to press as grapes, to press hard upon. It is a compressed way.
It literally has a metaphor, which means to trouble, to afflict, to distress, to crowd. So when you think about this way, this is the kind of way you would say, this is the kind of way you would say if you ever hike or anything, this is called single track trail. You can't come side by side.
You're not going shoulder to shoulder with your family. It's a narrow path. It's a constricted path. It's a life that isn't easy. It's a life that finds trouble. It's a life that finds affliction.
Why? Because the world hates Christ. And though Christ is not here bodily, He is here through you and I, and the world hated Christ, the world will also hate you. And we are not welcomed in this world.
This world is not our home and we travel down this road of life and it is an afflicting way. Sadly, there are many today who are living a lie. They're not walking and living on the narrow way.
They're on the broad way. But the broad way, though the sign reads heaven ahead, is deceptive and it does not lead you there because Satan has switched the signs. Remember, this is Jesus' sermon to religious people. So please note today that you must come to Jesus. You must come to Christ. I love what Luke 9 23 says, and He said to them all, if any man will come after Me. Notice that's not a call just merely to the 12 or to the spiritual elite, but it's a call to all.
To whosoever, Mark 8 says, that that all must come. What does it mean to come? We must come, as we see today, through the straight gate, through the narrow gate.
Yes, it's a restrictive way. It's a way you must come through the turnstile. You can't come in a crowd.
You can't carry your luggage. You must come. You must come alone. You must drop what you're carrying in order to enter in. That's why Luke 13 23 says in verse 24, strive to enter in at the straight gate.
It's not an easy thing to come into. You must repent, as the Bible says in Luke 13. Repent. You must repent. You must believe. And then know, dear friend, as you come, that true belief will show forth in genuine behavior. So many people today think, well, I prayed a prayer once.
I'm okay. You know, I think that, and I say this, and if I say something that doesn't reflect your pastor, you listen to what your pastor says. He's right and I'm wrong. But I say this today, and I want you to understand something. There are many today amongst quote unquote Christianity who have prayed a prayer once and their life for years, 10, 20, 30 years reflects nothing of Christ. And to me, you look at that and you read the scriptures and you say, something's amiss here.
Something is amiss. You tell me you prayed a prayer once. You don't talk like Jesus, walk like Jesus, live like Jesus. You demonstrate none of the beatitude attitudes.
You show nothing in your life. You have no thirst or hunger for the milk even of the word of God. You have no desire to gather with the people of God on the Lord's day in the Lord's house.
You have no desire for the things of God. You love all the wares of the world and you believe that one day you're going to go to heaven because you prayed a prayer once with your lips. And I'm going to be here to tell you today, and I know your pastor preaches same way, so I shouldn't maybe not have said it that way a moment ago. What you pray with your prayer is going to be backed by your heart.
It's going to show forth in your behavior. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15 verses one to four, moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel, which I preach unto you, which also, notice the three tenses of your salvation, which also ye have received. There is a past tense to your salvation. If you have been saved, you look back and say, I have received him. And then you go on and where in, verse number one continues, and where in you stand, there's a present tense to your salvation.
I did receive, I do stand in that. And then verse two, by which also ye are saved, if you what? Keep in memory what I preached unto you. There's a future tense to your salvation. Unless you have believed in vain, there's a warning against false profession that you believed in vain. So when we think about this, we find that the gospel of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection, as verse three and four would indicate, there is a past tense, a present tense, and a future tense to our salvation. You did believe, you do believe, you will continue to believe.
Listen to me today, just because you've been raised in a Christian home and you've heard sermons like this, doesn't mean you're going to heaven. You have to make that decision. You alone must make that decision.
You can't say today, well, my spouse is saved. You must make the decision. You can't say because my family knows Christ. You must make that decision.
It is a personal decision. It's not a mob mentality. It is an individual coming through the gate, coming personally, repenting of their sins and coming to faith in Christ. Sadly, there are many today that think they can serve two masters. They can take Jesus and live their own life, that they can come through the narrow gate, but then jump over to the broad way. And I asked the question, was there a past aspect to your salvation? You came. Is there a present continuation in that salvation? You're continuing.
And will there be a future keeping of what you heard and believed in the future if you keep in memory? Paul says, what I preached in you unless you believe in vain. We are speaking of perfection today, but we are speaking of direction today.
There's a far different cry from someone who says, well, you've got to be perfect. No, that's not what we're saying. But to me, the true believer in Christ is directionally going to be different. They're going the way. They didn't just come through the gate.
They're on the way. They're following after Christ. Have you continued on the narrow way? Many people say, well, you know, the narrow way, the way of crisis is like God's this eternal killjoy. And yet we read the scriptures in Psalm 16, 11, and it says in Psalm 16 and verse number 11 that at His presence there's fullness of joy. At that right hand there are pleasures evermore.
And it's surely that in the presence of God we find fullness of joy and pleasures evermore. But it's the way of the transgressor, Proverbs 13, 15, that is hard. It's the way of the sinner. Listen, you live life long enough and you observe people. And for me as a pastor and minister for over 25 years, you observe enough people long enough and you realize it's not the Christian that ultimately has the harder way.
It's the way of the sinner that chooses to live life outside of God that has the hard way. We see it. We must come through the narrow gate, continue on the narrow way. Then thirdly, notice there are two groups.
This is where it really gets pretty distinct. Matthew 7 verse number 13, many travelers on the way that's broad. The wide gate leads to the Broadway with many travelers. Notice verse 13 concludes, it says this, many there be which go in there at. That wide gate, so easy to walk through.
You don't have to leave anything. You can just come, you can enter through that gate, you bring whatever you need to bring, believe whatever you need to believe, come through that wide gate, continue on that broad way. It's the easy way. And the Bible even says, Jesus tells us here in verse 13, and many there be which go in there at. That word many just means much, large, great, abundant, plenteous, common.
This is a common place for many to live. Many travelers, many are on the wrong road. Most are on the wrong road. And then we see Jesus contrast that with the straight gate and the narrow way.
And he says in verse 14, few there be that find it. There are few travelers that come through the straight gate, that count the cost, that go down the narrow way. They are puny in number. Literally that's what it means, puny in number. They are little, they are few.
Puny in number. So when you think about the great wide world of 8 billion people, Jesus has just made a declaration that most people will go the wide gate, the broad way, believing they're religious, believing they're going to be right with God. And he says, most it will be common and abundant to go down the way of religion and end up in hell. So when you think about a room this size, and I pray that every one of you are part of that few in number, but we all would do well to make sure we have come through the straight gate and are on the narrow way.
That we are not religious, we're not just zealous for the things of God, but we have zeal according to knowledge. Few there be that find the gate. It's a gate that's not easy to find. It's hard to find, to get, to obtain. The natural man doesn't seek for that gate, and when God works in that hard, it's not easy to locate.
It's so easy to miss. We find, dear friend, what makes it so hard to find. Because self stands in the way.
Sin is more appealing to our flesh. Society lures us away, and self ultimately blocks the way to Him. Few there be that travel the narrow way. Many claim to be on the narrow way, but so few actually are on the narrow way. I ask you today, are you part of the few?
You know the few in the world stand out. If you're in Christ, it doesn't take much in this evil and adulterous generation to stand out as a light that you are. It doesn't take long to figure out who are in Christ, who are on the narrow way, and following after the way of the Master. Two destinations finally. So you have two gates, two ways, two groups, and finally two destinations. If the two gates have the straight gate and the wide gate and the two ways go to the narrow way and the broad way and the two groups are the few and the many, there are two destinations. Heaven or hell. Life or destruction. He says there in those verses, very clearly, that broad is the way that leadeth to destruction and straight is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life. Both promise heaven, but remember what religion promises hell. They promise heaven, but fail to deliver you to your destination.
Picture this for just a second this morning. Let's say you're going to take a journey somewhere and as you go to the airport and you go through all the check-in and you get to the place where there are two doors side by side and gate number nine and gate number ten. And as you stand and look at those two gates for just a moment, you say, well which one should I go through? And what you don't realize is, you may go down gate number nine, you may go down gate number ten. Gate number nine may take you to Los Angeles and gate number ten may take you to New York City. Those gates are close, but they take you to different destinations. And today my friend, when you come and you say I'm zealous for the things of God, I want to be right with God, I want to go to heaven, I want to have a relationship with Him, the gates are nearby. You need to choose wisely.
Count the cost. Your friend Jesus did not mince words about judgment and hell. He made it very clear that there is a way that promises life and ends in destruction. There is a gate and a way that is narrow and leads to life. Today your friend Jesus didn't mince words about hell and judgment, but the good news is this, today you can come.
Today you can make that decision. Today you can give your life to Christ. You can choose to give your life to Him and find it eternally. He is the way, the truth, and the life. Dear friend, don't be so close that you miss.
Let me just kind of give you these summations. Think about this. You're at a crossroads. And maybe it's not you. You said, Pastor, I'm already saved.
Maybe it's somebody you know. They're at the crossroads. As you stand at this intersection, the road, you have a decision to make. Before you there are two gates. These two gates lead to two very different ways. They culminate in two very separate lives. And at the end, two very different destinations. This is the decision you must make. No one else can make it for you. And you aren't able to remain at the crossroads.
Life passes you by before you know it. You must decide. Before you these two gates, the narrow gate, the wide gate. These two gates lead to two very different paths. The narrow way and the broad way. The way of Christ or the way of culture.
The way of the Savior, the way of self. As you think about the narrow gate, I would describe it as this. The narrow gate is the way of the Master. He invites you through the narrow gate to continue life on the narrow way. It fears the Lord. It walks in knowledge and wisdom.
It has few travelers. It looks to be the path of most resistance. A lonely way of life at times. It's wrought with trials, afflictions, and misunderstandings from the majority of the world around you. It comes to Jesus, takes up its cross, denies itself, and follows Jesus all the way home. It gives its life in worship to God in service to others. It believes it's better to give than to receive. It finds one's joy in giving, loving, serving the generation it's in. It seems unto many to be the way of wasting one's own desires, one's passions on things that are not deemed valuable to many.
Traits like character, integrity, hard work, discipline, service, charity, and sacrifice. It does life God's way. It builds its life on the rock, the timeless truths of the Word of God. So when the storms of life come, although it may be battered and bruised, it will stand.
Why? Because it's built on the rock of God's Word. It has heard and heeded, listened and obeyed the Word of God. Yet temporarily, it appears to lose in life, but it hasn't lost. It's chosen to worship God, love people, and use things for his glory.
It has chosen to steward its life well, to maximize its resources, to have the greatest impact for the longest time. It's valued the true eternal riches of Christ, more valuable than the temporary pleasures of this world. The way of wisdom is the way of Christ, which is the way, the truth, and the life indeed. The question is not, is it hard?
The question is, is it worth it? And the end of the way of wisdom is a life of no regrets. But let me paint to you the wide gate and the broad way. The wide gate invites you to join them coming through the wide gate to continue living your life to the full and the broad way.
It fears the world's opinion. It walks according to the ways of man. It has many on the journey, many who give their lives to eat, drink, and be merry.
It definitely is the easier way. It is marked by the masses. It's filled with hedonism, narcissism, individualism.
It's all about you living the life you want. It doesn't come to Jesus. It refuses to take up a cross. It fails to deny itself anything that would make one happy.
And it follows with the crowd all the way home. It gives itself to serve self, to use others to be happy, happy, happy. It finds its joy and self-satisfaction, self-gratification, and serving self and not its generation, family or church. It believes it's better to receive than to give. It builds its life on the sands of human reasoning.
It finds its truth from pragmatism, social media, and friends quick to dispense advice. Yet when the storms of life come, it has no rock upon which to stand, and the sands that it's built its life upon are quickly giving under feet of one's way as the ocean tide has just swept it out. The house of life begins to crumble all around them. It appears to have won in this life, but in reality it has not won at all. It is chosen foolishly, temporally, according to the world's wisdom, and it has lost.
It has squeezed out its life as toothpaste and can't be put back in again. And as Matthew Henry said, those who are in most danger are least aware. One day will be too late. The end of the way of foolishness is a life of no rewards. Which way will you choose today in closing? One appearing harder, one easier. One rarely chosen, one popular.
One must be sought after, one will come natural. One requires you listen to the still small voice. One is simply to respond to the multitudes. One brings ridicule. One's filled with empty laughter. One faces mockery and persecution. One lives to scoff and scorn those in the opposite way. One requires you make the tough decision. One you can merely fall into. One requires moral discipline.
One needs nothing of the sword. The way of wisdom and the way of folly divides marriages, families, friends. One leads to success. One leads to failure. One leads to life. One leads to death. One directs you toward the path of heaven and one takes you down the highway to hell.
Just say it this way. Deuteronomy chapter 30. I call heaven and earth to record this day against you that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore choose life that both you and thy seed may live. What you've seen with me today.
