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THE NORTHERN KENTUCKY SEARCHER VOLUME 5, NUMBER 6, FEBRUARY 13, 2005 THE STRAIT GATE AND NARROW WAY I am sure that from the title of this article, all recognize the scriptural reference from which it is taken. In the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord made the following statement in Matthew 7:13-23. “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it. Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, are they? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.” This is an illustration that was familiar to all in the Lord’s audience on that mountainside that day. Two city gates, approached by two roads, represent destruction and life. One is narrow and the other is broad. The narrow road is the way of life. It is God’s way and it is narrow. There is only one way to be saved – only one road of life. The broad road is the way of destruction. It is the devil’s way. There are many, many ways of being lost. It is so easy to drift along the broad way, but the narrow way requires effort, both to find it and to stay in it. The truth is that comparatively few will put forth the effort to find and then to remain in the narrow way. The vast majority will tread the broad way. It is tragic but true. It has always been so, and it always will be so. As a person seeks the kingdom of God , he or she must be aware that there are many lies and deceptions in the world seeking to lead him in the broad way. There are dangers even from those who appear to be walking in the narrow road. Such would be the “false prophets” or “false teachers.” Both the Old and the New Testaments are filled with warnings about false teachers. They will always exist, just as they always have. False teachers are to be judged objectively. Are they teaching the truth? Are they living the truth? How do we make such judgments? By their fruits. The very words out of their mouths will be corrupt – false. Since the mouth speaks “out of the abundance of the heart” (Matt. 12:34 ), eventually their evil is bound to reveal itself in their character as well. The apparent good things that they do must also be judged objectively. Are they obeying the Lord, or are they going outside of the realm of God’s Word into the realm of things that God has not authorized. That is how God judges them. The value of learning God’s way and abiding in it is illustrated in verses 24-27. Jesus continued on and said, “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock. And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act upon them, will be like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and it fell, and great was its fall.” This is such a simple illustration that shows that the choice is entirely ours. Will we choose the narrow way, the firm foundation; or will we choose the broad way and the sand? Two men are building house. One builds his upon the firm foundation, which is the gospel of Jesus. When the rains and the winds come upon his home, representative of the experiences and trials of life, his house stands. It stands because it is built upon the solid foundation of his obedience to the teachings of Jesus. He hears the words and acts upon them. The other man built his house upon the unstable foundation of sand, which represents the opinions and the doctrines of man. When the experiences and difficulties of life came upon it, it could not stand. When it fell, representing judgment day, great was the fall. Everyone knows that if the foundation of a building is not strong and trustworthy, that building will fail. We also know that there are paths that can be taken that will not take us where we want to go. The choice is ours – what we build our life upon and what road we travel. Greg Litmer A FEW PEARLS
You needn’t feel embarrassed about having nothing to say – unless you go ahead and say it. Its just human nature for folks to explain away their weaknesses as being just human nature. Even conservatives are liberal with their advice. The actions of one member can create the opinion outsiders have of an entire congregation.
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