March 28, 2022 ENTER BY THE NARROW GATE
Mathew 7:13-14 “Enter by the narrow; 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 or those who find it.”
In many ways, this is a frightening verse; it is saying that what may seem to right to the logical mind is actually wrong. Today, it seems we have minimized what it means to ‘come to Christ’ and have made it an easy three-step process that anyone can follow. Because we have often neglected to present the greater message of the gospel of salvation-of what it means to come to Christ, there are likely many who profess to be Christians but in reality do not know Jesus as Savior. In our culture, we not like ‘narrow gates;’ we like the broad way-we like to have choices-we like to be broad-minded-and we like to believe that all roads lead to heaven. It seems we have come to a place in our day where it is good, acceptable, and normal for each person to do what is right in his or her own eyes. Jesus was speaking to our culture when He said that many take the way that is broad, avoiding the narrow gate. The broad way is traveled with trust in riches, with prestige in one’s accomplishments, with selfish interest, with pride-and the list goes on. The narrow gate is Jesus-and nothing else. The narrow gate is knowing that only in Jesus do we find life that satisfies the deepest longing of our souls. To enter by the narrow gate, we must lay aside all of our baggage-our pride and our insistence to live according to our own desires. The analogy of the narrow gate certainly is a picture of coming to Jesus as the only one who can save; but I also think that for the believer, the analogy of the narrow gate has application. The life that Jesus offers is found only when we die to ourselves and live unto Him as our Lord and Savior, desiring to please Him in all we do. Knowing Jesus must be our overriding pursuit in life if we are to experience the life He has for us; and, the key is that as we come to know our true identity as sons and daughters of God, pursuing Him and increasing in the knowledge of Him will be our ambition in life and it will be our natural desire to please Him in all we do. Since Jesus gave us His written word, it stands to reason that we spend time in His word, learning of Him; you could say that His word is a narrow gate-only the gospel of God leads to life. Let us live a life of entering by the narrow gate.
Acts 4:12 “Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
John 8:12, 10:10 “Again, Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”
Blessings,
Buddy
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