"Striving to enter the Kingdom" April 14, 2024

Peter and Cornelius in Acts 10

To his house, for of course Peter was a typical Jewish man of that day who was really quite prejudiced against Gentiles, and yet Peter had been making some movement. Peter was already staying at the house of a tanner, and that would have been regarded as an unclean thing to do by a Jewish man of that day, so there was some movement there, but it took a vision that God provided for Peter.

It had to be repeated for Peter to be willing to go to this Gentile man and give him the gospel, and this man and his household was gloriously.

Converted. Acts chapter 10. Acts chapter 10. At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God.

About the ninth hour of the day, he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, Cornelius, and he stared at him in terror and said, what is it, Lord? And he said to him, your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God, and now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter.

He is lodging with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea. When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those whom attended him, and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray, and he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth.

In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air, and there came a voice to him, rise, Peter, kill and eat, but Peter said, by no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean, and the voice came to him again a second time, what God has made clean, do not call common.

This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven. Now, while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision that he had seen might mean, behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon's house, stood at the gate and called out to ask whether Simon, who was called Peter, was lodging there, and while Peter was pondering the vision, the spirit said to him, behold, three men are looking for you, rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them, and Peter went down to the men and said, I am the one you are looking for, what is the reason for your coming?

And they said, Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man who is well-spoken by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and hear what you have to say, so he invited them to be his guests.

The next day he rose and went away with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him, and on the following day they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.

When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshipped him, but Peter lifted him up saying, stand up, I too am a man, and as he talked with him, he went in and found many persons gathered, and he said to them, you yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean, so when I was sent for, I came without objection.

I ask then, why you sent for me? And Cornelius said, four days ago about this hour, I was praying in my house at the ninth hour, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing and said, Cornelius, your prayer have been heard and your alms have been remembered before God.

Send therefore to Joppa and ask for a man, Simon, who is called Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner by the sea, so I went for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore, we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.

So Peter opened his mouth and said, truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation, anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ, he is Lord of all.

You yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him, and we are witnesses of all that he did, both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem.

They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him up on the third day and made him to appear, not to all the people, but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.

While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word, and the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles, for they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God.

Then Peter declared, can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have? And he asked them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.

Prayer of Thanksgiving for Salvation and the Gospel

Let's pray. Our Father, what a wonderful gift salvation is. What a wonderful gift it is that you have provided to your sons and daughters, that you have provided to the Gentiles. Lord, we just thank you that all of these blessings, all that we are is found in Christ Jesus and what he accomplished on the cross on our behalf.

He has reconciled us to you by making peace through his blood. Lord God, we rejoice in this truth and we thank you. And Lord, we ask now that as we continue to worship you through the preaching of the word, Lord, be with Pastor Lars and strengthen him, give him clarity of voice and thought as he proclaims your truth.

And we pray, Lord, that when we hear the truth that your spirit would enable us to understand it, that you would give us wisdom and how we can apply it to our lives. We pray, Lord, that we would leave here changed, that we would leave here different from what we are now.

Conform us, Lord, to the image of your son through the preaching of your word and the power of your spirit. Thank you, Lord, in Jesus' name, amen.

The Narrow Door and the Call to Strive for the Kingdom

Well, please turn with me in your Bibles to Luke 13 as we continue our study in this gospel. Today is what, the 61st, Lord's day that we've addressed this and we've entitled this driving to enter the kingdom.

Today, Lord willing, we'll give attention to verses 22 through 30 of Luke 13. We actually addressed this passage just three years ago in our sermon series, The Unconverted Believer, in which we were attempting to address nominal Christianity.

But because of the importance and relevance of its message and because it follows, of course, in our present study of Luke, the gospel of Luke, we're addressing it again today. I think that if I were to have opportunity to go into just about any evangelical church in America, this would be one of the messages that I would want to bring to them.

It'd probably end up in me getting thrown out of the church for doing so, but I think that this is a very important and needful message regarding the nominal Christianity that seems to be so prevalent.

But before we consider the passage itself, we'll first say a few words of introduction. Although true believers in Jesus Christ are presently citizens of the kingdom of God, we know the fullness of that kingdom will not occur until the Lord Jesus returns.

When we're resurrected from the dead, we're delivered and exonerated on the day of judgment of mankind. We initially entered the kingdom of God through our new birth shown forth in our repentance from sin and faith in Jesus Christ.

And one day we'll receive and enjoy the full realization of the kingdom in the new Jerusalem, in the new heavens, in the new earth. And so there's a present reality of the kingdom of which we are citizens, but there's a future full realization at the second coming of Christ.

And we would say that just as we were to give forth all of our effort to enter the present kingdom through our initial conversion, through repentance from sin and faith in Jesus Christ, so also we are to give forth great effort throughout the Christian life in order to enter the kingdom that will be realized at the end of the age.

And that's the point of error that is so common. People assume because we're justified by grace through faith alone, which is a biblical reality. We don't have to do anything because as long as we believe the right things, we have salvation.

But the fact is the word of God lays out a whole lot of things that we are to do as Christians if we're true Christians. And that's what the Lord Jesus presses upon us here today. We are to give great forth, give forth great effort throughout our Christian lives in order to enter the kingdom when the Lord Jesus Christ returns.

And so true saving faith is shown forth in a lifetime of repentance, turning from sin and living under righteousness by the grace of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so there's a sense in which we have already entered the kingdom of God, but in another sense we will yet enter the kingdom that God has prepared for us.

As Jesus said in Matthew 25, come and inherit the kingdom that God has prepared for you from the foundation of the world. And so let's consider this passage in Luke 13 in which we read of our responsibility to live devout and holy lives as we anticipate our future entrance into the kingdom of God.

We've already shown that the gospel of salvation that's often proclaimed to the world and believed upon by many in the churches does not reflect the fullness of what the holy scriptures set forth to be the way of salvation.

There is much that has a show and claim of Christianity but is of little true substance. Paul warned Timothy that in the last days, which is this entire church age, this would be a commonplace matter which Timothy would need to contend.

Paul wrote, but know this that in the last days perilous times will come. We're living in those perilous times, this entire church age. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying the power.

That's nominal Christianity, having a form of godliness but denying its power from such people turn away. Don't have anything to do with them, Timothy. And so there is much that claims to be biblical Christianity but denies the necessity of living a transformed life of holiness and obedience unto the Lord.

Saving faith is all too often assumed to be the single act of faith of one who trusted Jesus Christ to be Lord and God incarnate who paid the penalty for sin and his life and his death resurrection. And so it's assumed that if one truly believes and only believes these facts then he or she has become saved once for all time.

But the scripture set forth saving faith to be more than just believing truths about who Jesus is and what he did. And although God justifies the true believer upon initial faith in Jesus Christ, saving faith is transformative in that it shapes and directs the way one lives in the light of the truth of Jesus Christ.

As the scripture declares in four places, the just shall live by faith. This means the just, those who are truly justified by grace through faith alone, shall live by faith. In other words, righteous ones, true Christians, live out a life of righteousness.

Saving faith is not merely the first act of faith but saving faith shapes and directs the way a believer lives in the world. Saving faith is evident in the fruit of faithful obedience to Jesus Christ the Lord.

Saving faith embraces Jesus Christ as Lord in which the believer becomes a devout and dedicated disciple of Jesus Christ. A true Christian is a true disciple. A true disciple is a true Christian. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch according to the book of Acts.

Saving faith places the Christian on a new path of living that leads to and ends in eternal life. The biblical understanding, this biblical understanding repudiates what is commonly referred to as easy believism.

It was the 19th century evangelist Asahel Nettleton who lived down here in East Windsor, Connecticut. By the way, his house is still standing there. It was Nettleton who rightly declared, no preacher ever made the way of heaven more difficult than the Son of God who said, wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction and many go in there at and strive to enter in at the straight gate for many I say unto you will seek to enter and will not be able.

If any preacher attempts to show an easier way to heaven than by the straight gate narrow way of regeneration you may know that he does not preach the way of salvation. And of course Nettleton was one of the leaders of the second great awakening here in the colonies in New England, actually the states New England, and he was repudiating the false teaching of Charles Finney that was permeating this entire region teaching an easy believism.

And so the true, the life of the true believer, the one who exhibits saving faith has repented of all sin when he came to Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. That doesn't mean he is free of sin of course but he acknowledges all sin and purposes to turn from it as the Lord enables him when he first believes on Jesus.

And so when he became a Christian his desire and commitment to follow the Savior became the preeminent concern of his life. There are some sinners who seek salvation but they do not do so wholly. Again Asahel Nettleton wrote, they do not seek it as a thing of first importance.

The direction is seek first the kingdom of God. Let it be the first and leading object of your pursuit. Everything must give way and lie in subordination to this object. Whatever may come in competition however dear you must be able to renounce it without a sigh, without hesitation.

The kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hid in a field, the which when a man hath found he hideth and for joy thereof goeth and sells all that he has and buys that field. This life of faith that leads unto eternal life is a difficult way, a way which few find and few travel.

To walk in this way requires humbling oneself, subordinating one's interests and desires to do God's will, submitting to the lordship of Jesus Christ. It involves responsibility to remain true and faithful in obedience to the Lord Jesus even through suffering for doing so.

Jesus himself said if anyone desires to come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross follow me for whoever desires to save his life will lose it, whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

For what profit is a man is it to a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the son of man will come in the glory of his father with his angels and then he will reward each according to his works.

Luke 13:22-30 and the Meaning of the Narrow Door

Now before us here in Luke 13 our Lord pressed upon all his hearers before him of the importance of striving through life in order to enter eternal life and so here are verses 22 through 30 in the new king James version.

And he went through the cities and villages teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem and then one said to him Lord are there few who are saved? He said to them strive to enter through the narrow gate for many I say to you will seek to enter and will not be able when once the master of the house has risen up and shut the door and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door saying Lord Lord open for us and he will answer and say to you I do not know you where you were from then you will begin to say we ate and drank in your presence and you taught in our streets but he will say I tell you I do not know you where you were from depart from me all you workers of iniquity and there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and yourselves thrust out and they will come from the east and west from the north and south that's where Gentiles lived and sit down in the kingdom of God and indeed there there are last who will be first and there are first who will be last and so here we read that our Lord pressed his disciples with their responsibility to strive to enter the kingdom.

In this passage we read of our Lord giving his hearers a sense of urgency for their responsibility to respond to his message by turning from sin and following him. One commentator he was a commentator of the Greek text of the gospel of Luke I quote him because he was so good I hard I Howard Marshall described this portion of the gospel in the context of Jesus's journey to Jerusalem.

The section opens with a reminder that Jesus is evangelizing the people and is on his way to Jerusalem the city of his passion. This provides the context for both the following sections the first dealing with the danger of not responding to the message of Jesus and the second with the inevitability of the rejection of Jesus and his death at Jerusalem.

A question by an inquirer introduces the saying of Jesus stressing the importance of entry to the kingdom by the narrow door before it's too late and the door is shut. Two thoughts are juxtaposed the one is that the periods of opportunity is limited by the imminence of judgment.

The other is that entry to the kingdom depends not merely on hearing the message of Jesus and having fellowship with him but above all on turning from evil in repentance. The unrepentant Jews of Jesus's own time are contrasted with the faithful men of the old testament times and believing gentiles who will find their way into the kingdom.

The day of judgment will produce surprises and it's overturning of human expectations and so our Lord and his disciples were proceeding on their journey their final journey to Jerusalem. We've been in this for a while.

Luke first recorded this final journey beginning with Luke 9 51 in which we read now it came to pass when the time had come for him to be received up he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem. Jesus taught the crowds along the way with the arrival to his destination Jesus would meet his destiny that is to suffer and die upon his cross and then be raised from the dead and so he declared in Luke 13 33 nevertheless I must journey today tomorrow on the following day for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside Jerusalem.

He wasn't that far off from Jerusalem when he spoke these words so the time was short his hearers must not put off responding to him for the day of salvation would end soon and then the judgment of God would befall that entire generation of Jews.

And this was particularly true the inhabitants of Jerusalem the seed of Judaism. In the same passage Luke recorded Jesus pronouncing judgment upon Israel for their rejection of him as their messiah. Jesus said oh Jerusalem Jerusalem the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her.

How often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings but you were not willing see your house is left to you desolate. That's the desolation of abomination. The abomination was their rejection of Jesus.

The desolation was of Jerusalem in the temple in AD 70 and Luke speaks a lot about that in chapter 21. I say to you you shall not see me until the time comes when you say blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Now this journey to Jerusalem the impending death of Jesus and the subsequent judgment on Jerusalem provides a sense of importance to Jesus's teaching and a sense of urgency to his hearers as well as to the readers of the gospel.

And so it was while they were traveling one asked Jesus Lord are there few who who are saved. And this resulted in Jesus's teaching that we have recorded before us regarding the way of salvation. And so in considering this passage let us answer several questions and make several points that this episode suggests to us.

First of all a very simple question that needs to be answered. What is it to be saved. Lord are there few who are saved. The word or idea of salvation permeates of course all the scripture the basic idea of one being saved is to be rescued from a life-threatening situation.

But when we speak of receiving salvation from sin we're addressing the great need of everyone to be delivered from God's wrath upon sin and its damning consequences. And so as we've repeatedly stated salvation includes God delivering us from the guilt of sin.

That's our justification the alienation of sin that's our reconciliation and adoption into the family of God from the power of sin our progressive sanctification. And finally of course from the very presence of sin which will occur at our glorification specifically on the day of the resurrection.

And so when we speak of the salvation that God affects for us through Jesus Christ all these ideas come into view. The Bible teaches that all mankind is condemned due to sin and is under his wrath. When the Bible speaks of becoming saved it's the idea of being delivered from sin and its consequences escaping the wrath of God by the grace of God through faith in God's provision his son Jesus Christ.

And our full and final salvation will be realized when we're delivered from the wrath of God on the day of judgment when which would have been poured out upon us believers had it not been for Jesus Christ bearing God's wrath on our behalf when he died upon his cross.

And so when this man from the crowd asked the question Lord are only a few people going to be saved. His perspective was probably this. Lord you've been speaking of God's judgments upon us Jews God's chosen people.

Will there be only a few of us who will escape this judgment. Lord are there just few who are saved. And so it would do us well to hear the answer the Lord Jesus gave to this man's question that we might escape God's judgment.

See there was an assumption among the Jews when the Messiah came all of Israel would save. All the Jews would be saved. And this man concluded from Jesus's teaching. It doesn't appear that everybody's going to be saved.

Lord are there only going to be a few saved. And then Jesus responds what was our Lord's answer to this man's question. Essentially Jesus said this don't be concerned with how many will be saved rather be concerned that you're one of them.

You strive to enter the door which leads to life is what Jesus told this man. And he not not only telling this man but the the imperative strive is a there's a plural characteristic of the verb. He was speaking to the entire crowd as he was answering this man.

You strive to enter the door that leads to life. And so although one man asked Jesus the question Jesus's answer was addressed to all who were before him again Jesus said strive to enter through the narrow gate for many I say to you will seek to enter.

It will not be able when once the master of the house has risen up and shut the door and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door saying Lord Lord open for us and he'll answer and say to you I do not know you.

Where are you from. Now let's work through some of the details because this passage is commonly not understood rightly. First of all we need to realize that this narrow gate as we read in the New King James Version should actually be translated as a narrow door.

Critically important. And so this is the English translation of Luke 13 24. Strive to enter through the narrow gate. The English Standard Version reads strive to enter through the narrow door and that is the better translation here.

Jesus was not speaking about going through a narrow gate to enter a difficult roadway as he taught in Matthew 7 13 and 14 but he was commanding them to strive to enter a narrow door that allows entrance into a building or a house.

It's not a gate into a way but a door into a house. Strive to enter that door. The details of our Lord's words make this clear. But because the English translation is gate this teaching of Jesus is often confused with the narrow gate of Matthew 7 13 and 14 which reads again entered by the narrow gate for wide as the gate broad as the way that leads to destruction.

There are many that go in by it because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life. And there are few who find it more specifically. To what does this narrow door refer. Some say the narrow door is Jesus Christ himself entered by the door.

And they would refer to John 10 9. I am the door whoever enters through me should be saved. Jesus is the door. And certainly Jesus Christ is the door the only way through which one may enter salvation and turn eternal eternal life.

But in the context of Luke 13 24 the Lord Jesus is not using the narrow door to refer to himself. In this context Jesus is the owner of the house he's the keeper of the door. He opens the door he shuts the door permitting or forbidding entrance.

And Jesus refuses to open the door to some even though they had heard him teach and had eaten with him. Here entering the door is not a metaphor for initially becoming a Christian. That's what the narrow gate is in Matthew 7 13.

But not here entering the narrow door but rather it speaks of entering eternal life at the end of a life of faith. Extremely important and so we should draw a difference in distinction between the narrow gate of Matthew 7 13 and the narrow door of Luke 13 24.

I heart Howard Marshall again wrote. The metaphorical picture of the narrow door in verse 24 differs considerably from that of the narrow gate and difficult way of Matthew 7 13 and 14. In Matthew we have the Lord telling his hearers to enter a small gate which leads into a narrow and difficult road which leads to life.

But in this account in Luke the Lord is urging his hearers not to enter through a small gate but through a small door that allows entry into a large house in which there is a banquet hall. In Matthew entrance through the gate begins the disciples life of a narrow road that leads to life at the end of the journey.

The straight narrow roadway depicts the life of a true disciple of Jesus Christ a life of persevering faith and obedience to the Lord Jesus. In Luke the Lord depicts salvation as being experienced after having successfully and aggressively strove to enter that door throughout life.

We're striving to enter that door. You and I are to be striving today to enter that door when Jesus returns or when he returns for us. And so the narrow gate is a metaphor the beginning of the life of a true disciple.

But the narrow door is a metaphor for the end of the life in which only true disciples are admitted entrance into the fullness of the kingdom of God. And so the message of Jesus to this crowds and to this man you are to be striving to enter the future door into glory into the kingdom of God into this great house where there is a banquet hall he's talking about he's alluding to the messianic banquet that we'll be speaking about here in a few minutes now let's zero in on the the verb the command that Jesus gives is to striving to enter the narrow door.

Striving to enter the door is not an allusion to the initial entrance into a life of discipleship again but rather striving to enter the door depicts the entire life is striving to enter one day into the presence of the Lord and his people in the future banquet hall the entire Christian life is one of striving fighting overcoming to enter eternal life.

Now it should be noted that in both contexts out of Matthew 7 and Luke 13 life or the fullness of salvation is pictured as experienced at the end of one's life. At some point in the distant future we enter that gate follow that narrow difficult way that leads unto life.

And here the door is unto life. And so in Matthew the gate is entered once at the beginning of one's pilgrimage of faith in obtaining eternal life. In Luke disciples are striving through their entire lives to enter the door at the end of their life.

And so we might say that the door of Luke 13 24 is the door that we're striving throughout our life to enter you and I are striving right now to enter through that door. We're laboring to enter the presence of God with his people in eternal life.

And again this whole idea of our responsibility to be striving is is an un is a concept that is not pressed upon the professing people of God. It's thought. And it's often said if you pray that sinner's prayer man you're forgiven you're justified.

And it doesn't matter how you live. After all we're not saved by works. And so they they hear this message of striving and they wrongly assume that someone like myself who proclaims it as the Lord himself proclaim it is teaching works righteousness.

And that's error. We repudiate any idea of works righteousness. John Calvin wrote when he bids them strive or labor he conveys the information that it's impossible to obtain eternal life without great and appalling difficulties.

To strive to enter this narrow door is to live as a disciple of Jesus Christ forcing oneself onward in the face of trial temptation and resistance to follow Christ in faith and obedience. The disciple of Christ struggles against sin perseveres in faith and obedience.

In the face of doubts and troubles he labors to do the will of God despite all opposition. That's how a Christian lives. That's who a Christian is. This entering is depicted in terms of a great struggle.

The Greek word translated striving is agno nizeth that grammatically speaking it's a present tense middle voice imperative. In other words command. It's a command to be continually or continuously exerting every effort to stretch every nerve to enter the narrow door.

The Greek word is the etymology or the source for the English word to agonize. You might have heard of that heard that when saying the Greek word again agno nizeth that agonize the life of the Christian is one of striving.

And we might say even agonizing to enter the door unto eternal life that is before us. This word translated striving is used elsewhere in scripture. The apostle Paul used this word to describe his own strenuous effort with view to his own salvation.