Two Ways to Live - Part 2: The Narrow Gate

The Narrow Gate and the Two Ways

Well this morning we continue with Matthew 7 and verse 14 as we considered the broadway last week with verse 13 now we come full circle to verse 14 and the second part of this two-part focus of The narrow way and the broadways we look at the broadway the broad gate.

The easy path last week and now this morning. We're looking at the narrow gate the difficult way. The way upon which few travel. The way that very few find. Now as a reminder the Sermon on the Mount as we said last week has been calling for kingdom righteousness.

The values of the kingdom. A type of righteousness that exceeds the righteousness of the Scribes and the Pharisees. So in other words a righteousness that is not external. But it's inherent. It's internal.

It's it's from the heart. It's born out in the life. It's it's not just at the ends of the branches held by duct tape, but it's in the very root. It has the vital core. It's a kingdom righteousness a righteousness wrought by the very Spirit of God.

It only belongs to those who have entered the kingdom by repentance and faith. And this type of kingdom righteous that Righteousness that Christ has been holding out beginning at the Sermon on the Mount demands a response.

And so we're in chapter 7 now. We're toward the conclusion of this sermon and as every sermon ought to do there's a call for a response. What how then shall you live? What will you do in light of this?

How will you respond? And that's what Jesus preaching this kingdom righteousness is doing in chapter 7. We have it here. We also have it all the way through as we see again two ways. Two prophets two foundations.

He's pressing the issue a right way or wrong way. A right message or a wrong message. A right foundation or a wrong one. What will actually endure as far as the judgment of God that must come to all? What will actually endure in terms of the the way that leads to life this narrow way that few find?

Now the metaphor of two ways we looked at the broad way the narrow way. We said last week the broad way essentially is just the way of the world. We said what do you have to do to get on the broad way that leads to destruction.

Nothing nothing just carry on. You're born on Broadway. Just keep going the way you're going. And so it's not something that you opt in. No one's at the fork on the road. You're simply born and carry on in that broad way.

How do you get on the narrow way? You must turn around in repentance. You must trust and believe the one who has called you on this narrow way. He opens the way that few find. He sheds a light on the path that others cannot see or even seeing refused to go.

So we have the broad way in the narrow way the way of the world in the way of faith. The way of the Spirit the way of the kingdom. Jesus says that many will choose the wide way. Many he says will enter the broad gate many Travel on the way to destruction as we said last week most of the people, you know.

Just consider our prayer time. Those are just a few examples if we think of all the people that we know all the people that we interact with all the people that we relate to most of them Refuse to enter the narrow gate.

Most of them are quite comfortable on this wide and broad way that leads to destruction. This is not the angry Baptist preachers words. This is the clear warning and clarion call of the Lord Jesus Christ.

He says few enter by the narrow gate. It's difficult. There's not many who see it not many who can endure. And so this morning we want to look at verse 14 and we want to answer the question What does it mean to be on the narrow path?

And there's so much to say in the rest of chapter 7 that I'm narrowing down just a few points because I don't want to roll out all that could be said as we look to. Those who say Lord Lord, we look at the the strong foundation that will endure judgment.

I simply want to boil this down into three points and those three points. I'll just tell you up front our work. Gain in perseverance. I hope you'll see how those all relate that there's something to be worked out and working out involves a gain.

And in those gains you must persevere. And that's what it means to be on the narrow path. And frankly, that's what makes a narrow path difficult. Matthew 7 13 and 14 enter by the narrow gate. For wide is the gate broad is the way that leads to destruction and there are many who go in by it.

Working Out Salvation on the Narrow Path

Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life and there are few who find it. So the first thing we notice about those on the narrow path is this those on the narrow path work.

When it's hard to find something you have to work. When it's hard to go forward in something you have to work you have to work at it. You have to spend some energy. Invest some trouble. You have to toil.

You have to labor. And those on the narrow path work to put it in the way that Paul says to the Philippians those on the narrow path work out their own salvation. Very. I don't want to put any footnotes or qualifications with that.

Those on the narrow path are working out their salvation. They're working it out. We are exhorted to work out our salvation even when we're reminded that it is God who works salvation in us. The problem is we sometimes allow the truth and the glory of that statement of God's sovereign salvation to Short-circuit or even excuse our total inactivity and Jesus wouldn't let that happen.

You'll know them by their fruits. You'll know it by how they work it out. You'll know you'll be able to see Whether or not the salvation is in them and it's being worked out. Those on the narrow path work out their salvation.

So on the one hand scripture is full of Statements that man must strive to enter the narrow gate. Or in other words, he must pick up his cross to follow after Jesus. He must not harden his heart in the day of salvation.

He must desire to repent and to believe. He must deny the world in the flesh and the evil one. He must deny himself if he would have the salvation of God. Scripture has these exhortations and commands everywhere.

On the other hand scripture also said God is the one who calls his sheep. He is the one alone who can bring about a new birth. If the the spirit is not breathed out upon his people those bones will not live.

God's the one who carries out salvation according to his sovereign power and his perfect plan. Is it man's responsibility or is it God's sovereignty and the answer is yes? Now, of course. In a deeper sense one is contingent upon the others.

Ultimacy. God's sovereignty is ultimate in a way that man's responsibility is contingent, but you understand the point I'm trying to make do not use God's sovereignty in grace as an excuse to not work.

Work out your salvation those on the narrow path. Those on the way that few find and many lose heart in are those who are working things out. As Alexander McLaren says and he says it well a Christian has his whole salvation accomplished for him praise God.

It's accomplished for us and applied to us by the Spirit, but we're still commanded to work it out. It's like if you've gone to a Store and they have gift cards, right? The kids are all excited. Maybe they see that gift card and it says Five zero zero with it with the cash sign there.

This is this is amazing. Just because you have that gift card doesn't mean there's anything in it. It might look like the real deal. But if you go to the register and try to check out it's there's no funds.

Nothing's been added to it in that way. It's like Christianity going through the motions. It can seem like you have the gift card. Look, I got it. Look what it says on it. Doesn't that look right? But there's there's nothing to work out.

There's nothing contained within that salvation is something that is given to you and because it's given to you because it's loaded into you. As it were only then can you spend it only then can you work it out?

But many have the form without the reality and one of the things they use to excuse their inactivity. Their lack of resolve their lack of desire their refusal to work out the most painful and difficult aspects of the Christian walk.

They say well, you know God will do it when he's gonna do it. God is sovereign. What can I do? Well, I hope you're hearing my point you can do a lot. You can do a lot. Now let it be said you can do nothing apart from him.

But in terms of the means of grace that he provides. You must work. You must work out your salvation. That's the point. Notice what the idea is not it's not work for your salvation. That's that's blasphemous to the gospel.

It's not working for your salvation. It's not something you earn. Salvation is a gift of God's grace. It's given freely. You don't work for your salvation. You don't work toward your salvation. God gave me a down posit and I need to somehow keep earning enough until I can purchase salvation.

No, you don't work at your salvation. No salvation is accomplished and applied. It is all of God's grace. It is all contained and perfected in Christ Jesus. But you still must work out. You don't work for you don't work at you don't work toward but you do work out.

And those on the narrow path work out their salvation. You only have something to work out if God has worked in you only have fruit to bear if God has allowed seed to be sown and water to be poured and Growth to be given and the buds and the fruit are all the effects of God's Sovereign grace at work in the life of the believer and when God is at work in the life of the believer that believer is Working out that grace working out that salvation.

That's why Jesus can say you'll know by the fruit. You'll know We've been saved Once and for all that that is what some theologians call punctiliar salvation. That that once for all Paul in this in this way of thinking is talking about linear salvation not the Was I saved but am I being saved and will I be saved?

That's linear salvation and Understanding how these things cohere is very important talking about the am I being saved is a way of talking about am I being sanctified. Is Christ's presence by his spirit really renewing me.

Is there a cleansing power in my life fueled by the grace of the gospel the grace of Justification and is that working itself out in my life in terms of progressive sanctification? What is this narrow and difficult path if it's not the path of sanctification on the way to glorification?

That's what it is. That's why it's difficult. We know that it's God who's doing the work and yet we are exhorted. We are commanded. We're held to work out the salvation that he freely gives and so those on the narrow path are doers of the word.

They're doing the work. That's what it means to work out. It means we're not hearing only as James one wars against what happens when we're hearing merely hearing or deceiving ourselves. You think because you hear something that you've done it.

Hearing is just the beginning. Hearing doesn't help anybody. Hearing doesn't change anything. It's the doing that counts. It's the doing that matters. Sometimes we we feel assured because we've heard something or because we've thought something that we've done the work.

Big mistake. Like think, you know, I'd like to you know, share Christ to my neighbor. It's good that I thought that I feel good about myself. It's nice that you feel good about that, but you haven't done it.

What good is that to your neighbor? What good is it to hear messages that we know to be true. But we're not responding in the way that we then carry out our lives carry out our walk. That's to be a hearer that is deceiving him or herself so we're not called to be hearers were called to be doers of the Word of God and Doing the Word of God looks like working out the salvation that he's giving the salvation that he describes.

He gives exhortations and commands. He gives blessings and promises. These are the things we work out in our lives. He ordains in his sovereignty the particular circumstances of every season of our life the relationships we find ourselves in.

The straits of difficulty the trials and troubles as well as the blessings. Unexpected blessings unexpected rain was it windfall, but nevertheless, we're exhorted as we who look into the perfect law of Liberty and Continue in it as James one says.

Not as forgetful hearers, but as doers of the word. These are the ones that are actually blessed in what they do. It's no blessing to hear. The blessing comes in working it out. And so this is another way of saying those who are on the narrow path are active in their obedience to the commands of Christ.

Obedience is not a dirty word. It's really important we understand that of course. We need to let the full weight of the law with all of its majesty and power affect the way that we look at the the mercy of the gospel.

You need to preach the law fully and wholly and Comprehensively in such a way that that law gospel contrast never gets blurred. The law is not the gospel. The gospel is not the law. It's very important that we always understand these things.

We don't blur them or or do Glossable as some have said and make make them somewhat akin and parallel to each other. That is a sharp contrast. Read 2nd Corinthians 3 read the whole letter of Galatians and many other passages we could go to but the point is in in so doing we must understand the law is wholly just and good and the path that is narrow and Difficult is difficult because it requires obedience from the heart.

Obedience is not a negative concept or a dirty word for the Christian life. It's the Christians way of life not in terms of justification. That is by faith alone apart from works. But frankly, what is sanctification without obedience?

What is it? So the narrow way shows How difficult it is because it requires obeying commands that cut against our flesh. Cut against the ways of the world cut into the most difficult pursuits and relationships in our lives.

And it's there at that very point that if we would press forward in the path alone that leads to life. We must submit we must obey. We must hearken hear and respond. We must be doers of the word that's received.

We must obey. Many that say Lord Lord Will be cast away into outer darkness forever for this very reason as Jesus says What did they work out not obedience.

Lawlessness.

They weren't working it out. They weren't progressing along this difficult path and obedience. Listen to what Spurgeon says brothers. We do not give secondary place to obedience as some would think. We look upon the obedience of the heart to the will of God as salvation itself.

I Don't know exactly what he's pulling from but if I had to assume it's this. When when God promises a new covenant, which in in redemptive history comes about in the blood of Christ part of that new covenant promises I'm gonna take out that heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh now.

They'll be able to do my law now. They'll be able to keep my commandments. You see that's how he's saying this obedience from the heart this obedience of faith. This is what salvation corresponds to in many ways.

This is why we've been saved. This is how we'll be sanctified. This is what it means to become Christ like you want to be like Christ. Be obedient to the law of God. How are you gonna do that repentance faith the grace of justification empowered by the Spirit which equips you and enables you to mortify the deeds of the flesh and.

Take every step that he trod on this difficult and narrow path of sanctification that leads to glorification. Notice also notice this narrow path this narrow gate it shows us how intimate the nature of faith is isn't it?

We don't get the sense that this narrow gate is you know a door that swings open from time to time and you know six or seven people rushing at a time and. No, it's it's it's so intimate an individual you if you are hearing the voice you.

It's about your faith your relationship your soul your standing before God. So it's concerned about individuals. That means you can't ride in on someone else's coattails. Surely, I'm on the narrow path.

Look at what family I belong to. Surely I'm on the narrow path. Look at what church I go to. Look at the people I hang around if that's not narrow path. I don't know what narrow path is. You see how intimate this is.

It's narrow its way is narrow. It demands a particular individual response it demands a particular way of life not externally. Seeming to fit the part that others are fitting but internally inwardly before God the God who sees one's heart sees one's faith.

This is what it all comes down to. This is why many say many say Lord Lord. That's haunting. Jesus doesn't say a few will say Lord Lord. He doesn't say some will say Lord Lord. Many and how many are on the narrow path?

Few the narrow way demands a particular response to God an individual intimate response to God a narrow particular way of life of Working out the salvation you've received. These are Jesus words, this is Jesus warning.

Listen to Martin Lloyd-Jones. Is there anything that so thoroughly tests our whole? Profession of the Christian faith as our reaction to it when it calls upon us to live a certain kind of life. And masterful you see what he's saying.

Is there anything you could point to upon which the whole profession of your Christianity rests other than this when your life when your? Circumstances when your situation is going against a very clear command and desire of God.

When you're at that watershed, are you on the Broadway? Are you gonna lop along the way toward destruction or you're gonna go in that difficult way. Few will go that way. But your profession your Christianity your soul rests upon the way that you go you see.

Listen to Lloyd-Jones again. We may like to hear the gospel with its grand good news and all that it has to offer. Be a hearer who doesn't want to be a here. We do not always feel quite so pleased when it goes on to call us to live a particular way.

I Like hearing. I don't want to change anything. I Like hearing but I don't want to have to turn around and go in a different direction. That's too difficult. That's too painful. It's too narrow. It's too costly.

I won't do it. There is then no better test of my whole Position than my reaction when I'm confronted with this amazing call of the New Testament of the Lord himself. To deny myself take up the cross and follow Christ.

Which always means putting my flesh to death the deeds of my body my members which are on the earth and all the ways the New Testament speaks. And so the salvation of believers depends on working out.

The salvation that believers have received. Who was on the narrow path in this first point those who are working out their salvation. Those who work now. Second point secondly. Who's on the narrow path?

Those who are gaining you're walking on a path and you're not gaining ground. You're not walking on a path. Working out just think of it in terms of going to the gym.

Right.

Why do people go to the gym they want games games? If you went to the gym and you got weaker and weaker. You say something's going wrong here. I'm working out. If I'm working out there should be gains it it should be evidence in a way that fruit becomes evident.

You'll know them by their fruits. Spiritually speaking you want others to look at you and go. He must work out. Look at those gains in his life. Look at the progress he's making. This is what it means to walk on a difficult way.

You're actually getting further in those difficulties because you're seeking that gain. What is the Lord you think of the parable of talents? What does the Lord look for in the parable of the talents gain?

It's not up to you to decide how many talents you've been given. What's been entrusted to you that that's not up to you. What's up to you is the gain that you'll bring in light of it. He rewards the 50 talents as much as the hundred fifty talents.

The only thing that doesn't receive a Reward the only thing that is not responded to with a well-done faithful servant is the one who buries who squanders who refuses to gain. With the very things that have been given To that one.

It's you wicked servant. Didn't you know I'd be coming so the Lord's looking for gain. If we're working things out Because of what's been worked into us by the Spirit of God if we're working things out there will be gain.

If we're on a narrow path trudging along there will be progression. That's the point. So we're not called just to maintain. We're not called to simply become passive and slip away and try to hold on to what we have.

We're not to have the master come to our lives and go look. I give back to you that which you gave me that no. I Worked something into you and I'm expecting fruit. I'm expecting gain. I'm expecting increase.

I want to see progress. That's all comes about by his grace. But it's one of the ways we understand who was on the narrow path and who is not those on the narrow path have gained. It is not possible in the economy of God it is not possible in the vineyard of the kingdom.

To take up the soil and all the nutrients of the means of grace and never grow. It's just not possible to not gain to not bud. And it tends to be these things rarely to think you can retain or maintain.

It's it's only ever.

Loss.

If you're not growing you're losing. If you're not gaining you're faltering, but there's just there's just no place to stand still in these spiritual dynamics. If you're not pressing forward you're falling back.

The ones that I and this has been my own experience. Maybe it was someone else's but but my experience part of my life was when I thought I was standing still and maintaining I was on a I was on a slip-and-slide away from God.

It's the deception of sin the illusion that somehow I can stand still and it'll be okay. I can just know. If you're not gaining you're losing. You're not gaining. There's a good chance. You're not on the narrow path.

Because the gains come as you trudge along it have you seen these these hikers that they plan their whole life around a trip to Everest and They video every moment they can it's just like this great moment of triumph.

They have conquered the height of Everest one of the tallest Places you can go on this earth and and they've conquered and they're at the top and and who's with them this team of Sherpas. Where's the confetti for them?

This is like, oh, yeah, I've been up 120 times. It's like it's nothing for them. What have those Sherpas learned along the way? They hadn't they didn't have to train for three years. This is life to them their their ability their lung capacity their understanding of the topography.

Their wisdom in terms of dealing with logistics and it's like it's it's just second nature to them at that point.

You see.

This is what it means to gain. You gain that experience. You gain that wisdom. You gain that discernment. You gain the fruit that accords with growing in the things of God. Growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

That's gain. Gain is growth. Growth is gain. Now gain for us as Christians in this narrow and difficult path means. It has to be my gain just like it has to be my faith. Just like it has to be my entrance to the narrow gate.

I can't say well, it's time for me to sit back because. You know, I have a lot of gain and others probably don't have as much gain as me. So I can just sort of I can sort of put it in cruise control now.

That's not how this works. What does Paul say? I worked harder than them all. Nevertheless it was not I but it was the grace of God in me. See it wasn't selfish ambition. It wasn't a desire to purchase salvation that caused Paul to work harder than others.

It was his recognition of who he was working for. What he was laboring toward. He wanted to gain show forth his gratitude. He wanted to be faithful to the Lord in the way that the Lord had been faithful to him.

This is gain. It means that we pursue. Not just half inch ahead of others, but we pursue all that we can with what we've been given.

That's game. I.

Don't just try to manipulate to be one step farther than others. So I don't raise any eyebrows. I don't want to simply blend into the Peloton of my peers. It's not enough of what other believers might or might not be doing where I've been taught where the Lord's made something clear to me.

Where my conscience has been awakened there. I obey there. I will seek to gain. The reality is If it's not costing you something, what is it worth? David at the threshing floor of a run of the Jebusite when Said oh if you're if you're making something unto the Lord, you can have the land and David says no.

No, I'm not gonna offer to the Lord that which doesn't cost me anything. If your gains are to the Lord, they're gonna be costly gains. They're gonna be costly gains. These gains don't come naturally if I want to have an Adonis like figure I can't just sit on the couch and eat Cheetos and will it or watch old VHS tapes of workout routines and As I'm munching what's that gonna do?

Gains are costly gains require sacrifice gains become difficult. You're fighting your flesh. You're denying yourself. There's all sorts of things you're doing relationally and circumstantially in order to protect and further those gains.

You're not willing to risk anything against them. You don't want them to be undermined. You don't want them to be lost. So you're more vigilant. You're more on guard. You're more self-aware. You see this is all coming with walking on a narrow way God forbid.

This will be a testimony in our church that children that are growing up in our midst have heard so much about the faith understand so much about not only the scriptures but of history and have been given this beautiful gift of a god God centered worldview.

Just to squander it because they never thought they had to work it out never looked to gain God forbid that from happening. But it can happen very easily. When you think God will only come after me I've been given 50 talents, but God's only gonna come after me for five just like some other people that I know.

Do you see again how individual this is how individual the narrow gate in the narrow way is what has he given to you? That's what he's gonna call to account. What have you heard? That's what he's coming for.

What have you been given? That's what he's after. Are you gaining? He's not gonna judge you by what he's given to someone else. He's not gonna hold you to a standard of someone else. He's coming for you.

Are you gonna be one that says Lord Lord? Or will you joyfully say master? It's pitiful. It's not what I wanted. It's not what I hoped. I'm almost embarrassed, but here's a little bit more and it's like it wasn't even about that.

Well done. So there's no refuge. To have self-confidence by comparing ourselves to others because our narrow way our difficult way is not the way of others. This way is so narrow so difficult. It's almost as if you can only put one foot in front of the other as you make your way forward.

It's difficult. So you never become comfortable or jaded if you think you're maintaining you're losing if you're not gaining you're faltering. A Hardened heart will get you very comfortable with this idea of backsliding.

Listen, you can talk to people here. I was one of these people you talked to me about what what it's like to be a backslidden. Do you want to know what it's like to be backslidden? At least initially quite nice.

Quite nice quite comfortable. Until the goads of your conscience by God's mercy kick against you. And you begin to know the way of sinners is hard. And you have no peace within yourself. And even that's a mercy because if you're past that and you're past all feeling.

You have a conscience that's seared and there's no opportunity to renew repentance. Do you understand what I'm saying? If you're not gaining you're losing. It's never safe in the Christian life. According to Jesus words of a narrow gate that few find and the way is so difficult that not many endure.

So it's never safe to feel comfortable. If you're not seeing any gains or any fruitfulness in your life. You never want to look of course to the fruits in this morbidly introspective way. But in noticing that there ought to be fruit where there's none.

You then abide in the vine you look to the one who has all grace and all Sufficiency and you rehearse again the truths of the gospel and pour again into the very Word of God. Which is able to give refuge and comfort to a weary soul.

And so this is the idea here. It's not that we're examining under some great magnifying glass whether we have enough gain. But the issue is that we're not becoming complacent and passive where we're not even interested in growth.

We're not even trying to press forward in things. The degree that's happening. Whoa to us. Whoa to us. We're not hearing the clear warnings of our Lord. So there is assurance of grace there is praise God, but there's also a place for sweat and tears and prayers.

When we lose sight and we get our priorities long we begin to lose the force of Christian living we're losing sight of the goal this goal this desire. Everlasting life is meant to Invigorate us on the difficult way.

We're press forwarding in that and we're saying these difficulties are worth that end. To the degree that you're not facing difficulty. I question have you lost sight of the end? Again what we said last week was those who are on the broad path would not be on the broad path if they knew where the broad path ended.

People are on the broad path because they have absolutely no idea. They just have no idea as one brother years ago commented a memory from R .C. Sproul, I think it was in an answer to a question about hell and how were to understand hell and Sproul said very somberly.

It's at least fire. It's at least fire. No one would be on the broad path if they knew where the broad path ended. But Jesus says there's very few on the narrow path.

Very few.

There's few that are trying to work out that which has been entrusted to them. There's very few that are seeking to gain rather than become complacent and compare themselves with the rest. It's very few that are actually following in the footsteps that I've laid out.

So there's assurance of grace, of course there is but there's sweat and there's prayer and there's tears and there's dragging Across. There's no place for snores or yawns or indifference or next month next year.

We'll get there eventually. Not if we're hearing the Lord clearly. Do you not know that those who run in a race all run? But only one receives the prize. Run in such a way that you may obtain it. Who goes to a race and thinks I'm aiming for bronze.

I'm here and I just want to get across the line. No. Everyone there is trying to win the prize. You want first place. And Paul's saying you need to think of the Christian life in this way. Everyone might be running but don't just try to keep up with them.

Because then you might be on the broad path if you want to run and obtain you need to run as if it's the only way to obtain. Not that you're jockeying for position in some fleshly way, but you're running as to win.

It doesn't matter what others do or don't do. It's what I must do. I'm seeking everlasting life. There's a reason that Christian when he's fleeing the city of destruction. He's plugging up his ears and he's saying life life life.

It's like don't dissuade me. Don't slow me down. I need to press on. I want to run in such a way as to obtain it. He says they're just running for some perishable crown. Yeah, they're ordering their whole lives around that.

But we're running for an imperishable crown if you're not running to obtain why are you running? Well, here's the thing about running and this is our third third point. We're not running. Thank God. We're not running a 50-yard dash.

I Hated the 50-yard dash when I was in school. I Dreaded it. I mean I do not like our sort of relativistic Society, but I would take the participation trophy. Gladly because I absolutely hated being at the rock bottom of my grade.

As I almost always was. For the 50-yard dash I could probably count on one hand how many times I've genuinely run in my life. Unlike Eric Liddell. I do not feel God's pleasure when I run. I feel the effects of the fall and Adams guilt.

But the beauty of the 50-yard dash is it's it's fast and it's furious. That is the wrong conception of the Christian life. My fear is many think they're on the narrow path because they had a 50-yard dash 13 years ago at a summer camp.

I've been there done that. Not only did I run the race has to win. I won it 13 years ago. I got my get out of hell free card. I've been great ever since. Do you read the Bible? Do you pray do you gather with believers now?