The Unconverted “Believer” (8): Striving to enter the Kingdom

First Baptist Church Leominster

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The somewhat difficulty of Peter going into a Gentile's house and preaching the gospel but God convinced

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Peter that he was accepting those Gentiles through faith just as he was accepting

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Jews through faith and so Cornelius and his household were converted he baptized them but when

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Peter got back to Jerusalem he was he was called to task by the other Apostles and so he defended what

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God was doing among the Gentiles and that's what we have in the opening verses of Acts chapter 11 and then toward the end of the chapter we have a rehearsal and introduction of Barnabas and Paul and kind of laying a groundwork getting ready for the great

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Gentile mission that would begin in Acts 13 so Acts chapter 11

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Acts 11 now the Apostles and the brothers who were throughout

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Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the Word of God so when Peter went up to Jerusalem the circumcision party criticized him saying you went to the uncircumcised men and ate with them but Peter began to explain to them in order

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I was in the city of Joppa praying and in a trance I saw a vision something like a great sheet descending being let down from heaven by its four corners and it came down to me looking at it closely

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I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air and I heard a voice saying to me rise

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Peter kill and eat but I said by no means Lord for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth but the voice answered a second time from heaven what

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God has made clean do not call common this happened three times and all was drawn up again into heaven and behold at that very moment three men arrived at the house in which we were sent to me from Caesarea and the spirit told me to go with them making no distinction these six brothers also accompanied me and we entered the man's house and he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say send to Joppa and bring

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Simon who is called Peter he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved you and all your household as I began to speak the

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Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning and I remember the word of the

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Lord how he said John baptized with water but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit if then

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God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ who was

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I that I could stand in God's way when they heard these things they fell silent and they glorified

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God saying then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch speaking the word to no one except Jews but there were some of them men of Cyprus and Cyrene who on coming to Antioch spoke to the

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Hellenists also preaching the Lord Jesus and the hand of the Lord was with them and a great number who believed turned to the

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Lord the report of this came to the years of the church in Jerusalem and they sent Barnabas to Antioch when he came he saw the grace of God he was glad and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the

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Lord with steadfast purpose for he was a good man full of the Holy Spirit and of faith and a great many people were added to the

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Lord so Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul and when he had found him he brought him to Antioch for a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people and in Antioch the disciples were first called

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Christians now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch and one of them named

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Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world this took place in the days of Claudius so the disciples determined everyone according to his ability to send relief to the brothers living in Judea and they did so sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul let's pray

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Heavenly Father we do rejoice in this passage we rejoice that the

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Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to faith we thank you Lord for the work of our salvation for the work that you accomplished and we rejoice that we are known by you we rejoice that we are called your sons and your daughters and we pray

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Lord that we would live up to this truth that we would live as your sons and daughters that we would live as children of light

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Lord help us to be wise as we walk through this world help us to understand the scriptures help us to understand your character help us to understand our great salvation

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Lord we pray that we would be obedient in all things as we rely upon you

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Lord help us now as we open up the word and as we continue our worship through the sermon help us to be attentive we pray that the spirit would be moving and help us to understand and apply these truths to our lives for your great glory

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Lord thank you in Jesus name Amen well if you have a set of notes in your hands don't be intimidated in fact there's 13 pages there the last two are for your reading all right

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I came across the words of JC Ryle on this passage and I wanted you to have those in your hand so you read those at a later time if you would well although true believers are presently citizens of the kingdom of God clearly that's the case nevertheless the fullness of the kingdom will not arrive until the

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Lord Jesus returns the second coming and when we are delivered and exonerated as true believers through the general judgment of mankind we initially entered the kingdom of God through our new birth that was evidence or shown forth of course in our repentance from sin and faith in Jesus Christ and one day we will receive and enjoy the full realization of the kingdom in the new

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Jerusalem in the new heavens and the new earth and so there is a present reality to the kingdom and a future prospect more full prospect but just as we were to give forth all our effort to enter into the present kingdom through our initial conversion through repentance and faith so we are to give forth great effort in our

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Christian lives in turning from sin and living on to righteousness in other words a life of true saving faith and this must be done in order for us to enter the kingdom that will come at the end of the age and so there's a sense in which we have entered the kingdom of God but in another sense we will enter the kingdom that God has prepared for us and today

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I want us to consider a passage in Luke 13 that speaks to this matter in which we read of our responsibility to live devout and holy lives as we anticipate our future entrance into the kingdom of God that's not denying we're presently citizens of the kingdom but there is a future entrance as well but before we address the details of Luke 13 we want to provide somewhat of a summary that we have addressed of late last few weeks in recent weeks we've shown that the gospel of salvation that's often proclaimed to the world and believed upon by many in the church is really does not reflect the fullness of what the

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Holy Scripture set forth to be the way of salvation there's much that has a show and claim of Christianity but it is a little true substance that's our fear and Paul warned

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Timothy that in the last days and he meant by that this entire church age the last days this would be a commonplace matter for which

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Timothy would need to contend there in the church at Ephesus to which he is being commissioned so Paul wrote that know this that in the last days perilous times will come and Timothy was living in these last days 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 and then

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I am bold and italicize this clause having a form of godliness but denying its power that's nominal

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Christianity folks from such people turn away and so there's much that claims to be biblical

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Christianity but it denies the necessity of living a transformed life of holiness and obedience unto the

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Lord saving faith is too often assumed to be the single act of faith of one who trusted

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Jesus Christ to be God incarnate who paid the penalty for sin to his life death and resurrection and it's assumed that if one truly believes and only believes these facts about who

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Jesus is and what he did then he or she has become saved once for all time but we've shown that the scripture set forth saving faith to be more than just believing truths about who

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Jesus is and what he did saving faith in Jesus Christ the

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Lord is transformative and that it shapes and directs the way one lives in the light of the truth of Jesus Christ as the scriptures declare in four places the just shall live by faith and what that means is the just that is those who are truly justified to faith alone shall live by faith it is faith is the means by which righteous ones live saving faith is not simply what one believes but saving faith shapes and directs the way the believer lives before God otherwise it's not saving faith and so saving faith is evident in the fruit of faithful obedience to Jesus Christ the

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Lord saving faith embraces Jesus Christ as Lord in which the the believer becomes a devout and dedicated disciple of Jesus Christ we just read in X chapter 11 that the disciples were first called

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Christians at Antioch you don't become a Christian and then later a dedicated Christian you become a disciple as a common thought today but it's wrong no a true

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Christian is a disciple and unless you're a devout disciple of Jesus Christ you're no

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Christian according to the scriptures and so it depends and it it's contingent on how you live as to whether or not your faith is of a saving nature or not and so saving faith is evident in the fruit of faithful obedience to Christ saving faith places the

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Christian on a new path of living that leads to and ends in eternal life we recently considered in our

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Lord's words what he declared in Matthew 7 13 and 14 the biblical this biblical understanding repudiates what is commonly called referred to as easy beliefism it was the 19th century evangelist

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Asahel Nettleton I recently read his biography what a wonderful servant of the

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Lord blessed of God in the second great awakening but he wrote no preacher ever made the way to heaven more difficult than the

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Son of God who said wide is the gate broad is the way which leads to destruction and many go in there at and strive to enter at the straight gate for many

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I say unto you will seek to enter and not be able if any preacher attempts to show an easier way to heaven then by the straight gate and narrow way of regeneration you may know that he does not preach the way of salvation and so the life of a true believer the one who exhibits saving faith has repented of all sin when he came to Jesus Christ as his

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Lord and Savior clearly we are all characterized by sinning we sin but that's not our life any longer we repudiated sin as the dominant governing principle in our life

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Jesus Christ is Lord not sin although we certainly struggle with the power of sin that's what sanctification is and so the life of the true believer is shown forth in a desire and commitment to follow the

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Savior this became the preeminent concern of his life in his conversion and yet there are some centers who seek salvation but they do not do so wholly again nominal

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Christianity and so Asahel Nettleton wrote they do not seek it as a thing of the 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 and subordination to this object whatever may come in competition however dear must be able you must be able to renounce it without a sigh the kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hid in a field the witch when a man hath found he hideth and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath and buys that field that's a desire to have that kingdom of God and be a part of that kingdom now we've also shown of course recently that this life of faith that leads on to eternal life eternal life is often an end -time blessing that we receive an inheritance that we receive at the end of a life of faith but we've shown that this life of faith is a difficult way as Jesus declared and it's a way which few find and few travel and so to walk in this way that leads to life according to Matthew 7 13 14 one must humble himself one must humble or subordinate one's own interests and desires to do

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God's will submitting to the Lordship of Jesus Christ that's what saving faith does it involves the responsibility to remain true and faithful in obedience to the

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Lord Jesus even through suffering for doing so and so we witnessed or we address this last week in which

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Jesus said if anyone desires to come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me for whoever desires to save his life will lose it and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it salvation is in is on the scale here for what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul for what will a man give an exchange for his soul for the

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Son of Man will come in the glory of his father with his angels and then he will reward each according to his works your life will one day be examined and your life will either validate your claim to be a believer or it will prove no you are but a hypocrite and the outcome is either the grace of eternal life being granted or the consignment to eternal damnation as the

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Lord Jesus made very clear at the end of Matthew chapter 7 at the end of Matthew 25 many other places also in the scriptures today we'll consider another occasion when our

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Lord taught his disciples their responsibility to fight and overcome all obstacles of life in this world in order to enter the kingdom of God at the end of a life of faith and so before us in Luke 13 our

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Lord pressed upon his hearers of the importance of striving to enter unto eternal life and he went through the cities and villages teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem and then one said to him

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Lord are there few who are saved and he said to them strive to enter through the narrow gate for many

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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

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Lord Lord open for us and he will answer and say to you I do not know you where you are from and then you'll begin to say we ate and drank in your presence you taught in our streets but he will say

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I tell you I do not know you where you were from depart from me all you workers of iniquity there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see

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Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and yourselves thrust out they will come from the east and the west from the north and the south and sit down in the kingdom of God and indeed there are last who will be first and there are first who will be last now we had actually addressed this passage a year ago it was the second

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Sunday of our coronavirus shutdown everybody shut down churches for two months and so I was standing here in this pulpit before an empty sanctuary

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I think there might have been six people here and of course it went out over the internet but we addressed this passage in fact

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I entitled the sermon on that day the unconverted believer and even as I was preparing that and giving that standing here

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I thought I need to do a series on this and that's what this current series of which were what eighth

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Lord's Day probably about 20 days 20 Lord's Day I think right now as we're anticipating but that's when

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I determined that we needed to do this series and on that occasion I thought I'm gonna have to deal with this passage again when

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I do that series and that's why we're addressing it today it's important and so here before us we read of our

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Lord pressing his disciples with their responsibilities strive to enter the kingdom in this passage we read of our

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Lord giving his here is a sense of urgency of their responsibility to respond to his message by turning from sin and following him now the excellent commentator on the

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Gospel of Luke it was actually on the Greek text of the Gospel of Luke I Howard Marshall described this portion of the gospel in the context of Jesus's journey to Jerusalem he wrote the section opens with a reminder that Jesus is evangelizing the people and is on his way to Jerusalem the city of his passion where he's going to die and 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 a saying of Jesus stressing the importance of entry to the kingdom by the narrow door before it is too late and the door shut two thoughts are juxtaposed the one is that the periods of opportunity is limited by the eminence of judgment the other is that the 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 and repentance the unrepentant

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Jews of Jesus's own time are contrasted with the faithful men of Old Testament times

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Abraham Isaac and Jacob and believing Gentiles from the north and south east and west who will find their way into the kingdom the day of judgment will produce surprises with its overturning of human expectations some will be surprised at the outcome of that judgment and so our

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Lord and his disciples were proceeding to on their final journey to Jerusalem from Galilee Luke recorded this final journey begun having begun in Luke 9 51 now it came to pass that when the time had come for him to be received up he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem and from Luke 9 51 to Luke 19 we have this journey and Jesus taught the crowds along the way and with the arrival to his destination

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Jesus would there meet his destiny to die upon his cross and there be raised from the dead well he declared in Luke 13 33 nevertheless

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I must journey today and tomorrow the day following for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem and so the time was short his hearers must not put off responding to him he was passing through those villages and he wasn't going to be back they needed to respond immediately for the day of salvation would end soon the judgment of God would befall that entire generation of Jews and this was particularly true of the inhabitants of Jerusalem with the fall of Jerusalem under the

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Roman armies in 80 70 and in this same passage Luke recorded

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Jesus pronouncing judgment upon Israel for their rejection of him as their Messiah Jesus said

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Oh Jerusalem Jerusalem the one who kills the prophets stones those were sent to her how often

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I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings but you are not willing see your house is left to you desolate

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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

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Lord and so the journey to Jerusalem in Luke middle section of Luke's gospel the impending death of Jesus and the subsequent judgment on Jerusalem provide a sense of importance to Jesus's teaching and also a sense of urgency in all of his teaching through these passages that his hearers would do well to take heed and so it was while they were journeying that this one spoke up Lord are there few who are saved and this resulted in Jesus's teaching that we have recorded before us regarding the way of salvation the way into the kingdom so let's consider the details of the passage and then we'll draw some conclusions first let's answer the question that was posed

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Lord are there few who are saved what is it to be saved so this man asked are there fews who were saved well of course the word salvation or the idea of salvation permeate permeates all the scripture and the basic idea of one being rescued is one being rescued from a life -threatening situation so you be saved from starvation in a famine you could be saved from the threat of enemies you can be through be saved from the threat of God's judgment upon sin salvation so when we speak of receiving salvation from sin we're addressing the great need of every human being to be delivered from sin and all its damning consequences salvation really is being saved from God himself and from his wrath upon sin it's a need of every human being and as we've repeatedly stated salvation includes

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God delivering us from the guilt of sin yes but also the alienation of sin the power of sin our sanctification and finally from the presence of sin and our glorification all of that is encompassed in the biblical idea of salvation through Jesus Christ the

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Bible teaches that all mankind is condemned due to sin and under his wrath and so when the

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Bible speaks of becoming saved it is 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 through faith in 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 which would have been poured out upon us believers had it not been for Jesus Christ bearing

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God's wrath for us when he died upon his cross so as we just sung in the hymn we need not fear we who are in Christ there's no condemnation for those who are in Christ and that last day of judgment is not going to be a cause of terror to us it's going to be welcomed by us because we're going to know that we're in Christ now in our

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New King James Version we read about a narrow gate strive to enter the narrow gate and we have to address this translation

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English translation of Luke 13 24 in the New King James Version strive to enter through the narrow gate the

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English Standard Version the ESV reads strive to enter through the narrow door there's a difference here

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Jesus was not speaking of going through a narrow gate to enter a difficult roadway as in Matthew 7 13 enter the straight gate onto that difficult way that leads on to life but here he's saying that you need to strive to enter through a door that is opening into a rather large house apparently or mansion or maybe even better a banquet hall and so it's not a gate it's a door the

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English Standard Version rightly translates it in English and we know that it's a door into a house by the whole context he's not talking about a way a roadway as in Matthew 7 13 he's talking about a door to a house and so more specifically to what does this narrow door refer some say the narrow door is

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Jesus Christ himself well they look to John 10 9 when

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Jesus said I am the door whoever enters through me should be saved and certainly Jesus Christ is the door the only way through which one may enter salvation and obtain eternal life but in the context of Luke 13 24 the

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Lord Jesus is not using the narrow door to refer to himself in this context

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Jesus is the owner of the house the keeper of the door who opens and shuts the door permitting or forbidding entrance he refuses to open the door to some even though they have heard him teach and had eaten with him and so here entering the door is entering into eternal life at the end of a life of faith we may draw a difference in distinction between the narrow gate of Matthew 7 and the narrow door of Luke 13 again high

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I Howard Marshall 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 in Matthew we have the

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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

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Lord is urging his hearers not to enter through a small gate but through a small door that allows entry into a rather large house in which there is a banquet hall in Matthew entrance to the gate begins a life disciples life on a narrow road that leads to life at the end of the journey through the straight and narrow roadway depicting persevering faith and obedience to the

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Lord Jesus in Luke however the Lord depicts salvation as being experienced after having succeeded in aggressively striving to enter the house and so the narrow gate is a metaphor of the beginning of the life of a true disciple

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Matthew 7 13 the narrow door here in Luke 13 is a metaphor of the end of the life in which only true disciples are admitted entrance into the fullness of the kingdom of God two different metaphors two different teachings two different emphases now let's consider what it means to strive to enter the narrow door striving to enter the door is not an allusion to initial entrance into a life of discipleship as back in Matthew 7 13 but rather striving to enter the door depicts the entire life of striving so as to enter one day into the presence of the

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Lord and his people and into this future banquet hall it should be noted that in both context life or salvation is pictured as something that's experienced at the end of one's life or at some point in the distant future but in Matthew the gate is entered once at the beginning of one's pilgrimage in Luke disciples are striving through their entire lives to enter the door at the end of their life we might say that the door of Luke 13 24 is the door that we are striving throughout our life to enter we're laboring to enter into the presence of God with his people into eternal life it's important to understand this

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John Calvin wrote on this passage when he bids them strive or labor he conveys the information that it is impossible to obtain eternal life without great and appalling difficulties that's what he said in Matthew 7 13 13 difficult is the way and few there be that find it to strive to enter this narrow doors to live as a disciple of Jesus Christ forcing oneself onward in the face of trial temptation and resistance to follow

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Christ in faith and obedience the disciples of Christ struggles against sin perseveres in faith and obedience and in the face of doubts and troubles he labors to do the will of God in spite of all opposition

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Paul talked about it through much tribulation we enter the kingdom of God he told those people at Iconium who had witnessed him getting stoned after he preached the gospel to them this isn't unique to me we're all going to have to go through much tribulation enter the kingdom of God this entering is depicted in terms of great struggle and the

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Greek word translated striving is the Greek word agno nizeth that and grammatically speaking it's a present tense middle voice talking about you yourself doing it present tense continuous action imperative in other words it's a command strive it's a command to be continually or continuously present tense exerting every effort to stretch every nerve in order to enter the narrow gate the

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Greek word is the etymology of the source of the English word to agonize and if you look at the transliterated word that you know in that I put in English there you can see the agon agon is that the agonize root

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Greek root where we get the English word agonize the life of the Christian is one of striving and we might say even agonizing in order to enter the door into eternal life that is before us this word translated striving is used elsewhere in Scripture the

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Apostle Paul used this word to describe his own strenuous effort with view to his own salvation

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I know this sounds strange to our to our ears but this is what he was saying for though I'm free from all men

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I have made myself a servant to all that I might win the more to the Jews I became as a Jew that I might win

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Jews to those who are under the law is under the law that I might win those who are under the law to those who are without law as without law and then he qualifies himself not being without law toward God but under the law toward Christ that I might win those who are without law to the weak

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I became weak that I might win the weak I become all things to all men that I might by all means save some and then he says tells us why he does this now this

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I do for the gospel's sake that I may be partaker of it with you see this was a course of faith a life that he had to follow he wanted to follow but this is the course of faith that God had prescribed for him and then he appeals to everybody we all have to be in this kind of struggle do you not know that those who run in a race all run but one receives the prize run in such a way that you may obtain it that's the

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Christian life and everyone who competes for the prize is temperate moderate in all things now they do it to obtain a perishable crown but we for an imperishable crown the imperishable crown here is eternal life folks and therefore

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I run thus not with uncertainty thus I fight not as one who beats the air but I discipline my body and bring it into subjection lest when

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I preach to others I myself should become disqualified and really what he's what he's talking there he doesn't want to be a preacher to others and himself come short on that day and prove himself to be a hypocrite or cast away it's important how you live true

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Christians are those who believe on Christ and their faith governs how they live

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Jesus is war and here in this passage we just read the verb translated competes is the same word in a little different verbal form agno nism in us it conveys the thought of rigorous and strenuous effort and that he gave his entire focus and strength to compete so as to win the prize and here the prize is his own salvation which is of course received by God's grace alone but given by God upon the completion of a life of holy living born and sustained through faith this is what saving faith looks like and similarly

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Paul wrote to Timothy of his great devotion and effort to live for God to serve him if you put these things before the brothers

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Timothy you'll be a good servant of Christ being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you followed have nothing to do with irreverent silly myths rather train yourself for godliness why do you train yourself for godliness to be a godly person living holy lives for while bodily training has some value godliness of value in every way and how how does godliness have value as it holds promise for the present life but also for the life to come this is saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance for to this end we toil and strive see the word strive there there is the

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Greek word because we have our hope set on the living God who is a savior all people especially those who believe and so Paul used the same

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Greek word here to describe his own effort to attain to godliness in this life for God promised eternal life for those who are godly right

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Hebrew says without holiness no one will see the Lord holiness is a life born by someone who has saving faith in Jesus Christ the

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Lord well this is a narrow door that leads into a large house where there is a banquet hall in this banquet hall is this large gathering of all the

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Old Testament Jewish Saints Abraham Isaac and Jacob as well amazingly as a large number of Gentiles who are dining together at this large feast and that's what

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Jesus spoke about in Luke 13 and this is what our

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Lord meant when he said in verse 29 they'll come from the east to west from the north south that's where Gentiles live and they'll sit down in the kingdom of God what is pictured by this great banquet hall is the kingdom of God in which the body of the redeemed of all ages enjoys peace security fellowship with their king and Lord however outside the house are those clamoring to enter who believe that entry should be granted to them but are nevertheless excluded from the gathering it's all important to get inside and the idea of this great banquet is an image frequently used in scripture to depict the blessing and fellowship of the kingdom of God and you find it in the

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Old Testament quite commonly and it's often referred to as a messianic banquet it's a great feast that the

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Messiah provides for his people and Jesus was talking about the messianic banquet and they would have all understood this of course in the ancient world eating together had a great significance to dine together was the fullest expression of enjoyment of a relationship between friends you did not really know a person if you had not sat down together and shared a common meal and here the full meaning and enjoyment of one's relationship with God is to have a meal with him and so we may see the great significance in both the

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Old and New Testaments to this idea of a shared meal with God and with his people so when we think of the

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Old Testament sacrifices we often think of course of an innocent animal bearing and being the substitutionary sacrifice for the worshiper and that certainly is the case it's a biblical idea basic biblical idea of the animal being a sacrifice for sin but frequently in conjunction with this idea of a sin offering a sacrifice is also viewed as a meal preparation in which the priest or worshiper would sit down and feast together with God an example of this illustration this would be

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Abraham sitting down with the remember the three visitors in Genesis 18 as they were going down to judge

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Sodom Abraham and Sarah prepare a meal for them then

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Jacob dined on a mountain with his father -in -law Jethro in the presence of God and it may be that Isaac desired to dine before God if prior to his death he sent

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Esau to prepare a meal remember Isaac he couldn't see he sent

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Esau but Jacob went pretended to be prepared this meal the idea may be in the presence of God as he's facing death and this would further explain why the blessing which went forth on Jacob could not be retracted for it was issued before God and God was witnessing the blessing of this meal he couldn't retract it now this was the hope of Israel that one day the

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Messiah would come and a golden age would be established and a great messianic banquet would be prepared and the people of Israel all reunited as one large family and they would dine together with their deliverer the

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Messiah and so this is found in the old in the prophets Isaiah 25 in this mountain the

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Lord of hosts will make for all people a feast of choice pieces a feast of wines on the leaves of fat things full of marrow of well -defined wines on the leaves and he'll destroy on his mountain and he will destroy on this mountain the surface of the covering cast over all the people and the veil that spread over all nations is swallow up death forever and the

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Lord God will wipe away tears from there from all faces and the rebuke of his people he'll take away from all the earth of the

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Lord has spoken but the idea of a meal messianic banquet is conveyed in this idea of salvation also

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Isaiah 65 here the Lord contrast those who are under his wrath with those who experience his salvation behold my servants shall eat but you should be hungry behold my servants shall drink there's the feast but you should be thirsty behold my servants shall rejoice but you shall be ashamed behold my servants shall sing for joy of heart but you shall cry for sorrow of heart and wail for grief of spirit you should leave your name as a curse to my chosen for the

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Lord God will slay you and call his servants by another name so that he who blesses himself in the earth shall bless himself in the

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God of truth he who swears in the earth shall swear by the God of truth because the former troubles are forgotten because they are hidden from my eyes again the idea of a messianic banquet but we come into the

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New Testament and the same ideas conveyed by Jesus in Luke 14 one chapter after our passage now when one of those who sat at the table with him heard these things he said to him blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God that's the messianic banquet then

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Jesus said to him a certain man gave a great supper invited many sent his servant at supper time to say to those who are invited come for all things are now ready but they all with one accord began to make excuses the first said to him

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I have bought a piece of ground I must go and see it I ask you to have me excused another said

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I bought five yoke of oxen I'm ready to going to test him I ask you have to be excused a third gave another excuse so the servant came to the master they haven't come the master said go out quickly to the streets lanes bringing here the poor the main the lame and the blind the downcast of Israel the sinners the you know the tax collectors the you know the prostitutes bring them in and the man and the servant said we've done so and there's still room well then he says go out basically into the

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Gentile world and bring them in so that my house may be filled for that none of those men who were invited speaking about the

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Jewish people that rejected him shall taste of my supper again the idea of a messianic banquet is conveyed and then the messianic banquet is set forth in the last book of the

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Bible Revelation 19 9 it set forth there is a great marriage feast John wrote he said to me right blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the lamb that's the messianic banquet and he said to me these are the true saints of God then

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I found this one other reference is a Jewish reference in a non -biblical book but it was a

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Jewish writing quite popular in the first century from 2nd Enoch when the last one arrives he'll bring out

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Adam together with the ancestors he will bring them in there so that they may fit be filled with joy just as a person invites his best friends to have dinner with him and they arrive with joy they talk together in front of that man's palace waiting to a joyful anticipation to have dinner with delightful enjoyments and riches that cannot be measured and joy and happiness in eternal light and life and I say to you my children happy is the person who references who reverences the name of the

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Lord and serves in front of his face always who organizes his gifts with fear offerings of life and who in this life lives and dies correctly and what our

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Lord Jesus was saying before these people would have resonated with the future hopes and aspirations for when the

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Messiah would come and save them from their sins strive to enter that house that banquet because if you don't if you fail you're going to be on the outside and you're going to see

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Abraham Isaac and Jacob sitting there feasting and a whole bunch of Gentiles in the kingdom also but you're going to be cast out you better strive to get in there is what

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Jesus told everybody listening to him so let's very clearly draw the implications and application let us always be striving to enter the kingdom our

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Lord again used the present tense imperative form of the verb strive you are to keep striving until the day you're granted entrance into the banquet hall

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Jesus is speaking of the great effort that must be expended by all and all who would enjoy eternal life strive suggests the idea of fighting struggling straining every nerd to force one's way through the door because inside that people enjoy great peace and joy all who are left outside the door will experience weeping and gnashing of teeth

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John Bunyan conveyed this idea in his pilgrims progress there was a scene that Christian witnessed while in the house of interpreter and the interpreter is a character supposed to represent the

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Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit was instructing Christian early on some lessons about how to live the

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Christian life so he took him into different rooms in each room there was a scene that gave a spiritual lesson to Christian and in this little tour of the house the interpreter took

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Christian to a place where he saw outside a palace and one who would fight to get into that palace it's clearly

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Luke 13 that he's basing this little metaphor upon so here it is in pilgrims progress

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I saw also this is the dreamer telling the story I saw also that the interpreter took him

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Christian again by the hand let him into a pleasant place where was built at a stately palace beautiful to behold at the site of which

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Christian was greatly delighted he saw also upon the top there are certain persons walking who were clothed all in gold and then said

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Christian may we go in there there can we go in take a look then the interpreter took him and led him upwards toward the door of the palace and behold at the door stood a great company of men as desires to go in but there's not there not and there also sat a man at a little distance from the door at a table side with a book and his ink horn before him to take the name of him that should enter therein he saw also that in the doorway stood many men in armor to keep it in other words guard it being resolved to do the man that would enter what hurt and mischief they could now as Christians now

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Christian was somewhat amazed and at last when every man started back or turned back away from the door for fear of the armed men

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Christian saw a man of a very stout countenance come up to the man that sat there to write saying set my name down sir the witch when he had done he saw the man draw his sword and put a helmet upon his head and rushed toward the door upon the armed men who laid upon it with deadly force but the man not at all discouraged failed at cutting and hacking most fiercely so after he had received and given many wounds to those that attempt to keep him out and then

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Bunyan quotes Matthew 7 or alludes to 11 acts 14 he cut his way through them all and pressed forward into the palace at which there was a pleasant voice heard from those that were within even of those that walked upon the top of the palisade come in come in eternal glory thou shalt win and so he went in and was clothed with such garments as they now

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Bunyan didn't explain this but he has Christian simply say Christian smiled and said I think barely

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I know the meaning of this strive fight it's a narrow way a difficult way this idea of you and me having to strive continually in order to gain entrance to eternal life is not heard in these days there are a number of reasons for this it seems to conflict with our general concept of faith which is seen as merely trusting simply and solely resting in Christ in his finished work alone apart from the need of grace enabled of enabled effort to do his will and secondly it seems to suggest that one merit salvation to his works it doesn't in no way suggest that we repudiate that idea that's heresy but the seeming contradictions only reveal the misunderstandings that we have these days in evangelicalism it was not contradictory in former days in the days of the

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Puritans Matthew Henry wrote on this passage strive to enter the straight gate he was using the old

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English of gate rather than door but he is referring to this passage this is directed not to him only that asked the question but to all to us plural in number in other words the single man asked a question but Jesus answered in the plural strive is plural and and the pronouns you is plural not singular strive he know all that will be saved must enter in at the straight gate must undergo a change in the whole man such as amounts to no less than being born again and must submit to a strict discipline to those that would enter in at the straight gate must strive to enter it's a hard matter to get to heaven and a point that will not be gained without a great deal of care and pains of difficulty and diligence we must strive with God in prayer wrestle with Jacob strive against sin and Satan we must strive in every duty of religion strive with our own hearts be in an agony see he uses the word get agonized here from the

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Greek strive as those that run for a prize referring to Paul excite and exert ourselves to the utmost and take note of the different awakening considerations to enforce this exhortation all that we may be all awakened and quickened by them they are such considerations as will serve to answer the question are there few that shall be saved one think how many take some pains for salvation and yet perish because they do not take enough and you'll say that there are few that will be saved and that highly concerns us to strive many will seek to enter in and shall not be able they seek but they do not strive note the reason why many come short of grace and glory because they rest in a lazy seeking of that which will not be attained without a laborious striving they have a good mind to happiness and a good opinion of holiness and take some good steps toward both but their convictions are weak and they do not consider what they know and believe and consequently their desires are cold and their endeavors feeble and there's no strength or steadiness in their resolutions and thus they come short lose the prize because they do not press forward how different are these words from what we hear today of name it and claim it and rest in it entrance to this narrow gate is not a one -time decision

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Jesus makes it clear again the verb is a present tense imperative you're to keep striving until the day you're granted entrance into the banquet hall but we are infected with a spirit of decisionism in these days based on a defective theology equipped with a defective methodology and a deficient sinners prayer

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Christian workers go about leading people to make one -time decisions of faith and thereafter assure their converts that regardless of their subsequent behavior they'll be granted entrance into heaven but sadly these deluded self -assured complacent individuals who live a life of self -willed existence who say they believe but they're facing to have little impact on their life continue without challenge unshakable in their confidence they indeed are safe but when the

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Lord was asked about salvation he emphasized believing yes but also repenting obeyed suffering enduring overcoming and here striving entrance through this narrow door is not a one -time decision rather it's a lifelong endeavor of striving to enter through faith repentance from sin obedience to the

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Lord Jesus of course when we speak of these things some people are troubled and objections possibly level well if this is true how can anyone be sure their salvation so a matter of assurance comes into play and we're going to address that thoroughly in coming weeks

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Lord willing others might say suppose someone strives for a while then ceases does he lose his salvation of course not he reveals he'd never truly had saving grace does this not imply that people merit by their striving teaching salvation by works certainly not it does not all these objections are ill -founded yes even while striving one may be assured of entry no someone who strives for a while then quits does not lose his salvation he never had saving faith and no it does not teach salvation merited by works it's all of God's grace he moves a person to strive enables him to strive and it's of grace that he bids free entrance to him at the last it's all of grace and then we might postulate one more objection if you teach this then you're saying that people cannot claim to be presently saved that's not true either again the

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Bible describes salvation we have been saved we are being saved we will be saved how does one strive to enter the narrow door it doesn't mean just listening to the

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Word of God regularly it doesn't mean you believe what you heard you have those who are outside here in Luke 13 they heard him apparently believe what he said some knew him quite well they even ate with him and during his earthly ministry but this is not striving to enter the door narrow door what then is it to strive well we repent of sin we believe on him we look for grace we read the

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Word we follow the Word we we we pray we get up in the morning in our cell we take up our cross we thought that's the life of faith that's the life of saving faith and it is work it's striving that we do each and every day and we help one another along the way that's why church fellowship is so critically important people who get out of church and away from church they soon lose their enthusiasm and their motivation and their strength to do so we're moving along as a body of believers toward this destination even as individual

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Christians and so lastly why should we strive to enter because the door is small and only admits a few at a time

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Jesus said this and because the door is open only for a time and because many are deceived

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John Calvin wrote about this about the deception this was added that we might not be perceived by a vain hope as if the multitude of our companions would be of any avail to us the flesh is willing to flatter itself and many who now give themselves every indulgence promised to themselves an easy entrance into life thus men practice mutual deception on each other and fall asleep in wicked indifference to shake off from his own people those flattering hopes

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Christ declares that those who calculate that their possession of life is already certain will be shut out as we close let me ask you the question can you honestly say that your life may be characterized as striving to enter the door no we're not always as fervent as we ought to be as diligent perhaps consistent as we ought to be but we ought to establish in ourselves you know in our lives some consistency and some discipline spiritual discipline daily weekly being with the

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Lord with the Lord's people in the Lord's Word praying humble feeding ourselves with the

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Word of God rather than the world that encroaches itself upon our our thinking day in and day out we need the grace of God every

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Christian is going to make it of course he promises that he will see to it that we make it but he uses means and it and our fate our saving faith the faith that we exhibit is characterized by striving we don't trust in our striving certainly not but we follow that path because this is the difficult way the

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Lord has laid out before us and we are certain we are guaranteed that we will have entrance into that door one day because it's the one who strives that gains entrance it's an assured thing we're not putting anything in doubt here it's a certainty for those who exhibit saving faith a life of discipleship a life of striving does your life validate your claim to be a

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Christian on the day of judgment that's what will be examined may the Lord help each of us let's pray thank you father for your kindness and mercy to us help us to be true to you our

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God and all of these matters forgive us our failures our God our weakness our defections help us our