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Proverbs 21:2 says, “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the hearts.”
Jesus talks about this throughout His sermon on the mount in Matthew 5-7. Many of those Jesus was talking to did not recognize their own sinfulness or the underlying values that please God. I suspect that many today have a false sense of security based on misconceptions this sermon addresses. My response at times has been bewilderment and concern for people, who claim to be Christians, but are not true Christians according to God’s scales.
The sermon’s conclusion starting with Matthew 7:13 and 14 confirms that concern for many who comfort one another with a false sense of security. Matthew 7:13 and 14 says, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult [or narrow] is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (NKJV) Two scary words stand out to me, “many” and “few”, and they should be scary to anyone who is concerned about what happens in eternity. Few will find the narrow gate and the narrow path.
To illustrate the narrow gate and way, think of yourself at the center of a large circle from which you need to escape with only one hidden opening. Why is the gate hidden? The gate is in plain sight. It is the blindness of the observer that hides it. First Corinthians 2:24 says, "But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” We begin life spiritually dead in our trespasses and sins. God must give us spiritual life sufficient to understand our need for Him with both humility and joy that He has provided a way for us to fellowship with Him. It is God that gives us eyes to see, ears to hear and a heart to believe and commit ourselves to Him as our Lord at the point of salvation and all along the way in our Christian walk.
The parable of the soils in Matthew 13:18-23 gives four examples of responses to God’s call. The seed is God’s Word and is always good and accurate. Four heard the call, but only one had a true response of repentance and sorrow for their sin to God’s call to change the ownership of their lives through faith in Jesus Christ. Only one will spend eternity with God based on their genuine faith.
One heard but had no understanding, and Satan snatched away the truth that was sown. A second heard with great enthusiasm, but quickly turned away when faced with sacrifice. And a third had so many other worldly cares that there was no room for God’s truth to grow and change his life. The natural man avoids or ignores the narrow gate because it is foolishness to him. If he happens to be confronted with it, he reaffirms his rejection. Rather than responding in belief and submission to Jesus Christ, he continues on his way.
Just like the large circle, you can go any direction you want in this life, but there is only one narrow gate with a narrow way that leads to eternal life. As the verse describes, most people miss that narrow gate. They do their own thing and walk in the counsel of the ungodly as a slave of sin and self just as we all do without God’s guidance as Psalm 1 describes. Adam and Eve did just that in the garden by listening to Satan and putting their own way above God’s way. God provided hope in the sacrifice of two lambs, and a future hope fulfilled by Jesus’ death on the cross. However, we still deal with the consequences of their sin.
Turning in humility to the Lord Jesus Christ and relying on His sacrifice and guidance brings us to the narrow gate. That is where our ownership can change and we can be adopted by Jesus Christ and have an inheritance in His family. So, how is the right gate and way discovered?
We must be responsive to God’s calling us to Himself and His way. Salvation is both simple and profound. A child can come to Christ with their limited understanding but with a true and tender believing heart. They may have much to learn, but they have a heart to follow God that sticks with them for life. And we have seen that many times over the years. It has been said that Scripture is shallow enough for a small child to not drown but deep enough that a theologian will not be able to plumb its depths.
The word responsive is critical. The narrow gate is constricted with no room for self, pride, or any other baggage to enter. We enter alone by faith with empty and open hands. Only by God’s mercy and grace do we have ears to hear, eyes to see and a heart to understand and respond in humility and belief to God’s call to Himself. So, how do we know we are responsive to God’s calling? After all, many are called, but what does it mean to respond to Him in faith?
Personally, I had much to learn when I came to Christ since I did not grow up in a family that attended church. But God has kept me coming back to Him. I cannot take credit for this because I have failed many times and have wrestled with doubt and sinful attitudes from time to time, but God has kept me and protected me through all my weakest times. What is important about being responsive to God’s calling in belief is that it comes as a package deal. It includes both the narrow gate and the narrow way as the passage says. I’ll explain.
If we have really been responsive to God's call, there is evidence. James 2:19-20 says that faith without works is useless. Turning our lives over to Jesus Christ in repentance and faith is where salvation occurs. Going through the gate is an announcement of changing from the broad way, where the majority are going, to committing ourselves to God’s path and plan for our lives by faith. Our life’s focus changes and is reflected in a dedication to knowing and serving God wholeheartedly even though we have much to learn.
True responsiveness to God’s call bears fruit as the good soil represents. Because of what Christ did on the cross, our lives change, and we are not lukewarm or rebellious towards God. We develop a devotion to God because we have been saved. We are not saved because of our devotion to God or by any works we might have done or will do. Our old master is left behind and our new master meets us with open arms. We go from being slaves to sin and self to being slaves to Jesus Christ and all He has for us when we are adopted by Him.
We still live in the world through which we are passing, even though we belong to Christ. Romans 6:23 says the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Our eternal destination with God begins as we turn our lives over to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and enter at the narrow gate and proceed on the narrow way, and it is reserved and indestructible. Does that mean we no longer sin after we are on the narrow way? No, it means we need to confess that sin and allow Christ to cleanse us from that sin so that communion is restored, and we continue walking with Him.
Our surrender to Jesus Christ does not mean we will become an apostle Paul, but it changes our direction in life and starts us on an amazing journey. We have entered the narrow gate, but the way ahead will have challenges where we will need God’s guidance and strength. The world around us constantly tries to redirect our true north in numerous ways. For example, when my job moved us from Kansas to California, our TV antenna did not work because of the surrounding mountains. Partially due to the expense, we decided not to have cable TV, and we didn’t for eleven years. When we finally got TV reception, I was shocked by the many commercials that were not considered to be appropriate eleven years earlier. I wondered how many people had their consciences seared from the world’s exposure during those eleven years?
That brings me to a story about a Navy Ship, the USS Huron, which left the harbor of Hampton Roads, VA on Friday, November 23, 1877. It was headed to Havana, Cuba. The first night a heavy storm blowing from the southeast caused the Huron to run aground off Nags Head at 1:30 a.m. only 200 yards from shore. Without lifeguards on duty, the heavy surf, strong currents, and cold temperatures took the lives of 98 men that night. An inquiry revealed that an item near the ship’s compass had changed their course just enough to bring them close to shore when they thought they were miles out to sea.
Just like the USS Huron, over distance and time small errors can cause us to stray from what’s right. We get our true north from the Scriptures, but we must stay in touch with its guidance because the world and our own flesh constantly draws us away. We must allow Scripture to guide our values and lives so that we safely follow God daily rather than being drawn away. God’s Word is unchangeable and is completely reliable to guide us to enter the narrow gate and sustain us all along the way.
So, if you have not walked through the gate, then now is the time to come to God in repentance and submission to Him and as the Savior and Lord of your life. If you are not sure, then respond in faith to the One who is drawing you to Himself. Repent from your life of rebellion and indifference towards Him, and trust in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross with all your heart, soul, and life. This does not mean that life will suddenly be easy and joyful. It just means you are taking the first step in the only safe direction and forsaking all other directions. You are changing your ownership from sin and self to adoption as sons and daughters of God through the redeeming sacrifice of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
If you prayed a prayer in the past and were comforted with words of security and hope, but your life has not included a change in direction that focuses on knowing and serving the Lord, then you are most likely one of the first three soils that did not have a real spiritual birth. It just does not work that way. Properly responding in belief to God’s call results in a changed life for a true conversion. Many are deceived about that standard which is why the way is wide.
If you have walked through the gate and are looking ahead for what God has for you in this life, where do you go for direction? How do you know what God’s way means for you specifically? I can’t tell you specifics for your life, but I can tell you what should be true of every believer who is seeking to follow the Lord’s will for their lives. True believers must be developing a relationship with God by talking with Him and following the true compass He has given us in His Word.
In John 17:3 Jesus prayed to the Father and said, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
Eternal life starts the moment you walk through the narrow gate in belief here in this life on earth. Get to know your new master by regularly spending time with Him in His Word and learn what He has for you as you daily seek His plan for your life. When I was delivering furniture, I remember finally learning to get out the map and plot my trip before expending so much wasted time and gas looking for my destination. Jesus Christ is the narrow gate and is with us all along the narrow way. God has given us His Scripture and His Holy Spirit as our true compass for His way in our lives. Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is lamp to my feet And a light to my path.”
So, thank you for considering this mini meditation. If you have not already done so, I pray that you will turn to Jesus Christ today in belief as your Savior and Lord. Whether you are already a believer or just beginning an amazing journey with Him, I pray that as you interact with Him in the Scripture, you will come to see Him drawing you close to Himself.
We have just looked at a dangerous error that is hidden from many. In the first meditation we looked at young men who left the faith when they left home. And in the next meditations we will consider other dangers according to Matthew 7.
At the end of this text version of this meditation you'll find Questions to Ponder and a Hymn for Encouragement
Father, I pray that You will take the meditation we have heard today and plant it in our hearts that we might apply it appropriately for Your glory. I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
"When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” Isaac Watts
When I survey the wond'rous Cross
On which the Prince of Glory dy'd,
My richest Gain I count but Loss,
And pour Contempt on all my Pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the Death of Christ my God:
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His Blood.
See from His Head, His Hands, His Feet,
Sorrow and Love flow mingled down!
Did ever such Love and Sorrow meet?
Or Thorns compose so rich a Crown?
His dying Crimson, like a Robe,
Spreads o'er his Body on the Tree;
Then am I dead to all the Globe,
And all the Globe is dead to me.
Were the whole Realm of Nature mine,
That were a Present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my Soul, my Life, my All.