Few That Find New Life

OCTOBER 2, 2022 STUDY NOTES MATTHEW 7:13-23 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES FEW THAT FIND NEW LIFE INTRODUCTION The closing verses of Matthew 7 are the conclusion of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Read it Mt 5-7) It is now time for the invitation, the time for you to make your decision, will it be Jesus or not? Decisions are not uncommon for us we make decisions every day concerning our life Some are for the moment, some for tomorrow, some are for the future, “one” is for eternity The decision Jesus is calling for, is for the present moment, for the rest of your life, and for eternity Jesus gives us only two possibilities to choose from, so we can only make “one” choice Some would like to have more options to choose from, and many think they do Some would like to combine the options together, attempting to live two ways of life Which is the way many attending church throughout America today are attempting to live If that lifestyle was acceptable before God Jesus would not have preached this sermon It is important that you make the right choice and that you are sure that you have made it now The truth is, we have all made our choice, but is it the one that Jesus calls for in this passage? Listen to Jesus, He tells us of the right choice for life today and for our eternal state You may have come to church this morning with the wrong choice in mind, heart, and life You will leave church today with your decision, it can be the right choice, you can accept Jesus today! There are many contrasts within this passage to identify for us the right choice There are two gates, one is straight or narrow, and one is wide There are two ways, one is narrow, and one is broad There are two destinations, one way leads to destruction, one way leads to life There are two groups of travelers, in one group there are many, in the other there are few Mat 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: “ENTER YE,” immediately Jesus instructs us concerning the right decision for our life, He said “Enter” “Enter” is more than an invitation, it is a command, it is the most important decision of your life “Enter” is God’s invitation to be born again, the spiritual birth, entrance into the spiritual life (John 3) There is a sense of urgency in the voice of Jesus, He calls for immediate action, don’t put it off Paul states the same truth, 2Co 6:2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) “Enter” this gate and you will receive eternal life, you will “enter” into the Kingdom of God If you refuse to enter the way that Jesus commands, you will not enter-into the Kingdom of God Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (There will be no participation within the Kingdom of God) Joh 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (You enter the Kingdom of God through the spiritual birth) Joh 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. (Born from above by receiving Jesus) Many say they are thinking about what Jesus said, they say, one day I will, when I get ready Page 1 of 5 You will not be saved by admitting that you need to be saved, or agreeing that Jesus is the Savior You cannot just think about, talk about, read about, and sing about salvation, you must be born again No one is “almost” saved, you are either saved or lost, King Agrippa did not get saved by just listening, Act 26:28 Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. The command of Jesus is to “enter” now, and He explains why it is so important to do so Understand that you must enter “IN AT THE STRAIT GATE,” there is only “one” entrance Which does not mean straight like an arrow, it does not mean the shortest distance between two points It is a narrow gate, entrance is limited, there is only “one” door, Jesus said, Joh 10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. (He shall be saved) There is only “one” way, Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. There is no other way of salvation, Act 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. (You must be saved) Only through Jesus Christ can you enter-into the presence of God, 1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; (Only through Jesus can you enter) Today’s preaching of “easy believism” salvation is not the narrow entrance presented by Jesus The gate is narrow, you must come alone, you cannot come associated with Christian family or friends Entrance into the Kingdom of God is a personal commitment of your life to Jesus Sinners must come alone, just as they are, you bring nothing but your sinful life, no personal righteousness Tit 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; (Regeneration is the spiritual birth through Jesus) Jesus rejects the efforts of sinful man’s attempts to be right with God through their so-called religion You cannot come with the attitude of, “I am as good as anyone one that goes to church on Sunday” You must come like the publican that Jesus spoke of, Luk 18:13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. (You must come to Jesus as a sinner separated from God, lost and hell-bound) The gate is narrow because you must “repent” of your sins, believe, and receive the gospel of salvation There are those today who teach that repentance is not necessary unto a salvation experience Jesus preached repentance at the beginning of His ministry, Mar 1:14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, Mar 1:15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. (The gate is narrow) Jesus told Matthew, “I have come to call sinners to repentance,” Mat 9:13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. John the Baptist preached repentance, Mat 3:1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, Mat 3:2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. He preached bring forth fruit to verify repentance, Mat 3:8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: Repentance was the message of the 12 Apostles sent out by Jesus, Mar 6:7 And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits; Mar 6:12 And they went out, and preached that men should repent. (The gate is narrow) Peter preached repentance, Act 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; Paul preached repentance, Act 20:21 Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Page 2 of 5 Listen to the personal testimony Paul gave to King Agrippa, Act 26:20 But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance. Repentance unto salvation is a salvation that works, a new life that lives for Christ, Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Paul entered the narrow gate) God desires that all will repent, 2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. The gate unto salvation is narrow, you leave everything of self at the entrance, you give all to Jesus A self-centered nature is not narrow, self-righteousness and self-glory are too wide to enter “FOR WIDE IS THE GATE AND BROAD IS THE WAY THAT LEADETH TO DESTRUCTION AND MANY THERE BE WHICH GO IN THEREAT” The gate that is wide is the opposite direction of the narrow gate and leads to a different path It is wide and easy to go through because it has no restrictions, come as you are with all you have to offer How to enter is your choice, you come on your terms, you make up your own rules and guidelines Your claim to salvation can be anything you believe and desire: I am as good as my neighbor who goes to church I am a good neighbor I treat everyone right I am a good provider for my family and often help other people I go to church when I have time and I give an offering sometimes I respect the church, God, Jesus, and the Bible, I even own a Bible The gate to destruction is wide enough for you to claim anything you want too as a testimony The wide gate allows for a life of ease and self-indulgence You can live a self-righteous life, or you can continue to live your own sinful way of life You can be yourself, you can do it your way, and you will have plenty of friends The wide gate is highly advertised, it is well promoted as the American lifestyle The wide gate appeals to the lust of your flesh, it is presented as attractive, and filled with happiness The sign over the gate says, enter here if you want to live it up, it doesn’t get any better than this It is true that it will not get any better, but it will get a lot worse, it “leads to destruction” The news media has given us an illustration of this word “destruction” this past week The destruction of hurricane “Ian” gives us an idea of the loss of life identified in the word “destruction” The destruction of earthly and material possessions that people committed their life to accomplish A complete earthly loss, leaving people with nothing, no home, no clothes, no material goods Picture an earthly life, a life that accumulated only earthly things, picture it all destroyed That is the destruction you will experience through entrance into the wide gate, all will be lost Peter describes the wide gate of “destruction” with false teaching, which is why the gate is wide, 2Pe 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. The word damnable and destruction is the same word translated “destruction” in Matthew 7:13 For the false teachers and all who follow them, all will be lost, all will be ruined For those who reject Jesus, the life that they have chosen to live will be a complete loss The lost are living their life on the road of loss, losing daily life, and all will end in destruction Peter calls that path of destruction “swift” it will be unexpected But when it happens it will be suddenly, they will not be ready for it to happen “Destruction” is the opposite of salvation, salvation is eternal life, life united with God forever Page 3 of 5 Destruction is eternal separation from God, Peter uses the same word again, 2Pe 2:2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. Peter agrees with Jesus, “many” will follow, “many” will enter the wide gate In our day people want to follow an “easy believe” salvation, a way of salvation that they like People want a salvation plan that pleases man, that appeals to the sinful flesh Which Peter describes as “pernicious ways,” same Greek word translated “destruction” Their choice is the wide gate which is-in contrast to the “way of truth,” the narrow gate Peter uses the same word again assuring us of the truth of “destruction,” 2Pe 2:3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. “Damnation” describes the truth of “destruction,” which is often presented in scripture Through the wide gate is condemnation, judgment, and punishment, promised by God Which will come to pass, God is not asleep, God has not forgotten His promises God’s blessings upon the saved will come, God’s “damnation” upon the lost will come Peter uses the same Greek word again to describe the coming “damnation,” 2Pe 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. The word “perdition” means “to be delivered up to eternal misery” (The path of the wide gate) The fiery judgment of the ungodly means that all will be lost and ruined (Through the wide gate) The loss of all things that they lived for, all-of the things that the ungodly call good “Ungodly men” are those without God in their life They have no time for God, and they think they have no need for God (Their gate is wide enough) They live their life without reverence or fear toward God, they are the god of their daily life Their self-success is sufficient for their way of life, they do not need to depend upon God The judgment of the Day of the Lord will fall upon all-of the ungodly followers of Satan and sin The opposite of “perdition” is “salvation,” Salvation is being with God and sharing in His Glory Which will be experienced by entering-into the “Straight Gate” Mat 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. “Life” is what people are interested in, life is what people are looking for, many looking in the wrong way The wide gate is a path of spiritual blindness, Eph 4:18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: There is no understanding of the truth of life in the darkness of sin, it is a path of spiritual ignorance The wide gate does not post signs telling you that you are presently separated from God Or that if you continue the same path, you will be eternally separated from God The sinful heart is blind to the truth of the “straight gate” and the “narrow way” “Which leadeth unto life,” life today, true life today, eternal life for the future, Joh 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. (By entering the narrow gate) It is hard for Christians to understand what Jesus says next, but it is true, “and few there be that find it” There is a popular teaching today known as “universalism,” the belief that all will eventually go to heaven That there is no such place known as hell, there will be no eternal separation from God There will be no future judgment of sin and evil resulting in eternal torment All of which is according to the teaching related to the entrance into the wide gate You can live like you want to today and it will all turn out to be okay No wonder many go through the wide gate, yet God still has the narrow gate open, why? Page 4 of 5 1Ti 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. One day the gate will close, but it is still open because God is not willing that any should perish, 2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. If you have entered the narrow gate the song you are going to hear is most meaningful to you Page 5 of 5