So, Are You In Or Out?

Introduction: According to Psychology today, we face an eye-popping 35,000 choices per day. Thinking about your day so far, you have probably already made hundreds of decisions. For example, on a typical day you wake up and must first decide whether or not to even get out of bed for the day. You finally do and make your way to the kitchen, debating whether to go for a cup of coffee, a glass of water, or a tall glass of orange juice.

Then you face the next dilemma: what to wear? You stand in front of your closet, sifting through a sea of clothes. Do you go for comfort or style? Maybe you have a big meeting today, so you decide to dress to impress.

As you step outside, you encounter the morning traffic. Do you take the usual route or opt for a different one? The pressure of being on time nags at you, and you quickly assess the traffic updates on your phone. You decide to take a detour, hoping it'll save you from the misery of gridlock.

Now, at work, the decisions multiply. Do you tackle the mountain of emails first or dive into that important project? The incessant ping of notifications distracts you, but you prioritize the project to meet the looming deadline. Your inbox can wait, right?

Lunchtime rolls around, and you face possibly the most important question of the day: what to eat? You consider the options, weighing the healthier choices against the irresistible aroma of “Five Guys”.

In the midst of your day, your phone buzzes. It's a friend inviting you to a last-minute social gathering in the evening. Now, do you choose to relax and unwind at home or embrace the opportunity for some much-needed social interaction? You consider your energy levels, and while you're tempted to decline, you decide to go, knowing it'll be worth it.

As the day draws to a close, you return home to face the ever-looming question of dinner. Do you cook or order in? Your tired self protests against the idea of cooking, so you settle for some takeout, savoring the prospect of an effortless meal.

Finally, as you wind down, you contemplate how to spend your free time. Do you binge-watch a new series or pick up that book you've been meaning to read?

Throughout the day, decisions pepper your life, ranging from the mundane to the significant. Some choices may seem trivial, while others have far-reaching consequences. Everyone tackles these choices differently, like Steve Jobs who decided to give himself a work uniform (the famous black turtleneck and jeans) so that he would never have to decide what to wear again. But with pretty much everything we do in life we have an almost crippling amount of options.

That’s not even to mention the more significant questions in life. Where will I work? Who will I marry? Where should I live?

Yet when it comes to the most significant choice we will ever make, Jesus makes very clear in the Sermon on the Mount that regardless of who you are, your eternal destiny comes down to two options: concerning the kingdom of God, are you in or out?

Of course Jesus want everyone to choose to be in the kingdom of God and so he begins the invitation part of his sermon in verses 13-14 with the command to enter:

Matthew 7:13–14 NKJV

“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 is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

This is the moment that the entire sermon on the mount has been working towards. Jesus has been systematically dismantling the traditions of man and clearly presenting the commands of God so that we would understand what it means to be a kingdom citizen. So that we would be brought to the point that we understand that there is absolutely no way we can embody the characteristics of a kingdom citizen on our own, and to present us with the final choice that there is only one way into the kingdom of God and it is by the narrow gate of faith in Christ alone.

It is narrow because there is no other way, and it is difficult because you must abandon all of your ideas of what it means to be good in order to enter. Like Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3, “You must be born again.” You must recognize that any man-made notion of goodness must be abandoned and everything must become new. You are, in fact, starting a brand new life in Christ. All are invited to enter, but you must enter through Christ alone.

The choice is so narrow that Jesus even commands us that if we are going to enter into the kingdom of God there are two specific, massive roadblocks He commands us to avoid: false teachers and false professions.

Beware of False Teachers

Matthew 7:15–20 NKJV

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

Jesus warns that there are false teachers that profess to be servants of God, but are really just preying on the sheep for selfish benefit.

Micah 3:5 NKJV

Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets Who make my people stray; Who chant “Peace” While they chew with their teeth, But who prepare war against him Who puts nothing into their mouths:

The danger of false prophets is greatly increased by their purposeful deception. They dress as friends but are rather the enemy.

Example: OT prophets would often wear rough clothes. So, OT false prophets would also come in rough clothes.

Zechariah 13:4 ““And it shall be in that day that every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies; they will not wear a robe of coarse hair to deceive.”

Similarly, shepherds wore woolen clothing made from the wool of the sheep they tended.

Example: Indulgences in the Catholic Church

So, how can we protect ourselves from these deceptive false teachers?

We must carefully evaluate their fruits.

Beware of False Professions

Matthew 7:21–23 NKJV

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Not only do we need to be aware of deceptive false teachers, but we also need to be aware of our own self-deception.

The False Professions of Verbal Agreement

The False Profession of Intellectual Knowledge

Conclusion: So, how can we know if we are on the narrow path?

Matthew 7:24–27 NKJV

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”