The Narrow Gate

Introduction

SotM

What a follower of Jesus looks like

Kingdom etiquette

This is the conclusion to the Sermon

The main teaching has been given:

Matthew 7:12 (CSB)

Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

Now Jesus begins to wrap up his sermon with a couple serious warnings

Scripture Reading

Matthew 7:13–23 (CSB) (13-14; 15-20; 21-23)

“Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it.

“Be on your guard against false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves. You’ll recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit; neither can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So you’ll recognize them by their fruit.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name?’ Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!’

Expect Difficulty

Matthew 7:13–14 (CSB)

“Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it.

I know you have heard it before, but this is true: Being a follower of Jesus is not easy

We are never promised an easy life free from suffering, hardships, and trials

We somehow get it in our heads that following Jesus will fix all our problems and change every circumstance, but it’s simply not true

Jesus here is saying “Expect Difficulty!”

Guys, I can confidently say that it is easier to not follow Jesus

Listen again to Jesus’s words:

Matthew 7:13–14 (CSB)

“Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it.

I imagine a current in a river

There is a strong pull to go in the same direction, its broad and wide, sweeping everyone away

As followers of Jesus we are called to the narrow path, the difficult road

Not for difficulties sake, not because we are rebels, but because it is the one path that truly leads to life

As we have gone through the SotM the last several months, Jesus has taught us so much

It might sound easy in theory, but in reality it is difficult

It is easier to not love your enemies

It is easier to judge and criticize other

It is easier to live life for the praise of others and not for God

Its easier to not go the second mile, to be dishonest, to be angry at those who wrong you

But Jesus is wrapping up this sermon telling his listeners to expect difficulty

A life of following Jesus isn’t easy but it is worth it

We are promised rewards in heaven for our devotion to God

We are promised new bodies, new dwelling places, a new home with the presence of God

We are promised a life free from sin and sorrows

But we have to be able to let go of the things we have now in order to receive what we hope for

Ex. Clenched fists

So know… if life is not easy right now, it does not mean that God is far, or that his plan isn’t being accomplished.

Jesus tells us to expect difficulty as we follow him

The next thing Jesus tells us it to:

Be On Guard

Matthew 7:15–20 (CSB)

“Be on your guard against false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves. You’ll recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit; neither can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So you’ll recognize them by their fruit.

We aren’t to make this walk alone

I’ve tried in college

We need other people to be the body of Christ to us

We need others wisdom and counsel

We need others correction and rebukes

We need others love and support

But the sad reality is that not everyone that says they are a follower of Jesus and says they care about us actually do.

Who here has had someone present themselves in a certain way to find out that the person was not like that at all?

We are to be on guard with the people we let speak into our lives, there are people out there that will try and manipulate you (even using Jesus’s name) to get what they want from you

And I am not exempt!

Don’t listen to every word I say and take it as truth, test what I say against what God’s word has to say

Like the Bereans in Acts 17

Acts 17:10–12 (CSB)

As soon as it was night, the brothers and sisters sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. Upon arrival, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. The people here were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, since they received the word with eagerness and examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Consequently, many of them believed, including a number of the prominent Greek women as well as men.

I don’t want to make disciple of me; I want to make disciples of Jesus

And we aren’t left alone to be suspicious of everyone

Jesus tells us how to judge who is genuine and who is not.

What does he say?

Look at the fruit!

Look at that persons life!

Galatians 5:22–23 (CSB)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things.

He says “You will recognize them by their fruit”

False leaders - character

Good leaders (despite outward success) - character

This is extremely important as you get ready to move out and go to college

You have this safe, genuine, Jesus loving community here

But you might not be here forever

You might have to find a new community down the line

You might have to find a new pastor to trust and teach you

How do you decide?

You cant just trust everyone because they say they are a follower of Jesus

Jesus tells us to be on guard

Surround yourself with people that point you to Jesus not themselves

No person should be your sole life-line in your spiritual walk

We all need to know and love Jesus individually

This transitions into the last thing Jesus has to say today:

Knowing Jesus

It’s not about doing things for Jesus, it’s about knowing Jesus

Matthew 7:21–23 (CSB)

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name?’ Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!’

As kingdom citizens, we can’t forget our aim and purpose

It’s not just to do things for the kingdom

It is to know the king and represent him to the world

This text is one of the scariest texts to me in the entire Bible:

Matthew 7:22–23 (CSB)

On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name?’ Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!’

Are we doing what are called to do just to check boxes or do we actually know Jesus?

Can you honestly say that you know Jesus and Jesus knows you?

All of us will face Jesus, whether we live long lives and die or whether he comes today

Jesus talks about this time later in Matthew:

Matthew 25:31–34 (CSB)

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

This is our glorious hope

The reality is each of us will hear one of two sets of words as we sit before Jesus:

“I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers”

or

“Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.”

Conclusion

In this portion of Jesus’s sermon, he is preparing us for a lifetime of following him

He is warning us that this is not the easy way to go, that it is difficult and narrow

He is warning us to be on guard.

We have access to God himself, others might fail us but God never will

He is reminding us that it is about knowing him, not performing for him.

I want to finish with one final encouragement

Often when we talk about the difficulty of the Christian life we fail to see the purpose behind it

We think we are to live hard and difficult lives, carrying our cross, dying to ourselves

Which is true

But the gospel is more than the cross

What comes next?

We often forget about the resurrection

We are to follow Jesus through difficult times because of the great promise and hope of the resurrection

Here He’s warning us that this is not the easy path but it is the only path that leads to life

So we can expect trials but rejoice because we know that it is not the end of the story

Do you know what Paul’s life goal was?

Philippians 3:10–11 (CSB)

My goal is to know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead.

His goal was to know the fellowship of Jesus’s suffering so that he might know the power of his resurrection

I don’t know what difficulties you are all going through in this room

But I do know that life is not easy

That thinks might not get better

But that is okay

As Christians, our hope isn’t in our circumstances

Our hope is in the resurrection

That everything bad can come our way and we can remain confident in our hope

And we often forget, but I want to remind you all of this great unshakeable hope that we have

Bigger than our fears, our anxieties, our future plans

We are people who are confident in the Resurrection

That one day, for the rest of eternity, these words we hope in will become true:

Revelation 21:3–4 (CSB)

Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away.