The Narrow Door

Introduction

Alistair Begg tells the story of preaching in Boston for a pastor’s conference.

He got up early one morning a found a restaurant on Harvard’s Yard to grab a quick breakfast and brush up on his sermon.

For some reason, he began to despair. Some of the people in the restaurant had come from off the street. Others were college students who had had no clue whether they were believers or not. He was overwhelmed with the lostness of the area and how insignificant he felt to address it.

However, two things happened. First, a sparrow landed on his table inside the restaurant. And he remembered what the Lord said about caring for sparrows.

He looked up from his sermon, and he saw a young Korean girl reading her Bible. He approached her, and he asked if she was a Christian. She said, “Oh, yes. I’ve found the narrow way!”

Have you ever heard anyone describe their faith that way? The narrow way?

Do you often think about your faith as the narrow way? We live so close to many other Christians and for that matter, Christians who don’t look like Jesus. So we never really think about the fact that what we believe is a Narrow Door.

Read Luke 13:22-30

Luke 13:22–30 ESV

He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

Explanation

The Narrow Door - “I am the only way to God.”

Jesus is asked the question, “How many will be saved?” These are some difficult texts where Jesus is preaching about responding to the gospel and the hard road ahead.

Jesus never answers the question. He never says how many will be saved. He punts that question and moves back to the more important theme - one we have talked about for several weeks. The need for personal response to His message.

That’s a little bit of what is happening here. We want to ask the big ethereal questions, but we miss the personal responsibility of faith in Jesus and daily walking towards Him.

He says, “Strive to enter through the narrow door.”

That word, “strive” in the Greek gives us the word agonizamai. We derive the word agony from it. It is a word used in training for battle or a difficult sporting competition.

Why is the door narrow? Two reasons. Lets pretend they are the two doorposts today.

Jesus is the only way to God.

We live in a world where everyone has “their truth.” Truth is not relative. Truth is not dependent upon anyone or anything. Not every religious view is created equally - but Christianity is not created. It is the way to God given to us from God, Himself.

Jesus is the only Son of God, and ultimately, He is the only way to God.

We live in a pluralistic age: people believe in a variety of spiritual principles, gods, and practices. And we are taught that they believe what they believe and we believe what we believe, and we should leave well enough alone. I have a few problems with that thinking.

Firstly, Jesus tells us to go and make disciples of HIM of all nations. We aren’t propagating our message, but HIS.

Secondly, Jesus will never be the “one of many” teachers that people want Him to be. C. S. Lewis, “He is either the Son of God, a madman, or much worse.” But He isn’t a moral or religious teacher. Jesus simply doesn’t fit with that form of teacher. He demanded that people saw Him as God. That isn’t a good moral teacher if He wasn’t actually God.

Thirdly, this belief that “I have my idea, and you have yours so lets never talk about it” isn’t really a good way to live. I pray that as believers in a day of polarized ideas, we would see the people and not the idea and as a result love the people with the idea - but love them in a way that you give them the hope of the right idea - Jesus.

Faith and repentance are the only right response to Jesus.

You don’t get through the door based upon easy believism. Easy believism (antinomianism by many of the theological greats of the past) is the belief that since God gives us grace, we can now live however we want to live.

If that is your mindset, you don’t want Jesus. You just don’t want the consequences of your sins. That is not salvation.

Easy believism isn’t faith - it is a desire

You also don’t get through the door based upon your effort. That’s called legalism.

Wait a minute Connor, haven’t you told me already that effort is necessary for salvation. Now your telling me that I cannot try?

Grace is not opposed to effort, but it is opposed to earning.

Legalism is the believe that you earn your approval from God based on what you do or do not do. Repentance is the firm resolve that God is better than what you have and a consistent running towards Him.

One heaps the law upon your back. The other give you the grace to walk towards Jesus

John Bunyan:

Run, John, Run, the law commands but gives us neither feet nor hands.

Far better news the gospel brings: it bids us fly and gives us wings.

These two struggles make the door narrow.

The door is narrow, because much of the world, including many Jews who saw Jesus in that moment, don’t think He is the only way to God. You can only be saved by the blood of Jesus.

But the door is even more narrow, because, of those who know Jesus is the only way, won’t walk toward Jesus and away from their sin with faith and repentance.

The Shut Door - “You must walk through the door before it is too late.”

These verses are a warning for those of us who delay following Jesus.

For those of you who may feel that this is unloving or uncaring, remember two things.

Firstly, what is behind the door. Life with God. Once inside the door, notice the care and the love and the faithfulness. Luke 13:29 “And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God.”

Secondly, the door is open to everyone who will come to Jesus. Luke 13:29 “And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God.”

Invitation

Don’t miss the invitation.