Make your choice Matthew 7:13-14

Introduction

Remember the sermon on the mount is about kingdom living. Its about a life that we cannot live outside of the help of the Holy Spirit. As Jesus is getting ready to close out this sermon he reminds the crowd that in life there are only two destinations. Here Jesus uses the picture of a gate to show the two eternal destinations.

One commentator said it this way “In perfect harmony with His absolute sovereignty, God has always allowed men to choose him or not, and He has always pleaded with them to decide for Him or face the consequences of a choice against Him.”

God has chosen to redeem mankind through the sacrifices of the perfect lamb, His Son Jesus Christ and now man must choose to accept the free gift or reject it, there is no in between.

Look what God told Moses to say in Deuteronomy 30:19–20 “19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: 20 That thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”

Joshua brought the children of Israel to a choice after they took the promised land in Joshua 24:13–15 “13 And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat. 14 Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord. 15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Elijah asked Gods people this in 1 Kings 18:21 “21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.”

Look what the Lord told Jeremiah to tell the people in Jeremiah 21:8 “8 And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death.”

Jesus brought his followers to a choice in any many turned away John 6:66–69 “66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. 67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? 68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. 69 And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Tonight as we look at these two verse, we will see the two choices; the broad gate or the narrow gate. Our Lord’s teachings demand a response. Sitting idly by and trying to remain neutral is not an option. Sitting on the fence will not work. Two paths, two gates, stand before us. The one you choose has massive consequences.

The Broad Gate vs. 13

Its interesting to note that Jesus begins by commanding us to enter at the straight gate, and then goes immediately to the consequences of entering at the broad gate.

There is an urgency in the commands of Christ because of the consequence of choosing the wrong gate.

Jesus tells us that the gate is wide, there is plenty of room for people to go through the gate

One commentator wrote it this way “The road that leads to the gate called destruction is large, attractive, and well traveled (Carson, Sermon, 123). Lots of people walk down it. It is the popular road, the well-known road. Ideologically it is not narrow in its thinking; it is open-minded. Morally it is not restrictive in its behavior; it has few rules. Virtually anything goes. Spiritually it is inclusive. Those on this road argue that there is a wide highway to heaven. Take the left, take the right, or stay in the middle, they say. We are all headed to the same place, its signs tell us.”

The broad road was not new in Jesus’ day and it isn’t any different today. Satan tempted Adam and Eve with the broad road, when he told them to trust him rather than God.

It’s amazing how Satan is still using the same logic on us today. It might sound a little different but its essentially the same thing.

He might say something like “God is to good to send anyone to hell” or “hell isn’t a real place”

Solomon warned his son of this in Proverbs 1:10–16 “10 My son, if sinners entice thee, Consent thou not. 11 If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, Let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause: 12 Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; And whole, as those that go down into the pit: 13 We shall find all precious substance, We shall fill our houses with spoil: 14 Cast in thy lot among us; Let us all have one purse: 15 My son, walk not thou in the way with them; Refrain thy foot from their path: 16 For their feet run to evil, And make haste to shed blood.”

Proverbs 1:18 “18 And they lay wait for their own blood; They lurk privily for their own lives.”

Those on the broad road are setting their own eternal ambush.

The wide gate has a broad path that leads to destruction and all of us were on that path at one point in our life, notice you can get off the path before you enter in the gate. Once you go past the gate though there is no going back. There is only one way to get off the broad way and that is to take the narrow way, and that is through Jesus Christ.

While the world tells us to be open minded Christ tells us to be narrow minded.

The Strait Gate vs. 13a, 14

Jesus has continually shown the narrowness of God’s internal standard of righteousness in contrast with the broad and external standards of Jewish tradition.

The path to the narrow way of kingdom living is through the strait gate of the King himself

John 14:6 “6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

John 10:9 “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.”

Acts 4:12 “12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

1 Timothy 2:5 “5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”

The road that leads to this gate is narrow and few find it.

We can pay nothing for Salvation, but coming to Christ will cost us everything we have.

Luke 14:26 “26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.”

Luke 14:28–31 “28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? 29 Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, 30 Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. 31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?”

The strait gate leads to life

John 14:1–3 “1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

Conclusion

There are only two gates that you can go through at the end of your life the wide gate leads to destruction and the strait gate leads to life. Which will you choose, everyone has to make a choice.

John 6:37–40 “37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. 38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. 39 And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. 40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”