Sermon Tone Analysis

The Narrow Way

July 2, 2006

*Matthew 7:13-14*

 

“Phil Johnson, the Evangelical Covenant missionary to a newly independent African nation, encountered a ferocious looking, man-eating lion as he was walk­ing from one mission station to another.

Johnson fell to his knees and buried his face in his hands.

Nothing seemed to be happening; the lion was silent.

The missionary peeked through his fingers and saw the lion on its knees, its face buried in its paws.

The missionary said in a trembling (but relieved) voice, "I'm thanking God for delivering me from the jaws of death.

But what on earth are you doing?"

The lion growled, "I'm saying grace"

 

When Marcy first read this story her comment was, funny but there is no where to get it on topic.

I agree, so I’ve used it because it is funny.

It has absolutely nothing to do with today’s message.

Someone put up a sign along one of the muddy roads in rural Alberta during the rainy season.

It read: "Choose your ruts carefully; you'll be in them for the next ten miles."

That sign may invoke a smile, but actually it offers sound advice.

When roads are slippery, it's for your own good that you get into a rut.

But make sure that you choose the right one or you will surely end up in the ditch or you’ll be begging for God’s deliverance from your plight.

In a much more profound sense, Jesus likened our destiny to choosing the right road to travel.

After describing qualities of the Christian life, listen to His concluding words from Matthew chapter 7 and verses 13 & 14 on the Sermon on the Mount (I’ll wait a minute while you find it): /"You can enter God's Kingdom only through the narrow gate.

The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose the easy way.

\\ But the gateway to life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it.”

/

*The Broad Way of Destruction*

Elaborating on the Golden Rule, Jesus presented the clear way of access into righteousness.

The righteousness He demanded (does not come through the *wide... gate* and the *broad... road.*

Rather it comes *through* the *small... gate* and the *narrow... road.*

In light of the whole sermon, it was obvious Jesus was comparing the wide gate and the broad road to the outward righteousness of the Pharisees.

If those listening to Jesus followed the Pharisees’ teachings, their path would lead *to destruction* (/apōleian/, “ruin”).

*The narrow gate* and road referred to Jesus’ teaching, which emphasized not external requirements but internal transformation.

As Romans 12:2 puts it, /“Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.

Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.

“ /Even the Lord Jesus acknowledged that *few would find* the true way, the way *that leads to life.* 1 Corinthians 15:51 tells us /“ \\ But let me tell you a wonderful secret God has revealed to us.

Not all of us will die, but we will all be transformed.”

/

/ /

Most people, Jesus says, journey on the road that requires no commitment to get through the gate nor conviction of truth to stay the course.

It's the easy way of the world, where you give allegiance only to yourself and do whatever satisfies your own fancy.

And since it's the popular way to go, you need only follow the crowd.

The broad way is the easy way; it is the popular way.

But we must not judge spiritual profession by statistics; the majority is not always right.

The fact that "everybody does it" is no proof that what they are doing is right.

Those of you who have raised children will remember your child blurting “He did it!”

or “She does it!”.

For an expert opinion let’s ask Janette.

How about it, does this sound familiar?

Those of you without children have a lot to look forward to!

The point is that children to not have to be taught to follow the crowd.

It is part of our sin nature.

Why does Jesus call us sheep?

(you don’t really want me to tell you, do you?)

You must choose the narrow way otherwise you will fall into the broad path of the crowd, which is highly unlikely to be the right way.

Quite the contrary is true: God's people have always been a remnant, a small minority in this world.

The reason is not difficult to discover: The way of life is narrow, lonely, and costly.

We can walk on the broad way and keep our "baggage" of sin and worldliness.

But if we enter the narrow way, we must give up those things.

Here, then, is the first test: /Did your profession of faith in Christ cost you anything?

/If not, then it was not a true profession.

Many people who "trust" Jesus Christ never leave the broad road with its appetites and associations.

They have an easy Christianity that makes no demands on them.

Yet Jesus said that the narrow way was /hard.

/We cannot walk on two roads, in two different directions, at the same time.

If we are children of the King, we will bear fruit – fruit that is good, fruit that lasts says John. Romans 7:4 tells us, /“So this is the point: The law no longer holds you in its power, because you died to its power when you died with Christ on the cross.

And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead.

As a result, you can produce good fruit, that is, good deeds for God.”/

What if we’re not producing good fruit?

What if we’re not producing a rich harvest of good deeds?

Romans goes on to tells us that if this is the case, we are still being controlled by our old sin nature which produces a harvest of sinful deeds.

It has to be one or the other.

If you are in Christ, you will turn away from the broad way and follow the narrow path.

There is always a price to pay for doing what is right!

Actually, the broad way is the natural way to go — the way all of us are born to travel.

As the Scripture says in Psalm 51:5: /"I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me."/

Contrary to what Dr. Spock and others say, man is not born good!

Let's admit it.

We are all sinners.

As Romans 3:10 & 11 /"There is no one righteous, not even one . . .

We have all turned away."/.

One does not have to curse God to be lost.

Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 3  tells that we just need do nothing — keep meandering along the path of least resistance and "ignore" the call of God to take the road that leads to life.

The important thing to remember is there are no fence-sitters: you are either God’s child or Satan’s.

You are either heaven bound or bound for hell.

You must choose God.

If you do not you’ve chosen to follow the enemy.

We cannot be neutral!

So, have you chosen to follow Christ?

Have you accepted His sacrificial death as the only way to God?

If not, then today is the day of your salvation!

Choose God!

What we tend to overlook is that neglecting to choose God is itself a choice, and as with all decisions, there are consequences.

Roads lead somewhere.

Foolish is the person who sets out on a journey and does not consider where it will end.

Jesus wants us to understand that the broad way /"leads to destruction."

/Often He spoke of hell, a place reserved for the eternal punishment of those who forget God.

Characterized by the loss of all that is good, He likened it to /"darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth"/ as it tells us in Matthew 8:12, an endless torment of pain and /"the fire is not quenched" /it says in Mark 9:48.

The terms used by Jesus to describe this habitation of the damned are doubtless in part figurative, and only by comparing them with what is within our mental grasp can we understand even in a small way the horror of hell.

Jesus is not trying to scare us.

He is a realist and simply wants us to know that everyone who continues on the road of destruction will some day face the day of reckoning with God.

It's hard for those of us in the "now" generation to look ahead and consider the end of our journey.

The gusto of the moment seems too much fun to think about the future.

Yet have you noticed as we get farther down the road, the pleasures of sin become less exciting, and down deep in the soul there is a nauseous sense of loneliness — a yearning for true happiness that is not satisfied.

This unfulfilled desire breeds restlessness, and attempts to find fleshly remedies only bring more despair.

You often see this in the lives of some celebrities.