The Straight Gate

Luke 13:22–30

There is a question people love to ask when they want to stay at a distance from their own soul.

They ask the question in a way that sounds spiritual.

But it is really a way of avoiding the real issue.

Instead of asking, Lord, am I saved

They ask, Lord, are there only a few that be saved

That is what happens in Luke 13.

Jesus is traveling toward Jerusalem.

He is teaching.

He is warning.

He is calling people to repent.

And someone interrupts with a question that feels theological, but it is actually personal.

Verse 22 says he went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.

That matters because Jerusalem is where he will die.

Jesus is not speaking theory.

He is moving toward the cross.

And as he goes, he keeps calling people to respond.

Then verse 23.

Someone says, Lord, are there few that be saved

And Jesus does not answer it the way they want.

He does not give numbers.

He gives a warning instead.

He does not satisfy curiosity.

He creates urgency.

Because you can be close enough to hear preaching and still be lost.

You can be around religion and still miss Christ.

You can know all the right phrases, but not have a right heart.

So tonight’s text is a loving, sobering call.

Do not assume.

Do not delay.

Do not settle for familiarity with Jesus.

Enter into the Straight Gate.

First, Let’s look at…

I. The Question That Dodges The Heart

That question isn’t asked by an atheist.

It’s asked by someone close enough to call Him “Lord.”

And that’s why it’s so dangerous, because it sounds spiritual while it avoids the real personal issue.

A. The Question Sounds Spiritual

Luke 13:23 says, Lord, are there few that be saved

That is a “topic” question.

It is easier to talk about how many get saved than to talk about whether I am saved.

People still do this.

They ask about end times charts.

They argue about doctrines that they do not even obey.

They debate what God is doing “out there.”

All while refusing to deal with what God is doing in here.

Matthew 7:21 says,

Matthew 7:21 KJV

21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

It is possible to say the right words and still miss the narrow gate.

B. The Question Can Become A Shield

If Jesus says, Only a few, then a person might say, Well, I guess it is just too hard to even try.

If Jesus says, Many, then a person might say, Well, I am probably fine.

Either way, the question can become a way to avoid repentance, Changing there mind to align with God’s.

Jesus refuses to let the question remain abstract.

He turns it into a personal command.

Verse 24 says, Strive to enter in at the strait gate.

That is Jesus saying, Stop counting other people and examine yourself.

Stop speculating and start entering.

2 Corinthians 13:5 says,

2 Corinthians 13:5 KJV

5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

That is not meant to produce paranoia

It is meant to destroy presumption

Presuming that you are saved because

you attended church for years

you were born into a christian home, country, etc.

you have done good.

II. The Command That Demands Urgency

This is where Jesus moves from diagnosis to direction.

He reveals what the question was doing, and then He tells them what they must do.

So let’s start with the force of that command in verse 24.

A. The Call To Strive

Luke 13:24 says, “Strive to enter in at the strait gate.”

The word strive carries the idea of earnest effort, intensity, like contending

Jesus is not teaching salvation by works

He is teaching that entering the kingdom

is not casual

It is not automatic

It is not inherited

It is not assumed

It is a decisive response to Christ

John 10:9 KJV

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.

The striving is not earning salvation

The striving is refusing to coast into hell

The striving is refusing to let pride keep you from repentance

The striving is refusing to let procrastination steal your soul

Many people will do almost anything except humble themselves

They will clean up the outside

They will join activities

They will compare themselves to worse sinners

They will hide behind a religious background

But they will not bow to Christ

Jesus says, Strive to enter

Get serious

Get honest

Get humble

B. The Gate Is Strait

Jesus calls it the strait gate

Narrow

Restrictive

Not because God is cruel

But because truth is specific

Salvation is not “any road is fine.”

Salvation is not “as long as you are sincere.”

Salvation is not “my truth, your truth.”

Salvation is a Person.

John 14:6 KJV

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

That is a narrow gate

And that narrow gate is also good news

Because you do not have to guess

You do not have to earn

You do not have to wander

You come to Christ

Acts 4:12 KJV

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

That is not arrogance

That is rescue

God made a way

And it is Christ

C. Many Will Seek Too Late

24 Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.

That is terrifying

Because it teaches that wanting the benefits is not the same as truly entering by faith

There is a difference between seeking Jesus and seeking relief

There is a difference between wanting heaven and wanting Christ

There is a difference in finding a Lord and finding fire insurance.

Some people seek the gate when life gets scary

But they do not want Christ as Lord

They want Christ as an escape hatch

And Jesus warns that there is a point where the seeking becomes too late

Hebrews 3:7–8 KJV

7 Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, 8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:

There is an urgency to responding to God

III. The Warning About A Closed Door

And now Jesus tightens the warning even further.

He is not only calling people to enter.

He is reminding them there is a deadline.

A. The Door Will Not Always Be Open

25 When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:

That is finality

That is a deadline

That is not God being unfair

That is God being true

Life has deadlines

Opportunities close

Choices harden

Hearts calcify

And the day comes when the door is shut

James 4:14 KJV

14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

Your life is a vapour

So do not assume you will “get right with God later.”

B. Familiarity Is Not Salvation

Luke 13:25–26 shows people pleading

25 When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: 26 Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.

Lord, Lord, open unto us

And then they appeal to familiarity

We have eaten and drunk in thy presence

And thou hast taught in our streets

They are basically saying, We were around you

We heard you

We watched you

We were close

But closeness is not conversion

Hearing sermons is not the same as believing the gospel

Growing up in church is not the same as being born again

Matthew 7:22 KJV

22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

And then Jesus says, I never knew you

Notice that phrase — I never knew you

Not, I knew you once and then you lost it

But, I never knew you

They had religion without relationship

They had association without salvation

C. Unrepented Sin Proves The Separation

27 But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.

Do you hear it… “all ye workers of iniquity”

That does not mean saved people never sin

It means their life direction remained iniquity

They never repented

They never surrendered

They never entered

1 John 1:6 KJV

6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

A changed life does not save you

But an unchanged life exposes that you never truly came

IV. The Outcome That Reverses Expectations

Jesus doesn’t stop with the image of a shut door.

He tells us what it looks like on the other side of that decision.

So first, notice the reality of judgment that He describes.

A. There Is Real Judgment

Luke 13:28 says there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth

That is conscious regret

That is sorrow

That is anger

That is realization that opportunity is gone

Jesus loved people enough to warn them

And if we love people, we will not edit Jesus’ warnings out of our preaching

Hell is real

Judgment is real

And Christ spoke about it plainly

B. The Kingdom Includes Unexpected People

Luke 13:29 says people will come from the east and the west and from the north and from the south and sit down in the kingdom of God

That is Gentiles

That is outsiders

That is people the religious crowd did not expect

The kingdom is not for people with the best pedigree

It is for people who come through the gate

It is for people who repent and believe

Ephesians 2:8–9 KJV

8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Nobody sits at that table bragging

Everybody sits there grateful

C. The Last And The First Switch Places

30 And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.

That is a warning to the confident religious person

And it is hope to the humble sinner

God is not impressed by status

God is not impressed by appearance

God looks at the heart

The first can become last because they presumed.

The last can become first because they believed.

Conclusion

Jesus does not answer the question, “Are there few that be saved”, with statistics

He answers with an invitation and a warning

Strive to enter

Not because you can earn it

But because you can miss it

Not because salvation is hard to understand

But because pride makes it hard to accept

The narrow gate is not a complicated gate

The narrow gate is Christ

Repent

Believe

Enter

And do it now!

Because there is a day when the master rises and shuts the door

And at that point, familiarity will not save you

Church attendance will not save you

Knowing Christian language will not save you

Only Christ saves

If you are lost, tonight is not the night to compare yourself to others

Tonight is the night to come through the gate

Come to Jesus with repentance and faith

If you are saved, tonight is not the night to assume your loved ones are fine because they are “around church”

Pray

Witness

Love them

Tell them the truth

Because the door will not stay open forever

And if you are a religious person without rest, without joy, without a changed heart, do not defend yourself.

Do not delay!

Enter the Gate!