The Sermon on the Mount - 1st set of twins
The Sermon on the Mount 2/11/07 A.M.
Mt. 7:13-14 The First set of Twins
Jesus concludes His sermon with four warnings, each featured by paired contrasts: two ways (vv. 13–14), two trees (vv. 15–20), two claims (vv. 21–23), and two builders (vv. 24–27).
Let’s be sure we choose between each wisely.[1]
Two ways (vv. 13–14), the two paths of life & their destination
Two trees (vv. 15–20), the two types of fruit we bear, good & bad
Two claims (vv. 21–23), two claims of righteousness, one accepted, one rejected
And two builders (vv. 24–27). The two foundations on which we can build our lives, one will stand the tests, the other will fail
Two ways (vv. 13–14), the two paths of life & their destination
The bad way of sin, and the good way of holiness.
There are but two ways,
Right and wrong,
Good and evil;
The way to heaven, and the way to hell;
We are all walking in one or the other:
There is no middle way now & no middle ground hereafter:
The separation of men into saints and sinners, godly and ungodly, will take us all to eternity.
Mt.7:13-14 13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Enter by the narrow gate:
Jn 10:9. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
Jn. 14:6. 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
The gate into real life is narrow,
As in there is only one gate,
And only one way through that gate,
for wide is the gate and broad is the way
for wide is the gate—easily entered.
The gate is wide, and stands wide open
Everyone is welcome
"You will have abundance of liberty in that way;
Anything goes
You may go in at this gate with all your lusts;
with your desires and your passions:
You may walk in the way of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes;
& the pride of life
and broad is the way—easily trodden.
The broad way allures multitudes into it, and keeps them in it;
The attraction of the broad way is the ease with which it is trodden
The way appears easy and is the most popular;
It is smooth sailing with;
Little opposition,
Few requirements
Few restrictions
Our natural inclinations are not questioned,
If it feels good, do it
If you want it, get it
If it sounds good, it is
If it works for you, it’s the right thing to do
It’s self first, others last
Its self preservation
Its self gratification
Its self glorification
Fears of the issue, are easily hushed, or are in the long run effectually subdued
The fear of consequences,
The fear of judgment,
The fear of God are overcome by a conscience that is seared with a hot iron
We are no longer bothered with questions such as;
Is this good
Is this right
Is this ethical
Is this morally right
What’s the cost?
What is the outcome?
What are the consequences?
What and who will this affect
What are the long term affects?
What does God think about this?
What does God’s word say about this?
What will God do about this?
The many, prefer to travel a spacious and popular road BECAUSE it demands little conscientious effort.
It is a broad way, for there is nothing to hedge in those that walk in it,
No rules, no guidelines, but they wander endlessly;
For there are many paths in a broad way,
that leads to destruction
A wide gate and the broad road is the popular choice, but it leads to one’s destruction
That should frighten us all from it
that it leads to destruction.
Death, eternal death, is at the end of it (and the way of sin tends to it),—everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord.
Whether it is the high way of open profaneness, or the back way of hidden hypocrisy, if it is a way of sin, it will be our ruin, if we do not repent.
and there are many who go in by it.
"You will have abundance of company in that way: many there be that go in
It’s the way of the majority
Because narrow is the gate
There is only one gate – Jesus Christ
1 Tim. 2:5 5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,
Acts 4:12 12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
There is only one way to enter that gate -- narrow
Conversion and regeneration by the new birth,
Jn. 3:3, 5. 3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
The bent of the soul must be changed, corrupt habits and customs done away with;
We must have a new heart, and a new spirit,
All things must become new and old things must pass away.
According to the gospel of Jesus Christ
Mark 1:14 14 …, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
Gal. 1:6 6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.
V11 11 But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. 12 For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Rom 2:16 16 … God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.
and difficult is the way
The righteousness Jesus demanded (Matt. 5:20) does not come through the wide . . . gate and the broad . . . road. Rather it comes through the narrow . . . gate and the difficult . . . road.
The way is “compressed,” narrowed as in a defile between high rocks, a tight place
The exhortation to enter through the narrow gate places before the disciples the difficulties and rigors of discipleship.
The imagery of a “narrow gate” signifies that the “doing” of Jesus’ commands necessitates a focused and disciplined pursuit.
so we can’t try to carry a lot of excess baggage through this gate
With the new heart, and a new spirit, old things must pass away.
Bad habits and customs must be broken
We can’t continue to do what we’ve always done.
We must swim against the stream;
Much opposition must be struggled with,
And overcome, from without, and from within.
We are not in heaven as soon as we have got through the strait gate, nor in Canaan as soon as we have got through the Red Sea;
no, we must go through a wilderness, (life)
We must travel a narrow way,
Hedged in by the divine law,
Which is exceedingly broad,
And that makes the way narrow;
Self must be denied,
The body kept under subjection & disciplined,
Corruptions mortified,
Daily temptations must be resisted;
Duties must be done that are against our inclination.
We must endure hardships,
We must wrestle against principalities & powers in high places
The life Jesus offers cannot be realized by mindlessly following the crowds.
The whole course is as difficult as the first step -- faith
which leads to life,
Although the “narrow gate” and the “road less traveled” are not a popular option, they constitute the way that leads to “life.”
Disciples are not to compromise their commitment by pursuing the popular path of least resistance.
and there are few who find it.
The gate being so strait and the way so narrow, there are few that find it, and choose it.
Many pass it by, through carelessness;
They will not put forth the effort to find it;
They are well as they are, and see no need to change their way.
Others look upon it, but shun it; they don’t want to be limited or restrained.
There are few that travel this path because its value is not readily perceived nor its demands easily endured
Those that are going to heaven are but few, compared to those that are going to hell; a remnant, a little flock,
When one compares the great numbers of people today who cavalierly identify themselves as Christians (80-90 percent) yet never consider the claims of Christ, one shudders to realize how deadly such deception is.
We need to present Christ’s words boldly so that more professing Christians may reckon with the reality of his lordship.
For only those who truly obeyed his teaching will stand (vv. 24–27).
v21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
We must embrace by repentance both persecution (5:10–12) and the ethics of the kingdom taught in the Sermon on the Mount.
One wonders how many members in our churches today assume that they are saved when in fact they treat Jesus’ teachings lightly—
People who give no thought to their temper,
Their mental chastity,
Their integrity and so forth during the week (compare 5:21–48),
Then pretend to be religious or even spiritually gifted in church.
We need to have the courage to communicate Jesus’ message as clearly as He meant it to be conveyed,
To warn ourselves and others that it is possible for people to assume they are saved and yet be lost
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[1]Richards, Lawrence O.: The Bible Readers Companion. electronic ed. Wheaton : Victor Books, 1991; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1996, S. 609