The Narrow Path is Difficult

In Matthew 7:13–14, Jesus said, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

Matthew 7:13–14 NKJV

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.

This passage causes some to question the goodness of God. After all, if He really wants to save everyone, why didn’t He make it easier to be saved? Why doesn’t He simply let everyone into heaven?

When we read the word narrow, it sounds as though God has rated us all on some scale of acceptability and only allows a select few to enter His presence.

However, a few verses earlier, Jesus had told the same audience, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened" (Matthew 7:7–8).

Matthew 7:7–8 NKJV

7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

Jesus made it clear: the path to eternal life is open to everyone who asks.

However, the gate to heaven is “narrow” in the sense of having a particular requirement for entrance—faith in Jesus Christ.

Salvation is found only in the Person of Jesus Christ; He is the only way (John 14:6). The “wide” gate is non-exclusive; it allows for human effort and all other of the world’s religions.

Jesus says that the narrow gate leads to a “hard” road, one that will take us through hardships and difficult decisions.

Following Jesus requires four radical life changing dogma

Crucifying our flesh

(Galatians 2:20; 5:24; Romans 6:2),

Galatians 2:20 NKJV

20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Galatians 5:24 NKJV

24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Romans 6:2 NKJV

2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?

Living by faith

(Romans 1:17; 2 Corinthians 5:7; Hebrews 10:38),

Romans 1:17 NKJV

17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

2 Corinthians 5:7 NKJV

7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.

Hebrews 10:38 NKJV

38 Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”

Enduring trials with Christlike patience

(James 1:2–3, 12; 1 Peter 1:6)

James 1:2–3 NKJV

2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

James 1:12 NKJV

12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

1 Peter 1:6 NKJV

6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,

Living a lifestyle separate from the world

(James 1:27; Romans 12:1–2)

James 1:27 NKJV

27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

Romans 12:1–2 NKJV

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

When faced with the choice between a narrow, bumpy road and a wide, paved highway, most of us choose the easier road.

Human nature gravitates toward comfort and pleasure. When faced with the reality of denying themselves to follow Jesus, most people turn away (John 6:66).

Jesus never sugar-coated the truth, and the truth is that not many people are willing to pay the price to follow Him.

Entering the narrow gate is not easy. Jesus made this clear when He instructed His followers to “strive” to do so. (Luke 13:24)

Luke 13:24 NKJV

24 “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.

The Greek word translated “strive” is agonizomai, from which we get the English word agonize. The implication here is that those who seek to enter the narrow gate must do so by struggle and strain, like a running athlete straining toward the finish line, all muscles taut and giving his all in the effort.

But we must be clear here. No amount of effort saves us; salvation is by the grace of God through the gift of faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). No one will ever earn heaven by striving for it.

But entering the narrow gate is still difficult because of the opposition of human pride, our natural love of sin, and the opposition of Satan and the world in his control, all of which battle against us in the pursuit of eternity.

The exhortation to strive to enter is a command to repent and enter the gate and not to just stand and look at it, think about it, complain that it’s too small or too difficult or unjustly narrow.

We are not to ask why others are not entering; we are not to make excuses or delay. We are not to be concerned with the number who will or will not enter. We are to strive forward and enter! Then we are to exhort others to strive to enter before it’s too late.