Sermon on the Mount: Two Roads

Sermon on the Mount – Two Roads

Matthew 7:13-14

1. Introduction – As we come to the closing verses of the SM – Jesus concludes this teaching with a number of paired alternatives.

a. And what should immediately stand out to us as we read this part of the SM is the absolute nature of these pairs.

i. Jesus, in these illustrations, shows his listeners, shows us today that in life, there are only 2 choices.

1. We are either with him or against him.

a. Now, I don’t need to tell you that we live in a world that inundates us with choices.

i. Better yet, we would like it if we didn’t actually have to choose at all.

ii. We’d love to have a little bit of this and a little bit of that and make our own conglomeration and call it day.

1. But that’s not what Jesus teaches. And the choice we are talking about here isn’t something mundane like chicken of beef…that choice is obvious.

a. Here, we are talking about the 1 decision in like that ultimately matters…the to walk with God – or to stand against him.

b. As he wraps up this incredible sermon – Jesus uses 4 paired alternatives.

i. Each one contrasting between a right and wrong response…between truth and falsehood…between being saved and being lost.

1. The point of this section of the SM is to motivate his listeners to action and towards a decision.

a. One can’t listen to the teaching of the SM and NOT be confronted with a decision.

i. So Jesus says – either you will walk the broad road or the narrow road.

1. Either you will be a good tree that bears good fruit…or you will be a bad tree that bears bad fruit.

b. Either Jesus will welcome you into his eternal kingdom…or he’ll say, “I never knew you.”

i. Either you will be like the wise man who built his house upon the rock…or you’ll be like the foolish man who built his house on the beach.

1. There’s no middle grow…there’s no third choice.

c. What I want you to see in these 4 examples is that each one presses closer and close to home.

i. The first section is a contrast between the lost and the saved.

1. The second concerns outsiders who pretend to be insiders.

a. The third looks at those who think they are insiders but really aren’t…

i. And the fourth draws a line even with the group of insiders…those who respond and those who don’t

ii. in all 4 cases, failure to respond results in catastrophe – destruction, cut down and burned, excluded from the kingdom…and the total collapse of a house.

d. This is what we’ll be looking at over the course of the next 4 weeks.

i. We are going to be faced with some challenging words.

1. Each one of us is going to have to personally examine where we are in our Christian discipleship.

a. What path are we walking? Are we bearing good fruit? Are we even saved at all? Does Jesus know me? What kind of foundation is my life built on?

ii. We are in for some challenging weeks – important weeks…weeks that could…if we allow them too.

1. These weeks could cause a seismic shift in our walk with Jesus.

a. Hear God’s Word – Matthew 7:13-14.

e. So in today’s section – we actually come across a whole series of 2’s

i. Maybe you caught them all as we read.

1. Jesus is contrasting the path that lead to life with the path that leads to destruction…he twice implores his listeners to enter by the narrow gate.

a. In this illustration, Jesus says there are only 2 paths in life – there is no third way…no melding of the two…not straddling the line…one or the other…

i. It’s either/or not both/and…

ii. And in order to make his point – Jesus talks about 2 gates, 2 roads, 2 groups and 2 destinations.

1. Today we’ll explore each set of 2 and hopefully by the end you’ll see that the choice between the 2 gates, roads, groups and destinations is an obvious one to make.

2. Two Gates – So our journey this morning starts where all journeys do…the beginning.

a. And the journey starts as we choose which path to follow.

i. At the beginning of each path are 2 gates….an entrance to each path.

1. And Jesus describes the gates in contrasting ways…one is wide…the other is narrow.

a. Let’s look at the characteristics of both gates…we’ll start with the wide.

b. The gate is wide – Jesus begins.

i. Some translations might say ‘broad or spacious’ or maybe even easy.

1. And the wide gate leads to a wide road that we’ll look at in just a bit.

a. Think of a wide-open space…there’s no restrictions to entering. Come one…come all.

i. Many people can pass through at a time – there’s no limit to the amount of luggage and stuff one can bring.

1. Just bring it all – nothing is left behind…everyone can bring everything they can.

c. Contrast that with the narrow gate – the narrow gate that seems to only allow one person through at a time.

i. Instead of a wide-open space…the narrow gate reminds me of turnstile – only one person through at a time.

1. Now unlike the wide gate – to go through the narrow gate requires us to leave things behind…it requires us to travel light…so we’ll be able to fit through the entrance.

d. What is Jesus speaking of here? Well, with the images of the wide and narrow gate – Jesus is speaking about conversion – about salvation.

i. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life – the only way to the Father…he is exclusively the door…he is the gate that leads to a saved soul, and live lived eternally in his presence.

1. But he contrasts salvation through the narrow gate with rejection of him through the wide gate.

a. You see, with entrance through the narrow gate…to come to Christ – requires us to let go of certain things.

i. Entering through the narrow gate requires us to drop our self-righteousness, our pride…our sins that we hold dear…

1. Entering through the narrow gate requires us to leave ourselves behind…deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Jesus…

a. To enter the narrow gate says along with the apostle Paul – I have been crucified with Christ – yet not I, but Christ who lives in me.

ii. However, travelers that go through the wide gate are permitted to carry with them whatever they want.

1. Keep your sin, keep your self-righteousness, keep your selfish and prideful ways. Take with you whatever you want.

a. The road is wide enough….there’s plenty of space for everyone and everyone’s baggage.

e. Jesus tells us right off the bat…salvation comes exclusively through him….through the narrow gate…and it is costly.

i. Salvation requires us to leave things behind.

1. It requires us to count the cost in order to enter through the narrow gate.

a. One doesn’t happen to enter this gate…it doesn’t happen by accident or by proxy or because you belong to the right family.

i. Each person has to individually count the cost…leave their own luggage behind and make a conscious decision to enter through this narrow gate.

3. Two Roads -but the gates…they are only the beginning of the journey…because the two gates lead to two roads.

a. Two roads that are completely different from each other…and the 2 roads take on similar characteristics to their entrances.

i. The broad and wide gate gives way to a broad, wide and easy road.

1. On the wide road there is plenty of room for diversity of opinions and laxity of morals.

a. John Stott calls it the road of tolerance and permissiveness.

i. It has no curbs, no boundaries of either thought of conduct.

1. Travelers on this road follow their own inclinations.

b. The wide road is a life full of alluring width of moral permissiveness and a seemingly fuller life.

ii. The wide road is the road of whatever please you…if it feels good do it.

1. The road of relativism – because on the wide road, the thought is that all paths lead to God.

a. When I picture the wide road – I imagine it being like that episode of Seinfeld when Cramer bought a stretch of highway…and he turned 3 lanes of traffic into 2 lanes…he made the lanes wider…Cramer’s luxury lanes.

i. In the episode…the good intention was obviously met with disastrous results…

1. The same is true for the wide path of life.

b. But here is another option – enter through the narrow gate…and the narrow gate leads to the narrow road.

i. Notice that entering by the narrow gate isn’t the end of the journey, it is just the beginning of it.

1. If we said that entering the gate is a way of speaking about conversion – the narrow is Jesu’s way of speaking about a life of discipleship.

a. Conversion isn’t the be all and end all of the Christian life…it’s only the entry point. The work isn’t finish upon conversion; it is just beginning.

i. The Christian life isn’t simply one decision at one point in time and then you go on doing whatever you want.

1. No, the Christian life is a decision to keep on walking the narrow the path.

a. The gate is about a decision…and the narrow road is about endurance and perseverance.

c. Take note…the characteristics of the roads never change.

i. The luxury lanes of the broad road don’t suddenly narrow and become harder to walk on.

1. Nope – the ways of the world never change…and the life outside of Christ becomes even more perverse and the wider.

a. But also know that the narrow road doesn’t widen the further you go.

i. It’s not that the Christian life is hard at first – but after the initial hardship – it gets easier and the road widens.

1. It’s not that after a while we are free to do and think and say whatever we want.

ii. No, the Christian life is always narrow – it is always hard.

1. It is the road less traveled…the path that is off the beaten path.

a. It is a constant struggle against our flesh…our sinful nature.

i. It is a continual decision to not pick up that luggage against that we left at the gate.

1. It is a daily decision to die to ourselves, deny ourselves…to pick up our cross and follow Jesus on the narrow path that he has laid out for his followers.

4. Two Groups – Two gates, two roads, being traveled by 2 different groups of people.

a. Let’s look at the first group Jesus mentions…wide is the gate and wide is the way…and those who enter it are many.

i. Just hearing that should cause us to fear and tremble and hurt. Many enter it by. Some willfully, others ignorantly.

1. This is the way of the world – the crowd…people who just go along with the flow…go along with things because everyone else is doing it.

a. But “everyone else is doing it” is not a slogan followers of Christ use.

i. On the narrow path, there are only few.

1. Compared to the crowds of people on the wide road, the narrow road has relatively few travelers.

a. Following Jesus will never win you any popularity contests.

2. Standing up for truth and for God’s way will never be popular with the masses.

a. In fact, Jesus said that he came not to bring peace, but a sword…and following Jesus will cause division…maybe cause you to lose friends…it might even divide families.

i. Walking the narrow road is hard…the Bible is open and honest about that.

1. Sometimes walking the narrow road is lonely…as we leaven friends on the broad road behind.

ii. But here’s the truth about the narrow road…though it may be lonely…you are never alone.

1. You have a great company of saints and witness who have gone before you.

a. You have fellow Christians walking the same narrow path of discipleship with you.

i. And most of all – you have Jesus – who not only leads the way – but has walked the path before…he is the path….he knows all the nooks and crannies of the path.

1. He knows where the difficult passages are…but he knows who to lead you through safely.

2. The kid’s song is absolutely true – My Lord knows the way through the wilderness…through the narrow path…all we have to do is follow.

5. Two Destinations – Two gates, two roads, two groups of people…who are headed towards to completely different destinies.

a. One is being led to destruction…the other to life.

i. Notice the paths never cross…they never intersect.

1. Yes, there are off ramps from the wide road on to the narrow road. One isn’t stuck on the wide road forever.

a. One can always decide he or she wants to follow Jesus on the narrow path.

i. It is never too late to make that decision…death is the only time it is too late.

b. And if thinking about the large group of people should cause us to mourn – think about their destination should cause us to flat our cry.

i. The destination is shocking – shocking because we think of God as Creator…not destroyer.

1. God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth….

a. So to ear about destruction is shocking…but the Bible is open and honest about the fact the rejection of God’s ways and God’s truth and God’s life…rejection of God’s Son leads to eternal life…eternal life that is lived in conscious separation from God.

c. The paths are not ends in themselves…but have eternal significance beyond themselves.

i. Obviously – when Jesus speaks of destruction, he is speaking about hell.

1. Yes, the road is broad and it is easy, but the place it leads to…eventually the fun and jolliness of the wide road runs out.

a. And while the narrow gate is hard to enter, the narrow road is hard to walk…while it is unpopular…look at where it leads.

i. To life…to eternal life lived in the presence of God.

ii. The narrow and hard path leads to the glorious scene we read about at the end of Revelation – a passage we studied in depth.

1. God makes his dwelling place with people.

a. Where God wipes every tear, wipes pain and suffering and death off the face of his new earth.

i. Following the hard and narrow path of Jesus leads us to this amazing promise found in Reve. 22:4 – and they, God’s people, will see his face.

d. As we close, this section of Scripture is reminiscent of a scene at the end of the book of Joshua…

i. After the conquest and the dividing of the land…the people of Israel are going off and settling in to the Promised Land…and Josh says to them…”Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve…’

1. Moses in the book of Deuteronomy says this…

a. Today I hae given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses…oh that you would choose life.

ii. That is exactly what Jesus laid out here for his listeners…

1. Imploring them…imploring you to walk the narrow and hard way….oh that you would choose the path of discipleship…

a. The hard and arduous path…but the only path that leads to life.