Today’s Reading: Matthew 7:13-28
“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 that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.” – Matthew 7:13-14
NARROW GATE OR BROAD HIGHWAY
Jesus continued to teach the disciples as they gathered around him on the mountainside. The crowd listened in, amazed at his teaching and the authority with which he spoke. Jesus gave four last word pictures in this sermon, each a comparison that would define those who were truly a follower of Christ and those who were not. He started by describing the gateway to life as narrow, and the road to get there as difficult. The path to hell is broad, and so many choose that easier option, but only a few will find themselves willing to walk the narrow path that leads to life.
Jesus did not say that there is a way to widen the path so that it is easier to travel; Jesus did not say that the broad highway can be redirected to make its final destination heaven. In our heart, we desire for more to walk through the gateway to life. We care that others are choosing the way that seems easier, because we know that way leads to judgment and eternal fire. We want to find a way to help them experience life in Christ, but we cannot widen the gate no matter how much we want to. Any other teaching is false.
SHEEP OR WOLVES
“Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.” – Matthew 7:15-20
It matters how we live. Just as he called his disciples, Jesus is calling each of us to follow him. When we live in relationship with Christ, the result is a life that produces fruit. The Spirit living within us changes the way we respond to the needs of others, giving us the words to say and the love to extend to those around us. Others see Christ in us through the life we live and the fruit we produce.
I cannot create my own path and do what I want to when I am a true follower of Christ. If I try to produce my own good works instead of living out an authentic relationship with Christ, the fruit of my life will be temporary. If I make up my own rules, refusing to submit to the authority of Christ, then I am not truly living in relationship with God, and I will find myself “unknown” when I stand before the throne of judgment.
LAW-ABIDING OR LAW-BREAKING
“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’“ – Matthew 7:21-23
SOLID ROCK OR SAND
“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” – Matthew 7:24-27
Obedience to God creates a firm foundation on which I can build my life. When I respond to the teaching of Jesus in full submission, I can have confidence when life brings its storms. The winds and rains of life may beat upon my house, but I will not collapse because Jesus is the solid rock on which I stand.
The pressure of our current culture is to redefine sin and affirm the choices of others, but this is like building our house on sand — it is always shifting. Look back and see how different our culture was five years ago. It will be that different five years from now. But God’s word is constant; it remains the same. The teachings of Jesus are firm and I choose to walk the narrow path because it leads to the gateway of life.
When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, for he taught with real authority—quite unlike their teachers of religious law. – Matthew 7:28-29
How will you respond today to the teachings of Christ? Is the fruit of your life a result of human effort or does the Spirit guide your actions? Will you stand steady on the firm foundation of biblical teachings, or will you find comfort in the soft sand and the broad highway of today’s popular culture?