Sovereign Grace Bible Church (SGBC)

The following is my sermon transcript from last night’s message (a not-so-typical Easter message):

WHICH WAY TO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN?

Matthew 7:13-14

As many of you know our lives are filled with decision-makings, such as, what to wear, what to eat, where to go, what to do, what to say, what to buy, where to work, where to live, who to marry if you’re single, and list can go on and on. While many decisions are trivial, some are essential and life changing. However, the most important and critical of all is what to do with this person called Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches that what you do with this historical person name Jesus Christ shapes how you live today and how you would live eternally. And I must tell you that there is nothing more important in life than considering decisions that would affect this life and life eternally. In fact, by God’s good providence all of you are here tonight to hear a message that will directly impact your eternal life. Tonight I stand before you trembling because of this particular message I am about to deliver. I’m trembling not because I’m afraid how you’re going to treat me afterwards, rather I fear God if I would not be faithful to his word.

Although our text includes only two verses and appears to be a very small portion of the Sermon on the Mount, it is very weighty and powerful. Sometimes it’s not the quantity of Bible verses we study, but quality. And tonight we are about to hear the qualitative word of God as Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of the soul and spirit, of both joints an marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” So may God increase his word tonight!

From here on to the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus repeatedly points out two of the opposite things. For instance, in verses 13-14 there are two gates, the narrow and the wide. Then there are two ways, the narrow and the broad. There are also two destinations, life and destruction. And there are two groups, the few and the many. It is from this text I want to point out several life-changing and life-transforming implications.

I. To get into the kingdom of heaven, you must enter it.

In Greek this verb to enter is imperative, a command that is. Jesus commands to enter. That means you don’t enter the kingdom of heaven passively, accidently, or by chance or luck. Jesus didn’t say this to just think about it, meditate it, or talk about it. No, this is a call to action. In fact Jesus never said, “Consider me” or “Admire me,” but He gave commands like “Follow me” and “Believe me.” Also notice Jesus didn’t say we should just stare at the gate or look at the gate and wonder. Rather he says “Enter.” This is a call and a command to act.

In fact the gospel itself is a command. It commands us to repent, believe, and lay our lives down to the lordship of Jesus Christ. It is not enough to listen to a sermon about the narrow gate. It is not enough to study the narrow gate, or to admire the narrow gate. No. It must be entered. The world is full of people who admire the gospel. They admire the ethics of Jesus, the teachings of Jesus, the person of Jesus, and they even admire the sacrificial work of Jesus on the cross. But hell is going to be filled with people who merely admired.[1]

II. You preach or teach for a verdict.

You must understand that our text is found toward the end and it is part of the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount. That means verse 13 to end of the chapter is all applications. As Jesus being the master preacher he demonstrates to all of us that you have to preach for a verdict. You have to preach and teach in a way that your audience needs to make a choice. All this is part of application.

Preaching is not simply transferring information from one person to another. It is ultimately calling the listeners to act or react to certain propositional truths. All that is to say, preaching is not the end. It is the means to an end. That means the goal of every sermon listening or Bible study is not simply to learn facts and information, but hopefully by the grace of God, the biblical truths you hear would prompt you to make changes. Hence the goal of preaching is not information but transformation.

What Jesus is saying to his disciples, his kingdom citizens, is that you must make a choice. I think some Calvinists are afraid of calling people to make a choice or make a decision as if it is unbiblical. Some Calvinists have unbalanced and incomplete view of the sovereignty of God and man’s responsibility that they somehow see this tension as either or but fail to reconcile them both. In other words, you don’t have to side either with the sovereignty of God or man’s responsibility, but see them both. What many people forget is that even the ability to choose is part of God’s sovereign gift, just as ability to believe and repent are all part of God’s gift. All that is to say when you teach or preach God’s Word challenge your students or people to make a choice, and this is totally biblical. Let me give you some biblical examples:

• ^NAU Deuteronomy 30:19 “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants,

• ^NAU Joshua 24:15 “If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

• ^NAU Proverbs 1:24 “Because I called and you refused, I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention; ²⁵ And you neglected all my counsel And did not want my reproof; ²⁶ I will also laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes, ²⁷ When your dread comes like a storm And your calamity comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you. ²⁸ “Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently but they will not find me, ²⁹ Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD.

I say all this to encourage you not to be afraid to challenge or demand people to make a choice. Have them be accountable to what they heard from you. I say all this as a person who affirms historical Calvinism and Reformed soteriology. Keep in mind that their choice does not save them, but it only reveals whether they are saved or not. Jesus said:

• ^NAU John 6:44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. ⁴⁵ “It is written in the prophets, ‘AND THEY SHALL ALL BE TAUGHT OF GOD.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me.

Some people don’t think much of listening to sermons. That may be true since not all sermons have equal quality. That may be true if people are not exposed to regular, sound, powerful, expositional preaching. But I want you to know that you are going to be held accountable for what you hear tonight, and this is no joke. Hence you need to choose. There are two gates, the narrow and the wide; there are two ways, the narrow and the broad; and there are two destinations, life and destruction. You need to choose. The whole Sermon on the Mount leads to this point of decision making.

III. The way to heaven is narrow, not broad.

Let me explain what this means in three aspects. It refers to its veracity, its exclusivity, and its difficulty. First of all, the phrase that “the way to heaven is narrow, not broad” refers to its veracity. That means it has to do with truth. Veracity means truth or truthfulness. All that is to say, biblical Christianity is concerned first and foremost with truth. John MacArthur writes:

The Christian faith is not primarily about feelings, although deep feelings will result from the impact of truth on our hearts. It is not about human relationships, even though relationships are the main focus in many of today’s evangelical pulpits. It is not about success and earthly blessings, no matter how much one might get that impression from watching the programs that dominate religious television these days. Biblical Christianity is all about truth… We can’t tell the world, “This is truth, but whatever you want to believe is fine, too.” It’s not fine. Scripture commands us to be intolerant of any idea that denies the truth.[2]

Isn’t that what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 10:5?

• ^NAU 2 Corinthians 10:5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,

Secondly, the phrase that “the way to heaven is narrow, not broad” refers to its exclusivity. You often hear people say, “You’re too narrow-minded!” What they’re saying is your view is too exclusive.

As a Bible teacher, I’ll be the first to admit that there is a room for disagreements and different views on secondary or non-essential issues, such as, styles of music for worship service, age for baptism, should Christians eat sushi or not, etc. However, when it comes to primary or essential issue that relates to salvation, the Bible is unashamedly clear and exclusive. Let me give you some biblical examples:

• ^ESV John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

• ^NAU Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

• ^NAU 1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

• ^NAU Titus 3:5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. ⁸ This is a trustworthy statement; and concerning these things I want you to speak confidently, so that those who have believed God will be careful to engage in good deeds.

In a postmodern world where pluralism is waving its flag, exclusive claims of Christianity are not welcomed. In fact Jesus said to his disciples that they would be persecuted in this world.

• ^NAU Matthew 5:11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.

• ^NAU John 15:20 “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.

John MacArthur writes:

As Christians we must understand that whatever opposes God’s Word or departs from it in any way is a danger to the very cause of truth. Passivity toward known error is not an option for the Christian… Truth and error cannot be combined to yield something beneficial. They are as incompatible as light and darkness. “What fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols” (2 Corinthians 6:14-16)?[3]

Third, the phrase “the way to heaven is narrow, not broad” refers to its difficulty. Would you please turn your Bible with me to Matthew 10:34-39? As you choose to enter the narrow gate and the narrow path, you must be ready to be misunderstood. You must be ready, perhaps, even ready to be misunderstood by your dearest and nearest. Jesus said that he did not come to bring peace, but a sword – “sword that may divide mother from daughter, or father from son, and those of your own household may be your greatest enemies.” Why? It is because the kingdom citizens or his disciples have been set-apart. It is because truth separates. Truth and error are not compatible. They cannot coexist. If they cohabitate it is no longer truth.

You must also understand that when you enter this narrow or straight gate, it’s not only straight at the beginning. It continues to be narrow. Christian life is narrow from the beginning to the end. That is why it is a difficult life. Christian life promises a life of persecutions, trials, and sufferings. It may even require your very life! It is by no means a healthy, wealthy, easy, and comfortable life contrary to what you hear today.

Would you please turn your Bible with me to Luke 13:24-29? There is much to say here but due to time let me just make a couple of observations. Notice with me the purpose of a gate. A gate serves two purposes: it lets in and it shuts out. That means if you do not enter, then you will forever be out. Another observation is the verb “strive” in verse 24, which in Greek is avgwni,zomai, where we get words like agonize or agonizing, which has the meaning of difficulty or hard work.

This very message shatters today’s erroneous gospel of easy-believism, which is nothing but a shortchanged and watered-down gospel. That is why Jesus says only few would find it, as opposed to many. Another way to say this is that many would not find it. Many would not enter through the narrow gate. Simply, many are deceived and many will not be saved.

What many churches and preachers have done is to make the gospel user-friendly. They keep what they like and get rid of what they don’t like. Hence they become the judge of God’s revelation. They get rid of negative teachings concerning humanity, self, and sin. That’s why in many churches you hardly hear words like sin and repentance, Heaven and Hell, God’s just and rightful wrath, and so on. Rather they tell people God loves them unconditionally, which is antithetical to the message of repentance because who needs repentance when God loves everyone “unconditionally”? They also tell people that God wants them to be happy, healthy, and wealthy. And now so-called evangelism has come down to a message like “So would you like to have a personal relationship with Jesus?” A message like that who wouldn’t have converts and followers? However, John MacArthur writes in his book Hard To Believe (which by the way is an excellent reading if you want to know what it really means to follow Jesus):

The only problem is that saying those things gives people who don’t know any better the illusion they’re saved, when they’re not. And someday, when they face Christ, they’re going to say, “Lord, Lord!” and He’s going to say, “Depart from Me. I never knew you.” Mankind wants glory. We want health. We want wealth. We want happiness. We want all our felt needs met, all our little human itches scratched. We want a painless life. We want the crown without the cross. We want the gain without the pain. We want the words of Christian salvation to be easy.[4] All that is to say, the true gospel is a call to self-denial, not a call to self-fulfillment.[5]

IV. The pseudo-gospel and pseudo-Christianity is attractive.

The Christian way of life is not popular. It never has been popular nor is it popular today and it will never be until Christ takes us home. On the other hand, crowding through the wide gate and traveling along the broad way are what many people want. It is because the way that is broad is the easy, attractive, compromised, inclusive, and permissive. There are few rules, few restrictions, and few requirements. All you need to do is say that you believe Jesus or that you have “personal relationship with Jesus,” and you would be accepted in almost any church down the street. In this broad way sin is tolerated and truth is moderated. God’s word may be confessed but not studied; his standards may be admired but not followed. This way requires no spiritual maturity, no moral character, no depth, no commitment, no sacrifice, no submission, no rejection, no discipline, and no Lordship.

V. You can’t judge the gospel by popular opinions

Contrary to many who enter the wide gate and are on the broad way, Jesus says only few would enter the narrow gate and are on the narrow path. We must not judge what is good or bad by numbers. We must not judge what is true or false by majority votes or popular opinions. The majority is not always right. The fact that “everybody does it” or “everybody likes it” is no proof that what they are doing is right. According to Scripture the opposite is true. God’s people have always been a remnant, a small minority in this world. Even in the community of so called Christians and churches there are countless counterfeits. The true Christians have been and are and continue to be the minority, the few that Jesus mentions.

In 1993 a survey was taken by George Gallup that 32% of adult Americans claimed to be born-again. What was so interesting about this study was that when the people were asked additional questions, such as, “Do you go to church regularly, do you pray with some regularity, and do you have some minimal structure of formal Christian belief?” and the figure of 32% dropped to 8%. David F. Wells of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary said:

If we were to probe just a little bit more, and if we were to ask: first, ‘Are you regenerate?’; second, ‘Do you have a sufficiently cogent worldview to make a difference in society?’; and third, ‘Do you have a sufficiently formed Christian character to want to do so?’, and based on some ongoing research, my guess is that the figure may be no more than 1% or 2% . What this means, my brothers and sisters, is that we may have been living in a fool’s paradise… We learn that 91% of people say that God is very important to them but 66% go on to say that they do not believe in moral absolutes, and 67% do not believe in absolute truth. So God rests inconsequentially upon their lives.[6]

Have you wonder why only the few would make it? I believe the Bible offers several reasons but due to time let me point out one. And I’ll just have Jesus answer that question from John 3:19-20: “This is the judgment, that the Light has come in the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” According to Jesus the reason why many would not make it to heaven is because they love their sins too much.

Likewise John Piper echoes the words of Jesus by saying, “The reason it is hard is not because Jesus is a hard taskmaster. It’s hard because the world is a hard place to enjoy Jesus above all.”[7] So what does Piper suggests? He writes, “Our own suicidal tendency to enjoy other things more must be crushed (Matt. 5:29-30). And besides our own sin, many people are angered that we do not love what they love. So Jesus warned, “Some of you will be put to death. You will be hated by all for my name’s sake” (Luke 21:16-17).”[8]

Moreover John MacArthur writes:

The Kingdom is for those who come to the King in poverty of spirit, mourning over their sin, and hungering and thirsting for His righteousness to replace their own (Matt. 5:3-4, 6). It is for those who want the kingdom at any cost, who will sell all they have to buy that great treasure and that great pearl (Matt. 13:44-46). It is not for those want a cheap and easy way to assure heaven, while continuing to live their own selfish and worldly lives on earth. Jesus only saves those for whom He becomes Lord. Sadly, most people think that heaven can be obtained on much easier terms than those prescribed by Christ.[9]

VI. Only those who choose the narrow path would prove to be the kingdom citizens, the true Christians.

On this resurrection Sunday evening, it is the Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the grave is the one who grants such power to make such salvific choice.

So which way are you walking on? The psalmist said in Psalm 1, “Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law does he meditate day and night.”

Does this describe you? You need to examine and evaluate your current path that you are on, and make sure that your aim is toward heaven, Christ, the truthfulness of truth, the authority and sufficiency of Scripture. If this is not a good description of you, then you are on the wrong path. Jesus said in Luke 6:446, “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” If that’s you, then tonight, you need to repent and get right with Him before your time on earth is up.

 

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