Back to the Bible: Matthew 7:13-14

Jesus calls those who hear His sermon to enter the narrow gate. You have a choice. The narrow gate will require discipline and sacrifice.

But, there is a wide gate and a broad, easy, way. There is plenty of room there for anyone and everyone and it is “smooth” sailing. Lots of people follow that path. But, it ends in disaster, damnation, destruction.

The narrow gate, the way that is difficult, leads to life. But, there aren’t many who follow that path.

This is Jesus’ conclusion. He has laid out the path. You can follow this path or the other one. Which way will you go?

Lessons to Learn:

There are only two ways and they lead to opposite destinations. The road we choose is literally a matter of life and death– eternal life and death. Following Jesus is the only way to eternal life. There is no other way to be saved (Jn. 14:6; Acts 4:12). He calls us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. His will and His way no matter the cost. That’s why there are few who follow that road.

Don’t follow the crowd. The crowd wants to hold on to too much to follow a hard path and go through a narrow gate.

The poet Robert Frost said, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” Choosing the narrow, difficult path will make all the difference now. It will make all the difference eternally.

Embrace the calling. Jesus knows that what He is calling us to is narrow and difficult. He’s not trying to trick us by hiding this in the “fine print.” He welcomes me “just as I am,” but He will not let me stay that way if I’m going to follow Him.

He knows that persecution, inner transformation, dismissal of worldly praise, investing in the eternal, not the temporary, ridding ourselves of hypocrisy, and loving neighbors like ourselves is a path only few will take. Oh, but the reward is life. So, be one of the few.

There will be joy and peace along the way.  But, we will face struggle and sacrifice too. There will be few, but we can find partners on the way. Choose your road (and thus your destination)  well.

We’re thankful to share these considerations of God’s word. It’s best if you have a Bible close to evaluate what we say. We want to go “back to the Bible” for all we teach.

Tune in to 100.7 WGOL Sunday at 8:30am for our Back to the Bible Radio Program.

Reach out with your questions, comments, or requests for  personal Bible study at backtothebiblepodcast.com or at info@backtothebiblepodcast.com.