“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 path that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13-14
At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives his listeners a choice of two gates to go through. Both are marked “The Way to Heaven,” but only one really leads there because the god of this world, the devil, seeks to deceive us into thinking his way leads to heaven, when it doesn’t.
“Wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction”
This is the way of human righteousness where people trust in their own works, or religion, or church, or philosophy. It’s the way of people who think that God will welcome them into His Heaven because they’re a “good person” or because they haven’t done something as bad as some other person.
The Pharisees “trusted in themselves, that they were righteous” Luke 18:9.
The Pharisees had over 600 laws covering things to do to please God and things to avoid for fear of displeasing God. They were the highest order of human achievement in regards to earning their way into Heaven by good works, or by being a good person, or by their religion. Very few people could achieve such a high level of moral and legal human righteousness, and yet Jesus said, “unless your righteousness is greater than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven! Matthew 5:20.
If they couldn’t earn their way into Heaven by being good people or following moral codes or by their religion, you can’t either!
You can enter the wide gate by growing up in a church, or by being the child of a priest, minister, or pastor, or by being baptized or following the sacraments, but it doesn’t lead to Heaven because God rejects any works done by human decision, no matter how noble the intent.
People who come into this gate are actually rejecting God’s plan for salvation by inventing their own system based on human-righteousness that they can achieve by doing something and declaring themselves as righteous.
The Apostle Paul outlines 7 areas that humans try to work to please God, but fail to meet His standards:
- Salvation is not by ritual: baptism, praying a string of beads, masses, sacraments, ceremonies, etc do not save a person.
- Salvation is not by race: you are not saved by being born into a certain nation, or born into a certain family or by infant baptism.
- Salvation is not by rank: a noble religious heritage, or high rank in a church, or being a priest, or a religious teacher cannot save you.
- Salvation is not by tradition: no amount of loyalty to traditions or ancestral worship, or loyalty to your parent’s church or denomination will save you.
- Salvation is not by religion: religious devotion and activities, sacrifices, ceremonies, and masses will not save you.
- Salvation is not by sincerity: going to church every day, praying certain prayers, or fulfilling a function will not save you.
- Salvation is not by righteous works: Following a strict set of rules and moral standards will not save you.
All of our works are like filthy, blood-stained, rags; a stench to God. They are repulsive because they come out of our pride and self-righteousness. “Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it” Ephesians 2:9.
“But the gateway to life (Heaven) is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.” Matthew 7:14
The way to Heaven is only by divine accomplishment; this is true Christianity.
Here are the terms for entering the narrow way to life in Heaven:
- Abandon your self-righteousness
- See yourself as a beggar in need of a righteousness that only comes from God as a gift.
- Mourn over your sin because your sin put Jesus Christ on the cross to pay unspeakable punishment to free you from hell.
- Be meek (humble) before God as empty of everything you could possibly offer Him; not proud or boastful.
- Hunger and thirst for righteousness, not believing that you already have it, but desperate for it because your eternal life depends on it.
You must enter now: there’s a sense of urgency to enter right away. Don’t delay because you never know when you will die.
You must enter the gate by force: You must thrust your life towards God. You must enter by an act of your will, an act of faith, and you have to enter on God’s terms, and Christ is the gate. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” John 14:6.
You must enter alone: The way is narrow so there’s no room to take anything or anyone with you; no groups of people, or as a church, or denomination, or family group. You must enter all by yourself.
You must enter with great difficulty: You must be seeking God, seeking a new life, seeking a transformation, and a removal of the old life. You must be desperate enough to let go of all that you were because there’s a price to pay to enter this gate. It’s the gate of self-denial.
You must enter repentantly: You must be broken over your sin, immorality, self-righteousness, pride, self-confidence, etc.
You must enter in utter surrender to Christ: You can’t just add Jesus to your already sinful life and expect God to accept you. There’s no transformation or restoration in that. Salvation is a transformation into a new life, not making your old self better. There must be evidence of your salvation for it to be real.