Deep snow is hard to walk in because it requires extra energy from us to move our feet in it, but it is very safe, snow is not slippery, and so it won’t cause you to fall and break your bones. Some pathways looks clear and safe, but if you examine it, you will find that the clear path you see is not so “clear†because so many people walked on it, the snow has melted and been compressed to a thin sheet of ice that’s muddy so it rarely looks dangerous to the naked eye. But everyone knows how dangerous those paths can be, even though they require no extra effort to walk on them and in theory they are much faster to take. That’s why I took this photo because whenever I see a scene like this one it reminds me of Mathew 7:13-14. Interestingly enough, I believe this verse is very misunderstood by us.
The Narrow Road and Gate by Fadi
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 road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Mathew 7:13-14
When we read this verse we usually think of it in two terms:
1) This verse is about how to live on earth. If we want something we have to wait for it patiently. If we want God’s blessings we have to obey Him, and so on. That’s how we usually interrupt the ‘road’ part.
2) If we see this verse to talk about eternal life we suddenly stop taking the word ‘road’ into consideration and seem to only read the word ‘gate’. If we believe that our Lord Jesus Christ has died for our sins then we will go to heaven, because He is the ‘gate’ mentioned here.
But have we ever tried to join the above two points together? How about the ‘road’ to ‘eternal life’ is narrow and not everyone walks in it? The verse itself does not separate the ‘road’ from the ‘gate’; how are we supposed to reach the gate without walking in the road!
No, I am not talking about losing our salvation because I believe in eternal security. I believe that if I died today that I will go to heaven with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. What I am talking about here are those thoughts:
•The Bible says that Jesus died to free us from sin NOT to sin.
•Matthew 7:21 says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.†Now if you don’t like this verse don’t blame me, because I didn’t write it nor I came up with it—it is God’s word not mine!
•James 2:19 says, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.†And we all know where Satan is going to end up in.
A couple more thoughts to share: have you realized the increasingly number of pastors, and evangelists that invite people to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour without asking them to repent first? Jesus’ first sermon was about repentance, in Matthew 4:17 it says, “From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.’†John the Baptist whose life mission was to prepare the way for our Savour Jesus Christ preached repentance. Yes, never mentioning repentance attracts more people to come to Christ, but which Christ? Christ is perfect and holy! And salvation is about the power of the Holy Spirit convicting us of our sins, not about the power of tricking people into believing something they never intend on carrying out!
Think about it in this story:
Let’s say your spouse lusted after another person and you saw your spouse doing so, so you stopped talking to your spouse because your feelings got very hurt. A week passed by and you were still hurt but were willing to put the matter behind your back because you loved your spouse and wanted to forgive him or her and spend time together again. You wanted your spouse to ask forgiveness and show they care about your feeling by saying sorry for lusting after another person, and that he or she wouldn’t do it again because he or she love you and care about you. You were so eager to hear those simple words to forgive your spouse and continue in your relationship. However, after a week your spouse starts talking with you and acts as if nothing happened and wants all his or rights back without even admitting he or she did something wrong. How would you feel?
That’s exactly what we do with God! Thank you for dying for me and allowing me into heaven, but I am not sorry for sinning against you, a Holy and Perfect God, and I have no intentions of stop doing so. If we don’t see the ugliness of our sin, how can we even realize our need for salvation?
How many Christians we see who try to disguise their sins, how many Christians have we heard say, “I do this and that but that doesn’t make me any less of a Christian than you are!†My answer is this: the less holy, pure, and blameless we become (notice I didn’t say ‘act’, but ‘become’) the less like Jesus Christ we become and the less of a Christian we become.
No, I am not trying to scare anybody into living for God, first because I don’t believe it works or it is God’s way, second because I had grown in a church that tries to scare its members of Hell so they live for God. That only succeeded in making it impossible for people to know God which is His first goal of saving us, to know us and be known by us!
1 John says:
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. 1 John 1:5-10
Do we have fellowship with Him? Do we admit it when you hurt Him by sinning? Do we repent and ask for forgiveness? Do we love Him?
Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. John 14:23-24
One thought on “The Narrow Road and Gate”
AMEN! We cheer and and clap when we hear of people coming to Christ, but have they really been given the whole truth before accepting Him. I am not saying that it isn’t praise worthy when someone accepts Christ, even the angels rejoice, but have they been told that there is an invoice in the amount of one personal cross you are required to pick up and carry. When people are baptized, shouldn’t they have to give their testimony as to why or what Jesus is to them?! I am not judging or pointing the finger for I have been the ditch trying to get back out by returning to my first love, Jesus. I am just asking for prayer to stay strong because I DO know the truth and that is with God all things are possible and I can do all things through Christ…I just want to be who I was meant to be. Thank you Jesus for never letting me go.