Today, we begin with Matthew 7: 13-14. In these verses, Jesus describes the world of man and God. (Pause)

How different is God’s Kingdom! Martin Luther echoed the words of Jesus: "Only the prisoner shall be free, only the poor shall be rich, only the weak shall be strong, only the humble shall be exalted; only the empty shall be filled and only nothing shall become anything!"

As Jesus spoke, it appears that he wanted to drive home the message. He dealt with it by portraying it in a series of alternatives. He presented the Kingdom of God in terms of choices and he made perfectly clear the choice which would lead to eternal life and which would result in spiritual loss. We first hear that we have two choices, two roads, or paths which we can take.

Two Choices

For the students out there … when you sit to take an examination you often find on the exam paper what we call multiple choice questions. You can choose the part that suits you best. It’s up to you; the examiner doesn’t mind. (Pause) But I have to tell you that this doesn’t apply in the question of entry into God’s Kingdom. What is immediately striking is how fixed and defined the choices which are offered. Unlike our world, there is no gray third option.

In that day and today, there is a widely accepted school of thought that claims there are many ways to gain acceptance to God, thus eliminating the need of choice between Jesus and all others. In this sermon, Jesus denies this claim. He rejects this comfortable solution. Instead he insists that, of the two possibilities, there’s only one real choice … Certainly, there’s Two Choices, but they are poles apart in the end result.

Jesus tells us what to do. "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" (Matt 7:13-14).

Jesus continues by spelling out these Two Choices in simple illustrations.

Two Gates

On the face of it the wide gate has a lot to offer. You can’t miss it! There’s a large notice board saying "No restrictions here! Come right in and do as you please!" I once saw a yacht in a marina named "Anything Goes!", and thought, how symbolic of the way of the world. There’s no limitation on the luggage of this world that can be brought in by those who choose this gate. Nothing needs be left behind - not even our sins, self-righteousness or pride.

But what a contrast when we look at the narrow gate! One has to look for it to find it. It’s easy to miss. Why? Because it’s narrow! As Jesus said to some enquirers of the Kingdom, it’s as narrow as a needle’s eye (Matt 19:24).

In order to enter the Kingdom we must leave everything behind - sin, selfish ambition, covetousness, even, if necessary, family and friends. The width of the narrow gate is for one person at a time. A friend told me once about traveling through London with a large suitcase. He had to go on the Underground. He put his ticket in the slot machine - the barrier opened and he could get through but not the suitcase! He was pointed to a special side entrance and got through, but there’s no such facility to the Kingdom of God. We can only enter the Kingdom through the narrow gate, which is, via the Lord Jesus, through repentance and faith in him. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). (Pause)

The choice that Jesus lays before people consisted of Two Gates that lead into …

Two Ways

Here again we’re faced with vivid contrasts. There’s the broad way and the hard way. I’ve got a clear mental picture of them when I think of a picture that I saw at a friend’s house entitled "The Broad and Narrow Way". There was a broad highway filled with well-dressed families enjoying the good things of life as they passed through "Vanity Fair". The words used by Jesus for the broad way have the meaning of "spacious and easy". It’s the road of tolerance and permissiveness. It has no curbs, no boundaries of either thought or conduct. Travelers on this road follow their own inclinations - if it’s right for you, it’s all right! It’s been given the term of "post modernism" (a concept which is popular in society today).

The hard way in the picture, on the other hand, is sparsely populated. Its boundaries are clearly marked by something called "divine revelation" which restricts pilgrims to what God has revealed in Scripture to be true and good. C S Lewis describes in his autobiography how as a schoolboy of thirteen he began to "broaden his mind". He writes, "I was soon altering "I believe" to "one does feel". And oh, the relief of it! … From the tyrannous noon of revelation I passed into the cool twilight of Higher Thought, where there was nothing to be obeyed, and nothing to be believed except what was either comfortable or exiting." C S Lewis, of course, in later life, did come to faith in Christ and found that God hasn’t prescribed the hard way as a "kill-joy". He isn’t out to make us feel deprived or negative or miserable but rather has plans for our benefit and blessing. God knows that there are things that aren’t good for us - and that’s why Scripture imposes moral constraints.

What are the implications of becoming a Christian? Well, for one thing, a person is different to what he or she was before. Instead of being one in a crowd along the broad way, believers in Jesus have to think for themselves. The crowd has to be left behind. You can’t get a crowd through a turnstile all together; it only takes one person at a time. The baggage of the former life in the world is to be left behind and instead the life of faith begins. It involves a denial of the self-life, of pride and of position.

This is what should happen … but becoming a Christian doesn’t automatically make us perfect - far from it! Ask your husband or wife! Thank God, when we come to the Cross of Christ in repentance and faith, trusting in his atonement for our sins, we are changed. John Newton, the author of "Amazing Grace, once said, "I am not yet what I ought to be and I am not what I want to be. I am not what I hope to be in another world, but I am not what I used to be. And I am, by the grace of God, I am what I am."

The apostle Paul tells us: "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come" (2 Cor 5:17). That’s one side of the coin, but the other is that much of his teaching to the churches of his day was urging the Christians to "put off your old self … to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness" (Eph 4:23). How otherwise can we live according to the Sermon on the Mount with its injunctions to bless those that curse us, to love our enemies and the unlovely?

We need God’s help on a daily basis. In "A Morning Prayer for Help" - note that I said "morning" it reads … "Dear God, so far today I’ve done alright, I haven’t gossiped, lost my temper, been nasty, selfish or over indulgent. But in a few minutes God, I’m going to get out of bed and from then on, I’m going to need all the help I can get."

Jesus made it quite clear to his listeners that followers of the hard way would not find it easy. It’s "the road that leads to life," but he went on "only a few find it." The person who follows Jesus will be treated as Jesus was. He was rejected by the world and hated by many for what he was. "Yes," says Paul, "everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Tim 3:12). Persecution can come in various forms and intensity. It’s not pleasant to be misunderstood or ridiculed for speaking up against impurity when your fellows see it as "good fun". Standing up for what is pure and wholesome can sometimes be a lonely act. We can take a holiday from our normal work but there’s no such thing in the spiritual life. It’s always narrow. It’s a "fight of faith" always, right to the end.

Two Destinations and Two Crowds

Finally, God depicts two destinations and two crowds. The destinations are simple … life and death or heaven and hell. As for the crowds, it is simply those that follow Jesus and those that don’t. Jesus tells us that the number that find the narrow gate are few. For example:

A man named Hitler imprisoned a German pastor, Martin Niemoeller, for eight years. He spent some time in prisons and concentration camps, including Dachau. Hitler realised that if Niemoeller, a First World War hero, could be persuaded to join his cause then much opposition would collapse, so he sent a former friend of Niemoeller to visit him, a friend who now supported the Nazis. Seeing Niemoeller in his cell, the one time friend is reported as saying, "Martin, Martin! Why are you here?" To which he received from Niemoeller the response, "My friend! Why are you not here?"

Yes; many say they follow God to the end. Sadly, many do not. Their words and actions are not the same. Some people like to be uncommitted. Our lives are much like Opinion polls which allow for not only a "yes" or "no" answer, but for a convenient "don’t know". I tell you today that we can’t be neutral with regard to Jesus when we’re living in a world created by him where his rules apply. When it’s a battle between good and evil we either stand with Jesus or oppose him. There is no comfortable middle ground, leaving on either side the very good and the very bad. Christianity isn’t about being very good, or very bad, or very comfortable. It’s about being in God’s Kingdom or staying out. It’s about allegiance to God, or rebellion. It’s about being on the road that starts narrow but opens out into the life of heaven, or staying on the broad road of our self-centeredness until it contracts to a dead halt in final destruction. An awesome choice!

In the end, we must remember that according to Jesus there are only …
Two Gates - broad and narrow (there’s no other gate);
Two Ways - hard and easy (there’s no middle way);
Two Crowds - large and small (there’s no neutral group);
Two Destinations - destruction and life (there’s no third
alternative).

The good news is that Jesus has already given us the answers. If we but believe in him, we too will have taken the Choice for Life. (Pause)

If you would stand and join with me in signing our closing hymn this morning:

“And Can It Be”

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