"13 Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. 14 How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it. Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves. 16 You’ll recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree can’t produce bad fruit; neither can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So you’ll recognize them by their fruit.
Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, drive out demons in Your name, and do many miracles in Your name?’ 23 Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you! Depart from Me, you lawbreakers!’
24 "Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of Mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. And its collapse was great!"
28 When Jesus had finished this sermon, the crowds were astonished at His teaching, 29 because He was teaching them like one who had authority, and not like their scribes."
Matthew 7:15-29
Good Morning Beloved,
I ask you to join me today, to pray for those who are lost here and around the world, I ask you would join me, wherever you're receiving this message. Beloved, I believe we need to unite in prayer, for the lost in our families, our Flocks, our Bible studies, our fellowships and in our homes. I believe that if God is going to work through us, in great evangelism in our nation and around the world, we need to begin to pray, we need to pray habitually and unceasingly for those who are without Jesus Christ. Those we know, those we don’t know, individuals, whole families, pastors and congregations. For this is the will of God and this reflects the proper response to the ransoming work of Christ.
For all have sinned and fall short of God’s glorious standard. All of us have gone astray, each of us to our own way. Therefore, beloved, we are all in need saving. We’re all in danger of drowning in the flood. The flood being God’s judgment, the consequences of our sin, our disobedience to His Word. We need a Savior. So we cry out for help.
Heavenly Father,
O' Lord, we come again today with grateful hearts, because we love You, we are so thankful to be able to worship You and gather together in Your name, and in doing so, we are so tremendously blessed.
Thank You for this marvelous, rich text, You instructed us to explore, may You reveal to us the truths in Your Word, that we may fully comprehend Your message.
Father, You have placed a heavy burden on my heart today, a great sense of the need of the lost
and the salvation of the world. If that saving grace is limited, either by an aberrant theology, by cold indifference, the church is incapable of be the reflection of Your will and the finished work of Christ in the world, for it is Your will Lord, that all would be saved and for this, Christ gave Himself as ransom for all. May we be a church that desires to reach all men. May we be uncomfortable in being complacent in our faith, in quietly standing by, proclaiming Your truth in our closets. O' Lord, may we receive and put into practice, Your message for us today, and may this so with those that we meet and share Your message as well.
In Jesus' name we ask and pray
Amen
Today's Message: Only A Few Will Be Saved
The saving Ark: God’s judgment was a literal flood that He would use to cleanse the world of sin and corruption.
In order to be saved one had to get onboard the Ark of Salvation, but only Noah and his family were saved from the flood. However, there were only a few who obeyed the Lord’s commands.
Today, I invite all of you to get onboard before it’s too late.
The saving hand of Jesus. Some of you have seen that famous painting of Jesus’ hands reaching out kind of like this. Jesus saved a drowning Peter who saw the wind and the waves and lost sight of Christ walking on the water. Today, invite you to get out of the boat and reach out, take hold of the hand of Jesus, to come to Jesus. The boat being the life that is getting you no where fast.
Before we begin the message in our text, I would like to invite you to open your Bibles with me, if you would, to Luke chapter 13, to set the foundation.
Now I'm sure you remember from the story of Noah that God shut the door on the ark. Well, in this story another door will be shut. And just as in the story of Noah, only a few were saved from God’s judgment. Will only a few be saved? Well, in our text, Jesus is asked that very question.
Allow me to read to you, from Luke 13:22-30, and if you would follow along as we begin to more closely examine, this magnificently rich text, that God has provided for all of us.
"Lord," someone asked Him, "are there few being saved?"
He said to them, "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because I tell you, many will try to enter and won’t be able once the homeowner gets up and shuts the door. Then you will stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open up for us!’ He will answer you, ‘I don’t know you or where you’re from.’ Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets!’ But He will say, ‘I tell you, I don’t know you or where you’re from. Get away from Me, all you workers of unrighteousness!’ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth in that place, when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves thrown out. They will come from east and west, from north and south, and recline at the table in the kingdom of God. Note this: Some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last."
So we now have before us a question: "Are only a few people going to be saved?"
Jesus’ answer to us, comes in the form of a command; Make every effort, strive to enter. And a narrow door. The door represents salvation. All who are outside the door, will not be saved. They are to remain lost, condemned to the second death, an eternity in hell.
So. rather than to skirt around the obvious, looming question, let’s deal with this head on:
Will only a few be saved?
Perhaps, at some point in your journey of faith, you’ve been curious, asking yourself about that same question. You see, the world we live in, is a fallen world. There is the evidence, of its corruption around us, the lack of people being concerned about their salvation, their soul or God. Churches that could be filled, remain nearly empty, many of which are abandoned. In our culture today, people too preoccupied, their just too busy to make time for Jesus Christ. Their far too busy living their life, too busy to spend even an hour of their precious time, much less, preparing for the eternal life.
Society, is just far too self absorbed, too selfish, too self centered, egotisticial and narcissistic, to place an emphasis on Jesus. There is certainly, not much effort being made to live a life of obedience in Christ, to listen or obey the commands of Jesus. But rather one of self pleasure, instant gratification, an self indulgance.
So, will only a few be saved?
In the days of Noah, there were only a few. Just one righteous man and his family.
Jesus said that when He returns it will be just as it was in the days of Noah. People in that day went on marrying, celebrating, and sinning right up until the time that Noah and his family entered the Ark. They were just too busy to listen to Noah, all those years of preaching, ignored. Therefore, they didn't realize what was going to happen to them, they had no idea of the fate they were about to encounter.
That is, until the flood came and swept them all away. Will only a few be saved? In fact, Jesus even asked his own question: When the Son of Man returns will He find faith on the earth?
Beloved, will only a few be saved?
I invite you to join me, and as we together, find out how, our Lord Jesus, answers this ???? question.
Jesus doesn’t answer the question outright, He doesn't offer a simple a yes or no. He instead, tells us, how to be among those who are saved. And why many will not be, saved. Because, there will be many, who will be far too busy, they won't listen, they will not make the effort.
Scriptures says, "Make every effort." yet, few will make the effort.
"Strive to enter through the narrow door," yet, few will knock and seek to enter.
The word used here, is translated strive or make every effort means "to contend, to struggle, to do something with strenuous zeal, willing to fight and face difficulties and dangers in order to obtain it."
It is the same word, that was used in the ancient sporting events of the time, used to describe the athlete trying to cross the finish-line first, or the wrestler not giving up even when he’s down for the count.
Make every effort. Strive to enter in through the narrow door.
So, beloved, Jesus says to "Make every effort, " what exactly is Jesus saying to all of us here? Is Jesus actually saying that our works, will save us? That we enter the Kingdom of God by our good deeds and effort? Well, the answer is two-fold. The answer is yes, and no.
First, I'll address the "no." No: The Scriptures tell us, in Ephesians chapter two, that we are saved by grace through faith, not by works, that no one should boast; meaning brag about whatever, we’ve done.
We all know people like that, am I right? "Look at me, I read the Bible forward and backward, shoot, I can read it blind folded, with it placed behind my back! Did I mention, that I have numerous degrees, all of my walls are covered with certificates! So I’m super spiritual. I’m super righteous!
With their ego at the forefront, they are constantly seeking the approval of men, rather than pleasing God. Now, obviously, I'm exaggerating a bit here, to make my point, all of their walls aren't covered with certificates. (smiling)
Therefore, the answer is a hard, fast, No! It is Jesus Christ, alone, who saves us, by His blood shed on the cross which was done on our behalf, for the forgiveness of our sins. As we place our faith in Him, accept His ultimate sacrifice and, that in Him, we receive the wondrous, precious gift of salvation. And it is God, in His Divine plan and purposes, who works in and through us, according to His Sovereign will.
Scripture affirms this, in Philippians 2:12-15, "So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to desire and to work out His good purpose. Do everything without grumbling and arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world."
We are God’s workmanship, handiwork, and masterpiece created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:8-10, says, "For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them."
And in John chapter 3:5-8, Jesus says, "I assure you: Unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I told you that you must be born again. The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." We are, therefore, born of God. We are given new life, in Christ.
And so, verse 15, warns us to beware of these false prophets. Beware of false prophets, those, who in their preaching describe a broad way to heaven: it is often said within the context of their teaching the way is broad, rather than walking in it themselves, that is here chiefly spoken of. All those are false prophets, those who teach any other way than that which our Lord has taught, during His earthly ministry. Who come to you in sheep’s clothing, with a form of godliness and fair professions of love; but inwardly they are ravening wolves. These false prophets, are not feeding Christ's sheep but instead, are destroying souls; damning those they teach to eternal condemnation.
These false teachers, are feeding themselves by way of the destruction of the flock. "A wolf in sheep’s clothing," has grown into a proverb for a wicked man that makes a great profession of his faith, and religion, yet cannot dissemble so well as not to be discovered by attentive observation; which was the character of the Pharisees in the days of our Savior. These false teachers, deceive people, by the multitudes, they serve up cheap doctrine, speaking only about God, however, not from the Word of God. Further, their teaching, pleases everyone, offends no one, proclaiming, "Just believe in Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. Everyone gets into heaven." There is an absence of salvation, obedience to Christ, and most certainly, repentance. They are more often than not, more committed to the their religious organization, institution, or their denomination, than to the cause of Christ.
Their theology is primarily one of an academic nature, rather than a passion, a burning desire for the Word of God. Their messages, typically remains stuck, on a particular teaching, such as, one of love and grace. They however, there is the avoidance of entire passages, or even books of Scripture, which are deemed, "offensive," "no longer relevant in today's culture," that require the pastor to teach a message of harmful effects of sin, the way to salvation, or the need for true repentance. Beloved, this is no mistake! It is by design, in order to keep their messages pleasing to the sinners, who are among those in weekly attendance. There is an overwhelming indulgence of grace, folly of empty hearts, speaking empty words. They are hearers, not do'ers of the Word
Beloved, these encouraging, yet deceitful messages, couldn't be more misleading, to those eager to hear them. The truth is, as Jesus, our Lord and Savior taught; Not everyone gets into heaven, few will choose the narrow path, few will be saved.
The apostle Paul, warns us in his epistle, II Timothy 4:1-5, "I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and because of His appearing and His kingdom: Proclaim the message; persist in it whether convenient or not; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching. For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear something new. They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths. But as for you, be serious about everything, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry."
In order to discern, the false from the true, one that may be applied by people of the meanest capacity, who are not accustomed to deep reasoning. True ministers convert sinners to Christ and at the very least, confirm, affirm and strengthen those that are converted. False teachers, however, do not. They are those who, that though, they may declare the very truth, and that clearly and fully, yet they merely adorn the life, without elevating the soul. But rather, bring about a reproach upon it by their unholy conduct; and therefore, are not the sent of God, ordained by His Spirit, but come in their own name to declare God’s Word.
Therefore, their grand mark on a congregation, is one of personal comfort and gain, the deceived seek only the by products of faith in Christ, blessings, feelings, and emotions. It is however, clear, they do not seek turn souls from the powerful grip of Satan unto hands of God. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes." Therefore, can it be expectation of the congregants, in some common way, that they should reap the fruits of spiritual advantage, or obtain some redeeming religious improvement, from the teachings of wicked men, or of men whom God has not called to that work?
Then we're told, "You shall know them by their fruits," by their fruits, we can identify these false teachers. Everyone loves them, they rarely receive criticism. Those who follow their teaching, continue to live in sin, believing, all is well, "I confess the name of Christ, I go to church, I do good works, I tithe faithfully, I'm going to heaven."
As we begin to dig deeper into today's text, we hear the words of Jesus, in this masterful sermon, an incredible lesson from our Lord Jesus, who in bringing everything into concise clarity, with precision focus. Jesus, in verses 14 and 15, therefore, teaches, we now, face an ultimate choice.
Allow me to begin by saying, that Christ came to teach us, not only what we are to know and believe, but what we are to do; not only toward God, but toward men; not only toward those of our social circles and religious persuasion, but toward humanity in general, all those, with whom we have to do.
What that we must do unto our neighbor, which we ourselves acknowledge to be fit and reasonable. We must, in our all of dealings, suppose, or imagine ourselves in the same situation, or circumstances with those we have contact with, and, therefore, act accordingly.
There are but two ways: One, being right and one, wrong. One of which is considered to be good and the other, evil; And, as such, the way to heaven and, the way to hell. One is a path, it is one or the other of these, which we must, therefore choose. However, all are walking. And, I might add, there is no middle ground, no common place in which one can pursue, a path down the middle, there is but one way now.
Therefore, all the children of men, are either saints or sinners, godly or ungodly. One, concerning the way of sin and sinners, that way is broad, the gate is wide, and freely stands open. You may easily enter in to this gate, while clinging to their every lust, your selfish pride; it;s attendants welcome ones gluttonous appetites, sexually immoral desires and corrupt passions. For indeed, its way is pleasing; its gate is broad; and there are many roads from which to choose. There are no absolutes, no rules or no regulations; each are given a choice in sinful pleasures. And, it is this road, where you'll find the vast majority, the condemned, the spiritually damned; frolicking along its way. But what profit will there be, in ones willingness to journey to hell with others, simply because, there are many.
Beloved, these will not enter into heaven with us! There are not, as it is often taught, many roads leading to the same place. There is but one way to eternal life, to the Kingdom of God, its gate is narrow, its road is difficult. Self must be denied, Christ must be exalted, God glorified. The fleshly body crucified, and inward corruptions mortified. Earthly temptations, lustful desires all must be resisted; godly services required, is to be completed, with a joyous and generous spirit, one's daily cross carried.
Therefore, beloved, we must remain watchful in all things, and proceed in our walk, with extreme caution, taking great care; and we must go through much suffering, persecution and tribulations. And yet this way should be found inviting to us, one and all; it leads to eternal life: to present comfort in the favor of God, which is the life of the soul; eternal bliss, and the hope, of which at the end of our journey, should make even the greatest difficulties along the road easy for us.
This bold and plain declaration of Christ, has been disregarded by many, who have taken great pains to explain it away; diminish its meaning, and corrupt its teaching. But in every age, the true disciple of Christ, has been looked upon as a singular, unfashionable character; and a bit of revolutionary. As all that have sided with the great multitudes, and have gone by way of the broad road, the road to eternal death and destruction.
If then, we would serve God, follow Christ, we must stand firm in our convictions, our beliefs, and our commitment to Christ. So, it is often, we hear the narrow way, and how few there will be that find it, without being in pain for ourselves, or considering whether we, ourselves, have entered into the narrow gates, and what progress we are making in it?
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come." II Corinthians 5:17
Jesus himself is the gate, the narrow door through which we must enter.
In John 10:7-10, Jesus teaches us, "So Jesus said again, “I assure you: I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance."
So no, our works do not save us. It is God who saves us, by His grace and our faith in His Son.
But also,yes. As there is effort is required in which to enter in. Scripture repeatedly teaches us, over and over again that we must love God, follow Christ, serve God, obey God with all of our heart.
Halfheartedly, clinging to worldly ways, will never do! This is not be done casually, but faithfully. Jesus even says this twice that those who endure to the end will be saved.
In order for you, a sinner, to be saved, your cooperation is necessary. You must do your part of believing, trusting, obeying, listening, and not resisting. Christ, has done His job, in making a way through the forgiveness of sin, by His sacrifice. You're half way, but you must make a decision. One that requires effort on your part.
So what about this effort? What cooperation is necessary, in order for you to make it to Heaven? What striving needs to take place for you to be saved now and in the end? Is it enough to just say, "Save me! Help me!?" And then, God will do all the rest, right? We only need to repeat a prayer, and we instantly gain a free ticket to heaven when Christ comes back, right? Wrong!!
Scripture plainly says that you must confess your sins before God. That means, you have to admit that you are guilty of doing wrong. Then, you must repent of your sins. Ok, what does that mean? Well, it means changing your mind about sin. Believe me, this is something that you don’t want in your life, in the first place. You make a decision, a choice, that you don’t want to live the way you have been any longer. You want change. You want a fresh start. You want the slate wiped clean!
You want your debt erased! You want salvation. Look at it this way, your sin is actually killing you. Is leading you to death and destruction. It’s like drowning, with an anchor tied to your feet, and the wight of it, is dragging you under. So you change your perspective about your sin, you start altering your lifestyle, and the person that you’ve become.
And it also means this, and most importantly this: It means to turn away from your sins, your wicked ways of living, and turn to God. And yes, it means giving up some of the things, you had been doing;
like going to the club and drinking with your friends. It might even mean finding some new friends.
Is that really an effort? Yes. Absolutely! Might you have to do it again and again. Most likely, you will. There are going to be days, when you’re going to struggle. In some ways, depending on the sin, it could be the rest of your life, but you see, you no longer face your struggles alone! Now, you have a friend, closer than a brother, Who actually wants to help you through those tough challenges you have been facing, and some new ones too! Now, you know where your help comes from. You know Who your Savior is. His name is Jesus Christ, so just call out to Him.
But you have to make every effort to enter through the door that leads to everlasting life.
And, just in case, we don't get the message, the Bible repeats it... several times!
"Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it."
Matthew 7:13-14
In Closing.....
There is only a few. Only a few find it. Only a few will be saved.
There will be many, who will wish they had entered, but they remained confined, bound to their sin, but theirs remained only wishes, because, they made no real effort, no strong, sustained effort to break free from the chains that held them captive. Theirs was not a life of self-surrender, of painful self-sacrifice.
To simply have the wish to pass through that narrow gate is not enough. Jesus, taught about the broad way all through His sermon, and invariably His portrayal was that the broadway doesn't make it. They had the wrong view of self, the wrong view of the world, the wrong view of the Word of God.
They had the wrong view of morality, immorality and sin, they had wrong view of possessions and money, and the wrong view of other people. And all of their ideals were the wrong things, and so Jesus was teaching all of us, that going the way, by way of self-righteousness, and the way that says, "I can do it my own way , I’m good enough on my own, I don't need you or your plan, I have a right to make my own decisions, do things my way, by myself, I don’t need a sacrifice, and I surely don’t need to recognize my sin. I'm just fine!"
But with a compassionate, tender and loving, earnest heart, Christ is longing for all of us to enter into His right path. To forsake oursin and our self-will, and to come to Him, repentant over our sinfulness to the only source of true salvation and righteousness. In fact, in chapter 4, verse 17, of Matthew, He cried, From then on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near!" He is asking YOU, now, to turn around and go the other way!God's way..
But Effort Must Be Made. And You, Have To Make It!
In today's text, Matthew 7:21, Jesus says, "Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father in heaven."
Make every effort. Strive to enter through the narrow door, the narrow gate.
I would like to encourage YOU, now, today, to finally deal with that road, that narrow door, because soon, very soon, the door will be door closing. Because once it closes, "Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you! Depart from Me, you lawbreakers!"
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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