Riverside Community Church

The Narrow Road

Matthew 7:13-14

Jesus spoke of 2 roads in our text today. Only 2 roads. One road all have journeyed on, and it still remains well attended by the majority. Few people ever leave this road but follow it to their end. The other road, Jesus said, was less travelled and the minority traverse its way. You have all travelled one of these roads …… and some of you here have now switched roads. You have changed roads and by doing so, your direction and future has altered greatly.

-listen to very words of Christ as He speaks to the road you are on, 

Listen AND believe these Words of Christ for they are life changingly true.

Matthew 7:13-14 (NIV)

13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

There are many roads mentioned in the Bible, here are 5 of note:

The Jerusalem Road, it runs through the middle of Jerusalem, it is called the Via Delarosa, the "Way of the Cross" where Jesus walked with the cross towards the crucifixion site. It is the road of suffering. This too is one of our roads to travel as we must pick up our cross daily, bear it faithfully and come to know the ‘fellowship of His suffering’ on this road.

-some of you have walked this road, you have known the way of suffering.

-for Christians this road ends gloriously in Heaven

There is the Emmaus Road where some disciples walked, shortly after the crucifixion, and they just couldn’t understand why Jesus Christ had to die. And this news of the resurrection!! Well, they were even more rattled. Then the Resurrected Jesus joins them on the Emmaus Road and explains it to them, He makes it clear to them. Yes, the Emmaus Road, the road where truth sets our hearts aflame, like those disciples after hearing Jesus, said didn’t our hearts burn within us. Why do our hearts burn with spiritual fervor? Because the truth sets us free when we meet Jesus. 

Then we have The Damascus Road, the road where opposition ended for Paul. Confronted by Christ Himself for his persecution of believers, Paul was knocked down on this road, blinded on this road and changed by meeting Christ on this very Damascus road. Here again Jesus confronts us, points out our sin, our misplaced path and changes us as only He can.

Because of Jesus’s great and enduring love for us, He may, at certain times, interrupt our misdirected lives and knock us down only to reveal Himself to us.

Now we come to 2 more roads that Jesus spoke of: "The Narrow Road" and “The Broad Road”. The two entrances to these roads are close to each other but lead in divergent directions. 

-the main mode of transportation in Jesus’s day was walking, there were major routes travelled by many and small pathways, small and narrow roads, walked by the few.

Here we stand before the 2 entrances, mesmerized by the blunt confrontation of choice. Jesus confronts us, you, and it is not the 1st time God confronted people with this ‘path’ choice.

Jeremiah 21:8

“Furthermore, tell the people (Jeremiah), ‘This is what the Lord says: See, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death.

-yes, there are 2 ways, 2 pathways, 2 gates, 2 roads.

Today, Jesus calls out loud to us, He beckons us to choose the narrow gate because it leads to the narrow road. The narrow gate is the cross and it is the entrance to the narrow way. The narrow way is to walk as Jesus walked. If you have not asked God to save you, through this very cross, if you have not asked God to forgive your sin and have not surrendered your life to Christ, you are not on the narrow road. 

*Oh no, you are on the broad which leads to ‘destruction’, it leads to hell. You are there on the broad road and it’s the wrong road to be on if you have any hope of Heaven. Because the broad road is not God’s way and it’s not heaven bound. 

-The broad gate leads to the broad road and that, in the end, leads to destruction and hell. Hell is eternal separation from a God who loves you. 

I can hear some people say right now “That’s not fair, why does a loving God send people to Hell. I don’t like that, and I don’t think it fair or right!”

Here’s the difficulty with that it’s ‘unfair’ statement about a loving God sending people to hell. IT REALLY IS BACKWARD!

-God doesn’t send people to hell, people choose hell themselves. People have the choice; the choice is theirs to make.  

GOD OFFERS TO US HEAVEN INSTEAD OF HELL AND SO WE CHOOSE OUR FINAL DESTINATION.

The choice is ours to make, broad or narrow?

• Each day we are confronted with choices. Our lives are filled with choices and decisions—what to wear, what to eat, where to go, what to do, what to say, what to buy, whom to marry, what career to follow and on and on. Many of our choices are trivial and insignificant, but some are essential, impactful, and even life changing. 

-The most critical of all is our choice, our decision, about Jesus Christ, that narrow gate and His road, the narrow road. That is the ultimate choice that determines our eternal destiny. It is that decision that Jesus calls people to make.

The key word over the entrances, the narrow gate and the broad gate is DECISION.And this decision is always singular, as each one must choose which gate to walk through. The narrow gate will not be as easy for us to walk through. It is single file only.

-You, and only you, can make that decision for yourself. Will it be the broad gate leading to destruction or the narrow gate, the way of the cross, which leads to life.

I know wide doors or gates are inviting. On our journey through life many will want to take as much baggage with them as they can, the wide gate allows for that. The broad gate leading to the broad road seems to be easier, less restricted, and I can walk anyway I want to.

In LUKE 13:24 Jesus said, "Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.

• Jesus tells us that we must strive or put out a great effort to enter through the narrow gate.
• The gate is narrow because not many will choose to enter through it.
• If you are going to enter in the narrow gate, Jesus MUST become first in your life.

The wide path is WIDE & BROAD, and there’s lots of maneuvering room on that road.

But the Bible says in:

• PROVERBS 12:15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, 

And in:

• PROVERBS 14:12 There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.

-That’s the broad road and that well-traveled path has no rules, no restraints! It is a path that has the majority of people doing what is right in their own eyes!

• Oh, the majority isn’t always right. The majorities’ unchecked and unbridled opinion which leads to the "majority rule" often leads to wrong paths, the Broad Road.
• The late Senator James A. Reed, of Missouri, in one of the most forceful speeches ever delivered before the Senate, observed with great truth: "The majority crucified Jesus Christ; the majority burned the Christians at the stake; the majority established slavery; the majority jeered when Columbus said the world was round; the majority threw him into a dungeon for having discovered a new world. Christ always calls us to follow the lifestyle of the "Minority opinion", the Narrow Road.
• The wide path is the one that most of the people will be on. It is the path that most of the people will encourage you to walk down. As you stand at the crossroads looking down the paths, are you going to be swayed by what “everyone else” is doing?

To be a Christian you must be on the narrow road.

So, you ask, how do I get on the narrow road? 

1. Through the narrow gate.
2. How do I get through or enter the narrow gate?

I’m so glad you asked that question! This is the good news that Jesus kept repeating over and over again. And Jesus is saying this to you.

1. Believe in Jesus, the Son of God, believe that Jesus died for your sin so He could save you, and then ask for forgiveness for your sin and for Jesus to do just that, to save you. Commit yourself then to following Jesus on that narrow road.

-That’s it, that’s how you become a Christian, how you end up on the narrow road which leads to life and eternal life.

1. Understanding that, are you a Christian? Jesus calls to you to come to Him this way and become one of His own followers. So, believe NOW.

Another way to explain how to be on the narrow road, how to become a Christian, is a series of Bible verses all from the book of Romans which is often referred to as the Roman Road of Salvation.

#1 All have sinned: Romans 3:23 

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

#2 The wage or penalty of sin: Romans 6:23a 

For the wages of sin is death, 

#3 God’s free gift: Romans 6:23b

… the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

#4 Confess: Romans 10:9-10 

If you declare (confess) with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

Are you a Christian? Would you like to become a Christian today, right now? Jesus calls you to come to Him this way and become one of His own followers. So, believe NOW.

-if you would like to become a Christian right now then repeat this prayer after me in your heart.

(prayer)

Father God, I now believe in Jesus, your only son, I believe He died for me and rose again. Please forgive my sin and save me and give me eternal life. Father God, put me on the narrow road and help me walk as Jesus walked. Through Christ I pray Amen.

-the Bible says to confess with your mouth, so tell someone that you have become a Christian before you leave this place.

Can I add an aside to the narrow and broad road to those of you who are already Christians? I don’t know your heart, I don’t know your secret life, your secret walk, I don’t know your undisclosed heart pulse as a Christian. But I do know this:

-there isn’t a middle road, a 3rd road of trying to straddle the narrow road and the broad road, like 1 foot in the world and 1 foot on the Christian Road. That 3rd road doesn’t exist.

-if, through faith in Christ, you are on the narrow road, but you are living a life like you are on the broad road. I believe you are still on the narrow road, but you have fallen down, you are backsliding, it is hypocrisy to operate that way according to Jesus whom you believe in.

-Repent, tell God you're sorry and ask God to forgive you, then stand back up and start walking again like Jesus.

If this is you, if you have asked God to forgive you then tell someone, tell me before you leave this place. Amen.