Journey Through Matthew: The Narrow Way
Journey Through Matthew • Sermon • Submitted
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· 3 viewsThe pathway to heaven is narrow. We know if we are on the right path or not by the fruit we bear.
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Introduction
Introduction
Good morning and welcome back!
It is good to see everyone out this morning and good to see that no one ate too much or got hurt in the big shopping frenzy!
This morning I would like for you to start turning in your Bibles back to .
This morning we are going to finish up with chapter 7 and talk about three things.
We will be looking at the narrow way, bearing fruit, and building a house.
Three things that on the surface do not appear to have anything to do with one another.
But Jesus is going to tie them together to help us apply all of the concepts that he introduced during the Sermon on the Mount.
We actually finished the Sermon last Sunday night, but where we pick up this morning in verse 13, Jesus is going to begin the practical application of the Sermon.
Because, like anything else in life, if we do not know how to apply what we have learned, really what good is it?
It’s not.
So, here Jesus is going to tell them what the point of his sermon actually was.
And the main point for us is really for us to be sure we are who we claim to be.
So, this morning I am going to read you the entire passage and then we will get into it.
It is quite lengthy so I’d ask that you just remain seated.
Again, we are going to be looking at .
Matthew records this . . .
Scripture Focus
Scripture Focus
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. 15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognise them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognise them. 21 “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. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ 24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” 28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.
The Narrow Way
The Narrow Way
So, Jesus has just finished up the Sermon here, and just to recall, the last thing we talked about last week was verse 12, that states . . .
12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
Which we know as the “Golden Rule.”
And the main point that we got from this last week was that we need to be treating other people the way that we would like to be treated.
Not how they treat us, but how we would want them to treat us.
And of course this is the whole meaning behind the Great Commandment to love God with all we are and to love others as ourselves.
So, Jesus now has them thinking about their lives and thinking about how they have been treating other people.
Specifically, Jesus is drawing a line between the people and the Pharisees because remember a couple of weeks ago Jesus told us that. . .
20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
And a major part of that righteousness had to do with how they were treating other people.
They, in essence were being told that they needed to be treating other people better than the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, or the Sadducees.
And on a practical note, the Pharisees and Sadducees were really just a representation of the world and how the world treats other people.
What we need to take from this is that we need to be treating people differently, better than what the world treats them.
Earlier in Matthew, Jesus even tells us . . . .
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’39 But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’39 But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
Matthew 5:38-
Meaning that, the person that cut in front of you and got the last whatever you were trying to buy on Black Friday, don’t snatch it away from them.
Don’t punch them in the nose.
Don’t give them dirty looks.
Don’t cut them off with your shopping cart.
If they want it that bad, let them have it (the item that is!)
And pray for them.
Pray for them and pray that God will soften your heart as well.
Treat them how you would want to be treated.
In fact just to be safe, treat them better than you would want to be treated.
That way there is no question about who’s kingdom you represent.
Because Jesus is going to use this very concept to segway into some truth about heaven and about eternal life and our entrance into heaven.
And he starts here in verse 13 . . .
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.
And there is nothing really magical or philosophical here.
Jesus is just telling them the plain truth about heaven and getting to heaven.
If you want to think about it in our modern terms, it would be like Jesus saying that the way to heaven is like a one lane road that sometimes is paved, sometimes is gravel, sometimes is dirt, sometimes is smooth, and sometimes is full of potholes.
However, the way of the world, the way of destruction is like an 8 lane interstate highway.
And the multitude will take the highway but they never reach the destination.
It is those who are willing to take the one lane road that will make it.
Because the truth is, everyone can take the one lane road, but it’s a difficult journey, we don’t know what to expect, and few are willing to take the chance.
They see everyone else taking the highway and instead of checking things out for themselves they jump in with the crowd.
And lots of them think that they are going the right way because everybody else is going that way as well.
But they are dead wrong because . . .
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.
So the first thing we need to evaluate this morning is which road are we on.
Are we on the ‘easy path’ that everybody else is on?
Or are we willing to take a chance on the ‘narrow path?’
And you might be saying “it’ too hard....I can’t do it.”
And you would be right, you can’t, but . . .
13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
And of course . . .
5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
God doesn’t just throw us out there on the path and leave us there.
God goes with us and leads us down the path.
However, are we willing to go where God leads us? That’s the question.
Known By Their Fruits
Known By Their Fruits
Now, with that firmly in mind, Jesus is now going to move forward a bit in the conversation.
He knows full well that there are many who are on this 8 lane highway, who think they are going down the right path.
And he also knows there are a few reasons why, one main one being the false prophets of the world who are lying to people telling them “their way” is the “right way.”
Jesus says this . . .
15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.
Matthew 7:15
And they are a sneaky lot too.
They have deceived millions, maybe even billions.
But Jesus gives us a way to know if they are for real or not . . .
16 By their fruit you will recognise them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognise them.
So, what kind of fruit are they bearing?
And Jesus is not talking about the fruit that the world thinks is important.
Because the world tells us that if they are rich, powerful, have a big house, and all of these material goods then they must be doing good.
That’s not fruit, that’s just stuff.
Some of the most evil and perverse people in this world are some of the richest.
The question is, if they are claiming to be a Christian what kind of fruit are they bearing for God’s kingdom?
What are they doing with all those riches and all that power?
Are they using it to glorify God or glorify themselves?
And I will tell you it is not just the rich and powerful either.
This applies to all of us.
If we are claiming to be a Christian, what fruit are we bearing?
How are we glorifying God in our lives?
How are we using the gifts, talents, and resources that God has blessed us with?
The big question is what would people who see you behind closed doors say about you?
The people who see you with your guard down.
Your children, your spouse.
Those who you don’t put on the “church act” in front of.
What would they say?
Would they say that you are bearing good fruit or rotten fruit?
And I’m not talking about having a bad day.
We all have them every so often.
I am talking about every single day.
Remember Jesus says . . .
20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognise them.
Now, the big question always is though.
What about the “good things” they are doing? Don’t they count for anything?
Jesus says this. . . .
21 “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. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Matthew 7:21-
Now, this is where we need to check our motives at the door.
Look Jesus is saying that . . .
Matthew 7:22
22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’
These people were doing great things.
And they were were doing it in “Jesus name.”
But Jesus tells them. . .
21 “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.
And . . .
23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
The problem is, they were saying the right words and going through the right motions, but it was all a scam.
They thought that if they followed all the “rules” and played the game the right way that they would be okay.
They thought that if they did all the good deeds and put on a good appearance, they would be okay.
But it was never to fulfill God’s will.
It was never to glorify God.
It was never out of obedience to God.
It was done to glorify themselves and to hide the truth from people and maybe even themselves.
They thought that if they did enough good deeds that God would overlook the fact that they had never given their heart to Jesus.
And the result was . . .
23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Paul plainly tells us all that . . .
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no-one can boast.
Ephesians 2:
And in . . .
Romans 10:9
9 That if you 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 confess and are saved.
That is what is going to save us.
Nothing more, nothing less.
There is a third part to this, but we are going to end here this morning . . .
Altar Call
Altar Call
I believe there are people here this morning that need to come into a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Maybe you are here and you have been going down the 8 lane highway looking for an exit ramp.
A place where you can get off and get onto God’s path.
You can do that this morning by coming right down this center aisle to this altar.
Maybe you are here and you have been pretending, playing the part, but your fruit says otherwise.
Your fruit has been rotten, or there has been no fruit at all.
You need Jesus for real fruit.
Maybe you have been following all the rules and doing what you think everybody expects you to do, but you know that it’s all an act.
The jig is up.
You can fool other people.
You may even be able to fool yourself.
But you will never fool God.
What are you waiting for this morning?
If you need prayer, if you need to pray, if the Holy Spirit is drawing you in any way, I would encourage you to come to this altar this morning and pray.
The altar is open, will you come?