The Kingdom Manifesto - 22

Ian Stamps

The Kingdom Manifesto • Sermon • Submitted 4 years ago

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The Kingdom Manifesto - 22

Walk the Narrow Path

Matthew 7:13-14, 21-23

Introduction

There is an ancient religious story that goes something like this...there was a father who had two sons. One of them ran off in rebellion and wasted his father’s inheritance. But while he was away, he realized the error of his ways, came back home and was welcomed home by his father.

Sound familiar? Well, it’s not the story you are thinking of. This is an ancient Buddhist story. Those of you who are familiar with the bible know that Jesus told a story almost identical to this one. Some similarities in sacred writings have led some people to believe that all world religions are basically the same. In fact, 64% of Americans believe that all the faiths of the world worship the same god.

Picture a buffet…this is how many see faith in the world today. A bunch of options, with none of them being more important than the other. Who are you to say that the fried chicken is better than the roast beef? And there are any number of ways to approach a buffet...as there are a number of ways to approach faith.

Vegetables - works-based religion. Some go to the salad bar part first, and maybe only. Why? It makes them feel better. I can go to a feed trough, have only salad and get away with it. This is how it is with religious that are works based. Doing good, moral things makes people feel better. So, whether it is keeping dietary restrictions, focusing on a prayer wheel, making a pilgrimage or just being a good person...makes us feel like we are making progress in becoming a better person.

Bill Maher, after seeing the Passion of the Christ, said this on his TV show - “The thought of someone else cleansing me of my sins is ridiculous. I don’t need someone else to cleanse me, I can cleanse myself.”

Dessert - known as hedonism...all about pleasure. But it is ok because they are all valid. These are those who go to a buffet and go straight to the ice cream machine and the chocolate fountain. Why not? All ways are equal right?

Sampling - for most people, this is how a buffet works. You take a sampling of many options to create your own customized meal. This is also the dominant way people view faith. It is called pluralism. Take a sampling from them all and create your own.

Sarah Michelle Gellar - “I consider myself a spiritual person. I believe in an idea of God, although it’s my own personal ideal. I find most religions interesting, and I’ve been to every kind of denomination: Catholic, Christian, Jewish, Buddhist. I’ve taken bits from everything and customized it.”

In our culture, Christianity is perceived to be just one option among many. And to say that it is the only right choice seems downright arrogant and exclusive. After all, who are you to say one option on a buffet is the only right one? So much so that even Christians, those who claim to place their trust in Jesus, would seem to agree. Half of the Christian population in America says you can be saved through any religion. Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish...doesn’t matter.

Seems as though most Christians would agree with Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, a Hindu leader - “One can ascend to the top of a house by means of a ladder or a bamboo or a staircase or a rope; so too, diverse are the ways of approaching God, and each religion in the world shows one of the ways.”

While that may seem like a reasonable and popular view, here is the main problem with it...Jesus disagrees with it. In Matthew 7, Jesus gets right up in our face with telling us how salvation works:

Matthew 7:13-14 - 13 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.

Jesus says there is a narrow gate, found only by a few. Only one path, one way. There is a part of many people, including some who claim to be Christians, that bristles against this, trying to backpedal away from it, water it down or explain it away. I think people do that because we misunderstand the real problem between us and God.

Back in the book of Genesis we discover that God created all things, including us. Everything is the way it should be as God’s perfect will was done, unhindered by sin. God places Adam and Eve, our original parents, in a perfect garden called Eden. There he gives them one command - do not eat from this tree. All the other trees are yours, but this one is off limits. There is one path to death...and we chose it!

They sinned against God in their rebellion. Sin now enters the picture and destroys everything. Sin separates us from God, ruins paradise and harms our relationships. The rest of human history is us trying to restore that relationship with God.

In the OT, the law and the sacrificial system is instituted. Now, if we could only do the right things, offer the right kind of sacrifices, it will be great. We will be back with God again. But here’s the problem - it’s never enough. As soon as we offer the right sacrifices, we sin again. As soon as we do something good, evil is right there to meet us. No amount of our goodness has ever been enough to alleviate the guilt. And isn’t that our experience? We may think we are great, good enough to be accepted by God, but deep down we understand that it just isn’t enough to make us confident in our relationship with God.

We want to be good people, go to heaven...but we can’t be good enough. We can’t cover our guilt; we can’t take away our shame. And we know this intuitively. We can’t fix what we’ve done. And the bible affirms that very clearly.

Romans 3:10-18 - 10 As the Scriptures say,

“No one is righteous— not even one. 11 No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. 12 All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.” 13 “Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with lies.” “Snake venom drips from their lips.” 14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” 15 “They rush to commit murder. 16 Destruction and misery always follow them. 17 They don’t know where to find peace.” 18 “They have no fear of God at all.”

We can’t be good enough. We can’t clean up our mess. We can’t do it ourselves. If our sin is going to be dealt with, someone else is going to have to do it.

So when Jesus starts off with these incredible 5 words in Matthew 7:13, “You can enter God’s kingdom…” we shouldn’t be offended that there is only one way to do that. We should celebrate that there is a way at all!

The gate, the road there, is narrow. How narrow is it? About the width of a cross. Let me explain what I mean by that:

1. THE CROSS IS THE MEANS OF SALVATION

If our sin is going to be dealt with, someone else has to do it. Someone else has to pay that penalty. And the penalty is eternal death, separated from God. The good news of Christianity, the gospel, is that Jesus paid that penalty on the cross.

Romans 3:23-25a - 23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood.

Romans 5:18 - 18 Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone.

Colossians 1:20-22 - 20 and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.

21 This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. 22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

This what differentiates Christianity from every other religion. This is what makes Jesus unique from all other religious leaders. All the others tell us to be better, obey better, do more things and god(s) will love and accept us. But Jesus comes onto the scene and reminds us that we can’t do that. It is impossible. We can’t save ourselves, but he saves us.

Titus 3:4-7 - 4 But—When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, 5 he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. 6 He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. 7 Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.

The narrow road, that narrow gate of salvation is defined by the cross because it is the only thing that can save us. If we try any other way, it will lead to death. Isn’t that what Jesus said? The road to hell is wide. There are an infinite number of ways to go to hell. Only one way to life.

2. THE CROSS IS THE MARK OF SALVATION

The road is narrow not only because the cross the what saved us, but also because the cross is what defines those who walk on the narrow way. The cross is what is carried by those who walk on the narrow way.

Matthew 10:38-39 - 38 If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. 39 If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.

We are called to deny self and pick up our cross. It is a dying to my kingdom to enter into God’s kingdom. You can’t enter God’s kingdom if you are still trying to be king over your own. Can’t follow Jesus if I am constantly chasing after what I want.

This is what the Sermon on the Mount is about. It is about God’s kingdom people living life in the shadow of the cross. The cross reminds me that I don’t belong to myself. The cross reminds me that I was dead until He died for me. He saves me, not so I can do whatever I want, but so that I can follow Him, honoring the one who bought me at such a high price.

Taken in that light, it is easy to see why Jesus says what he does in Matthew 7. This way of living is difficult. This road is narrow.

-Tough to trust in Him rather than self.

-Tough to be selfless instead of selfish.

-Tough to treat people the way He wants me to.

-Tough to do what He wants instead of what I want.

And what makes the narrow way even more challenging is that it seems everyone else is going the other direction. Ever swam upstream? Walked into a strong headwind? Tough moving forward. Slow going. It can be exhausting to move slowly against the flow, and it is easy to give in and float along with them.

This can even happen in the church. Look at what Jesus says in just a few verses:

Matthew 7:21-23 - 21 “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.22 On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ 23 But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

There are those who claim faith in Christ, but for them it is only lip-service. They aren’t really in relationship with Jesus. They don’t really know God. They merely go to church and know the right insider language. They say the right things but don’t live the right way. They do good, religious things, but it is not out of a love relationship with their Savior.

Friends, those verses ought to scare us a bit. This is a very real thing that real people will experience. To get to the gates of the Kingdom because they said the right things and did the right things, only to discover Jesus has no idea who they are. If your faith is nothing more than fire insurance, religious activity, church attendance…you need to re-evaluate if your faith is real.

2 Corinthians 13:5 - 5 Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.

Hebrews 12:15 - 15 Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.

2 Peter 1:10-11 - 10 So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away.11 Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

In the Garden of Eden, there was one path to death, and we chose it. Because of the cross there is one path to life. And we must choose it.

Conclusion

I mentioned earlier that people call Christians arrogant and exclusive because they believe that what Jesus said about this is actually true…only one way. Let me tell you why that’s not the case. This is not arrogant at all because we are not the basis of our salvation. Jesus and his work are. Saying you are good enough to work your way to God is the arrogant view. This is not exclusive because this offer of salvation is for everyone.

I started this sermon telling you about an ancient Buddhist story that sounds so much like Jesus’ story of the Prodigal Son. Well, after the son comes home the father does welcome him home. But this is where the similarities stop. You see, in the Buddhist story, the father does welcome the son home, but forces him into slavery at his own house for 20 years before he is welcomed as a child again. Very different than Luke 15, where the Father runs to embrace his child and welcomes him home, throwing a party to celebrate that this son who was lost is found, who was dead is now alive.

Ravi Zacharias tells the story of Dr. E. Stanley Jones, the famous missionary to India. E. Stanley Jones was invited to speak about Christianity, and the Governor of that particular state in India, while introducing Jones, said, “After Dr. Jones is finished speaking about Christianity, I will then get up and explain the similarities to Christianity in the Hindu writings.”

E. Stanley Jones spoke for an hour. The Governor got up and dismissed the crowd without comment. Why? Because for an hour, Jones had talked about Jesus. There are no parallels to Jesus in the Hindu writings. There are so similarities to Jesus anywhere.

Outside of Jesus, it all depends on you. Only in Jesus do we find the offer of eternal life, the forgiveness of sins, given to us. This is called grace - a gift given without deserving it. And there is only one place to find grace - Jesus Christ alone.

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