The Narrow Gate

Matthew 7:13-14 13 "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few."

What is your understanding of the gospel of grace? You know that you are not saved by your own works. Perhaps you understand something of the glory of God's holiness and something of the depth of your own sinfulness, and you have rightly seen that only the life and death of Christ could be the ground of any man's salvation. You may also have realized that faith in Christ is the gift of God that is necessary in order for the righteousness of Christ to be credited to any man, a righteousness that is necessary for any man to have eternal fellowship with God.

What if you affirm all these things, but your Christian life is so loose that there is no particular evidence that you are living a Christian life at all? Are you actually saved if there is no evidence of a love for God's Word, a desire for and a participation in Christian worship, a true sorrow for sin and a true endeavor for obedience according to the way of life that can rightly be called "following Christ?" Can it be said of you that you have actually entered through the narrow gate if calls to Christian thinking, living, and Christian responsibility always seem too narrow for you?

We are saved only by grace, only through faith, only based on Christ. But this kind of salvation is demonstrated through a narrowness of life that many find too narrow. It should not disturb you to be called to obedience of life. It should not disturb you to be charged to bring up your children in the narrow way. It should not disturb you to be called to live a life of Christian love that is beyond your profession of your own feelings.

We have too often assured people that they have been born again, when there is little evidence of that in their lives. True Christians show forth their precious gift of faith with a seriousness of worship, a love for and endeavor after Christian growth, a mature consideration and embracing of Christian responsibility, and a dedicated life that is rich in Christian mercy to the undeserving.

Enter through the narrow gate. Follow Jesus.