We have been told that coming to Jesus was very simple, and it would be simple if we were nice people, good people, if we loved righteousness and hated wickedness and panted after holiness. The matter of coming to Jesus Christ savingly would then be mighty easy. But since we are not nice people, since we are ruined by the fall, since we are enemies of God, since we are hostile to holiness – the Lord knowing the truth about us, tells us the truth that if we hope to get in the strait gate we will have to make it a matter of agony. No one ever gets saved except as he storms the gate violently. There is Scripture for that in Matthew 11:12: "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force." Also Luke 13:24: "Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able."
We want to talk about "The Narrow Way," the entrance to which is this difficult gate that a man has to agonize to get through. Then salvation is more than a beginning; it is a walk. Notice Matthew 7:13-i4: "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." Our Lord says, "Enter ye in at the strait gate," and then He gives us the reason for His injunction, "For wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction." You wouldn't have to strive to get in that gate if it is wide, but it isn't wide. The Lord says, "There is a wide gate," and because it is wide, it wouldn't be difficult to go through. But this wide gate and this broad way, our Lord says, "leadeth to destruction," and then He adds to the terribleness of it by stating, "many there be which go in thereat." And one reason so many go in this wide gate is that the gate which leadeth to life is so narrow.
I am doing my best to rob you of your assurance, because I think the first work of the Holy Ghost is confusing people. I think that is Scriptural. If I could rob you of your assurance that you are a child of God, then your assurance is no good! I know I cannot unsave a saved person and I don't have to worry about that. I believe we have lived all our days without the flowing out of the Holy Ghost. If you do not believe that, you just get in a service where you have a little tiny raindrop from heaven – Oh, it is just wonderful! It has been so dry for so long, and when the river of God is not flowing it is hard sailing. You and I have really been living in the dying stages of Christianity in our nation. The circumstances are such that it would be the most natural thing on earth for a person to put his confidence in something that isn't worthy of confidence and be given an assurance and a peace that the Lord does not give.
If there was ever a time to give some attention to the teachings of the Word of God, it is now. 2 Corinthians 13:5 says: "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith: prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?" Now all the days of my ministry, we have been told, "Ah, don't look at yourself, just look to Christ." That sounds mighty good, but the Scriptures say AT THE PROPER TIME, you ought to examine yourself. And 1 Peter 3:15 says: "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts; and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear." I believe in these awful days, with lifelessness everywhere, and vitality in the things of the Lord at such a low ebb, and when Christianity is assumed instead of lived – I think we ought to really give ourselves some examination as to whether we are on the broad way or the narrow way!
Since all any preacher can do is bring out the Word as best he knows how, only you can examine yourself. And since God is not going to slip up on your blind side and take you to heaven without your being conscious of something going on, I believe unto God the hour calls for everybody now to give himself an examination, just turn the spotlight on yourself, and ask God to establish you or destroy your profession. We have been going down hill so long, that all this talk about God reviving us in the state we are in is foolishness. I don't believe He will do it unless there is some repenting.
Are you walking this narrow way or are you still walking in the broad way? There never has been such a revival of religion as we have been going through the last few years! Even what we call the old heathen religions are on the march. Mohammedanism is becoming missionary minded as they never were. And it will shock you for me to tell you that for every Protestant so-called Christian missionary the world around, there are now ten Mohammedan missionaries! General McArthur begged the American Christians to sow Japan down with Bibles some years ago when he was commander during the Occupation. But we were too busy buying cigarettes and bubble gum and we didn't do it. And now Shintoism is on the march and Christianity seems to be playing out in Japan.
In America what a wave of religion we have had in the last 20 years. More people have some sort of connection with our churches, Catholic, Jewish Synagogue or Protestant of some kind, than at any time in the history of America. And yet, God help us, sin, blasphemy and lawlessness were never so rampant as they are in this land of church members right now. We've had a revival of men getting on a broad comfortable way, a religious way, but we haven't had a revival of men getting into a narrow way. It is a NARROW WAY, because it is under the strict discipline of the Living Lord. Which way are you walking? The way that has filled our church rolls and our penitentiaries at the same time? The way that has brought us to where the Congress now debates making homosexuality legal in America? Think it through! (Editor's note: This sermon was preached many years ago!)
Our Lord faithfully calls our attention in this Scripture (Matthew 7:13-14) to the two ways. He describes, first the BROAD WAY, and then, secondly, the NARROW WAY. Before I say much about this text, I want you to notice three or four Scriptures. This word "way" came to have tremendous significance in the Bible. The word "way" in the New Testament and in the Old describes God's people. And this "narrow way" does too; it describes their manner of living. Look in Psalm 1:6: "For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish. "And in Isaiah 35:8: "And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein." Acts 9:1-2: "And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem." He went looking for "people of this way"; Christians were called "people of this way" because of their manner of living. They lived holy lives.
Then notice Acts 16:17: "The same followed Paul and us and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the Most High God, which shew unto us the way of salvation." You see, in the New Testament Christianity was more than an experience, it was a way, it was a pilgrim journey that people traveled, it was living in a way that glorified my Lord. And it condemned every other way of looking at life! Acts 19:9: "But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus." Verse 23: "And the same time there arose no small stir about that way." Acts 24:14: "But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets."
I want this to get into us, so we will not buck it: This Christianity is a way, a way of life, and in the New Testament it stands out. How are you going to find anybody down there in Damascus of that way? You can find them out by their manner of living. God knows how we need that now! People of THAT WAY – not Baptists, nor Methodists, nor Presbyterians, nor church attenders! But men and women of a certain manner of living. That is our need today; we are dying without it. We are going to keep on going down hill, if God Almighty doesn't come and breathe the Holy Ghost life upon us and quicken us and make us alive! We need men and women who are peculiar because of our way of looking at things and the way we walk.
Titus 2:11-14: "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world: Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."
"Enter ye in at the strait gate, for wide is the gate, and broad is the way .... "How far have we come from the New Testament? If they start laying hold of the people of that way, will they arrest you? "People of this way" – people with a manner of living and a philosophy of life that is utterly different from what is called religion today. Our Lord Jesus Christ plainly tells us there are two gates to be entered, one is wide, one is strait. The word strait means narrow, difficult and restricted. There are then two ways to be traveled, one is broad and the other is narrow. God describes these two ways in Jeremiah 21:8: "Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death." The strait gate will get you into a narrow way that leads to life. The wide gate will get you into a broad way that leads you to destruction. The Lord said there are few that find the strait gate and walk the narrow way, but there are many that find the wide gate and the broad way.
Our Lord said there are only two possible destinations for each one of us: Either we walk in the way that leads to life, or in the way that leads to the eternal torments of hell. That we might know which way we are on, the Lord Jesus Christ is very patient and faithful here to describe each way, the entrance to the ways, and the end of the ways. As to the numbers, few find the strait gate, many find the wide gate; few walk the narrow way, many walk the broad way. Our Lord said so. And the Lord Jesus has ordained two distinct final abodes of men after this life, heaven or hell, and between them He has fixed a great gulf. Now these final abodes are not acceptable to many. We have some people now who are not good enough for heaven, but they are not bad enough for hell. I suppose they believe in another place! Some think there are more than two classes of people now, but the Bible speaks only of saints and sinners, so Christ will not admit of more. With Him, you are walking in light or in darkness. With Him, you are in truth or in error. With Him, it is Christ or Satan. With Him, it is holiness or sin. With Him, it is salvation or damnation. There is no middle ground!
The Lord Jesus Christ is pleased to describe this broad way. First we need to remember that it is the way of religious profession. The people who are on it are sincere, religious, and they are making some kind of effort to live a Christian life. They got on this way by listening to false preaching and they call Jesus "Lord." Later on they will come to the judgment as described in Matthew 7:21-23: "Not everyone that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy Name? And in Thy Name have cast out devils? and in Thy Name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity."
This broad way is the way of calling Jesus "Lord," but not doing His will. And it is hard for us to look at a Scripture like that, because all the days of our lives, we've not paid a great deal of attention to the Bible. These tremendous truths that shock us to our very depths if we ever face them – I hope we are not so far gone that a verse like that wouldn't challenge us to the very depths of our being! Who is going to make it anyhow? "He that doeth the will of the Father which is in heaven" – he is the one that is going to make it, and not the one who professes something. "He that doeth the will of My Father."
When did we stop preaching that being right with Christ and joined to Him is the power within us to make the will of God central and pursue it all the days of our life?! That's what it means!
This broad way is the way of religious people that believed error and not the truth. How long have we identified walking an aisle for getting to Christ? I have been in Baptist churches where the people would come to me and say, "Brother Barnard, when are you going to give people a chance to be saved?" They mean by that, when am I going to give a public invitation! A chance to be saved isn't in my hands; salvation is of the Lord! I have been in places where they thought you couldn't get saved unless you walked an aisle or went to the mourners bench. Isn't that silly?
THE ONLY WAY ONE CAN GET SAVED IS TO GET TO CHRISTI John 6:37: "All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me; and him that cometh to Me, I will in no wise cast out. "John 10:28:"And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand." The only way you can get saved is by believing and acting upon the truth about Him and of Him. You can go through the motions and miss the truth! The only way you can embrace Christ now is to embrace Him in the truth of Him. Ephesians 1:13: "In Whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the Word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation: in Whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise." James 1:18: "Of His own will begat He us with the Word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures."
These folks here on this broad way had made some sort of profession, at least they called Him "Lord." They had listened to false preachers and they believed what they had been told. They listened to the preacher who said, "It is easy to be saved, all you've got to do is believe on Jesus and accept Him as your Saviour." But the fellow didn't have the least idea of what that involves. So they have gone through the motions, and they've been doing the best they knew how, but they've been getting deeper in the ditch all the time. They just got a profession; to them Christ is just a name, and He's not a Friend that sticketh closer than a brother. He is just a myth and not a reality, so they go through the motions and end in deception. This is a religious way, a broad way. My Lord said it. It is a whole lot easier to walk in this broad way, there are so many walking along with you.
Oh, do I speak now to a child of God? You know, a Christian needs to know another Christian, for we need to be able to exhort one another and encourage one another, and "so much the more as ye see the day approaching." Christianity is not something to be lived by yourself; that is the reason we have the church. The Apostle Paul felt the need of saying in Hebrews 10:25, "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." I hope it will keep on getting so bad that you can tell a Christian, because he has got to go where there are some more Christians as often as he can! And they will put their arms about the other and encourage them in the Lord. We need to be able to exhort one another.
Most everybody is making a profession now and going down the broad way, the easy way, deceived. Only a few people are pressing through to the kingdom, striving to get in this narrow way that is now made fun of so much even by church people. This broad way is a very deceptive way. The people on it will keep on believing that they are all right, if the Holy Spirit leaves them alone. Everybody that is on the broad way is perfectly satisfied and sincere as they can be. But the Word of God says in Proverbs 16:25, "There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." The Lord says that this broad way, this religious way that people are crowding into now, is a deceptive way that leads to destruction. A man that walks on it is certainly headed for hopeless eternal destruction. Our Lord says this broad popular religion of today conducts men to the bottomless pit, the unquenchable fire and Psalm 1:6 reminds us, "The way of the ungodly shall perish." This broad way must be abandoned and the narrow way accepted, or you will go to hell. There's no way of escape.
Then notice my Lord speaks of the strait gate and the narrow way. The word strait means narrow, difficult and restricted. The Lord Jesus Christ Who loved souls told us the truth, "FEW THERE BE THAT FIND IT!" Have you found it? And the Lord said this strait gate must be entered to get started on the narrow way that leads to life. And in order to enter it, you must seek for it. Luke 13:24: "Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. "Why? Not seeking in God's way.
Anybody that gets to Christ is going to do what Jeremiah 29:13 says, "And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart. "Then you'll not let anybody speak peace to your soul, except the Lord. Psalm 85:7-8: "Shew us Thy mercy, 0 Lord, and grant us Thy salvation. I will hear what God the Lord will speak: For He will speak peace unto His people, and to His saints: but let them not turn again to folly."
Have you sought this strait gate until the only One Who can give assurance has given it to you? That is the Holy Ghost. What is the seal of the Holy Spirit? It is the assurance of salvation, and nobody can give a person the assurance of salvation except the Holy Ghost! Ephesians 1:13, "Ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise." That is the guarantee. Have you sought the strait gate – or have you been deceived by somebody talking you into it, going through some motions? But you didn't get to Christ, and you know you are not in vital living, obedient union with Him. They tell me a man is a Christian and he is not sure whether he is saved or not. But to be vitally united to Christ is spoken of as a marriage, and it is silly to talk about being married and not knowing it!
This narrow way must be entered by the strait gate, but it will have to be sought, and "few there be that find it." Why isn't it sought? The Lord tells us why – because it is so strait and so narrow! Who wants to be peculiar and not go with the crowd? Multitudes had rather be a nice little church member than to be a real Christian. The broad way is pleasant. For according to what they call salvation now, you can have this world and the next one too! But according to our Lord Jesus, you have to make a choice. Read I John 2:15-17: "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." You have to die to this world to get the other one. If you have all of this, you will have to go to hell. You have to say goodbye to all of this, if you would have heaven. The broad way is easy; anybody can walk it. All you have got to do is make a profession of faith, join the church, put a little money in the plate every once in a while, and live to please your sinful flesh. And the preacher will preach you into heaven at the funeral, while you are in hell!
The narrow way is hard, but it must be traveled. Jesus said in Luke 9:23, "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me." There is no such thing as God failing to bring Christian perfection to everybody He saves. The evidence that you are a Christian is that you walk in this narrow way. Some people say, "I am a Christian but I am not living for the Lord." That is not true, according to the Bible. People like that are sincere, but they are deceived. Salvation is to be joined to a Living Lord. You can't walk with a Living Lord without living for Him, and if you are not walking with Him, you don't know Him.
This narrow way must be traveled. The strait gate that leads to the narrow way is so narrow that it will not admit those who are loaded with weapons of rebellion against God. You can't squeeze through if you walk arm in arm with this world either. To enter this strait gate, the heart will have to be humbled, you will have to withdraw from worldly companions; sinful pleasures will be relinquished and Christ will be submitted to as Teacher, Saviour and Lord. It is not a flowery bed of ease; it is bound by the will of God and it is all up hill. It is marked by steady perseverance, faith and obedience.
What evidence does anybody have that they began right and got in this strait gate? The only evidence that we have according to the Bible is that we are walking the narrow way. This Christ-disciplined way, this self-denying way, thanks be unto God, it leads to life. It leads to life! My Lord said it did. That broad way leads to destruction. My Lord said it did.
This narrow way, this self-denying way, this daily dying way, this holy way of obedience to the teaching of the Lord. This life of daily repentance and daily mourning over sin, daily panting to be like the Lord, daily heartbreak that you make such poor progress in Christlikeness, THANK GOD, THAT WAY ENDS IN LIFE, not death, not destruction, but life. It leads to life now and life then. Now we have the very earnestness of it; we taste it and it's good; we go to heaven in a sense before we die, for where Jesus is there is heaven. We are in the life of the Spirit, with peace and joy now. But then how beautiful it must be, without the restraints of our bodies still carrying the seeds of death. But when we get our new bodies, how wonderful life will be!
This road is too narrow, the way is too steep, it's too hard for anybody who is not able in the power of the Holy Ghost to get in at the strait gate. That simply means to get to the Lord Jesus Christ. There is power in His blood to enable God to forgive you, and there is power in His life yonder at the throne to enable you to overcome. This is the victory, and this is how we overcome, even our faith! Faith is being joined to a Living Lord. It is more real than anything in this life, or it is not real at all.
Men and women are invited and commanded and admonished by my blessed Lord to strive to enter in at this strait gate. God says in Luke 16:16, "The law and the prophets were until John; since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it. "You are not going to make it to heaven unless there comes the greatest search and desire of your soul! You are not going to get to Jesus Christ savingly, until He becomes the Object of your intense search and desire. The halfhearted search won't get the job done.
Oh, leave the broad way that leads to hell and begin a search for this strait gate that leads to a narrow way that leads to life eternal. Oh, my Lord said, "Strive to get in; strive to get in!" For God's sake and your soul's sake, please seek the Lord with all your heart until you find Him Who alone can give you eternal life. Proverbs 8:17: "I love them that love Me; and those that seek Me early shall find Me." Jeremiah 29:13: "And ye shall seek Me and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart."