The Priority to Enter the Narrow Gate

 

I haven’t felt the sharpness of the Lord’s sword until after I’d read this passage. Admittedly, I’ve been in sin, indulging in the sin of comfort, comfortable with where I am, comfortable with pleasures. Ultimately comfort has led to limiting my duty of prayer to the Lord, my duty to know Him and His word in greater measure. I’d strayed from the narrow path, and so when I’d read this passage, it was very clear that the Lord was directing His warning to me.

“Lord,” someone asked Him, “are there few being saved?”^[a]

He said to them, ²⁴ “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because I tell you, many will try to enter and won’t be able ²⁵ once the homeowner gets up and shuts the door. Then you will stand^[b] outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open up for us!’ He will answer you, ‘I don’t know you or where you’re from.’ ²⁶ Then you will say,^[c] ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets!’ ²⁷ But He will say, ‘I tell you, I don’t know you or where you’re from. Get away from Me, all you workers of unrighteousness!’ ²⁸ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth in that place, when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves thrown out. Luke 13:23-38

This passage is very similar to the passage I’ve written a few articles about based on Matthew 7:21-23. This is a sharp warning, and we must consider warnings in scripture with extreme care, examining not only what the text is teaching us, but also our own lives as well. Let us first consider the question that is raised in verse 23 “Are there few being saved?” We’re not told who asked this question, that’s irrelevant. But the nature of the question itself, is humbling non-the-less! So how does the Lord respond? Christ presents us with a command “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door!” Let us consider the Lord’s teaching in this command. We know God is not a God of disorder or confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33), Christ is being direct. He doesn’t even tell us yet that there are two paths, He tells us to make the effort to enter the narrow door. This is very similar to how Christ warns us in Matthew 7:13-14

“Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. ¹⁴ How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it. Matthew 7:13-14

We see Christ gives us His command to enter through the narrow gate, and in the passage of Luke, we see a similar beginning “enter through the narrow door”. We must at this stage note that the Lord is direct, His ways are not convoluted. So what of this warning? Friends this is not a warning for the lost, this is a warning for people who consider themselves Christians, people who know of the narrow door. How do we know this? There are two clues in the passage that tell us that this is a warning for those who call themselves Christians. In verse 25 we see the respondent addressing Christ as Lord;”Lord, open up for us!” And in verse 27 we see in closer detail the nature of the respondent; “Then you will say,^[c] ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets!” We know that these people who are cast out in the presence of the Lord are those who confidently know the Lord, even those who approached the Lord to say “we ate and drank in your presence!” So perhaps there are two questions you might be pondering then. How do we make sure we enter through the narrow gate? John 10:9 explains Christ is that gate!

I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. John 10:9

 We must enter by the Lord, making every effort to humble ourselves, to uphold the name of the Lord, to fight off sin as mentioned by example in Romans 7, to embrace the Lord’s armour as mentioned in Ephesians 6 and to continue to share the gospel with non-believers. It is our duty, our calling as Christians to respond to the Lord’s outpouring of His grace and mercy, and respond in such a way that gives Him the honour and the glory! Finally friends if you (like me) have been in sin and you know you’ve strayed from the narrow path, cry out to the Lord. Ask Him to reveal the sin in you. Repent of not honouring the Lord’s holiness, not honouring His supremacy, not honouring His attributes. We have much to repent of and we’re in a battle that we can’t win by ourselves. That is why in Ephesians 6 it is called “the Lord’s armour”. Run to the Lord if you’ve been in sin, run to Him and beg for His mercy. For He is merciful and abounding in steadfast love!

The Lord does not delay His promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9    

The Nature of the Law

 

So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good. Romans 7:12

There are a number of aspects that are bound within the nature of the law. These refer to judgment, a way of living, God’s holiness and a reflection upon the self. It is important that Christians know and understand the ‘engineering’ aspect of the law, how it works and the nature of its purpose. By this we will have a greater understanding of what it means to be under a law of grace (Romans 6:14) and a greater appreciation for all that Christ has achieved.

 The Law Reflects God’s Nature

As Moses wrote down the 10 commandments, a statement by God was made that provided reason for the law. “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery” (Exodus 20:2) This statement alone reflects the character of God, one who has the capacity to deliver a people out of slavery, revealing His attributes of grace and mercy. This is also the premise for the law, in other words the Lord does not want the Israelites to forget their deliverance from Egypt. We can see from the law itself, God is a jealous God, which is explained in verses 3 – 4 of how we ought not to have any other gods nor worship idols.

 We can also conclude that the law itself is good as it is provided by God and reflects the character of God’s holiness. The Apostle Paul explains this in Romans 7

 What should we say then? Is the law sin? Absolutely not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin if it were not for the law. For example, I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, Do not covet.^{[d] 8} And sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind. For apart from the law sin is dead. ⁹ Once I was alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life ¹⁰ and I died. The commandment that was meant for life resulted in death for me. ¹¹ For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me, and through it killed me. ¹² So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good. Romans 7:7-14

The law than reflects back what is sin as measured by God Himself. The unit of measurement isn’t anything but God; therefore God demands holiness, perfection, purity, an honest heart etc. The unity of man and God bound together united before sin entered the world is found in the book of Genesis. Everything that Adam did prior to eating the forbidden fruit was perfect in the Lord’s sight! From what we consider simple things like naming animals and working the garden of Eden was actually a perfect union between God and man, no law was present and thus no sin was present (at least until Genesis 3).

The Law Condemns

The law cannot offer grace, it cannot save nor can anyone work to achieve the law’s requirements. Since the law is the perfect requirement of God, none can achieve the law’s required standard of perfection, which is reflected in the above passage of Romans 7:7-14. The purpose of the law is simply put, to reflect the holiness of God upon that which is sinful. Thus since we have broken all of God’s laws, it is right that we ought to be condemned by the law. This condemnation is deserved, since we don’t know the full extent of our sin, we must humbly conclude that condemnation under the law is good.

And so how does the law and the nature of Christ’ grace and mercy fit into this picture? Praise God for verses like Romans 7:4!

Therefore, my brothers, you also were put to death in relation to the law through the crucified body of the Messiah, so that you may belong to another—to Him who was raised from the dead—that we may bear fruit for God. Romans 7:4

This is the established union of how grace, mercy and the law are perfect and how we as God’s elect are saved through the death of Christ! Our old self was crucified by the law; Christ offers Himself as propitiation upon the cross and died the death we deserve.  The law was perfectly fulfilled through the life of Christ, thus we have a separation between the old self and the new self. We can conclude that our old self has no part with the new self, since we were judged by the law but now we are under a law of grace and mercy. Christ has established what was impossible for all of mankind to achieve! Thus it is right to confess that Christ is Lord, king and deliverer. He has reconciled a people for Himself for the purpose of glorifying the Father.

And so knowing this should reflect how we ought to have a greater appreciation for the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ. What Christ achieved upon that cross is greater than what can be said or demonstrated. He reigns supreme as one who has victory over death and thus our lives should be aligned more with following Christ and less of our own desires. As we are being sanctified we still fall back into sin, but there should be a fight against it. The reason is honouring all that Christ has done! If Christ’ work upon the cross isn’t precious to us, than Christ Himself isn’t precious to us. We must have right affections that give glory to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords!

My Two Coins

For they all gave out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she possessed—all she had to live on. Mark 12:44

This is one of those narratives that should cause each and every one of us to pause in our tracks. For the focus of this narrative from Mark 12:41-44 observes the heart of a widow and it’s the heart that the Lord takes into consideration. Let us then consider the ministries that we’re involved in and ask ourselves the question “do we give our time, energy, money, praise, worship out of a surplus of convenience or are we like the widow who gives her everything?”

Sitting across from the temple treasury, He watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich people were putting in large sums. ⁴² And a poor widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little.^{[u] 43} Summoning His disciples, He said to them, “I assure you: This poor widow has put in more than all those giving to the temple treasury. ⁴⁴ For they all gave out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she possessed—all she had to live on.” Mark 12:41-44

I’ve read and heard stories on reformers of the past, men who I consider ‘giants’ for the Lord. These ministries of which involve John Calvin, Charles Spurgeon, George Whitfield, David Brainard and Jonathan Edwards are admirable in their own right. And admittedly I fall into the trap of pride at times, presupposing that my ministries are of little value in comparison to these men. And yet when I read of a poor widow who puts two coins into the temple treasury, I’m humbled. What we don’t know about this woman is of equal importance to what we do know of this woman! We don’t know her name and nor do we know if she had any monetary blessing by the Lord. And yet, in her calling as a poor widow, she provides two coins offered up to the Lord. Perhaps this may have been enough for her to eat for one day. The point that Christ makes in verse 44 is simply put, she gave her everything! And though we may not know her name, she ought to be considered as a spiritual giant as well; someone whom we can look up to in admiration of their ministry to the Lord.

And so we ought to consider the things that we have. What Christ mentions of in verse 44 can also be applied to any aspect of our own ministry. For this woman presented her heart for everyone to see, it was obvious she loved the Lord her God. And thus we ought to consider this question “is the Lord precious in our life?” Do we have right affections like this widow? Are we too willing to give our everything for the ministry the Lord has called us to? I imagine this woman had immense trust in the Lord when she placed those two coins in to the temple treasury, her life given into the Lord’s hands. Do we trust the Lord like this woman did? Do we honour the Lord as this woman did with her life?

This passage is not so much about money as it is about where affections are. Christ makes this clear in the final verse, affections matter! Let us then encourage one another to strive, to press on and give our everything to the Lord! Whether it’s money, time, praise and worship, whatever it is, let us with confidence say that we’re running this race and just like the Apostle Paul, let’s have that confidence at the end of our time to look back over our life and say with consideration unto the Lord “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7