[Jesus said] Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 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 in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
–Matthew 7.13-23 (NIV)
Well now. Here’s a cheery little passage from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, don’t you think? This is one of the “difficult passages” from Scripture that confronts us on a regular basis. I doubt if passages like this have ever played well to audiences, but they especially do not in today’s post-modern world. We don’t like to even think of the dreaded possibility that we might be shut out from God’s presence forever. It is a terrible thought and it should be.
Before I go any further, let me be clear about one thing. I do not know for sure what happens to those who die outside of Christ nor is it my place (or anyone else’s) to make definitive pronouncements on the eternal destiny of folks who are not Christians. It is, however, my responsibility as a Christian minister to do my best to be faithful to Scripture, even when it is uncomfortable to do so. The fact of the matter is that the NT does not hold out much hope for those who die outside of the Lord. That is the reality, like it or not (and most of us don’t like it at all). Hence, I must acknowledge this awful fact while still holding out hope in the great mercy and love of God. Whatever is the fate of those who are not Christians, I leave to God’s good judgment and will.
So what are we to make of today’s passage? How are we to reconcile what Jesus says with a loving and merciful God who invites all to come to him and live? A quick look at the various commentaries shows that commentators are not in agreement over how to understand or interpret the small gate/narrow road part of today’s passage. But if we take the passage in its context of Jesus telling us how to live Kingdom lives, I think there are some insights to be had from the text.
At the end of the passage, Jesus reminds us that we are recognized by our fruit. In God’s economy, it doesn’t matter what we say; it matters what we do, and as we have seen before, our faith must always lead to obedient action. As Jesus reminds us at the end of today’s passage, many will meet him on the day of judgment and be rejected because they did not bear the fruit of faith in their mortal lives.
This, then, is one way we can understand the small gate/narrow road passage. The small gate/narrow road can be understood as obedience to Christ’s call to holy living, a manifestation of a saving faith in him by grace. Given the sad plight of the human condition, this life of obedience is not easy for any of us. Living as citizens of the Kingdom goes against our natural proclivity to make it all about ourselves instead of loving God with all that we are and as a result loving our neighbors as we do ourselves. Any Christian who takes her faith seriously understands this. The process of denying ourselves, taking up our cross, and following Jesus is hard work! In fact, it is impossible if we attempt to do it without the help of the Holy Spirit living in us.
No wonder, then, that many simply avoid trying to live an obedient life. Being a disciple of Christ is hard work and it is costly. It demands everything we have. It demands that we live disciplined lives. It demands that we stop making life all about ourselves and start making it all about serving God and others. Many of the Church Fathers recognized this truth as well. Augustine, for example, wrote frequently about the challenge of overcoming the boredom that can come with living a good life. He observed that it is hard enough work to put to death our fallen nature and if we are successful, then we must fight the boredom of living a good life! What a deal!
Ah, the human condition. Don’t you just love it? But that seems to be the plight of our fallen condition.
Seen through this lens, then, it is not unreasonable to view the small gate/narrow road of obedient living as one in which many will prefer not to travel, a fact made easier when we consider that we often have a very hard time keeping our eye on the prize. It is a rare athlete that can keep his end goal constantly in mind and strive to excel by doing the hard but necessary things in training to prepare him to win the contest.
Moreover, many of us simply prefer to ignore or not think about the consequences of our decisions. For example, how many teenagers really think about getting emphysema or lung cancer when they take up smoking? How many of us ignore the warnings of health professionals and continue to pollute our bodies with food and drink that are not good for us over the long haul because we have not yet begun to suffer their deleterious effects? Let’s face it, we are creatures of instant gratification, at least here in the West with all of our instantaneous technologies, and that makes it difficult for us to keep the necessary Big Picture perspective.
The road to life is indeed narrow and the gate small, but this is not because of a stinginess on God’s part or because he is an unloving God or wants to exclude us (see especially Revelation 7.9-11 in this matter). No, I think in many cases, the road is narrow and the gate is small because we choose the easy way out, even when it is to our terrible detriment.
But choose we must and the stakes are never higher. How we decide for Christ literally is a matter of life and death–eternal life and death. As I said at the beginning of this reflection, I do not know for certain what happens to those who die outside of Christ. But I do know this. Those who die in Christ know their destiny. They know where they are going because they have put their whole hope and trust in Jesus. They have seen his cross and the empty tomb. They have his Spirit living in them, helping them do the difficult work they are called to do, and they bear his fruit because he lives in them.
If the Gospel is true, if Jesus really is the one and only way to the Father as he claimed–and I believe with my whole mind, heart, and soul that he is and that the Gospel is true–then it is an exceedingly unloving thing on the part of Christians not to confront the sad and profoundly mistaken notions of false teachers and prophets on this matter. Far from being intolerant and bigoted, our passionate advocacy for the Gospel is quite the loving thing to do for those who will likely be lost without coming to a saving faith in Jesus, and it is essential for those of us who fervently pray each day that none may be lost.
The road to life is indeed narrow and the gate small, but that is primarily about us, not God. For those who put their full hope and trust in Jesus and allow him to live in them and transform them into the beings he created them to be, that road, while narrow, leads to the wide open arms of God. Being a Christian is not easy, especially if we attempt to give it more than lip service. But the rewards are staggering in proportion to the cost of being Jesus’ disciples.
If you have not done so already, sit down and carefully consider the cost of pursuing your current course in life. Where is that road leading you? Are you going to end up where you want to be? This isn’t a game nor do we have any indication that we will get a chance to change our minds and course of action once our bodies have died. In whom or what we put our trust really is a matter of life and death. Let the thought of living apart from God forever scare the hell out of you–literally.
But don’t stop there because fear (not the kind of reverent fear about which the Bible speaks) is not something on which to base a relationship with God. Let the thought of living in God’s presence and enjoying his company starting right here and now bring you the wondrous joy and peace that will inevitably come from embracing his gracious offer of life in Christ, and then give your life to him, now and forever. And after you have done so and discovered the wisdom and joy of your choice, be eager to share the gift of life with your friends and neighbors. Talk about a win-win situation!