2. Cf. R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of Matthew's Gospel (Columbus, Ohio: Wartburg, 1943),
The Way of Salvation
o passage in all of Scripture attacks modern-day easy-believism with more force than Matthew 7:13 – 14. It is the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount, and it amounts to the Savior's own presentation of the way of salvation. How different it is from the trend of modern evangelism! There is no encouragement in these words for those who think they can be saved by a casual acceptance of the facts about Jesus Christ: "Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it." Here our Lord brings the Sermon on the Mount to its evangelistic climax.
This passage crushes the claim of those who say the Sermon on the Mount is not gospel but law.1 In fact, these closing verses are pure gospel,2 with as pointed an invitation as has ever been issued. This closing lesson also debunks the opinion that the Sermon on the Mount is merely a discourse on ethics for us to stand back and admire. Jesus is clearly not interested in bouquets for His moral teachings. And His challenge here erases any possibility that the Sermon on the Mount is truth for some prophetic tomorrow; Jesus is preaching to people in the here and now, and His message is urgent.
Each person inevitably must make a choice. Scripture presents that choice in several ways. Through Moses, God confronted the Israelites, saying, "I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live" (Deut. 30:19). Joshua challenged the Israelites as they entered the Promised Land, "Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my
1. E.g., Charles C. Ryrie, Dispensationalism Today (Chicago: Moody, 1965), 108. Ryrie writes, "Where can one fi nd a statement of the gospel in the sermon? . . . A plain statement of the gospel [cannot be found] in the Sermon.
2. Cf. R. C. H. Lenski, Th e Interpretation of Matthew's Gospel (Columbus, Ohio: Wartburg, 1943), 180.
The Way of Salvation
house, we will serve the Lord" (Josh. 24:15). Elijah called for a decision on Mount Carmel: "How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him" (1 Kings 18:21). God told Jeremiah, "You shall also say to this people, 'Thus says the Lord, "Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death" ' " (Jer. 21:8).
What to do with Jesus Christ is a choice each person must make, but it is not just a momentary decision. It is a once-for-all verdict with ongoing implications and eternal consequences — the ultimate decision. Jesus himself stands at the crux of each person's destiny and demands a deliberate choice of life or death, heaven or hell. Here, in the culmination of all He has said in the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord requires that each person choose between following the world on the easy, well-traveled road or following Him on the difficult road. You will not find a plainer statement of the gospel according to Jesus anywhere in Scripture.
Here are two gates, the great and the small; two roads, the broad and the narrow; two destinations, life and destruction; and two crowds, the few and the many. The Lord goes on to describe two kinds of trees, good and corrupt; two kinds of fruit, good and bad; two kinds of builders, wise and foolish; and two foundations, rock and sand (Matt. 7:16 – 27). The choices are clear-cut. He demands a decision. We all are at the crossroads, and each individual must choose which way he or she will go.
Two Gates
"Enter by the narrow gate," Christ says, using an imperative verb that conveys a sense of urgency, a demand for action now. It is not enough to stand and appreciate the gate — one must enter.
It is also important to go through the right gate. There is only one gate that opens to the narrow way. Jesus said, "I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved" (John 10:9) and, "He who does not enter by the door . . . he is a thief and a robber" (John 10:1). "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me," He said in John 14:6. "There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). "There is one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Tim. 2:5). Christ is the gate. He is the way. There is no other avenue to heaven.
Every other choice is wrong. There is no in between, no third alternative, no other gate. The options are simple and straightforward. There is no room for the kind of broad ecumenical tolerance our humanistic culture fancies. As