DEVOTION
THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW
THE FEW
Matt 7:13-14
13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For
wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many
enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to
life, and only a few find it.
NIV
This may be the introduction to the following words about false
teachers, bad and good trees and the corresponding fruit, and who will actually
enter and who will not, yet we should take a look at these words alone as well.
What is the difference between the narrow and the wide gate? Certainly the
narrow gate leads to heaven and the wide one to hell and ultimately the lake of
burning sulfur, which is the destruction he speaks of. This Greek word rendered
destruction is in fact just that, completely destroyed, perish as John uses as
opposed to eternal life in the famous passage 3:16. This reinforces our
thoughts regarding the non-eternal existence of hell, as it is thrown into the
lake of burning sulfur, destroyed along with all those who refused to believe
and traveled down that broad road to the wide gate. This narrow gate is for
those who decide to believe. It is obvious we are actually few in number. This
might bring us to consider that many who call themselves Christian are actually
traveling the broad road to the wide gate. This thought comes to us from the
following words of Jesus when he says that not everyone who says to him, Lord,
Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven. We will get to those words in a few
days, but for now we should consider this narrow road and narrow gate. The
number who enter will be far less than those who don’t. Only a few will find it. Those are his words not ours. The question
is are we the few? How can we be sure we are among the few? He goes on and speaks about the false prophets who come in sheep’s clothing. These are the
preachers who so many people are being deceived by. Those who gather large
congregations with their prosperity and feel good messages. How many believers
have fallen prey to their false teaching? How many denominations spend more
time on pinpointing their doctrine, then the truth? Can they all be right, and
yet be so different in their belief? Jesus will tell us about knowing who is
who by the fruit. What their lives produce, not physically, but spiritually.
The pagans can produce much physical fruit, but only a few who walk that narrow
road to the narrow gate produce good spiritual fruit. Just what number consists
in that word, few? We remember one group that confessed they were the true ones
and only 144,000 were going to get through that narrow gate. Then their numbers
grew to more than that number and they have to revise their truth. There is but
one truth and one narrow gate. The one and only path to it is Jesus. He is the
truth, the light and the way to that narrow gate. It is not Jesus and something
else. The Way is Jesus. We cannot get distracted by all the rules and
regulations of man-made church. That is what the Pharisees were about. Their religiosity
appeared good, but was in fact false in its premise. They looked to the law for
their salvation, while the law pointed them to Jesus and their refused the
narrow road for the one that leads to destruction. We have to be careful not to
get caught up in the rules of church, or even denominationalism itself for then
we would have to determine which of them is right, because with so many
differences they all cannot be right. They all add something to Jesus. True,
some are very close to the truth and we should not avoid attending, or
fellowshipping with other who believe. But we must be diligent and vigilant in
seeking the truth. The Holy Spirit is our only true leader in finding the
truth. Every human leader of people may or not be one who is led by the Spirit.
This is why he has given us the gift of discernment, to know which pastor is
led of the Spirit and who is led by their own humanness which would then be
false teaching. The road is wide, many will travel it, but only a few will find
the narrow gate. Let us be among the few.
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