Lord’s Day, Vol. 7 No. 29

Enter the Strait Gate

 Matthew 7:13 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:

“Enter the Strait Gate” is God’s call to men throughout the ages to a life with God. The word “strait” means narrow, restrictive, expressing the difficulty to enter. What is the strait gate? It is the gate of salvation. It is the gate of conversion and regeneration. This entrance through the strait gate describes the beginning of this blessed life.

And there is none more authoritative on earth and in heaven to represent God as His Son, Who is God, the Second Person of the Godhead, coming in human flesh, possessing the faculty of human speech, “opened his mouth, taught” the multitudes.

What is the message in the heart of God that He wants to convey to mankind? It is the truth that there is no life lived that is more abundant than the life of true godliness that Jesus has just painted to the multitudes in Matthew 5-7. So here, in Matthew 7:13, at the beginning of the conclusion of His sermon, Jesus urges His listeners to individually make a decision — “enter ye in” if they have not so entered. It is God’s desire that all be saved. All who will hear this message are urged to hearken to the command to enter.

Jesus is bidding His listeners by a command and by a determinate action to make the entry. And the answer to the question — “where to enter?” — is given emphatically by the preposition “at”. It is through this gate, the strait gate. There is a need to locate, find, arrive and finally enter. The emphasis of the preposition “at” is upon the kind of place — enter ye in at the strait gate, not the wide gate, this place as opposed to another place, here at the strait gate and not there at the wide gate. Do not enter without due consideration but make sure you locate the right gate. To ascertain it, it must fit this description — the strait gate. Be sure you are at the right gate before you enter. Jesus is making it crystal clear to His listeners so that there is no mistaking the correct gate. He explains clearly, in Matthew 7:13b (by the use of the conjunction “for”), why we are not to choose the wide gate and, in Matthew 7:14 (by the use of the conjunction “because”), why we must choose the strait gate.

And v13b tells us it is a package deal — the wrong gate will lead to the wrong way and the wrong destination with the wrong company. The wide gate leads to the broad way and the end of the journey is destruction. You will find many walking that way but it is, nonetheless, the wrong way.

Our Lord is the Teacher of teachers, the Master Teacher. The technique He uses to teach us is by way of contrast. He paints for us life in the broad way and the miserable end of that road and the many that are walking that way. Dear friends, the stakes are high. We are speaking about the eternal well-being of your souls, the invisible part of you that will not die. Even when you die, the soul does not die, it is immortal.

The Bible tells us clearly “... it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). Do not let time find you in a place you have no wish to be in — to face the judgment of the living God.

Why must we choose the strait gate?

Matthew 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

 There is only one entrance that leads to life and it is through the strait gate. As we have mentioned, this narrow and restrictive gate is the gate of salvation, of conversion and of regeneration. All who would enter must be Born Again! The change must come from within, old things are passed away and all things become new. The old man is put off and the new man put on. There is a new heart and a new spirit.

The gate is strait because it also expresses the difficulty in finding it. Why is it difficult to find? Because only Jesus saves!

Why must we not choose the wide gate?

The wide gate is an all-encompassing, anything-goes gate. It is a description of this lawless and godless world. There is no other gate to salvation except in Jesus. The Bible tells us in Acts 4:12, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Jesus Himself says in John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” In John 11:25-26, Jesus says, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” Truly, the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness but unto us who are saved it is the power of God. The message that only Jesus saves is a message that we have the great privilege to proclaim. Be warned that it is offensive to the world. Many will stumble at it and perish.

Jesus says in a parallel passage in Luke 13:24, “Strive (agonise, it speaks of a conflict, a struggle) to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.” Why is this so? Because it will cost us our pride. Jesus tells us at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). We need to have a poverty of spirit as opposed to a proud spirit to enter this gate. This is the struggle against the “I”, “me”, “mine”, the self in us which is self-seeking, selfish and self-righteous. We have to surrender our fallen self that it may be crucified with Christ on the cross. All who stand tall and proud cannot enter. We need to be lowly bent in humbleness of heart to enter this narrow gate.

Dearly beloved, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” This is God’s call to you. Today is the day of salvation, now is the accepted time. Amen.

Yours loving,

Pastor Lek Aik Wee