The Narrow Way

"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." Matthew 7:13-14 (NIV)

In high school my parents took our family on a vacation to South Dakota. If you have ever visited South Dakota, you know how gorgeous it is with its undefiled parks, abundant wildlife, boundless countryside, and picturesque land features. We spent an entire week out there but it only felt like a day.

While out there, a whole new world opened up to my brother Mike and I. We discovered that South Dakota has hundreds of miles of caves beneath its picturesque landscapes. These caves have been carved out by underground rivers. These include Jewel Cave, Wind Cave, Crystal Cave and the beautiful Rushmore Cave. At the time my brother and I couldn't get enough of these caves. We drug our parents and the rest of our family through every cave we could find.

After dragging our parents through one particular cave, my brother and I stumbled unto a spelunking (cave exploring) expedition. For a certain amount of money we could venture off the beaten path and take a suspenseful, back-breaking, leg-numbing adventure into the heart of the earth with a trained guide. You can imagine how pumped and excited we were. We were ready to sign up. We were prepared to boldly go where few men had gone before. We felt privileged to have even stumbled across such a marvelous opportunity. To say the least, we jumped in line to hear the pep talk the park guide was giving. We hung on every word that fell from his mouth.

"Okay," he said, "Listen carefully. This is the way it will be. Everyone choosing to go spelunking today will be required to trust the guide. This journey will take several hours, there will be little opportunity for rest once we begin, and there will be no turning back. Keep in mind that the cave can be quite inhospitable. The terrain is extremely rugged. Caution must be exercised at every point. We must watch out for jagged rocks, rock instability, underground cliffs, deep crevices, mud pits, sharp crystal formations and other potential hazards. For a good part of the journey we will be crawling on our stomachs and squeezing through tight places. Expect to receive numerous bruises and scratches. When we finish we will be covered in mud from head to toe and our clothes and shoes will be torn and scuffed up. You will need to take a long, hot shower. And one last comment. Though we have never lost anyone, we once had to rescue a young explorer who ventured off and got stuck in a crevice. Again, it is imperative that you stick with your guide at all times!"

After the guide finished his pep talk, he told us that we needed to pass a simple test. He motioned toward a makeshift rectangular concrete tunnel. The concrete tunnel had the dimensions of an eleven and a half by seventeen inch piece of paper. To go on the journey the Park Ranger required that we be able to slither through the narrow passageway without getting stuck. He pointed out that it represented the minimum height and width of the of areas that we would be crawling through beneath the ground.

My brother Mike and I were able to slither right through the opening without too much trouble. But the test itself had a dampening impact on our zeal for spelunking. As others in the group began shedding backpacks and sweaters, and sucking in their guts to squeeze through the tiny opening, my brother and I started having doubts about spelunking through the narrow corridors of cave.

As a man wedged himself into the opening of the rectangular test tunnel, I began visualizing horrible scenarios whereby my helmet light would go out, or our group would get lost, or I'd slip into some deep crevice. I thought about how inaccessible we would be if we happened to get trapped or lost hundreds of feet beneath the immeasurable masses of solid stone. I began questioning the credentials of the young thirty-year-old guide who would lead us. Suddenly I found myself becoming a little too claustrophobic for spelunking. To my mother's absolute delight, my brother Mike and I talked ourselves out of the journey. We spent the rest of our day above ground with the masses, playing it safe. Basically, we had gotten all excited about a journey that we lacked the courage to begin.

Jesus spoke about entering through the narrow gate.

In Matthew 7:13-14 (NIV) Jesus says, "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."

As I read these words of Jesus, I thought of South Dakota. There are definite parallels! For example, have you noticed how quickly we get excited about the narrow way and about following Jesus Christ as our guide? About living in obedience to him? I cannot even count the number of revivals, youth meetings, Bible studies and services where I've seen dozens, even hundreds, of people get excited about following Jesus. They even get excited to the point that they commit themselves to full-time Christian service.

Often when we first hear about Jesus, we are willing to go anywhere and do anything for him. We'll suck in our guts. We'll throw aside our backpacks. We'll roll up our sleeves. We'll deny our fears. We'll renounce the sin in our lives and promise, "Jesus, wherever you go, I will follow you. Lead on, O King eternal."

But then it seems that Jesus, our guide, tests our commitment. He says, "Enter the small gate and follow me down the narrow path that leads to life." Suddenly the enormity of our commitment sets in and we begin feeling a little restricted and claustrophobic. Often we begin questioning Jesus' credentials to be lord over our lives. We second guess his wisdom. We get a big lump in our throats. We start playing the "what if" game of doubt. And then we get cold feet.

In our community there are tens of thousands of people who don't go to church now. If you talk to them many will tell you, "Yeah, I used to go to Bible school. Yeah, I did Bible Bowl. I did church camp. I was baptized." They'll tell you, "Yeah, I used to read my Bible and pray to God. I worshiped him. I thought about Jesus a lot. I used to be on fire for following Jesus."

They'll perhaps even tell you, "Yeah, for a time I really tried to discipline myself. I worked to clean up my speech. I loved my wife and kids. I learned to forgive. I became less selfish. I developed patience. I realigned my priorities. I fought and overcame temptation. God was changing my life." But then something happened. Their excitement wore off. Their fire got quenched. A different choice was made. A different path was chosen. A destiny was changed.

As we read Jesus' words in Matthew 7:13-14 we discover that he is looking for a deep commitment from us. This commitment requires great courage. There are several important points worth our consideration this morning.

Jesus is confronting us with one choice. "Enter."

Jesus says, "Enter through the narrow gate." This is a command for us to decide! Friends, with Jesus Christ we are either in or we are out. There is no middle ground. We either follow Jesus or we get left behind. Jesus is offering us the chance to enter into a new life while we still have chance. He is saying, "No more playing church. No more beating around the bush. No more forestalling your commitment. No more flip-flopping back and forth. No more sitting on the fence. No more of this lukewarm stuff."

Jesus couldn't be any more clear. "Enter. Come. Ask. Seek. Knock." Jesus wants to be your guide. He wants to be Lord of your life. He wants you to trust him and follow him and be with him where he is at.

There are two gates: One is "wide" and the other "narrow."

The narrow gate is so narrow that Jesus says, "only a few find it." You have to intentionally seek out the narrow gate. We can miss it if we're not careful. In contrast, everyone seems to be stumbling through the wide gate by default. Author John Stott says this about the wide gate. "The gate leading to the easy way is wide, for it is a simple matter to get on to the easy road. There is evidently no limit to the luggage we can take with us. We need leave nothing behind, not even our sins, self-righteousness or pride."

In contrast he says, "The gate leading to the narrow way is hard. One has to look for it to find it. It is easy to miss. In order to enter it, we must leave everything behind- sin, selfish ambition, covetousness, even if necessary, family and friends. For no one can follow Christ who has not first denied himself."

In order for my brother and I to go cave exploring, we had to squeeze through a narrow passageway. There was no room for anything except ourselves. No room for a backpack, a sleeping bag, or a heavy coat. No room for anything but ourselves. Jesus wants us to approach him the same way. "Enter through the narrow gate."

There are two roads: One is "wide" and the other "narrow."

The word "wide" that Jesus uses can also mean broad, spacious, roomy, and easy. John Stott says that on the wide and easy path, "There is plenty of room for diverse opinions and lax morality. It is the road of tolerance and permissiveness. It has no curbs, no boundaries of either thought or conduct. Travelers on this road follow their own inclinations, the desires of their heart."

Basically, you can stay on the broad path with your eyes closed. The broad path doesn't have any demands. There is no sacrifice, no limits, no moral standards, no obedience, and no discipline. The broad path says, "Come as you are, don't change. Pursue your desires. Indulge your appetites. Live it up. You only have one life."

On the other hand, the narrow path is challenging. It requires self-discipline, self-sacrifice, self-denial, perseverance, courage, and great strength. If you were to ever travel to the Jewel Cave in South Dakota you will notice that it has two paths within it. First there is the broad path. This is the path for spectators and tourists. The path is well lighted, it is well worn, and it is clearly marked with ropes and signs. It is very spacious so that it can easily accommodate the throngs of people. The broad path is very easy. Little energy is exerted on the broad path. You only have to follow the person who is directly in front of you.

But at Jewel Cave there is a narrow path as well. This is the path for courageous adventurers. To travel on the narrow path you have to follow and completely trust a guide. To travel on the narrow path you have to abide by certain rules, you have to calculate every move, and you have to make sure you have good footing at all times. Traveling on the narrow path requires great strength, endurance, and courage. The same exact thing is true on the narrow path that leads to life. It requires that we follow and completely trust Jesus as our guide. It requires that we listen to his voice through the dark and that we carefully weigh every choice, every step, and every move according to his will. On the narrow path we live for Christ and play by his rules.

There are also two crowds.

There are the "many", the majority, and there are the "few", the minority. Mark Twain once said, "Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect."

Following Jesus is never the popular thing to do. We shouldn't expect there to be a long line in front of the narrow gate. You should know that when Moses led Israel out of Egypt into the promised land, the "majority" or the "many" of the "crowd" wanted to return to slavery. Later on when the twelve spies scoped out the promised land it was the majority that said, "Nope, can't do it. It's too hard." When the Old Testament prophets spoke on behalf of God it was the majority, the "many", that persecuted them and murdered them in cold blood! And don't forget that when Jesus stood before Pilate it was the "crowd" that chanted, "Crucify him. Crucify him. Free Barrabas!"

Friends, we should never expect public opinion to be in our favor. We should never expect the media and television to promote our values. Peer pressure will always be building against us. Popular culture will always ridicule our faith.

Remember that Jesus said, "Narrow is the gate. And narrow is the path. Only a few find it." You may be the only person in your family, in your workplace, in your school, on your basketball team, or in your neighborhood who is willing to take a stand for Christ. Don't get self righteous because of it. But also don't get discouraged.

I was reading about a recent NCAA cross-country championship in Riverside, California. During the race, 123 of the 128 runners missed a critical turn in the race. One competitor, Mark Delcavo, stayed on the 10,000 meter course and began waving for fellow runners to follow him. Delcavo was only able to convince four other runners to join him. The rest went their own way and lost the race. When asked what his competitors thought of his mid-race decision not to follow the crowd Delcavo said, "They thought it was funny that I went the right way."

Do not pay any attention to what the crowd is doing. Make sure you're on the right path.

There are two destinations: "life" and "destruction."

The broad path leads to self-destruction and self-annihilation. It leads to hell. Only the narrow path leads to eternal life. This is very important for all of us to understand. Please hear this clearly. Heaven is for the minority, not for the majority. There is only one path that leads to life and few find it. There is only one path that leads to life and it has a small gate that's hard to find. There is only one path that leads to life and it is narrow and difficult. It requires that you follow a guide and trust someone outside of yourself. We do not inherit eternal life by default!

At this point we are no longer talking about a spelunking expedition in some cave. Rather, we are talking about a journey of faith that leads us to the very heart of God.

In his famous poem The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost is standing at a crossroads. After having traveled for quite some time, he is confronted with a choice. Should he take the path that is less traveled? This is a path that cuts into the dark undergrowth of the woods and that from all appearances has been chosen by few. Or should he take the path that is well worn? This is a path that is grassy and inviting and a path that has been carved out by the feet of so many.

At the end of his poem Robert Frost makes his declaration. "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."

I hope this morning that like Robert Frost, you too will choose the road less traveled. A road that is difficult, that requires discipline, endurance, and hard work. A road that is demanding, that requires self-denial and sacrifice. A road that is unpopular, that you will travel on with only a few others, if any. A road that is promising, that leads to eternal life. A road that Jesus himself has asked us to take. "Enter."

"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."

Friends, in John 14:6 (NIV) Jesus says, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." May Jesus be our guide as we follow him on a journey to the heart of God.