GUEST ARTICLE
The Strait Gate
and Narrow Way
[We offer the following article, based on
the weighty words of the Lord Jesus, from Matthew 7:13-14. The
author uses the KJV which does obscure the meaning. Keep
in mind that Jesus is speaking of the “narrow” gate when
the author speaks of the “strait” gate. Also
keep in mind that the author’s reference to the “church” later
in the article is from an Anabaptist perspective.]
Many
of Jesus' profound teachings are so simple. So it is with
His teaching about the strait gate and the narrow way.
He said, "Enter ye in at the strait [narrow] gate:
for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth
to
destruction,
and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is
the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life,
and few there be that find it' (Matt. 7:13,14). The illustration
Jesus used is easily understood, but the meaning wants
to slip from us.
Some
700 years before Christ, Isaiah prophesied about this way,
saying, "And an highway shall be there, and a way,
and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean
shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the
wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein" (Isa.
35:8).
To
the one with a humble mind and heart the significance of
Jesus citing a gate and path is readily comprehended. On
the other hand, His teaching about the dimension of the
road to heaven entails divine truths that must be revealed
by the Spirit to be understood. They are not meaningful
to the natural mind.
Jesus
said that the strait gate and narrow way lead to life.
This life is the abundant life (John 10:10) here in time,
or eternal life begun below. While the Lord did not say
it in so many words, He surely also meant that this narrow
way leads to eternal bliss in heaven. There is only one
way that leads right trough heaven's portals: the strait
gate and narrow road of holiness. Looking at it from another
perspective, the strait gate and narrow way faithfully
reflect the true dimension of heaven's door.
Why
must it be a strait gate and a narrow way? The strait gate
and narrow way are the dimensions they are because of what
God is. The councils of Heaven did not just decide to make
the way of salvation hard; God is not mean-spirited. The
narrow way is the dimension it is because it corresponds
to the Father's holiness. It is a reflection of God's righteousness.
The
first attribute of God is holiness (Lev. 11:45,46; 1 Pet.
1:16), and the second is love (1 John 4:8). These two attributes
of the Almighty do not conflict but rather compliment each
other. Because God loves mankind He did not withhold from
man the measurement of the way that leads to His holy presence.
God wants man to be with Him in eternity and share in His
glory. That is why the way has the dimension it does.
There
is no hint in Jesus' words that the strait gate and the
narrow road may vary slightly from one another in their
width. Jesus said, "I am the door" (John 10:7),
and He also said, "I am the way" (John 14:6).
There is no variance between Christ the Door and Christ
the Way. The passage through the door, or gate, is so strait
that there is no room for the flesh to pass through. Once
having entered through the strait gate, the road beyond
retains the same dimension. Having come in through the
strait gate, it will not be grievous to walk the narrow
way.
As
Christ laid down His life, so must the seekers and knockers
at the gate forfeit their lives (Matt. 16:25) to enter
the kingdom. As one stands before the strait gate he surrenders
everything to the Lord that he might gain entrance. Having
become penitent and broken by Holy-Ghost conviction, there
is no plea bargaining and no reservations stipulated. With
a broken heart and contrite spirit (Ps. 34:18) one divests
himself of his fleshly baggage on the world side of the
strait gate. He does this willingly because his heart is
being made new. He now knows that there is no other way
unto salvation. He resolves to forsake the world and all
its lusts, deny self, take up his cross, and follow the
Lord Jesus. This he promises to do until his dying breath.
This latter promise pertains to walking the narrow way.
It
is imperative that one does not begin to think that the
way is broader than the gate. The Scriptures give no other
thought but that the door of heaven is the same dimension
as the strait gate and narrow way. Some today would like
to make the way just a little broader than the strait gate,
but this was not their confession of faith when they entered
through the gate. Somewhere along the way they began to
chafe at the flesh-restricting dimension of the way They
listened to the cries of the crucified old man and had
sympathy on him. It is at this point that the narrow way
begins to appear as bondage, rather than providing liberty from the
flesh.
How
many Christian professors will travel a broader way only
to bump into the doorposts of heaven and fall to the left-hand
side? According to Jesus, the number will be more than
a few (Matt. 7:22,23). The strait gate and narrow way alone
lead directly into the glories of God's dwelling place.
While
the way is not wider than the gate, neither will it be
any narrower Having come in through the strait gate by
repentance and faith, one can know he will find no place
in the way that will be impossible if he keeps that same
spirit.
That "there
be few that find it" tells us that this gate is hidden.
We understand from these words that many "seek" to
find it, but only a few are successful. The failures are
due to not seeking with the whole heart (1cr. 29:13). People
do not just happen upon the narrow way casually This apparently
is the meaning of Isaiah's words, "though fools, shall
not err therein:' Those who are presumptuous or less than
sincere about the things of God will not inadvertently
stumble onto this way. The strait gate is hidden to human
wisdom and thinking, but it is revealed to the honest,
searching heart.
God
has not hidden the strait gate and narrow way to exclude
anyone--except the fleshly minded (1 Cor. 15:50). When
Adam and Eve transgressed in the garden of Eden, God "placed
at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming
sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree
of life" (Gen. 3:24). This was done so that man would
not eat of the tree of life in his fallen state and thereby
be consigned to a "living" death. Likewise, He
has "hidden" the entrance to the narrow way so
that only the truly penitent and humble find it. This is
a safeguard against deception.
Some
today might feel that the ministry or brotherhood is denying
them entrance. As a result they come into trials, and some
turn away. But the church's task is to prove whether one's
spirit and life is such that indicate one has truly found
the strait gate. And thus she endeavors to speak the truth.
She must not do any less, lest men be given a false hope.
What
is the essence of the straitness of this gate and narrow
way? It is in denying oneself of many "things," or
is it only the heart that matters? The answer is neither
if considered separately and alone, but both when one's
motivation is examined. The cause, or root, of sinning
must receive the focus here. James writes that "every
man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust,
and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth
forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth
death" (James 1:14, 15). This lust, which is strong
selfish desire, is going to bear evil fruit unless it is
continually mortifled (Rom. 8:13). There is not room on
the narrow way for the manifestations of self. The narrow
way will not accommodate "the lust of the flesh, and
the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life" (1 John
2:16).
The
two greatest commandments are to love God supremely and
to love one's neighbor as himself. Jesus said that everything
else derives from these (Matt. 22:44; see also Rom. 13:9).
To love God and our fellowmen as Jesus taught means we
will seek their highest well-being and happiness above
our own pleasure. If one chooses his own satisfaction ahead
of God's honor and glory, or at the expense of someone's
grief or disappointment, he deems himself more worthy of
satisfaction than God or his fellowman. Such a person manifests
gross pride. This deference to selfishness because of pride
is the essence of all sin. It is this old man of self that
is excluded from the strait and narrow way.
As
the flesh is crucified in order to walk the narrow way,
the spirit is set free to commune with God. Too many see
only the negatives of the narrow way. But "there is
joy in the journey" when one settles the issues of
life and his course is set. He then rejoices in the word
of the Lord that says, "Stand ye in the ways, and
see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way,
and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls" (Jer.
6:16).
Gladwin Koehn
The
above is an editorial from the September 1, 1999, Messenger
of Truth, PO Box 230, Moundridge, Kansas 67107
http://www.bibleviews.com/stgate.html
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