Where Will Your Road End?

Audio Transcript

If you would, grab your Bibles again and turn back to Matthew chapter 7. We’ll be closing out that chapter today. We’ll be in Matthew 7, verses 13 to the end of the chapter, verse 29. And again, if you’re new, we’ve been for many years teaching through the entire Bible. We started last year into the New Testament; we’re teaching all four Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—together, and next week we’ll be switching to a different book to pick up the narrative there. But for a couple of months now, I guess, we’ve been teaching Matthew 5, 6, and 7, which all together are called the Sermon on the Mount. And Jesus concludes this sermon today with, I would have to say, the most important matter that you will ever deal with in your life. There is no more important issue than these words of Jesus today. So I hope that we will all discipline ourselves to truly push everything aside and hear what our Savior has to say. For all of us, these have the potential to be life-giving words or they have the potential to be the opposite, and we will all have to choose.

There are moments that come for some people, usually later in life, when they realize that the choices they’ve been making have led them to a place they never wanted to be. The path that led them there was—it was made up of thousands of seemingly harmless decisions that they didn’t think would matter that much, but now suddenly, there they are, miles off course—all the accumulation of all those choices along the way. I’m not sure we truly grasp the importance of choices. I want to begin with this quote. Let this sink in: “We make our choices, then our choices make us.”

Jesus has been teaching for three chapters now, as I said, about how those in His kingdom are to live, what a follower of Christ looks like. Three chapters now, and now He brings it to a close—not with a pep talk, not with “I believe in you, you can do this,” but with a jaw-dropping, terrifying warning. He says there are only two paths we can walk down: one leads to destruction, the other leads to life. Jesus uses several illustrations in these verses we’re going to look at that will help us make sense of this and help us understand this. I was trying to figure out how to get all of these points in my message on one slide; I did my best with my weak Photoshop skills. Go ahead and show that next slide there. So Jesus uses the illustrations of two gates, two trees, two confessions, two foundations—all of which lead to one of two destinies. Two gates, two trees, two confessions, two foundations—all of which lead to one of two destinies. And I promise I will not spend more than an hour on each of those points.

Well, let’s begin digging into this and see what Jesus has to say. Let’s start at Matthew chapter 7, verses 13 and 14, Jesus speaking: “Enter through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But narrow is the gate and hard is the way that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

In the extra-biblical reading that I’ve done over the many years, several themes pop up when you read bits of the Talmud and Josephus and Alfred Edersheim and some of the other Jewish historians. One of those themes, oddly enough, that pops up as you read through their writings is that these ancient writers were meticulous when it came to describing the roads and the gates in Israel—something that we wouldn’t put much importance on. I mean, they went into extraordinary detail in many of the tractates throughout the Talmud describing the roads and specifically the gates in Jerusalem. Cities in that day had many gates. I don’t know if you remember a while back when we were in the Old Testament and we studied the book of Nehemiah, I brought you a slide and I pointed out every gate all the way around that massive wall of Jerusalem, and we saw that each gate had a name and each gate had a purpose. And when someone set out on a journey to Jerusalem in that day, the question was commonly asked, “Which gate will you be entering through?”

Out of the many gates in those ancient cities, as I said, they all had a unique purpose. Some, some were wide gates—they were built for commerce and crowds and festivals and merchants passing through with loaded carts and travelers with pack animals. But there were also narrow gates, sometimes called needle gates, that were narrow for the purpose of security. Think of gates at an airport; think of the TSA check-in line. It’s a very narrow gate. You can’t go lollygagging through there doing whatever you want—it’s a narrow gate. It forces you to slow down, to stop, to unload what you’re carrying. This here in Scripture was a primitive version of that. These narrow gates were mostly used for security. To enter them, you had to leave your baggage behind. You had to often stoop low to get through the gate, and you could only go through one at a time. Jesus says, “That’s what following Me looks like.” Not the wide, easy, popular path that everyone else is on, but the narrow gate—the one that makes you bend low, the one that makes you leave your baggage behind, the one that most people walk past because it looks like too much trouble.

But the wide gate—the wide gate looks so appealing. No sacrifice required, no slowing down, no awkward changes, plenty of companions, no one telling you how to live—the wide gate is appealing. It’s the path of least resistance, and that’s precisely why most people choose it. If it were not for the mercy of God, I would spend my life racing through the wide gate. I don’t like people telling me what to do. I don’t like having to answer to anyone. I’m very good at directing my own life, “Thank you very much”—except that I’m not. We all would choose the wide gate. You see the long line at the narrow gate, people putting their bags down and having to stoop low or even get on their knees in the dirt to get through: “Oh no, that’s not appealing at all. I’ll take the wide gate with all my friends, with all the crowd. That’s the path I want to be on.”

Malcolm Muggeridge said this: “The ultimate temptation of modern humanity is to believe that the universe exists to validate our desires.” I love this man. And if you could hear him say it in his old, antique British accent, it would just make you smile: “The ultimate temptation of modern humanity is to believe that the universe exists to validate our desires.” And that’s precisely what the wide road promises: autonomy—”Do your own thing, man”—all the pleasure you want, all the freedom you can imagine. But Jesus says that’s the road that leads to destruction. The narrow gate, by contrast, oh man, it looks confining. It looks demanding. But it’s actually the doorway to life. Jesus will later in His ministry speak these words in John 10:9: “I am the door”—it can be translated “gate”—”I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved.” That’s usually where most people fade off, but look at this last part, it’s so beautiful: “If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” Isn’t that beautiful?

Jesus is not one of many options; He is the only door. He is the only gate that leads to life. But still, most people will choose the wide gate because it doesn’t cost anything—there’s no sacrifice required. Only a few choose the narrow gate, because to do so we have to die to ourselves, we have to surrender our will, and most aren’t willing to do that. Why do you think again and again Jesus had the crowds following Him? Luke says at one time there were so many people they were trampling on each other to get to Jesus. He was Time magazine Man of the Year, you understand? His popularity rose to astronomical heights. He could have played this into a massive empire for Himself, but He would repeatedly look at the crowds and say, “Unless you’re willing to leave father and mother, brother and sister, houses and land, you cannot be My disciple. Unless you’re willing to die to yourself, to take up your cross and follow Me, you can’t be My disciple.” And the crowds disappeared over the hill. What a ministry strategy that is! I’ve never yet heard that one in all the things I’ve perused over the years on how to build a megachurch in one year—never once heard that one. Most people are not willing to go through the narrow gate; they choose comfort rather than cost. Jesus says this is not a trivial choice. He says based on which gate you choose, you’ll arrive at one of two destinations: destruction, eternal separation from God; or life, joy in God’s presence forever. And He says, “You have to choose.”

Well, then He switches to the image of two trees, and He does this to address the danger of false teachers. Verse 15 of Matthew 7, He says: “Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore, by their fruits you will know them.”

Here’s the warning, and we better pay attention: not every spiritual guide is guiding you to God. They may look the part, they may sound appealing, but they’re leading you away from the truth. Notice this very carefully: Jesus doesn’t call them wolves; He calls them “wolves in sheep’s clothing,” which means they look just like the rest of the sheep. We got any wolves in here this morning? These people don’t show up saying, “I’m here to deceive you.” They come carrying Bibles and quoting Scripture. So how do you identify them? Well, Jesus says you’ll recognize them by their fruit—not their words, not their charisma, not the size of their following—by the fruit of their life and their teaching. Ask yourself: what does their message produce in people’s lives? What does their teaching produce in those who are following them—repentance or excuses for sin? Does it point to Christ or to themselves? Does it call for sacrifice or does it promise prosperity without cost?

You know, I hope this doesn’t come out the wrong way, but I’m to the point now where I enjoy listening to sermons. I have for many, many years. I need the teaching and correction of God. Anybody else? I need it all the time. When our son Nick was little, we were getting in the car to take a long trip, and he said, “We don’t have to listen to any more of that preaching, do we?” And I said, “Ah, son, you warmed my heart.” But I didn’t realize how often I was doing that! But I’ve listened to thousands of sermons in my lifetime and continue to do so because I need God’s Word to continually grind me to powder. That’s what I need. But because I’ve been exposed to so much teaching—and this is the part I don’t want to come out wrong—listen, I can generally listen to someone for about two or three minutes, and I can tell you whether they’re a wolf in sheep’s clothing; I can tell you whether they’re teaching the truth or something off in left field. It’s just so obvious to me now, because the truth of Jesus is such a clear, clearly defined path that when you hear it, your spirit connects to it and you’re like, “Oh, yes, Lord, thank You for this truth.” And when you hear something a little wonky, your spirit gets troubled and you’re like, “Hmm, I don’t know about this. Doesn’t sound quite right.” Jesus says these people who go about teaching false things, they look the part, they sound the part, but they’re leading people astray.

And what we need, we must—listen, can I just encourage you and students, you especially, you’re young, God willing you have your entire life ahead of you. You’ve got lots of choices to make. Can I encourage you, if there’s one thing in your life you must commit to never letting go of, it’s submitting yourself to the teaching of God’s Word for the rest of your life. If you’re in a church that starts teaching nonsense, get out of there. I don’t care if you’re in a church with five people that teaches the truth, that’s better than being in a place that waters everything down. Listen to how important this is. I usually don’t read extra passages this lengthy, but you have to hear this. 2 Timothy chapter 4, starting in verse 1. This is the Apostle Paul now, writing to young Pastor Timothy, urging him to preach the truth. Here’s what he says: “I charge you”—these are strong words—”I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word. Be ready in season and out of season.” Okay, here we go. You’re ready for this? Nobody wants to go to a church service to get this unless they’re truly following the Lord: “Reprove, rebuke, and exhort with great patience and careful instruction.” Verse 3: “For the time will come when people will not endure sound doctrine, but having itching ears, or wanting their ears tickled, they will gather for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths or to fables.”

Right now, there are more Christian voices in the world than ever before, all claiming to speak for God. Many of them do, but some don’t. Be careful. Be careful what you allow into your life. Some are telling people what they want to hear, not what they need to hear. They’re preaching a false gospel. They’re preaching easy-believism. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Christian who stood up against Nazi Germany and gave his life for Christ, said this: “Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession.” So Jesus warns us to test what we hear. Test what we hear. I’ve told you before: don’t believe everything I tell you up here. Make sure you know I’m telling you the truth. Make sure you know. Does it align with Scripture? Does it form Christ in us? Does it produce the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control? Or does it breed division and arrogance and materialism and self-obsession? You will know a tree by the kind of fruit it produces.

Well, I must move on. Next, Jesus takes it even deeper, and I have to tell you, I shudder every time I read these verses. I’ve read them hundreds of times since I was a teenager, and they still stop me in my tracks every single time. Matthew 7, verse 21. Hear this now: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” Listen to this: “Many, many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did not we prophesy in Your name and in Your name cast out demons and perform many miracles in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness.'”

That chills me to the bone. You need to understand how often I do self-evaluations with these verses in mind, where I pause at times and go, “Lord, I’m back again. I want to make absolutely sure that I know You and You know me—that I’m not just up there in front of the church every week running my mouth saying all kinds of religious things, but I get to heaven and I hear these words.” These may be the most terrifying words in all of Scripture if we have an ounce of sense to us. Understand why this is so frightening: these are not atheists; these are church people. And they’re impressive church people at that. Did you catch it? They prophesy. They perform miracles. I mean, these are the big guys. Anyone watching them would be convinced without a doubt, “Whoa, they’re committed Christians,” and yet Jesus says to them, “I never knew you.” Not, “I used to know you”—”I never knew you.” “I never knew you.” These people knew about Jesus. They talked about Jesus, but they had never surrendered to Jesus.

My father, many years ago, was preaching in a church. At the end of the sermon, a message much like this, he gave the invitation: “If you’ve never truly been saved, I…” To walk the aisle was the pastor of that church. Yes, it happens. My dad was stunned. Talked to him: “What in the world’s going on?” “I just grew up in it. I knew it like I could quote it, but I never surrendered my life to Him. I was just on automatic pilot.” Be very careful, folks. People can have religion but have no relationship. And this is where we really need to be honest with ourselves, because it’s possible to be involved in religious things and still miss heaven when we die—miss it by a mile. You can go to church every Sunday, you can lead committees, you can quote Scripture, you can serve in ministries and still not know Jesus, because knowing about Jesus is not the same as knowing Him.

I know about the President of the United States, but just imagine that I was arrested for suspicion of committing some crime, and I kept yelling, “I know the President! I know the President! Call him! Call him! He’ll… for me!” And somehow they patch through, and they, they call the President, and he gets on the phone. He says, “Sir, sorry to bother you, but we have a Phil Pike here who says he knows you.” You know the next word out of his mouth? “Who?” “Who?” I know about him, but I don’t know him. I have no access to him at all. You know a lot about Jesus, do you? Do you know Him? The question is not, “Am I busy doing religious activity? Can I recite the Christian lingo?” The question is, “Do I know Him, and does He know me?” Have I ever entered into a personal relationship with Jesus by repenting of my sin and receiving Him as my Savior and my Lord?

Jesus said the proof isn’t in our words; the proof is in our obedience. He said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father.” So does that mean we have to work our way into salvation? No, it does not. We don’t do God’s will to get saved; we do God’s will because we’re saved. Obedience and fruit are the outgrowth of salvation; they’re evidence that we have a relationship with Him. Listen, a tree doesn’t produce apples so that it can become an apple tree—it produces apples because it’s an apple tree. It can’t help but produce apples. That’s what it is. In the same way, a person who is truly saved can’t help but do the will of the Father and produce the fruit of the Spirit. Now, I don’t mean perfectly or flawlessly or non-stop; even fruit trees have their seasons. There are days when some of you might see me and wonder if I’m a Christian at all, and I bet the same for you. We all have moments when we’re not producing fruit, but you know what happens anytime I’m in that state, anytime I’m there? I don’t just go through life whistling a happy tune and not caring. I am under deep conviction. It’s evidence that I’m saved—flawed, failed, but saved.

The question is: can you look at your life and see that you are growing in Christlikeness? Because if you are, it’s evidence that you know Him and that He knows you. Because folks, I’m telling you, on that day that’s described here in Matthew 7, on that day when we stand before Him, that’s all that will matter: do you know Him, and does He know you? Will He be able to say to you, “Oh, I know you. Come on”? Or will He say, “I’m sorry, I have no idea who you are”? What a tragic… Listen, I’ve lived all over the world. I’ve seen, I’ve been involved in all kinds of different cultures—church cultures, too. I’m just going to tell you straight up: we as the American Church, we’ve become geniuses at playing the game, and I don’t mean that in a positive way. We’ve become masters at playing church. We’d better be careful. This has cost us nothing. Our faith has cost us nothing. I have in my family no people personally who have been killed for their faith. We sit here in a beautiful, comfortable, climate-controlled room saying we’re Christians, and it’s barely been proven, if ever. It’s barely been tested. Be very careful. It’s easy to play the game. What an absolute tragic thing to live your entire life as a religious person, even prophesying, casting out demons, performing miracles, only to reach the end and be cast away from the presence of God forever. You’re gonna roll the dice on that? Can I just say: better to have never been born than to hear the words, “Depart from Me, I never knew you.” Better to have never been born. Oh my. Make sure you are in Christ today.

And if I can help you with that after the message, you just come back during the closing songs and you come talk to me. In fact, if you want to be saved right now, you raise your hand and I’ll stop the service. That happened once in a—teaching a huge Sunday school class at Edwards Road years ago before we started this church, and probably 80 or 90 people in there, in the middle of a Sunday school lesson. Like, Jesus doesn’t save people in a Sunday school lesson, does He? Yeah. We were in the gym, and I just—I said, “If you’ve never been saved and you want to be saved right now…” like I had 20 more minutes. “You just raise your hand.” A guy goes, “I want to be saved!” Like, “All right, let’s do this!” There’s no more important matter to deal with than this, folks. None.

Well, finally, Jesus gives one last image of two foundations. Let’s look at these last verses, starting in verse 24, Matthew 7: “Therefore”—or in light of what we’ve just looked at—”Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine”—now Jesus is saying, “What are you going to do with what you’ve just heard?”—”everyone who hears these words of Mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, but it did not fall, because it was founded on the rock.” Verse 26: “But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was its fall.” Verse 28, chapter wraps up with this: when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astonished at His teaching, I guess they were, because He taught as one who had authority, not as their scribes.

Sometimes we have to work a little hard, harder than normal, to understand the weight of what Jesus is saying in certain instances. He’s taking commonplace items or events or situations of His day that His listeners immediately understood that we have to work a little bit to get into. All over that region where Jesus spoke these words were dry riverbeds called wadis. Show that photo there. They’re still there to this day. They’re completely dry for most of the year, sometimes for years at a time. But every once in a while, rains would come, and those dry areas would turn into raging rivers, and they would sweep away everything in their path. Show this next photo. Sometimes these dry areas, as I said, would stay dry for years, and an inexperienced builder might look at that flat, smooth area and think, “Well, this is perfect! The ground is level, the dirt is soft, it’s going to be easy to dig.” So he would build there, and for a while it looked like a smart choice. The house went up faster, so it cost less; it looked just as good as any other house. But one day, one day, maybe a long time in the future, the rains came, and it turned into a flood, and it swept that entire house away.

Jesus says, “That’s what happens when you hear My words, but you don’t put them into practice. You might think you’ve built a solid life by going to church every week, but if your faith is not anchored on the rock of My truth, if your life is not anchored into the bedrock of My truth, it will eventually be reduced to rubble.” Here’s what we need to understand: storms are not “if,” they’re “when.” Every life, every life is eventually going to face loss, suffering, betrayal, illness, death. So the question is: am I building my life on what will last when the storm does come? It will come. Most of us, when we were younger, these words would go in one ear and out the other: “Ah, these old people talking about the storms of life. My life’s going great, man. Look at me.” And then the years tick by, and you look up, and there come the dark clouds. And you go, “Oh boy, have I been preparing for this?”

I’ve told you before, even as Christians, maybe especially as Christians, you should be the best in your company. This is not about living for Jesus or doing your work well; they fit together perfectly. I’ve encouraged you: climb the ladder at work, if that’s what God’s calling you to, pursue whatever opportunities He puts before you, and do them better than anybody else. But listen to me, listen: if your foundation is your career, or your relationships, or… those things can collapse in a moment. And you can be standing there with sand running through your fingers, and that’s all you’ve got left of what you’ve built your life on—it’s all gone. But if your foundation is built on Christ, upon His Word, on His promises, you will stand when the storms come—not because the storm will be easy, but because you’re anchored to something that cannot be moved. Hebrews 12, I think, mentions this clearer than anything. Hebrews 12:26 and 27: at that time, speaking of in the times past, God’s voice shook the earth, but now He makes another promise: “Once again I will shake not only the earth, but the heavens also.” Here it is, verse 27: “This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed so that only the things which cannot be shaken will remain.” Hey, everything in this world can be shaken and destroyed; only that which is eternal cannot be shaken. Is that what you’re building your life on?

Well, let me close. These—I don’t know about you, but these words of Jesus are a jarring reminder for me as your pastor, a terrifying reminder of how serious these choices are. You need to remember that your eternal destiny, listen, won’t be decided then—it’s being decided right now by the choices you’re making. I think I put this on a slide to help you remember it. Students, you especially look at this: “The choices you make determine your direction, and your direction determines your destiny.” Your choices and your destiny are linked. Have you chosen the narrow gate? Have you chosen to build your life upon the rock? If you haven’t, listen to me one more time: you’re going to stand before God one day, and you’re going to hear the horrifying words, “Depart from Me, I never knew you.” That’s coming for you if you reject Christ.

Maybe you’ve been busy with religious activity, but you’ve never truly come to know Jesus. Hey, listen to me: right now is the time to change course. And I mean right now—right now is the time to change course. Jesus offers life to everyone who is willing to leave the wide road, to drop the burdens that you’re carrying, to step through the narrow gate—and that gate is Him. I close with this verse where it all comes down to: John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” I’m not going to mince words. I’m just going to ask you one more time: have you been saved? You’ve been shown your destiny this morning. Have you been saved? Jesus waits right now with open arms to receive you, to give you life. If you’ve never been saved, listen, as we sing a couple closing songs—and by the way, these songs are—this is not just a thing to fill up some time in the service. We should treat this as a sacred time. God is moving in hearts during these closing songs. You know, let’s not be running in and out. Respect this time. Know that the person next to you or in front of you or behind you, the Holy Spirit may be working on their heart; let’s not distract them from that. As we sing these closing songs, if you want to be saved, I invite you to get up out of your seat and come to me at the back. Jesus is waiting.