THE NARROW WAY
Proverbs 14:12; Matthew 7:13,14
The most precious and valuable things in life are not always the most popular and attractive. It takes the most diligent, patient and forward-looking seekers to find them.
Life presents us with many choices and decisions on a daily basis. Whereas some choices and decisions have little or no consequences, others have, in fact, eternal consequences.
Which gate have you entered, and on which road are you travelling – the broad and easy or the narrow and hard?
Remember you cannot travel on two different roads at the same time.
The way of the cross is a narrow, hard and unattractive one; but it leads Home!
P1. The Decision and Necessity of Picking a Way
Genesis 2:15-17; Deut. 30:15-20; Joshua 24:14-25; Jer. 21:8; Joel 3:14
You have a choice and a decision to make:
- Two gates, two ways, two kinds of travellers, two destinations (Matthew 7:13,14)
- God does not ‘remote control’ anyone; He has freely given us our will and choice
- As a loving Father, He shows us the options available, and the consequences of our choices
- There is no middle and neutral ground – every individual has a personal decision to make
- Your decision determines whether or not you are wise-hearted
“I believe in my soul that there are more at this day being lost for want of decision than for any other thing” – Moody.
P2. The Delusion in the ‘New’ and Popular Way
Matthew 7:13; Proverbs 12:15;14:12; 5:1-14; 6:20-33; 7:6-27 Ecclesiastes 11:9,10; 12:1,2; 1:8-11
The Broadway has a lot of traffic and attractions:
- It is the easy, popular, ‘new’, ‘modern’, and the majority way
- It accommodates anyone and anything – the ungodly, worldly, materialistic and carnal
- It is the way of ‘liberty’, license, all kinds of passions and appetites. There are no ‘baggage’ restrictions (Judges 17:6)
- It is sadly, the express and highway to Hell!
“Satan can make men dance upon the brink of hell as though they were on the verge of heaven”– Spurgeon.
P3. The Delight in the Narrow but Promising Way
Matthew 7:13,14; Luke 13:23-25; 2 Tim. 2:8-12; Rom. 8:17,18; 2 Corinth. 4:8-12; 16-18; Luke 6:20-26
The way of the cross leads Home:
- It is a lonesome, costly, old-fashioned and unpopular way
- The narrow way is the way of the minority and the ‘holy way’ – the way of persecution and opposition
- The narrow way is Jesus Christ (John 14:6)
- It is the promising way that leads to eternal life and light! (Isaiah 35:8-10)
“The furnace of affliction is a good place for you, Christian; it benefits you; it helps you to become more like Christ, and it is fitting you for heaven….There are no crown-wearers in heaven who were not cross-bearers here below” – Spurgeon