“Enter through the narrow gate"

Matthew 6:25-7:14 (NASB) from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

The Cure for Anxiety

²⁵ “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? ²⁷ And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? ²⁸ And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, ²⁹ yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. ³⁰ But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! ³¹ Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ ³² For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. ³⁴ “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

7 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. ² For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. ³ Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴ Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

⁶ “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

⁷ “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. ⁹ Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? ¹¹ If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!

¹² “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

¹³ “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. ¹⁴ For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

In today’s text Jesus speaks about anxiety. Anxiety is at an all time high throughout our nation and culture. There is a physical or chemical type of anxiety disorder which affects many people. That is not what I will talk about here. I have no judgment against those who suffer from anxiety disorder or any other chemical imbalance requiring medication. Rather what I want to look at is what this passage and other scripture tells us about and encourages us to do when anxiety. Worry, stress, doubt and fear rooted in spiritual things is affecting or controlling our lives.

First we need to understand that the Bible views these things as sin. Revelation 21:8 says: But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."     Some translations say the fearful and unbelieving. We worry about things we fear including the unknown. Fear really is the opposite of faith. When we worry, doubt and fear it means we are believing more in the things we don’t want than in the things we do want. Fear, worry and doubt, like all sin, separates us from God. Faith on the other hand connects us to God. The more we know God, the less we will have to fear or worry about. The text says:  “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness” If we will make seeking God, seeking the kingdom, seeking the righteousness of God in and through Christ as the foremost priority in our lives we will find ourselves worrying, doubting and fearing less.

 Hebrews 12:1-2 says: Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.      Jesus endured the cross for the purpose of redemption, reconciliation and restoration of all things to God. If we will keep our eyes fixed on Him and the finished work of the cross, which has accomplished those things, we will find our faith perfected and we will be able to lay aside the entanglements and encumbrances of worry, doubt and fear. 1 John 4:18 says: There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear…    The perfect love of God displayed through the finished work of the cross will cast out all fear.  

The last verses in today’s text say:  “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. ¹⁴ For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”      Human philosophy, our politically correct culture tends to promote the idea that contrary to what Jesus says, there are many paths, a wide road which will lead to God. Jesus says: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6) The truth is there are many ways we can be led to Christ, but He alone is the way to the Father. Jesus came to seek and save the lost, as the shepherd goes out to search for every lost sheep, so too will Jesus find those who are lost even on the dark paths they have followed.

There is another thing we need to keep in mind about the narrow way of Christ. Rick Joyner, author and spiritual father, often says there is a ditch on either side of the road. In our human tendency we often find ourselves moving from one ditch to the other rather than following the narrow path of Christ in the center. There are many paradoxes which exist in scripture and with the kingdom of God. Paradoxes are things which seem to opposite or contrary to each other yet are really opposite sides of the same truth. Loving sinners and hating sin, like Jesus did, is one of the greatest challenges we as believers face. Grace calls us and causes us to love and accept sinners as Christ did. If we get too far onto the side of the road we no longer operate in grace and we fall into the ditch of tolerance and acceptance of sin. If we move too far to the other side there is a ditch of legalism and judgment. The narrow way, Christ’s way is to walk in the balance of love, grace and truth. Ephesians 4:15 says:  but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ  

In today’s text Jesus says:  “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. ² For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. ³ Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴ Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.      Many in the world and in the church have misinterpreted this passage to believe that it says we should not judge at all. That misinterpretation leads us into the ditch of tolerance and acceptance of sin. That is not what Jesus says. Rather what Jesus says is that we are first to take the log out of our own eye so that we can see clearly to help our brother remove the speck from his. Galatians 6:1-2 says:   Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.    

If we will be spiritual, judging ourselves first, then as we see the sin in someone’s life we will seek to restore them. It is not a demonstration of love or God’s grace to allow them to continue in sin on the wide path to destruction. But rather, speaking the truth in love we point them to the truth, to the cross of Christ where they too can find grace, redemption, reconciliation and restoration.  

All these things, walking in the straight and narrow path of Christ seem difficult in our human nature. Jesus says:   “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”

Thank You Lord Jesus that You are the way and that You show us the way. Thank You heavenly Father that if we ask You are faithful to give us the good gifts we need, both the provision of our physical needs and even more the Holy Spirit, to enable and empower us to walk like Christ.  Amen.