March 19, 2025 • 30 mins
We often talk about the path life takes us on. It’s true that there are unexpected things on life’s journey, but the truth is that, in regard to eternity, we choose the path we’re on. Jesus talks about these two roads in the Sermon on the Mount and utters some startling words to modern ears about how many choose the wrong road. These are roads that lead to our eternal destiny, not paths to success in this world.
Read about this subject
- Scriptures: Matthew 7:13-14; Proverbs 16:25
- “An Easier Way?”
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
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Hi, I'm Kerry Duke, host of My Godand My Neighbor podcast from Tennessee
Bible College, where we see the Bibleas not just another book, but the Book.
Join us in a study of the inspiredWord to strengthen your faith and to
share what you've learned with others.
As long as there have beenpeople, there have been roads.
Even before asphalt, there weredirt trails and then gravel roads.
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And some ancient Roman roadscan still be seen to this day.
They're a very important part of life.
What on earth would wedo without highways?
We depend on them to get to work,to go to the store, to the school,
to church, to the doctor, and anyother place that we want to go.
Today there are so many roads thatit gets confusing and we have to have
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computers to tell us how to get there.
Life is a road.
It's leading somewhere.
I wonder if people think about this.
With each moment that passes, we'removing farther down that road.
We're getting closer to the end.
Even Christians need to think about this.
The Bible says that it's high timeto awake out of sleep, for now is our
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salvation nearer than when we believed.
That's Romans 13, verse 11.
Life is a short trip.
As a matter of fact, it'sbriefer than an afternoon drive.
James chapter 4 verse 14 says, “What isyour life? It is even a vapor that appears
for a little time and then vanishes away.”
But unlike the maze of roads that we driveon, the choice of roads in life is simple.
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There are only two.
Now these roads are very different.
The road is different.
The people are different.
The place that they'releading to is very different.
When you see all the traffic on theroads today, think about life itself.
People are going somewhere.
Some are in a hurry, justlike they are on the highways.
Some take their time.
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But every accountable personis on one of these two roads.
And unlike some roads, theseroads are clearly marked.
They're very different.
They're as different as a four-laneinterstate is from a one lane bridge.
And Jesus talks about thesetwo roads in Matthew chapter 7.
In the King James version of Matthew7, beginning in verse 13, Jesus said,
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“Enter ye in at the straight gate,for wide is the gate, and broad is
the way that leadeth to destruction,and many there be which go in thereat.
Because straight is the gate, andnarrow is the way, which leadeth unto
life, and few there be that find it.”
The New King James Version in Matthewchapter 7 says, “Enter by the narrow
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gate, for wide is the gate, and broadis the way, that leads to destruction,
and there are many who go in byit. Because narrow is the gate, and
difficult is the way, which leads tolife, and there are few who find it.”
Now, in the first place, Jesus talks aboutthe broad road, the way of the world.
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The entrance to thatroad is through a gate.
This one is very wide.
He says this gate is wide open.
There's plenty of room.
There's no waiting line.
You take as many as you want to with you.
You can take your friends,your family, and just step in.
Now this is what it's like toenter the road to destruction.
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It's quick and easy to get on.
Just follow the crowd.
It looks inviting.
It looks exciting.
Some people are drawn to whatwe would call a buzz or a
movement, action or a stir.
People are drawn to crowds.
This is where people are most of the time.
They see other people gathered aroundand they don't even know what they're
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there for, but it gets their attention.
And this is the lure of the world.
So many people seem to enjoy it,and it can have a pull on you.
The Bible says in 1 John chapter 2,verses 15 through 17, “Love not the
world, neither the things that are inthe world. For all that is in the world,
the lust of the flesh, the lust of theeyes, and the pride of life, is not
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of the Father, but is of the world.”
And Christians are going to betempted to get back on this road.
In Matthew chapter 13, verse 22 Jesussaid that some are “choked with the cares
of this world and the deceitfulness ofriches.” That happened to Demas, who had
been a faithful worker with the apostlePaul. He was a faithful man of God for
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a time, but in second Timothy chapterfour, verse 10, Paul said toward the
end of his life that Demas had “forsakenhim, having loved this present world.”
Demas, a fellow worker with the ApostlePaul, who had been a faithful servant
of God, saw all the people on thisbroad road, and he saw the gate wide
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open, and he went right [into it.
This road is broad.
It's a broad way of life.
It's a broad road for broad-minded people.
And people do just about anythingand everything on this road.
They believe just aboutin anything or everything.
Some people on it believe inGod, but they don't obey him.
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Other people believe indifferent kinds of gods.
Some people believe in no god, butthey're all on this broad road.
There are people of differentreligions on this road.
Some are Jews.
Some are Muslims.
Some are Hindus.
Some are Buddhists.
There are all kinds of different beliefs.
Some people are evolutionists.
Some people are atheists.
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Some people are hypocrites.
Some people are false prophetsor follow false prophets.
Other people are idolaters.
Some are in witchcraft and sorceryand all kinds of superstition.
There are also many different kindsof styles of life on this road.
There are lazy people on this road.
There are greedy people on this road.
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There are liars, thieves, adulterers,drunks, homosexuals, and other people.
Then there are some people that are,relatively speaking, decent people.
They're just not religious.
They just don't serve God.
They'll be kind to their neighbor.
But they're on this broad road becausethey don't want to disagree with anybody.
They want to get along with asmany people as they possibly can.
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And then there are backsliders onthis road, like we mentioned, people
like Demas in the first century.
The motto on this road isbasically Judges 21 verse 25.
“Every man did that which was right inhis own eyes.” That's what people do on
this broad road that leads to destruction.
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There's no real judging on this road.
There are no real absolutes.
Everybody's right and nobody's wrong.
Now this is why it takeslittle effort to go this way.
You just go with the flow.
And this way, it's all about diversity.
It's all about acceptance.
It's all about tolerance.
It's all about coexistence.
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And many people, hesays, travel this road.
Notice what He says (07:08):
“Enter by the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad
is the way that leads to destruction,and there are many who go in by it.”
So you won't be lonely there.
There'll be lots of people who feelthe same way and do the same thing.
There will be many people on thebroad road that will agree with you.
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They'll tell you that you're right,no matter what you're doing, because
they're in sin just like you are.
You'll have lots of company ifyou travel on the broad way.
Now, most people have alwaystraveled the wrong road.
In Exodus chapter 23, verse 2, Moseswarned, “Do not follow a multitude to do
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evil.” The Bible says in 1 Corinthianschapter 15 verse 33, “Be not deceived,
evil companionships corrupt good morals.”
Now notice the word “many”here in Matthew chapter 7.
He says many go on this broadway that leads to destruction.
And then notice down in verse 21 and22, He said, “Not everyone who says to
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me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdomof heaven, but he who does the will of
my father in heaven. Many will say tome in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied in your name and in your namecast out demons and done many wonders
in your name? And then I will declare tothem, I never knew you, depart from me,
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you who practice iniquity” or lawlessness.
In Matthew chapter 24, Jesus istalking to the disciples about all the
calamities that would take place beforethe destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.
Listen to what he warned them about inMatthew chapter 24 verses four and five.
And Jesus answered and said to them,“Take heed that no one deceives you,
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for many will come in my name saying,I am the Christ and will deceive many.”
In John chapter six, after Jesus hadworked miracles and these people had
benefited from the miracle of theloaves and the fish, they followed
Him across the sea and found Him.
And after Jesus had spoken to themsome words that they didn't want to
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hear—in other words, after He hadstepped on their toes--here's what the
Bible says in John 6, verse 66 (09:30):
“From that time, many of his disciples went
back and walked no more with him.”
And here's another passagethat shows that many people go
down this broad and wide way.
It's found in second Peter, chapter two.
In 2 Peter chapter 2, Peter istalking about false prophets
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and the people that follow them.
And I want you to notice that he talksabout the fact that there are many
people that listen to false teachers.
2 Peter chapter 2, verse 1.
“And there were also false prophetsamong the people, even as there will
be false teachers among you, who willsecretly [or privily, the King James
says] bring in destructive heresies, evendenying the Lord who bought them, and
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bring on themselves swift destruction.”
So, he talks about these false teachersand how they operate in verse 1.
He says, there are false teachers.
He said they have always beenhere and always will be here.
And he said, the way that theywork is not to be up front with
people, but they deceive people.
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They work in secret and they bringin their heresies, their false
doctrines, not by being above board,but by being secretive about it.
And so the Bible says in versetwo, “And many”—not a few, not
some, but he says, “And many willfollow their destructive ways.
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Now, this has happened for thousands ofyears, and it's not a new thing today.
In 1 John 2, verse 18, here's whatthe Bible says: “Little children, it
is the last hour or the last time.
And as you have heard thatantichrist is coming, even now,
many antichrists have come.
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He talks about the fact that thereare many of these antichrists.
And that was almost 2000 years ago.
In first John chapter four, verse one,he said, “Beloved, do not believe every
spirit, but test the spirits, whetherthey are of God, because many false
prophets have gone out into the world.”
Now let's go back to Matthewchapter seven and verse 13 and
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look again at what Jesus said.
He said, “Enter by the narrow gate,for wide is the gate and broad is the
way that leads to destruction. Andthere are many who go in by it.” Now
people on this broad road are lost.
This means that most people are lost.
Most people are headed for hell.
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Most people don't even thinkabout what they're doing.
They don't think aboutwhy they're doing it.
They don't think aboutwhere they're going.
All they think about is what's next.
What then?
They're only looking for something intheir life that they can plan for, a
goal that they have, something thatthey want to do, and they're blinded.
In 2 Corinthians 4, verse 4, theBible says “the God of this world
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has blinded the minds of them thatbelieve not,” and they are blinded
willingly, not against their will.
They're blinded because of their choice.
They made a decision togo through that gate.
They made a choice to be onthat road, and they can make a
choice to get off of that road.
Now, this is why we preach the gospelof Jesus Christ, to call them, to invite
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them, to plead with them, to get offthat road that leads to destruction.
Let's talk about the destructionhere for just a few minutes.
This road has a destination.
It has an end.
This road that Jesus calls the wideand broad way leads to destruction.
It's not just going off ofa cliff or off of a bridge.
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That would be bad enough.
It's not running into a treeor a semi or an overpass.
No, those are horriblethings in a physical sense.
But this destruction is much worse.
This is everlasting punishment in hell.
In Matthew chapter 25, verse 41, the Biblesays, “Depart from me, you cursed, into
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everlasting fire, prepared for the deviland his angels.” In Matthew, chapter 25,
verse 46, Jesus said, “And these shallgo away into everlasting punishment,
but the righteous into life eternal.”
In 2 Thessalonians, chapter 1,beginning in verse 6, Paul said,
“Seeing it is a righteous thing withGod to recompense [that is, to repay]
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tribulation to them that trouble you.
And to you who are troubled, rest withus when the Lord Jesus Shall be revealed
from heaven with his mighty angels; inflaming fire taking vengeance on them
who know not God and obey not the gospelof our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
who shall be punished with everlastingdestruction from the presence of the
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Lord and from the glory of his power.”
In Matthew, chapter 10, verse 28, Jesussaid, “And fear not them which kill
the body, but are not able to kill thesoul, but rather fear him which is able
to destroy both soul and body in hell.”In Matthew, chapter 13, beginning in
verse 49, Jesus said, “So it will be.
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At the end of the world, the angelswill come forth and separate the
wicked from among the just andcast them into the furnace of fire.
There shall be wailing and gnashingof teeth.” That's] the broad way.
That's the wide gate.
Most people are going down that,and it's a sad fact, and it is
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a sobering fact, but it is true,folks, that most people are lost.
Most people will be in hellfor all of eternity, and
that, again, is their choice.
Now, let's look at what Jesussays about the other road.
This is the narrow road.
It has a narrow gate to it.
He calls it the narrow gate.
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It is the narrow way.
This gate is straight,the King James says.
It's narrow.
It's not wide like the other one.
You have to watch closer, youhave to pay attention, you have
to watch your steps to get in.
With the other one, you can laugh,you can look off, you can just
play around, you can just driftinto this wide and broad way.
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But to get into this narrowroad, you have to look.
You have to keep your eye focused.
Jesus said “enter” because this one,the right one, takes some effort.
In Luke chapter 13, verse 24, Jesussaid to “strive.” Make the effort
to enter in at the straight gate.
You have to choose, and you haveto choose with all your heart.
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Now this is what we find with people whobecame Christians in the first century.
The eunuch was reading his Bible inActs chapter eight, and then Philip
came to him and said, “Do you understandwhat you're reading?” And he said how
can I accept some man should guide me?
He went up into the chariot with him.
And the Bible says in Acts chapter eight,verse 35 and 36, that he began at the same
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scripture and preached unto him Jesus.
Then the Ethiopian eunuch askedthe question, “See, here is water.
What hinders me from being baptized?
And Philip said to the eunuch, If youbelieve with all your heart, you may.
He commanded the chariot to stand still.”And Philip and the eunuch both went
down into the water and he baptized him.
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He learned about thisnarrow way and he went in.
The same thing happenedin Acts chapter 16.
The Bible tells us the story in verses30 through 34 of the Philippian jailer.
After that earthquake got his attention,and the Bible says that he was
trembling in fear because he thoughtthat the prisoners had escaped, he came
out to Paul and Silas, and he said,“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
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And they said, “Believe onthe Lord Jesus Christ, and you
will be saved, and your house.
And they took him the same hour of thenight, and they taught him the word of
the Lord.” And that was because the Biblesays in Romans 10 verse 17, that “faith
comes by hearing and hearing by the wordof the Lord.” He needed to understand
what he was doing and why he was doing it.
And when he did, then the Bible says hewas baptized that very hour of the night.
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He saw the gate open and he walked in.
The same thing happened in Acts chaptertwo, when Peter preached on Pentecost day.
The Bible says that they were prickedin their heart and said to Peter
and the rest of the apostles, “Menand brethren, what shall we do?
And then Peter said, repent and bebaptized every one of you in the name of
Jesus Christ for the remission of sins,and you shall receive the gift of the Holy
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Ghost.” Verse 41 says, “Then they thatgladly received his word were baptized,
and the same day there were addedunto them about three thousand souls.”
If you want to see an example ofpeople walking on the wrong road
and choosing to get on the rightroad, look at Acts chapter 18.
In Acts chapter 18, Paul goesto the city of Corinth, which
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was an extremely wicked place.
But when they heard Paul preaching, theBible says that many of the Corinthians
hearing, believed and were baptized.
And you talk about being on the wrongroad and getting on the right road.
You talk about changing roads.
These Corinthians did that in 1stCorinthians chapter 6 verses 9 through 11.
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Paul said that some of thoseCorinthians had been drunks, idolaters,
fornicators, adulterers, extortioners,
and even homosexuals, buthe said that they changed.
They repented of their sins,and when they were baptized,
their sins were washed away.
And if you want to see another goodexample of people changing these
courses, not just changing lanes,but changing roads, look at what Paul
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said about the church at Ephesus.
Here's what he said aboutthose Christians in that city.
In Ephesians chapter 2, verse 1, he said,“And you he made alive who were dead in
trespasses and sins, in which you oncewalked according to the course of this
world”—that is, according to the way,according to the road of this world, you
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walked in it “according to the princeof the power of the air, the spirit who
now works in the sons of disobedience;among whom also we all once conducted
ourselves in the lust of our flesh.
Fulfilling the desires of the flesh andof the mind, and were by nature children
of wrath, just as others”—just as otherpeople on that broad and wide way.
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When it says they were by naturechildren of wrath, that simply means
that was second nature to them.
They had sinned so long that it is, aswe would say, like their second nature.
But a person can make an exit.
He can get off of that road.
And he can get on the right road.
The right road is narrow.
It's straight.
It is narrow in contrast to thewide gate and the broad way.
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The word narrow comes from a wordwhich means compressed or confined.
The New King James says difficult.
That may not be the best translation, butthe idea here is that there are just a
few people that are going to get on thisroad because it does take some deciding.
It does take some willpower.
Now that doesn't mean thateverything on this road is hard.
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As a matter of fact, it'snot hard to understand.
Now, there are some people on thebroad way, as a matter of fact,
there are probably many people onthe broad way, that will shout to
you and say, “Oh, it's too hard toget on that straight and narrow way.
It's too hard to understand becauseso many people understand the Bible
differently.” But the Bible says in Markchapter 12 verse 37 that “the common
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people heard Jesus gladly.” If theBible and especially if the teaching
of Jesus is that hard to understand,then why does the Bible say that
the common people heard him gladly?
And here's something else to think about.
When you're on that road,you have to carry a burden.
But that burden, Jesus says, is light.
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He said that in Matthew chapter11, verses 28 through 30.
“Come unto me, all you that labor andare heavy laden, and I will give you
rest. Take my yoke upon you and learnof me, for I am meek and lowly in heart,
and you shall find rest to your souls.For my burden is easy, and my yoke is
light.” So, yes, if you travel down thisnarrow pathway, this good and right way,
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you will have to shoulder your load.
Jesus said in John 16:33,“In the world you shall have
tribulation, but be of good cheer.
I have overcome the world.” In secondTimothy chapter three, verse 12, Paul
said, “Yea, and all that will live godlyin Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”
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Now this way that we're talking aboutis not an open-ended, broad-minded way.
There's only one way.
This narrow road teachesthat there is only one way.
There are not two, there are notfour, there are not a hundred.
In John chapter 14, verse six,Jesus said, “I am the way, the
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truth and the life; no one comesto the Father except through me.”
In Acts chapter 4 verse 12, Peterand John said, “There is salvation in
no other, for there is no other namegiven under heaven among men, whereby
we must be saved.” There's only onemessage, there's only one true guide
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on this one real true road to heaven.
And that is the gospel of Jesus Christ.
In Galatians 1 verse 6, Paul said, “Imarvel that you are so soon removed
from him that called you into thegrace of Christ unto another gospel.
Which is not another, but thereare some who trouble you and want
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to pervert the gospel of Christ.
But if we or an angel from heaven preachunto you any other gospel than what we
have preached to you, let him be accursed.
As we said before, so say I nowagain, if any man preaches any other
gospel to you than what you havereceived, let him be accursed.”
In first Timothy chapter one, versethree, Paul urged Timothy to stay in
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Ephesus so that he might charge some thatthey teach “no other doctrine.” There
are not many doctrines on this road.
Now there are many teachings.
There are many beliefs or manydoctrines on the broad way, but there
is only one doctrine on this rightway, and that is the New Testament.
That is the word of God, theinspired word of the Holy Spirit.
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And I realized that peopletalk about different ways.
You hear people talking aboutthere being different paths
or different roads to heaven.
But the Bible says that Jesustells us there is only one.
“I am the way.” People getconfused about this because they're
not looking for the right way.
In Proverbs chapter 16, verse 25,the Bible says, “There is a way
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that seems right to a man, but theend thereof are the ways of death.
You say, well, how do you know thatjust because a man is looking for
the right way or the right road thathe's going to find it?” Because Jesus
made that promise in John 7 verse 17.
He said, “If any man will do His will,he shall know of the doctrine, whether it
be of God or whether I speak of myself.”Now the expression “will do” simply
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means if any man wants to do His will.
If any man desires to do his will,if any man wishes to do the will of
God, he shall know of the doctrine.
Remember that Jesus said, “Ask andit shall be given, seek and you shall
find, knock and it shall be openedto you.” Matthew chapter 7 verses 7
through 11. Remember that Jesus saidalso in the Sermon on the Mount, in
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Matthew chapter 5 verse 6, “Blessed arethey which do hunger and thirst after
righteousness, for they shall be filled.”
So anyone can get off of the wrong roadand get on this right road, this narrow
way, because every man has free will.
The Bible says, “If any man will, lethim take of the water of life freely”
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[Revelation chapter 22 verse 17].
But the fact is, few peopletravel this road, and that has
always been true of mankind.
When the flood came, the Biblesays in 1 Peter 3:21 that eight
souls were saved by water.
Out of all the people on earth, eightpeople believed God and entered the ark.
When the Israelites first came to theborder of the promised land in Numbers
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13 and 14, only two really trustedin what God said: Joshua and Caleb.
Elijah the prophet, being one man ofGod, stood against 450 false prophets.
So God's people have alwaysbeen in the minority.
Sometimes it gets lonely.
Sometimes you don't see alot of people that follow the
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Bible and are sincere about it.
But even though Jesus says thereare few on this road, this road
is the one that leads to life, theother road leads to destruction.
This road leads to life,and that is life in heaven.
This is what Jesus was talkingabout earlier in the Sermon on the
Mount in Matthew chapter five, verse12, when He said, “Rejoice and be
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exceedingly glad, for great is yourreward in heaven.” That's the end.
That's the goal.
Paul said in Philippians one,verse 23, that being in that
place with Christ is far better.
Peter said in 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 4that it is an inheritance incorruptible
and undefiled and that does not fadeaway, reserved in heaven for you.”
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That's the end of the narrow way.
It's just the opposite of the broadand wide way that leads to destruction.
So, this passage in Matthew chapter 7verse 13 and 14 clarifies a few things
and it denies some of the beliefsthat people have about the afterlife.
There are some people that believethat everybody will be saved.
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They call it the idea ofuniversalism or universal salvation.
That cannot be true.
The Bible not only says that not everybodywill be saved, it says that most people
will be lost and that by their own choice,Jesus said many will go to destruction.
At the same time, this passage deniesthat most people will be saved.
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The idea of universal salvation saysthat everybody is going to be saved,
and I'm saying that there are a lotof people who may not believe in
universalism, but they do believe thatalmost everybody's going to be saved.
They may say, “Well, I believe that peoplelike Jack the Ripper and Adolf Hitler and
people like that are going to hell. But Idon't believe that most people are going
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to hell. I believe that most people, aslong as they're decent people, as long
as they believe in something, as longas they're sincere about their religion,
then they're going to go to heaven.”
And when you think about it, that isjust the reverse of what Jesus said.
That's just the opposite ofwhat we've looked at today.
In Matthew 7, verse 13, Jesussaid many will go to destruction.
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That's hell.
And few will find the waythat leads to eternal life.
That's heaven.
So Jesus is warning us herenot to follow the crowd.
He is telling us not to go by numbers.
And there are some peoplethat do that in religion.
As a matter of fact, thereare many people that do that.
They learn about a preacher on theinternet that has hundreds of thousands
of followers, or they hear about amegachurch movement that has 20 or 30
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thousand people in it, and they say,“Well, they must be doing something
right.” That's not the kind ofreasoning that Jesus tells us to follow.
Jesus said be careful because manypeople will go down that broad
and wide way, and few will bethe ones that find eternal life.
And if people want to ridicule that andcall it old fashioned, then that's fine.
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Because here's what the Bible saysabout that in Jeremiah 6, verse 16.
“Thus says the Lord, Stand in the waysand see, and ask for the old paths,
where the good way is and walk in it,then you will find rest for your souls.
But they said, we will not walk in it.”
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Let us strive for the straight and thenarrow way that leads to eternal life.
Thank you for listeningto my God and my neighbor.
Stay connected with our podcast on ourwebsite and on Apple, Spotify, YouTube,
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Tennessee Bible College, providingChristian education since 1975
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in Cookeville, Tennessee offersundergraduate and graduate programs.
Study at your level, aim higher,and get in touch with us today.
Hi, I'm Kerry Duke, host of My Godand My Neighbor podcast from Tennessee
Bible College, where we see the Bibleas not just another book, but the Book.
Join us in a study of the inspiredWord to strengthen your faith and to
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As long as there have beenpeople, there have been roads.
Even before asphalt, there weredirt trails and then gravel roads.
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And some ancient Roman roadscan still be seen to this day.
They're a very important part of life.
What on earth would wedo without highways?
We depend on them to get to work,to go to the store, to the school,
to church, to the doctor, and anyother place that we want to go.
Today there are so many roads thatit gets confusing and we have to have
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computers to tell us how to get there.
Life is a road.
It's leading somewhere.
I wonder if people think about this.
With each moment that passes, we'removing farther down that road.
We're getting closer to the end.
Even Christians need to think about this.
The Bible says that it's high timeto awake out of sleep, for now is our
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salvation nearer than when we believed.
That's Romans 13, verse 11.
Life is a short trip.
As a matter of fact, it'sbriefer than an afternoon drive.
James chapter 4 verse 14 says, “What isyour life? It is even a vapor that appears
for a little time and then vanishes away.”
But unlike the maze of roads that we driveon, the choice of roads in life is simple.
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There are only two.
Now these roads are very different.
The road is different.
The people are different.
The place that they'releading to is very different.
When you see all the traffic on theroads today, think about life itself.
People are going somewhere.
Some are in a hurry, justlike they are on the highways.
Some take their time.
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But every accountable personis on one of these two roads.
And unlike some roads, theseroads are clearly marked.
They're very different.
They're as different as a four-laneinterstate is from a one lane bridge.
And Jesus talks about thesetwo roads in Matthew chapter 7.
In the King James version of Matthew7, beginning in verse 13, Jesus said,
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“Enter ye in at the straight gate,for wide is the gate, and broad is
the way that leadeth to destruction,and many there be which go in thereat.
Because straight is the gate, andnarrow is the way, which leadeth unto
life, and few there be that find it.”
The New King James Version in Matthewchapter 7 says, “Enter by the narrow
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gate, for wide is the gate, and broadis the way, that leads to destruction,
and there are many who go in byit. Because narrow is the gate, and
difficult is the way, which leads tolife, and there are few who find it.”
Now, in the first place, Jesus talks aboutthe broad road, the way of the world.
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The entrance to thatroad is through a gate.
This one is very wide.
He says this gate is wide open.
There's plenty of room.
There's no waiting line.
You take as many as you want to with you.
You can take your friends,your family, and just step in.
Now this is what it's like toenter the road to destruction.
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It's quick and easy to get on.
Just follow the crowd.
It looks inviting.
It looks exciting.
Some people are drawn to whatwe would call a buzz or a
movement, action or a stir.
People are drawn to crowds.
This is where people are most of the time.
They see other people gathered aroundand they don't even know what they're
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there for, but it gets their attention.
And this is the lure of the world.
So many people seem to enjoy it,and it can have a pull on you.
The Bible says in 1 John chapter 2,verses 15 through 17, “Love not the
world, neither the things that are inthe world. For all that is in the world,
the lust of the flesh, the lust of theeyes, and the pride of life, is not
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of the Father, but is of the world.”
And Christians are going to betempted to get back on this road.
In Matthew chapter 13, verse 22 Jesussaid that some are “choked with the cares
of this world and the deceitfulness ofriches.” That happened to Demas, who had
been a faithful worker with the apostlePaul. He was a faithful man of God for
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a time, but in second Timothy chapterfour, verse 10, Paul said toward the
end of his life that Demas had “forsakenhim, having loved this present world.”
Demas, a fellow worker with the ApostlePaul, who had been a faithful servant
of God, saw all the people on thisbroad road, and he saw the gate wide
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open, and he went right [into it.
This road is broad.
It's a broad way of life.
It's a broad road for broad-minded people.
And people do just about anythingand everything on this road.
They believe just aboutin anything or everything.
Some people on it believe inGod, but they don't obey him.
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Other people believe indifferent kinds of gods.
Some people believe in no god, butthey're all on this broad road.
There are people of differentreligions on this road.
Some are Jews.
Some are Muslims.
Some are Hindus.
Some are Buddhists.
There are all kinds of different beliefs.
Some people are evolutionists.
Some people are atheists.
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Some people are hypocrites.
Some people are false prophetsor follow false prophets.
Other people are idolaters.
Some are in witchcraft and sorceryand all kinds of superstition.
There are also many different kindsof styles of life on this road.
There are lazy people on this road.
There are greedy people on this road.
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There are liars, thieves, adulterers,drunks, homosexuals, and other people.
Then there are some people that are,relatively speaking, decent people.
They're just not religious.
They just don't serve God.
They'll be kind to their neighbor.
But they're on this broad road becausethey don't want to disagree with anybody.
They want to get along with asmany people as they possibly can.
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And then there are backsliders onthis road, like we mentioned, people
like Demas in the first century.
The motto on this road isbasically Judges 21 verse 25.
“Every man did that which was right inhis own eyes.” That's what people do on
this broad road that leads to destruction.
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There's no real judging on this road.
There are no real absolutes.
Everybody's right and nobody's wrong.
Now this is why it takeslittle effort to go this way.
You just go with the flow.
And this way, it's all about diversity.
It's all about acceptance.
It's all about tolerance.
It's all about coexistence.
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And many people, hesays, travel this road.
Notice what He says (07:08):
“Enter by the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad
is the way that leads to destruction,and there are many who go in by it.”
So you won't be lonely there.
There'll be lots of people who feelthe same way and do the same thing.
There will be many people on thebroad road that will agree with you.
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They'll tell you that you're right,no matter what you're doing, because
they're in sin just like you are.
You'll have lots of company ifyou travel on the broad way.
Now, most people have alwaystraveled the wrong road.
In Exodus chapter 23, verse 2, Moseswarned, “Do not follow a multitude to do
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evil.” The Bible says in 1 Corinthianschapter 15 verse 33, “Be not deceived,
evil companionships corrupt good morals.”
Now notice the word “many”here in Matthew chapter 7.
He says many go on this broadway that leads to destruction.
And then notice down in verse 21 and22, He said, “Not everyone who says to
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me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdomof heaven, but he who does the will of
my father in heaven. Many will say tome in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied in your name and in your namecast out demons and done many wonders
in your name? And then I will declare tothem, I never knew you, depart from me,
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you who practice iniquity” or lawlessness.
In Matthew chapter 24, Jesus istalking to the disciples about all the
calamities that would take place beforethe destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.
Listen to what he warned them about inMatthew chapter 24 verses four and five.
And Jesus answered and said to them,“Take heed that no one deceives you,
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for many will come in my name saying,I am the Christ and will deceive many.”
In John chapter six, after Jesus hadworked miracles and these people had
benefited from the miracle of theloaves and the fish, they followed
Him across the sea and found Him.
And after Jesus had spoken to themsome words that they didn't want to
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hear—in other words, after He hadstepped on their toes--here's what the
Bible says in John 6, verse 66 (09:30):
“From that time, many of his disciples went
back and walked no more with him.”
And here's another passagethat shows that many people go
down this broad and wide way.
It's found in second Peter, chapter two.
In 2 Peter chapter 2, Peter istalking about false prophets
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and the people that follow them.
And I want you to notice that he talksabout the fact that there are many
people that listen to false teachers.
2 Peter chapter 2, verse 1.
“And there were also false prophetsamong the people, even as there will
be false teachers among you, who willsecretly [or privily, the King James
says] bring in destructive heresies, evendenying the Lord who bought them, and
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bring on themselves swift destruction.”
So, he talks about these false teachersand how they operate in verse 1.
He says, there are false teachers.
He said they have always beenhere and always will be here.
And he said, the way that theywork is not to be up front with
people, but they deceive people.
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They work in secret and they bringin their heresies, their false
doctrines, not by being above board,but by being secretive about it.
And so the Bible says in versetwo, “And many”—not a few, not
some, but he says, “And many willfollow their destructive ways.
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Now, this has happened for thousands ofyears, and it's not a new thing today.
In 1 John 2, verse 18, here's whatthe Bible says: “Little children, it
is the last hour or the last time.
And as you have heard thatantichrist is coming, even now,
many antichrists have come.
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He talks about the fact that thereare many of these antichrists.
And that was almost 2000 years ago.
In first John chapter four, verse one,he said, “Beloved, do not believe every
spirit, but test the spirits, whetherthey are of God, because many false
prophets have gone out into the world.”
Now let's go back to Matthewchapter seven and verse 13 and
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look again at what Jesus said.
He said, “Enter by the narrow gate,for wide is the gate and broad is the
way that leads to destruction. Andthere are many who go in by it.” Now
people on this broad road are lost.
This means that most people are lost.
Most people are headed for hell.
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Most people don't even thinkabout what they're doing.
They don't think aboutwhy they're doing it.
They don't think aboutwhere they're going.
All they think about is what's next.
What then?
They're only looking for something intheir life that they can plan for, a
goal that they have, something thatthey want to do, and they're blinded.
In 2 Corinthians 4, verse 4, theBible says “the God of this world
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has blinded the minds of them thatbelieve not,” and they are blinded
willingly, not against their will.
They're blinded because of their choice.
They made a decision togo through that gate.
They made a choice to be onthat road, and they can make a
choice to get off of that road.
Now, this is why we preach the gospelof Jesus Christ, to call them, to invite
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them, to plead with them, to get offthat road that leads to destruction.
Let's talk about the destructionhere for just a few minutes.
This road has a destination.
It has an end.
This road that Jesus calls the wideand broad way leads to destruction.
It's not just going off ofa cliff or off of a bridge.
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That would be bad enough.
It's not running into a treeor a semi or an overpass.
No, those are horriblethings in a physical sense.
But this destruction is much worse.
This is everlasting punishment in hell.
In Matthew chapter 25, verse 41, the Biblesays, “Depart from me, you cursed, into
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everlasting fire, prepared for the deviland his angels.” In Matthew, chapter 25,
verse 46, Jesus said, “And these shallgo away into everlasting punishment,
but the righteous into life eternal.”
In 2 Thessalonians, chapter 1,beginning in verse 6, Paul said,
“Seeing it is a righteous thing withGod to recompense [that is, to repay]
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tribulation to them that trouble you.
And to you who are troubled, rest withus when the Lord Jesus Shall be revealed
from heaven with his mighty angels; inflaming fire taking vengeance on them
who know not God and obey not the gospelof our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
who shall be punished with everlastingdestruction from the presence of the
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Lord and from the glory of his power.”
In Matthew, chapter 10, verse 28, Jesussaid, “And fear not them which kill
the body, but are not able to kill thesoul, but rather fear him which is able
to destroy both soul and body in hell.”In Matthew, chapter 13, beginning in
verse 49, Jesus said, “So it will be.
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At the end of the world, the angelswill come forth and separate the
wicked from among the just andcast them into the furnace of fire.
There shall be wailing and gnashingof teeth.” That's] the broad way.
That's the wide gate.
Most people are going down that,and it's a sad fact, and it is
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a sobering fact, but it is true,folks, that most people are lost.
Most people will be in hellfor all of eternity, and
that, again, is their choice.
Now, let's look at what Jesussays about the other road.
This is the narrow road.
It has a narrow gate to it.
He calls it the narrow gate.
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It is the narrow way.
This gate is straight,the King James says.
It's narrow.
It's not wide like the other one.
You have to watch closer, youhave to pay attention, you have
to watch your steps to get in.
With the other one, you can laugh,you can look off, you can just
play around, you can just driftinto this wide and broad way.
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But to get into this narrowroad, you have to look.
You have to keep your eye focused.
Jesus said “enter” because this one,the right one, takes some effort.
In Luke chapter 13, verse 24, Jesussaid to “strive.” Make the effort
to enter in at the straight gate.
You have to choose, and you haveto choose with all your heart.
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Now this is what we find with people whobecame Christians in the first century.
The eunuch was reading his Bible inActs chapter eight, and then Philip
came to him and said, “Do you understandwhat you're reading?” And he said how
can I accept some man should guide me?
He went up into the chariot with him.
And the Bible says in Acts chapter eight,verse 35 and 36, that he began at the same
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scripture and preached unto him Jesus.
Then the Ethiopian eunuch askedthe question, “See, here is water.
What hinders me from being baptized?
And Philip said to the eunuch, If youbelieve with all your heart, you may.
He commanded the chariot to stand still.”And Philip and the eunuch both went
down into the water and he baptized him.
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He learned about thisnarrow way and he went in.
The same thing happenedin Acts chapter 16.
The Bible tells us the story in verses30 through 34 of the Philippian jailer.
After that earthquake got his attention,and the Bible says that he was
trembling in fear because he thoughtthat the prisoners had escaped, he came
out to Paul and Silas, and he said,“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
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And they said, “Believe onthe Lord Jesus Christ, and you
will be saved, and your house.
And they took him the same hour of thenight, and they taught him the word of
the Lord.” And that was because the Biblesays in Romans 10 verse 17, that “faith
comes by hearing and hearing by the wordof the Lord.” He needed to understand
what he was doing and why he was doing it.
And when he did, then the Bible says hewas baptized that very hour of the night.
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He saw the gate open and he walked in.
The same thing happened in Acts chaptertwo, when Peter preached on Pentecost day.
The Bible says that they were prickedin their heart and said to Peter
and the rest of the apostles, “Menand brethren, what shall we do?
And then Peter said, repent and bebaptized every one of you in the name of
Jesus Christ for the remission of sins,and you shall receive the gift of the Holy
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Ghost.” Verse 41 says, “Then they thatgladly received his word were baptized,
and the same day there were addedunto them about three thousand souls.”
If you want to see an example ofpeople walking on the wrong road
and choosing to get on the rightroad, look at Acts chapter 18.
In Acts chapter 18, Paul goesto the city of Corinth, which
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was an extremely wicked place.
But when they heard Paul preaching, theBible says that many of the Corinthians
hearing, believed and were baptized.
And you talk about being on the wrongroad and getting on the right road.
You talk about changing roads.
These Corinthians did that in 1stCorinthians chapter 6 verses 9 through 11.
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Paul said that some of thoseCorinthians had been drunks, idolaters,
fornicators, adulterers, extortioners,
and even homosexuals, buthe said that they changed.
They repented of their sins,and when they were baptized,
their sins were washed away.
And if you want to see another goodexample of people changing these
courses, not just changing lanes,but changing roads, look at what Paul
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said about the church at Ephesus.
Here's what he said aboutthose Christians in that city.
In Ephesians chapter 2, verse 1, he said,“And you he made alive who were dead in
trespasses and sins, in which you oncewalked according to the course of this
world”—that is, according to the way,according to the road of this world, you
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walked in it “according to the princeof the power of the air, the spirit who
now works in the sons of disobedience;among whom also we all once conducted
ourselves in the lust of our flesh.
Fulfilling the desires of the flesh andof the mind, and were by nature children
of wrath, just as others”—just as otherpeople on that broad and wide way.
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When it says they were by naturechildren of wrath, that simply means
that was second nature to them.
They had sinned so long that it is, aswe would say, like their second nature.
But a person can make an exit.
He can get off of that road.
And he can get on the right road.
The right road is narrow.
It's straight.
It is narrow in contrast to thewide gate and the broad way.
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The word narrow comes from a wordwhich means compressed or confined.
The New King James says difficult.
That may not be the best translation, butthe idea here is that there are just a
few people that are going to get on thisroad because it does take some deciding.
It does take some willpower.
Now that doesn't mean thateverything on this road is hard.
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As a matter of fact, it'snot hard to understand.
Now, there are some people on thebroad way, as a matter of fact,
there are probably many people onthe broad way, that will shout to
you and say, “Oh, it's too hard toget on that straight and narrow way.
It's too hard to understand becauseso many people understand the Bible
differently.” But the Bible says in Markchapter 12 verse 37 that “the common
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people heard Jesus gladly.” If theBible and especially if the teaching
of Jesus is that hard to understand,then why does the Bible say that
the common people heard him gladly?
And here's something else to think about.
When you're on that road,you have to carry a burden.
But that burden, Jesus says, is light.
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He said that in Matthew chapter11, verses 28 through 30.
“Come unto me, all you that labor andare heavy laden, and I will give you
rest. Take my yoke upon you and learnof me, for I am meek and lowly in heart,
and you shall find rest to your souls.For my burden is easy, and my yoke is
light.” So, yes, if you travel down thisnarrow pathway, this good and right way,
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you will have to shoulder your load.
Jesus said in John 16:33,“In the world you shall have
tribulation, but be of good cheer.
I have overcome the world.” In secondTimothy chapter three, verse 12, Paul
said, “Yea, and all that will live godlyin Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”
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Now this way that we're talking aboutis not an open-ended, broad-minded way.
There's only one way.
This narrow road teachesthat there is only one way.
There are not two, there are notfour, there are not a hundred.
In John chapter 14, verse six,Jesus said, “I am the way, the
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truth and the life; no one comesto the Father except through me.”
In Acts chapter 4 verse 12, Peterand John said, “There is salvation in
no other, for there is no other namegiven under heaven among men, whereby
we must be saved.” There's only onemessage, there's only one true guide
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on this one real true road to heaven.
And that is the gospel of Jesus Christ.
In Galatians 1 verse 6, Paul said, “Imarvel that you are so soon removed
from him that called you into thegrace of Christ unto another gospel.
Which is not another, but thereare some who trouble you and want
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to pervert the gospel of Christ.
But if we or an angel from heaven preachunto you any other gospel than what we
have preached to you, let him be accursed.
As we said before, so say I nowagain, if any man preaches any other
gospel to you than what you havereceived, let him be accursed.”
In first Timothy chapter one, versethree, Paul urged Timothy to stay in
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Ephesus so that he might charge some thatthey teach “no other doctrine.” There
are not many doctrines on this road.
Now there are many teachings.
There are many beliefs or manydoctrines on the broad way, but there
is only one doctrine on this rightway, and that is the New Testament.
That is the word of God, theinspired word of the Holy Spirit.
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And I realized that peopletalk about different ways.
You hear people talking aboutthere being different paths
or different roads to heaven.
But the Bible says that Jesustells us there is only one.
“I am the way.” People getconfused about this because they're
not looking for the right way.
In Proverbs chapter 16, verse 25,the Bible says, “There is a way
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that seems right to a man, but theend thereof are the ways of death.
You say, well, how do you know thatjust because a man is looking for
the right way or the right road thathe's going to find it?” Because Jesus
made that promise in John 7 verse 17.
He said, “If any man will do His will,he shall know of the doctrine, whether it
be of God or whether I speak of myself.”Now the expression “will do” simply
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means if any man wants to do His will.
If any man desires to do his will,if any man wishes to do the will of
God, he shall know of the doctrine.
Remember that Jesus said, “Ask andit shall be given, seek and you shall
find, knock and it shall be openedto you.” Matthew chapter 7 verses 7
through 11. Remember that Jesus saidalso in the Sermon on the Mount, in
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Matthew chapter 5 verse 6, “Blessed arethey which do hunger and thirst after
righteousness, for they shall be filled.”
So anyone can get off of the wrong roadand get on this right road, this narrow
way, because every man has free will.
The Bible says, “If any man will, lethim take of the water of life freely”
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[Revelation chapter 22 verse 17].
But the fact is, few peopletravel this road, and that has
always been true of mankind.
When the flood came, the Biblesays in 1 Peter 3:21 that eight
souls were saved by water.
Out of all the people on earth, eightpeople believed God and entered the ark.
When the Israelites first came to theborder of the promised land in Numbers
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13 and 14, only two really trustedin what God said: Joshua and Caleb.
Elijah the prophet, being one man ofGod, stood against 450 false prophets.
So God's people have alwaysbeen in the minority.
Sometimes it gets lonely.
Sometimes you don't see alot of people that follow the
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Bible and are sincere about it.
But even though Jesus says thereare few on this road, this road
is the one that leads to life, theother road leads to destruction.
This road leads to life,and that is life in heaven.
This is what Jesus was talkingabout earlier in the Sermon on the
Mount in Matthew chapter five, verse12, when He said, “Rejoice and be
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exceedingly glad, for great is yourreward in heaven.” That's the end.
That's the goal.
Paul said in Philippians one,verse 23, that being in that
place with Christ is far better.
Peter said in 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 4that it is an inheritance incorruptible
and undefiled and that does not fadeaway, reserved in heaven for you.”
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That's the end of the narrow way.
It's just the opposite of the broadand wide way that leads to destruction.
So, this passage in Matthew chapter 7verse 13 and 14 clarifies a few things
and it denies some of the beliefsthat people have about the afterlife.
There are some people that believethat everybody will be saved.
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They call it the idea ofuniversalism or universal salvation.
That cannot be true.
The Bible not only says that not everybodywill be saved, it says that most people
will be lost and that by their own choice,Jesus said many will go to destruction.
At the same time, this passage deniesthat most people will be saved.
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The idea of universal salvation saysthat everybody is going to be saved,
and I'm saying that there are a lotof people who may not believe in
universalism, but they do believe thatalmost everybody's going to be saved.
They may say, “Well, I believe that peoplelike Jack the Ripper and Adolf Hitler and
people like that are going to hell. But Idon't believe that most people are going
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to hell. I believe that most people, aslong as they're decent people, as long
as they believe in something, as longas they're sincere about their religion,
then they're going to go to heaven.”
And when you think about it, that isjust the reverse of what Jesus said.
That's just the opposite ofwhat we've looked at today.
In Matthew 7, verse 13, Jesussaid many will go to destruction.
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That's hell.
And few will find the waythat leads to eternal life.
That's heaven.
So Jesus is warning us herenot to follow the crowd.
He is telling us not to go by numbers.
And there are some peoplethat do that in religion.
As a matter of fact, thereare many people that do that.
They learn about a preacher on theinternet that has hundreds of thousands
of followers, or they hear about amegachurch movement that has 20 or 30
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thousand people in it, and they say,“Well, they must be doing something
right.” That's not the kind ofreasoning that Jesus tells us to follow.
Jesus said be careful because manypeople will go down that broad
and wide way, and few will bethe ones that find eternal life.
And if people want to ridicule that andcall it old fashioned, then that's fine.
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Because here's what the Bible saysabout that in Jeremiah 6, verse 16.
“Thus says the Lord, Stand in the waysand see, and ask for the old paths,
where the good way is and walk in it,then you will find rest for your souls.
But they said, we will not walk in it.”
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Let us strive for the straight and thenarrow way that leads to eternal life.
Thank you for listeningto my God and my neighbor.
Stay connected with our podcast on ourwebsite and on Apple, Spotify, YouTube,
or wherever fine podcasts are distributed.
Tennessee Bible College, providingChristian education since 1975
(30:05):
in Cookeville, Tennessee offersundergraduate and graduate programs.
Study at your level, aim higher,and get in touch with us today.
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