Nearly every area of life depends upon narrowness and exclusivity. None of us are eager to be a surgeon’s guinea pig on an operating table, preferring instead a physician who understands the single most effective method for heart surgery. After we board a flight, we trust that the pilot understands the right and wrong way to land the plane. Need a prescription filled? You will not seek out a pharmacist who is comfortable throwing whatever pills are available into your medicine bottle. When making a deposit at our local bank we settle for nothing less than a teller who transfers our funds into a specific account, without changing even one digit in the account number.
Instances like these powerfully demonstrate that narrowness and exclusivity are not only kind, but also the keys to avoiding calamity and heartache. Yet, when it comes to spiritual matters, many strangely conclude just the opposite. Ours is a world that often views moral truth claims as harsh, and their messengers as hateful and bigoted. In this climate, insisting that Jesus is the only way to heaven is out of bounds. Articulating biblical morality falls into the category of hate speech. Speaking with confidence or certainty emboldens critics to chide your hubris and hypocrisy.
But how do we explain this?
Why do so many resist the straightforward claims of Scripture?
Simply put, the path of the majority is broad and deceiving. Jesus explained, “The gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it” (Matthew 7:13). Though we should take no pleasure in it, the popular course of the masses leads to damnation and destruction. Inclusivism and tolerance are buzz words on the broad road. With no boundaries or restrictions, those on this path are free to live however they choose.
We could rightly call it “Just Be Yourself Boulevard.” Live your truth is the theme, and following your dreams is the primary ambition. Rightly, Jesus contrasted this enticing road to hell with the narrowness of the heavenly highway. “The gate is small,” our Lord insisted, “and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:14).
The implications here are as necessary as they are sobering. First, hell is real and eternal. Gehenna (Matthew 10:28, 18:9) was the most common word Jesus used to describe a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:41-42). With fire that is unquenchable, the torment of hell is everlasting due to the imposing glory of God (2 Thessalonians 1:9). Unfortunately, our discussions of these realities demonstrate that we have no idea what we are talking about. We tell people to go to hell. People talk about partying in hell. We speak so flippantly about God’s final judgment that there is little to no fear of its coming.
Yet, according to Jesus, the majority of people, those whom we know and love, are on a devastating path that secures their future condemnation. Populating the broad path are the likely suspects. The fornicator is there. The adulterer is there. The homosexual is there. The liar, thief, agnostic, atheist, and humanist are all there. But there are also scores of religious people who blindly walk along this expansive route. Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, and denominations of all stripes are there, all of which have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof (2 Timothy 3:5).
That preacher who reduces salvation to earthly prosperity and gain? He’s on the broad road. That minister draped in a rainbow flag as she openly celebrates sin and encourages others to do the same? She’s on the broad road. Those denominations that brazenly ordain homosexuals to lead their congregations? They are on the broad road. The networks of churches across denominational lines that jettison biblical truth for worldly wisdom and philosophy? All of them are on the broad road.
So much of what passes for Christianity here on this earth is far from it in the eyes of God. It may sound harsh to point out the obvious, but isn’t warning those in danger really the most loving thing to do? The Bible repeatedly warns us to stay alert against falsehoods like these. “Certain persons,” lamented Jude, “have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ”(Jude 4).
So, what are we to do? Walking through the narrow gate of salvation requires leaving everything behind in order to follow Jesus. None of our worldly achievement, ambition, or affluence earns our right to eternal paradise. The narrow path is a vivid picture of how we live our lives, reminding us that God’s grace saves and sanctifies (Ephesians 2:8-10). The Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus shared these words, is a record of the life changes that accompany a genuine walk with God. Obedience to Christ does not save, but it serves as powerful evidence that we are born again.
Thus, entering the kingdom of God begins with the realization that we are sinners deserving of death (Romans 3:23, 6:23). Next, we are to repent of our sins in order to turn toward Christ (Acts 20:21). We respond to the gospel by confessing Jesus as our Lord in light of His resurrection from the dead (Romans 10:9). Because these steps are the beginning rather than the end of our journey on the narrow road, we should repeatedly examine ourselves, looking for the signs of internal and external change, as the markers that our faith is real (2 Corinthians 13:5).
If these claims were untrue, all talk of the narrow road would indeed be an insult. But, if Jesus was telling the truth, and He was, the most loving, compassionate act is to warn people of the deception and danger along the broad path. So which road are you traveling? All who are willing are welcome on the narrow road, but it requires total surrender. Choose wisely. Your eternity depends on it. B&R – Adam B. Dooley is pastor of Englewood Baptist Church in Jackson, and author of “Hope When Life Unravels.” Contact him at adamdooley.org.