“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But the gate is narrow, and the way is hard that leads to life, and few are those who find it. Beware of false prophets! They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inside they are ravenous wolves. 

You will recognize them by their fruits. Do people pick grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, 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. So, by their fruits you will recognize them. 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 in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord! Did we not prophesy in Your name? Did we not cast out demons in Your name? And did we not perform many miracles in Your name?” Then I will declare to them plainly, “I never knew you; depart from Me, all of you who practice lawlessness.” Therefore, whoever hears these words of Mine and puts them into practice, I will liken him to 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 had been founded on the rock. But anyone who hears these words of Mine and does not put them into practice will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, the winds blew and beat against that house; it collapsed, and its collapse was great.” When Jesus had finished these teachings, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; for He taught them as one who had authority, not as their scribes did.”^[1]

The Lord Jesus is the only person who could say that He is the truth. That is why He taught them as one who had authority. That is why the Lord Jesus had these words written down, so that we might all know the truth, believe in Him, and—by believing in all His words—have eternal life.^[2]

The purpose of our existence is to have eternal life, to strive so that we may live for eternity in God’s presence.

Not all the paths that people choose lead to God. People say that every path and every religion leads to God, but the truth is different. “Many paths may seem good to a person, but in the end they are seen to lead to death.”^[3] There is only one path that leads to heaven, and we must make sure we are on the right path. The narrow path leads to eternal life in God’s heaven. The broad path that most people choose leads to destruction. The Lord Jesus will say these harsh words to some who are certain they will reach heaven but who walk the broad path, fulfilling all the desires of this world: “I never knew you; depart from Me, all of you who practice lawlessness.”^[4]

     The narrow gate is entered through the gate of repentance. We must ensure that we have experienced this genuine repentance, through which we have confessed all our sins before God and felt sorrow for the wrong we have done. This repentance results in a transformation of our lives—a radical change stemming from the fact that we no longer wish to sin against God. Man is born with a sinful nature that is inclined only toward evil, but this moment of repentance brings about a profound change. The Lord God must deal with the sins in our lives; He is the only One who sees everything that is hidden within us. “For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing secret that will not be made known.”^[5] That is why we must recognize our condition and our sin, and ask for forgiveness with all our hearts so that our sins may be forgiven. We must not come before the Lord like that Pharisee who was proud of being a moral man, but like the tax collector who beat his breast and begged the Lord for mercy.^[6] Whoever does not pass through this gate will not be able to walk the narrow path. Let us not treat this fact lightly, but give it our full attention. Whoever enters through this gate is neither a thief nor a robber.

     Jesus says that few choose to walk this path. Of all the people who lived on the face of the earth, only twelve followed Him, and one of them betrayed Him. After the Lord’s death and resurrection on Pentecost, five thousand people repented, but this is still a very small number compared to the number of people living on earth at that time. This path has always been a narrow one, walked by few.

     These are the characteristics of the person who is on the narrow path, as listed by the Lord Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven! Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted! Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth! Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled! Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy! Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God! Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God! Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven! Blessed are you when people revile you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil and untrue things against you for My sake! Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”^[7] Whoever fulfills these words of the Lord and lives by them is on the narrow path that leads to heaven. Blessed are those who are the salt of the earth and the light of the world, for they are on the narrow path. Most of the population of our country claims to be Christian, yet their conduct tells a completely different story. We must not consider ourselves Christians merely because we bear that name, but only if we live out the words written by the Lord Jesus for us.

These are the Lord’s words to those who are true Christians: “You will know them by their fruits.”^[8] The Apostle James writes in his epistle: “You believe that there is one God, and you do well; but even the demons believe… and tremble! Do you want to understand, then, you foolish person, that faith without works is useless?”^[9] Our deeds must prove this faith. The person who performs acts of charity in secret, without the left hand knowing what the right hand is doing, is the one on the narrow path; the one who trumpets his acts of charity is on the broad path.^[10] Fasting, almsgiving, and prayer must be done in secret, so that our Father in heaven may see, and not the people around us. What we are in our inner room is what we are on the path with God; our hidden life with God speaks volumes about how faithful we are.

Those who walk the narrow path have their treasures in heaven. On earth they face various forms of persecution, but their hearts are fixed on heaven.^[11] The person who is faithful to God worries about nothing but places everything in the Lord’s hands; the faithful person does not judge others but rather judges himself. The person who walks the broad path judges others even though he does the same things: “Therefore, whoever you are, O man, who judges another, you cannot justify yourself; for by judging another, you condemn yourself; since you, who judge another, do the very same things. We know, indeed, that God’s judgment against those who do such things is in accordance with the truth. And do you think, man, who judges those who do such things—and yet do them yourself—that you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and long-suffering? Do you not see that God’s goodness urges you to repentance?”^[12] We must each judge ourselves according to the wickedness of our own hearts; we must judge our own sins and not those of others. 

The narrow path is strewn with hardships; the Lord asks us to deny ourselves and let Him mold and sanctify us to the very end. This is the only path that leads to God; there is no other way. What will matter in eternity is how we lived our lives on this earth—whether we lived them for Him or for ourselves.

The Lord Jesus warns that in the last days there will be many false prophets who will deceive many.^[13] These people walk the broad path of disobedience to God, of sin, and of misery. On the narrow path, we ascend, rising in a life of holiness and drawing ever closer to God. False prophets will never emphasize holiness and obedience to all of God’s words. False prophets will be held accountable for the teaching they have imparted to others. The Lord asks us to judge the teaching someone has received by the fruits of their life—how they live day to day, how they handle money, and how they relate to their family.

An example of a religious man who had stored up treasures on earth is the rich man who ended up in the torments of hell. He observed all the Jewish traditions, but lived his life for himself, squandering the only chance he had for the salvation of his soul. The poor man who begged at the gate of his house, however, went to heaven because he fulfilled the Lord’s words by storing up treasures in heaven.^[14] If we are still storing up treasures on earth, if we get angry with our brother, if we judge others, we are not on the right path.

The entire Sermon on the Mount is a subject for examining our lives. The Lord Jesus came to seek and save what was lost and to set before us the words of eternal life.^[15] Anyone who claims to be a Christian must also live as Jesus lived.^[16] On the day of judgment, God will reveal all the hidden things of our lives, so anyone who calls on the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.^[17]

^[1] Matthew 7:13–29.

^[2] John 20:31.

^[3] Proverbs 14:12.

^[4] Matthew 7:23.

^[5] Matthew 10:24.

^[6] Luke 18:10–13.

^[7] Matthew 5:3–12.

^[8] Matthew 7:16.

^[9] James 2:19, 20.

^[10] Matthew 6:3.

^[11] Matthew 6:19–20.

^[12] Romans 2:1–4.

^[13] Matthew 24:11.

^[14] Luke 19:31.

^[15] Luke 19:10.

^[16] 1 John 2:6.

^[17] 2 Timothy 2:19.