The Narrow Gate

“But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it” (Matthew 7:14).

Jesus here describes an unfortunate situation that prevails in the world. Christians are now and have always been in the minority. Most of the people presently living have not trusted Jesus Christ as their Savior. This has been the case throughout history. It is in this connection Jesus made the above statement. The gate that leads to eternal life is narrow. This does not mean it is difficult to become Christian, but it means there is only one way to eternal life with God, and that only a few decide to walk that way. Believing in Jesus is the only way to heaven because He alone died for our sins and made us right before God.  Living His way may not be popular, but it is true and right.

I. There are several reasons why a large part of humanity has rejected Jesus as their Savior.

            (1) Christians are largely responsible for this situation, for they don’t tell others what they know. They think evangelism is the work of a few trained and ordained men and women. ‘‘No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket” said Jesus. But this is exactly what we do now. Paul asks boldly in Romans 10:14, 15 “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?  How will they preach unless they are sent?” Ecclesiastes 3.10 asserts ‘’I have seen the burden God has placed on us all” making it clear that evangelism is pre-Christian and the job of everybody. Every Christian must understand that he/she is an ambassador of God in this world.

      (2) Many people claim they have intellectual problems with the Christian faith, when usually what they have are intellectual or emotional excuses. We are aware of many people who, after having been presented the facts of Christianity, have readily admitted that they know Christianity is true, yet they still refuse to become Christians.  This, therefore, is not a problem of the mind, but of the will. It is not that they cannot become Christians; it is more of a matter that they will not become Christians. The Bible teaches that humanity is attempting to suppress the truth of God (Romans 1:18). People are ignorant of the credentials of Jesus, by and large, because they want to be that way.

      (3) Even among those who have heard about Jesus Christ, there is an ignorance of the facts validating the Christian faith. Many times this ignorance is self-imposed. Some don’t bother to consider the claims of Christ, while others are actively refusing to believe.

      (4)  Among those who have believed having heard the word, many go astray due to the pressure of worldly care or just laziness. There is no follow up to supervise their growth.

      (5)  Persecution is another reason. Many new believers are promised Christianity would bring their troubles to an end, but the opposite seems to be true.

II. Another reason is the simplicity of the gospel.

      (1)  It is so simple to become a Christian that even a child can do it. In fact, to enter the kingdom of heaven, Jesus taught that we must become like children. (Matthew 18:3). In simple faith, we must place our trust in Christ whether we are college professors or people who have never finished elementary school.

       (2) The apostle Paul said concerning the simplicity of the gospel,  “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, so that no man may boast before God” (I Corinth 1:26, 27, 29)

       (3) Paul taught, as did Jesus, that Christians would never be in the majority, and that not many prominent people would believe in Jesus. Although there have not been many great men and women in history who have trusted Jesus, there have been some.

III. (1) Further, people don’t become Christians because of the mistaken idea of what really is a Christian. Many think Christianity is a religion with a set of negative commandments saying, “Don’t do this or don’t do that.” They get the idea that, when you believe in Jesus, you resign yourself to a life of unhappiness, restrictions, and boredom.

       (2) Since no one wants to live that way, they write off Christianity as something to which they don’t want to commit their lives. It is a sad fact that some Christians give the impression to the world that Christian living is a dull life. These are the people who have not experienced the true exuberance of Christian life.

       (3) When a person trusts Jesus as Savior, he becomes truly free. Jesus said, “So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free” (John 8:36). Jesus Christ is in the business of setting men and women free from things that have had them in bondage so that they can be the type of people they were meant to be. God doesn’t want to take away anything from you, He only wants to give you more.

       (4) As believers, we are free to do what we want to do and not do what we don’t want to do. The Christian life is anything but boring because there is the daily joy and excitement of knowing the living God and experiencing all the good things He has in store for us. “Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart’s desires’’ (Psalms 37:4).

 IV. (1) Some people don’t become Christians because of guilt feelings. They have been living their lives amidst ugly actions and crimes and they don’t believe they can be forgiven by God and that a decent life can be given to them. However, the Bible clearly teaches that anyone, without exception, who seeks God and desires to be forgiven of his sins, will be forgiven.

      (2) There is no sin that’s too great to stop someone from going to heaven except the sin of unbelief. If a person refuses to believe in God’s provision for his sin—the person of Jesus Christ—then there is no hope for him. Jesus said, “However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them.” (John 6:37)

      (3) The Bible says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). You and I are included in that “whosoever.” If you will come to Jesus, He has promised to forgive you of your sins, and He will allow you to start over again with a clean slate, no matter how corrupt you have been.

 V. Another reason some unfortunate people refuse to accept Jesus is because of some specific sin in their lives. They realize that, if they become a believer, they will have to stop committing that certain sin and they do not want to stop. Jesus said, “And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil’’(John 3:19).Many people love their sin to the point that they don’t mind going to hell. To become a Christian, a person must repent of his sins, and these many people are not willing to do even though Jesus has warned, “You will perish too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God” (Luke 13:3)

VI. Accepting Jesus sometimes calls for change in customs and traditions that have kept us in their grip for generations. This they won’t do or can’t do. Idol worship, certain food habits, language and relating to friends and family who still live in darkness—these are among them. A vegetarian once asked a pastor if he will have to eat meat if he becomes Christian!

VII. Finally, people refuse to accept Jesus because of their self-centeredness and pride. Someone has said—correctly, we believe—that Christianity is the easiest religion in the world to believe, and it is also the most difficult religion in the world to believe.  It is the easiest because God has done everything for us that has to be done, and it is impossible to add to the work of Christ. It is the most difficult because we have to admit to ourselves and to God that we cannot do anything to save ourselves.  Our pride does not like that since we want to work out our own salvation our way. Human nature desires that we dictate our own terms, but God will accept us only on His terms, and this fact keeps many people out of the kingdom. The author of this essay used to have this problem.

      There are many reasons why people reject Christ, but there are no good reasons.

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