The Strait Gate...
A Sermon on Matthew 7:13-14
Scripture
13¶ Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be …
Sermon Description
Did Jesus shape the gospel to fit humanity, or did He shape humanity to fit His gospel? In this sermon on Matthew 7:13–14 titled “The Strait Gate…” that Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preached to an American audience in 1969, he addressed the great charge often brought against Christians for being narrow. He preaches of the importance of guarding against becoming too “wide.” The church has been so anxious to please modern humanity that the gospel message has been lost. Dr. Lloyd-Jones declares that Christians must boldly stand their ground as being narrow Christians. Christ delighted and exalted in this idea of being narrow. Why did Christ choose to call His way of living “narrow”? The Bible deliberately specializes in one subject—the human soul. The gospel is intensely personal. The world resents narrowness, but it is this very narrowness that would lead to paradise. Salvation is “narrow” through the death of one man. No one can meet God without the cross of Christ. Turn to Him and He will receive His people unto Himself. Straight is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life.
Sermon Breakdown
- The gospel narrows itself down to one subject: the soul of men and its relationship to God.
- The Bible is not an encyclopedia. It is a specialist book focused on the soul and God.
- Jesus always kept to this one theme in his teaching. He used his knowledge to illustrate this theme.
- Jesus was always interested in the individual soul, not just the soul as an abstract concept.
- The story of the Samaritan woman shows how Jesus brought things to the personal level.
- We will be judged based on our individual relationship with God, not our opinions.
- The gospel dictates how we should live through the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount.
- If everyone lived according to the gospel, the world would be paradise. The gospel's "narrowness" leads to righteousness.
- The gospel calls us to aim for the highest circles of achievement and morality. The higher you go, the fewer people you find.
- Salvation is only possible through faith in Jesus Christ and his death on the cross. This is the narrowest point of the gospel.
- The story of Jesus illustrates the message of the "straight gate" and the "narrow way." His incarnation, ministry, death, and resurrection show this.
- We are all on one of two ways: the broad way that leads to destruction, or the narrow way that leads to life.
- We must examine ourselves and determine which way we are on. We must enter the straight gate through repentance and faith in Christ.
Sermon Q&A
Questions and Answers from Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' Sermon on the Narrow Way
What is the main criticism often leveled against Christians according to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, the most frequent charge brought against Christians is the charge of narrowness. People often suggest that Christians are "narrow-minded" because of their faith. This criticism is especially favored by those who describe themselves as "men of the world" to demonstrate how broad and wide their own views are in contrast to the supposedly confined Christian perspective.
Why did Jesus deliberately call His way "narrow"?
Jesus deliberately called His way "narrow" because there are specific respects in which the Christian way of life is narrow. The gospel narrows its focus to one essential subject: the soul of man and its relationship to God. It's narrow in that it deals with individual, personal souls rather than abstract ideas. It's also narrow in that it insists on dictating how believers should live, and ultimately, it's narrow in teaching that salvation is possible only through one person (Christ) and specifically through His death on the cross.
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones explain the difference between harmful narrowness and biblical narrowness?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones distinguishes between harmful narrowness (like that of the Pharisees who reduced God's law to mere prohibitions and restrictions) and biblical narrowness. He explains that the narrowness of the gospel is the narrowness of divine purpose and holiness. He notes that if everyone were as "narrow" as the gospel would have us be, there would be "no more war... no drunkenness... no drug taking... no color question... no infidelity and divorce... no immorality and vice." The world would be "paradise." Biblical narrowness is the narrowness of excellence and higher purpose.
What illustration does Dr. Lloyd-Jones use to explain how Christians should respond to the fear of being called narrow?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones uses Aesop's fable of the frog and the ox to illustrate how Christians often respond to being called narrow. In the story, a frog sees an ox and feels insignificant and small in comparison. Desiring to be like the ox, the frog begins to inflate itself until it eventually explodes. Similarly, Lloyd-Jones suggests that many Christians, in their desire to appear broad-minded and to please modern thinkers, have expanded their views so much that their faith has "exploded and ceased to be altogether."
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones describe the two ways mentioned in Matthew 7:13-14?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones describes the broad way as attractive, with "lights shining" and "music going on," with many people traveling on it, but ultimately leading to "destruction, to hopelessness, to despair." It's "wonderful at the beginning" but "blind and dark and doomed at the end." In contrast, the narrow way appears "so confined" and "seems to refuse many things to you in the here and now," but it "gets wider and broader and more glorious and more illuminated" and leads to "life, which is life indeed, the vision of God and everlasting and eternal glory and bliss."
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones say about Jesus' approach to teaching compared to modern attempts to appeal to people?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones contrasts Jesus' approach with modern attempts to appeal to contemporary thinkers. He says, "I do not find the Lord Jesus Christ trimming and clipping and changing his gospel in order to make it suit the people. I find rather, that he trimmed and clipped and changed the people in order to make them fit into his gospel." Lloyd-Jones criticizes how the church has been "so anxious to please" modern educated people that it has removed portions of scripture, especially the miraculous and supernatural elements, to create a more palatable message.
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones illustrate the narrow gate through Christ's own life experience?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones illustrates the "straight gate and narrow way" through Christ's own earthly journey. He describes how Jesus went from the infinite glory of God to the narrow confines of human flesh (incarnation), then was increasingly restricted—from ministry to the Garden of Gethsemane, to a police court, to being nailed to a cross where He couldn't move, and finally to a grave. But this ultimate narrowing led to the resurrection and "life, which is life indeed and life eternal." This demonstrates how the narrow way ultimately leads to life.
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones suggest we ask about a road rather than focusing on its width?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones suggests that rather than focusing on whether a road is wide or narrow, "the one question that's important is this: Where does it lead to?" He emphasizes that the destination is what truly matters. The broad way leads to destruction despite its appealing entrance, while the narrow way leads to life despite its challenging beginning.
Itinerant Preaching
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.