“Enter in by the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter in by it. How narrow is the gate and restricted is the way that leads to life. Few are those who find it” – Matthew 7:13-14
If Jesus wants to save all, why didn’t He make it easier to be saved, why doesn’t He simply let everyone into heaven?
When I read this as a new believer My first thought “Well, this is a kind of prejudice.” It sounded as though God had rated us on a scale of acceptability and only allowed a select few to enter heaven. But Jesus also said,
“Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened” – Matthew 7:7-8
Jesus made it clear, the path to eternal life is open to everyone who asks.
However, the gate to heaven is narrow in the sense of a requirement for entrance -faith in Jesus. Salvation is found through Jesus. The wise gate. Is nonexclusive, and takes human effort.
Jesus says that the narrow gate leads to a hard road, one that will take us through hard times and difficult decisions. Following Jesus requires crucifying our flesh (Galatians z5:24-26, living by faith, enduring Christlike patience, and living a lifestyle separate from the world.
When faced with a choice between a narrow, bumpy road and a wide, paved highway, most people choose the easier path. Human nature gravitates toward comfort and pleasure. When faced with the reality of denying themselves to follow Jesus, most people turn away. Jesus never sugar-coated the truth, and the truth is that not many people are willing to pay the price to follow Him.
God offers salvation to everyone who accepts it. But it is on His terms. We must come the way that He provided. We cannot create our own paths or try to come using our own efforts. Isaiah 64:6 says that compared to His righteousness we are filthy. God cannot excuse or overlook our sins. He is merciful, but He is also just. Justice requires that sin be paid for. It was at a great cost to Himself, Jesus paid that price. Without the blood of Jesus covering our sins, we stand guilty before God that we rejected (Romans 1:20).
The way to God was closed off before Jesus came, and sin was the road block (Romans 5:12’. No one deserves a second chance. We all deserve to stay on the wide road the leads to destruction. But God loved us enough to provide a path (through Jesus) to eternal life anyway (Romans 5:6-8). However, He also knows that in our self-centered, sin-saturated works there are not many who will desire Him enough to come to Him on His terms (John 6:44).
Satan paved the highway to hell with fleshly temptations, worldly attractions, and moral compromises. Most people allow their passions and fears to dictate the course of their lives. They choose temporary, earthly pleasures over the self-sacrifice required to follow Jesus (Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23, Matthew 10:37).
The narrow gate is ignored. Most people create their own religions and design their own gods. You can see this throughout the Bible as well as today. So it was with sorrow, not discrimination, that Jesus declared that the road to eternal life is “narrow, and only a few will find it.”
From Pity to Praise 