SERIES: The Sermon On The Mount
TEXT: Matthew 7:13-23
MESSAGE: Two Paths
——————————-
“Those in the Room of Grace are continually allowing God to work on removing the (veil) from their eyes. Light pours in, and they are in the process of being freed to live beyond preoccupation over their next failure. Those in the Room of Good Intentions are rarely willing to confront (their sin). They’re too busy covering their tracks and grinding it out against temptation. The great regret is they know they’ve already given themselves permission to fail.” ― John S. Lynch, The cure
Q: And so, what path are you on today?
“Nothing could be more calamitous than to meditate long and hard on Matthew 5-7 and then to resolve to improve a little. The discipleship which Jesus requires is absolute, radical in the sense that it gets to the root of human conduct and to the root of relationships between God and men. A person either enters the Kingdom or he does not. He walks the road that leads to life, or he walks the road that leads to destruction. There is no third alternative.” — D.A. Carson
Q: How do we know what path we’re on?
TEXT: Matthew 7:13-23
1. Two Gates 2. Two Trees 3. Two Ends
- Two Gates (v. 13-14)
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
“Jesus is unmasking false appearances…Many people go through the wide gate and walk along the broad road. They do so for different reasons. Some deliberately reject the way of Christ and choose to abandon his moral demands. Others simply drift along with the crowd, assuming that there is security in numbers…Jesus is urging us, as we make vital decisions of life, to think things through…only then will we be undeceived.” — Sinclair Ferguson
- Two Trees (v. 15-20)
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.”
What’s the next indicator of knowing what path you’re on?
In July 2019, Kevin Roose wrote an article in the NY Times entitled, “Don’t Scoff at Influencers. They’re Taking Over the World.” — “As social media expands its cultural dominance, the people who can steer the online conversation will have an upper hand…I just spent three days at VidCon, the annual social media convention in Anaheim, hanging out with a few thousand current and future internet celebrities. And it’s increasingly obvious to me that the teenagers and 20-somethings who have mastered these platforms — and who are often dismissed as shallow, preening narcissists by adults who don’t know any better — are going to dominate not just internet culture or the entertainment industry but society as a whole.”
In Acts 20:29-31 — “I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.”
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.”
— Galatians 5:22-23
“Christ [is] the true tree of life…Truly he is the only tree because no one except Christ is the author of eternal life (nor is there salvation in any other, Acts 4:12).” — Francis Turretin
- Two Ends (v. 21-23)
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”
“He’s not saying, “Who are you? You’re not on any of the lists I had here.” He doesn’t say that. Of course he knows who they are. He says, “I don’t know you.” The word know means, “I have never had a relationship with you.”— Timothy Keller
“Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.” — Psalm 84:10
TAKEAWAYS:
- Which gate have I entered?
- Who’s my primary influencer?
- Does Jesus know me?
- “I am the gate for the sheep…” — John 10:7
- “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.” — John 15:1
- “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” — Revelation 22:13