“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 small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

Matthew 17-13-14

Recently the church we attend completed a series on the Sermon on the Mount and I was once again confronted by the higher standard Jesus’ teaching calls each of us to as we follow Him.

The teaching from the verses above demonstrated the exclusivity of the Gospel. Most of us want to avoid alienating others and do our best to get along, to play nicely with others, so to speak, but when it comes to matters of life and death is it really a good idea? They are many different ideas concerning what happens to us when we die from other religious beliefs and so we are tempted, as Tozer suggests, to soften biblical truth.

Consider the contrast in the words of Jesus above. Narrow and broad. Destruction and Life. And if you asked Jesus how to enter the narrow gate, His response would mirror his words in John 14:6 – “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Jesus’ statement is exclusive. The people around us are on one of two paths. How does that change the way we interact with others?