Defining the Narrow Way

By Mark W. Christy, PhD

Many evangelical churches are plagued by wayward Christians, haphazard attendance, and lackadaisical service. While the Church has always struggled against false Christianity, especially in those times when persecution was at a minimum, the modern church often seems to be courting false believers and even comforting them as they continue in their delusion. Many churches have elevated the man-centered components of their worship services by placing a premium on the worship experience and changing various aspects of their ecclesiastical praxis so as to be more attractive to the unconverted. In this process, those elements which are less attractive have at best been obscured. These would of course include the sinfulness of sin, the authority of God’s Word (sola scriptura), and at times the exclusivity of Jesus Christ.

The relinquishing of these cardinal aspects of the gospel can readily be seen in much of contemporary approaches to the sermon. In many of these churches, the charismatic pastor/guru takes center stage. The Bible, if present, will likely be found off to the side on a stool with its usefulness all but null and void because the heart of the pastor’s message is own his own thoughts and anecdotes even while the occasional proof text may be thrown in for good measure.

In these sermons, teachings on sin are minimized if not completely shelved. When mentioned, more palatable words like mistake or misstep are preferred. Regardless, this material has little place in a sermon that is focused on how to help people have their optimal experience in the immediate present. Given this priority, sermons have been inundated with the latest psycho-babble and self-fulfillment ideology which elevates the person and reduces sin to little more than problems to be corrected by the person as opposed to God. In such a way, sin somehow becomes less than sinful, and the pastor/guru is left with essentially only one teaching from Scripture: “God is love.”

This teaching becomes great news to sinners. With their sinfulness no longer an impediment, the idea, “God is love,” affirms them in their sin and tells them that God only wants to smooth over any remaining unsatisfactory parts of their contemporary existence while awaiting their presence with Him in eternity. By lifting up this banner, the Word of God becomes trampled asunder because, as it is thought, such a loving God desires more to embrace all than to exclude based on areas of disagreement.

To accomplish this complete undermining of biblical authority, several routes are pursued. Some just simply hold out hope that a loving God would never condemn anyone. Others prefer to denigrate the Word of God by questioning its validity, in one way or another, or violating all of the rules of hermeneutics to shape the biblical message into an idol that suits their delusions. Still others give lip service to Scripture, but then place their hope in their mere profession of faith in Jesus Christ despite being clearly unable to demonstrate their profession by their works. For such as these, any serious study of Scripture or thoughtful development of theological commitment becomes a non-essential because salvation has been secured by mere lip service, and any concern for Christ or others simply falls by the wayside as these worldly (and false) believers join the others in their pursuit of the best of this life.

As biblical authority continues to erode, sinfulness becomes elevated and even enshrined in the Church. The magnitude of this problem has only been exacerbated by the prominence of the megachurches and their skillful use of the media. In their wake, both non-believers and immature believers are almost certain to be thrown into confusion as to what it means to be a Christian. In answer to this, these churches at best will likely provide a misguided, if not blasphemous, response supposedly from Scripture but likely from the mind of the guru pastor whose concern is most likely upon feathering his own nest by having another seat warmed in his audience.

While the enormity of this problem seems overwhelming, the writers of Scripture and Jesus Himself faced similar apparently insurmountable barriers. The prophets of the Old Testament were ridiculed, threatened, attacked, and even killed for simply heralding the biblical message. In a similar vein, Jesus faced many threats against His life before finally being nailed to the cross. Likewise, his apostles were all martyred (except for perhaps one). Since their time and even today, many believers continue to face persecution and even death.

In this morass of confusion, hatred, and delusion, Jesus offers these words in Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Upon close inspection, Jesus is telling his audience that only two choices exist in relation to God. One is the narrow gate, while the other is the wide gate. Each of these have their own characteristics.

The wide gate symbolizes the easy choice which by default is the popular option. In terms of immediate benefits, this option seems preferable. Unfortunately, this decision leads to a terrible end, and that end is eternal damnation. For those who are wise, this should serve as a warning and cause them to give careful consideration to taking the other option, the narrow gate.

This gate signifies a difficult choice. Unlike the other, this decision requires a complete abandonment of the self and a relinquishing of this life to whatever extent is necessary so as to embark upon the journey that follows. For this reason, Jesus says this in Luke 9:23-24, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.”

The narrowness, i.e., difficulty, of this decision serves as an extreme impediment to the majority. With this view, the one who goes through this gate will find themselves standing alone and against the majority. Despite the rejection this often invites and the corresponding difficulties that arise from abandoning one’s worldly desires, the ultimate end for those who take this option is eternal life.

As a gathering of God’s people and a place for the congregation of those who are opting for the narrow gate, the church should find themselves teaching a way that is unpopular, a way that promotes self-denial, and a way that leads to eternal life even while momentary suffering becomes an assured reality. Such a church will elevate God and de-elevate man by proclaiming the sinfulness of sin, pointing people to Christ, upholding the Word of God irrespective of human opinion, and maintaining the exclusivity of Christ by calling upon them to take the narrow gate despite its accompanying difficulties.