The Strait Gate

In this part of the sermon: Pastor Martin introduces Matthew 7:13-14 as a section of intense application and urgent invitation within the Sermon on the Mount, focusing on the theme of true conversion. He…

The analogy of playing ping pong without knowing what the ball is illustrates how people use religious terms like 'conversion' without truly understanding their meaning, highlighting the pastor's task of defining terms.

And so in verses 13 and 14, there is an abrupt change in the laying out of the truth recorded here, and we come to a section of intense application and warm and urgent invitation. Now as we consider, we consider, we consider, we consider, we consider, we consider, we consider, we consider, we consider, we consider, we consider, we consider, we consider, we consider, we consider, we consider, we consider, we consider, we consider, we consider, we consider, we consider, as I previously mentioned under the title of true conversion, a difficult fair thing. What do I mean by the term conversion? I ...

2:38 - 3:20 Read in full sermon

The point: Understand that when our Lord says, 'Enter ye in,' it is a command, making His desire for men to enter the kingdom clear.

Martin's childhood story of his father asking if he'd 'like to go to the store' illustrates how a command can be couched as a suggestion, making the will less clear, and contrasting it with Jesus' direct command to 'Enter ye in'.

I can make my will known to another is to give a command. I can remember one time when my dad said to me, son, would you like to go to the store and get a loaf of bread? And I thought I'd be smart. And I said, no, I wouldn't like to. Well, he about handed my

6:22 - 6:38 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The sermon describes true conversion as a 'difficult thing' symbolized by a narrow, compressed gate, requiring individuals to 'put down their baggage' of deeply ingrained sins and…

The analogy of a narrow subway turnstile, especially with baggage, illustrates the 'straight gate' of conversion, showing that one must shed burdens (sins, self) to pass through.

I like to think of it in terms of a turnstile down in the sky. Subways. Do you have subways here in Philadelphia? You do.

11:41 - 11:49 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Jesus never used 'tricks of the recruiting sergeant' but always presented a balanced picture of Christian life, making it clear from the outset that the gate is narrow and…

The story of a recruiting sergeant enticing young men with promises of glory but hiding the hardships of war illustrates how Jesus never used deceptive tactics, but always presented the full, difficult truth of discipleship.

Here's a group of fellows hanging around at a local pool hall or ice cream parlor. And a recruiting sergeant comes by who hasn't had any recruits for a while and so he's out trying to look up prospects and he sees these few fellows and they're just standing there sucking on their cigarettes and passing the time. And he comes up and strikes conversation and after a while, they begin to get interested. They douse their cigarettes and begin to listen.

36:52 - 37:15 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Brother, that's the curse of modern evangelism above all other curses. It's setting before men a wide gate and then it's trying to tell them after they get in that it isn't quite as wide as they thought.

A metaphor of a narrow, winding path to a blaze of light (eternal life) through a narrow turnstile (true conversion) is contrasted with modern evangelism's 'wide gate' leading to a 'corral' where many are gathered but few truly walk the narrow road, illustrating the danger of false assurance.

Picture this. Where's the kingdom of light and light? Will you try to picture a path that leads upward until it's lost in a blaze of light and glory? That's light.

40:00 - 40:16 Read in full sermon