Entering By the Narrow Gate, Part 6

The Solemn Duty of Entering the Narrow Gate

0:02 The following message was delivered on Sunday morning, July 31st, 1994, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey. Now may I encourage you to follow with me as I read in your hearing several brief portions of the Word of God. First of all, the text that has been the basis and framework of our meditation over the last several Lord's Days, is Matthew chapter 7, verses 13 and 14. Matthew chapter 7 and verse 13.

0:47 As our Lord is drawing the Sermon on the Mount to a conclusion, He now presses upon all of His hearers the solemn duty and unspeakable privilege of entering into the way of life and salvation. Verse 13. Enter ye in by the narrow gate, for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are they that enter in thereby. For narrow is the gate, and straightened or restricted the way that leads unto life, and few are they that fall. Find it. And now over to the Epistle of James, the book of James, and chapter 4, right after the book of Hebrews.

1:48 And James has been indicting these professing Christians for sins of avarice and lust after things, leading to tension and friction. And in that context, he charges, He charges them with being guilty of spiritual adultery. James 4 and verse 4. You adulteresses, do you not know that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?

2:23 Whosoever therefore would be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Now over to 1st. John, the 1st Epistle of John, chapter 2, and verses 15 through 17. 1st John 2, 15.

2:50 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Amen. Amen.

3:09 Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

3:09 Amen. Amen. that is in the world the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the vain glory of life is not of the father but is of the world and the world passes away and the lust thereof but he that does the will of god abides forever and then one final passage back in the book of galatians galatians chapter 6 and verse 14 paul has been dealing with people who were glorying in circumcision in jewish rituals and he speaks of the thing in which he as a servant of christ and a true christian glories galatians 6 14 but far be it from me you to glory save in the cross of our lord jesus christ through which the world has been crucified unto me and i unto the world now as we sit in this auditorium this morning i have no doubt

4:34 that many of us have gathered with many legitimate and pressing concerns which clamor both for the attention of our minds and the energy of our souls however there is one concern and one concern only that ought to be the primary concern of each and every one of us and that concern i would express in the personal question am i in a state of grace have my sins been forgiven and my person accepted as righteous before god or to state that concern in different terms have i been made a new creature in christ jesus so that the old has passed and the new has come or have i been born again by the direct supernatural agency of the Holy Spirit, or in terms of the present series of sermons, am I for real? That is,

5:55 do I possess genuine Christian experience? As one who professes to believe in Christ, do I truly possess Christ? As one who claims to be a disciple of Christ, does he claim me to be one of his? Or as one who confesses to be a Christian now, will he shamelessly confess me in the day of judgment? Now I say, of all the legitimate concerns that may press in upon each one of our minds and may sap the energy of our souls, there is no question which is of greater importance and to which we ought to give more careful attention than these questions that focus on the issue, am I for real? And since Bible-based spirit directs, directed self-examination in this area of concern is a biblical duty, I've been attempting for the

7:16 past six Lord's Days to set before you specific portions of the Word of God particularly suited to help us in answering the question, am I for real? Do I possess genuine saving experience of the grace of God? With my answer based not upon the dictates of my own deceiving heart or upon the opinions of others, but upon the objective infallible standard of the Word of the living God. And one such passage that we have been considering among others is Matthew 7 verses 13 and 14, a passage in which our Lord sets before us the absolute necessity of passing through the narrow gate and walking upon the restricted way if we would enter into heaven at the end of our earthly

8:34 pilgrimage. The Lord in this passage clearly teaches that it is the gate and the way which leads us to heaven. The Lord in this passage clearly teaches that it is the gate and the way which leads us to heaven. The Lord in this passage clearly teaches that it is the gate and the way which leads us to heaven. The Lord in this passage clearly teaches that it is the gate and the way which leads us to heaven. The Lord in this passage clearly teaches that it is the gate and the way which leads us to heaven. The Lord in this passage clearly teaches that it is the gate and the way which leads us to heaven. The Lord in this passage clearly teaches that it is the gate and the way which leads us to heaven. The Lord in this passage clearly teaches that it is the gate and the way which leads us to heaven. The Lord in this passage clearly teaches that it is the gate and the way which leads us to heaven. The Lord in this passage clearly teaches that it is the gate and the way unto life. Therefore, if I am to enter into life, I must get through the gate and be found upon the way.

8:53 not only are these absolutely necessary they are inseparable you see you cannot mix and match a narrow gate with a broad way or a wide gate with a restricted way there is an inseparability between the narrow gate and the restricted way which alone lead unto life and there is an irreversible order no one can be found truly walking upon the restricted way unless he first of all comes through the narrow gate and the tragedy is that as clear as our Lord has made it there is a rarity of those who find that gate and who enter upon that way for Christ himself said and few and few are they that find it and so the question is the question for each of us in terms of this passage as we ask the question am I for real interprets itself into these words have I really entered the narrow gate and am I walking on the restricted way taking the view held by the vast majority of Bible believing and responsible commentators

The Narrow Gate: Renouncing Self-Righteousness, Self-Will, and Sin

10:20 and preachers both dead and alive living that the narrow gate is a figure of speech for biblical conversion we have been attempting to answer the question what is involved in getting through the narrow gate why is it called a narrow gate and what is essential for us if we would be stripped down and unpacked in order to pass through it and in answer to that question I have set before you and I trust demonstrated from many passages of the word of God to the conviction of your own judgment that the gate is a narrow gate because one we must renounce from the heart all righteousness of our own as the basis of our acceptance with God we must in the language of Luke 18 take the internal posture of the publican as opposed to the self-delusive posture of the Pharisee secondly at the gate we must repudiate from the heart all self-will and self-serving as the governing principle of life Jesus said in Mark 8 34 and in parallel passages

11:48 that the fundamental requisite for discipleship is the repudiation of self if any man will come after me let him deny himself and the apostle declared in 2 Corinthians 5 Christ died that they who live should no longer henceforth live unto themselves but unto him who for their sakes died and rose again and then last Lord's day we saw the gate is narrow and men must be prepared to agonize to enter it because at that gate we must renounce from the heart the mastery and practice of sin as the pattern of our lives and Romans 6 and verse 16 is a specimen text which we considered and I only quote it by way of review for those who were not present so that you catch the drift of the biblical teaching no ye not that to whom you present yourselves as servants unto obedience his servants you are whom you obey not whom you verbally claim to be but whom you actually obey and there are only two whether of sin unto death or of obedience

The Narrow Gate: Repudiating Attachment to the World

13:16 unto righteousness and in the case of everyone who's come through the narrow gate verse 22 of this chapter is true of them but now being made free from sin that is having renounced the mastery of sin and become servants to God you are having your fruit unto sanctification they have ceased from the practice of sin and the end eternal life now we come this morning to the fourth and final aspect of that which makes the gate a narrow gate it is a narrow gate not only because we must renounce self-righteousness repudiate self-will renounce sin but fourthly we must repudiate from the heart our attachment to the world as the molding influence upon our lives we must repudiate from the heart attachment to the world as the molding influence upon our lives

14:42 to that gate of a sound biblical conversion every one of us is found in a married condition there are singles at the gate we all come to it married and we are married to a bewitching fascinating captivating woman a strumpet called the world and we have upon us figuratively speaking a wedding band a voluntary and joyful attachment to the world in this spiritual wedding and we are and the teaching of scripture is that if we would enter the narrow gate we cannot go through arm in arm with our darling bride we cannot get through embracing our companion through the gate when we sue out a bill of divorcement renounce her once into the sea and pass the strip of our marriage bond to the world

Establishing a Biblical Concept of 'The World'

16:10 and that's why the gate is called the narrow gate and why few find it because they will not part with the darling companion of their life in all of her bewitching seducing beauty that the bible calls the world now what I want to do this morning in the time remaining is basically two things I want to establish first of all a clear biblical concept of the world for if it is a matter of life and death that I repudiate from the heart my attachment to the world as the molding influence upon my life I better know what that world is that God says if I love it the love of the father is not in me that world which God says if I would even make myself its friend let alone its spiritual marriage partner I'm an enemy of God those passages are pretty pointed aren't they what is that world which if I have been saved by the cross of Christ has become crucified to me you see why I read the passages and I want to attempt with you not to give a clever simple little

17:39 definition of the world but hopefully a concise accurate biblical concept of the world and then secondly I want to demonstrate from the sermon on the mount that when Jesus said toward the end of his sermon enter in by the narrow gate that this was of necessity a vital aspect of his call to enter the gate i.e. to leave the world then God willing tonight we shall take up four specific aspects of the world that must be repudiated from the heart if indeed we are to leave the world and enter the narrow gate first of all then I want to establish a clear biblical concept of the world that world that we must spiritually divorce well if you were to take a concordance and look up the word world you would soon discover that in many places in the new testament it has obviously different meanings just as we use the word world with a breadth of meaning so do the scriptures for example when we turn to John chapter one the word world

19:08 occurs in verse ten of John one three times two times it obviously means something totally different from the third time John one verse ten speaking of our Lord the eternal word who came into the world that he made verse ten says he was in the world and the world was made through him and the world knew him not well obviously the first two uses of the word world refer to the created order on earth as we know it he was in the created order as we know it and this created order with seas and mountains and land and trees and birds and fish and bugs and worms and all the rest was made through him you see to use those synonyms fits he was in the world the created order as we know it and the world was made through him and the world the bugs and the fish and the dolphin and the sea and the mountains knew him not no when it says the world knew him not it's now referring to what it's referring

20:37 to the aggregate of mankind who are yet in spiritual ignorance and unbelief and the world did not recognize him so you see in one verse you have a different meaning in the word world sometimes it refers to mankind needing redemption and the object of redemptive love and action John 1 in verse 29 John the Baptist pointing to the Lord Jesus said behold the Lamb of God who is taking away the sin of the world here the world is not the created order but it is mankind in his state of sinfulness and in need of the redemptive activity of the Lord Jesus and then perhaps the best known verse in all of the New Testament John 3 16 for God so loved the world that is mankind needing redemption and the object of redemptive love God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have

22:05 everlasting life but its most frequent use particularly in the book of John and in John's epistles though it is true elsewhere in the New Testament the word world is most frequently used to describe the mass of unbelieving mankind hostile to God and to Christ with all of its perspectives goals standards and associations connected with in growing out of that unbelief the world is most frequently used as a term to describe the mass of unregenerate humanity and the and all that they are and all that they create and all of their perspectives and goals and standards as these things work themselves out into written or unwritten philosophies of life written or unwritten perspectives on what is good and bad and noble and ignoble it's in this sense that you find the word used again and again in the scripture for example in John 15 in verse 8 and I urge you not to grow tedious this is a matter of life and death if I say forsaking the world means something God didn't say and I'm a false teacher

23:34 if I stop short of what it means I'm a butcher to your soul gird up the loins of your mind pray Lord teach me what is that world that I must repudiate at the gate in John 15 Jesus speaking to his own says verse 17 these things I command you that you that is my followers my people may love one another if the world hates you here the world is those outside the orbit of his disciples the world is the totality of unregenerate men if the world hates you you know that it hated me hated me before it hated you if you were of the world if you were a part of that aggregate of lost unbelieving spiritually blind humanity the world in its lostness and spiritual blindness would love its own but because you are not of the world that is you are no longer part of lost unbelieving humanity with all of its spiritual blindness with all of its own arbitrary perspectives on what is true and false and good and bad if you were of this system with its people with its standards with its perspectives

25:02 it would love you because you would be part of it but because you are not of the world but I chose you out of the world therefore the world hates you you see the sense in which the word world is used here and it's in that sense that James uses it in the passage that I read in your hearing where James says to these professing Christians who are constantly in a state of tumult fightings and tensions as they jockey and vie for positions of influence and for the acquisition of goods and things you covet and cannot obtain you fight in war you have not because you ask not he says to these people you are spiritual adulteresses do you not know that the friendship of the world you have made yourself friends of that system of those who are blind to spiritual realities whose values are locked into things and position and possessions and in clamoring after things and position and possession you have become don't you know that the friendship of the world is enmity with God whosoever therefore

26:31 wills to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God whoever wants to be on good terms with that aggregate of unbelieving impenitent spiritually blind spiritually dead segment of humanity with its standards and goals and values whoever would be a friend of that makes himself the of the living God so strong is the antithesis the antagonism between the world as we have described it and God and his kingdom that to be friends with one is to be the enemy of the other to be the friend of the other is to make himself the object of the hatred of the other and there is no neutral ground and the great divider is the cross of Christ for the cross on which Christ died as I hope to demonstrate in my concluding remarks this morning is not only the great instrument of the redemption of sinners from the curse of the law but it is the instrument of deliverance from the thrall of the world , and if the cross on which Christ died has not been the cross through which the world

28:01 has died to you, you're as lost as the devil.

28:05 You're as lost as the devil. If Christ's cross has not severed you from the world, it hasn't severed you from the condemning power of your sins.

28:18 That's why Paul could say, God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. He could have said, by which all my sins have been judged and therefore righteously put away. He teaches that elsewhere, but here he says, that cross by which the world is crucified to me and I to the world. There is mutual moral antagonism.

28:46 I divorced the world at the narrow gate, and the world was glad to divorce me.

The Devil's Control Over 'The World'

28:57 So you get a feel for what this world is? Let me read several of the authors who were helpful to me in trying to sharpen my own thinking on this matter. One writes, for the world, what is it? Fall in human nature, acting itself out in the human family, molding and fashioning the framework of human society in accordance with its own tendencies.

29:26 The world is falling human nature, making the outgoings of human thought, feeling and action its own. It is the reign or kingdom of the carnal mind which is enmity against God, is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. Wherever that mind prevails, there is the world. What is it?

29:53 Fall in human nature, acting itself out in the human family. Molding and fashioning the framework of human society in accordance with its own tendencies.

30:11 And furthermore, when we look into the scriptures, we see that behind that system, fallen human, fallen humanity, working out its principles in society, that behind that, there is a personal, powerful, spiritual being called the devil. And how is he described in scripture? In 2 Corinthians 4 and verse 4, look at the description. If our gospel be hid or veiled, it is veiled in those that do not believe,

30:55 veiled in them that are perishing, verse 3. Now verse 4, in whom the God of this world, though you have a different Greek word, the word age, there are places where age and world, cosmos and ionos, have almost a synonymous significance. Here, Ephesians 2 and other passages, the God of this world has blinded the minds of them that believe not. Behind this world's system, there is a ruling principle, and that principle is a personal spiritual being, the devil himself who is called the God of this world. In John 12, 31, Jesus calls him the prince of this world. Now is the prince of this world cast out. And then one of the most frightening texts in all of scripture, 1 John 5, 19.

32:01 1 John 5 in verse 19. We know that we are of God and the whole world, the total number of those who are not of God, who have not been born of his spirit, who are not for real, regardless of what they may profess. We are of God and the whole world lieth in the evil one. Think of it.

32:32 The whole world lies in the evil one. One perceptive commentator writing on this text says the world lies in the wicked one. The figure may suggest several different ideas. First, a stranded vessel lying embedded in the sand.

32:54 You've all seen pictures of a tanker run aground on a sand bar and it sinks into the sand. Held captive by the sand and nothing can budge it. Even at high tide. He says that may be the imagery.

33:08 Another image, a lost sheep lying engulfed in a treacherous swamp. A sow contented to lie wallowing in the mire. A Samson lying bewitched in Delilah's lap. These are the images called forth and they are all but too appropriate.

33:28 Consider in its origin this lying of the world in the wicked one may be taken in a very literal and personal sense. And listen carefully, this description has gripped me like few things have gripped me in recent days. The fall is out of the arms of God and into the embrace of the wicked one. He is ready to receive the fallen and in a measure to break their fall.

33:57 He has a bed of his own prepared on which the fallen may lie in him. It is shrewdly and plausibly framed. It is like himself. It is the embodiment of his mind and spirit.

34:11 The acting out of his very self. It is a couch composed of the very materials he had before woven into the subtle cord of that temptation which drew the unfallen Adam and Eve out of God's hold and into his. The same elements of unbelief which he turned to such cunningness in his work of seduction he employs with equal skill in getting the seduced to lie and to lie quietly in his own lap. The world listens willingly to its seducer now become its comforter and guide and frames its creed and constitution according to his teaching and under his inspiration. The devil is the world's doctor of divinity. Its faith is the worship and discipline and government are dictated by him. So the world lies in him dependent on him and his theology for such assumed license and imaginary peace as it affects to use and to enjoy.

35:22 What a sad picture. The whole lie in the evil like a seduced Samson lying in the lap of his Delilah not knowing it was the beginning of the end. So the world this system of men with their thoughts and desires and standards and goals perspectives ambitions all of that is under the control of this malicious foul fiend of hell who instigated the first defection of our first parents in Eden. So you see the world is no innocent thing.

36:15 The world the aggregate of mankind in its fallen date with its alls and ambitions and standards is that which is framed by the evil of himself and stands in direct antagonism to God. Jesus said enter the narrow gate the start of getting through that gate will be a formal divorce. Between the would be gate enterer and his darling bride called the world his companion through all of life and judgment and affections she and the ring thrown away into the bowels of the sea henceforth to be married to God as revealed in Christ and as Paul said of the Corinthians I'm jealous over you with the God the jealousy for I want to present you as a pure virgin Christ. You see the picture is that having left the world we're not prepared to have James words legitimately said of us that we have been guilty of

The Call to Repudiate the World in the Sermon on the Mount

37:39 spiritual harlotry having professed to have forsaken the world and been duly divorced from the world and married to Christ that we should go back and defile ourselves with spiritual adultery by flirting with that strumpet that would damn us when this present world system goes up in smoke for the scripture says the world is passing away and the lust thereof in summary as we come then to the gate with nothing more than what we possess by nature we come arm in arm with the world and a wedding band in our finger and at that gate there must be a formal spiritual divorce from the world for there is no true biblical conversion now having sought to establish a biblical concept of the world now I want to demonstrate in the time that remains the clarion call to repudiate the world that is in the context of the sermon on the mount or remember Matthew 7 13 and 14 are part of

39:08 the conclusion of Jesus part of Jesus moving from instruction to invitation and entreaty that having described the nature of the kingdom of grace which he came to establish he's now urging people to enter that kingdom under the figure of getting through the narrow gate and entering upon the restricted way well is there anything that is patent and clear in the sermon on the mount with respect to identifying the world as that which those who enter the kingdom must put behind them well look very quickly five lines of evidence in this broad overview of just some of the major sections of this sermon first of all in the beatitude look at the first and last beatitude blessed are the poor in spirit then our lord tells us why they are blessed for theirs is the kingdom of heaven in his initial beatitude he says the blessedness of the subjects of his kingdom is to be found in this that they not the kingdom of this world

40:36 and the last beatitude has the same emphasis where he speaks of those who are persecuted for righteousness sake verse 10 for theirs is the kingdom of heaven and furthermore he says blessed are you when men shall reproach you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake rejoice and be exceeding glad for great is your reward you see in the very opening of his mouth and pronouncing blessedness upon the subjects of his kingdom Jesus makes it plain it is comprised of people to whom is the great focal point of their highest joys and their most expanded longings and their most ecstatic exuberant joy and their most peace and expectation in other words they are a people who don't say huh you mean I gotta wait for the blessedness for something in the future I didn't bargain for that my friend if you've come through the gate you're not only bargained for that you settled that you settled that here

42:06 in this world whatever you may or may not have of peace and earthly possessions and friends and friends and all of the good gifts of God that Paul says he gives us richly to enjoy you know that your deepest joys and your highest longings and your most expanded spiritual desires are no longer rooted in this world blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven blessed are they that have been persecuted for theirs is the kingdom of heaven rejoice and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in heaven the order of things controlled by satan that order that is expressed in the masses of unregenerate men all of the streams come out of the earth and lead back into the earth amongst the true subjects of Christ's kingdom all of their greatest blessedness comes out of heaven and consummates in heaven a different source a different end marked spark contrast antithesis look at the next grouping the identity of the subjects of the kingdom how are they identified

43:34 in verses 13 and 14 you are the salt of the earth verse 14 you are the light of the world what's he saying my people are in this world what salt is in the presence of meekness that would otherwise putrefy and become rancid bacteria multiplying first on the surface and then penetrating through the fibers like the hamburger patties that someone forgot and left out in a hot august sun for three hours on the side of the grill and they've already begun to be slimy and covered with flies Jesus said that's the world with its slime with its flies of satanic instigation of desires and appetites and passions the lust of the flesh the lust of the eyes the vainglory of life you my people you check that putrefaction you are not a part of it you are separate from it and when you come in contact with it for he says I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world but keep them from the evil sanctify them in the truth he says yes you are still physically geographically in the midst of the world but you are not

45:01 a part of it any more than the salt is a part of the putrefying bacteria laden rancid meat no the salt is to be applied to check the putrefaction that's the identity of his people in the world but not a part of it then he says you are the light of the world that is the world is in darkness it's in darkness about its own identity men don't know who they are it's in darkness about who the true and living God is it is in darkness about right and wrong oh yes with the voice of conscience and with the law of God the remnants of it indicated in their moral consciousness they cannot sin with impunity unless they've been wholly abandoned by God yes I know that but relatively speaking with respect to those in whom there is the light of gospel grace and a new heart and the law written upon the heart and a passion and a disposition to please and serve God according to the light of his law the world is in darkness John uses that very terminology that the world is in darkness and he says you are the light of the world you have left the realm of darkness you have left that which is dictated by darkness and you are now light you have come out of that world

46:31 and become something that is of benefit to it even though it doesn't like it for this is the condemnation that light has come into the world and men love darkness rather than the light neither will they come to the light lest their deeds should be reproved and the world doesn't say oh you son of light come and expose me but Jesus said whether they hate you or love you is not the issue the issue is this as my people you are the light of the world what you've become is one who's entered through the gate constituted you light and you are light and whether that light is openly rejected or blessed by the spirit of God to bring some to inquire of the hope that is in you you are the light of the world because you are no longer a part of that world in its darkness you move from the beatitudes to the identity of the subjects of the kingdom then look thirdly at the standard by which the subjects of the kingdom will regulate thought and attitude and deeds chapter 5 verse 19 and following the subjects of this kingdom are marked as those who are concerned about the least of Christ's commandments they are concerned that there be a righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees they had only an external righteousness that kept the letter of the law at some points and other points kept their human traditions and even broke the letter as well as the law the spirit of the law

47:59 they were concerned with external appearances as Jesus said in Matthew 23 like whitewashed sepulchers like those who scrubbed the outside of a cup and a platter but within were full of excess they were concerned with minutia and they looked over the great mountain peaks of the moral demand you tithe mint and anise in coming and you've left undone the weightier matters of the law justice and mercy that was the Pharisees Jesus said the subjects of my kingdom are concerned for a righteousness that takes as its standard the law of my father in all of its divinely intended depth and length and breadth so that verse 21 when they read the commandment thou shalt not kill not content simply to keep from raising the gun and putting some enemy in the crosshairs and pulling the trigger and murdering them they're concerned not simply that they keep the knife from being plunged into the bowels of someone who has crossed them but I say unto you everyone that is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment whosoever shall say to his brother racha it's a term of derision hey dummy stupid jerk that would be modern equivalent of this shall be in danger of the council and whosoever shall say thou fool whosoever would speak to another

49:29 in language that bespeaks disdain and ill will shall be in danger of the hell of fire in my kingdom you see unlike the world that if they don't pull the trigger and even if they do then they want to claim no moral responsibility it was temporary insanity it was this or it was that but in my kingdom those who left the world and its very shallow cavalier attitude to my law you know in my kingdom my people are concerned about my law touching the very disposition of their heart the very words they use when they address other people furthermore Jesus says in this very context thou shalt do no murder verse 23 if thou art offering thy gift at the altar and members your brother has ought against you leave your gift and be reconciled they realize that any unresolved tension between fellow human beings is the very seed of murder and they're concerned to deal with the very seeds of murder even in the midst of worship if they're conscious that there's ill will in their heart to another they're concerned to deal with it because they know God doesn't want their offering heavenward if their hearts are not right manward that's in the bible I didn't write it

50:57 so when Jesus said get through the narrow gate you see why I called it a narrow gate to be by the command that touches the deepest springs of attitude and disposition and the way I address others as well as the way I treat them in my actions you see the world would say oh my what a horribly unreasonable standard by which I am by which I am by which I am to live but the son of the kingdom says oh how love I by law I command would have it no other way you take the next command verse 27 you have heard that it was said thou shalt not commit adultery they had so interpreted that as to mean as long as a man did not go to bed with another woman's wife or a woman go to bed with another woman's husband they had kept the commandment as long as there was no actual illicit physical intercourse that Jesus said no that was never the intention of that law

52:27 I infallibly interpreted significance to you that everyone who looks on a woman with an intention to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart it doesn't say whoever looks upon a woman and appreciates she's a beautiful woman it doesn't say that there are examples in scripture where women are described discreetly and with purity as being beautiful women it says whoso looks with a desire whoso looks with the intention of the to seduce or to enjoy the fruit of seduction anything that enters into the realm of the erotic whoso looks to lust in his heart he's already broken the seventh commandment it's only circumstances saving face or a thousand other things that have kept him from actual physical intercourse but if all those things would be removed he would if he could she would if she could and in my kingdom my people who have left the world with its constant rationalization oh men will be men what do you expect of so a few wild oats can't expect people how does the world treat the sanctity of sex those in my kingdom

53:57 they've left the world's standard for sexual purity and they've come to the place where in their hearts there is a shrine of sanctity in this area and they are so committed to it that if they even find that there are patterns in their life as much a part of them as a right hand and as dear as a right eye it's in that context verse 29 if thy right eye causes thee to stumble pluck it out and cast it from thee if thy right eye if thy right eye if thy right hand causes thee to stumble in my kingdom my people are committed to purity down to the land this throb of thought and desire and intention and they are prepared to go to any length short of sin to deal with any breach of that command now my friend that in the world that's not the world's perspective on sexual purity but he said in my kingdom that's the perspective my subjects embrace they are prepared from the heart to say I take Christ infallible interpretation of the command thou shalt not commit adultery and he does the same with the command against unjust and unnecessary oaths and then that ancient law eye for eye tooth for tooth and the law

55:25 love your enemy I'm sorry thou shalt love thy neighbor hate thine enemy you have heard that it was said this was a complete twisting of even the word of God but what's the point the point is that when Jesus said enter the narrow gate and I'm asserting that part of that entering and that's what makes it a narrow gate is that the world must be divorced we see the other worldliness of the sermon on the mount not only in terms of the blessings pronounced in the beatitudes the first and last and even in between several but I just looked at the first and the last which point the people of God heavenward not only in the identity of God's people as salt and light but in the standard by which they will regulate thought and attitude and deed they've left this world with its light and low and cavalier attitudes to sin and they are not part of those who are content simply to look righteous and appear righteous and keep out from under the seats of another man's bed and keep the gun and they know if they sit in a building like this and they have ill will to another brother that is the beginning of the gun and the knife and they're prepared to deal with it

56:52 and they're prepared to deal with anything that would feed at the deepest levels of thought even the slightest desire for physical intimacy with any other woman but their God intended wife and they're not if they are single they're prepared to deal with anything that will keep them from having erotic thoughts to any woman under any circumstances whatsoever that's not the world this is my people have left the world they've kissed it goodbye they've pulled off the ring it's buried in the sea and then in the fourth place in this sermon it's clear with respect to the great concerns by which the subjects of the kingdom regulate their spiritual disciplines this brings us into chapter 6 take heed you do not your righteousness before men to be seen of them else you have no reward with your father who is in heaven here the Lord sets up an antithesis and he carries it all the way through to verse 18 he says seen of men reward of your father who is in heaven seen of men reward of your father and he says there's only two ways to carry out your religious exercises one like the Pharisees you have your eye fundamentally towards your fellow men

58:20 you see you're part of the world and segments of the world are religious the Pharisees were worldlings but religious worldlings and being worldlings and being social beings they desperately long to be accepted of one another so they had their written and unwritten codes of mutual acceptance and he says you Pharisees or spiritualists speaking of them he says my people don't be like them for when they give alms they sound a trumpet before them for what purpose that they may have glory of men verse 2 but he says when you do your alms do it in such a way that you have an eye single to your father he says the same with regard to prayer be not as the hypocrites they love to stand and pray in the synagogues in corner of streets to be able to pray to be able to pray to be seen of men but he says when you pray go into your closet shut the door and pray to your father and then he says the same verse 16 through 18 with regard to fasting what's the point the point is this men of the world their primary concern is my reputation among men oh let anybody touch my reputation and man am I ready to fight you see the issue is not my reputation before men the issue is what am I in reality before God what I am before God is what I am

59:49 not what I appear to be before men and my dear friends in the day of judgment what's going to matter not what men think you are when you go to judgment but what God knows you to be that's going to determine whether you go to heaven or hell so why are some of you so let in drugs for years because somebody sullied your reputation if you can have a sinkhole of iniquity of anger and bitterness and lust and you can speak angry words to others and never ask their forgiveness you can speak words of untruthfulness to others and never have a conscience about it why everything about you is worldly you are in the orbit of the eyes of men that's the mark of the world keeping up appearances you are in the scene of men but when you kiss the world kiss the world goodbye when you repudiate you divorce passion is what does the father say what does the father know what will the father reward

61:17 that's what I'm concerned you see it whole half a chapter then when he concludes the chapter and this is the fifth specimen and with this I have to close this passage or our treatment of the passage when he comes to the primary focus of life itself verse , verse 19 what does he say it's going to be among his disciples lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven for where your treasure is there will your heart be also wherever your heart is that's where you are for no man can serve two masters either he'll hate the one and love the other or hold to the one and despise the other you cannot serve God in mammon so he goes on to say yes you live in a world where you need food and clothing and the concerns of this life but these are not your preoccupation you seek first my kingdom and righteousness confident these things will be added in the way of responsible prayer and dependence upon me and responsible labor sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof the great concern of my people as expressed in the very prayer he taught them to pray and you look at the so called Lord's prayer and what's the preoccupation of it thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is

62:47 in heaven hallowed be thy name God's name God's kingdom God's will tell me when did the world ever get excited about God's name God's kingdom and God's will and then the next primary area of focus in the Lord's prayer is what forgive our sins lead us not into temptation deliver us from evil it has to do with being holy is that what the world does now when the world prays it prays about things that are far removed from God's kingdom and the pursuit of holiness is night from day well I hope I've convinced your conscience that when Jesus comes to the end of his sermon and says get through the narrow gate what he's saying is if you're going to be one of mine you and the world have got to come to a fundamental irreversible divorce you must take the darling who's hung to your arm through life sue out your bill of divorce and get rid of her pull the ring off throw it into the sea she's an unworthy marriage partner because the world passes away and the lust thereof and all who are joined to her will perish with her but he that does the will of God in union with Christ such a one will abide forever and that brings me in conclusion to this very simple question what is it

The Cross as the Motivation for World-Repudiation

64:15 that will ever motivate us to repudiate the world its ways its standards its goals its associations its molding influence in our lives what will bring us to the place where we're willing to divorce the world well here I say the answer is Galatians 6.14 God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ by which the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world you see in the cross of Christ this question is answered what does Jesus think of this world system what does Jesus think of this world system look at him hanging on a cross and you get the answer he saw this world system as so offensive to his father's laws and ways that he was willing to die to satisfy the provoked justice of God upon this world system and he so loved his own that he died to deliver them out of it Galatians 1.4 he gave himself for us that he might deliver us out of this present evil age so when we stand by the cross and we see the world in the light of the open wounds of the son of God see the crown of thorns see the drawn face the mingled blood

65:44 and spittle upon his brow hear his cry my God my God my friends that's the world stripped of all our pain and we stripped of all God says you want to be a friend of that then you're an enemy of me because my beloved son went through all of that to deliver people from their attachment to the world that's why Paul could say through the cross of Christ the world crucified because in the cross we see God's estimation of this world system and furthermore the world finally exposes itself at the cross who put Christ to death it's accurate to say it was the religious leaders of the Jews and it was the political leaders of the Romans here are the separated ones the epitome of what they would say revealed religion come to full blossom and flower in the chief priest and the scribes and the Pharisees and what do they do when they have God and crucify that's world religion that could not stand a Christ

67:12 who said drawing me with your lips is not enough when your heart is far from me staying out of another man's bed is not enough if your heart's there keeping the dagger is not enough if the dagger's in your heart you see it was Jesus pulling away all of the veneer of empty formalism that provoked their hatred that's why the common people heard him gladly and even Pilate said he knew that for envy they had delivered him he listened to all the false charges and he said it's all a bunch of smoke I know why they're delivering him up because the crowds are going after him and not them that's what worldly religion did and then Rome prays for her roads and prays for her senate and prays for her her authors and her historians and her poets and her genius what does Rome Rome becomes the hands of apostate Jews to put him on a cross now my friend is that what you want to have as your friend religiously politically in any realm that which when given the chance crucifies the Lord of Glory you stand by the cross and there evaluate your lifetime marriage partner and say do I want to stick with her

68:40 to put Jesus to death who caused his wounds and his agony and his groan and his cry of dereliction and if you can stand at the cross and see the world in the light of the agonies of the sun of God and say I still want the world my friend it's right that God should send you to hell and forever banish you from his presence but I pray God there be some this morning who say oh God what a fool I've been if Christ died to deliver me from that which could only eventually destroy me what a fool I am to remain wedded to this world sister Lord I do repudiate and turn away from all supposed righteousness of my own I desire to be saved with the righteousness of another I do turn from living unto self I do turn from the mass I would divorce and I would be yours forever yours only yours all yours for time and for eternity enter the narrow gate are you for real if you are you've come through a gate where you and the world have parted you've parted basically fundamentally resolutely as we'll see tonight

70:08 what some of the particulars are some of the qualifications but I'm not going to take off the right angles if you would be the friend of the world you're an enemy of God and God doesn't take his enemies to heaven he sends them to hell and if you're a friend of the world you're an enemy claiming to be a Christian and at least go to hell honest better yet repent and flee to Christ and find forgiveness and acceptance and deliverance from that bewitching horrible companion who will only take you to hell and then join to him who died to take his own to be with him forever let's pray our father we thank you for your holy word we thank you that it is a lamp to our feet the light to our pathway and we pray that you would take the portions that we have studied together this morning and write them upon our hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit we pray that you would indeed deliver many from their voluntary spiritual marriage

71:38 to the world that they may enter that narrow gate which will usher them into the restricted way but which blessed be your name leads unto life we ask for those who by your grace have entered that gate but who perhaps through spiritual dullness have begun to allow the flirting eyes and the seductive words of the world to entice them into areas of compromise gracious God this morning strip away all of the paint and all of the cosmetics of the world as we see its naked state in the light of the cross and we pray may we hate that which opened up the wounds of our Lord Jesus and caused his agonizing cry caused his sweat drops in Gethsemane oh God help us ever to view this world system in the light of the cross that through the cross the world may be crucified unto us and we unto the world seal then your word to our hearts we plead in Jesus name Amen Amen