No Compromise, Only One Way
1. The Kingdom Life
We have come to Jesus’ conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount. At this point, it may be good to review the Kingdom Life to see how it all fits together.
Jesus begins with the blessings. These summarize the Kingdom life. They list the character qualities, the heart habits, of kingdom people. They are poor in spirit, mourn, meek, hunger and thirst for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, persecuted because of righteousness, and because of Jesus. The rest of the Sermon explains how these qualities are lived out in practice. As we live the kingdom life we are the salt and light of the world. They see the kingdom life and glorify God.
Jesus is not teaching a new law. The kingdom life lived and taught by Jesus fulfills the law. Jesus Christ made us righteous and so fulfilled the law. Now, in Christ, we are able to teach and practice his commands, a surpassing righteousness, and we enter the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus explains how this righteousness, the kingdom life, looks like in practice. Avoid anger, contempt, hatred. Make peace quickly. Practice strict self-control and self-discipline to avoid lust. Take marriage seriously. Do not swear oaths. Do not take revenge, but love our enemies. All these commands call us to be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect.
Next, Jesus teaches us how to perform the duties of the kingdom life-giving, praying, and fasting. At the heart of these is forgiveness; forgive other people.
In living the kingdom life we must seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness. We must guard ourselves against greed. Store up treasures in heaven and worship God alone. God provides, therefore, do not worry about our needs. God rules, therefore, don’t worry about tomorrow.
Jesus knows very well our tendencies toward pride and self-righteousness. So, he warns us against judging others, and tells us to first deal with the sin in our own lives before we try to help another to live the kingdom life. He tells us to pray with persistence and with confidence, and God will give us all we need to live the kingdom life.
Jesus sums up the Kingdom life with love. “Do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” Love is at the heart of the Kingdom life. Love brings and binds it all together. Love is how we live the kingdom life.
Now at the end of his sermon, Jesus presents the two gates, the two ways, two kingdoms. Then he calls us to obedience. True, authentic faith is lived out by bearing fruit, by doing the will of our Father. We build the house of our kingdom life on rock by putting into practice Jesus’ words. Next Sunday we will discuss Jesus’ call to obedience. Today we look at the two gates and the two ways leading to two destinations. There is a choice to be made. There are only two gates and two ways. There is no middle road. There is no compromise. There is no sitting on the fence. Which way is it going to be, the kingdom of Satan or the kingdom of God, the prevailing world culture, or the Christian counter-culture? There is only one gate and way to enter into and to live in God’s kingdom.
2. Two Ways
There are two ways of living life, two roads on which to travel life’s journey — the way of God’s kingdom, or the way of the world.
The way of the world is wide. This road has no boundaries, no curbs, no limits. You can go where you want, and do what you want. There is plenty of room for different beliefs and viewpoints. Morals are flexible and loose. What is morally right or wrong depends on what the individual person believes. Truth is what you believe is true, not what is truly true. It’s the way of compromise, permissiveness, tolerance, and cheap grace.
This way is easy. People on this road follow their own inclinations and feelings. They follow the desires of the human heart in all its fallenness and sinfulness. It is the way of self-love and self-gratification. You do what you please, and what pleases you. If something feels good, it must be right and true, so just do it. Hypocrisy, mechanical religion (doing it out of habit or custom), judging others, anger, bearing grudges, revenge, contempt, and hatred — all these are easy because they flow out of a sinful heart. No effort is required to do these things. The journey on this road is convenient and easy.
The way of the kingdom is narrow, hard and difficult. This way has clear boundaries, namely the will of our heavenly Father. God has revealed his will in his Word. His will is true and it is good for us. When we follow his directions, his map for living the kingdom life, we will have life and bear fruit.
The kingdom way is hard and difficult because it requires effort and involves a constant battle. It calls us to be holy because God is holy. It calls us to be radically different from the world. This goes against our old, sinful human nature. Our old self fights against our new self in Christ. Our battle is also against the devil’s schemes, against the rulers, authorities, powers of this dark world, and the spiritual forces of evil (Eph 6:12).
Therefore, to live the kingdom life, to travel on its narrow road, takes effort, hard work, intentional decisions and actions to obey God’s will. To travel on the kingdom road requires sacrifice, denying of self, taking up our crosses daily, so that we can live and walk with Christ daily on this road.
3. Two Gates
There are two gates. The gate leading to the easy way of the world is wide. It’s easy to get onto this road. There is no limit to what we can take with us. We do not need to leave anything behind. We can take it all with us, our sins, our selfishness and self-centeredness, our self-righteousness and our pride. All of our earthly treasures.
However, the gate leading to the kingdom way is narrow. It is so narrow, like the eye of a needle, that in order to enter through this gate we must leave everything behind. Everything! Our sins, our selfish ambitions, and desires, our earthly treasures and possessions, even our family and friends. To enter through this gate we must leave behind all our idols, our false gods, our addictions, our bad habits, those petty sins we don’t want to give up, our treasured but unbiblical beliefs and viewpoints. Everything! Yes, to enter through this gate we must deny ourselves. We must become poor in spirit and mourn. We must take up our crosses, crucify ourselves with Christ, die with Christ, so that we can be resurrected in Christ into the new kingdom life.
Jesus Christ is that gate. “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” “I am the gate for the sheep … I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.” (John 14:6; 10:7,9) We can enter into the kingdom, and travel on the way of the kingdom, live the kingdom life, only through Jesus.
We believe in Jesus. In Christ we die, in Christ we are born again into the new, eternal life. We have entered through the gate, Jesus Christ. Now we learn to live this new life by following Jesus, by being and remaining students of Jesus. That is what the word, disciple, means, to be a student of Jesus. We learn from Jesus, we obey Jesus, and we live the kingdom life with Jesus.
Yes, it is hard. Especially when we try to do it by ourselves and in our own power. But actually it is easy. The kingdom way, the way of love, is not burdensome. “In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world.” (1 Jn 5:3-4) It is not burdensome because Christ overcame the world, and in him, we overcome the world. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Mt 11:28-30) When we abide in Christ, He abides in us, and we will bear fruit. Jesus is with us always through his Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit empowers us and makes Jesus’ yoke and burden light and easy.
The kingdom way is not burdensome when we as the Body of Christ carry each other’s burdens, help one another to live the kingdom life.
Yes, to enter and live the kingdom life requires drastic, radical action, total commitment, and obedience to Jesus our Lord. Yes, it is a lifelong, ongoing process. Along the way, new idols will pop up to tempt us away from the kingdom way. Every now and then our old idols will raise their ugly heads to draw us back to our old ways. But when we persevere in abiding in Christ, walking in step with the Spirit, the Holy Spirit enables us and makes the kingdom way easy.
4. Two Destinations
Is it worth it? Is it worth it to leave everything behind, to enter through the narrow gate, and travel on the difficult road of the kingdom life? Consider the two destinations — life or death. Eternal life in God’s kingdom with God forever, or eternal death, life outside the kingdom, life without God, which means excruciating suffering forever. This is serious business. It is true and real.
Consider the way of the world. It seems easy, but don’t be deceived. It is actually very hard. On that road we have to carry all our luggage and burdens ourselves. The ways of the world bring about anxiety, fear, worries, guilt, shame, pressures to perform. These burdens are heavy and become heavier. Life without God outside the kingdom results in darkness, hopelessness, depression, bad habits, addictions, unbearable suffering, all a foretaste of the destruction at the end of this road.
Now, consider the kingdom way. Consider the reality and experience of the new life in Christ that we have already now. When we abide in Christ, our lives are transformed. Jesus comes next to us. He takes over our burdens. He carries it, and so the kingdom way becomes easy. We experience love, grace, forgiveness, joy, freedom, peace, comfort and hope. Even when we go through suffering, pain, and persecution, we persevere. We endure it with the joy, peace, patience, self-control, power, and hope that comes from the Holy Spirit, Christ in us and Christ with us. These are a foretaste of the final destination of the kingdom way, eternal life, living in the glorious presence of God forever.
Consider seriously the final destinations of these two roads. Hell, eternal suffering, or heaven, God’s kingdom and eternal life? What is your choice?
Enter through the narrow gate. Repent and believe in Jesus Christ, and you will enter the kingdom of heavens. Follow Jesus, obey him, abide in him all the time, and you will live the kingdom life.