(John 14:6) “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
(Matthew 7:13-14) “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
Jesus is the way. Jesus is the narrow way. He is the only way.
The broad way is the way of the law. This is the way that most men think is the way to God but it is not. Men want to do something so that they can go to heaven. It is man’s pride that says “I want to be in control so that I can boast when I get to heaven.”
The truth is if you get to heaven it will not be by what you do, but by what God has done for you. If you get to heaven it will be by the grace of God which is a gift. (Ephesians 2:8-9) “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
I want you to note that being saved is through faith; faith is like a door or a gate. The narrow way is the way of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We could say that it is a gift of God that makes it possible for us to go through the narrow way to heaven.
It is not faith in faith; it is faith in Jesus that opens the narrow gate to God and heaven. You cannot go through the narrow gate by buying a ticket. You do need a ticket to get into heaven but you cannot buy it; it must be given to you by God. (John 3:15-16) “That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” The narrow way is the belief that the Lord Jesus Christ is the only way to God. And God says that it is a gift that comes from him.
Now Jesus said that the gate to life is “straight” and “narrow” and “few there be that find it”. He did not say that it was hidden. The gate to life is the gospel. It is open and anyone can go through it.
(Matthew 7:22-23) “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
The people that say that they have done many wonderful works in the name of the Lord are the ones that are standing on their works to get into heaven. They are not standing on the belief in the Son of God. Trusting Jesus is the narrow way to God. If one is on the broad way he may have lots of good works. But that way is not through faith in Jesus even though there are good works it is not the narrow way.
But on that the hand the narrow way has good works. (Ephesians 2:8-10) “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
If you go walk in the narrow way there will be good works. This is one way you can know that you are on the narrow way. When one enters the straight and narrow way there will be a change in the way one lives his life. (2 Corinthians 5:17) “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
If anyone is on the narrow way he is in Christ, therefore he is a new creature. No longer will he say that the broad way will lead to God. He will no longer say that all roads, all religion, will lead to God and life. He will say that only the narrow way which is the Lord Jesus Christ will lead to God.
Devotional written by Ralph Williams, retired pastor and member of One Hope Mobile.