“The Narrow Door”
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text is today’s Gospel Reading, in which Jesus declares: “Make
every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will
try to enter and will not be able to.” A bishop in the Netherlands recently proposed that, in order to have
better relations with Muslims, Christians should start referring to God by the
name “Allah.” Not surprisingly, a spokesman for the Council on
American-Islamic Relations thought that having Christians call God “Allah” is a
great idea. He said, “It reinforces the fact that Muslims, Christians, and
Jews all worship the same God.” We hear that assertion a lot these days. The conventional wisdom
of the world is that we really all worship the same God. It doesn’t matter
what faith you have or what God you worship, as long as you’re sincere. But, in our text, Jesus is telling us the EXACT opposite. “Make
every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will
try to enter and will not be able to.” According to Jesus, it DOES matter what
faith you have and what God you worship, for the way into heaven is a “NARROW
door.” This seems to have been an important teaching for Jesus, for he said
something very similar on another occasion, in the Sermon on the Mount as
recorded in the Gospel of Matthew: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is
the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through
it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few
find it.” The Book of Acts records that at Iconium, Paul preached to the
worshippers of Zeus, “We are bringing you Good News, telling you to turn from
these worthless things to the living God.” A few chapters later, Paul is in
ancient Athens, and we are told, “He was greatly distressed to see that the city
was full of idols,” and he began his sermon there, standing in the midst of
those idols, by saying, “I see that in every way you are very religious.” If all religions are just different paths to the same God, why was Paul
so “distressed” at their idols? Paul admits they were very religious and
sincere, so why did urge them “to turn from these worthless things to the living
God?” Contrary to the accepted wisdom of the world, according to the Bible
being sincere doesn’t score you any points with God if you are sincerely WRONG.
Paul puts it this way in Galatians, “It is a fine thing to be zealous, provided
the purpose is good.” “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I
tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.” With the words “try
to enter” Jesus sums up all the efforts of humans to get into heaven some other
way than the “narrow door.” “Try to enter” means they are sincere, they
really are trying their best to enter heaven. But, Jesus says that apart
from the “narrow door” they “will not be able to.” The second little parable in today’s Gospel Reading, about the owner of
the house refusing entry, is symbolic of the final judgment. “I don’t know
you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!” That is what
we all deserve. Because of our sins, none of us qualifies for entrance
into heaven. In our liturgy, just before Communion on the Sundays after Pentecost
the Pastor says in the Proper Preface: “[He] overcame death and the grave and by
his glorious resurrection opened to us the way of everlasting life.” We
don’t deserve entry into heaven, but Jesus is the “narrow door,” he has opened
the way to everlasting life for all who trust in him. On the way back from the Youth Gathering this summer, driving in the
mountains down south we passed through several tunnels, blasted with dynamite
through the solid rock of the mountain. Jesus’ death and resurrection is the
spiritual dynamite that blasted away your sins and opened for you the way to
everlasting life. When Jesus says, “Make every effort to enter through the
narrow door,” he is calling you to faith in him, expressing with this symbolism
what he said at the Last Supper: “Trust in God; trust also in me. . . I am
the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except
through me.” Finally, what does Jesus mean when he says “make every effort” to enter
through the narrow door? He doesn’t mean that we earn or contribute to our
salvation. For, he is speaking to his disciples, who trust in him for his
gift of salvation. The Greek word which translated “make every effort” means “to engage in
a struggle.” In a crazy world in which bishops declare that Allah is the
true God, Jesus is urging YOU, not to give in to the world, like that unfaithful
bishop, but to struggle against the world—to “make every effort” and “engage in
a struggle” to remain faithful to him. Paul puts it this way in 1st and 2nd Timothy: “For the time will come
when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own
desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what
their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the
truth . . . But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue
righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the
good fight of the faith.” Through his Word and Sacraments, and worship and
prayer, Jesus gives you power to fight the good fight of the faith. “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I
tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.” Despite what that
bishop in the Netherlands says, despite the conventional wisdom of the world,
there is only one “narrow door” into heaven. As the Lord declares in
today’s Old Testament Reading, “I am the first and I am the last; apart from me
there is no God.” And as Jesus declares in the Gospel of John: “I am
the Door. Whoever enters through ME will be saved.” Amen. Return to Top | Return to Sermons | Home | Email Church Office
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