The Narrow Gate and Straight Way - Matthew 7.13-14 for Christians Only!

The mistake many make is to always apply verses to being saved or not being saved, but what you don't realize is Christians already saved are receiving a great many more teachings such as Matt. 7.13,14 and what this means to the body of Christ.

Two Gates and Two Ways

vv.13-14 What is the difference between the “gate” here and the “door” in John 10.9? In the latter passage it is the door of grace, whereas here in Matthew 7.13 it is the gate of the principles of the kingdom of heaven (reigning in the millennial kingdom and good conduct today in Christ).

“Enter in” speaks of a choice. “By the narrow gate” indicates a transaction. “The way” represents the daily life. “Narrow” refers to the strictness of the Lord’s commandments. “Narrow” is a comparative term. If the new law is the narrow gate, there must be a more lenient law. And thus we see that the demand of the teaching on the mount surpasses even that of the Mosaic law of old.

Here we are confronted with two gates and two ways. One is described according to its inward condition, while the other is expressed by its outward appearance. A Christian may select whichever gate to enter and whatever way to travel. His current choice is none other than to choose the life principle of today. No one can walk along the strait way without first entering by the narrow gate. Whoever does not enter in via the gate of Matthew 5-7 is definitely not walking in this way.

Why is it so important to “enter in by the narrow gate”? The word “destruction” may mean either perdition or ruin. In the case at hand, it is better to translate the word as “ruin” or “waste”; in other words, what is meant here is that everything will be demolished or ruined if the wide gate and the broad way are chosen. And even should the word “destruction” be translated as “perdition” it can only refer to temporary, not eternal, perdition.

Those who seek only to be presentable morally to the eyes of men will no doubt prefer the wide gate and the broad way.

v.14 “Straitened the way”—Because it is the way of the will of God. It is so straitened that only the will of God can get through. There is absolutely no place by which to squeeze into it the flesh, the world, or today’s glory.

“Few are they that find it”—Truth often is found among the minority. The narrow gate and the strait way need to be found, indicating that many do not even know about it.

The word “way” in Acts 9.2 (“any that were of the Way”), in Acts 19.9 (“speaking evil of the Way”), and in Acts 19.23 (“there arose no small stir concerning the Way”) is the same word used here in Matthew 7.14. The book of Acts thus enjoins us to believe and walk in this way.