“…wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: …” (AUDIO)

Commentary by — John W. Ritenbaugh

 

 

Matthew 7:13-14

(13) 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: (14) Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
King James Version

Never let anybody convince you that Christianity is not a religion of works. Christianity is hard work! That is what our Savior says. It is difficult! It is hard work because its direction and purpose run counter to human nature.

Confusion about “works” enters the picture when people wrongly try to associate “works” with “salvation.” We are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8)—there is no argument with this biblical fact. Works enter the picture as a necessary part of the process of growth within God’s purpose—not salvation. Salvation is, in a major sense, an already finished work of Jesus Christ, which is why so many biblical statements about salvation are written in the past tense.

However, laziness plays a large part in why we do not grow. God expects us to work, though we will not earn salvation by it. We grow because of work, by overcoming problems. If we are too lazy to work at overcoming things, though we may be in God’s Kingdom, we are not going to reap the rewards God’s promises to overcomers.

God is looking for His children to grow. Every parent wants his child to become a mature adult who is able to take his place in society, to live independent of the family yet still be connected to it in a loving way, to stand on his own feet. God sets the pattern, and He wants His children to grow as free and independent moral agents. However, we are not that way when He finds, calls, reveals Himself and His way to us, and leads us to repentance. He wants us to grow into what He is:

And God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” (Genesis 1:26)

God gives everybody who reads His Book an early indication that work will play a major role in what He has created. Dominion! That is “rulership” or maybe a better word would be “management.” And dominion over or management of our own personal environment requires work.

— John W. Ritenbaugh

To learn more, see:
Love’s Greatest Challenges

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Related Topics:
Dominion
Hard Work
Image and Likeness of God
Laziness
Love’s Greatest Challenges
Overcoming
Overcoming and Works
Process of Growth
Self Control
Spiritual Maturity
Spiritual Maturity, Process of
We are Made in God’s Image and Likeness
Work
Works