The Narrow and Wide Roads

We will start out with John 14:6

I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me..

Discussion:

This is one of the most important verses in the Bible.

• How can we know the way to God? 
•  We can not find the way to God by ourselves, for there is only one way to get to God and that is through Jesus Christ.  You see Jesus is the only way to God, because Jesus is both God and man.
• How can Jesus be both God and Man?  
•  Well, let’s start with man first, Jesus was the son of a woman named Mary and that caused Him to be human.  But to understand that Jesus is also God we have to do some digging into God’s Word, the Bible.

In Genesis chapter 1 we learn that God created the heavens and the earth.  God also spoke things into being, like when He said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.  So you see God spoke the earth, sea, day, night, grass, and trees into being.  

What has that to do with Jesus is also God?   Well, just hang on a minute and let's do some more digging in  the Bible.

Now, in John 1:1-3 we learn, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  All things were made through Him, and without the Word nothing was made, that God had made.”  You know that sounds strange.  But just think for a minute, when you talk doesn’t words come out of your mouth.  These words you speak aren’t they part of who and what you are?  Let’s say you want to plant a garden and you need seeds to grow what you want to plant in your garden.  But as a child you can’t drive yourself to the store.  You have to ask someone to drive you to the store, and by asking someone you had to speak words.  These words are your words, and they are part of you.  But, if you didn’t speak them how would anyone know you needed to go to the store.  That what God did, He spoke the Word and the Word created whatever God wanted done.

Now let’s dig a little more deeper into God’s Word, the Bible.  In John 1:14 we learn that God’s Word became flesh, and He lived among us and we saw His glory, the glory of the only begotten Son of God, and He was full of grace and truth.

Now let’s see what we have learned by doing some digging:

1. God made this world we live in by speaking it into exists
2. The Words God spoke was part of God, and through the Words God spoke everything was made.
3. We learned that God Word became flesh, which means a person, and this person lived here on earth with us, and this person was called the Son of God, and He was full of God’s grace and truth.

So we are to trust Jesus to take us to God, the Father.  But, some people think that if they live there life doing what they can to help others they will go to Heaven.  Now I ask you, is that what the Bible, God’s Word tells us?  No!!  For the Bible tells us, “There is only one way to get to God, and that is through Jesus.

Some people say that believing that Jesus is the only way is a very narrow road to follow in order to get to Heaven.  But really the road isn’t to narrow.  For the road is wide enough for the whole world, if the world would only choose to believe in Jesus.  But, most of the world doesn’t want to believe in Jesus, they think they can find another way to God.  They just don’t understand why Jesus is the only way to God.  Instead of trying to find other ways to God, they should be saying, “Thank you, God, for sending Jesus so we can have a way to get to you!

• As the way, Jesus is our path to God, the Father
• As the truth, Jesus is the only way to God
• As the life… when we believe in Jesus, He becomes part of our life, we know that He died for our sins, that He was buried in a rich man’s tomb, that He rose on the third day and now He is in Heaven sitting on the right hand of God.  We know that as believers we will someday be able to spend forever with Jesus

 What did you mean by the narrow road?  Well let’s do some more digging and see.

Let’s read Matthew 7:13-14

13…..Enter by the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.

14….. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

When we talk about a narrow gate, that is the gate that leads to eternal life.  Now these verses doesn’t mean that it is hard to become a Christian, but that there is only one way to live forever with God, but only a few have decided to walk the narrow road that leads to God.  I know that living God’s way may not be popular with other people, but living God’s way is the right way.  God’s way is to believe in His Son Jesus Christ and for us to live our life for Jesus, trusting in Him.

Now let’s look in Luke and see what is written about the narrow gate.

Luke 13:22-24

22…..Jesus traveled through the towns and the villages, teaching the people as He made His way to Jerusalem.

23…..Someone asked Jesus, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?”

24…..Jesus said, “Make every attempt to enter through the narrow gate, because many, I tell you, many will try to enter the narrow gate and will not be able to.”

Discussion:

Jesus knew He was going to Jerusalem to die, but He kept on preaching to large crowds of people.  Nothing was going to keep Jesus from His mission.

You see finding salvation requires more than some people are willing to do.  They don’t want to believe in Jesus or change the way they live, they like what they are doing.  But the truth is we can’t save ourselves, we need Jesus.  We need to seriously have a wish to know Jesus, and try very hard to follow Him.