THE TWO WAYS

Jesus said, “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.” (Matthew 7:13,14)

 A characteristic of our age is the plethora of choices we have. When we go to the supermarket, or a restaurant, or go onto the internet, we are faced with a wide variety of options. It takes a great deal of time to decide between them. Religion is no different. There has always been a multiplicity of choices between faiths. When St. Paul went to Athens he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols (Acts 17:16). Today there is a cafeteria of spiritualities on display for us to pick and choose between. Jesus, however, confronts us with the choice between only two possibilities. All religions, all spiritualities, all philosophies, can be divided into one or another of these possibilities. As he comes to the end of the Sermon on the Mount he says that the time for decision has come. We must choose between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness, the culture of worldly materialism and the culture of Christ.

First of all, he says that there are two roads – two highways – to choose between. One highway is broad, wide and easy. There is plenty of room on it for diversity of opinions and laxity of morals. It is a road of extreme tolerance and permissiveness. It has no curbs, no boundaries of either thought or conduct. Travelers on this road follow their own inclinations, they are autonomous and self-directed. They do what they want to fulfill their own desires. This is why the broad road is easy to travel along.

The other highway is narrow. Its boundaries are clearly marked. Its narrowness is due to something called ‘divine revelation’, which restricts pilgrims to the course of what God has revealed in the Scripture to be true and good. The Bible is the map. C.S. Lewis described in his autobiography how as a schoolboy of thirteen he began to ‘broaden his mind’.

I was soon (in the famous words) altering ‘I believe’ to ‘one does feel’. And oh, the relief of it!… From the tyrannous noon of revelation I passed into the cool evening twilight of Higher Thought, where there was nothing to be obeyed, and nothing to be believed except what was either comforting or exciting.” (C.S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy, p.63)

But is not tolerance preferable to narrow-mindedness? We don’t want the kind of religious intolerance that you see in fundamentalism. We must distinguish between three kinds of tolerance. Legal tolerance ensures that every minority’s religious and political rights are protected in law. The tyranny of the majority is a danger of democracy. Social tolerance encourages respect for all persons whatever views they may hold, for we believe in the freedom of expression, and freedom of the press. Intellectual tolerance seeks to cultivate a mind so broad that it can accept every opinion without submitting it to examination. This is to abandon any criteria of truth. It is easy to tolerate the opinions of others if you have no strong opinions of your own. We must be tolerant in spirit but not lacking in principles and convictions. Sometimes we must stand up for what we know is right and true even at the risk of being thought intolerant. Where Christians should differ from non-Christians is that we should not force our convictions on others by penalizing them or persecuting them, as militant atheists or militant Islamists do.

Secondly, there are two gates. The gate leading to the broad way is wide. There is no limit to the luggage you can take. You do not have to go through security. You need leave nothing behind – you can take with you any weapons, any toys, any material that will enable you to further your fulfillment.

The other gate is small. You have to look for it to find it. It is easy to miss. It is as narrow as a needle’s eye. You cannot take everything with you. “Jesus said that it is hard to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Mark 10:24,25) In order to enter you have to leave everything of self-importance behind, everything that will minister to your arrogance and self-sufficiency. You cannot follow Christ unless you are willing to leave all that you have, and deny your self-centeredness. This gate is like a turnstile: it has to be entered one by one. Jesus said, “I am the gate, whoever enters through me will be saved.” (John 10:9)

Thirdly, there are two destinations. The broad way, entered by the wide gate, leads to destruction. Jesus did not define what he meant by this but it conveys the impression of deterioration and chaos. The angel of the Abyss in Revelation 9:11 is named in Hebrew, Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon, which means Destroyer. Everything good will be destroyed on this suicide road. What began as the broad, wide and easy road will end in destruction as a result of one’s own choices.

By contrast, the narrow way, entered by the small gate, leads to life in all its fullness. It leads to eternal life where we will share the glory of God and find perfect fulfillment as human beings. “There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.” (Revelation 21:4)

Fourthly, there are two crowds. Entering by the wide gate and traveling along the easy road to destruction are many. The broad and easy road is a busy thoroughfare, thronged by pedestrians of every kind. The narrow road which leads to life, however, is not crowded. Only a few find it. Jesus saw most people choosing the broad road, indifferent to the dangers to which they were heading, heedless to warnings and exhortations to choose the road that would lead to life. Yet, alongside this teaching is the vision of St. John that before the throne of heaven there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language. We do not know how many will choose the narrow highway. Someone once asked Jesus, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” He said to them, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.” (Luke 13:23,24) In other words, make sure that you enter when you are given the opportunity and don’t worry about others. Don’t copy others, don’t follow the crowd. Be courageous, take the risk of choosing Christ.

This teaching is extremely unfashionable today. People like to be uncommitted. Every opinion poll allows not only for a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer, but also for a convenient ‘don’t know’ or ‘undecided.’ Everybody resents being faced with the necessity of a choice. But Jesus will not allow us to escape it.

This teaching is as old as Moses who called the people of God to choose between two ways. “I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.” (Deuteronomy 30:19,20)

How do you know if you are on the right highway of life? Do you know where you are going? Isaiah counsels us: “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’” (Isaiah 30:21) Listen to the Spirit. Pray for guidance. Follow the map which is given us in the Scriptures. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” (Ps.119:105)

(Some material is drawn from Christian Counter-culture, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, John Stott, pp.194-196)