Jesus said, “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: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).  Jesus clearly tells us that many will be lost and few saved.  The road to hell is wide and easy.  The way to heaven is narrow and difficult.

The narrow gate of heaven will require effort on our part to enter.  Jesus said in Luke 13:24 “Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.”  This does not mean that heaven is attained solely by our own efforts and self-justification, for there would be no way to heaven at all if God had not opened it for us through the death of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:20).  What it means is that we cannot be slothful and look to others to do the diligence required to enter.  The final contrast in the sermon is between those who hear and do and those who hear and do not (Matthew 7:24-27).  Simply coming to church services and hearing will not cause one to enter the narrow gate.  We must examine what we hear and practice what God’s word says.  We ourselves must strive to enter.  The preacher, the elders, our parents, our friends and loved ones may encourage us, but we must make sure that we are truly following the Lord and not men.  In fact, earlier in the Sermon on the Mount, Christ showed that one’s righteousness must exceed the self-righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees in order to enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:20).  It requires one to follow true religion from a pure heart rather than false alternatives that may look very similar.  Effort is required to distinguish the two.

Obviously, there are many people in the world who do not profess to be religious whatsoever and are on the broad way. However, perhaps even more people are following a false religion.  This is a subtle device of the devil.  It causes many to think they are on the narrow way which leads to life, but in reality they are headed toward destruction.  The contrasts the Lord gives in this sermon are not between religious people and irreligious, but rather between true and false religion.  In Matthew 6:1-4, the contrast is not between those who gives alms and those who don’t, but rather between those who give to be seen of men and those who give in secret out of a pure motive of love. Likewise, in Matthew 6:5-6, the contrast is not between those who pray and those who do not pray, but rather those who pray to be seen of men and those who pray in secret to seek their heavenly Father.

Immediately following the admonition of the two ways, Jesus warns of false prophets (Matthew 7:15).  Many are led to destruction thinking they are following the right path, but they are sadly following false teaching.  A prime example of this is found in what Jesus says in Matthew 7:21, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”  How many today believe they are going to heaven because they have simply given assent in their mind to the truth that Jesus is the Son of God without obeying Him?  Merely acknowledging the truth of Jesus’ identity is far short of obeying Him.  This is why many will be surprised on the day of judgment (Matthew 7:22-23).

Give diligence to make sure what you practice in religion is from the Lord and not men, and is out of a pure heart and not for show.  Your eternal destiny hangs in the balance.

-Mark Day

During Paul’s second missionary journey, he met a couple at Corinth who would become some of his closest associates. They are mentioned six times in the New Testament: three times in Acts (18:2, 18, 26), and three times in Paul’s epistles (Romans 16:3; 1 Corinthians 16:19; 2 Timothy 4:19).

“After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth; And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them. And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers” (Acts 18:1-3). Paul initially identified with Aquila and Priscilla because they worked in the same trade. The Jewish people took great care to teach their children a trade. In fact, a Jewish teacher, Rabbi Judah, is quoted as saying, “He that teaches not his son a trade, is as if he taught him to be a thief.”1 The inspired teaching of the New Testament shows that men ought to work to provide for their own. Second Thessalonians 3:10 says, “if any would not work, neither should he eat.” Ephesians 4:28 instructs, “Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.” Paul set an example of honest labor. Paul could hold up his hands and honestly say, “Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me” (Acts 20:34).
Paul, Aquila, and Priscilla made tents. This was no easy task. Tents in those days were made of leather or goatskin. This trade was likely a natural choice for Paul, since he was from Tarsus in Cilicia, a province known for its production of goats’ hair. 2
Aquila and Priscilla were not only fellow-laborers with Paul in the trade of making tents, but more importantly they were fellow-laborers in ministering the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In Acts 18:24, when Paul had returned to Antioch, Apollos, an eloquent man from Alexandria, came to Ephesus where Paul had left Aquila and Priscilla. Apollos had a serious defect in his teaching. He knew only the baptism of John, which was then void because the Lord’s baptism had replaced it (Mt. 28:18-20). Aquila and Priscilla took Apollos aside and taught him what he needed to know to complete his knowledge in the way of the Lord (Acts 18:25-26). This good teaching had positive effects that were far-reaching, even unto eternity. We may never know what sort of repercussions will come from us taking a little time to do a good deed.
To the church at Rome, Paul wrote, “Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus: Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles” (Rom. 16:3-4). It seems then that Priscilla and Aquila were able to return to Rome from which they had been banished by the decree of Claudius (Acts 18:2). No doubt, their exile from the capital city was not at first a pleasant experience, but look what great friends Paul gained by this occurrence. How many people do you know who would lay down their own necks for you? Priscilla and Aquila were such a couple. They obviously had brotherly love for the apostle Paul. They loved the Lord’s church; a congregation of the Lord’s church even met in their home (1 Corinthians 16:19). In the last letter Paul ever wrote, he greets this great couple (2 Timothy 4:19). Whether he saw their faces again in this life we cannot know, but they certainly were laborers together with the beloved apostle and desired to see each other in glory (1 Corinthians 3:9).

-Mark Day

1. Conybeare and Howson. The Life and Epistles of St. Paul (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1984 reprint), p. 39
2. Ibid., p. 40

Colossians 3:1-4, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.”

Paul writing to the Christians in Colossae makes reference to “Christ, who is our life”. What does a Christian look like when Christ is their life? What are their characteristics?

1. They are “risen with Christ.” This is baptism that Paul referred to in 2:12, “Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.” They began in obedience of the Gospel. See also Romans 6:2-4.
2. They “seek those things which are above… Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” Since we have been raised from the watery grave of baptism, therefore our minds should be focused on heavenly things, not on the things of the earth. (cf. Matthew 6:31-33)
3. They “are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” Death in the Bible indicates a separation (James 2:26), therefore we have been separated from the guilt of our past sins. Also while we remain in the world we are no longer are of this world. Our focus is now on spiritual things; we have separated ourselves from worldly, sinful activities. Our lives are “hid” with Christ in that our lives are to conform to His will to the degree that one could not distinguish “our life” apart from our life with Christ. Paul defines this for us in Galatians 2:20 when he says, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

Paul goes on to say in Colossians 3:5 that those whose life is Christ will “Put to death therefore your members which are upon the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (ASV). We cannot set our affections on things above and practice these sins at the same time. One who has set his mind on things above will put to death the evil practices that Paul names. We put these to death by rejecting and turning away from them.

Paul then issues a warning and a reminder in 3:6-7, “For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.” For those who practice such things, God’s wrath will come upon them. Paul then reminds them that they had practiced such things before their conversion. They should not want to go back there because God’s wrath waits. The challenge to dying to a life of sin is keeping it dead. Just because we put to death the old man doesn’t mean we don’t try to dig him back up sometimes. How do we keep from going back? By seeking “those things which are above”; by setting our “affection on things above, not on things on the earth”. This is to be our focus and is revealed in God’s Word. As one preacher quoted “What you go after here will determine where you go hereafter.”

-Jerry D. Sturgill

The Lord Jesus Christ said that many would be lost and few would be saved (Matthew 7:13-14). Immediately after this in His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave a reason for why many would be lost in His warning about false teachers. “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (Matthew 7:15). False teachers have an exterior that seems harmless, but on the inside they have cruel and selfish intentions. Often the response to religious error being taught today in effect is, “Well, I’m sure he’s sincere in what he believes, so while I don’t see it the same way as him, I’m not going to get too riled about what he is teaching.” Now, there are people who sincerely teach error believing it to be true. Their sincerity alone will not save them, but they are sincere. However, what seems to be missing many times today is the acknowledgement that there are many false teachers who have sinister motives. As much as we have been told that these people who teach something different than the truth of the Gospel do it in sincerity, when we open God’s word we find warnings about wolves in sheep’s clothing. Is it really the case that there are hardly any wolves today, just misguided sheep? Or have we been duped by their sheepish exterior?

Paul exhorted the elders of the Ephesian church to be on guard against grievous wolves who would enter in among them, not sparing the flock (Acts 20:29). He wrote to the church at Corinth about those teachers who seemed so attractive according to fleshly standards, “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). To the church at Rome, he instructed to mark and avoid such teachers who cause divisions and offenses contrary to true doctrine (Romans 16:17). Why? Was it because they were sincerely deceived. No. “For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple” (Romans 16:18). Peter warned the Christians dispersed throughout Asia Minor, “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction” (2 Peter 2:1). These would not be sincere teachers, but sinful men who would act holy so they could entice followers to give them all the money that their greedy hearts desired (2 Peter 2:3, 12-16). There has always been a market for teachers to be paid well to tell people what they want to hear instead of the uncomfortable truth (Numbers 22-24; 1 Kings 18:19: Isaiah 30:10; Jeremiah 5:31; 2 Timothy 4:3). Jude encouraged Christians to earnestly contend for the once-and-for-all delivered faith (Jude 3). Why? “For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 4). John warned us that “many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1).
Remember the majority of people will be lost. False teachers are out there who will uphold false teaching because it is popular. If they taught the truth they would not have the numbers that would give the them worldly affections for which their hearts lust. Jesus taught truth even when it caused droves of people to leave (John 6:66-68). Listen to the warnings of the Good Shepherd (John 10:11). The Lord Jesus Christ says there are wolves out there in sheep’s clothing. Are we on guard?

-Mark Day

On the fourth day of the creation week God made the sun, moon and stars.  “And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.  And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also” Genesis 1:14-16.  Rather than being gods themselves, which the nations surrounding Israel often worshiped, the sun and moon are creations of the true God.  He placed them as “lights” to mark seasons, days, and years.

Today we are still marking and adjusting our time to earth’s position in respect to these lights God placed in the heavens.  A full rotation of the earth with respect to the sun marks one day, and a full orbit of the earth around the sun one year.  Monday there will be a total solar eclipse, where the moon will pass between the sun and the earth. This solar eclipse will be visible along a path of totality that stretches in a 70-mile-wide swath across the central part of the continental United States.  Astronomers are able to determine when such spectacular events like this take place in the heavens because there is consistency in the motion of the earth and our moon as they revolve around the sun.  While the placement of the stars in heaven does not determine our destiny, it does remind us of Him who created us.  This uniform behavior of the heavenly hosts is an earmark of the great design of our universe. Imagine if we lived in a world where we did not know if we would see the sun the next day, or we could not predict the tides.  Imagine if we had no idea whether or not our planet would suddenly veer off course and collide with another planet.  There is order in the universe.  Order requires an orderer.  God created the world and fashioned it. It went from being without form, void, and dark (Genesis 1:2), to having a set formation, teeming with life, and lit by the lights of heaven (Genesis 1:3-31).  How true are the words of David in Psalm 19:1-4:

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.  Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.  There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.  Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.  His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.

Some are critical of the Bible, pointing out how it speaks of God making the sun to rise (Matthew 5:45), when in reality the earth rotates and revolves around the sun.  However, even though we have understood this truth for centuries, we still use the terms sunrise and sunset.  While the Bible does not speak in contemporary scientific terms it does give an accurate account for the order we find in the heavens above.  The weather app on my phone gives me the exact minute sunrise and sunset will be each day for my location.  You see how precise the movements of the heavens are.  Without this precision the space missions that have been conducted throughout the last half of a century would have been impossible.

So the next time you look up into the heavens above, or notice the precise times we are able to predict when the sun and moon and stars will be in a particular location in regard to our location on earth, remember the Creator who placed order in this universe He intended for mankind to inhabit (Acts 17:24-27.

-Mark Day