Seek the Straight Gate and the Narrow Way
Don't Be Misled:
"One said to him, 'Lord, are they few who are saved?' He said to them, 'Strive to enter in by the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will seek to enter in, and will not be able.'" — Luke 13:23-24
There are many wolves — false teachers who would have us believe that gaining eternal life in God's kingdom is a wide and easy path, and that many will be saved, but there in Luke 13:23-24, Jesus made it very clear that this is not true. And if we take a look at examples from the Bible of events in the past where God saved his people from destruction, Jesus' words become even clearer.
The "Days of Lot" and the Destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah:
Jesus told his followers, "Likewise, even as it was in the days of Lot: they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but in the day that Lot went out from Sodom, it rained fire and sulfur from the sky, and destroyed them all." — Luke 17:28-30
God had set his plan to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because of their wickedness, but Abraham—a man of great faith—found it hard to imagine that God would destroy the righteous with the wicked. Therefore, Abraham took it upon himself to negotiate with God for the sake of the righteous:
"Yahweh said, 'Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous, I will go down now, and see whether their deeds are as bad as the reports which have come to me. If not, I will know.'
The men turned from there, and went toward Sodom, but Abraham stood yet before Yahweh. Abraham came near, and said, 'Will you consume the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous within the city? Will you consume and not spare the place for the fifty righteous who are in it? May it be it far from you to do things like that, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be like the wicked. May that be far from you. Shouldn't the Judge of all the earth do right?'
Yahweh said, 'If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place for their sake.'
Abraham answered, 'See now, I have taken it on myself to speak to the Lord, although I am dust and ashes. What if there will lack five of the fifty righteous? Will you destroy all the city for lack of five?'
He said, 'I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.'
He spoke to him yet again, and said, 'What if there are forty found there?'
He said, 'I will not do it for the forty's sake.'
He said, 'Oh don't let the Lord be angry, and I will speak. What if there are thirty found there?'
He said, 'I will not do it if I find thirty there.'
He said, 'See now, I have taken it on myself to speak to the Lord. What if there are twenty found there?'
He said, 'I will not destroy it for the twenty's sake.'
He said, 'Oh don't let the Lord be angry, and I will speak just once more. What if ten are found there?'
He said, 'I will not destroy it for the ten's sake.'
Yahweh went his way, as soon as he had finished communing with Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place." — Genesis 18:20-33
God had agreed to spare the whole cities of Sodom and Gomorrah if only ten righteous people could be found. But ten could not be found. In fact, in the end, only three survived:
"But he lingered; and the men grabbed his hand, his wife's hand, and his two daughters' hands, Yahweh being merciful to him; and they took him out, and set him outside of the city. It came to pass, when they had taken them out, that he said, 'Escape for your life! Don't look behind you, and don't stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be consumed!'
Lot said to them, 'Oh, not so, my lord. See now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your loving kindness, which you have shown to me in saving my life. I can't escape to the mountain, lest evil overtake me, and I die. See now, this city is near to flee to, and it is a little one. Oh let me escape there (isn't it a little one?), and my soul will live.'
He said to him, 'Behold, I have granted your request concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. Hurry, escape there, for I can't do anything until you get there.'
Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar. Then Yahweh rained on Sodom and on Gomorrah sulfur and fire from Yahweh out of the sky. He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew on the ground. But Lot's wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
Abraham went up early in the morning to the place where he had stood before Yahweh. He looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and saw that the smoke of the land went up as the smoke of a furnace.
When God destroyed the cities of the plain, God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the middle of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot lived. Lot went up out of Zoar, and lived in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he was afraid to live in Zoar. He lived in a cave with his two daughters." — Genesis 19:16-30
Out of two large cities, filled with many people, only three people survived God's judgment. And again, it will be just as Jesus tells us, that, "It will be the same way in the day that the Son of Man is revealed." — Luke 17:30
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The "Days of Noah" and the Flood:
"As it was in the days of Noah, even so will it be also in the days of the Son of Man." — Luke 17:26
"As the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ship, and they didn't know until the flood came, and took them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man." — Matthew 24:37-39
God planned to remove all the wickedness from the earth, humans and animals, and only one person found favor with God:
"Yahweh said, 'I will destroy man whom I have created from the surface of the ground—man, along with animals, creeping things, and birds of the sky—for I am sorry that I have made them.' But Noah found favor in Yahweh's eyes." — Genesis 6:7-8
God told Noah of his plan and that it would only be Noah and his family that God planned to save:
"I, even I, will bring the flood of waters on this earth, to destroy all flesh having the breath of life from under the sky. Everything that is in the earth will die. But I will establish my covenant with you. You shall come into the ship, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you." — Genesis 6:17-18
And so it was, only the eight members of Noah's family were saved from the fate of every other living, breathing creature on the earth:
"Who before were disobedient, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, while the ship was being built. In it, few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water" — 1 Peter 3:20
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Seek the Straight Gate and the Narrow Way:
"Enter in by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter in by it. How narrow is the gate, and restricted is the way that leads to life! Few are those who find it." — Matthew 7:13-14
Jesus therefore said to them again, "Most certainly, I tell you, I am the sheep's door... I am the door. If anyone enters in by me, he will be saved, and will go in and go out, and will find pasture... I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me." — John 10:7,9, 14:6
Notice, Jesus told his disciples that he is "the door," not "a door." Jesus is the ONLY way, there is no other way to eternal life. In this sense, the way is narrow, because Jesus is the only way. Many people attempt to find alternative routes to God. Whether it be via manmade rules and regulations, false religions, or even self-effort, there will be many who will choose the broad way that leads to destruction. Meanwhile, the Good Shepherd's sheep will hear his voice and follow him along the narrow way and through the straight gate to eternal life.
"Jesus therefore said to them again, 'Most certainly, I tell you, I am the sheep's door. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn't listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters in by me, he will be saved, and will go in and go out, and will find pasture. The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.'" — John 10:7-11
When we believe the gospel and repent of sin, we are assured of being in "the fold" and of having entered by "the door." We are as sheep in "the flock of God." — 1 Peter 5:2
"I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all perish in the same way." — Luke 13:3
Jesus is our Good Shepherd who provides for all of our needs. We are always under his protection. But most importantly, we can be confident that "When the chief Shepherd is revealed, you will receive the crown of glory that doesn't fade away." — 1 Peter 5:4
So then, as members of the flock of God, what are we to do? First and foremost, follow Jesus and obey his commands.