Jesus caps it off the Sermon on the Mount with the so-called “Golden Rule.”

Matthew 7:12 Therefore all things whatever you would that men should do to you, do you even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

The sermon is concerned with the way the kingdom of God fulfills the Law and the Prophets.

The positive form of the Golden Rule gives no permission to withdraw into a world where I offend no one, but accomplish no positive good, either.

Why are we to act in this way? Jesus does not say that we are to do to others what we would like them to do to us in order that they will do it to us. Rather, the reason we are to do to others what we would like others to do to us is that such behavior sums up the Law and the Prophets.

Jesus teaches that the greatest commandment is, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind,” and that the second greatest is, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:37, 39). In Jesus’ teaching it is absolutely clear, the second will never be obeyed without the first: we will never love our neighbors in the way we would like to be loved until we love God with heart and soul and mind.

The Road Leading to Heaven

Matthew 7:13 Enter you in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and many there be which go in there in. :14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads to life, and few there be that find it.

In much contemporary evangelism, there is little concern for whether or not God will accept us, and much concern for whether or not we will accept him. Little attention is paid to whether or not we please him, and much to whether or not he pleases us. To many popular evangelistic methods are molded by these considerations.

As a result, there is far too little stress on God’s character and the requirements of the kingdom, and far too much stress on our needs. Worse, our needs are cast in preeminently psychological categories, not moral ones, alienation and loneliness, frustration and fear, not bitterness, self-seeking, hatred, prayerlessness and unbelief.

The discipleship which Jesus requires is absolute, radical in the sense that it gets to the root of human conduct and to the root of relationships between God and men.

A person either enters the kingdom or he does not. He walks the road that leads to life, or he walks the road that leads to destruction.

There is no third alternative, nothing, could have more crucial significance than following Jesus. Within so called Christianity today, this is far from being a universally admitted truth, yet one day all men without exception shall confess it, some to their everlasting grief.

Jesus therefore concludes the Sermon on the Mount with a number of paired alternatives. He speaks of two paths (7:13f.), two trees (7:15–20), two claims (7:21–23), two houses (7:24–27). By these pairs he insists that there are two ways, and only two.

These final verses of the Sermon on the Mount demand decision and commitment of the type that calls out to God for mercy and pardon. Such discipleship is characterized by that deep repentance which hungers for nothing more than conformity to God’s will.

Because there are only two ways, simple failure to make such deep commitment is already a commitment not to do so. Jesus’ way demands repentance, trust, and obedience. Refusal to do so stems from an unrepentant arrogance, unbelief, or disobedience. It is clear, refusal to repent and obey is self-centeredness instead of God-centeredness, and can only be construed as rebellion.

Two ways, and only two.

The Sermon on the Mount does not end with lofty thoughts of human goodness, covered with naive hope about how good humans are becoming. It offers two ways, and only two.

The Jesus way ends in life, good fruit, entrance into the kingdom of heaven, stability.

The self-centered way ends in destruction, bad fruit and fire, exclusion from the kingdom along with other evildoers. If a person ignores the weight of these blessings and curses, they will do it only at their own eternal destruction.

Imagine a large cone:

If the entrance to the kingdom is presented as large and wide, many people will take the first steps. However, they soon discover that the cone narrows down inside. To continue would mean lightening the load they are carrying; the final terms for entrance are very restrictive. They have been induced to enter the cone by much talk of life, forgiveness, peace, and joy; and suddenly they discover more confining notions. They learn of sin and repentance, obedience and discipleship. Not surprisingly, there is often an eruption and they blow back out.

The cone is reversed and turned the other way. When entering from the small end, the entrance seems very narrow. There is no admittance until a person comes without any baggage. He enters solely on the conditions laid down prior in the Sermon. But once inside, the person delights that he discovers expanding horizons and growing freedom.

Jesus giving the Sermon on the Mount is preaching to people who still have not wrestled with the significance of his death, nor rejoiced at the historical fact and future ramifications of his resurrection. The Sermon on the Mount provides us with a crushing blow to self-righteousness and follows it up with an invitation to petition God for favo, without which there can be no admittance to the kingdom.

Jesus Insists There are Only Two Paths

Jesus says, “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”.

We are to picture two paths, two roadways. The first is broad not easy, and its gate is wide. It accommodates many people, all enjoying its spacious width. Although it is so well-traveled, it ends in destruction. The other path is narrow, and the way into it is small. It is confined, and relatively few travelers are to be found on it. But it leads to “life”, a synonym for the kingdom.

Several legitimate deductions can be drawn from these two verses.

God’s way is not spacious, but confining. Poverty of spirit is not easy; prayer is not easy; righteousness is not easy; transformed God-centered attitudes are not easily achieved. In fact, these things are impossible for us, apart from God’s grace, and calling on Him to help. They are alien to much of what is in us. There is no room for me to set my opinion against the Lord’s, no room to set goals in opposition to his purposes, no room to form attachments which strive for the central place the Lord Jesus must have.

There are many joys and freedoms for the Christian. The deepest joy is joy in personally knowing God through Christ, just as the deepest human joys have always been close, personal friendships. There is the liberty of sins forgiven and of progressive triumph over temptation. New loves and friendships mushroom with other disciples of Christ, so much so that Jesus can say,

Even will all these Joys, the way is still confining. Indeed, the more hesitation there is about going Christ’s way wholeheartedly, without reserve, the more confining his way seems. The more enthusiasm there is for following him regardless of personal opinion or peer pressure, regardless of cost, the more liberating his way appears.

Secondly, God’s way cannot be discovered by appeal to majority opinion, for the majority is on the road that leads to destruction. Christians will apply Paul’s words to many perspectives: “Let God be true, and every man a liar” (Romans 3:4). If someone asks directly, “Does this mean that only relatively few will be saved, and that the rest are lost?” then the safest answer is that of Jesus himself.

Luke 13:22–30: 22 And he went on his way through cities and villages, teaching, and journeying on unto Jerusalem. 23And one said unto him, Lord, are they few that are saved? And he said unto them, 24Strive to enter in by the narrow door: for many, I say unto you, shall seek to enter in, and shall not be able.

The narrow way to life cannot be pursued as long as we are motivated by a desire to please the mass of men. Most men travel the broad road; travel on the narrow road is lonely. True disciples of Jesus will not play to the crowd, neither will they form their values according to the passing approval of fads.

“Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve …; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” Joshua 24:15.

The two paths are not ends in themselves, but have eternal significance beyond themselves. The one ends in destruction, the other in life. The point is not the path, but the path’s destination is of ultimate significance. The tragedy is that otherwise reasonable men become so enamored with the spaciousness and the popularity of their path that they take little thought as to its destination.

People will not gain the kingdom by worshiping nature, or by pious sentiment, or by drifting into salvation without decision and commitment, still less by hedonism and self-expression. They will enter life by coming under the kingdom’s norms, and be saved by God’s grace through faith in Christ, or they will head for destruction. Jesus insists on this point.

False Teachers Lead to the Wrong Path Matthew 7:15–20

Disciples of Jesus Christ are not very susceptible to open invitations to sin. They are not likely to be taken in by the teacher/preacher who advocates hedonism, or clear forms of unbelief.

How are we to recognize these wolves in sheep’s clothing?

The false prophet can only be someone who does not advocate the narrow way presented by Jesus. The way which he commends is not narrow or disturbing, and therefore he can gain quite a hearing. There is nothing in their preaching which fosters poverty of spirit, nothing which searches the conscience and makes men cry to God for mercy, nothing which points out religious hypocrisy, nothing which prompts such righteousness of conduct and attitude that some persecution is inevitable. They leave out the difficult bits, they do not tell the whole truth, and their total message is false.

Jesus says, By their fruit you will recognize them. False prophets can look like real prophets, but sooner or later he will be seen for what he is. Just as he does not advocate Jesus’ narrow way, so also does he fails to live it. The falseness of their teaching erupts in the disobedience of their lives.

Jesus is not encouraging a heresy-hunting mentality here. Yet false teachers must be identified.

This is a day when pluralism is popular. However, although everyone may have the right to his own opinion, it does not follow that every opinion is right. Failure to heed Jesus’ warning means that the threat of judgment looming over the heads of the false teachers becomes a threat to others as well. Not only their destiny, but ours, yours and mine, are at risk, if we fail to identify and avoid the false prophets.

False Teachers Offer a False Security Matthew 7:21–23

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (7:21–23).

Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

The problem of false prophets has always been with us.

A prophet is fundamentally a messenger for someone else, and these false prophets claim to be speaking for God. The acuteness of the danger they present is that they are accepted at face value—they appear within the church and gather a following within the church.

Jesus warns that “many false prophets will appear and deceive many people” (Matthew. 24:11). Toward the end of his ministry, the apostle Paul warned the elders of the church in Ephesus, “I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears” (Acts 20:29–31). 2 Peter 2:1–3, 17–22, Peter issues the same warning concerning false preachers.

Perhaps we should not be surprised, if we remember the archetype behind these false prophets. Paul, writing of certain men with whom he had to deal, unveils their real model: “For such men are false prophets, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve” (2-Corinthians 2:13–15).

The first group approaches Jesus reverently on that day, the day of judgment; and they address him as “Lord.” Probably their belief is perfectly orthodox. Moreover, they have an impressive record of spiritual experience. They have prophesied in Jesus’ name, they have exorcised demons in Jesus’ name, and in Jesus’ name performed many miracles.

The Lord does not deny any of their claims, and we must be careful with this ourselves. We may therefore expect that even in our own day there are many people who use the right language and who have performed spiritual wonders in Jesus’ name, but who are not genuine disciples. One of the most tragic ingredients to this scenario is the way these people take themselves to be genuine believers.

Sometimes, people who attempt using Jesus’ name to do various things get caught long before the last judgment. Whether now or on the day of judgment, the false claimers will be exposed.

The essential characteristic of the true believer, the genuine disciple of Jesus Christ, is not loud profession, nor spectacular spiritual triumphs, or great spiritual experience. The chief characteristic is obedience. True believers perform the will of their Father, consistent with their prayer, “Your will be done on earth as in heaven.”

The true believers practice obedience. The Father’s will is not simply admired, discussed, praised, or debated; it is done. It is not theologically analyzed, nor congratulated for its high ethical tones; it is done.

No person enters the kingdom because of his obedience; but it is equally true that no man enters the kingdom who is not obedient. It is true that men are saved by God’s grace through faith in Christ; but it is equally true that God’s grace in a man’s life inevitably results in obedience. The book of James is all about this.

Cheap grace preaches forgiveness without repentance, church membership without rigorous church discipline, discipleship without obedience, blessing without persecution, joy without righteousness, and results without obedience.

Has there ever been in the entire history of the church, another generation with so many nominal Christians and so few real obedient ones? So many talk a big game as a committed Christian and clearly live an ungodly life with no consideration of it being wrong. They say, Jesus understands!

Where nominal Christianity is fueled by spectacular profession, it will produce its own false assurance. False Teachers Promote False Builders

Entrance into the kingdom, does turn on obedience after all, not the obedience which earns merit points, but obedience which bows to Jesus’ lordship in everything and without reservation.

Jesus is not the foundation referred to in Matthew 7:24–27. The focus is upon the two builders and their entire projects. The man who builds his house upon a shifting foundation is like the person who hears Jesus’ words but who does not put them into practice.

The man who builds his house upon a rock is like the person who not only hears Jesus’ words but also puts them into practice. Obedience becomes their lifestyle.

The real issue is the truth behind Jesus’ words, the truth which prompts Jesus’ warning.

Either there is a hell to be shunned, or there is not.

Whether you accept the existence of hell will depend in large part upon your total estimate of the person and ministry of Jesus. Jesus gives a serious warning, people will only take it serious if they take Jesus’ words to be true.

The Sermon on the Mount revered by many and partly quoted every Sunday in many churches, ends with the threat of judgment.

There are only two ways, one which ends with a person in the kingdom of God and the other with the person ending in destruction.

The kingdom narrow way, is characterized by obedience to Jesus and practical conformity to all his teaching.

Which teacher are you following and which path are you taking?