The Straight & Narrow

Matthew 7:13-14 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.”

It was just yesterday, when the term “straight and narrow” popped into my head, out of the blue. Then today, I open the mail and find an article by the late Pastor Jim Kennedy of the same title. These “ Divine coincidences” are great, as I was previously discussing the obvious two paths that our society is walking today: the crooked and wide road or the straight and narrow path. Kennedy writes that we live in a time when the majority report is virtually always ungodly, unchristian, immoral, and defeatist. The majority report is ever before us: Forget about what God has said, Forget about Him altogether. This is the “popular” way. But God’s way is the Straight and narrow path with the narrow gate that leads to life.

Joshua 24:15 “And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

American Theologian R.C. Sproul writes that God has ceased to be the Creator in the minds of many, but has become that sorriest of creatures, “God-to-me.” Why can’t some worship other gods and others the God of the Bible? Why can’t they both be true? We have found the god of our age, and it is us. Every one of us has to decide: Are we going to go with the popular view on the wide road or are we going to follow the minority report on the narrow path, which is the Christian faith.

1 Kings 18:21 “And Elijah came to all the people, and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.”

The Christians in this age, as in every age, is not simply to believe. It is not simply to proclaim. We are called also in our belief, and in our proclamation, to defend our faith, to give an answer for the hope that is within us. God not only created us, but gave us understanding. He not only created the universe, but through the creation makes manifest His being and His glory. Are you able to face the truly difficult aspects of life, to stand for Christ when it is unpopular to do so, even in the face of great unpopularity? May you and I be equipped and ready to be used of God in bringing the lost to a “saving” knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on the “straight and narrow”, and defending the faith (what you believe and why you believe it) in the face of a God-rejecting, broad world system. Our prayer is that you will be a “great commission witness” to the Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Be holy.

1 Peter 3:15-16 “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.”

In Christ, Brian