Introduction: This morning I was reading in Matthew 7. Towards the end that chapter we read these words from Jesus: “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Mt 7:13-14, ESV).

Context, Context, Context: These words from Jesus are in the last sections of his “Sermon on the Mount” (Mt 5-7). This sermon is arguably the most oft-quoted sermon in the history of Christianity. Folks love to lift verses from the Sermon on the Mount, when it suits their purposes.

That is why proper contextualization is so important. Look at sections before and after Matthew 7:13-14 above. Who’s Jesus addressing? What’s the matter under discussion? To what issues is he speaking?

In short, Jesus had been addressing judgmentalism (Mt 7:1-5), hypocrisy (Mt 7:5), and the call to heal yourself before you rebuke others (Mt 7:12), among other issues.

Verse 12 is such a loaded verse, too: “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also tho them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Mt 7:12, ESV). The Law and the Prophets are two of the genres in the Old Testament. 1st century Jewish readers would have understood the Writings to be another section. But Jesus says here in his sermon that the Law and the Prophets (as bodies of divine authority) taught one overarching theme: the Golden Rule.

But then we get these very alarming words from Jesus in verses 13-14: “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”

Those words should strike us. He has just told us to ask, seek, and knock (Mt 7:7), but then he says that the gate is narrow. That is, it’s hard to get through. Why? Well, because it cuts against the grain of human nature. It calls for self-denial rather than self-importance. It calls for loving others rather than loving self. It calls for sacrifice rather than indulgence.

Jesus contrasts the narrow gate of himself with the broad way that leads to destruction (v. 13). The broad way, he says, is the easy way. It doesn’t take self-discipline to go the broad way. It requires merely self-absorption, and that’s in great supply.

He says the gate is both narrow, and it is hard, and that those who find it “are few” (v. 14). That should call us to sober thinking rather than sentimentality. It takes work, diligence, self-discipline, self-denial, and a regenerated soul to be able to live the Christian faith. It’s not just some casual thing.

YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@jonpirtle2605

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In about two weeks, I am beginning a long process of preaching through the 16 chapters of Romans. If you know anything about Romans, it is arguably the most theologically weighty of all the books of Scripture.

Like many believers, I have read my Bible for years and years. I’ve read Romans (and all of the Bible) scores of times. But when you are tasked with preaching verse-by-verse, one at a time, sequentially, it makes you slow down and focus. You don’t want to miss anything. You don’t get to pass on the hard sayings. You can’t skip over the rough stuff. And in Romans, there’s a lot of that ilk.

You have to preach about the wrath of God, about sin, about suppression of the truth, about human depravity, etc. The gospel is there, too, rest assured! But the first sections of the Book of Romans are unrelenting in their exposure of, and condemnation of, human sin and moral rebellion against the holy.

This morning, I was reading through Romans again, and I was focused on just the first opening verses. And Romans 1:5 struck me: “through whom [Jesus] we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his [Jesus’] name among all the nations,” and that was it.

For the sake of his name. Why does God call preachers and teachers and evangelists and apologists? For the sake of his name.

It’s not about our names. It’s about God; it’s about Jesus. It’s about his being the hero of the Bible and of the history of redemption, of salvation through judgment. For the sake of his name.

And that removes us from all except the hard work of being faithful to teach the truth accurately. Because when the people get mad (and they do, and they will), we must remember that verse, and why Paul was inspired by the Holy Spirit to pen it: For the sake of his name.

Text: “Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days” (Eccl 11:1, ESV).

Context, Context, Context: Solomon is near his ending of the Book of Ecclesiastes, one of the books of Wisdom Literature in the Old Testament. The last two chapters of Ecclesiastes (11-12) are comprised of a smattering of proverbs, phrases, and sentences like the one referenced above.

The main issue at stake in Ecclesiastes 11:1 is the issue of faithfulness in work/labor. Specifically, it is a call to work with faithfulness and diligence, even and especially when we don’t see immediate results. Oftentimes the return on investment remains hidden to us, perhaps for a very long time. How, then, do we not lose hope in the process? That’s the related issue.

I shared with the saints this past Sunday as the church gathered that over my many years of ministry, I have given, loaned, and purchased countless books on spiritual discipleship, apologetics, theology, history, counseling, etc. for myriad Soldiers and Civilians. Very often I received no feedback from those to whom I gifted the items. Call me old-fashioned, but a little gratitude goes a long way with me. I don’t ask for much, but a “Thank you” means a great deal to me. Anyway, I could feel all down about the whole matter, pout, and just take my toys and go home, so to speak. But Christianity does not give me that option. It calls me, instead, to labor in hope. Here’s the way that idea is expressed later in Scripture: “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (1 Cor 15:58, ESV).

Encouragement: Steadfast, immovable, always abounding. Those are adjectives and adverbial modifiers (sorry, I was an English major) that describe the spirit with which we’re to be engaged in ministry. If we look for kudos from the crowds, we may not get them. We’re to give but not expect reward. We’re to labor “in the work of the Lord.” Why? Because if it’s done for the right audience (God), we are already more than conquerors. 

YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@jonpirtle2605

Writing ministry: http://www.jonpirtle.com

Church YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/@3cs-canton