Life presents two distinct paths: a broad, popular way leading to destruction and a narrow, less-traveled way leading to life. The broad road is characterized by various tempting lanes such as prosperity, pleasure, popularity, philosophy, pride in religion, and the pursuit of power, all of which ultimately lead to eternal separation from God. In contrast, the narrow road, though costly at its outset, is paved by Christ's sacrifice, offering true and eternal life. The sermon emphasizes the critical choice between these two destinations and urges listeners to enter the narrow gate by trusting in Christ's atoning work, rather than relying on their own merits or worldly pursuits.
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Well, it is good to be back with you again in the name of the Lord Jesus. It's been a couple years, I believe, but you're looking good. It's good to see you again. I might mention on the back table, the Lord's provided for a new book, first of a different type of series. We call it the and God Said series. What we hope to do is take certain major books of the Bible and give an overview on about forty-six pages of the structure of truth that God has presented. So that when you do your study, you can hang your meditations on the absolute truth that the writer is getting across. However, the first book we did is an overview of the whole Bible.
The Bible is written actually by one divine author, that is God. And it has one message that is connected together from Genesis to Revelation. So the first book is an overview of the whole Bible, looking at the master's theme as it runs through the Word of God. So if this can help you, or you know some believer, this can help. They're on the back table. You take them. The cost to you is the cost of your salvation. So you feel free to take what you want. There's also a gospel track called To Open a Mind. If you can use that in your witnessing, you help yourself. Also, our little magazine meant to stimulate the thinking of the believer. Some of you get that. That's back there. There's samples. Help yourself.
If you'd like to be on the mailing list and you print your address and name clear, we'd be happy to put you on. Now tonight, as we study the Word of God together, it's been suggested that we devote tonight to the gospel of God. That is his saving message on how he saves men and women and boys and girls. So in doing that, we'd like to go to the words of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. We'd like to go to Matthew chapter seven, please. Matthew chapter seven. If we were going to give the thoughts that are on my heart tonight from the word of God, I guess we could entitle them life's two roads. For the Lord Jesus is speaking about life's two roads. You see here as we read from the word of God in Matthew seven and verse thirteen, verse thirteen.
Enter ye in at the straight gate or the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat, because straight or narrow is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. And now verse twenty-four. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew. and beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock. And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth a not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand.
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. And it came to pass when Jesus had ended these sayings that people were astonished at his doctrine. And the Lord will bless his words. Now tonight, as we consider for a few minutes, lights to roads. Remember what the Lord Jesus said. This is his teaching. And if we take this and apply it in faith and obedience, it's like a wise man who builds his house on a rock. And though the storms come down the road, the house stands. But if we take this message of his and we listen to it and we like it, but we don't rely on it and follow it, then it's like a foolish man. He too builds a house.
But when the storms of life in God's judgment comes, well, it doesn't stand. And the whole thing collapses. And it's all in response to the words and the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, as you saw here in verses thirteen and fourteen, he spoke of two roads. And these two roads do have some similarities. You see, they both have gates. They both have a way that you go on it through the gate or the door. And they both have a destination. Both of these roads lead somewhere. But of course, that is where the similarities end. For then the roads become vastly different. While they both have a gate and they both have a destination, one of the major differences is, is what that destination is.
The Lord Jesus says the broad road. That is the wide way, which is very popular, and there will be many on it. It ends in a place called destruction. in contrast to the narrow gate and the narrow road, which ends in a place called life, later in the Bible called eternal life or everlasting life. And so the destinies are dramatically different. They're both down here, these roads, but one will end in destruction and one will end in life. You understand that when the Bible speaks of destruction, it doesn't mean annihilation. It doesn't mean you're just annihilated, never to exist anymore. But it means as destruction that you will be separated from God's glory and God's power in a place of conscious torment that Revelation twenty fifteen calls the lake of fire.
In the words of second Thessalonians one nine, it speaks of the unsaved. It says they will be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and the glory of his power. You see, it is a separation from all the power and glory of heaven, and it's not having access to that. It is not annihilation, but separation from such in a place of conscious torment that the Bible speaks about. And so the end of this broad road is a very serious matter. It's just not something, you know, in life where we have decisions all the day. We have choices before us. And some choices, well, you say, that's my career choice. And if you make a wrong career choice, you can change it. But this is something eternal.
It's destruction. And so the broad road ends in destruction. Another difference is it is broad in contrast to the one that is narrow. One will have a lot of people on it. The other will be a minority. I want to tell you, it's a blessed minority. If you ever want to be a part of the right minority, be on the narrow road. Because it ends in life. It ends in life. But the broad way leads to destruction. Now again, as you notice our Lord's words here, the Son of God's words in verse thirteen, he spoke of entering in at these gates. He even said that the Broadway has a gate, and many there be which go in there at. Now, it's not the, of course, we're all born in sin. Nobody starts out a Christian and then doesn't become a Christian.
But we're all born in sin. But there is a matter of choice to stay on it, so to speak, and refuse the narrow way. In that sense, there's a choice involved to be on the Broadway. And again, as we said, it is broad. It is wide. And as we consider this tonight, And as we apply other parts of the scripture to this, you will see that it is a multi-line highway to destruction or hell. And he has something, Satan that is, has something for everyone. It's big enough to accommodate all. The Lord said, many there be which go on their act. Tonight we'd like to look at what we might call the seven-lane highway to destruction or to hell. There's at least seven lanes on it.
To help you remember... We'll start them all with the letter P. You might think of a different word. That's okay. But just to help you remember. Now, as we look at this road tonight, one of the lanes on it that people find themselves on is the lane of prosperity. The lane of prosperity. Where we look at this little life we're in as our chief goal is to accumulate things and accumulate goods or money or whatever. And to be prosperous and to enjoy ourselves. Well, there's nothing wrong with having our needs met. But when these things take the place of God, the very reason you and I were created. And we look at our little time on life as just an accumulation of goods, of things that will make us feel good and secure.
It is sin against the very reason we were created. And there are many that are on this road of prosperity. You know, the Lord Jesus, when he preached on here, he spoke of a man who was on that distinct lane. Riches grabbed him. It's in Luke, and he put it this way. He said, a certain rich man. He was clothed in purple and fine linen. He says he fared sumptuously every day. He had the best of threads today. I don't know what you call me what Calvin Klein or whatever it is today, but he dressed well and he ate well and he lived well. And when a poor beggar was at his gate, the only food that beggar would get would be the crumbs off his table that the servants threw out.
He didn't have compassion on the less fortunate and he thought of salt and the accumulation of goods and he had fun, so to speak, while he was here. But remember, this road ends someday. The end thereof is destruction. And one day his end came. I don't know if he had an advance notice. I don't know if he felt chest pain. I don't know if it was instant. I don't know if it was in his sleep. It doesn't really matter. It ended. The Lord Jesus said in Luke, sixteen, twenty two, that the rich man also died and was buried. There he is. He's buried. And there might be people standing there, rabbis and so on, saying great eulogies for him. What a great man he was, and so on. How successful and how savvy he was in business.
But that wasn't the end of the story, for the man has an eternal soul. And while he was laying there buried, the Lord Jesus pulls back the curtain of eternity. And he says, in hell, he lift up his eyes, being in torments. In hell, he still had spiritual eyes, and he could see. And he saw a way in the distance. Abraham, a man of God, and he was in a place that sometimes people call paradise. Luke sixteen calls it Abraham's bosom. And he could see far across and he saw the vaguer who once laid at his gate, and there he was on the comfort side in paradise. And he cried out, he said, Father Abraham, he said, have mercy on me and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue where I am tormented in this flame.
The very thing he had easy access to on earth with all his money, water, he couldn't even get a drop of it down here. It's a place of torment. I am tormented and disflaimed. And he couldn't get what he wanted. And Abraham says, there's a great golf fix. There is no going back and forth. There is no bridge, you see. It's an eternal fixed destination. He says, could you at least go back, send Lazarus from the dead, give a resurrection, if you will. I have five brothers and they're not saved. He said, I don't want them to come to this awful place. He says, perhaps they'll believe in hell if somebody went from the dead and told him. In essence, the answer was, if they don't believe the word of God, that is Moses and the prophets, a resurrection isn't going to convince them.
And so the answer was, nobody will be going back. He became a believer as his road ended in destruction, a man who lived for money, in which the Bible says that the love of money, in First Timothy six nine, just not money, but the love of money is the root of all evil. And one day his road ended. He was on that lane of prosperity, but it ended in destruction. There's many on that. And it all seems well now. But the Son of God says someday it's coming to an end. And the place is called destruction. When these things occupy our life rather than living for God. Well, as we said, it's a very wide road. And there is something for everybody. There's also the lane of what we could call pleasure.
The lane of pleasure. Now, we all like to relax. We all like to have a good time. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. But when that pleasure crosses the line of God's commandments and hurts God and hurts others, so we can feel good and get what we want and serve self rather than God, the Bible calls that the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eye and the pride of life. In other words, it's called sin. and to just look at life as Don here, this is just that all my decisions are to make me feel good and to enjoy my, to fulfill my senses. That is the lane of pleasure. The Lord Jesus Christ, he talked about a man who was on that. He told us about it in Luke chapter twelve.
He was also a rich man. And one day this farmer, he looked at his farm and he says, would you look at that? Would you look at all the crops I'm bearing? And you see the barns can't even hold it. He says, I have an idea. I'm going to tear down those barns. I'm going to build bigger ones. Well, what would you do that for? He says, well, I do want to lay up all those goods. And there's a reason I want to lay them up. You know, I really don't want to work anymore. I've done my fair share. So I'm going to kind of set back with all these resources now. And here's what he said inside his heart. He said, I'll say to myself, soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years. Take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. You know, you live here to have an ease, eat, drink, have a good time, fulfill your senses.
And you know what God said to him? He said, thou fold. This night thy soul shall be required of thee. Then shall these things be. You are thinking many years, but your road is going to end tonight. And it's going to end in that place that the Lord Jesus called destruction. Eternal separation, God, in a place of conscious torment. and thou fool you've made the most foolish choices you look like success you might make the magazines of your day and the talk shows in the successful man as an entrepreneur as a playboy take thy knees eat drink and be merry but you're a fool it's going to end all tonight it was on the road of pleasure you know the Bible says in second Timothy three four that there are those that are lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God they might even profess God But when the choice comes between pleasure and God, you'll find it in pleasure.
They'll have an excuse not to assemble and worship God in what we call church. But they won't have an excuse when it comes to fulfilling pleasure. Whether it's innocent pleasure or evil pleasure, they put pleasure ahead of God. They're on that lane of pleasure. And we read about a man on that tonight. It's a wide road. There's a lane for everybody, not only prosperity, but there's those who look at life as just to satisfy their senses. Rather than realizing we are created to satisfy and to live for God. On the road of pleasure, but it ends in destruction. Well, there's another lane on that road. We could call it the lane of popularity. The lane of popularity.
Now, I understand, and I believe you do too, that in every one of us, we want to be accepted. We want to be liked. None of us want to be hated and have everybody look down on us. And we love it when people like us. But when we let that people liking us get in the way of being faithful to God and the Lord Jesus and coming to him and following him, then that becomes sin when we put people over God. And when we want to be popular more than pleasing God. The lane of popularity. In the Bible, you'll see various people on it. One I'm thinking of is the governor in the time of our Lord Jesus. Now, his name was Governor Pilate. And he was the authority figure that one of the Jewish people wanted to crucify Christ.
Because they were under the Roman government, they had to get Pilate's permission to execute him. It was the government that would carry that out. Now, as Pilate discerned the case and tried the case, he realized our blessed Lord had done nothing worthy of death. He said, I find no fault in him. I can't execute a man who didn't commit a crime. And then he brought him out and he says, look, here he is. Behold your king, he told the Jewish nation, Israel. And they answered back, we have no king but Caesar. And he says, I'm going to release him, for it is no cause of death in him. And then the crowd shouted back something. It was clever. It was cunning. They said, do you understand, Mr. Pilate? I'm sure they use respectful terms, Governor Pilate.
Do you understand if you let this man go, you are not Caesar's friend? For whosoever maketh himself a king, you see, speaketh against Caesar. You have somebody over you and you think of your political career. If you are going to stand on this side's man's side, this man's side, who claims he's a king, you're not Caesar's friend. When he heard that, he made a decision. And in the words of Mark chapter fifteen and verse fifteen, it says, here's why Pilate let Jesus be crucified. It says, Pilate willing to content the people. released under them bravats and delivered Jesus when he had scourged or whipped them to be crucified.
To content the people. He didn't want to have the people against him. He wanted to be popular. He wanted to be a notable figure. He didn't want to lose Caesar's friendship. History tells us that within two years, the political tide turned against Pilate and he had to go into exile. So much for popularity. You know, the Lord Jesus spoke in John twelve forty three. It spoke of some Jews who in their private minds, they believed Jesus was really the Messiah, the Son of God. You know what? They never confessed him. They never would come out and say, I'm going to take sides with him. He's my Lord. You know why? John, verse twelve, forty three. For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
They would sell out the Lord Jesus Christ for popularity. I think of the Lord's words in Mark eight thirty eight. He says, whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation of him also shall the son of man be ashamed of when he cometh in the glory of his father with his holy angels he says you're embarrassed about me in your heart you might know I'm true but you don't want to lose your friends your your people at work even your family sometimes you don't want to pay the cost to you even your church affiliation if it's a wrong one And he says, you love the praise of men more than the praise of God. And you're ashamed of me. He says, there come a day when I'm going to be in popular, I'm going to be the one to be associated with.
I'm going to come in the glory of my Father with the Holy Angels as he erects God's coming kingdom. And that's when you'd want to know him. He said, I'm going to be ashamed of you. In fact, he says, I never knew you. I'll be embarrassed to identify with you. They're souls and they're on the road. And it might seem good now, but it's a road of popularity. But if it leaves out the Lord Jesus, it ends in destruction. Well, there's another one. We could call it philosophy. Philosophy. The lane paved with philosophy. We mean intellectual reasoning. Now, God gave us a brain, and he doesn't expect us to use it. But when we use that brain to explain away God's word, rather than to trust God's word, that it's sin.
The Lord Jesus spoke about people who were on that lane of what we call philosophy, human reasoning, reasoning away God's word. They weren't lawyers, if you will, but they were religious lawyers, men who could translate the Bible. They had doctors' degrees and so on. They were men of intellectual ability, and they applied themselves. But when the Lord Jesus spoke, they would take his words and play grammar gymnastics with it and twist it, and they would convince the people it didn't mean that at all. And so he would say to these lawyers in Luke eleven fifty two, woe unto you lawyers, for you have taken away the key of knowledge. You have not entered in yourselves. You haven't entered in on this narrow road.
And then that we're entering in, you hindered. He said with your reasoning and debate and skills, you've taken away the key of knowledge from the person who wanted to enter in. You did not enter in. But that wasn't good enough for you. You didn't want others to go, too. So you showed your intellectual skill in posing arguments and twisting the Scripture, and you actually caused people not to think it was real. He said, woe to you lawyers. You know, the Bible says in Colossians two eight, beware lest any man spoil you after philosophy. He's a lover of wisdom. After vain deceit. After contradictions of men. after the rudiments of the world and not after Christ.
They might ask questions. They might look at this thing and they might pose questions because you don't have an answer for it. The implication is, well, it can't be true. You know, I can remember when we used to witness down in Ocean City in Margate years ago, and I had a young fellow, we were out passing tracks at, he came up, he said, let me ask you something about your God. He says, does he know everything? Yes, he does. He's omniscient. Can he do anything? Is he powerful? He's omnipotent. He's all powerful. Well, he is, is he. Well, could he make a rock so big that he couldn't lift it? If you can't give him the right answer, they write the whole thing off with their little clever question. I don't know if it was the right answer. What I said to him, yeah, he could make a rock so big, but since he's all known, he'd know enough not to.
But anyway, he's a spirit, and spirits don't have the problem of lifting and so on. But we hear different types of questions like that. You know, where did Cain get his wife? Brother Chris Schroeder will be here in two months. He said, here's the answer. I don't know. I'm not able. But they have things like that. And supposedly, if you don't have the answer, why all the suffering? Or you don't have a logical answer to their mind. They say, well, look, you don't really represent a logical God. And they take away the key of knowledge. If you ask them where they get their conclusions, though, they don't have an answer. Well, if you believe this, where did you get it? Did God communicate with you? Where do you get absolute truth? Is it just a product of your vain little mind?
I mean, if you're so sure it is not a hell, there's not a heaven, you don't have to be saved. What authority has conveyed that to you? You know, they can't answer you. It's a product of their reasoning. Philosophy. Philosophy can be deadly when it doesn't point to the Lord Jesus Christ. And there's these lawyers that were on it, and Christ pronounced a woe to them. And they won in there, and they took away the key of naught. You know, this Bible has a divine stamp on it. It has the seal of prophecy. God doesn't ask you to put your faith in just some empty feelings. He understands you have a mind. And so he presented the Lord Jesus Christ through the vehicle of prophecy. He predicted hundreds of years in advance that whoever the Messiah would be, he would have to have these things happen to him, such as what part of the world he'd be born in, such as what country he'd be born in, such as what county he'd be born in, such as what city he'd be born in.
such as what type of transportation he'll be using, such as how the people will react to him, such as what time in history he'll actually walk. Prophecy after prophecy that you really have no control over. What race he would be, what family he would be. You try to arrange that one before you're born. And he predicted them hundreds of years in advance. It's called prophecy. And it's the evidence that we can place our faith in that Jesus Christ is the only one who has matched those prophecies. You try to make a prediction and you'll see why you have to be divine to make it accurately all the time. And the longer the prediction is, the more divine supernatural ability has to be present.
For instance, you take this Super Bowl this past January. If somebody would have came up on early January and said, who's going to win the Super Bowl? Say it a week before the Super Bowl. Well, you got two choices. And so one week, really, you're going to be fifty percent right or fifty percent wrong. But what if somebody said, five hundred years from tonight, you know, who's going to win the Super Bowl? Now age has put a whole different perspective on it. There might not even be a New York or Jets or anything else or Giants. Who knows if football will be around? You not only have to know the future, you have to have the ability to control the future so it will happen. That is the way God has presented the Lord Jesus Christ through what Second Peter, one nineteen calls the sure word of prophecy, so that he has given you evidence that when you place your faith, there is not just feeling, but there is scripture.
You can match it up. Did he pass the test or didn't he? And so God has given you evidence. And so he doesn't ask you to throw away your brain. He has you to place it in confidence on the word of God. The philosophy will point you away. As attractive as that might seem down here, it ends in destruction. And then there is the lane that we could call pride in religion. pride in one's religion, their performance for God. It's right here in our chapter. Look here in chapter seven in verse twenty one. Verse twenty one. Not everyone 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. See, a lot of people will have the right language. Lord, Lord, you know, and so on. Look at verse twenty two. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name or preached? And in thy name have cast out devils, have done miracles. And in thy name have done many wonderful works. And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work iniquity. I don't know you. They're religious people. The road to hell is paved with religion. But religion that doesn't bow to the truth and gospel of God and the Lord Jesus and His word is not God's religion.
They don't bow to the Lord's will, but they might say the right words and they start to tell the Lord everything they did for them. Well, I did this. People take pride in their religion and their heritage and what they've done. And the Bible shows that that is on the lane to destruction. In Luke, the Lord told a parable to help illustrate that. about those who trusted in themselves that they were righteous. The pride of self-confidence. Well, I'm not that bad. If I do it good enough, God will let me into heaven. He says, you know, two people went to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, the other was a publican, that is a tax collector. And tax collectors, I don't know about today, but I do know in those days they were cheaters. And they took more than they were infamous cheaters.
They were criminals, most of them. And the other was a tax collector. And he says, they went to the temple to pray. And he says, the Pharisee, well, he let us in on his prayer. He says, his major subject was I. Lord, I fast twice in the week. I tithe all my possessions. They even would take the anise and come in the Bible says, which is their table spices like our salt and pepper. And they'd scrape away that ten percent and donate it to the temple. He says, I do that. And he says, and he saw that tax collector over there praying, he says, Lord, I thank you. I'm not like him. I'm not an cheater in business. I'm not an adulterer. I'm not like him, he says. And I thank you, God, I'm not like him. And then the tax collector also prayed, and the Lord Jesus said he had seven simple words, God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
He took his low place. I've come short. I'm a sinner. I need your mercy. What you will do for me, God. What I have done for you is horrible. He said, I need your mercy. The Lord Jesus says, both men went home, but one man went home justified, right with God. The other one didn't. He said it was a tax collector that went home justified. He came without pride in his religious performance. He came taking his place as a worthy sinner of hell, and he took his place and he found God's mercy on the grounds of humility. You know, somehow we think, that our performance for God kind of earns heaven and that yes we make mistakes once in a while but we really aren't in big trouble because look at all the good things we've done I have a friend down in southern New Jersey he's a policeman I don't know if you've ever heard of him his name is Rob McPherson Rob McPherson tells the story this way and illustrates the point because he's a policeman this is the way he illustrates it he'll tell the people he says say you're taking a trip from California to New Jersey And so whatever, it depends on how fast you drive, and that could take you four, five, six days, whatever.
And there you are taking this trip, and you obey all the speed limits, and you stop at all the red lights, and you're just un-wonderful, and you pull into New Jersey, and you're anxious to get home, and you hit that gas pedal to go maybe seventy-five in that final hour, and he says, I see you. And I pull you over. And he says, you tell me, officer, he says, you don't understand, I stopped at every red light. I obeyed the speed limit in Wisconsin, in Illinois, in Ohio. So obviously I'm not guilty. If that doesn't work that way, I write you a ticket because you're guilty now. What you've done now, what you did earlier has no power to remove the penalty of what you've done now. And God is that holy. And He says in James two ten, whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one point he is guilty of all.
Just one. Sometimes when we illustrate this, it can. We'll tell children, we'll say, say one was standing up here and the other is in the back and you're holding a five hundred link chain and you pull it tight. Now we'll ask the children, how many of those links have to snap for the connection to be broken? Well they get just one. The whole connection is broken. One sin keeps you out of a holy God's presence and makes you guilty beforehand and all the good works that you have done. Just like that person who drove three thousand perfect miles cannot absolve him from the ticket of the law he did break. And so we're not saved by works. And we must take our place as a sinner. And we must come to God for mercy.
The road to hell is paved with religion. Pride in one's ability. Pride in one's performance. It's also paved with a six lane. We could call it power. Power. The ability to feel like you're in control, to have people doing what you say, is a powerful thing. You know, when Satan tempted the Lord Jesus, he said, do you see all the world kingdoms? He said, all the power of them and the glory I can give them to you. The power, the security and pride it puts in one. To see, be able to control people and have people adore you and do what you say. Men pay great price to get power. Men lie to keep power. Did you know that? They do. Power is an attractive thing.
People murder to keep power. People do all kind of things. So get this thing called power. There were people on this lane also in the Bible. And they were the very chief priest of Israel's religion. They're recorded for us in Mark chapter fifteen. The Lord Jesus said, or rather the Bible says concerning the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus, that we referred to Pilate earlier. And Pilate, as we said, wanted to let the Lord Jesus go. And he saw that the people would let him go, even though they were all stirred up. So he gave the people a choice between the number one criminal of that day by the name of Brabus and the Lord Jesus. And he says, well, one, they have a choice between the number one criminal.
They're obviously not going to want to let him go free. And they'll let me release Jesus. But the reason he said that, because he knew the reason Christ was before him. It wasn't for a sin. It says, Pilate knew that the chief priest had delivered him for envy. You know what that means? They were jealous that Christ had more followers and people liked him better than they liked them. They were losing their power. They had less numbers at their religious gatherings. Less people were following them. They were less important than they were a year before Jesus Christ came, for the people were now listening to him. They felt that power slipping away and their whole thing against the Lord Jesus was envy. He's making us less important. And rather than turn and trust him, to hang on to that power, they said, let's kill him and deliver him to the Roman government.
The road to hell is paved with power. You look at your career, you look at this, you say, I got to get ahead. I got to get more. I want to be secure. I like this feeling of being able to lead and direct. Well, there's time you need to do that. The Bible does call us to certain positions of authority. But when that is your whole pursuit that's not laid at the feet of God, it becomes sin. Road to hell, paved with power. Both roads, by the way, are toll roads. You see, we've been talking about the road to destruction. It ends with a heavy toll, doesn't it? You see, especially here in New Jersey, you're used to toll roads. Coming up the parkway today was reminded, you know, of New Jersey all over again.
But there it is. Tolls all over the place. The road, the wide roads is a place that has a toll booth at the end. The end there is of the way of destruction. You know, Romans six twenty priests is the wages of sin is death there is a price you see we don't feel that price now everything's going great we might be popular but at the end of that row there's a toll booth and as we're saying it is destruction it is separation it is conscious torment it is the lake of fire in the words of Revelation twenty fifteen a tremendous toll of being forever separated from God forever wanting what you couldn't have forever tormented for your sins A tremendous toll the Bible calls destruction.
Are these things worth that price? I realize they mean something down here. Are they worth the toll at the end of it called destruction? I want to tell you there's good news tonight, though. Thank God there's another road where I wouldn't be here. It's called a narrow road. It's narrow. And there's a gate. You must enter the gate to get on the road. It's a choice of coming on. Enter at the narrow gate or the straight gate. A few there be that find it. But I'll tell you the difference in this road. It too is a toll road. You know where a toll booth is? Right at the beginning. There's some roads, and when you get off, you pay your toll. And there's others, the toll booth is right at the beginning.
And this toll booth is at the beginning. And the good news of God's gospel, who loves the world, is that horrible toll which is death, as we've been talking about. The wages of sin is death, suffering, and separation from God. That toll has been paid for you. I was driving to Ohio for some meetings a couple years ago. Got out my ticket, you know, never had it quite happen like this before. It was quite a healthy amount on the ticket and I was getting the money out and I go up to pay it and she said, don't worry about it. I said, the person in the front paid it. I don't know how they knew how much unless they gave such a denomination, a high denomination, told them to keep the change. The price was paid and I went on free.
The toll booth is at the beginning of the narrow road. The gospel goes on to teach in the Bible that Christ died for our sins. First Corinthians fifteen three. That the sin factor has been dealt with. Christ just didn't get baptized for our sins or give money for our sins. That's not the wages of sins. The wages of sin is death. And he had no sin. He left heaven and the Son of God lived through life, but he never sinned. But he died for your sins and my sins. And the whole sin factor that separates you from God and me from God, that price has been paid. The Bible gives it a technical term, redemption. Redemption means to obtain by meeting the right price. And Ephesians one seven tells the saved person, it says, in whom Jesus Christ the Lord, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.
You see, you enter in at the door. The Lord Jesus says, I am the door or the gate. By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved. It is not a matter of what you're going to do to get rid of your sins and please God. It's a matter of what God has already done for you two thousand years ago when his only beloved son hung there and suffered and took your curse on the tree and bore our sins in his own body on the tree. First Peter, two, twenty four. And there the whole sin factor was dealt with in the person of God, the son. God loves you that much and requires that type of a sacrifice. Yes, when you come to Christ, there will be people that turn away from you.
There is a cost to pay in that sense of the word. As Second Timothy, three-twelfths is, yea, all that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. People might walk out and you might lose a promotion at work. Some countries you get physically abused. Here in Western society, it's usually emotional abuse. And the Holy Spirit that He gives you will give you power not to fulfill the lust of the flesh. Galatians five sixteen and there's certain things that you call pleasure now that you'll no longer have a desire for and you'll have power to overcome them yes it is a narrow road but that price for your sin has been paid for and the reason you know God gives you a receipt you know what sometimes when I pay a toll they understand that certain business people keep records they say would you like a receipt and the receipt is proof that if someone questions you that the toll has been paid God has given us a receipt that the toll for our sin has been paid at the beginning of the road, not down the end what we do for God, but what Christ did for us.
That receipt is the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Right hand of the majesty on high. If he's good enough for God, that God has put the Lord Jesus on his own right hand, is he good enough for you? And if you have problems with coming and believing on the Lord Jesus, then you have a problem with You and God are at odds. For God has accepted him. He's at his own right hand. But you haven't accepted him. You and God are in as close as you might thought you are over the Jesus factor. And the assurance that you have that you don't have to worry if you trust the Lord and you show up in heaven and God says, well, that was just that chapel down there. You know, they kind of brainwashed you. I never said that was the way. You have a receipt that God himself has raised the Lord Jesus from the dead.
And that is your assurance, your proof that he is God's Savior and Lord. The toll's been paid. The assurance has been given. And Christ said that our responsibility is to enter in at the straight gate. He doesn't drop you on it. You must come on it. Get off the broad road. And come to the Lord. And yes, it's a narrow way. And yes, you're a minority. But I want to tell you, it ends in life. What the Bible calls life. And that makes all the difference. The gift of God is eternal life. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. And everything... on that broad way that people are grasping for, you'll end up getting anyway and a million times better. You talked about pleasure.
Listen to King David in Psalm sixteen eleven. Thou wilt show me the path of life. In thy presence is fullness of joy. At thy right hand are pleasures forevermore. In eternity the pleasures Ages to come of God showing His riches and grace and His plan to us. At His right hand are pleasures forevermore. The very thing people grasp at will be in heaven on a righteous basis. You talked about power. How about this? There's a kingdom coming. And those that are saved are going to reign on the earth with the Lord Jesus Christ, Revelation five, ten. You're going to reign over the new world coming. The church is told in first.
Prentians six two, do you not know that the saints shall judge the world? How's that for power to be over God's new world that's coming? You talk about prosperity. The capital city, the new Jerusalem is going to have streets, as it were, of transparent gold. It's going to be in a multi-jeweled city, so impressive that the nations, the kings of the nations will come to that city to worship the Lamb and God there. That's how impressive it's going to be. It's going to draw the very kings of the nation. The saved people of this age will be in that city and part of that city. You talk about power and prosperity and pleasure and wisdom, philosophy. Colossians two, three says, in Christ and God are he at all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
And he's going to take all eternity to show us the exceeding riches of his grace. It's going to take that long to unfold his wisdom and what he has for us. Everything that people are grasping on, the counterfeit, on this temporary life down here. God has for you on a righteous basis, and it ends in life, what he calls eternal life, and the kingdom coming, kingdom coming. But there is one more lane on that road to destruction. We could call it the lane of procrastination. You've probably heard the old adage, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I do believe in the Lord. I plan to enter in someday and come to him by faith, but not just yet. There are a few things I just want to accomplish and enjoy first.
There is a day I plan to come, but not just yet. The lane of procrastination. There was a governor. His name was Felix, and he ended up in that lane. The Bible speaks of it in Acts chapter twenty-four. The Apostle Paul stood before this governor, even though he was a prisoner, that is the Apostle Paul, and he boldly witnessed the gospel. He reasoned of righteousness and temperance and self-control and judgment to come, destruction. And Felix was so shook up by the gospel message. The Bible says this governor began, his knees began to shake. He began to tremble. He began to think about eternity and his sin and his sinful life and then the good news that was offered in Christ. He began to shake.
Then he turned and he said something to Paul. He didn't say, I reject it. He didn't say, get out of here, I don't believe it. He said, go thy way for this time. When I have a convenient season, I will call for thee. At a better time, a little more convenient time. He never called for Paul again, the Bible records. Other things came in. He never had a more convenient season. That's why we can apply. Second Corinthians six, two. Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. The road could end tonight. You have no guarantee on tomorrow. Don't be on that lane of procrastination and put your faith. So we left it at that. About three days later, I got a call.
Would you go to the hospital and see Mrs. Calabrese? She's had an aneurysm, and she got out of the shower. A vessel exploded in her brain. And the machines there, you know, I don't think she's a vegetable, but you never know, they say. Would you just give her the gospel anyway? It's a very frustrating thing, but you're there giving the gospel, and there's no response whatsoever. And a day later, Mrs. Calabrese went into eternity. The road to destruction, procrastination. Now is the accepted time. And so I ask you tonight as we close, which road are you on? And are you sure? You can't, there's only two. There's not three. There's not some middle road that leads you to La La Land or something that God will kind of make exceptions for.
There's the road to life and the road to destruction. You can't be on both at the same time. And the only way you can get on the narrow way you must enter onto it. Are you sure you're on that one? Have you come to the Lord Jesus? Is your faith not on what you're doing for him, but on what he did on the cross? You've taken your place as a sinner. You've admitted in humility that you need his mercy. You've seen that he died for your sins. And God has assured you of the whole thing. They raised him from the dead. You've trusted him. And his spirit has come into your life. And he's changed your life so you're no longer living like the people on the road of destruction. And you're on that narrow way. And by his grace, it ends in life. He asks you to enter in.
He says you'll be a wise person if you do. That when the storms of God, judgment comes. you'll be wise your faith will stand because the blood of Christ will forgive you forever and you'll be with God if you're not saved would you enter that narrow gate even now and be part of that blessed minority that by his grace by the Lord Jesus will give you everlasting life you can call on him from your heart even as we pray if you have any questions something you'd like to talk about from the Bible would be happy to stay behind others here would be happy too but you can call on the Lord and he'll save you He's the Savior, not us. We're going to close in prayer. It's been good to be with you, and if you'd like any of the free literature, you help yourself.
Our Father in heaven, we just thank you for this time in the name of the Lord Jesus. We thank thee there are two roads. There's not just one, the destruction. But he came that he might save. And maybe there's some here tonight, and they're not sure. And these things have been used to keep them confused. Popularity or whatever, pleasures, riches. And they're blinding them to the truth. And yet tonight the invitation stands to enter at the narrow gate. And the beautiful news is sin has been dealt with. The price has been paid. And all they have to do is trust the Lord Jesus. And you will save them, the Bible says, and give them everlasting life. And they'll be on that narrow road that ends in life.
Lord, those of us that are on the narrow road, again encourage us on it. and help us not to be ashamed and to rejoice in it and to live in a way that will witness to others. And so we'd ask thee tonight as we close to bless thy word, whether in the ones that are saved or if any aren't saved. And thy spirit will work in a way that we can't even begin to. And it'll work in hearts that will bring them into the truth of our Lord Jesus and into his presence and to please him. So we commit this message tonight, Father, in the name and because of our Lord Jesus Christ, who's on thy right hand. where there's pleasures forevermore. Amen.