The Fork in the Road

How many of you have ever received or gifted someone with a box of chocolates? Whether it be valentines day, an anniversary, a birthday, or an out of the blue surprise, these boxes are delicious but they can take quite a while to fully devour. There was once a little boy who was given such a box and he received some instructions along with it. You can have one at a time, no more than one, but any one that you’d like. The boy sat with his box of chocolates contemplating each chocolate in the box. Should he begin with the biggest one? How about the smallest? What about the chocoliest sounding name? How about the one that he hadn’t ever heard of before? Who knew a box of 16 chocolates could present so many pressing questions to a young boy! We face choices each and every day. What outfit should I wear? What should I do first on my to-do list? Should I come to church today? What should I eat for dinner?

It’s estimated that we make 35,000 choices each day! That’s an insanely high number and many of these choices are made instantaneously such as whenever we wake up and have to go to the bathroom or get something to eat. Those are choices, but we naturally do them because our body tells us that it’s time to go or it’s time to eat! There are other times throughout our day, though, when we must make a hard choice. Should I accept this job? Should I work out today? Should I eat what I want or what is healthy? Some of our choices are hard simply because there are so many options available to us in our world. Now instead of there being 4 TV stations, we have thousands. Instead of there being 2 soda brands, there are hundreds. Instead of there being a handful of things to do in the summer time, there are millions on our phones and tablets. We simply have too many choices… Enter Jesus Christ as He helps us simplify things.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus makes things black and white for us. There are 2 gates. 2 roads. 2 trees. 2 foundations. 2 paths. There aren’t a million options… There are 2: There is right and there is wrong. What a lovely idea in a world of indecision and confusion! Our problem today is this: We stand before a fork in the road and we must make a decision that will carry with is lasting consequences! On the one side, we can look to others and see that many people are going through a wide gate and a broad path and follow them because it’s what most folks are doing. On the other side of the fork we see very few people walking and the path is very narrow. Where are you at this morning? Are you walking down the narrow path after Christ or are you chasing after the bright lights of this world? Friend, today I pray that wherever you stand that you would choose to follow Jesus and continue to do so each day of your life. While we have many important choices that must be made, this is the most important choice of your life!

Matthew 7:13–23 CSB

13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. 14 How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it. 15 “Be on your guard against false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves. 16 You’ll recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree can’t produce bad fruit; neither can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So you’ll recognize them by their fruit. 21 “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 in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name?’ 23 Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!’

Choose Your Gate (13-14)

If you’ve ever traveled to a major US airport such as Dallas, Atlanta or Chicago then you know how confusing it can be to get from one flight to another because of all of the gates and terminals they have. You might get off of one flight and have to get on the sky tram to get to another terminal in a matter of minutes to hit your next flight. This can be a little stressful as hundreds of thousands of other people are doing the same thing! Think of what your airport gate represents. Your flight ticket will have a gate number and if you get to that gate in time, you will board your plane and that plane will take you to your destination. If you’ve ever watched the 2nd home alone movie, you know the danger of going to the wrong gate and boarding the wrong plane. What happens if you go to the wrong gate? You end up at the wrong destination! You might be planning on going to Orlando and you could end up in New York separated from your family.

Airports have lots of gates and lots of destinations and these gates send you out to your future city. In Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus tells us that there are 2 different gates… Not 100, not 25, not even 10… Just 2! This should make our choice pretty simple, right? Not so fast. Jesus shares that these gates are not exactly the same. One gate is large and inviting and many people are walking to it. The other gate is small and not as many people are standing next to it and walking through it. What are our options? Today you have 3 choices. You can do nothing. You can walk through the wide gate. You can walk through the narrow gate. Let’s evaluate our options here. Jesus gives us a command in verse 13 and says with authority for us to ENTER through the narrow gate! Doing nothing is something and doing nothing will lead you to the wrong gate. Why would He give us this instruction? Why tell us what to do? After all, who does Jesus think He is, our world wonders? What is so important about this narrow gate? Let’s start by looking at the bigger, nicer looking, more popular gate.

If there are 2 gates and Jesus says to enter one, it follows that He is telling us not to enter the opposite gate. Why not? Jesus answers this question by saying that the wide gate leads to destruction. What kind of destruction? How can Jesus know this? The picture being painted by Jesus here is one of a gate, a road, and a destination. The wide gate and broad path will lead to destruction. Jesus doesn’t say that it might lead to destruction or problems… It’s black and white. This decision will always lead to destruction. But this way looks so nice on the outside! The literal idea of this gate is that it is roomy. There is room for everyone on this path. You can feel this way or that way or believe in this thing or that thing and there is room and inclusion for everyone in this gate and path and as a result it is so appealing for people. The lights are neon and they are flashing and they are attention grabbing… But it will lead to eternal destruction.

What is the other gate option? The narrow, unpopular one. If the broad gate is roomy, the narrow gate is restrictive. There isn’t room for all sorts of views and beliefs through this gate. There is room for belief in one person. The path isn’t easy. It’s not glamorous. It’s not rainbows and butterflies. The plane ride is bumpy. The obstacles are intense. But this is the gate that Jesus says to enter through. Why? Because this is the gate that leads to life. The popular gate might draw a crowd, but it leads to separation. The narrow gate might look like a drag, but it leads to celebration.

DA Carson once said this, “Entering the Kingdom begins here through the small gate, onto the narrow way of persecution, under the authority of Jesus Christ.”

Just as a plane gate serves as entry to the plane ride and to your eventual destination, these 2 gates will lead to radically different paths and radically different outcomes. We must choose wisely! Don’t make your choice based on numbers as many people will go through the wide gate. Look at the promised outcomes. A tough journey with Jesus that leads to eternal life is better than an easy journey without Jesus that leads to destruction. Our choice today and each day is to continue to enter through the narrow gate and to walk the narrow path. The only way that we can do this is to have Jesus change our actions. To have Him guide us each day to follow Him as we should.

2 Timothy 2:19 CSB

19 Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, bearing this inscription: The Lord knows those who are his, and let everyone who calls on the name of the Lord turn away from wickedness.

Turn away from wickedness and follow God’s guidance. As we do this, He promises to bring us safely home but we must first call on Jesus and believe in what Scripture says about Him. The way that leads to life is a narrow one, an exclusive one. While the world might promise prosperity and happiness, it is a dead end path to eternal destruction. Which path are you on today? Have you repented of your sins and trusted in Christ as Lord? If not, go to the right gate today. If you have, continue to walk that narrow path to your destination so that you will not drift to the path of destruction.

Choose Your Root (15-20)

Jesus next section moves from the external to the internal. It’s one thing to go through the right gate and board the right plane, but it’s another to do this and continue to produce good fruit along the journey. If you’ve been on board a plane, at least pre-COVID, there were lots of different food options available to you, for a charge, or a few options for free. You could get your crackers, cookies, soda, and water for free or you could pay a little more for a more filling option. Regardless, whenever the flight attendant began to walk through the aisle and started asking people for their options, you could tell that there were 2 types of people. There were people who knew exactly what they wanted and there were others who took a long time to make a decision because of all of the options. During this thing called life, just like on the airplane, we are faced with choices… But again, Jesus narrows down our choices to 2 options. There is a good root and a bad root, just as there was a wide gate and a narrow gate.

What’s the big deal about our root? Jesus is clear that a good root will lead to good fruit and a bad root will lead to bad fruit. Your root will produce your fruit… Left to ourselves and our sin, we will produce bad fruit but because of Jesus Christ we can produce good fruit as He changes us from the inside out. The ball is in our court to either be connected to Christ or to stay connected to culture but the outcomes are radically different.

Jesus gives a couple of examples of people who are not connected to Him - He calls them ravenous wolves in sheep’s clothing. Another label for a false teacher. These wolves said the right words, more often than not, but they had selfish motives and serious character flaws because they were not connected to the right root. These wolves came to the sheep, you don’t have to go look for false teachers, they will come to you more often than not! How can you tell if they are legitimate or if they are a fraud? This takes discernment. This takes careful evaluation. This requires righteous judgment - think back to Matthew 7:1. To the people that say that you are not allowed to judge anything or anyone, think of the world that we’d live in.

Someone steps to the pulpit and says that Jesus was not the Son of God. Jesus is not the only way to be saved. Jesus is dead. Jesus is not coming back. Many of you get uneasy even at the mention of those things because you know that the Word of God says something different… But remember, you can’t judge, so you can’t get uneasy. That person is living out their own truth. You can’t tell them that they’re wrong. Do you see the slippery slope we get into whenever we misunderstand Matthew 7:1? Again, the point Jesus is making is that we can’t play the role of God… We are called to practice righteous judgment and evaluation. We look to their fruit. We look to their character and their teaching.

1 John 4:1 CSB

1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

We are called to test what we hear according to the Word of God! How many of you know of Mahatma Ghandi? He was a revolutionary in India who taught some good human principles. You could say that his character was admired by many people and lots of folks would say that he bore good fruit… Yet, we know that he was not a Christian and that his teaching was not centered on Scripture. On the opposite side, we know some people claim to be Christians and their character is awful. How can we know a good tree that is connected to the root of Christ? By doing a doctrinal and practical test.

Do they teach salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone or do they preach a message of moralism and self-improvement that you and I can do enough on our own to work our way to be saved? Those are contradictory messages. The Bible is clear that we are all sinners in need of a Savior and only one of those messages aligns with Scripture. The other one is a false gospel. The first passes the doctrinal test, the second fails.

Next, does the person live out what they preach? Is the fruit of their life similar to what we find in Scripture and throughout their words? Some people talk about Jesus but if you look at their lives they live a different lifestyle. They’ll swindle people for every last dime they have so that they can have gulf stream jets and 10 million dollar compounds called homes. Other people will preach and teach a message of legalism and hatred or universalism and inclusion for all humanity. All of these individuals fail the practical test. They are not aligned with the Word and their messages lead to incorrect action/beliefs.

What must we do? We must practice what we preach. We must evaluate the fruit that we see - we can’t judge the eternal destination of an individual and play the role of God - but we must not be fools and devoured by wolves. We must know the Word and be connected to Christ. Jesus gets intense here. If you are not connected to Him, if you are a bad tree, you will be cut down and burned in the fire. Friend, if you are at the fork in the road, look at the options here. One way leads to life. One way leads to destruction. One way leads to joy. One way leads to pain. We all need Jesus to change our root so that we will produce fruit that points others to Him. We must continue to choose each day to bear fruit and show others what Jesus has done to us!

Profession will not lead to protection. Profession is easy as everyone says the right words… But how do you live? What is your root? Your root will inevitably lead to your fruit.

Choose Your Why (21-23)

As we think about the fruit we are producing, we also have to think about why we are doing what we are doing. As we think about our “why” factor, some people as we read in the text, will be surprised. Some surprises are good things… Other surprises, though, are bad. Going out to eat at a fancy steakhouse only to realize midway through the meal that you forgot your wallet is not a good surprise! Ordering a pizza only to find out that it’s already been paid for on the other hand is a good surprise! Whenever we expect something to go a certain way and it goes a different way, we are surprised. Look at the surprise that Jesus dives into in verses 21-23!

This is concluding the thought on false teachers and false disciples from verses 15-20 and Jesus shares that many will be told on judgment day to “Depart from me… I never knew you.” If you had a ranking of the worst news you could imagine hearing, this would have to be at the top of the list. This is worse than hearing a bad health diagnosis. This is worse than getting a bad report card. This is worse than being let go from your job… This is the King of Kings saying that He never knew you and that you will be separated from Him for all eternity. How could this happen? How could someone who claims to know, follow, and love Jesus have this very thing told to them?

It comes back to the why factor. Look at what Jesus says these people will say, “Look at me!” “Look at what I did.” “Look at what I said.” Church, salvation isn’t found in us. It’s not found in anything that we do. It’s founded in what He did for us. Each and every one of us will stand before the Lord one day as 2 Cor 5:10 says, and we will give an account of our lives to God for all the good, bad, and ugly things that we’ve done… Luke 6:46 cuts as deep if not deeper than Matthew 7:21.

Luke 6:46 CSB

46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things I say?

If God asked you, “Why should I let you in?” What would you say? Some will say, “Lord, Lord, look at all the mission trips that I went on. Look at all of the signs and wonders I performed. Look at the sermons I preached. Look at the specials I sang. Look at the VBS’ I helped out with. Look at the work I did for you!” What’s the problem with these answers? The actions are great! But it’s not about us. Rip the I out of those answers. Why should God let you live with Him? It can’t be because of you or me, it HAS to be because of Jesus. As Alistair Begg once shared, look at the thief on the cross. This isn’t how it works, but suppose that there’s an angel at the entry to heaven and this thief shows up and the angel asks what he’s doing there. The thief says that he doesn’t know. The angel is confused and begins to ask him some questions. Were you faithful to follow God’s law? No. Are you clear on the doctrine of Scripture, justification, and the Trinity? I’ve never heard of any of those things! So why on earth are you here?! Because the man on that middle cross said that I can come!

Our works can’ t cut it. Even the devil has the power to do some seemingly miraculous things! Signs and wonders can’t be our baseline. Words won’t work. Actions aren’t enough. So how can we have hope that this will not be our fate? Ask yourself this, “What does being a Christian mean to you?” Does it just mean that one time in your life you said the ABC’s or walked an aisle? Does it mean that you do some works in your spare time for the Lord? Does being a Christian to you mean that you know some stories about Jesus? See, if salvation was founded on repeating some words or doing an action here or there then the overwhelming majority of the Bible belt and lots of Americans would be set. You could walk down the street in St. Louis and ask people are you a “Christian” or “do you know about Jesus” and if you asked 100 people you’d probably get 80-90 who would say yes! But why do they say yes? What about whenever push comes to shove?

See, our works can’t be our entry into heaven. And Jesus isn’t interested in 1 action when you were 10 and 60 years of unrepentant disobedience. If you just give Jesus lip service today, you can expect Jesus to banish you tomorrow. What does He want? He wants our heart. He wants us to do His will as Matthew 6:10 reminds us of. He stands as the doorkeeper. He stands as the bridge. He has all authority. He is our Savior, but He is also the One who will banish people from His presence if they end up with the wrong motivation… So what is your motivation for following Jesus? Is it to get earthly things from Him? Is it to acquire power and influence? Is it to achieve an easy life? If that’s our motivation for following Jesus, 1) We’re not going to be good followers. 2) We’re going to be in for a surprise on the last day. Our motivation must be to obey the Father because of who He is and because of who we are.

Of the 35,000 choices that we make each and every day, no choice is as important as choosing to live for Jesus and following His commands faithfully as best we can. As Philippians 2:12 reminds us

Philippians 2:12 CSB

12 Therefore, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, so now, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Jesus has paid the price. We don’t have to fear that… But salvation from the wrath of God against our sinfulness is something that must force us to stop in our tracks and check ourselves. To check our gate. To check our path. To check our motivations and ensure that we are following Jesus for who He is. To make sure that we have repented of our sin and placed our faith and loyalty to King Jesus. To make sure that we are following after Him daily as His Word commands.

Conclusion

In order for you and I to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus must change everything about us!

Will you follow Jesus and walk this narrow road or will you reject Jesus and walk the popular road that will lead to your eternal destruction?

Will you stay connected to Jesus and produce good fruit of life or will you connect yourself to the teaching of this world and produce bad fruit that will consume you?

Will you obey God’s will as His disciple or will you seek your will and prioritize your convenience?

1. Even though it’s not easy, enter the narrow gate

2. Even though it’s not easy, faithfully produce fruit

3. Even though it’s not easy, follow Jesus

Are you with Jesus or are you against Him? There can be no neutrality about an empty tomb. Jesus hasn’t left us 10 options, He’s left us 2. These 2 paths could not lead to more different places. One will look appealing and attractive but it will such the life out of you and leave you with nothing. The other will look difficult and daring but it will provide you with more than you could ever imagine and give you purpose in the midst of the storms. What have you done at the fork in the road? What have you done with King Jesus?

His road will be difficult. Following Jesus will lead to persecution and opposition. It won’t always be easy or popular. But… His road is the only one that will lead to life and, friend, Jesus gives you life abundantly and life everlasting.

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