The Narrow gate

santana75

Matthew 7:13
"You can enter God's kingdom only through the narrow gate. The road to hell is broad and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the Gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult and only a few ever find it."


What exactly is the "Narrow Gate" that Jesus was referring to, is it a way of life? How do you find the narrow gate? I read these words and I know I want to find this path but Jesus says that very few ever find the way, which is a daunting prospect. Does anyone have any ideas as to how you can go about finding and following this path?

antiskeptic

santana75 wrote: »

Matthew 7:13
"You can enter God's kingdom only through the narrow gate. The road to hell is broad and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the Gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult and only a few ever find it."


What exactly is the "Narrow Gate" that Jesus was referring to, is it a way of life? How do you find the narrow gate? I read these words and I know I want to find this path but Jesus says that very few ever find the way, which is a daunting prospect. Does anyone have any ideas as to how you can go about finding and following this path?

My take on it is rather simple. When you're born again, you have the Spirit of God within urging you towards Kingdom living. You also have sin within urging the opposite. So far so straightforward

Paul writes, from a jail cell in Rome, about having learned the secret of contentment in every situation, including, presumably, in the dank, threatening squalor of a jail cell in Rome.

Paul appears to have entered the narrow gate. Fully entered. Others have a bit of both: going God's way (the narrow way: putting to death the deeds of the flesh) and going not God's way.

Few find Paul's way it would appear: scripture says so and looking around at Christians including myself, life says so.

How do you find it? Full commitment I suppose. And in the measure you are committed (knock on the door), so will God respond to a son

kelly1

For me it means keeping Jesus' commandments. Fighting against the passions/desires of the flesh, striving to do God's will, being faithful to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

santana75

Theres also this from John 6:27

"Don't be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the son of man can give you"

I feel these are related: The narrow gate and spending your energy seeking the eternal life that Christ can deliver. But what does it mean to spend your energy seeking the eternal life of Christ? Do you give up all other things(including work)and give all of yourself to this. Paul said that he wishes we were all unmarried so that we could give our full attention to doing God's will.

homer911

Hi Santana
Those are deep questions which are at the heart of what it means to be a Christian. The Narrow/Wide gate for me is linked to the "I am THE way" statement from Jesus (look up all the "I ams" if you get a chance). The world is full of different religions, many claiming that they are paths to righteousness and salvation. Within the Christian faith there are many who choose their own interpretation of Jesus' message and are convinced that God will never condemn anyone to hell. On the contrary, Jesus is telling us that there is only one-way to the Father, and its not open to interpretation; its not an easy path and its not one that we can sneak around or take an "ah, shur it'll be grand" attitude to. The narrow gate is the start of the journey of living relationship with God, the moment when we choose to put our faith in him above all else. It can't be bypassed.

If you haven't read Pilgrim's Progress, I'd highly recommend it. Near the start of the book Christian encounters people who have not come through the narrow gate - specifically addressing your question (get a modern English version)

homer911

santana75 wrote: »

Theres also this from John 6:27

"Don't be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the son of man can give you"

I feel these are related: The narrow gate and spending your energy seeking the eternal life that Christ can deliver. But what does it mean to spend your energy seeking the eternal life of Christ? Do you give up all other things(including work)and give all of yourself to this. Paul said that he wishes we were all unmarried so that we could give our full attention to doing God's will.

Jesus is referring to spiritual food, not physical food, or indeed your physical desires, which are transitory. The NASB translates this passage as..
"Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal."

In other words, don't spend your time on frivolous or transitory desires, instead focus on eternity and your relationship with God

santana75

homer911 wrote: »

If you haven't read Pilgrim's Progress, I'd highly recommend it. Near the start of the book Christian encounters people who have not come through the narrow gate - specifically addressing your question (get a modern English version)

I actually just read that book about two months ago. Have to say it really resonated with me. I also read Tozier's In pursuit of God, which talked about the Narrow gate and also putting on the mind of Christ. Which is another concept Im struggling to fully understand.

nthclare

I'm a pagan myself and my interpretation of the narrow gate in Christianity is what we'd say about the road getting narrower as time goes by, your moral compass gets better and consciously you don't get away with bad thought's and deeds.

So at the start it's a wide road and you're acting out on character defects and shortcomings, eventually when you've learned a lot of life's lessons through bad desisions and thoughts the road gets so narrow but you'll have a more peaceful life and in other ways the road you're traveling will be an open road of peace and tranquility.

It's hard to get one's head around it, but it's worth it.

homer911

nthclare wrote: »

I'm a pagan myself and my interpretation of the narrow gate in Christianity is what we'd say about the road getting narrower as time goes by, your moral compass gets better and consciously you don't get away with bad thought's and deeds.

So at the start it's a wide road and you're acting out on character defects and shortcomings, eventually when you've learned a lot of life's lessons through bad desisions and thoughts the road gets so narrow but you'll have a more peaceful life and in other ways the road you're traveling will be an open road of peace and tranquility.

It's hard to get one's head around it, but it's worth it.

But Jesus never described himself as a road, He is the narrow gate, at the start of the journey
John 10:9 "I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved"

santana75

nthclare wrote: »

I'm a pagan myself and my interpretation of the narrow gate in Christianity is what we'd say about the road getting narrower as time goes by, your moral compass gets better and consciously you don't get away with bad thought's and deeds.

So at the start it's a wide road and you're acting out on character defects and shortcomings, eventually when you've learned a lot of life's lessons through bad desisions and thoughts the road gets so narrow but you'll have a more peaceful life and in other ways the road you're traveling will be an open road of peace and tranquility.

It's hard to get one's head around it, but it's worth it.

Can I ask you a question........you admit youre a pagan but yet you say that understanding the path of Christ is worth it. How is that possible? You're obviously an open minded person and I admire this greatly, but how do you reconcile paganism with the understanding you have of Christ?

nthclare

santana75 wrote: »

Can I ask you a question........you admit youre a pagan but yet you say that understanding the path of Christ is worth it. How is that possible? You're obviously an open minded person and I admire this greatly, but how do you reconcile paganism with the understanding you have of Christ?

Well I am open minded but I don't believe in the Abrahamic God and a lot of the old testament is quite violent.

I love the land and water and appreciate the heat off the sun which is fire....

Yes the Christian message is ok, the sermon on the mount is quite impressive, but I don't like the trail of traumatic events Christianity left in it's wake.
Torturing people and burning witches at the stake, the inquisition....

I don't know if there's a God, some people say it's a delusion others are quite adamant he exists.

I'm sceptical myself.

I like the mystic's and the Celtic type of Christianity...

santana75

nthclare wrote: »

Well I am open minded but I don't believe in the Abrahamic God and a lot of the old testament is quite violent.

..

Yeah I had the same issues with the old testament. For a long time I didnt want to go near it(after having briefly studied it). But I felt compelled to go back to it to examine it again. So I did and I see it in a completely different light now. It is violent, this is a fact, but underneath it all you can sense its part of a bigger story arc. I mean if you just focused in on the violence its easy to miss whats actually going on. And to see that its necessary to really study the book with an open heart and mind. Its a living text which I find reveals its secrets the more I study it.

nthclare

santana75 wrote: »

Yeah I had the same issues with the old testament. For a long time I didnt want to go near it(after having briefly studied it). But I felt compelled to go back to it to examine it again. So I did and I see it in a completely different light now. It is violent, this is a fact, but underneath it all you can sense its part of a bigger story arc. I mean if you just focused in on the violence its easy to miss whats actually going on. And to see that its necessary to really study the book with an open heart and mind. Its a living text which I find reveals its secrets the more I study it.

It's probably part of a bigger story but it's easy to find coincidental scenarios while reading both book's and comparing them.

There's so many different ways of being a Christian.
But in my opinion it's probably easier to keep it simple and just get on with life as honestly as you can.

I've seen all the debate's here between the atheists and Christian and it going around and around....

The non believers saying, the Christians are cherry picking.
Because they're not true Christians if they don't do whatever...

So some atheists version of Christianity can be a bit off the wall too.

My version of paganism could be completely different to another's, in paganism you get the know it alls too...

antiskeptic

homer911 wrote: »

(get a modern English version)

I'd stick to the original. It's not often you get to read something written in another, familiar and perfectly understandable language (old English) and that's worth the extra effort. But it forces your reading to slow down, which gives opportunity to grasp some of the things that are being said. Reading it at the moment, as it happens.

antiskeptic

santana75 wrote: »

I actually just read that book about two months ago. Have to say it really resonated with me. I also read Tozier's In pursuit of God, which talked about the Narrow gate and also putting on the mind of Christ. Which is another concept Im struggling to fully understand.

My problem isn't so much understanding the concept as it is applying what I know to everyday living.