This exposition of Matthew 7:13-20 was delivered by Pastor Rod Harris at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, November 2, 2014.
Intro:
In October of 1985 our family moved to the thriving metropolis of Masham to begin service in our first church. Rheadon and I had made our first trip to Masham in September of that year. I had been asked to come and supply at the church with the possibility that they would ask me to serve as their pastor. Masham is located between Pawnee and Ralston 3 miles west of highway 18. Now I’m not sure that “small” is the right adjective for describing Masham but like the man said, “I passed through Masham the other day but I didn’t see it. There was a pickup parked in front of it!” Masham was once a thriving boomtown complete with a school, boarding houses and stores. By the time we arrived all that remained was the church, a few houses and a quiet country cemetery. Masham was a bit off the beaten path. You traveled at least three miles down a dirt road no matter which direction you came from. That means no one “happens through” Masham. You have to make a point to go there. To borrow from the King James, one has to come to the conviction, “I must needs go to Masham” or you’ll never get there.
In the 7th chapter of Matthew our Lord makes it clear, no one just happens to end up in heaven. No one stumbles across it on their way to somewhere else. We enter into the life of faith by choice. We knowingly chose to follow him. This comes near the end of his “Sermon on the Mount.” He had gathered his disciples on that hillside to instruct them about life in his kingdom. This is life as he intends his followers to live. This is what he demands of them. A life of genuine righteousness. Righteousness that flows from a character transformed by the grace of God. A righteousness that begins as an inside work. It is not an exterior make over but a spiritual transformation. The first great summary statement of the sermon is found in Matthew 5:48 – “Be perfect therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” In chapter 7 verse 12 we find the second great summary statement – “do to others what you would have them do to you.” Then from verse 13 through the end of the sermon is series of warnings designed to reinforce the significance of the message. Our text this morning is found in chapter 7 verses 13-20.
Text: Matthew 7:13-20
The issue = genuine righteousness
This is about kingdom living
Character – conduct
It is about who we are
As our text unfolds the message becomes clear:
Thesis: A life of genuine righteousness demands that we embrace the truth of the Gospel and guard against false teaching.
There are two great demands that I want you to note from our text.
- The truth of the Gospel demands a clear-cut choice. (7:13-14)
Let’s bring this down to a practical level, which means:
No one can come to God through nature.
It also means no one can come to God through pious thoughts or religion. Neither can man find God through morality, either by attempting to live up to - The truth of the Gospel demands vigilance against false teaching. (7:15-20)
How do I know a false teacher? There are some “tests” in our text:
There is no “narrow gate” in the teaching of the false prophet.
False prophets do not have disturbing doctrines in their messages.
There is the test of “good works”