14th Sunday after Pentecost August
25, 2013
Luke 13:22-30 The Lord’s Narrow Wide-Open Door
Dear fellow redeemed,
“Is heaven large enough for those of another faith?”
* Have you heard
that question before? If
so, it may have caught you somewhat flatfooted.
Maybe you had
just informed a friend that you were Lutheran, in fact, you’re Missouri
Synod!
* And for whatever
reason, this friend had the idea that Lutherans believe they’re the only
ones going to heaven. And you sat there a bit irritated and at a
loss of words.
* “Well, I believe
the truth about who Christ is and what he did to save me.
I trust in his sacrifice for my sin and therefore I certainly
believe I’m going to heaven.
So, I’m a Lutheran.
That doesn’t mean I believe we’ve got this monopoly on the truth.”
* What was this
outburst all about?! All I did was
comment on how Lutheran doctrine
offers great comfort concerning
forgiveness and eternal life, and boy did I get a mouthful!
Was
I coming across somehow as arrogant; as a hypocrite?
* Or was it this friend of yours, perhaps, who was feeling a
bit insecure?
Yes. You must
believe the right stuff. You can’t just
believe any sort of teaching.
The door to God’s Kingdom is narrow. But it’s also wide open to sinners everywhere!
There are many in our lives whose beliefs cause them to feel
insecure about the next life.
That’s why they ask their questions which are both flawed and
unfair.
* I’m thinking
that’s why the person in our text asked his question of Jesus.
“Lord, will those who are saved be few?”
* Christ had been
talking about life in God’s Kingdom.
But he had also
been speaking about sin and evildoers.
* And maybe it
occurred to this individual that God will grade us on some kind of curve
when it comes to giving us
eternal life in his Kingdom.
* But what kind of
curve will God have?
If his curve is
fairly generous, then a lot of people will be saved.
But if his curve
is quite strict, then only a few are going to be saved.
* That’s where many
are at today. There are many professing
to be Christian who sadly
are very insecure about their
future life. Apparently, they haven’t
learned that Jesus
Christ has opened the door of his Kingdom to every kind of
sinner.
It explains why people try to boost their confidence about going
to heaven.
* They sense that
the number to be saved isn’t as high as it might be and they try one of
two things to overcome their
insecurity.
* Either they build
themselves up, or in their efforts to disqualify a certain percentage of
the contestants, they knock
others down.
* Let’s first refer
to those who seek assurance by building themselves up.
They’d like to
sense that God’s door is wide open, but poor religious instruction has left
them believing otherwise. So they try to compensate for their
insecurity.
* They give thought
to their personal association with the church.
If they have the proper ties, they’re thinking, they can
stop worrying.
* Maybe that’s where
the person was coming from in our text.
If only a few people
would be saved, perhaps he already had things covered.
* He was a descendant of Abraham; one of the chosen.
Besides, he observed the Sabbath faithfully; resting from
work on this day every week.
But when Jesus came to his town teaching, did this person really
listen?
* Perhaps he was reading into what his Lord said. And maybe this came fairly naturally,
having received such lousy
instruction from the local religious leaders.
* That’s what often
happens today. People aren’t interested
in knowing the truth as much
as they are knowing that their
pastor or church knows the truth.
Somehow this connects
them to the truth, and that’s all that matters.
1 One person maintains he’s “saved” because he’s “born again.”
Like all of his
friends, he made a decision for Christ.
2 Another person is confident of heaven because like everyone
else in his congregation he
lives a pious life. There’s no carousing on the weekends; his
friends are his church.
3 Another
believes what finally makes the difference is that he’s Missouri Synod.
* And suddenly being
secure has taken on a new meaning.
We’re sure of our salvation not because of Christ; not because of
his Gospel.
Rather, it has to do with our being connected to that certain
group.
* The words of St. Paul may come to mind.
“Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall!”
* Poor instruction
inevitably produces hypocrites; those who are heading for a fall.
And there’s a second way people try to compensate for their insecurity
about their future life.
* I speak of those
who’ve received little or no instruction, or perhaps they’ve turned their
back on it. They try to knock
others down a few notches by making note of their double
standard.
* “The church is
just filled with a bunch of hypocrites!” they complain.
“They act one way Sunday
morning, and then there’s the rest of the week!”
* “They speak of the
narrow door. But it’s simply their way of insisting: “I’m better than the
rest of you, you know, those of
us who don’t make it to church every Sunday.”
* And they’re right
about one thing. There are a lot of
hypocrites in the church.
There are a lot
of people who’d rather be saved by their connection to the church and
other believers, than by the
Gospel and the words of Christ.
The problem is, sometimes people are so turned off by hypocrites,
that they can’t tell the
difference between a hypocrite and a faithful worshiper, for they’re all
lumped together.
* And unfortunately
they end up judging and avoiding those who simply want to confess
their sin and know they’re
forgiven.
* We who talk about
being saved and going to heaven; is apparently the height of
arrogance. How can we go to
church so regularly when we’re constantly proving what a
sinner we are?
* Some might even
remark: “You have no sense of
responsibility!
You join this
church, but you don’t even have to change who you are!”
* Of course, what’s happened, more than likely, is they’ve
made a judgment based on their
observance of a few.
* The fact is, they too have become a hypocrite. They want to feel
positive about their
future, but they don’t want to
hear about their sin and their need for forgiveness.
Whether someone’s a hypocrite or a hypocrite detector, they’re
sure to have something in common.
* They’ve rejected
true and solid instruction. They’ve rejected the Gospel.
And often they’ll
remain insecure about their future until they have no future.
* Jesus speaks about
the owner of the house who gets up and closes the door despite those
on the outside who knock at the
door, saying, “Lord, open to us.'”
* The shut door
represents the end of time or the time God’s grace has ended.
For eternity the lost will try to argue their case.
“We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.”
* “But we were the
responsible ones! We were there in
church every Sunday.
Or: “But we
didn’t flirt or party with those of the world. Our family was our church!”
Or: “But we belonged to that confessional
church where your Word was taught in its
truth and purity.”
* But did they
believe from the Word that they were a sinner?
Having not, the response
will be one and the same. “I do
not know where you come from.”
Apart from proper instruction people cannot appreciate The
Lord’s Narrow Wide-Open Door.
They can only live with the deepest insecurity regarding a future
life with their Savior.
* That’s,
undoubtedly, what Jesus had in mind when he responded to this morning’s
question whether only a few
people would be saved. “Strive to enter through
the narrow
door“ he says.
* He’s not saying
that being saved requires a great effort on our part.
Although many “will seek to enter” on the basis of their efforts,
they “will not be able”
Jesus remarks. For
salvation comes by grace; it’s a gift.
* But what Jesus is saying is an effort is required of us
when it comes to hearing God’s
Word and responding with
repentance.
You see, we’d rather not hear God’s Word. We’d rather not repent of our sin.
We’d rather
fulfill some impressive responsibility and prove to our Lord that we’re
somehow worthy of his eternal
gifts.
* Speaking of the
narrow door we’re to enter, another translation refers not to an effort
on our part but a struggle. It involves a struggle, because we can’t
march though his
door with our magnificent
religious medals.
We can’t strut
inside holding hands with those for whom we have the deepest respect.
* The door is only
wide enough for us to enter on our knees, as we are, poor and
miserable in our sin â and yet
covered by the blood of our Savior.
* And so the door
may indeed be quite narrow. But it’s
open, and it’s wide enough!
“I am the way, the truth
and the life!” Jesus says.
Jesus is the way through the narrow door for he is the
door.
* Only he is both
God and Man. Only he is both Judge and Savior.
And
so only he could lay down his life as the ransom that would cover the world’s
sins.
* Jesus
is the “narrow door”, for he is the only way in.
* But
the only way in is wide open. We acknowledge the truth
about our sin and the truth
about our Savior, and there he
stands welcoming us inside.
But some are still troubled.
* However wide-open
the door may be, they’re afraid it isn’t wide enough.
On the last day God will tell some: “Away from me!” “I don’t know you!” (Matt. 25:12)
* So what about
me? Will God know me? How can I know for sure?
To them the door
isn’t simply narrow; it closed.
* I once spoke to a neighbor of mine who had pretty much given
up on church; any church.
He used to be a Mormon and might have considered becoming
active somewhere else
had he not been so turned off by those who professed the Christian
faith.
* In his case, he wasn’t told only certain Lutherans are going
to heaven.
He’d been told flat out
that since he was a Mormon, he was going to hell!
* Now, although I’d agree that Mormon doctrine can only lead a
person away from the
true
faith, I know what I’ll tell him the next time we have a chance to visit about
religion.
* I’ll tell him:
there are only two religions in the world.
There’s man’s religion which
teaches that the sinner must open
the door to God’s Kingdom.
And there’s God’s
religion which teaches that Christ has already opened the door.
* As narrow as that
door may be, it’s wide open on account of the blood Jesus shed for
every last sinner on the face of the earth.
* Man’s religion can only disappoint us.
Christ’s
religion, however, comforts us, revealing that our Savior has done everything
for us, earning salvation for every single soul on earth.
So where do we find the one true religion? Where is this narrow
door that’s wide-open for us?
* It’s fastened on
every church and home which allows people to repent and believe in their
only Savior. Christ’s religion is found where we’re
permitted to see two very simple
truths.
* First, we can see
the truth about ourselves. Our sin had corrupted us making us arrogant
and puffed
up so that we could no longer fit through the Kingdom door.
* But secondly can
see the truth about Jesus Christ.
He’s our Savior, for he reduced our sin
to nothing, having suffered for
our sin in our place.
* Yes. He’s the one door to God’s Kingdom. Believing what we’ve been taught about our
sin and our Savior, we can see
the door is wide enough to travel though.
“Will those who are saved be few?” “Will only Lutherans make it to heaven?
* Thank our Lord, those are the wrong questions.
The only question we really need
to ask is will my Lord know me on that final day.
* And we already
know the answer to that question. “My sheep listen to my voice” Jesus
says; “I know them, and they follow me” (John
10:27).
* The question is
not how large is heaven.
The question is:
how great is the teaching of God’s grace?
* Think of it this
way; in the words of St. Paul: “This
is good, and it is pleasing in the
sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved
and to come to the knowledge
of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:3-4).
* God would have you
be saved. And that’s just what he
assures you of this day.
Through faithful instruction; the teaching of his truth, you may
know that the narrow
door is wide-open for you!
Amen.
May the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your
hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Amen.
