We return this morning to Matthew's Gospel and to our Saviour's Sermon on the Mount which is recorded by Matthew in chapters 5 through 7. We are drawing towards the end of this sermon and many think that there is a transition between verses 12 and 13 of the 7th chapter of Matthew in which he moves away from teaching the path of righteousness that his disciples are to walk in, to calling them to walk in that path, he applies and exhorts his disciples with the words that follow in verses 13 through 27. Be that as it may, in verses 13 and 14 we have very familiar words, words that time and time again have been used in evangelistic crusades setting before the people a choice that is to be made, how they are to live their lives, with whom they are to walk through this world and what their ultimate destination might be depending upon the choices that they make. Well, while it may be relevant to use this imagery in that kind of setting, that is not first and foremost the purpose with which Jesus uses these words. He is speaking to his disciples. Now there may be a few people in this world who live uniquely individual lives with their own convictions, their own ideas, their own values and their own lifestyles without a thought to what anyone else thinks about them. They seem to live in their own little universe. But the vast majority of us conform. we conform to a greater rather than a lesser degree to those around us. That's not to say that we don't have any thoughts of our own, any private ideas, any personal convictions, but we want to fit in. We want to be accepted. We don't want to stand out. We don't want to be different, we certainly don't want to be weird. But even when we find groups of people who share our interests, with whom we have common convictions, it's very easy for us to limit aspects of our lives to those times when we are among those people who agree with us, who share our convictions and our interests. Sitting on a hillside in Galilee, With his disciples gathered around him, listening to his teaching, Jesus was well aware of this fact. Jesus knew that this would be a challenge for them. This would be an issue that they would face, that they would struggle with. And at all through the ages of history, the disciples of Jesus Christ have struggled with. And so he instructed them how they should live. And he said to them in Matthew chapter 7 and verse 13, enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction. And those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life. and those who find it are few. I want you to observe firstly the need for us to be non-conformists, the need for us to stand against the flow of the current, to swim against the tide, to be different from those around us rather than conforming, rather than fitting in, rather than chameleon-like blending in with our surroundings so that we look no different from the world around us. We need to be non-conformists. As disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, we must be different from the world. The way of the majority is not safe. That is what Jesus is saying. It's an easy way to walk. to fit in with everyone around you, to go with the flow. You don't have to expend any energy. You don't have to use any effort to simply drift along with the tide. It's not hard work. It's not a struggle. It doesn't involve any suffering. You just lie back. and flow on with the crowd. But Jesus says that that way leads to destruction. It's like a river that is flowing steadily and calmly along between its banks. until suddenly there is a precipice ahead and the water flows over that precipice in a torrent of destruction for any life that may be born along on its surface. The way of the majority in this world, Jesus is saying, is the way of death and we need to be different Paul writing to the Romans makes this clear in the twelfth chapter of that letter. He applies the teaching, the theology, the doctrine that he has so wonderfully set before them in the earlier chapters showing them the universal sinfulness of mankind and the destruction that they face under the just judgment of God and exhorting them to find life and hope and peace in the Lord Jesus Christ who came into this world to save sinners. He exhorts his readers, I appeal to you therefore brothers by the mercies of God to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world. Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed, be changed by the renewal of your mind. Your thinking needs to be changed. Your thinking needs to be renewed. Your thought patterns, the things on which you set your mind, need to be different. You need to view this world from a new perspective. not from the perspective of those who have lived in this world, in the darkness of this world, blinded by the lies of Satan and his subtle schemes, who think they are at peace, who think all things are well, who think that the end will be heaven, when in reality it will be hell. You need rather to think according to the mind of Christ. You need rather to be thinking with a heavenly perspective on this world. To recognize how Satan's grasp upon this world is so strong. that he has succeeded in blinding the eyes of everyone born into this world. That there needs to be a renewal, that there needs to be a transformation, that there needs to be a change. That your thinking needs to be changed. Because it is the way that we think that affects the way that we speak and the way that we live. It is what we deem to be of value in our thoughts that will affect that which we strive for and put our energy into. And so Paul in this letter to the Romans is urging his readers to take to heart what he has told them about sin and about judgment and about salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. And the implications of that salvation is that their lives must change. Their lives must be renewed. Their lives must be transformed. And they must give up the things of this world, the dreams of this world, the aspirations of this world, the goals of this world, as though this world is all that there is. And they must understand that they must strive for the world to come. that all of their energy, all of their effort must go into pursuing that which will last for eternity, a life of righteousness, a life of humility, a life of service to God for his glory. And so when Paul writes to the Ephesians, in Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 22, He challenges them to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. There is a putting off, a putting off of the things of this world and the ways of this world, the dreams of this world, the goals of this world. To be renewed, to be transformed in the very seat of their being, in their hearts and minds, to live for God and for righteousness from God. Again Paul writes to the Colossians, In Colossians chapter 3 and verse 5 he says, Put to death therefore what is earthly in you, sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked when you were living in them. but now you must put them all away. Anger, wrath, malice, slander and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free, but Christ is all and in all. There is a putting off, there is a renewing, there is a transformation that must take place if we are to avoid the judgment that is to come, if we are to avoid the destruction that will fall upon all those who are walking that broad way, who have entered through the wide gate, That broad way that leads to destruction is an easy way. It is a pleasant way. And there are so many who walk in that way, Jesus says. And that was the experience of Asaph, who penned Psalm 73. He looked at the prosperity of the wicked. He saw how all that they sought to do, all that they sought to achieve, so much was accompanied by success. They were enriched by the things of this world and their lives seemed to be comfortable lives, easy lives. He compared his own life with the lives of the wicked. He sought to pursue righteousness. He sought to live according to the law of God. And he found it a struggle. He found it hard. He found it difficult. He found that time and time and time again he fell short. And so, day by day, he experienced the discipline of God. He was rebuked. He was chastened. He was corrected. He was told off, as it were. by God and this was the struggle that he faced that he endured day in day out as he looked on and he saw the easy lives of the wicked and how pleasant it was and he was tempted by that. thought, oh how I long to have an easy life, how I long to be free from the struggle, from this effort, from this constant battle in my heart and in my mind to do what is right, to walk a path of righteousness. His feet almost slipped, in his step he almost stumbled. But by the mercy of God his eyes were opened as he contemplated the end of the wicked. All through this life in this world they may prosper, they may be at peace, their lives may be easy and they may be comfortable. It may seem that their barns are full and they say to their souls, be at rest, eat and drink, For you have an abundance for years to come. But there is a God who is watching, a God who is observant, a God who knows all things, and a God who has decreed the number of everyone's days. And to the rich fool of whom Jesus told, the day came when his soul was required of him. That night he perished, perished in his comfort, perished in his ease, perished in his peace, perished in his prosperity and stood before Almighty God whom he had denied, whom he had forsaken, whose entreaties to surrender and repent had gone unheeded, he stood before Almighty God and he experienced his holy justice. And Asaph saw that in Psalm 73, he saw the end of the wicked, he saw that their feet were on slippery places, though they thought they stood firmly At any moment the ground beneath them could fall away at God's command and they would plunge into the pit of hell forever and ever and ever. That is the plight of those who walk the broad way they are destined for destruction Jesus says. And he urges his disciples not to be like them, not to follow them, when the pressure is so great to conform, to fit in, to wear a mask. Jesus says don't, don't do it, stand firm in your faith, not wavering at all. hold to that which is true and right, cling to the Lord Jesus Christ. The psalmist in Psalm 1 also spoke of the wicked and their ways and urged those who read his psalm not to walk in their council or to stand in their way or to sit in their seat because he said the wicked will not stand in the judgment nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous or they may stand and stand firmly in this world their council may seem so wise in this world Their seats may be so comfortable in this world but they will not stand in the judgment. They will not be present in the congregation of the righteous. The gavel will fall and guilt will be acknowledged and condemnation will be experienced for all eternity. Do not be like them, Jesus says. Do not conform. Do not give in to the pressure. You need to be non-conformists in this world. You need to stand out in the crowd. not blend in. You need to be loyal to the Lord Jesus Christ, not loyal to the values of the group. You need to be non-conformists. The second thing that I want you to observe is that Jesus tells us that we need to be conformists. We do need to conform. Not to the majority, not to the crowd, not to the world around us. But we do need to conform. Jesus says, enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life. and those who find it are few but they're there. There are those who are walking that way that leads to life. There are those who have passed through the narrow gates and are on the way to the celestial city, to the heavenly Jerusalem. to the abode of our God and our Saviour. We are, you see, not to be isolated individuals. We're not little islands floating around in the ocean of this world, each one independent. When Peter wrote his first letter, In 1 Peter chapter 1 and in verses 14 and following, he said, as obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance. But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct. Since it is written, you shall be holy, for I am holy. And if you call on him as father, who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. called into the family of God, to bear the character of God, to be conformed to the likeness of God, to the image of God, for in the image of God mankind was first created and set in the Garden of Eden as a garden in which God had cultivated and planted for them to be a place of his presence with them while they served him to expand that garden until it enveloped the whole world. It was a dwelling place of God among men and they there were to represent him and live for him in his image. But they marred that image. They spoiled that image, they defiled that image by disobeying God, by going their own way, by living according to their own wisdom, heeding the voice of the serpent who deceived them rather than the voice of God who is truth. And so the image was marred. And Peter is saying, you need to recover the image. You need to live out the life of God in holiness in this world. And that is not an easy thing to do in the world that is still opposed to God. That is not an easy thing to do in a world that is violent and greedy and lustful. all things that God is not, for God delights in peace, and God desires truth and holiness and purity. These then are the things that poor Peter is calling his readers to, as God had said, you shall be holy for I am holy. These are the children of God, they bear the family resemblance. And so realize you're not one alone. You are not the only son of God. You are not the only child of the Almighty. You have been brought into a brotherhood. that Jesus Christ who gave his life as a ransom for many, that Jesus Christ who rose from the dead on the third day and was exalted to glory, is the firstborn among many brothers, that he may bring many into glory with him, all resembling him, all having his likeness, which is the likeness of God. the creator and the sustainer of all things. And so we are to be conformed, conformed to the likeness of our brothers around us, to our fellow pilgrims on the road to the celestial city. We are to encourage each other, we are to build each other up in love as Paul says when he writes to the Ephesians. We are to strive together to make progress through this world. One is to exhort another to love and good works. And when one finds a brother in sin, he's to correct him and challenge him and seek by God's grace to restore him. This is our responsibility, not to be alone in this world, but to be together in this world, conforming to the image and likeness of our God. What a blessing, what an encouragement to have others around us who are walking the same way, who are on the same path, who are traversing the same road, who are living the same life to the glory of our God and our Saviour. What a benefit it is to us to be checked by them, corrected by them, challenged by them. You know Jesus often spoke about the traditions of men. He criticised the Pharisees for their tendency to elevate the traditions of men over the law of God. In fact, he said that they went to the extent of denying the word of God, the law of God, undermining it by their own traditions. The Apostle Paul says similar things, he speaks about his own life, his own values before he was confronted by Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus when his whole life was turned upside down, when the trajectory that he was on was changed dramatically. So that rather than being a persecutor of the church, he became a promoter of the church. And the Apostle Paul says, well I used to live according to the traditions of the elders. And the Apostle who said that wrote to the churches and exhorted them to follow traditions. and not the traditions of the elders certainly, not the traditions of their forefathers but the traditions that had been given to them through Jesus Christ and the apostles. And so Paul writing to the Colossians in Colossians chapter 2 and in verse 8 says see to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world and not according to Christ. But in 1 Corinthians chapter 11 he writes in verse 2 and he says, now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you. Or in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 and in verse 15 he says, So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter. Or in chapter 3 and in verse 16, Sorry I've got the wrong text there. But again in 2 Thessalonians he speaks about the traditions that they are to walk in. Or we could turn to 2 Timothy. where Paul writes to Timothy in chapter 1 and in verse 13, follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me in the faith and love that are in Christ. The pattern of sound words. It is the same idea as that of traditions. or to the Romans. In Romans chapter 6 and verse 17, using a similar phrase, he says, But thanks be to God that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching, to the pattern of sound words to which you were committed. And so there is a change, a change from conformity to one thing that was wrong, that led astray, that was not consistent with the law of God, to conformity to a new thing that was right and true and worth pursuing. And in the New Testament then, we are called to a body of truth that we are to believe and by which we are to live our lives. They are traditions or they are patterns of sound words. In other words, what I'm saying to you is this. You don't live as an individual, isolated from everyone else, coming to God's Word and saying, I will understand this the way I want to understand it. But you must check your understanding of God's Word by the knowledge and the wisdom that has been granted to others who love God's Word. throughout the history. of the church, error has come in when individuals have gone their own way, taking portions of God's Word and understanding them and applying them in ways that were inconsistent with the tradition that had come to them, the pattern of sound words that had been passed from generation to generation. And all of these things of course are anchored and centered in the Lord Jesus Christ who ultimately is the one to whom we are to be conformed. It's not just about being part of a club and obeying its rules. Being part of a church and conforming to its standards. we are to be conformed to the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is God's purpose for us, this is God's plan, this is God's intention, this is God's goal for us. For Paul writes in Romans chapter 8 and in verse 29, Those whom he foreknew he predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son. We are to be like Jesus Christ. We're to observe his life and we're to emulate his life. We're to see how he refused to conform to the world around him. But he molded his life in accordance with the Word of God. In other words, he conformed to the Word of God. To its truth that was light for him. And that same light is the light that is to guide us. That pattern of sound words is to mold us. so that we become throughout our lives more and more like the Lord Jesus Christ, being transformed from one degree of glory to another, until at last we all together, all those who are on the narrow way, all those who have entered through the narrow door, all are brought to perfect perfection and beauty. as the bride of Jesus Christ, fit to be his helper for all eternity, sitting beside him upon his throne as his queen. We need to be conformists, but the one to whom we are to conform is the Lord Jesus Christ, and his truth which he has entrusted through the apostles to the church. Now there's a third thing that we need to observe from Jesus' words in our text. We've seen that we need to be non-conformists as far as the world goes. We've seen that we need to be conformists as far as Christ goes. We also need to see that what Jesus is presenting to us here is a daily reality for our lives. It may seem at first glance when Jesus says, enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life and those who find it are few that he is speaking about a specific point in our lives when we make a decision to follow Jesus, a specific point in our lives when we come to the end of ourselves and realize our utter wretchedness and sinfulness before a holy God and appeal to him for mercy and are assured of his grace and forgiveness. Then we enter by the narrow gate, then we enter through the narrow door and begin our pilgrimage along the narrow way that is so hard. so difficult, so treacherous at times but a way that leads to life and so of course this text has been used in evangelism. But as I said at the beginning, Jesus isn't speaking evangelistically here, he's exhorting his disciples. And even as he tells them, enter by the narrow gate, he also speaks of a gate that is wide and a way that is easy and that leads to destruction and that there are many who enter it. It is as though Jesus is presenting kind of a fork in the road as it were and there are these two gates and a choice must be made. Which gate will I walk through? Now the broad road that leads to destruction in one way is a road that we all begin our lives on. In that sense we never actually choose to enter through a gate, a wide gate, into an easy and broad path. We are born into that path. What Jesus is talking about is a daily choice that his disciples must make. It is a way of life that his disciples must live day by day. He is talking about a daily reality. This isn't a once in a lifetime decision that Jesus is speaking about. He's saying that every time you get up in the morning, you must make a choice. Who are you going to conform to? The world around or Jesus Christ? Every day as you live your life, as you face various decisions, you have a choice to make. Will I take the broad way or the narrow way? Will I go through the wide gate or the narrow gate? There's a choice to be made. One's easy. You just fit in with everyone around you. That's the easy choice, that day, that moment. And Jesus is saying, enter by the narrow gate. Walk the narrow way. Every day, that choice is faced. Every day, that decision must be made. Sometimes multiple times in a given day. And throughout the Scriptures you see, throughout the New Testament, we have warnings to disciples, to followers of Jesus Christ because not all who seem to be followers of Jesus Christ really are followers of Jesus Christ. There is seed that is sown in the ground, Jesus says. The seed of God's Word. Some of it Some of it falls on hearts that are unprepared, unready and unreceptive, and Satan steals the word away, like the birds pecking at the seeds that fall on the path. But some of that seed falls on ground that has been plowed, but it's shallow ground. There's rocks underneath it. It germinates, it begins to show the promise of life but then the sun comes out and beats down and that little germinating seedling is scorched and burned and killed. Others of the seed falls in patches where the seeds of weeds have been blown and they're surrounded by the weeds which which draw the nutrients out of the soil and smother the little germinating seedling and kill it and make it unfruitful. You see, there are people who at first seem to show promise, but they do not continue. There are warnings throughout the New Testament that we need to be sure, we need to be steadfast, we need to be persevering, we need to not give up in the way, we need not to be blown around by every wind of doctrine, we need to not be taken up with the things of this world so that we make shipwreck of our souls. There are so many warnings in the Scriptures and here's another one. But Jesus says day by day you need to make a choice. Will you conform to the world or will you conform to me? Will you communion like blend in the world around you, with the world around you so you don't stand out, you don't look different, you don't look weird, you don't become the object of their scorn or of their abuse. You just blend. You're one of them. Or will you stand for the truth? Will you stand for righteousness? Will you stand out in the crowd and be the target of that derision or worse? In Luke chapter nine, verses 23 and following, Jesus said, if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself. Another warning. Take up the cross. When? In one moment? One day? And that's it? It's over? You took up the cross? You identified with Christ? No, daily. Daily the cross must be borne. Daily this choice must be made. There are two ways to live. Only two ways to live. and only one of them leads to life. The majority in this world are living in a way that leads to destruction. Are you one of them? Are you fitting in with the world? Conforming with the world? Living according to the pattern of this world? and you're on a road to destruction, you've entered the broad way. A minority are living the way that leads to life. And as they live that way, every day they will feel pressure to conform to the majority. But we must resist that pressure. We must conform to the minority, to those who have devoted themselves to following Jesus, carrying each one his cross. It's a non-conformist conformity. And it cannot be done selectively. It cannot be done secretly. Today, today I'll conform to Christ. Tomorrow, well tomorrow's Monday. Tomorrow I have to go to work. Tomorrow might be different. Christ is calling us to wholehearted allegiance to himself in every situation. and every circumstance. And such living will be hard. Jesus doesn't, he doesn't dance around on this. He doesn't pretend. He is blunt. It is hard, he says. It is hard. It is difficult. It is painful. But it will be worth it. It leads to life, life eternal, life that is abundant, a life that is full of the glory of God, that we may share in his glory forevermore. To use the words of an Old Testament hero, choose this day whom you will serve, And may that be your choice every day, if it is the choice to follow Jesus. Let's pray. Lord God, help us, we pray, by your Spirit, help us in our weakness. Not only do we feel the pressure to conform to this world, we confess that too often we give in to the pressure Have mercy on us, we pray, and forgive us, we ask. And help us, in the strength and power of your Spirit, to resolve to walk with Jesus, to conform our lives to him, and to encourage one another, and help one another, and urge one another on to conformity to Christ, day by day. We ask in his precious name and for his glory, now and forevermore. Amen.