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We are still in The Best Sermon ever with Jesus’ sermon on the mount. We have been going through some amazing points on life through Jesus’ sermon. Today we land on a culmination of everything he has been talking about.

We have learned to this point on:
Who we are supposed to be as a Christian in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:2-12)
How we are supposed to be salt and light to the world (Matthew 5:13-16)
Who Christ is and how he came to fulfill the law (Matthew 5:17-20)
How to control our anger and deal with our anger (Matthew 5:21-26)
We learned about lust and the impact that sexual temptations can have on our lives (Matthew 5:27-30)
We learned about divorce and how that is approached biblically (Matthew 5:31-32)
We learned to keep our oaths before God and man (Matthew 5:33-37)
How to not retaliate on our enemies (Matthew 5:38-42)
That we are supposed to love those in our lives that are difficult to love (Matthew 5:43-48)
How we should give to others (Matthew 6:1-4)
We were given a great example on what prayer should look like (Matthew 6:5-15)
How and why we should fast (Matthew 6:16-18)
What treasures we should pursue in life (Matthew 6:19-24)
We learned about our anxiety and how we should deal with it through His word (Matthew 6:25-34)
How we should not judge others unrighteously and condemn those around us without first looking inward (Matthew 7:1-6)
Asking our Father for needs and how God cares for us (Matthew 7:7-11)

We are moving into the end of Jesus’ sermon. Jesus is wrapping up his sermon and making his closing points. He will be speaking in comparisons for the last bit of his sermon.

Today’s sermon is on the Golden Rule and the Narrow/wide gates.

Matthew 7:12-14: “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. “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.”

Now we have all heard the Golden Rule from the time of being little children. Many cultures have different variations of it. But here is Jesus saying to treat others the way we want to be treated.

But this is so much easier said than done. However, most of what Jesus has been teaching to this point is difficult in implementation.

So in the terms of The Golden Rule, Jesus said to treat others on how we want to be treated. He also said that this is the law of God.

This goes all the way back to the 10 Commandments given by God to Moses in Exodus chapter 20. Half of the commandments are how we should treat people around us.

Jesus did not come to abolish these laws but to fulfill them. He wants people to understand that this is the way in which we are supposed to live.

Live with each other in love and kindness, forgiveness and tenderness, mercy and grace.

Some of those words are difficult. I don’t always want to have mercy and grace with people.

Jesus goes on to compare the narrow gate and wide gate.

What is he talking about?

By entering the wide gate it leads to:
1) Destruction
2) Emptiness
3) Despair

By why do people enter the wide gate? Because to people it looks like the easier route. It’s the way that everybody is taking because everybody else is doing it.

Well, church, we are not supposed to be like everybody else. We are supposed to be different.

1 John 2:15-17: “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

We should be different. We need to strive to enter through the narrow gate. But know this, it’s not easy!

The road to the kingdom is difficult. Some of these difficulties are:
1) Death to self interest
2) Death to self importance
3) Death to self righteousness

This is hard church. These things are not easy! We like our time, we want to be free to do whatever we want to do whenever we want to do it.

Christ did not say that becoming a Christian means that life will become easier.

He actually said in Matthew 10:38-39 that we are to take up our cross and follow him.

Matthew 10:38: “And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.”

The cross, a roman torture device, is what Jesus was telling the disciples to take up. They were confused. They didn’t know how Jesus was going to die.

But taking up our cross is willing to put to death all of these things in our lives that is of self importance.

Luke 9:24-25: “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?”

Trials and discipleship will have far share of trials in life. One because sin wants to enter into our lives when we are living for Him. Two, that wide looks so much easier.

Church, let’s be different. Let us walk through that narrow gate together. Let’s carry each others burdens while we go. Let’s walk with empathy and understanding. Church, live your life in the understanding that easiness is not always the best answer.