Introduction
In the Gospel of Luke 13:24, the Lord Jesus tells us to “Struggle to enter through the strait entrance,” or, as other translations say, “Strive to enter through the narrow door.” We live in a world overwhelmed by digital information that can be misleading, particularly concerning the Christian faith. Many believers in the Lord Jesus rely on social media today for their faith, but the abundance of digital information from various sources can lead to doubt and confusion about maintaining a godly Christian lifestyle. Therefore, faithful believers should engage in prayer and meditate on the Word of God. It is important to study the Bible using a literal translation, as it more accurately reflects the original writings given by the Holy Spirit. For further information about the Bible, please read our article: “The Canon of Scripture.”
The Lord desires us to choose to serve Him willingly and to do what is right by our own free will. The Holy Spirit speaks to us in our hearts through the Word of God, but He will never impose Himself on us; ultimately, it is our responsibility to meditate on the Word and apply its teachings to our lives.
Unfortunately, there is a growing trend of Christians trying to incorporate the ways of the world into the church. They seek to conform to worldly standards and cultural norms to avoid feeling judged or excluded. However, the Word of God reminds us that it is better to be rejected by the world than to be cast into the hell of fire (Matthew 18:9). Therefore, for all followers of the Lord Jesus, it is wiser to remain on the narrow Christian lifestyle path than to experiment with worldly influences.
Remain on the Narrow Path
We serve a merciful and loving God, yet we must be cautious, as worldly temptations can lead us to drift away from our faith, potentially leaving us outside His kingdom. When faced with uncertain situations regarding right and wrong, it is safer to stick to the narrow path rather than take unnecessary risks. As stated in Luke 13:22-30, we should remain vigilant and steadfast in our beliefs, and we will not miss the true entrance, the Lord Jesus, into the Kingdom of God.
22 And He was going through towns and villages, teaching, and making progress towards Jerusalem.
23 Then a certain one said to Him, Lord, are they few that are saved? And He said to them,
24 Struggle to enter in through the strait entrance; for many, I say to you, will search to enter in and will not be able.
“Struggle to enter in through the strait entrance.” In this place, the Lord tells all, you have the entrance to be saved: enter in; even the entrance is narrow, but if you try, you will enter in. But the strait in this place does not mean about the size of the entrance; this strait is about the teaching of the Lord. There is only one way to be saved: have faith and put your trust, the trust from the deep of your soul, not from the mouth, in the beloved Son of God, and there you will find the place to be saved.
“For many, I say to you …able.” But now the Lord is talking about those searching for the entrance that opens and is easy to go through, which is a different entrance than the strait entrance; pay attention to the word strait in the first part. People who seek the easy way to enter into heaven, easy, but they cannot get through; you must always go through the strait way, which is the right way to enter into heaven, but not many will find it.
See also Comments Matthew 7:14.
25 From after the master of the house may have risen up, and may have shut the entrance, and you begin to stand outside, and to beat at the entrance, saying, Lord, open to us; and he answering will say to you, I know not where you come from;
“From after the master … the entrance.” “From after the master has risen” is when the Lord returns to earth, and the marriage feast of the Lord takes place. After the resurrection of our Lord Jesus, heaven’s entrance has been opened, waiting for all the faithful to enter. After the marriage feast of the Lord, the entrance will be shut, and it will be too late to enter; the Lord has already given enough time for all humans, and the entrance will be shut forever. (See also Comments Matthew 25:10 and “Complementary Comments about the Marriage Feast, Rapture, and Tribulation” in Comments Matthew 25:6).
“And you begin to stand outside, …, open to us.” When the entrance has been shut down, all humans will be left outside. They will come begging to enter, but the beloved Son of God has given enough time to all humans already to repent and come to Him, but now they come at the door and knock, but the door has already been shut permanently; it will not open for anyone.
“And he answering will say to you, I know not where you come from.” The answer is clear: the beloved Son of God does not know you at that time because you did not answer His calling. The Lord Jesus has begged every heart to come to Him for so long, but those have ignored Him, and when the entrance is shut, the Lord will not recognize anyone.
26 then you may begin to say, We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets;
Before the entrance has shut, the beloved Son of God has sent His servants to proclaim, “the time has come, repent, come now and enter in,” but many have ignored it. The Lord has been in your life; He spent time with you in your daily life; He called you, but you have ignored His calling; the entrance is shut, no repentance is accepted anymore.
“We ate and drank in your presence …streets.” Here, you should think as well; the Holy Word has been written down, not only for people in that time but also for people nowadays. When you read the Bible, you must expand the meaning for people at that time to what it is for you today. You are doing work, and you know the Lord has created all things, and all that you are doing now in your daily life is also in His presence; you have heard that the Lord Jesus died for you, but you did not accept Him. Think of the earth itself as is in Him; what you see all is in Him, He is in everything you see, so we all eat and drink in His presence (see Acts 17:24-28).
27 and he will say, I tell you, I know not where you come from; depart from me all workers of unrighteousness.
This verse is clear in itself: when the entrance is shut, He will not recognize you. You did not work to come in, but you worked to go far from the Lord and tried to take someone else with you; you have worked for the dark, not for the light; it is over, and the recognition has ended.
28 There will be the weeping and the grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, but yourselves cast out.
If you are not in the kingdom of God, then the outer is dark and tormenting; the human term can say that it is hell, but the hell will swallow you up, and then the light of heaven will be as a star in the sky for your eyes to see, but not close by.
Humans use the human mind to think about the kingdom of God, but when that time comes, every soul knows each other, regardless of where on earth you are coming from; nevertheless, whether you are Jew or not, you are all His children and know each other (this refers among believers).
For those who are outside, at that time, it is not the eyes that see, but the knowledge that comes in front of you like an image to see. So, imagine in this way as well: the Lord has portrayed a clear picture that your spiritual eyes can see and recognize who those you see are, but you are not there with them because you are cast out.
29 And they will come from east and west, and from north and south, and will recline in the kingdom of God.
30 And behold, there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last.
The verse tells that people come from all around the world, but those who come and think that they should be first to enter because they come from a long distance (here we mean mind distance) and their hearts have already prejudged and see that they are worthy because of the distance, will not be the first ones who enter even if they are first to be there. Still, those who come last, with difficulty, those who have come and passed through many troubles and did not give up because they have given their hearts to the Lord and are willing to go through the troubles to reach the Lord (here we mean people that have many difficulties in life and take time to come fully to the Lord), these will be the first that the Lord receives. The difference between these two groups is that one has the self-confidence that they are safe, while the other has humbleness.
Those who come from long distances, we mean they come from comfortable lives and riches and leave what they have, and coming makes them believe they have given up so much, and they deserve to be accepted first.
Conclusions
In conclusion, as the Lord Jesus tells us in Matthew 24:13, “the one having endured to the end, this will be saved,” we must keep our faith until the end to secure a place with our Lord in the Kingdom of heaven. For a faithful follower of the Lord Jesus, it is essential to be aware of false prophets and teachers, as mentioned in Matthew 7:15, and to recognize that savage wolves, disguised as sheep, may infiltrate the church (Acts 20:29) to confuse the faithful and lead them astray. Furthermore, we are witnessing a world that is increasingly leaning toward lawlessness, where the love of many will grow cold (Matthew 24:12). In these latter days, people will become boastful, selfish, proud, and lovers of money (2 Timothy 3:1-5). Therefore, we must stay in the Word of God, pray, and meditate upon it with the help of the Holy Spirit. We should allow the Holy Spirit, our Holy Teacher, to instruct us in the teachings of the Bible and in how to live our lives in this world without being tainted by it. If we seek understanding from God’s Word, we can trust that the Lord will provide it to us (John 16:26). We must never forget that it is better to maintain a narrow living lifestyle and be pleasing to the Lord than to compromise and become tainted by the things of the world.
We encourage everyone reading here to check our blog entitled: “Teachings about How to Be a Disciple of the Lord Jesus.”
Meditation Tasks:
- Ask ourselves if there are areas in our lives where we see worldly influence. Pray to the Lord to give us understanding from His word on how to correct these areas.