Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, vols. 13–63

Verse 13. Enter you in at the strait gate. It is very unpopular. The great ones will recommend to you great liberality and breadth. But enter yet in at the strait gate.

13. For wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are which go in there. That is a rule that is very unfashionable in these times, but depend upon it, the Lord who gave it to us, meant it for all times. That which seems narrow, which costs you self-denial—that which is contrary to the will of the flesh—that which does not seem to charm the eye and fascinate the senses—go after that! "Enter you in at the strait gate." You will not be likely to err much, or too much on that side. Let this be a gauge to you. That kind of preaching which allows you to indulge in sin—that sort of teaching which lowers the standard of God's Word for you and makes you think more of your own judgment than of the teachings of Christ—away with it! Let others have it if they like. "Enter you in at the strait gate, for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are which go in there."

14. Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way which leads unto life, and few there are that find it It is still so. Indeed, none find it unless Grace finds them! He who made that gate must go after the wandering sheep and bring them through that gate. They will never choose it of themselves.

15. Beware of false prophets. Some honor and esteem all prophets. "Is not it a very high office? Is not a prophet a man sent from God?" Yes, and no! For the very reason there are counterfeits whom God has never sent. Beware of false prophets.

15. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. They look just like sheep. They look just like shepherds, but it is only their clothing. The mere hypocrite is the goat in sheep's clothing. But a false prophet is a wolf in sheep's clothing because he can do so much more harm—and will do so much more damage to the Church of God!

16. You shall know them by their fruits. They are sure to come out in their actions. If you have not got the knowledge of theology and the like, to be able to judge their teaching, yet the simplest persons can judge their actions "You shall know them by their fruits," which are sure to come out sooner or later.

16. Do men gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles?Did you ever find a cluster of grapes growing upon a thorn bush? Grapes and figs are pleasant fruit, and holy living, true devotion, communion with God—these are the things that are sweet to God and to good men. But they come not of false doctrine. They are not seen in false prophets. Such prophets despise such things as these. They are for worldly ways and places of worldly gaiety they can frequent. Not so the servants of God!

17-19. Even so, every good tree brings forth good fruit: but a corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit Every tree that brings not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. That is what comes of it in the end. It may spread itself abroad and may gather much admiration to itself for its verdure, but there is an axe being sharpened and a fire being kindled!

20. Therefore by their fruits you shall know them. You cannot judge them by their bark or by the spread of their branches, or by the verdure of their leaves, or even by the beauty of their blossoms in springtime. "By their fruits you shall know them." The Savior here gives us a very earnest and very necessary warning, lest we should be deceived, for there are such who are not only deceived by their own sins, but deceived by false prophets who are among Satan's best agents!

21. Not everyone that says unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom ofHeaven. They were very sound in Doctrine. They called Jesus, "Lord." They believed in His Deity. Apparently they were very devout. They said, "Lord." They worshipped Him. They were very importunate and earnest. They said, "Lord, Lord," crying to Him again and again. But "not everyone that says unto Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven." External utterances, however orthodox—professions, however sound, are not enough!

21. But he that does the will of My Father which is in Heaven. Oh, dear Friends, there must be holiness in us, for without holiness no man can see the Lord! It is not knowing the will of the heavenly Father, but doing it which is the mark of Divine Election. If God's Grace has really entered into us, we, like the Prophets, shall be known by our fruits! But if we are not doing the will of our Father who is in Heaven, we shall not come to the Heaven where He is!

22. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name? Yes, so did Balsam. Was not King Saul also among the Prophets, and yet neither Balsam nor Saul was accepted of God, but they were castaways! "Have we not prophesied in Your name?" A man may be a preacher and an eloquent preacher, and he may even have some blessing upon his preaching—and yet be cast away forever!

22. And in Your name have cast out devils? Yes, and there was one that cast out devils and he was a devil, himself, namely, Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. He went out and worked miracles in the name of Christ—and then sold Christ for 30 pieces of silver!

22. And in Your name done many wonderful works?Yes, and we may do many wonderful works and yet be wonderfully deceived! It is not wonderful works—it is holy works! Not works that amaze men, but works that please God, which are the proof of Grace in the soul. Well, there will be some who will be able to say that they prophesied—that they cast out devils—that they did wonders.

23. And then, will I say unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, you that work iniquity. "I was never acquainted with you. I never had anything to do with you. I was never on speaking terms with you. You never had any fellowship with Me. I never had any fellowship with you. Your motives and designs were very different from Mine. I never knew you." If Christ once knows a man, He will never forget him. But He says, "I never knew you. Depart from Me, you that work iniquity. Get you gone—you are none of Mine." Oh, that we might never hear that dreadful sentence pronounced upon us in the day when Christ shall come! And yet we may be preachers! We may be wonderworkers! We may be famous in the visible Church of Christ and yet, He may say, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you that work iniquity." These are solemn thoughts. Let them sink into your hearts.

24. Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him unto a wise man who built his house upon a rock It was the doing of those sayings that was the building on the rock. You may hear and only increase your condemnation—but to do what you hear is to have a good foundation! This man built his house upon a rock. He was not, therefore, free from troubles. Oh, no!

25. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house.Wherever you build, troubles will reach you—and if you are a child of God you are sure to have troubles! "A Christian is seldom long at ease." The road to Heaven is usually a rough one and there are thieves, lions, giants, and all sorts of enemies on that road. It was a house built on a rock. But the rain descended, the floods came and the wind blew and beat upon that house.

25. And it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock Is not that glorious? "And it fell not." Then the more rain, the more flood and the more wind, the more was the house praised for its good foundation and for its stability. "It fell not, for it was founded upon a rock." Oh, if God has made us holy in life so that we are doing what Christ preaches, especially this Sermon on the Mount, of which this is the close, then we need not fear all the troubles of life or death, for it shall be said, "It falls not, for it was founded upon a rock!"

26-27. And everyone that hears these sayings of Mine and does them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew.For fools get into trouble, too! However big a fool you may be, you will have big troubles all the same for that. "Many sorrows shall be to the wicked." Houses built on sand must still be tried. "And the rains descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew."

27. And beat upon that house and it fell: and great was the fall of it For it could never be set up again! It was down once and for all. A man may fail in life and yet commence again and succeed. But once a bankrupt with your souland you are broken forever! "It fell and great was the fall of it." Do not believe those who tell you that to lose your soul is a small affair which will be made right, by-and-by, by either annihilation or restoration. It is all a ruinous lie! This is the Truth of God concerning it—"It fell, and great was the fall of it."

28, 29. And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at His Doctrine. For He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. He did not quote this learned Rabbi and that—or propose this theory to their thoughtful consideration—He spoke the Truth of God and left the Truth to work its way upon the minds of men, knowing that many would reject it, for it would be a savor of death unto death to them—but knowing, also, that some would receive it, whom He had ordained unto eternal life, to whom it would be a savor of life unto life. Let us copy our Divine Master's example and speak boldly as we ought to speak.

Verses 1, 2. Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they wash not their hands when they eat bread. A very amazing omission, certainly! But it seems to have struck them as a very great crime. "They wash not their hands when they eat bread"—as if the commands of God were not enough—men must overload us with their own commands, and sometimes the very people who would see us break God's commands without being at all distressed are dreadfully shocked if we do not keep theirs, showing clearly that they have a higher estimate of themselves than they have of God!

3-6. But He answered and said unto them, Why do you also transgress the Commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honor your father and mother and, He that curses father or mother, let him die the death. But you say, Whoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift by whatever you might be profited by me, and honor not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have you made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. The cant said, "I cannot give you any help. I have vowed to give it as a subscription to the synagogue, or to the temple, therefore I cannot give it to you," and if he could plead that he had given it as a gift in the form of a religious offering, he was exempted from assisting his own parents. "Well," said Christ, "you do by this make the commandment of God of no effect." "You hypocrites"—our Savior is the most gentle of men, but how plainly does He talk—and how honestly does He denounce everything like hypocrisy!

7-9. You hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, This people draws near unto Me with their mouth and honors Me with their lips; but their heart is far from Me. But in vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. Now, may God save us from these two faults! The first is that of being content with the outside worship of God. Unless our very hearts worship, there is nothing whatever in the outward performance of religious rites or religious worship! Indeed, it is hypocrisy to draw near to God with the lips and knees when the heart is not there. The next evil to be dreaded is teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. Whatever is not plainly taught in Scripture is of no binding force upon any conscience! And it is evil to invent rites and ceremonies which are not taught in Holy Scripture. We must mind what we are doing! If we have not the plain warrant of Christ's command for our teachings and our doings, we shall rather vex the Spirit of God than honor Him. Whatever our intention may be, we have not any right to worship God otherwise than according to His own mind. If we do, it will not be worship and not acceptable with Him.

10, 11. And He called the multitude and said unto them, Hear, and understand. Not that which goes into the mouth defiles a man; but that which comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man. "And He called the multitude and said unto them—"Not that which goes into the mouth defiles a man"—not that which he eats and drinks, "but that which comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man." That is—what he says—that is the point.

12. Then came His disciples, and said unto Him, Know You that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?Some very kind friends are very jealous of the preacher lest he should offend anybody—and they will come in all tenderness of spirit and say, "Know you that the Pharisees were offended after they heard this saying?"