The Way That Leads to Life
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“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.” (Matthew 7:13-14 NIV84) [see full text in button/link below]
Is Christianity too narrow?
“You Christians are so narrow-minded!” This sentiment is a common criticism I’ve heard many times and said when I was much younger. But is Christianity a narrow-minded faith?
I grew up in a nominally Christian, middle-class family. I’d say our family was culturally Christian because we held to general Christian principles. My dad would attend a Christian Scientist church, while my mom attended an Episcopal church. In our area, these two churches were a block apart. Sometimes I would accompany one parent or the other when they went.
As I grew into adolescence and our family dynamics became more dysfunctional, I was enrolled in a catechism class at the local Episcopal church. But soon after my confirmation service, I walked away from Christianity.
It was the ‘60s, a time of social upheaval. I graduated from high school during a cultural sea change and dove right into it. Thus began a meandering journey in search of myself, my own significance, the meaning of life, and a quest for spiritual truth. [1]
My spiritual journey included a lot of side trips (no pun intended). It was a circuitous, indirect route. I sampled various philosophies and religions, including the cultural and moral values of that era with their practices.
Somehow, I kept my nominal Christian moorings as a reference point on my journey. Jesus kept surfacing as a constant point of reference as I investigated the various spiritual offerings popular at that time.
I fell into a routine of reading the Bible every morning along with other quasi-spiritual practices. This continued for about two years as I wandered through life.
Finally, I came to a decision point and challenged God to make Himself known to me in some way. I hiked into the forest of the surrounding mountains to seek a sign from God, but found none that day, which is probably a good thing since a “burning bush” would turn into a forest fire. Seriously, I sought signs, but the Lord wanted me to learn to walk by faith.
Not long after my challenge to God, I came across these two verses in the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 7:13-14), and everything changed. The need to make a decision between the two gates and two paths challenged me. I had challenged God to make Himself known to me, but now I saw this as His challenge to me, of which gate and path I would choose.
Insights
The completion of Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount challenges us to decide between two contrasting choices with two very different endpoints. A choice I made by faith. We need to choose between two different gates that lead to two different paths with two different destinations.
We also need to discern the difference between true and false prophets, as well as two different associations or relationships with the Lord. We are also challenged to be doers of His teaching rather than hearers only. But the consequences of each choice are radically different. We’ll look at these choices in later chapters.
The need to make the right choice between two options with contrasting endpoints reaches back to the Garden of Eden. In the middle of the garden, where all kinds of beautiful trees grew with delicious fruit, God also placed two significant trees—the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (see Genesis 2:9). [2]
When God placed the first man in the garden, God told the man he was free to eat from all the trees except for one. God warned the man against eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, or he would die (see Genesis 2:15-17). This was before God created the first woman, whom He gave to the man as his wife and partner in life.
Of course, if you know the story, you know they chose the forbidden tree. The wrong choice. This changed the course of history (see Genesis 3). Since then, each of us must choose between good and evil on a continual basis each day of our lives.
True Wisdom
This brings us back to the question at the beginning. Is Christianity a narrow-minded faith? Yes, it is, but not in the way most people think. It depends on how you view Christianity. If we view Christianity as a religious institution, then a case could be made for narrow-mindedness. However, the Christian faith centers on a personal relationship with Jesus, established through faith and made possible by His grace.1
This admonition to enter the narrow gate and avoid the wide gate needs to be understood from its original context. Jesus spoke to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who looked to Moses as their ultimate human leader.
God promised the people of Israel, while Moses was alive, that another prophet would come like Moses, but greater than him. The author of Hebrews reminds us that Jesus and His message were greater than Moses (see Deuteronomy 18:15, 18; Hebrews 3: 1-6).
The Jewish leaders expanded the Law of Moses with their many interpretations over several centuries, as noted before. Their many added interpretations made the Jewish faith a broader and more ritualized path than God intended.
Jesus’ teachings in the Sermon on the Mount clarify that our relationship with God is more important than following ritualistic and legalistic rules.
Jesus, the only Son of God, came as the Father’s direct and personal representative on earth and spoke the words the Father gave Him to say (see John 1:1, 14, 17-18; 12:9; Colossians 1:15-20). Jesus also made it clear that He was both the Door (or Gate) we need to go through and the Way to the Father in heaven (see John 10:7, 9; 14:6-9).
Looking at these two verses in Matthew within the context Jesus spoke them and based on what Jesus declares in other scriptures, it might read like this (my wording)—
True citizenship in the Kingdom of God comes through a relationship with Me (Jesus).
If you continue through the wide gate and path of religion, it will destroy you, and many will continue on that path.
But if you follow Me (Jesus), I’ll bring you into the presence of the Father. This will require a commitment that many people will resist. (Author’s version of Matthew 7:13-14)
When God challenged me through these verses, I accepted the challenge. I realized how I’d been going through the wide gate of human philosophy and religion in my spiritual search. So, I chose the narrow gate and hard road because I wanted the life God offered by grace.
Becoming a Christian may appear narrow in an exclusive sense, but only because it is a relationship with Jesus rather than a religious approach to God.
Jesus calls us into a similar relationship with Him as in a faithful marriage commitment. It is a commitment of trust when we choose the life Jesus offers us. He is ever-faithful to us and expects us to be faithful to Him.
Have you made the choice between the wide and narrow gates?
We all make this decision. Either by intention, or by default following everyone else.
Reflections for Prayer
True citizenship in the Kingdom of God comes through a relationship with Jesus by faith, but the wide gate and path of religion lead to destruction. The Lord’s promise of life requires each person to make a faithful commitment to the Lord and continue in it, regardless of how difficult and lonely it may seem.
If you’ve never made a conscious choice to go through the narrow gate of faith through Jesus but want to do so, then ask God to give you faith to believe and follow through on your commitment to Him.
Footnotes–
This is a link to part of my testimony of coming into a relationship with the Lord— Kimball, T. (2022, January 10). The search to know God —. Word-Strong With Trip Kimball. https://tripkimball.com/thinking-out-loud/the-search-to-know-god-mjnal
Here’s a post looking at one of these trees– Kimball, T. (2025, August 22). The FOMO tree. Trip Kimball. https://tripkimball.substack.com/p/the-fomo-tree?r=2de9nt
Here’s a repost of four posts that expand on the most popular post I’ve had on my blog (www.tripkimball.com). It’s a distillation of my thoughts on the Christian Faith.
Kimball, T. (2021, September 16). A redux of my most popular post —. Word-Strong With Trip Kimball. https://tripkimball.com/thinking-out-loud/a-redux-of-my-most-popular-post-kzlx6
This is an excerpt from a recently published book called The Heart and Soul of God’s Kingdom. Look for it on Amazon with my other books— Trip Kimball on Amazon
And you can also see some of my writing over on Substack too! Just click this link– Trip Kimball on Substack
