Don't Get Shut Out of the Kingdom
Luke 18:22-30
By Dave Redick

A narrow door also tends to cause people to make a decision about what's important. To get through a narrow door you soon find that you can't take a lot of stuff with you. If you can barely squeeze through yourself, there is no room for all the things of this world that you might love more than you love God. A narrow door forces us to decide what's important.

Introduction

Have you ever locked yourself out of your car? It has probably happened to most of us. I learned the lesson of always locking my car door with my keys rather than with the little plunger on the door the hard way when I was a teenager. I was working nights and my dad didn't particularly appreciate being dragged out of bed to come down and open the door of my idling 56 Chevy with the keys hanging in the ignition.

Have you ever locked yourself out of your house? I don't have a personal anecdote for that one - at least not one I want to mention in public.

Have you even arrived someplace where you needed a ticket to enter, only to discover that you had left yours at home? Or have you gone to a favorite website only to discover that you're locked out because you lost you password in your latest computer crash.

Ross Balfour tells the story of a guard trainee in Air Force basic training. As part of the course, the rookie guard is supposed to check the ID of everyone who comes to the door - no exceptions. On one occasion a lieutenant colonel came to the door and demanded to be let in. The trainee on duty looked through the window, recognized the rank of the one demanding entrance, and immediately opened the door. He very quickly realized his mistake.

"Airman! Why didn't you check for my authority to enter?"

Thinking fast, the airman replied, "Sir, you'd have gotten in anyway."

"What do you mean?"

"Uh… the hinges on the door… they're broken, sir."

"What? Show me!"

With a twinkle in his eye, the airman opened the door, let the officer step out and slammed the door shut.

"Airman! Open up immediately!"

"Sir, may I see your authority to enter?"

The airman was rewarded for outsmarting his commanding officer.(1)

Being locked out of a door because you lack a key or a ticket or the proper papers or a password is a common experience to most of us. Usually, the results are merely inconvenient. In our Bible text this morning, however, being shut out of a door is a problem to try very hard to avoid. We're going to consider Luke 13:18-30.

(Read Luke 13:18-30)

In this part of the book of Luke, Jesus was on His last trip to Jerusalem before the crucifixion. Making His way toward the Holy City and His final Passover, He preached in the towns and villages along the way, as it says in verse 22. His subject, as we read in verses 18-21, was the soon-to-come Kingdom of God.(2) He was explaining the nature of the kingdom and getting people ready to receive it. "It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and threw into his own garden," He said in verse 19. "It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of meal, until it was all leavened," He said in verse 21.

Then in verses 23 through 30, Jesus warned of a very grave danger - the danger of being shut out of the Kingdom. Some of the very ones who were most certain they would be allowed to get in were going to be surprised to find the door shut in their faces. "Some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last," he warned in verse 30. Things were about to be shaken up.

It would be a terrible surprise for many of the Jews living in those days, just as it would be a terrible surprise to go through life today thinking you're on you way to heaven, only to learn at the last minute that you have been shut out. That's the admonition of my sermon this morning: "Don't Get Shut Out of the Kingdom."

There are at least three things in this passage that we need to do to be assured that we don't get shut out. The first is:

1. Ask the Right Question.

Jesus' teaching on this occasion was prompted by a question from someone in the crowd. Luke recorded it in verse 23…

(Read v. 23)

Luke doesn't mention the motives of this questioner, but if you know the circumstances of the times, it isn't hard to guess what was behind his inquiry. The Jews of Jesus day held a very exclusivist view of who was going to be saved. They (the Jews) would be saved. Everyone else (the Gentiles) would be condemned. To them it was very simple. Their nationality would save them. After all, they were the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Extra-biblical Jewish writings of the time show that this view was prominent. One such writing held these words: "The Most High hath made this world for many, but the world to come for few."(3) Their synonym for "few" was "Jew." Theirs was a stern, jealous, exclusivist, and I might add, ill-founded spirit. My guess is that in that spirit, this questioner was either fishing for Jesus' approval of his hatred of everything not Jewish, or perhaps he was testing Jesus' orthodoxy to see if He endorsed the same selfish attitude.

Either way, you'll notice that Jesus didn't answer the man's question. Iit was the wrong one to ask. Instead, He told the man and those around Him that if they didn't change their ways, they too would be barred from entrance to the kingdom. Rather than look at the condition of others, what they really needed to do was worry about themselves! It would not be the few Jews who were saved and the many Gentiles who were not. Instead it would be the few who were willing to do what He said who were saved and the many, both Jews and Gentiles, who would be lost because the were unwilling. The man's self-serving question, while it might have made him feel superior to some others, wasn't helping one bit. A big shake-up was on the way - a huge surprise that would rattle the foundations of their expectations. Drop down to verse 28.

(Read v. 28)

These people who thought that their relationship with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the Prophets was enough to assure their position before God. It wasn't. They were about to be shut out.

What is it that causes people to revel in the shortcoming of others rather than honestly look at their own behavior? Is it that making others look bad somehow makes them look better by comparison? What is it that causes us to emphasize the things that really don't save and so studiously avoid the things that do? If a person is going to get though the door and into the eternal kingdom, he or she is going to have to meet the terms of the covenant. Birthplace won't do it. Nationality won't do it. Relatives in the church won't do it. Merely sitting in a church building every Sunday won't do it. Hanging out with certain people won't do it. Jesus said much earlier in His ministry, "You must be born again." No one can be "born again" for you. It's personal. You must initiate the action yourself.

It's why Jesus taught that we should first take the log out of our own eye before we judge others,(4) something this questioner apparently hadn't heard, or at least hadn't heeded. It's why Paul instructed those engaged in the business of restoring others to look first to themselves lest they, too, be tempted.(5) It's why Paul even contended with his own natural tendencies, lest, after he had preached to others, he himself might be disqualified.(6)

This guy asked the wrong question. Rather than ask, "Are there only a few (you and me and a few others) who are going to be saved," he should have asked, "What must I do to be saved?" That's the right question. It won't matter if few or many are saved if you aren't one of them!

Have you ever asked that question? It's the most important one you will ever ask. "What must I do to be saved?"

Having said all these things, in the next verses we see that indeed it is true that the many will not be saved. Thus, if we don't wish to be shut out of the kingdom, we need to pay close attention. Jesus said we must:

2. Strive to Get in the Narrow Door.

(Read v. 24-25)

These words are a problem for some today. Many are taught that they are saved by faith alone (defined as little more than belief in God's existence) as the result of a one-time-said, soon-forgotten prayer. They come up against passages like this one and they don't know what to do. Jesus Himself says, "strive to enter." Striving sounds a lot like work and they've been taught that work has no place in salvation. Looking at this passage in the original language only makes their dilemma worse. The word "strive" comes from the Greek word agonnidzomai. You might recognize the sound of it. We get our English word "agonize" from it. The Greek word means "to fight, to labor fervently, to struggle, to stain every nerve." One way it was used in Jesus' day was to describe the extreme effort of an athlete who competes to win.

How many are that serious about their faith? I'm speaking of this matter of striving. In these days of easy believism, when preachers and teachers seem scared to death to disturb people in their comfort zones, these words of Jesus are difficult. In fact, I did a little Internet surfing this past week to see how others dealt with this passage and I found one sermon called "Difficulty Teachings of Jesus." Upon reading it, I discovered that the author wasn't referring to the difficulty of striving. He was referring to the difficulty of fitting this concept into his theology!

So is this teaching about striving an exception to the rest of the teaching of the New Testament? Hardly.

· Jesus said in John 6:27, "work for… the food which endures to eternal life."
· Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:24, "Run in such a way that you may win."
· The writer of Hebrews said in Hebrews 4:11, "Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest…."
· Peter wrote in 2 Peter 1:10, "Be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you…."
· Paul told Timothy to "fight the good fight of faith" in 1 Timothy 6:12.
· Paul tells us in Philippians 2:12, "… work out your salvation with fear and trembling…."

"Work," "run," "be diligent," "be all the more diligent," "fight the good fight," "work out your salvation" - Do these words sound like the passive, lazy, do-nothing kind of faith that so many are trusting today to get them to heaven?

No, there is no amount of works we could ever do on our own that will save us. But the kind of faith that does save us is a working, active faith. If our faith isn't the kind that will move us to action, it isn't saving faith.

If any of you think I'm wrong, then you describe what Jesus meant in our text when He said, "strive to enter…."

But wait, there's more. Jesus said that the door is narrow.

(Re-read v. 24)

This sounds very much like Jesus teaching in Matthew 7:13-14, where He spoke of the narrow gate: "Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it."

Why does the door (or the gate) have to be narrow? Why can't it be wide so it can accommodate more people? Doesn't a narrow door keep people out? Is that what God wants - to keep people out?

In a word, yes. He does. Since He's the designer of the door and He has purposely made it narrow, I don't think we can conclude anything else. That's what our text means when it says, "for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able."

Does that surprise you? (Perhaps you're thinking about the passage in 2 Peter 3:9 that tells us that God is "not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." It is true that God wants everyone to make it into the eternal kingdom. But first He wants them to repent.)

Why would God intentionally restrict the entrance of people into His kingdom so that some of them will not be able to come in?

I've thought a lot about this question over the years. To me the answer seems rather simple. While I cannot find book, chapter, and verse for this answer, it's probably that God doesn't want to spend eternity with a bunch of people who don't want to spend eternity with Him. The narrow door and the need for striving weeds out those who really don't care for Him. So if you don't care enough for the things of God to get up and go after them, looking for the narrow door, you'll find yourself excluded.

A narrow door also tends to cause people to make a decision about what's important. To get through a narrow door you soon find that you can't take a lot of stuff with you. If you can barely squeeze through yourself, there is no room for all the things of this world that you might love more than you love God. A narrow door forces us to decide what's important.

A narrow door also precludes someone else dragging you in against your will. I doubt that two people will fit through the door at one time. It will be all you can do to squeeze through under your own power. Yes, you will fit if you want in, but you won't get in by someone else dragging you and as much as you might wish it were different, you won't be able to drag anyone else in either.

Does God want you to enter into the blessings and benefits of eternal life in His kingdom? Absolutely. He proved it by offering up the life of His Son to pay for your sins and mine. But He doesn't want you if you don't want Him. It's really that simple.

We're talking about the danger of being shut out of the kingdom. The third thing implied here that we need to do is:

3. Realize the Value of the Kingdom before it's too Late.

These words of Jesus make it very clear that there is a time coming when no amount of pleading to get into that door will make it happen. Look again at the text:

(Read v. 25)

Suddenly people who figured they would get into the kingdom on the basis of their earthly pedigree were going to find themselves shut out. They had not recognized the value of striving to get in so the opportunity was about to be removed from them.

Often we value things according to whether they are common or scarce. I was out driving the other day. As I drove along I was thinking my way through this passage. I passed a field and as I looked out over it, I saw a couple of common house cats. They were out hunting for mice I guess. There were no houses nearby so they were probably wild or "feral" as is the proper term. Anyway, I thought of how sad it was that there are so many cats that people just toss them out to fend for themselves. (I'm not particularly a cat lover. The only reason I've ever had cats as pets is because someone else dumped them near my house and I, pushover that I am, felt sorry for them and fed them.) My point is that cats are common. They're everywhere. People don't want them because they're so common. I think there are even some cats that live under our church building. (Want to take one home?) Yet with all the cats in the world, there are still some that are rare. A female calico or tortoiseshell cat is so common that you'd probably have a hard time finding a home for it. Yet if that same cat were a fertile male (fertile male calico or tortoiseshell cats are extremely rare) you'd be able to sell it for several thousand dollars. Imaging that. A cat worth thousands of dollars! (Now don't run home and double check the sex of your calico cat!) My point here is that when things are plentiful and common, we tend to devalue them. When they're scarce, we consider them valuable.

Jesus had been a very common commodity among the Jews in and around Jerusalem for some three and a half years. But very soon He would leave and no longer be available. Some of the people had taken this familiarity and availability for granted.

(Read v. 26)

 "Lord, you walked among us. You taught in our streets. You came into our houses and ate dinner with us. How is it that you can say that you do not know us?"

(Read v. 27)

They had their chance. Jesus made Himself common and available. Actually, since Jesus is God in flesh, perhaps it is better to say that God had made Himself common and available to them. Did they appreciate it? Did they value Him? No. They rejected Him. They treated Him like something so common that it wasn't important. Now, because they did not recognize the extreme value of His visit to them, they would lose the opportunity to be associated with Him for eternity.

That is such a familiar theme today. The name of Jesus is heard nearly everywhere in this nation. Though our society is increasingly secularized, there are still hundreds of churches in the phone books of any sizable town in the country. Yet is it appreciated? Do people value the name and teaching of Christ? Many don't. They use His holy Name to curse one another and they reject His teaching. Even many who profess to follow Him aren't much better. They clean up on Sunday, then live like the devil the rest of the week.

Right now the Name of Jesus is common. Anybody can reach out and learn of His benefits. Anyone who wants to step out and strive for the narrow door can do so. But one day soon that door will be locked. The benefits of Christ will be taken away from all those who will not appreciate Him. From outside the door, they will cry out, "Lord, open up to us!" And He will answer and say, "I do not know where you are from." Then they will begin to say, "We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets." He will say, "I tell you, I do not know where you are from; depart from Me, all you evildoers."

Conclusion

Don't get shut out of the kingdom.

If you have not done so, start asking the right question: What must I do to be saved?

Strive to enter by the narrow door. Get serious about this issue. The time between now and the end of your life is all you get. Once the door is closed there are no second chances and pleading to get in will not help.

Realize the value of the things of the kingdom of God now, while they are still plentiful and available. You can buy a full copy of the Bible today for a few dollars. If you tried very hard you could even get one for free. Yet the time is coming when no amount of money will buy for you the things it contains.

A certain lady took her grandsons, ages four and six, to spend the day at Disneyland. During the course of the day she bought each of them a little flag. On several occasions they stopped to watch the marching band of "toy" soldiers and each time the boys were spellbound as the band marched by. Suddenly, the grandmother realized that the four-year-old was gone. She frantically searched around, calling his name, and making her way through the crowd. As she sat down to catch her breath and try to determine what to do next, she looked up to see the marching band of toy soldiers. There, at the end of the line, smiling merrily, and waving his flag, was little Mikey. He was having the time of his life, completely unaware that he was lost.

That's how it is with some people. They're having the time of their lives. They don't know that soon, unless they act, they will be shut out of the kingdom. Don't let it happen to you.

Footnotes: Use your "back" button to return to your place

1. Humor in Uniform, Reader’s Digest, March 2003, p. 60.
2. Both Jesus and John taught that the Kingdom was very near in their day. See Matthew 3:12; 4:17; Mark 1:15. Jesus sent out the 12 to preach the same message. See Matthew 10:17. Paul taught that the Kingdom was already established by the time that he wrote his letter to Colossae. See Colossians 1:13. John wrote in Revelation to the seven churches that he had made us, the church, to be a kingdom. See Revelation 1:6. In our text in Luke, some of the Jews would be shut out of the kingdom because it was too broad to fit their Jewish nationalistic concept. The kingdom today is the church. It exists today and will continue in eternity. Since the kingdom will continue right on into the next life and eternity, it is possible for people today to think they are in because they sit in a church building somewhere, only to learn when the pass to the next life that they have been barred from entrance. It behooves all of us to do what this passage says, "Strive to enter by the narrow door."
3. 2 Esdr. 8:1
4. Matthew 7:3-5
5. Galatians 6:1
6. 1 Corinthians 9:27

Dave Redick is Minister of the Hwy 20 Church of Christ in Sweet Home, Oregon and Editor of The Preacher's Study. He may be reached at pstudysupport@comcast.net.

Copyright © 1996-2008 by The Preacher's Study. Permission is granted to subscribers to use this document in total or in sermon preparation in the context of the local congregation only. Publishing it in a book, on the Internet, or anyplace beyond the local congregation is prohibited.

All Scripture quotations and references are from the New American Standard Version unless otherwise stated.

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