Marvin L. Weir
If one is thinking seriously and correctly, he will come to the conclusion that there are only two religions in this world. There is the religion that comes from the mind of man and religion that comes from the mind of God. The religion that comes from the mind of man is what he imagines religion to be. The religion that comes from God is not from man; it is divine revelation! The apostle Peter makes this abundantly clear in stating, “knowing this first, that no prophecy of scripture is of private interpretation. For no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:20-21).
Robert R. Taylor comments on the above Scriptures in his commentary on First And Second Peter, p. 75, saying:
As a matter of spiritual priority, Peter desires that first and foremost, they realize how Sacred Scripture did not originate and how it did not come about into literary reality. Peter is speaking of Scripture whether of the Old Testament or the New Testament. Note the significance of the verb is or a present tense verb. No Scripture of either testament came of private interpretation. “Private” refers to what is one’s own; interpretation is explanation. The prophecies did not thus originate as a result of the prophet’s peculiar or personal explanation. He did not think them up; they are not his inventions to any extent of the term ….The origin of Scripture is Peter’s point—not its current interpretation!! If Sacred Scripture originated not within the will of the prophet, then how did it come? Peter supplies the positive answer. It came from God. The Holy Spirit inspired men and they spoke or wrote God’s will.
Jerry Moffitt in Moffitt’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 1, The New Testament, p. 511, says:
Prophecies of scripture were not made by a man looking around and observing the times and making a private judgment or interpretation on what may occur. The word of God is not written that way. Man makes no personal disclosures in scripture to the best of his ability. The prophecies did not privately originate by themselves, and were not the invention of the prophet. The will of man is not involved in God’s scriptural prophecies. The will of man is involved in man’s predictions. Men spake as moved by the Holy Spirit. The word moved means “borne along.” The were “carried” by the Spirit. The same word is used of the ship Paul was in which was “driven” by the wind called Euraquilo (Acts 27:14-15). This shows prophets were under divine guidance. Inspiration means “God breathed.” See 2 Timothy 3:16-17.
Let us now discuss what God has revealed regarding the two ways spoken of in Matthew 7:13-14. The inspired writer states, “Enter ye in by the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many are they that enter in thereby. For narrow is the gate, and straitened the way, that leadeth unto life, and few are they that find it” (Matt. 7:13-14). Let us first observe the way that leads to life. The path that leads to life is narrow and such terminology is important. Coffman notes that “truth can be no other way than narrow as attested in any field of knowledge whatsoever … the narrowness consists of the restrictions , disciplines, and requirements throughout the whole area of Christian living.” The way of life is:
An Open Way! The way is strait but thanks be to God it is not now closed. Sin separates one from God (Isa. 58:1-2), and closes the way to Heaven. But Christ being sinless in obeying His Father’s will “gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us out of this present evil world, according to the will of our God and Father” (Gal. 1:4).
A Narrow Way! The old creature, full of the world and its evil ways, cannot travel the narrow path that leads to eternal life. The Scriptures declare, “Wherefore if any man is in Christ, (he is) a new creature: the old things are passed away; behold, they are become new” (2 Cor. 5:17). Worldliness and its sinful baggage must be put off and the new man must be put on in order to travel the narrow way (Col. 3:9-10).
The Way Of The Few! The Savior taught, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” (Matt. 7:7-8). It is the few who will find Heaven because it is the few that seek it! The majority of people prefer darkness to light and evil instead of righteousness. The Lord could not have communicated more clearly than when He said, “But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matt. 6:33).
Let us now observe the way that leads to death or destruction. This path is wide and broad and will accommodate all of the wickedness and evil that man can engage in. May we never forget that the way that leads to the loss of the soul is:
A Broad Way! This way pleases the fleshly man and the carnal mind. There is plenty of room to easily accommodate whatever pleases and brings pleasure to one determined to live in sin. There is plenty of room for all who follow the devil: the rebellious, the thief, the murderer, the arrogant, the liar, the fornicator and adulterer, the false teacher who scoffs at God’s word, and all who have no desire to obey His commands and glorify His name.
A Crowded Way! It is crowded because all who travel this broad way are comfortable enjoying the pleasures of sin while showing disdain for the Word of God. Jeremiah observed, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly corrupt: who can know it (Jer. 17:9).
A Fatal Way! The broad road that the majority travel leads only to one destination—an eternal hell! “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). The Bible does not teach that there are many ways that one can travel that leads to the hereafter. There are only two ways that one can travel: the broad way or the narrow way. God said to His people of old, “See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil” (Deut. 30:15). The broad way guarantees death. Choose the narrow way and life!
