Matthew 7:13, “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.”
What is the narrow gate? The way to salvation, which is through Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The wide gate, then—the way to destruction—is any path that has nothing to do with Christ. That is why the gate is so wide, because there are many paths that lead away from Christ. How does one enter the narrow gate? It is not by the sheer act of the human will, as Arminians would have you believe. No; the gate is so narrow that we cannot find it. Someone must show us the way to this gate. That is what the Holy Spirit does, who shows us Christ, grabs our hand, and guides us through the gate.
Not only does the way to destruction have a wide gate, but it is also “easy.” That is, it is far easier to walk the path to destruction than it is to walk the path to salvation. This seems odd to us. Why would destruction be the easier path? Why wouldn’t salvation be the easier path? Because of what the path to salvation—Christ—demands of us: self-denial, repentance (admitting our sin), slavery to righteousness, admitting we are wrong and God’s Word is right, and other things. This is not easy for us.
It is far easier for us to do whatever we want. The way to destruction dangles freedom in front of us like bait before a fish, but it is a mirage. This bait of freedom, in reality, is slavery—it is slavery to sin. That is the genius of the Devil. He keeps us enslaved to sin whilst he has us thinking we are free. Our shackles are invisible. We feel its weight, but we pretend it’s not there and return to our masters of sin like a dog returning to its vomit (Proverbs 26:11).
To be Christian is to be set free from such folly. Christ has freed us from sin. Though we might return to it every now and then, it no longer has power over us (Romans 6:14). This narrow way to salvation is rough, but we are still on the way, and it is Christ who guarantees that we will walk to the end.
The Lutheran Column 