STRIVE TO ENTER IN

Our founding pastor Dr. Hymers preached about striving. I will use material from his powerful sermons and say some things of my own.

Strive to enter in! Jesus said you have to strive to enter in at the strait gate. The word “strait” means “narrow.” To be saved is a narrow road and a narrow gate. Jesus said, “Many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14). Many hear the Gospel, but few are saved.

There is a doctrine called the “smallness of the saved.” It isn’t preached very often, because it might bother someone. Almost all people are lost. Only a few are saved. Who said this? The Lord Jesus Christ. He said,

“Enter ye in at the strait [narrow] gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).

“Strive to enter in.” Jesus said that to enter the narrow gate, you have to strive. To be saved and go to Heaven, you have to strive.

I. First, what is striving?

“Strive to enter in.” Striving means trying hard, putting all your effort into it. It is a long-time, steady effort. Put energy and attention to it.

You ask, “Can I do that?” Some of you have already done it! You worked hard to get a college degree. You worked hard to get a job and then move up. You know what striving is, because you have already done it. Why should you be surprised if you have to do that for the saving of your soul?

Striving can be hard. It can be painful. The Greek word translated “strive” is agōnizesthe. We get the word “agony” from it. Striving can include pain. You can feel agony inside. You can be unhappy. Some of you felt that way.

Striving is not a quick prayer on the street or in your head or even in the church. It isn’t raising your hand. It isn’t thinking about something and then going on just the way you were.

Striving is serious. It takes time and effort. It can take mental and emotional pain. But Christ said that is the ONLY way to be saved.

Many people would like to be saved, but they’re not striving. They’re interested. But they’re not putting much effort, time, sweat and pain into it.

II. Second, what is not striving?

Christ said, “Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able” (Luke 13:24).

The Greek word translated “seek” is a form of the word zetéo. It means to seek – to look for something. It means to inquire, to ask about something. It means to think about something, to reason and meditate about it.

But there is no agony here. There is no push with all your heart and all your effort. There is no sweat. There is no attitude of “I’ve got to be saved, or I’ll die.”

You can be curious without striving. The man in our text was like that. Look back at verse 23.

“Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved?” (Luke 13:23).

This was a curious question, not striving. This was zeteo, not agonizesthe. He did not ask, “How can I be saved?”, or “What must I do to be saved?” He was curious, but only in a general way. He was not worried about himself.

Let me tell you about a man who really was concerned about himself. In the Book of Acts, the Apostle Paul was guarded in prison in the city of Philippi. The jailor (jail-keeper) heard Paul and Silas singing and praying. Then came an earthquake. The jailor thought the prisoners would escape. He was going to kill himself. But Paul told him not to worry. He said, “We are all here.”

This Roman guard saw something unusual was going on. He didn’t know much, but he did see that there was something supernatural about what Paul and Silas were doing, and the God they knew, and what happened to them, and that they didn’t try to run away. The Bible says,

“Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved” (Acts 16:29-30).

This man wasn’t casually interested. He wasn’t just curious. His interest wasn’t theoretical or hypothetical. No, he “came trembling.” He was worried and scared – about himself. He knew that Paul and Silas had a relationship with God that he did not have.

He was serious about it, deadly serious. The guard “fell down before Paul and Silas.” He fell down in front of his own prisoners! He said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” He was desperate. They said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” The jailor did believe on Jesus, and he was saved.

He wasn’t just curious. He wasn’t lightly interested. He didn’t ask a theoretical question about how many other people would be saved. This man was desperate for himself. He begged to be saved. And he was.

III. Third, which one are you?

Good question. Which one are you? Are you agonizesthe or only zeteo? Are you striving or only curious?

Please listen now. I don’t think there is even one lost person in this room who is striving. You’re interested. But you’re not striving.

I have seen people strive. I have seen people stressed out. They have no peace. They think about it all the time. They feel bad. They feel bad about their sin. They feel bad about themselves. They may try to trust Jesus by themselves, by their own goodness. But that doesn’t work, and they feel even worse.

I have seen people cry. I have seen people in agony. And I have had the privilege of guiding them to trust Jesus. Many people here have gone through just that.

But I must be honest. Some of you here in this room are not converted. You have not trusted Jesus. Maybe your parents have, but you have not. Or you came to church because someone invited you, or because you saw our sign. You like it here. You like the people. You like the food. You are interested in the Bible. You want to find out what Christians believe. You are interested in going to Heaven when you die. You are interested in trusting Jesus. Maybe not now, but you are interested in trusting Jesus.

But you are not striving! Curious, yes. Interested, yes. But not striving! And Jesus said, “Strive to enter in.” “Many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able” (Luke 13:24).

Look down at the verse. That’s what it says. Many people – like you – will “seek to enter in, and shall not be able.” It’s as plain as that.

IV. Fourth, what should you do?

Dr. Hymers said,

You must struggle to enter in to Christ. You must fight to enter into Christ. You must move with all of your energy as if your life depended on it. Have you ever seen a video of an antelope run away from a lion? That antelope runs with all of its energy and strength. That animal runs with every ounce of strength within itself in order to escape from the jaws of death. There is also a lion chasing you. That lion is the Devil. Therefore, you must struggle against Satan. And not only that, you must struggle against your own depraved nature. You must struggle against your pride and unwillingness to submit to Christ. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said, “No man ever became a Christian without stopping to look at himself.”

Have you ever seen yourself as a doomed sinner? Have you ever faced the question of your rebellion against Christ? Have you admitted to yourself that you are a rebel against Him, that you have shunned Him, and thwarted His love, and pushed Him away all these months and years? Have you admitted all that to Him – and to yourself? If not, you may never enter into Him, you may never be converted, you may never move beyond merely “learning, and never [being] able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (II Timothy 3:7).

Christ told us to count the cost (see Luke 14:28).

It will cost you something, perhaps everything you have. You may have to give up things. You may lose things. Other people won’t understand. You may suffer pain.

If you back away, you will lose in the end. So, count the cost! Know ahead of time that this will cost you and then go and do it.

Dr. Hymers said,

A man in his natural state must struggle to be convicted of sin, to feel his sin-nature – to know his need for salvation! [You must know and feel your sin.] But how can a natural man prepare himself? There are some things that you must perform – with zeal, with exertion, with intensity:

1. You must hear the Word of God. The Bible says, “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). You must listen carefully to the words of the sermon. Do not sit there in front of the speaker with a closed mind and a closed heart. Do not sit there with a mind that is far from the truths that are being delivered to you. If you do this, you are not striving to enter in. You are still only fooling around. You must get serious and listen seriously. You must fight against your tendency to feel sleepy during the service. You must fight against your sinful nature which gets distracted when the sermon is given. You must muster up every ounce of energy within yourself, and soak in the Law and the Gospel as if your life depended on it. Strive to enter in. Listen to the preaching of the Word of God.

2. You must pray for the work of the Holy Spirit in conviction of sin. Have you ever prayed for your soul? Are you so confident in your own strength that you won’t even ask God to help you? That is not striving to enter in. The Bible says, “Ye have not, because you ask not” (James 4:2). You must pray for your soul. Be honest with God. Pray even if your heart is filled with unbelief. Pray with urgency and struggle in your heart. Pray every night for your soul. Pray for God’s Spirit to convict you of sin until your heart is softened and your mind is filled with horror at the thought of your sin – and your need for Christ to save you.

This is striving. I pray that you will do it. I pray that God will convict you of your sin, and that you will trust Jesus and be saved. Amen.