Latest / Reformed Thinking / Strive to Enter through the Narrow Door, for All of Life Is War | John Piper

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Strive to Enter through the Narrow Door, for All of Life Is War | John Piper · Reformed Thinking

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  Welcome to Reformed Thinking. We're a show that tries to get
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  into the rich truths of Scripture, always looking
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  through that lens of God's sovereignty and His Amazing
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  Grace. Glad.
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  To be here. Today we're taking a deep dive
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  into something Jesus taught that's well.
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  It's really central, but also quite challenging.
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  It sets up this idea of a spiritual battle that every
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  single believer faces. That's right, John Piper
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  actually titled his thoughts on this area.
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  All of Life is War gives you a sense of the seriousness.
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  It certainly does. So our focus today is Luke 13
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  verse 24 where Jesus gives this command.
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  Strive to enter through the narrow door.
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  Yeah, sounds simple, maybe, but there's a lot packed into that
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  short phrase. We're going to be drawing
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  heavily on Piper's reflections on this specific command.
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  OK, so our mission for this deep dive for you listening is to
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  really unpack what Jesus actually means by striving.
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  We want to get clear on where this narrow door leads.
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  And grasp the well the huge stakes involved.
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  We also need to pinpoint who the main enemy is in this fight.
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  Right. And think about the everyday
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  things that get in our way, the obstacles.
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  Yeah. And finally, figure out how we
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  can cultivate that spiritual alertness we need to keep moving
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  forward. Exactly.
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  We want this to be clear and really usable for your walk with
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  Christ. All right, let's jump in expert.
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  When Jesus tells us to strive, what kind of effort are we
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  talking about? Is this like try your best or
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  something more intense? That's a great place to start
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  because strive in English can sound a bit, well, maybe mild
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  sometimes, but the Greek word Jesus uses here a gun, eyes to
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  stay. It's got real teeth.
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  Akuni Zeste. Yeah, you can almost hear our
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  English word agonize in there, can't you?
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  It's derived from that. This isn't a casual suggestion.
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  So not like a gentle nudge. Not at all.
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  Its core meaning is really about struggling, wrestling, exerting
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  yourself almost to the point of agony.
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  It's demanding. It's an all out effort.
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  Wow, like an athlete in a competition.
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  That's a good picture, pushing to the absolute limit, every
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  muscle straining. That's the kind of intensity
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  wrapped up in a grudgingly SESTA.
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  It's signals that getting in isn't passive.
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  It demands serious, almost desperate work on our part.
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  OK, so less like a walk in the park, more like fighting for
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  your life, spiritually speaking, an active thing, not passive.
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  And what's really interesting you pointed this out earlier is
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  Jesus used a similar Greek word, a good meets Santo in John 18.
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  That was when he was talking about his disciples fighting if
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  his Kingdom were of this world. That's right, he told Pilate.
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  Basically, if my Kingdom was an earthly one, my guys would have
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  been fighting tooth and nail. He uses Ojini Santa there.
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  So how do those two uses connect?
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  What does that tell us about this striving to enter the
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  narrow door? It's a really helpful
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  connection. When Jesus uses Ojini Santo in
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  John 18, he's talking about real physical fighting, taking up
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  arms, conflict, the kind his servants would do for an earthly
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  Kingdom right now. When he uses the related word
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  Aguni zest for entering the narrow door in Luke 13, he's
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  applying that same level of intensity, that same sense of
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  desperate struggle, but to a spiritual reality.
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  The fighting isn't with swords against people, but it's the
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  spiritual battle for your soul's entry into the Kingdom.
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  This link tells us that striving to enter means getting in isn't
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  guaranteed. It's not automatic.
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  It's a battle. It requires your active, ongoing
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  effort. So you can't just drift in.
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  No drifting. You have to wrestle, struggle,
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  use every spiritual muscle you have to pursue this.
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  That definitely raises the stage.
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  It puts the responsibility on our deliberate spiritual
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  engagement. And you know, sometimes we think
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  of conversion as maybe a one time thing, but the source
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  material Peppers take describes this striving as quote,
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  lifelong, all day, everyday calling.
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  What does that really mean for us day-to-day?
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  That's such a key point. It shifts how we see our whole
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  lives, doesn't it? The striving isn't just one big
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  decision you made years ago. It's not a Sprint you finish
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  quickly. Jesus's command implies the
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  state of constant spiritual readiness and effort.
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  And why? Because the temptations that can
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  destroy your soul, temptations towards unbelief, towards sin,
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  they're not just in the big crisis moments.
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  They're everywhere. Piper argues they're woven into
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  the very fabric of normal life. Think about it.
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  Waking up, family interactions, work, media, relaxing.
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  Every point offers subtle pulls away from trusting God, away
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  from obedience. Little things can add up.
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  Exactly. Doubting God's goodness, Chasing
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  comfort, apathy, anger, lust. These aren't occasional
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  invaders. They're constant background
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  noise in a fallen world. That's why the effort has to be
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  continuous. So the battle isn't just Sunday
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  morning. Not at all.
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  It's fought in the quiet of your heart and your attitudes, your
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  choices about time and money. Moment by moment, our whole
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  existence becomes this arena for spiritual effort, needing
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  alertness and intentionality constantly.
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  OK, so if we're striving, battling lifelong effort, yeah,
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  what's the goal? What is this narrow door we're
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  fighting so hard to get through? The narrow door, pretty clearly
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  from the context in Luke 13, is the entrance into the Kingdom of
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  God. How does the context show that?
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  Well right after telling them to strive, Jesus talks about a
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  master of a house who gets up and shuts the door.
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  People are left outside knocking saying Lord open up, we ate and
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  drink with you. But.
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  He doesn't know them. Exactly.
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  His response is chilling. I don't know where you come
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  from. It's a picture of final
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  exclusion. And then Jesus says inside
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  you'll see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, all the prophets sitting
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  down in the Kingdom. So it's about being in God's
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  presence, in fellowship with his people.
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  Yes, that place of ultimate blessing, peace, joy, fellowship
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  with God and all his redeemed people, that's the destination.
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  And the flip side? The consequence of not getting
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  through that door, That's what makes the striving feel so
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  urgent. Jesus says outside.
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  There's weeping and gnashing of teeth.
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  What does that phrase really point to?
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  He uses it a lot. He does use it repeatedly,
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  especially in Matthew, and it's not just general sadness.
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  It seems to describe a specific kind of agony, the anguish of
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  being shut out of the Kingdom, combined with this intense
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  self-inflicted torment and deep, bitter regret.
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  Self-inflicted torment. Yeah, the gnashing of teeth
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  suggests anger, resentment, maybe even at oneself, at God,
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  at the situation. In Matthew 13, he talks about
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  throwing people into a fiery furnace where this weeping and
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  gnashing happens. It's profound regret recognizing
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  the finality of it all. So it's kind of just.
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  Suffering, very much so. Not annihilation, but an active,
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  agonizing awareness of what's been lost forever.
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  Separation from God, from all goodness.
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  And remember Matthew 7.33. Contrast the narrow gate leading
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  to life with the wide gate and easy way that leads to
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  destruction. Right, the two paths.
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  Jesus lays it out starkly. Striving leads to life.
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  The easy way leads to destruction.
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  So the outcome of the striving is ultimate heaven or hell,
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  eternal life or eternal separation.
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  It's not a small thing. That's why the striving is so
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  vital. OK, the stakes couldn't be
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  higher. Which brings us to the next big
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  question. What or who are we supposed to
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  be striving against? If life is war, who's the enemy?
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  This is where we need to be really careful.
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  Jesus absolutely does not tell us to make war on other people.
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  In fact, Luke 6.27 is crystal clear.
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  Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you.
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  So the war isn't against flesh and blood.
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  No, the primary battleground, the main enemy Jesus points us
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  towards, is sin. Specifically, our own sin, our
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  striving, our wrestling. It's directed inward.
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  It's a fight for personal holiness, rooting out the sin in
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  our own hearts that threatens to kill our faith.
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  That's a massive shift in focus, isn't it?
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  Because the source material really hammers this home.
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  It is only our own sin that can keep us from entering the
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  Kingdom, not anyone else's. Exactly.
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  Other people's sin can hurt us terribly, even lead to our
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  physical death, but it can't ultimately lock us out of God's
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  Kingdom if our heart belongs. To Him so my own sin is the
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  biggest threat to my eternal future.
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  That's the unavoidable conclusion.
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  It forces us towards self examination, repentance, dealing
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  with our own hearts rather than just blaming circumstances or
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  other people. The responsibility lands
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  squarely on us. So to fight that internal enemy,
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  our own sin, Jesus gives another really frequent command.
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  Watch. What does that mean to watch?
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  Yeah, watch or be alert shows U again and again in his teaching.
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  It means being awake, siritually, attentive, ready.
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  It's not passive waiting. It's an active state of
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  vigilance. Why?
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  What are we watching for? The goal is to avoid being
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  blindsided by life's temptations, the things that
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  could lead us into sin and ultimately cause us to fall
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  away, to miss that narrow door. Think about Gethsemane, Jesus
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  tells Peter, James, and John right before he's arrested.
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  Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation.
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  The Spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
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  Even his closest guy is needed that warning.
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  Right. Even them, in their moment of
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  weakness, fatigue, they were vulnerable.
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  It's a call to say spiritually sharp, aware of the dangers.
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  And this watching this alertness is not just for crisis moments
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  like Gethsemane, is it? We might think we only need to
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  be on guard when things are obviously bad.
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  That's a common mistake, I think.
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  But the source, drawing on Jesus, points out this vigilance
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  applies to all of life, even the times that feel completely
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  normal, completely safe. How can normal life be so
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  dangerous? Well, remember Jesus warning
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  about his second coming? He said it would be like the
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  days of Noah before the flood. People were just living, eating
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  and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, he says in
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  Matthew 24. They were totally unsuspecting
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  of the judgment about to fall. Just ordinary life.
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  Exactly. And the point is that soul
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  destroying temptations towards unbelief, towards sin, they
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  exist right there in the middle of ordinary, normal, comfortable
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  life. Life is always spiritually
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  perilous, even when it feels safe.
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  So the danger isn't just in the dramatic moments.
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  No, it's often in the subtle drift, the slow erosion of
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  spiritual passion, the small compromises that seem OK at the
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  time. When we get caught up in routine
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  and comfort and just getting by, our guard drops.
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  We get complacent. Precisely.
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  And that's when sin finds an opening.
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  That's when our affections can slowly shift away from God
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  towards other things, maybe without us even noticing.
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  So the striving has to be constant and the watching has to
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  be constant, covering every part of our seemingly normal lives.
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  OK, so this constant watching covers everything.
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  The good times, the bad times. We often focus on how hardship
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  tests our faith, but the source says comfort and pleasure can be
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  just as dangerous, maybe even more so.
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  How do both pain and pleasure threaten us?
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  Yeah, it's true. Both can knock us off course in
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  different ways. Both can undermine the work of
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  God's Word in our hearts. Jesus's parable of the four
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  soils shows this so clearly. Right, the soils.
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  Think about the seeds sown on rocky ground.
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  It pops up fast, looks good for a bit, but then trouble comes
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  persecution because of the word hits and poof, it Withers.
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  That's faith collapsing under pain or pressure.
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  It lacks roots. Exactly, but then look at the
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  seeds sown among thorns, false sprouts.
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  But it gets choked out. But what?
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  Jesus says, the cares and riches and pleasures of life.
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  Luke 8.1 teen. So here it's the pleasures, the
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  anxieties about worldly things, the lure of wealth that kill the
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  faith. So both hardship and ease can
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  lead to falling away. That's the point.
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  Whether it's the key to tribulation or the thorns of
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  worldly comfort and desire, the result can be the same.
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  The word doesn't take root, doesn't bear fruit, and
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  ultimately that person doesn't enter the Kingdom.
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  Both extremes are potent threats.
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  That makes sense, but it still feels a bit counterintuitive
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  that Jesus seems to warn more about the dangers of pleasure
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  than the dangers of pain. Why would that be?
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  It is surprising, isn't it? We naturally shy away from pain
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  and see it as the big spiritual threat.
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  But Piper, reflecting on Jesus's emphasis, argues that
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  statistically speaking, perhaps more people are lured away from
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  God. More souls are lost because of
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  their pleasures than because of their pains.
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  Oh really? Why?
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  Well, think about their effects. Pleasure rarely makes you feel
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  your need for God. Often the opposite.
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  When things are good, comfortable, easy, the subtle
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  temptation is towards self-sufficiency.
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  I'm doing OK. I don't really need God right
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  now. Complacency again.
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  Yes, pleasure can create this false sense of security, dulling
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  our spiritual senses. But pain?
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  Pain often strips away our illusions.
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  It shows us we're not in control, we're vulnerable.
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  It often drives us to God, makes us cry out for help, for
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  meaning. So pain can actually be
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  spiritually helpful sometimes. It often is.
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  That's why Jesus seems more concerned about the spiritual
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  dangers of being rich and comfortable than being poor and
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  suffering. Prosperity has this unique power
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  to blind us to our real need and to God's supreme value.
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  OK, if pleasure is such a big threat, what are some specific
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  lures we need to watch out for? The source mentions the praise
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  of man as being a really powerful one.
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  How does wanting people's approval become a trap?
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  Oh, it's sneaky, isn't it? Because getting praised feels
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  good. It affirms us.
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  But think about Jesus's warning is about the religious leaders
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  of his day. Beware of the scribes, he said
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  in Luke 20, who like to walk around in long robes and love
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  greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats.
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  Their actions were driven by wanting recognition from others.
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  Looking good in front of people. Exactly.
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  And he flat out warned in Matthew 6, Don't do your
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  righteous deeds before other people in order to be seen by
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  them, because if you do, you've already got your reward from
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  them, not from God. It's about the motivation.
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  It's all about the motivation. The moment our choices, our
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  words, even how we see ourselves start being being shaped more by
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  what people think than by what God thinks, we've switched
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  masters. Human approval becomes an idol,
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  replacing God's approval as our deepest desire.
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  And that's dangerous. Extremely Jesus even said woe to
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  you when all people speak well of you.
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  Connecting it to how false prophets were treated.
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  It forces us to ask, am I striving for human applause or
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  for God's well done? That constant heart check is
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  part of the alertness. That's a subtle danger.
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  What about something less subtle?
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  The source also talks about physical indulgence.
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  How does that hinder our striving?
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  It seems connected to being weighed down.
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  It absolutely is. Physical indulgence is like a
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  direct assault on our spiritual alertness.
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  Jesus warned specifically. Watch yourselves lest your
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  hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and
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  cares of this life. Luke's 21.34.
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  Weighed down, what does that mean practically?
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  It's not just about being drunk, though that's included.
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  Dissipation means like scondering your energy, losing
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  focus, a lack of self-control. It suggests becoming spiritually
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  sluggish, heavy, unresponsive. But it's broader than just
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  alcohol. Oh yeah, it includes drugs,
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  maybe even excessive eating, or anything else that dulls the
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  mind, makes the body lethargic, and weighs down the heart.
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  If our senses are clouded, our spirit is dull because we're
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  constantly indulging our physical appetites.
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  How can we possibly be alert? How can we fight the spiritual
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  battle? You.
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  Can't be sharp. Exactly.
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  It works directly against the vigilance we need to strive to
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  enter. It makes a spiritually lazy,
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  prone to drifting, and ultimately vulnerable to missing
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  the whole point, missing the Kingdom.
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  Our physical state really does impact our spiritual readiness.
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  OK, so anything that dulls us or diverts our focus from God is a
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  problem. Which leads us to the thing
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  Jesus warned about most often. According to the source, the
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  number one danger he flagged repeatedly was money.
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  Yes, it's quite striking how often he talks about it, more
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  than almost any other external threat, and he doesn't mince
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  words. Piper calls it a mortal danger.
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  Heaven and hell are on the line when it comes to our alertness
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  against the lure of money. Mortal danger?
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  That's strong. Think about his statement.
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  It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than
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  for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God.
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  Mark 10.25. That must have shocked his
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  listeners. Because wealth was often seen as
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  a sign of blessing, right? Jesus flips that idea.
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  He makes it clear that striving for earthly wealth is not the
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  same as striving for the Kingdom.
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  In fact, it often pulls you in the opposite direction.
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  It's not just having money, but the love of it, the trust in it,
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  the pursuit of it as your main thing.
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  And these weren't just one off comments.
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  He hit this theme again and again.
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  Relentlessly. Just listen to the rapid fire
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  warnings. Do not lay up for yourselves
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  treasures on earth Matthew 6.1 team.
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  Instead, lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.
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  A. Total reorientation.
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  Then the absolute statement in Matthew 6.24.
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  You cannot serve God and money. It's one or the other.
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  No divided loyalty. He addresses worry too, right?
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  Yeah, do not be anxious about what shall we eat or what shall
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  we drink, Matthew 6.31 he implies.
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  That kind of worry shows we're trusting possessions more than
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  God. Mark 4.19 calls riches deceitful
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  because they promised satisfaction but actually choke
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  the word. They choke the life out of
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  faith. They do.
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  Then there are commands like sell your possessions and give
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  to the needy Luke to 12.33 linked directly to where your
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  treasure is. There your heart will be also.
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  Your heart follows your investment, spiritually
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  speaking. And that really challenging one
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  in Luke 14. Any one of you who does not
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  renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
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  Luke 14.33 Again, not necessarily literal poverty for
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  all, but a radical detachment of the heart.
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  So God is number 1, unquestionably.
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  What about the woe to you who are rich versus blessed?
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  Are you who are poor in Luke 6? That sounds like wealth itself
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  is the problem. That needs careful handling, the
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  source clarifies. It's not about your bank balance
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  making you blessed or cursed automatically.
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  It's about whether Jesus is your supreme treasure.
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  Can you use wealth or endure poverty in a way that shows he
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  is worth more? Like the rich young Ruler versus
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  Zacchaeus. Exactly.
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  The ruler couldn't let go of his wealth for Jesus.
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  Zacchaeus, after meeting Jesus, joyfully gave his wealth away. 1
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  was enslaved by money, the other was freed by Christ from money's
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  power, even though he was still wealthy.
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  So it boils down to. Luke 12.15 Take care and be on
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  your guard against all covetousness, for one's life
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  does not consist in the abundance of His possessions.
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  Jesus pleased with us repeatedly.
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  Understand the huge spiritual danger in valuing money too
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  highly. Where does your real security
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  and hope lie? OK, this focus on money leads us
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  to a really key idea for fighting its pole, the healthy
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  eye. Jesus says in Matthew 6.
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  The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is healthy, your
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  whole body will be full of light.
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  What's this eye and why is it so critical?
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  The placement of that teaching is crucial.
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  It's right there sandwiched between don't store treasures on
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  earth and You can't serve God and money.
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  So it's connected to our view of wealth and God.
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  Directly the I here isn't just physical sight.
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  It's your inner perception, your heart's ability to see what's
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  truly valuable, truly beautiful, truly desirable.
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  It's your spiritual discernment, your valuing capacity.
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  How you see things determines your spiritual state.
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  Exactly. Is your inner vision clear,
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  healthy, good? Some translations say single, or
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  is it distorted, bad? That determines if you're full
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  of light or full of darkness. How does an eye become bad?
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  What does that look like? Well, Piper uses that example
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  for Matthew 20, the parable of the workers in the vineyard.
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  The ones who worked all day grumbled, because the latecomers
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  got the same pay. And the master asks them, Is
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  your eye bad? Because I am good.
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  They were resentful of the Master's generosity.
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  Yes, their bad eye couldn't see the beauty in the Master's grace
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  and mercy. It was fixated on fairness, on
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  earning, on money. It valued their perceived rights
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  over the Master's goodness. A bad eye twists reality, making
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  God's generosity look wrong and money look more attractive.
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  OK, so conversely, what makes an eye good or healthy?
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  A good eye sees the Masters generosity, sees God himself and
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  his ways as more precious, more beautiful, more satisfying than
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  anything money can buy. It correctly perceives God as
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  the supreme treasure. It sees his true Earth.
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  Yes, it sees him as infinitely more valuable than wealth.
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  Pleasure plays anything. Piper calls it a wisely valuing
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  eye, a discerning eye, an astutely treasuring eye.
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  It doesn't just see facts about God.
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  It sees God's beauty, his desirability.
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  It senses his supreme worth. So it's about affections, what
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  the heart truly loves and values.
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  Precisely. It's a fundamental shift in what
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  satisfies your heart most deeply.
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  A good eye sees God and says that that is what I want above
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  all else. So this good eye is also called
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  a single eye. What does that mean?
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  It means having one treasure, one focus God, not trying to
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  split your devotion between God and money or God and anything
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  else. Your heart isn't divided and.
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  When your eye is single, focused on God.
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  Then Jesus says your whole body will be full of light.
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  This inner clarity, the singular valuing of God, illuminates
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  everything. It naturally leads you to store
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  treasure in heaven to serve God, not money.
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  Your whole life aligns with that supreme value.
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  But this good eye, this clear focus isn't automatic or
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  permanent, is it? We have to maintain it.
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  That's the critical point Jesus warns in Luke 11.35.
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  Therefore be careful, lest the light in you be darkness.
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  That clear vision can get corrupted.
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  What was light can become darkness if we're not careful.
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  So we have to be vigilant. Constantly.
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  We can't be casual or slack about this.
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  This ties right back to strive. Part of the striving is the
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  fight to keep your eye good, to keep seeing.
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  God is supremely valuable. How do we do that?
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  It means doing whatever it takes, prayer, scripture,
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  fellowship, turning from sin to continue continually refresh our
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  vision of God's worth, to keep seeing him, not money or praise
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  or pleasure, as our ultimate desire.
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  It's the ongoing battle for the heart's treasure, and it demands
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  that constant alertness Jesus called for.
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  Wow. OK, we've covered a lot.
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  We've really dug into Jesus's command to strive to enter
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  through the narrow door. We saw that strive means this
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  intense, agonizing, lifelong battle.
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  A battle fought primarily against our own sin, not other
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  people. Right, and the narrow door leads
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  to the Kingdom of God, fellowship with him.
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  The alternative weeping and gnashing of teeth signifies the
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  awful reality of hell. A final exclusion.
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  Making mistakes incredibly high. And we identify the key
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  obstacles, our own sin, the lore of worldly pleasures, the trap
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  of human praise, physical indulgence that makes us
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  sluggish. And especially the overwhelming
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  danger Jesus warned about most the love of money, which
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  requires constant vigilance. Which led us to the healthy eye,
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  that internal vision that sees God as a supreme treasure, more
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  valuable than anything else. Keeping that eye single and full
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  of light requires constant active striving.
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  Absolutely, and remember, this isn't just theological head
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  knowledge. This whole discussion is a call
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  to you listening right now to a daily walk of alertness.
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  It's about examining your heart constantly.
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  Where is my treasure and then actively pursuing God above
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  everything else. Describing this watchfulness,
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  it's for your eternal good. It's a call to live
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  intentionally. Knowing what truly matters,
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  knowing what God is truly worth it.
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  Really. Is an invitation to a life of
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  focused, even joyful warfare against all the things that try
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  to steal your soul away from him.
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  So as we wrap up this deep dive, here's something to think about,
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  a question that comes out of all this.
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  How does the seriousness of this watchfulness, this constant
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  striving and wrestling, fit together with the sweetness of
• 23:27
  Christ's care for us? How do we reconcile the
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  intensity of the fight with the rest?
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  In peace? We find only in Him, knowing
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  salvation is by grace. That's a great question to
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  reflect on. How does the fight coexist with
• 23:38
  the rest? Thank you for joining us on this
• 23:40
  deep dive on reformed thinking. Yeah, thanks for tuning in.
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  Until next time, keep seeking truth, keep striving, and keep
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  fixing your eye on what is truly valuable.