“Enter in at the narrow gate because the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many going into it.”

Jesus Christ in Matthew 7:13.

In this concluding part of His Sermon on the Mount the Lord Jesus warns us against “Broadway Christianity”.

This is not a warning against ungodly living but against false Christianity.  Rather, Jesus goes on to speak about those who claim to have worked for Him in His kingdom, but Jesus tells them: “I never knew you” Mat 7:23.

This is solemn.  These people were completely deceived all their lives into thinking that they were following Jesus to heaven.  They were not only deceived by others but they deceived themselves. They were self-deceived and did not examine themselves properly 2Cor 13:5.

How did they get it so completely wrong?  Jesus tells us.  They did not listen properly to what Jesus said, nor did they do as He told them.  They listened to false prophets Mat 7:15 and Jesus concluded His sermon with a powerful illustration Mat 7:24-27 about people building their hope on sand Mat 7:26 because they did not do what they heard Him say.

Their life looked good, but it had a false foundation.  It was false Christianity; it was Broadway Christianity.

Jesus repeatedly warned against false Christianity and His apostles also did so.

In 1994 I gave a lecture on Broadway Christianity using this text in King’s College, the University of Aberdeen, while doing some outreach among the students. One of the lecturers attended and interacted sceptically with me. In 2016 I mentioned it to one of the Church of Scotland Professors at a meeting in Edinburgh, who was interested in it because he had never heard this interpretation.

This is why it is so important to read the Bible for yourself, to learn from Jesus’ own words instead of being deceived by false prophets and false Christianity. You need to learn from Jesus, and the Bible is your only reliable source for learning about Him, His teaching, and following Him to heaven.

Because so few did so in Jesus’ day, Jesus says that there were few who found the narrow way.  Jesus says: “I am the Way.”  Will you listen to Him and follow Him? May God bless my readers to do so.

Links:

23 Jul 2013: What did Jesus really say?

25 Jun 2019: It’s Who you know.

6 Jun 2025: Do you know the Way to Heaven?

21 Jun 2025: John MacArthur has announced that he is now leaving the charismatic movement, which chases experience instead of exegesis; he is “returning to the sufficiency of Scripture”. It reminds me of Charles Haddon Spurgeon who left the Baptist Union over “The Downgrade Controversy” in his old age, because he did not want his life-long testimony to be associated with the wrong side.