The Pulpit Commentary — Luke — Volume 2 — Section 9

"Lord, what will this man and that man do? What is the extent to which the purpose ~ _uve will be realiz~?" He answers by not answering. 'l'he absence of a direot reply 1s itself a rep!:,,. It mtimates that speculations and inquiries in the line of the word a?dre~sed to him are not t.o be encouraged. 'l'here was the wisdom which he empha- sizes in the rrsponse once given by a child of quietness to the question "What are the dec_rees of God?" "He knows that best himself," was the response. There are secrets wluch belong t.o the Lord our God, and these we must be content to leave with him 'l'he things revenled belong to us; and these are expressed in the assurances that Gotl loved t_he world, that wbosoev_er believ~th _in the only begotten Son shall not perish, t?at him who co~es to Christ he will m no wise cast out. They forget Christ's silence on the occas10n before ns who dogmatize either Calvinistically or Arminianisti- cally. What can poor human nature do, in view of all that relates to the ultimate ~talc of men,. but simply trust him who is absolute Righteousness and Infinite Love? \~~ e may "fa)ntly trust" larger hopes; we can, not faintly, but fully, trust him who will do what is best for all, who" hateth nothing that he hath made." "Wait till he shall himself disalose Things now beyond thy reach, And be not thou meanwhile of those Who the Lord's secrets teach. " Who teach thee more thau he has taught. Tell more than he revealed, Pree.eh tidings which he never brought, And read what he left sealed," Il. A XTh"D OF PRACTICAL EXHORTATION THAT IS TO BE ENFORCED, Withdrawing the mind of the inquirer from vague speculations, the matter which the Lord places next before him is this," .Agonize to enter in at the strait gate." How urgent, how solemn is the entreaty! The strait gate! Is it not a wide and ever-open one? Yes, in one sense it is. None who come with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, will be, can be, excluded. '£here is room for the east, and for the west, and for the north, and for the south ; all nations, kindreds, peoples, and tongues. Christ's aim is, a universal religion. He throws his arms wide to all who labour and are heavy laden. But, in another sense, it is a strait gate. It is too na.rrow to admit any one in his sins. It is t.oo narrow to admit the Pharisee in his Pharisaism, or the Sadduce" in his Sadduceeism, or the Herodian in his Herodie.nism ; too narrow to admit any one in his "-ism," in his self-righteousness, in anything on which he rests with satisfaction as a ground of distinction or superiority. All who enter, enter a.s sinners looking for the mercy of God, and desiring to be cleansed from all unrighteousness. • Nothing in my ha.nd I bring, Simply to thy cross I cling." The entrance int.o the strait gate is the first of all interests, is the most pressing of all concerns. Instead of scatteriag energy over secondary issues, energy is to be concen- trated on this. Put your whole strength into the a.ccomplishment of the one end, Christ insists, "Strive [or,' agonize'] to enter." "Faith is a very simple thing." Yet there is a discipline which is not a very simple thing. Evangelical, especially the phase which is called evangelistic, preaching too often overlooks the discipline. It is frequently an exclusive repetition of the cry, "Believe, and you receive; believe, and you shall live.'' It forgets that the beginning of the gospel of Christ was" Repent I" It has not a distinct enough place for repentance. It is so occupied with the endeavour to make the way easy, that it fails to urge, with the intensity of Jesus' preaching, the necessity of a thorough self-repression, of a real taking of the cross, of the fighting of the good fiuht of faith. Let none overlook the agonistic side of the Christian life. Let the preach;r echo and illustrate the sharp, stern," Agonize to enter in "-not, indeed, a joyless and weary, but always, to flesh and blood, a real agony. '!'here are three enforcements of the exhortation. 1. Many are unable to enter: unable when the desire hecomes active. The door was open when the desire was torpid, when the heart was listless. They might have heHd the beseechings of grace, but there was only a feeble orr. xm.1-35.] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. LUKE. 11