In this week’s message at Flourishing Grace Church, Pastor Benjer unpacks one of the most sobering and hope-filled teachings of Jesus found in Luke 13:22–30. As Jesus journeys toward Jerusalem—fully aware that the cross awaits—He encounters a question that echoes through time: “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” What follows is a deeply personal and challenging conversation about salvation, grace, and what it truly means to know Jesus. Pastor Benjer explores Jesus’ response about striving to enter through the narrow door and helps us understand what that means for followers of Christ today. The sermon addresses a tension that exists both inside and outside the church: how can salvation be found in only one way without making God seem narrow-minded or unloving? Using historical and cultural background from first-century Judea and Rome, Pastor Benjer reveals that the narrow door is not about exclusion, but about clarity—Jesus Himself is the narrow door because He is the only one who can deal with our sin problem and offer eternal life.
Throughout the message, listeners are invited to examine what they are trusting in. Many people, both in Jesus’ day and our own, appeal to their spiritual “resume”—their family background, good works, or religious involvement—as evidence that they deserve God’s favor. But Jesus’ parable makes it clear that being in proximity to Him is not the same as having intimacy with Him. Pastor Benjer emphasizes that knowing about Jesus or being around His people is not the same as belonging to Him through faith. Just as those outside the door pleaded their case based on their lineage or their service, many today believe that moral behavior, volunteerism, or religious attendance will be enough. But as the sermon reminds us, salvation is not earned; it is received through surrender. We cannot present God our accomplishments or heritage and expect entry into His kingdom. Only through the person and work of Jesus—who lived the life we could not live and died the death we deserved—can anyone be saved.
Using both Scripture and contemporary examples, Pastor Benjer dismantles the modern belief system often described as “moralistic therapeutic deism”—the idea that God simply wants us to be nice, happy, and well-adjusted, and that good people go to heaven. Instead, he points us back to the truth of the gospel: that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, but through faith in Christ, we are justified by grace as a gift. Jesus’ death was not symbolic—it was substitutionary. He absorbed the wrath of God against sin, satisfying justice and extending mercy. Quoting from Romans 3 and Isaiah 53, Pastor Benjer reminds us that the cross was God’s plan to make a way for sinners to be reconciled to Him. The narrowness of this way is not cruelty; it is compassion. God has provided one clear way to life so that no one would have to wonder where salvation is found.
The sermon moves from theological depth to heartfelt application, urging the congregation to drop their resumes before God and instead pursue intimacy with Jesus. The narrow door is not a one-time entry point but a lifelong pursuit of relationship. Followers of Jesus must daily rely on His grace—not just at the moment of salvation, but every day afterward. Pastor Benjer challenges the church not to be filled with people who attend services, know the songs, and volunteer out of duty, but with people who know and love Jesus deeply. Proximity does not equal transformation. Only intimacy with Christ brings life.
