THE MAIN IDEA
Salvation is open to all until Jesus returns. 

THE DOOR INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS NARROW
The word that Jesus uses for  “make every effort” (verse 24) means to fight or to struggle. Jesus is not saying that we have to  fight our way into salvation. Our salvation is by grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ alone  (Ephesians 2:8-9). Jesus is pointing out that (1) the door to our salvation is only open for a short  time, (2) a personal relationship with Him is the only way into the kingdom of God, and (3) being a follower of Jesus Christ is sometimes difficult, and even life-threatening. Jesus knew the  struggles His followers would have to face. He was preparing them for the struggle they would  face as believers. Thank God that we live in a society where we can freely call on the name of  Jesus without fear of open persecution. But we also often take our salvation for granted. We all  work hard chasing after things that really don’t matter in the end. All we end up doing is  teaching the next generation to cherish the world more than cherish Jesus. Should we not divert  our efforts to the One who really does matter? 

THE DOOR INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD WILL CLOSE
When Jesus says that the  door to the kingdom of God will close, He is pointing out, first of all, the reality of heaven and  hell. Of course, it’s the reality of hell that no one likes to talk about. “Weeping and gnashing of  teeth” often describes the pain and suffering that people will experience in hell, as well as the  torment of being burned in fire. But also, those in hell will apparently be able to see everything  that they are missing in heaven. We should try to imagine how incredibly painful and horrific  hell is. Doing so might (1) make us more appreciative of our salvation, (2) make us more  passionate and devoted to Jesus, and (3) make us more passionate witnesses of Jesus Christ. The  second reality that every human needs to come to terms with is the reality that Jesus is coming  back. When Jesus comes back, the door to the kingdom of God gets shut, and He is coming back  as Judge over the living and the dead. And of course, He could come back at any time. That does  not mean we should put our lives on hold. Life will continue on as it has from the beginning of  time. But we should be ready for that day when Jesus comes back and the narrow door closes. 

THE DOOR INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS OPEN
Jesus’s main point is that the door  into the kingdom of God is still open. Many believed that they were saved because of their  Jewish identity, or because they followed the rules, or because they shared a meal with Jesus, or  because they attended His teachings. But Jesus warned them that they were all in danger of being  left behind. Even if we are saved, we should heed Jesus’s warning, because we all need to be  reminded of the simple gospel. But the door into the kingdom of God is still open because God  wants all people to be saved. Some of those people may be people we love very dearly. Even so,  we know that God loves them way more than we do. We see God’s love and concern for the lost  throughout Scripture (Luke 15, Luke 19, etc). And so we can be proud of all that God is doing in  our community to seek and to save the lost (house church, eleven mission teams with almost 650  people, our S. Korea mission trip). And yet, the door to the kingdom remains open because God  wants more people to be saved. Jesus wants us to pray so that our eyes would be opened to see  the harvest field. He wants us to open our hearts to embrace His heart for the lost. 

DISCUSSION QUESTION: If you had one question you could ask Jesus when He returns, what would it  be?