Luke 13:22 - 30
22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. 29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God. 30 And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”
Questions:
ReplyDelete1. Why is the door narrow?
2. How should we strive to enter through the narrow door?
3. Who is seeking, but not able to enter?
4. Who is knocking at the door after the master closes the door?
5 Why won't the master let them in?
6. Who are the first that will be last?
7. Who are the last that will be first?
https://hartmangroupdevotions.blogspot.com/2015/03/matthew-713-14-13-enter-through-narrow.html?zx=9e503844f11755b4 says:
ReplyDeleteFirst, we need to understand that Jesus is the Door through which all must enter eternal life. There is no other way because He alone is “the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6). The way to eternal life is restricted to just one avenue—Christ. In this sense, the way is narrow because it is the only way, and relatively few people will go through the narrow gate. Many more will attempt to find an alternative route to God. They will try to get there through manmade rules and regulations, through false religion, or through self-effort. These who are “many” will follow the broad road that leads to eternal destruction, while the sheep hear the voice of the Good Shepherd and follow Him along the narrow way to eternal life (John 10:7-11).
While there will be relatively few who go through the narrow gate, compared to the many on the broad road, there will still be multitudes who will follow the Good Shepherd. The apostle John saw this multitude in his vision in the book of Revelation
Entering the narrow gate is not easy. Jesus made this clear when He instructed His followers to “strive” to do so. The Greek word translated “strive” is agonizomai, from which we get the English word agonize. The implication here is that those who seek to enter the narrow gate must do so by struggle and strain, like a running athlete straining toward the finish line, all muscles taut and giving his all in the effort. But we must be clear here. No amount of effort saves us; salvation is by the grace of God through the gift of faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). No one will ever earn heaven by striving for it. But entering the narrow gate is still difficult because of the opposition of human pride, our natural love of sin, and the opposition of Satan and the world in his control, all of which battle against us in the pursuit of eternity.
The exhortation to strive to enter is a command to repent and enter the gate and not to just stand and look at it, think about it, complain that it’s too small or too difficult or unjustly narrow. We are not to ask why others are not entering; we are not to make excuses or delay. We are not to be concerned with the number who will or will not enter. We are to plow ahead and enter! Then we are to exhort others to strive to enter before it’s too late.
Excellent explanation.
Deletehttps://hartmangroupdevotions.blogspot.com/2015/03/matthew-713-14-13-enter-through-narrow.html?zx=9e503844f11755b4 continued:
ReplyDeleteTo understand why few people find it, it's important to define the narrow way and why it is narrow.
Jesus spoke these words as part of a sermon spoken on a mountain to the people. The context of the sermon answers the question of the narrow way’s identity. The sermon is about the character of the kingdom of God in a believer’s life. The narrow way is the kingdom of God, as distinct from the established religion the people were familiar with.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7). How easy it is to withhold mercy than to extend it. We say, “He hurt me, so I’ll make him suffer,” rather than show mercy and forgive. How much easier it is to bear grudges than let them go with compassion. . . To be merciful is a product of God’s work in the believer. It is not natural to us. This is a narrow way and it leads to life.
The Our Father prayer in Matthew 6 is instructive for the narrow way. “Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). Who is seeking God’s will about a matter? Are we not naturally self-seeking? Do we not look at our time and resources and figure out how to get whatever we want? Don’t we check our own feelings and thoughts about an issue and make a decision? What is God’s will for your life? Do you think about it?
“Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). In our unrelenting self-reliance, who ever says the Our Father prayer anymore, except by rote memory in some churches? Who has developed the sense that God has taken it upon himself to care for those who are trusting in him as little children? To be dependent on God is a product of God’s work in the believer. It is not natural to us. This is a narrow way and it leads to life. The narrow way is God’s way influencing our thoughts and actions.
The reasons why the narrow way is so hard to find are quite varied. 1) It requires personal dependence on a Savior from sin, but society has wired us to find quick solutions to problems rather than go deeper to cultivate a life with God.
2) In general, people misunderstand their organized religion, thinking that going to church, being nice, and doing one’s best is all that God requires. We can’t remember everything in the Bible, so we sum up some basic ideas (“Do to others as you want them to do to you”) and never go deeper.
3) We become like those we associate with. We naturally conform to the culture in which we take part. If their tendency is to defer to the local leadership or local custom, then we will eventually parrot that to others; but is the custom to seek God? Is the culture a God-seeking culture, or a culture of established ritualistic habits (think of the Pharisees)?
“”Few there be that find it.”
Everlasting life is knowing God (John 17:3). But our fast-paced society continually encourages us to remain on the broad way. It’s no wonder that it’s a narrow way and few find it.
https://hartmangroupdevotions.blogspot.com/2015/03/matthew-713-14-13-enter-through-narrow.html?zx=9e503844f11755b4 continued:
ReplyDeleteI think that Jesus was speaking both a general principle in the kingdom of heaven as well as the first principle that the narrow gate is the way into heaven. All of us who are saved have entered the narrow gate. But it doesn't stop there. There are more choices, more steps of obedience, more narrow gates that we have to enter. The more we enter, the narrower they get (and less people choose it).
This all about eternity. Paul said in I Corinthians 3,
12 If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.
I believe that in areas of our lives we choose the wide gates that lead to destruction. Those things will be burned up at the Judgment Day.
So answering the questions above:
- This is a principle of the kingdom of heaven. There's the starting gate that gets us in, then there's other gates that we face that our a choice between life and death. (In my opinion) When we choose the wide path in an area of our life, that part of us dies. The grace of God brings us back to that gate over and over again. But until we enter it, we have a dead area in us - one that will be burned away if we never enter it (and we will all have dead areas when we come into the kingdom that won't survive in heaven).
- Does God condemn the vast majority to hell? I think that Jesus is talking about a general principle of the narrow gate. Few choose the narrow gate when they are faced with it - the narrow gate being either the first one or subsequent ones. I believe that God will burn away all parts of us that are wide path material in heaven - purifying us by His grace. Given the more general principle, I don't think we can apply proportions to this verse of what percentage of people will make it to heaven.
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-13-commentary says:
ReplyDeleteMark summarizes Jesus' journey...
They were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful. And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him, saying, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles. “They will mock Him and spit on Him, and scourge Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again.” (Mark 10:32-34)
Kent Hughes suggests that this "was a smug, self-complacent question because the general understanding among the Jews was that all Jews except the very worst would be saved.
The question "are there few being saved?" may reflect two important realities about Jesus' ministry: (1) Many of His teachings insisted that true discipleship comes with many difficult challenges, and (2) though large crowds came to hear Jesus in every town and village, there were relatively few who authentically followed Him as disciples.
The rabbis of that day used to love to debate the question of whether many or few would be saved. But Jesus won’t be drawn into this debate. His only question is, "are you saved?
Remember, Jesus was speaking to a crowd made up mostly of religious Jews. Almost to a person they believed in the one true God. They were not agnostics or polytheists. They believed in the Hebrew Scriptures and lived in basic accordance with them. In giving His answer, Jesus was not addressing a pagan audience. He was talking to the “church” crowd, most of whom assumed that they would go to heaven because they were good Jews.
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-13-commentary continued:
ReplyDeletehere the phrase “strive to enter” means that entering is a battle.
Then Jesus applies this picture to the real situation of some who will be excluded from the kingdom of God while Gentiles from all over the world will “recline at table in the kingdom of God.”
If life is war, who is the enemy? it is only our own sin that can keep us from entering the kingdom, not anyone else’s.
Jesus is demanding serious personal vigilance. The command to “watch” is one of his most frequent commands. The idea is that we must be awake and alert and ready, lest the temptations of life take us off guard and we be overcome and ruined.
“Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts” (Luke 20:46). “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them” (Matt. 6:1). We feel good when people speak well of us. It may not be wrong. But it is dangerous. It is a time for vigilance. “Woe to you,” Jesus says, “when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets” (Luke 6:26-note).
Less subtle is the lure of physical indulgence. “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap” (Luke 21:34). There are drugs and foods and practices that “weigh down” the heart. They make the heart sluggish. This is the opposite of vigilance. We will not “strive to enter through the narrow door” if we are self-indulgent and use drugs or food or drink in a way that dulls our spiritual alertness and vigilance.
The danger Jesus warns against most often is the danger of money. It is a mortal danger. Heaven and hell hang in the balance in our vigilance against the lure of money. Striving for wealth is not the striving that leads to the narrow door.
It appears, then, that striving to enter the kingdom of God through the narrow door is largely a battle about how we relate to money. He is jealous that we “guard against all covetousness.” He is deeply concerned with our “eyes” when it comes to the treasure of our lives. Matthew 6:22–23-note, “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”. In other words, how you see reality determines whether you are in the dark or not.
notice that these words of Jesus are sandwiched between the command to lay up treasures in heaven (Mt 6:19–21-note) and the warning that you can’t serve God and money (Mt 6:24-note). Why is this saying about the good and bad eye sandwiched between two teachings on money? I think it’s because what makes the eye good is how it sees God in relation to money.
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-13-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteStrive to enter - If this verse is taken out of context, it might suggest that sinners would be able to do something (some work) that would merit entrance by the narrow door and thus one could "work" his or her way to heaven. Nothing could be further from the truth that Jesus intended to convey! Jesus is not teaching works based righteousness (which is nothing but filthy rags at best - Isa 64:6), but that following Him has a cost. Jesus and not Jewish legalism (keeping of the laws which no one can do perfectly - Jas 2:10) is the door (Jn 10:9) that enters the house (salvation) in this passage and in Mt 7:13. He is the narrow gate that leads to the narrow way. He is entered with only one "key" and that is belief or faith in Him (Jn 14:6, Acts 16:31).
What Jesus is describing in the issuance of the command to strive is the unpopular truth that that the way of salvation is narrow and "difficult".
(Alexander Maclaren said) “We are not saved by effort, but we shall not believe without effort.”
a man cannot be a disciple of Christ without giving up sin.
Stated another way, striving does not save us but it proves we are saved. Faith alone saves, but faith that saves is never alone. We are not saved by works but by a faith that works. One "fruit" of genuine faith is a God given power to strive and fight and keep on doing so to the very end.
Fight (agonizomai in the present imperative) the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. (1Ti 6:12)
The point is that the life of a believer is "war" and calls for us to struggle, wrestle and exert ourselves. As John Piper says here in Luke 13:24 "the phrase 'strive to enter' means that entering is a battle."
5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 2 Peter 1:5
Whoever wants anything more than Christ will forfeit Christ.
John Butler makes an excellent point that strive "does not suggest works for salvation but the emphasis one should put on salvation. Our salvation must be the most important matter in our life...Many are not saved because they want to enter on their own terms instead of God’s terms, or they want to enter on the basis of good works, or they think they will enter because God is love and will not cast out anyone. Some think they can buy their way into heaven. Many who think they are going to heaven will not go to heaven when they die.
John MacArthur: Entering the narrow gate is difficult because of its cost in terms of human pride, because of the sinner’s natural love for sin, and because of the world’s and Satan’s opposition to the truth.
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-13-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteIt is the beginning of a mighty conflict, in which it costs much to win the victory. Hence arises the unspeakable importance of "counting the cost."...
1. True Christianity will cost one his self–righteousness
2. True Christianity will cost a man his sins. He must be willing to give up every habit and practice which is wrong in God’s sight. He must set his face against it, quarrel with it, break off from it, fight with it, crucify it and labor to keep it under, whatever the world around him may say or think. He must do this honestly and fairly. There must be no separate truce with any special sin which he loves. He must count all sins as his deadly enemies and hate every false way. Whether little or great, whether open or secret, all his sins must be thoroughly renounced. They may struggle hard with him every day and sometimes almost get the mastery over him. But he must never give way to them. He must keep up a perpetual war with his sins.
3. Also, Christianity will cost a man his love of ease. He must take pains and trouble if he means to run a successful race toward heaven. He must daily watch and stand on his guard, like a soldier on enemy’s ground. He must take heed to his behavior every hour of the day, in every company and in every place, in public as well as in private, among strangers as well as at home. He must be careful over his time, his tongue, his temper, his thoughts, his imagination, his motives, his conduct in every relation of life. He must be diligent about his prayers, his Bible reading, and his use of Sundays, with all their means of grace. In attending to these things, he may come far short of perfection; but there is none of those who he can safely neglect.
4. Lastly, true Christianity will cost a man the favor of the world. He must be content to be thought ill of by man if he pleases God.
John MacArthur - The requirement that sinners enter through the narrow door further indicates the intensity of the struggle (cf. Matt. 7:13-14). The door is a tight fit, requiring those who enter through it to strip themselves of their personal baggage. It is also made hard to find by the many deceptive voices luring the unwary and undiscerning to the broad gate that leads to hell. Therefore many will seek to enter and will not be able.
And so in John we read that Jesus taught "I am the door ; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture." (John 10:9)
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. John 14:6
The Gospel message however is very clear, very dogmatic, very exclusive and very narrow! Obviously while we as Christians are not to be narrow-minded people per se, we must be narrow-minded regarding the Way, the Truth and the Life (Jn 14:6), if we truly believe that salvation is found in no one else, and that there is no other name under heaven that has been given to men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). As offensive as such a truth may be to non-Christians, we must continually make it clear in our witness (our life, then our lips!) to them, for without Christ they are lost and bound for the lake of fire.
John 8:24 "I said therefore to you, that you shall die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins."
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-13-commentary continued:
ReplyDeletethe first portion of Jesus' explanation for their need to strive to enter. He explains that they will not be able to enter.
This is a shocking verse for legalists of all ages and cultures. Salvation is not human effort, but a response of personal faith to God’s gift and provision—Jesus
David Guzik comments that
The punctuation supplied by translators in Luke 13:24 25 is poor. It should read will not be able when once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door. The point is that there will come a time when it is too late to enter - that is why one must have an urgency to enter now. This is true regarding our soul’s salvation.
Steven Cole comments that...
Salvation requires our earnest effort because many will seek to enter and will not be able to do so. The following verse indicates that they will not be able to enter because they missed the deadline. It is not that many strive to enter, but only some of those striving succeed. Rather, as the following verses show, some will wake up to the serious issues involved in their own salvation too late.
He never will savingly believe till he has been thoroughly convinced of sin.
Some are unable to enter because the pride of life will not let them.
Some are unable to enter because they carry contraband goods with them.
Others, and these are in the worst plight of all, think that they are in, and that they have entered.
Seek the Lord while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. Isaiah 55:6
“Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? Lk 6:46
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-13-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteThey will come from east and west and from north and south - The "four corners" of the world. Why is "they?" In context this refers to Gentiles who have "striven" and entered through the narrow door by grace through faith in the only way (Jn 14:6) into the Kingdom of Heaven, through the Door, the Messiah (Jn 10:9).
Some who are last who will be first - Note "some", not all! The last speaks of the Gentiles. Note the quantifier "some" describes a portion of those in both groups, the first (Jews) and the last (Gentiles) who will enter the narrow door of salvation by grace through faith in Christ.
Not only will Gentiles be in the kingdom, but they will also be equal with the Jews who are there. In the realm of salvation “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for [the redeemed] are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28; Eph. 2:11-16).
https://biblehub.com/commentaries/luke/13-23.htm says:
ReplyDeleteBarnes' Notes on the Bible
Then said one - Who this was does not appear. It is probable that he was not one of the disciples, but one of the Jews, who came either to perplex him, or to involve him in a controversy with the Pharisees.
Are there few that be saved? - It was the prevalent opinion among the Jews that few would enter heaven. As but two of all the hosts that came out of Egypt entered into the land of Canaan, so some of them maintained that a proportionally small number would enter into heaven (Lightfoot). On this subject the man wished the opinion of Jesus. It was a question of idle curiosity. The answer to it would have done little good. It was far more important for the man to secure his own salvation, than to indulge in such idle inquiries and vain speculations. Our Lord therefore advised "him," as he does "all, to strive" to enter into heaven.
https://faithalone.org/grace-in-focus-articles/if-its-free-why-would-anyone-need-to-strive-to-enter-luke-1324/ says:
ReplyDeleteAs might be expected, Lordship Salvation teachers love this verse. They find in it proof of their doctrine. One leading Lordship proponent writes concerning this verse:
The message of Jesus cannot be made to accommodate any kind of cheap grace or easy-believism. The kingdom is not for people who want Jesus without any change in their living. It is only for those who seek it with all their hearts, those who agonize to enter. Many who approach the gate turn away upon finding out the cost. (John F. MacArthur, Jr.)
The Lordship writer cited is right that the Greek word agonizomai has a basic meaning of “to fight, struggle” (BAGD, p. 15).
He is also correct, at least in many cases, that “unless a person is looking diligently for the gate, he is not likely to know that it is there.”
He is wrong, however, in suggesting that this has something to do with turning from sins, changing one’s lifestyle, paying some price, or the like.
Clearly the struggle involved here concerns finding the right gate to enter. The Lord’s point is that those who don’t know the way to eternal life should exert every effort to find out. It’s as simple as that.
This concept is taught in a number of other passages of Scripture.
Hebrews 11:6 says that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
In John 6:27 the Lord told unbelieving Jews who were seeking more miraculous signs like the feeding of the 5,000 which had just occurred, “Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” They then asked, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” (v 28). Jesus’ response has nothing do with change of lifestyle. It is a simple call to faith. He said, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent” (v29)!
In Acts 17:27 Paul told the Athenian philosophers that God has set up mankind “so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.”
Those who do not know the way to heaven are to strive to find out. They are to seek the truth.
Romans 3:10 seems to contradict this understanding. It says that none seek God, no not one. The actual point of the verse is that none seek God on their own initiative. Clearly, other texts say that unbelievers can and do seek God (e.g., Acts 17:27). Since God is seeking all (John 16:7-11; Rom 1:19-20), all are free to respond to His drawing and to seek Him in return. Those who diligently seek Him will find Him (Heb 11:6; Acts 17:27).
Strive to enter by the narrow gate? You bet! (Of course, once you’ve entered, you no longer need to seek the gate anymore! You’ve found it!) That doesn’t contradict the freeness of the Gospel at all.
Questions and findings:
ReplyDelete(Heads up: I was very disappointed in the commentaries quoted by Precepts Austin.)
1. Why is the door narrow?
It's narrow by design. It's just wide enough for us to get through without carrying anything with us. When we become united with God, God's holiness doesn't allow for any impurity whatsoever.
2. How should we strive to enter through the narrow door?
This is an imperative question. If we don't get this right, our theology is going to be wrong - so wrong, that we may teach other people right into hell.
First of all, on our own, we have no interest in finding the door. Jesus Christ (and the Father) enables us to want to find the door. I won't get into it here whether Jesus has a general call to everyone (via His work on the cross) or just calls people specifically, but I can say that Jesus Must call us before we will even want to find the door. Otherwise, there is no hope.
Once we hear the call of Christ, we must strive to answer it (because He has also enabled us to). Striving means that we will drop everything (our pride, our ambitions, our opinions, our desires) in favor of entering the narrow door. This striving is a life-long struggle against our flesh.
It's this striving that is the sign that we are willing to be with God (i.e. saved). We cannot both love God and love our stuff. This is the Key, and we must get this right: The striving is the sign, not the success of our striving. The success of our striving is all because of God. We must strive, but only God can grow us and enable us to enter the narrow door. On our own, we are powerless to make any progress. With God, He will grow us in His will and timing.
3. Who is seeking, but not able to enter?
There's two answers / contexts to this:
a. The Jewish nation, who assumed they were saved because they were descendents of Abraham.
b. Those who still want their stuff instead of God, but also want the benefits of heaven. They are those who seek but are not able to enter. Entering means we choose God and Nothing Else.
Those who are going to enter are in an agonizing battle with our flesh, which is desparately holding onto us. We have days where we choose to give into it. Sucumbing to the flesh and choosing to hang onto our flesh are not the same thing. (It's tricky, because one thing can lead to another.) The difference is confession and repentance. If we come to Christ (no matter how many times), confess our sins and seek repentance, He will save us, forgive us, and restore us. If we choose even one thing over Christ, we were never His (or we leave Him - I'm not getting into that topic here).
4. Who is knocking at the door after the master closes the door?
The unclean. Those who choose to hang onto their flesh are not worthy of entering the kingdom of God. Jesus has not made them worthy, because they desired not to be made worthy. Yet, they still want the benefits of living in God's house. (I believe they won't be happy there because they don't understand what and who God's house is).
5 Why won't the master let them in?
Because they refused to be cleaned up and made worthy to enter. They want to enter the master's house on their own terms. Heaven / the new Eden is a place where the only terms are God's.
6. Who are the first that will be last?
7. Who are the last that will be first?
Once again, two answers: a. Some Jewish people who think being Abraham's decendents give them special privledges. b. Anything that we do that we think will give us special privledges.
What does being first and last mean? It's possible that it only distinguishing those who get into God's house and those who don't. It's also possible that those who feel they should be first will feel like they are last (and vice-versa). It's possible that this passage is saying that there will be a pecking order in heaven - but I really doubt this this is the case (both in that there is a pecking order, and that this passage is saying that).
Thoughtful commentary and conclusions here. As is often the case with Jesus' words, there are many layers of application.I would be interested to know what specifically disappointed you, Bruce in what was written in Precepts Austin.
ReplyDeleteGood question! In general Precepts Austin often quotes Bible teachers who just get it wrong. Their commentator (who is putting together the quotes) gets it wrong the most often. In most cases, it's somewhat minor. In this case, it was most serious.
DeleteGoing off memory, Precepts Austin (and/or the teachers they quoted from) not only got this passage wrong, they got it so seriously wrong that they could lead people astray. If I'm remembering correctly, they are teaching that striving means that we can just strive our way into the Kingdom - which is so very shockingly wrong. It was so bad that I considered not using Precepts Austin as a source anymore. However, Precepts Austin does have some very good analogies (and do quote from a couple very good teachers).
Furthermore, Precepts Austin so blatantly takes theological sides even though there is disagreement among "high scripture" scholars.
In the case of this section of scripture, I had to outright reject what they were saying. It is in opposition to the simplest concepts of the Gospel. My "findings" above were very different from theirs.