"ARE THERE FEW THAT ARE SAVED?"
(Lk. 13:23-28).¶ Then one said to Him, "Lord, are there few who are saved?" And He said to them, 24 "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 "When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open for us,' and He will answer and say to you, 'I do not know you, where you are 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 you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.' 28 "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, and yourselves thrust out.
In our text above, we have an important question put to our Lord Jesus. Who asked this question, we are not told. It is probable, though, that he was not one of the disciples, but more likely was one of the Jews, who came either to try to perplex Him, to entrap Him or to involve Him in a controversy with His religious enemies. Jesus often granted great liberty to those who questioned Him, and in return gave answers to the thoughts and intents of the heart. Jesus well knew the hearts of all men (Jn. 2:25), and often gave answer to His understanding of an evil heart, without dealing directly with the question that was asked.
Jesus answered this question before: (Matt. 7:13,14).
"Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 "Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
God created man in His own image
¶ Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (Gen. 1:26,27),
He gave man the power to choose to do right or to do wrong.
God told man, (Deut. 30:19).
"I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;
As long as man has the power to choose, the masses will still choose "the wide gate" and "the broad way."
So, the simple answer to the man's question is, "There are few that will be saved." But let us look further at the question, and why it was asked.
WHAT THE QUESTION INVOLVES:
Jesus, in His answer, did not reply directly to the question, but gave an answer in the form of instruction for all the hearers. The implication of His answer is that many will, at the last moment, seek to enter in, but only a few would be allowed to enter.
According to some, it was the prevalent opinion among the Jews that few would enter into heaven. This view was based in large part on the fact that only Joshua and Caleb of all the 600,000 warriors in Israel -- were allowed to enter into Canaan.
The reasoning was that a proportionately small number would enter into heaven. But God wants all men to be saved. As Paul wrote, "This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; who would have all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim. 2:3,4).
The Scripture says, "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness; but is longsuffering to you-ward, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Pet. 3: 9).
That is the reason He sent His only begotten Son to die for our sins, in order that "whosoever believeth" might be saved (Jno. 3;16). Again, Paul wrote,
"He died for all" (2 Cor. 5:15) and "tasted death for every man" (Heb. 2:9). quote But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for
Failure for any man to be saved can never be blamed on God.
The failure is man's, not God's. Jesus died that we might be saved, and , Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
(Heb. 7:25).
There is no lack of power to save, there is no lack of desire to save. Any who are not saved can only blame themselves, not God. The choice is given to each of us -- the wide gate ,or narrow gate, the broad way or strait way. We make the choice.
IT COULD HAVE BEEN A TRICK QUESTION:
The enemies of Jesus often sought to trap Him by asking quesitons of this character. They asked questions about paying taxes (Lk. 20:22), stoning adulterers (Jno. 8), the source of His power (Mk. 11:28), etc.
IT COULD HAVE BEEN A SERIOUS QUESTION:
The rich young ruler came to Jesus, not in the interest of how many would be saved, but with a desire to know of his own spiritual needs (Matt. 19:16-22).
The people in Jerusalem, on the day of Pentecost, were arrested with the fact that they had personal needs based on their guilt: "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" (Acts 2:37). Saul of Tarsus cried out, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" (Acts 22:10).
This question was not from idle curiosity, but with full conviction that he was in desperate need of being in compliance with the Lord's will for salvation.
The jailor in philippi stood guard over Paul and Silas, and earnestly sought his own redemption when he asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" (Acts 16:30). There was no idle curiosity on the part of any of these. They sought their own salvation.
IT COULD HAVE BEEN AN ADMIRING QUESTION:
The questioner in our text had taken notice how strict the law of Christ was, and how far out of harmony the world was, and thus asked, "Are there few that are saved?" That sentiment is one that is often felt by all Christians.
The fact that the gospel of Christ demands the very best of us in all matters, and with full knowledge that too often our energy, our money, our influence, our time and our devotions are directed upon matters of material nature, we, too, are often led to exclaim:
"Are there few that are saved?"
The system of truth and faith taught by the Lord Jesus Christ is the most exacting system ever proclaimed to humanity, while at the same time offering the grace of God to save us. Never before had men been required to attend to matters strictly of the heart.
Instead of "imposing" His law from without by a system of regulations and rules, Jesus changes men from within by changing their hearts with His love, truth and faith. "Bless those that persecute you...Love your enemies ... Return good for evil...
Turn the other cheek" (Rom. 12; Matt. 5). These are not just "rules" and "regulations" to live by, these are heart-changing admonitions that help us to be "transformed into the image of Him that created us" (Col. 3:10).
With all of these admonitions before us, and they are only a few of those that Jesus gives to us, we should realize just how sinful the whole world is:
"All have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God...rom 3;23..
The whole world lieth in the evil one.. 1 jn 5;19
.If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves" 1 jn 1:8). But, instead of asking, "Are there few that are saved?" we should, instead, be asking the question of Acts 16:30, "What must I do to be saved?"
"Don't worry about how many. Just make sure you are one of them!" Although the gate is narrow, it is easily found if we honestly seek it according to the will of the Lord.
We must come "in full assurance of faith" (Heb. 10:22), and the Lord welcomes us. The aim of Christ is universal salvation, for He died for all. But He still leaves the choice with each of us.
Jesus throws wide his arms and cries to each of us,
"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matt. 11:28-30).The choice is ours, as to how many will be saved! We can always add one to that number by coming to the Lord for salvation. And by our teaching and our example, we may add even more to that "few" by bringing others to the Lord!
If you would like to be one of the few that enter heaven, you can if you.
BELIEVE jn 8;24
REPENT acts 17;30
CONFESS acts 2;28
BE BAPTIZED for the remission of sins