Are there Few That Be Saved?
Luke 13:23-30 Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are.
The Instructions
I recently purchased a new coffee maker. It came with instructions. I tried to make the thing work without reading them, but I finally realized that the people who made the coffee maker probably knew best how to make the thing work. So after pushing buttons with nothing happening, I read the instructions. When I followed the directions, the thing worked fine. Man was created by God and God has given us a set of instructions. Those instructions are found in a book called the Bible. I find it interesting that many people think that they can live life fine without following the instructions. Many people even read the instructions and then find reasons to ignore them.
I personally believe in the God who has revealed Himself through creation, through our consciences, and through the Bible. There are many reasons why I believe the Bible is God’s instruction manual. I will only mention three of those reasons here. Number 1, the Bible describes our thinking and our heart and it describes it accurately. It says it is desperately wicked. We do have good thoughts but we have a lot of bad ones. Thank goodness not everyone can read our minds. Number 2, the Bible has used the nation of Israel as an object lesson to show us His principles of righteousness and to show us that He keeps His promises. Number 3, I believe the Bible because I want to. Everyone believes in someone or something. I have chosen to anchor my life in the Bible.
My Concern
I was raised reading the Bible but it didn’t make sense to me until in 1963 when alone with God in my room, I realized that the Bible said that Christ had died for sinners and therefore he had died for me. He had paid the price for my salvation at the cross years before. I was waiting for God to save me and Christ had died to do that 2000 years before. I trusted that truth and I trusted Christ that night. For the first time I had God’s word for that fact that I was saved and I didn’t need a man to tell me that. That was a turning point in my life. I had always believed in eternal life and in eternal damnation. From that point on, I wanted to be used in the great work of helping others avoid eternal damnation and gain eternal life. Many teach people how to live as Christians without teaching them how to become Christians. I want to accurately tell people how to become Christians. Eternity depends on being right on this great matter.
What Does the Instruction Book Say?
I have watched the current trends in evangelism, and I am greatly concerned that people are not reading the instruction manual. There are those who say that God predetermines who will be saved. These people are not properly interpreting the Bible. They have not realized that God is omniscient (all knowing) and He knows who will trust Him before they do. That doesn’t mean that He causes them to trust Him. They don’t realize that there is a difference between God choosing the church to be His chosen people at the present time and Him choosing certain people to be part of His church. They have not distinguished between God’s choice of individuals for service and His choice for salvation.
There are people who believe that works or ceremonies make Christians when the Bible makes it clear that only personal faith in Christ makes a Christian. Those who think that their infant baptisms, their sacraments, their church memberships and their good works will take them through that narrow door that allows them to ultimately enter the Father’s house are going to be gravely mistaken. No man can do something to give another the assurance of salvation.
But what concerns me most, is the current trend for those who preach the Gospel to tell those who are really concerned about their eternal welfare to do something to be saved. In one way or another they are telling people to depend on their praying or their deciding or their inviting the Lord into their lives rather than telling them to quit looking to themselves for salvation and to look to Christ.
Let’s Be Careful!
When people ask us how to believe, it is best to show them that truth of Scripture and ask them if those promises are true. When they ask us if they are saved, it is best to ask them, “What does God say?” Then show them Scriptural promises. When the evangelist gives the person assurance by telling them to do something instead of letting the Holy Spirit use the word of God to bring them to faith in what God has done for them, we are not following the instructions.
Bruce Collins
Meditation for the week of July 31, 2016
For additional help see my manual for camp counselors on my website