“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.” —Luke 13:23-24
Do you understand the question in the above Scripture?
“Lord, are there few that be saved?”
Someone came to Jesus and wanted to know if “few” people were saved. It's interesting that the person didn't ask if “many” people were saved. Evidently the person had been listening to Jesus' preaching and became convinced that few people were really saved.
When the Bible speaks of being “saved,” it means saved from God's wrath upon Christ-rejecting sinners in Hell. Romans 5:9, “Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.” All Christ-rejecters go to Hell if they die in their sins. If a person is “saved,” then they are going to Heaven when they die.
Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” We are saved from the eternal consequences of sin, which is punishment in hellfire.
To be saved is synonymous with being “born again.” When a person becomes a born-again child of God, they are saved eternally. EVERY human being MUST to be saved (i.e., born again) to enter into Heaven. John 3:3, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” If a person dies in their sins without believing on Jesus as the Savior, the Son of God, they will burn in Hell forever (Revelation 20:11-15).
Just as the disciple who asked Jesus the question in Luke 13:23, I myself often wonder how few are truly born again believers. I dare say not many.
Let's consider the question again...
“Lord, are there few that be saved?”
There are over one billion Catholics in the world who errantly believe that the Catholic Church is going to save them. Roman Catholics do not trust Jesus Christ alone; but rather, rely upon manmade traditions and self-righteous works to save them. According to the Word of God, genuine Catholics are hellbound in their sins because they are trusting in self-righteousness (Romans 3:20; 10:3-4; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5).
There are over one billion Islamic Muslims in the world who deny that Jesus Christ ever died upon a cross for our sins. According to the Bible, they are antichrists and liars on their way to Hell (1st John 2:22-23).
There are over 183,000 cults in Japan alone that deny Jesus Christ as the only Savior of the world.
Other false religions include Lutheranism, Episcopalian, Scientology, Hinduism, Wicca, Buddhism, Seventh Day Adventist, Zoroastrianism, Greek Orthodox, Judaism, Jehovah Witness, Mormon, Freemasonry, and many more.
Why do I call them “false religions”? It's simply because they all corrupt the Biblical teaching of salvation, i.e., the gospel. Most false religions ADD works to faith. Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses DENY the deity of Jesus Christ (i.e., that He is Almighty God). Seventh Day Adventists falsely and deceitfully redefine faith to mean works. There are hundreds-of-millions of followers of Hinduism who deny Jesus as the Savior, the Son of God. Judaism denies that Jesus is the Messiah. The same Pharisaical Jews who crucified Jesus 2,000 years ago are crucifying Him today. The Church of Christ deceitfully speaks of faith in Christ, but also requires water baptism and living the Christian life to be saved. That is works salvation, which is a lie of the Devil (Romans 3:20; Romans 4:5-6).
Every Catholic claims not to worship Mary, but the second commandment (Exodus 20:3-5) forbids even bowing to Mary (which every Catholic does).
All of the religions I have just mentioned account for well over half of the earth's population. If you don't like what I am telling you then get mad at God because He wrote the Bible.
If you take the Bible at FACE VALUE, you can only interpret it one way. The best way to interpret the Bible is with the Bible. God said what He meant and meant what He said. Let the Bible speak for itself.
Jesus answered the question in Luke 13:24 with the following words...
“...for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.”
Most of the people in this world are going straight to Hell when they die because they have not been born again. Lies and deception are everywhere! Catholics and Jehovah Witnesses claim to be born-again but they are NOT. You can't get born-again by doing good works, confessing your sins to a priest, getting water baptized, joining a church or keeping the Sabbath Day.
Salvation is NOT found in any religion; but rather, in a Person—The Lord Jesus Christ!
Most people today have churchianity without Christianity, and they are all going to Hell if they don't repent toward God of their unbelief. There are only two types of religions in the world: DO and DONE. Either you believe that you have to DO something to go to Heaven; or else you believe that it is DONE, paid for by Jesus' precious blood.
Jesus said in Luke 13:24 that “many” will seek to enter into Heaven but will not be able. That is quite startling. Jesus said the same thing in Matthew 7:21-23 . . .
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
The reason why these religious people were not allowed into Heaven was because they attempted to enter Heaven through their own self-righteousness. In Matthew 5:20 Jesus spake concerning the religious leaders of His time . . . “For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Most of the religious churchgoers in the world today are as lost as can be, still hellbound in their wickedness. They have not done the will of God concerning salvation, which is to BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST (John 6:40; Acts 16:30-31).
Oh, listen my friend, I don't want you to go to the Lake of Fire when you die. Jesus' disciple asked Him if few people are going to Heaven. Jesus replied that many people will attempt, but fail. When the floods came in Noah's day, many people tried to get on the ark, but it was too late once the door was closed. When the bridegroom came in Matthew 25:1-13, the five foolish virgins were left behind because they were gone buying oil at the last moment. Do not likewise make the mistake of delaying salvation, for you will be sorry when it is too late.
Few souls are going to Heaven. Have you found that strait gate and narrow way that leadeth unto life (Matthew 7:13-15), which is the righteousness of Jesus Christ? So many churchgoers have religion, but they have never truly been born of the spirit of God, which is the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9).
Salvation happens when a person acknowledges their guilt of sin unto God; believing on Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, to be forgiven. We are SINNERS and Jesus is the wonderful SAVIOR! Acts 10:43, “To Him give all the prophets witness, that through His name whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins.”
David J. Stewart
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