Who will be saved – many or few…?
August 22nd, 2010Who will be saved – many or few? & What will Heaven be like?
A) Who will be saved? Luke 13:22-30 (NIV)
22Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. 23Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?”
He said to them, 24“Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. 25Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ “But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’
26“Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ 27“But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’
28“There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. 29People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. 30Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.”
In this passage the questioner asks an eternal question: Who will be saved? Many or few? He would probably have assumed that the Kingdom of God was for Jews only, and that the Gentiles would be shut out. Jesus answer must have come as a shock to him.
1. Jesus says Keep S TRIVING and S TRUGGLING This is the word from which we derive the English word agony. Its not over till its over.
2. Many will be S HUT out. The key is whether He knows you and where you are coming from. Where you from? The “Bright side” or the “Dark side”?
3. Their defense is “But we are S PECIAL. We ate with you and you taught in our streets. But he sends them away…
4. So there will be some S URPRISES in the Kingdom of God:
Some who are last will be first and some who are first will be last. Its an upside down Kingdom
B) What will Heaven be like? Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24 (NIV)
Mount S I N A I is contrasted with Mount S I O N :
18You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; 19to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them…
Mount Sinai = G . O . D .
Sinai = The Glory and Majesty of God: 11 You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness. Deuteronomy 4:11
Sinai = The Otherness and Unapproachability of God: 12 Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful that you do not go up the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. Exodus 19:12
Sinai = The Dread and Fear of the Lord: 25 But now, why should we die? This great fire will consume us, and we will die if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any longer. Deuteronomy 5:25
19 I feared the anger and wrath of the LORD, for he was angry enough with you to destroy you. Deuteronomy 9:19
22But you have come to Mount Sion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
Mount Sion = The H . E . A . V . E . N. S .
In this passage the author answers another eternal question: What will heaven be like?
In Sion we will come to:
1. The H EAVENLY Jerusalem – The city of the living God.
2. The E LECT the Church of the first-born whose names are written in heaven.
3. The A NGELS in joyful assembly.
4. The V IRTUOUS who are the spirits of the righteous “made perfect”.
5. The E VALUATOR who is God the judge of all men (Jesus) .
6. The N EGOTIATOR who is Jesus the mediator of the new covenant.
7. The S PRINKLED blood that speaks a better “word”.
In Heaven, we are brought near and God is Immanuel – God with us.
C) Conclusion – A Final Warning: Hebrews 12:25-29
25See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? 26At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
28Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29for our “God is a consuming fire.”
The writer to the Hebrews was fond of threatening quototations:
24 For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. Deuteronomy 4:24
In time and eternity the main thing is our relationship of Love and Loyalty to the Lord.