Salvation Numbers According to Jesus
Luke 13:22-30
October 27, 2019
This morning we come across an interesting text.
It is the day when someone actually asked Jesus
About actual salvation numbers.
This is certainly a conversation we can wrap our minds around
Because numbers have become an all too important aspect
Of how churches today measure ministry success.
Now to be fair, it’s not like the Bible excludes numbers altogether.
After all at Pentecost we read:
Acts 2:41 “So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.”
Even later in the account of Acts we read:
Acts 4:4 “But many of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.”
We could even point out that there is an entire book in the Bible called “Numbers” which I’m sure you all read this past week.
So we don’t just throw out any and all discussion about numbers,
But certainly in our day we have SEEN AN OVER INTEREST in the issue.
It was Charles Finney
• In the late 1800’s was credited to be the leader of the second great awakening
• And even often called “The Father of Modern Revivalism”
• Finney was a lawyer who did not believe in the depravity of man,
• But saw salvation as purely a decision to be made by sinners on behalf of Christ.
• He was the first to use the modern day “altar call” or public invitation.
• He was the first to really measure meeting success based upon the number of decisions he could coerce.
And there was something so appealing to other ministers about this tactic
That the public invitation took hold,
Counting decisions became the standard,
And the American church never looked back.
It is certainly worth stating that even Finney at the end of his life
Was forced to admit that most of the decisions he solicited
Did not result in genuine salvation.
In fact Finney’s circuit was the American North East, which came to be known as the “burned over district” referencing all the supposed fiery revivals Finney held and now it remains one of the most spiritually hardened regions of America.
But the appeal of numbers as a measure of success
Is a tactic that has remained.
And today we’ve all heard the boasts of ministers about the number of decisions that were made at previous meetings.
Zek and I sat on an airplane flying from Malawi to South Africa this summer and listened to a Baptist evangelist boast about all the places in Malawi he had visited and the many thousands of decisions he had seen at every place.
Even Zek, saw the problem in the boasting, as we all realized that coercing a kid in Malawi to come forward and agree to something would not be hard at all.
We’ve all seen the exploitations…
We’ve all seen the manipulation…
But probably the most troubling thing for me has been that
In the desire to have a numerically successful ministry
We have all seen ministers inevitably widen the gate, lower the bar,
And eliminate standards required for salvation.
• I’m talking about people who aren’t willing to repent, but who are willing to go to heaven so some minister declares them saved.
• Or some person not willing to obey Christ, but is willing to admit they are sinful and the minister declares them saved.
And so much of it is done because of the desire to be able to say,
“We had 17 decisions for Christ.”
I see it as a major problem
Because it deals out false assurance to so many.
Well, in our text this morning Jesus is actually confronted with a question
About how many people are actually being saved.
(22-23) “And He was passing through from one city and village to another, teaching, and proceeding on His way to Jerusalem. And someone said to Him, “Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?”
Again we see Jesus in His typical ministry role.
• Travel from town to town
• Speak in the synagogue
• Work a validating miracle
• Move on
Only this time we see that His earthly ministry is nearing an end
As Jesus is now working His way toward Jerusalem.
So we have Jesus here traveling from town to town offering salvation
While He Himself is on His way to purchase it.
It’s actually a remarkable reality if you think about it.
• Every time Jesus offers salvation…
• Every sinner He declares forgiven…
• Is in reality another debt He is agreeing to pay before God
Watching Him offer forgiveness while knowing that He will bear the wrath for every sin He forgives is really a remarkable thing to behold.
But that is what the Lord is doing.
And on this day He receives a question that caught Luke’s attention.
“And someone said to Him, “Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?”
• We don’t know who asked this question.
• We don’t know what prompted them to ask it.
But it is apparent to us that
• Whatever the Lord was preaching,
• And whatever the Lord was asking,
• And however the people were responding
Caused this person to wonder if many people were being saved at all.
• Perhaps this person realized that what Jesus was asking was not going over
well with the crowds…
• Perhaps this person noticed that some were balking at His claims and
departing from following Him…
Whatever it was it prompted this person to ask Jesus
If salvation was only for a few.
Now you may understand that not everyone is being saved
But this was a tricky issue for the Jews.
The Jews undoubtedly assumed that as Jews they were all being saved.
In and through the confines of Israel the expectation was certainly
That everyone was being saved.
We listen to John the Baptist confront the Pharisees who assumed salvation simply because they were Abraham’s descendants.
Luke 3:8 “Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.”
Jews thought they were all going to enter God’s kingdom.
But Jesus’ preaching caused this person to wonder if that is true.
• Jesus is talking an awful lot about the necessity of repentance…
• Jesus is talking an awful lot about the realities of judgment…
Just recently we read as Jesus compared Israel to a fruitless fig tree
That was about to be cut down.
Those are strange sermon topics if everyone in Israel is being saved.
And so this man asks the question that perhaps everyone was wondering.
“Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?”
• Jesus, do You not think we’re all saved?
• Jesus, do You think some of us are going to hell?
• Jesus, do You think most people are going to hell?
• Jesus, do You think that only a few people are actually being saved?
(That is certainly the vibe they had picked up while listening to Him preach)
SO THAT IS THE QUESTION.
The remainder of our text is Jesus’ answer to that question.
And I don’t mind telling you that I find Jesus’ answer to be
A much needed correction to the prevailing ministry mindset today
As we have said, so much is made about numbers in regard to ministry.
• Ministers are so eager today to declare people saved and thus congratulate their ministries.
• Many have certainly become guilty of lowering the standard and widening the gate so that they can declare people saved.
I can give you one alarming story to this end.
• In 1994 a group of evangelicals and Catholics got together to try and hammer out unity; to sort of heal the scars of the Reformation.
• They published a document called “Evangelicals and Catholics Together” (ECT).
• It understandably had its opponents.
• One of those opponents was John MacArthur who gave his account of a meeting that took place with the evangelical signers afterward.
Here is his account:
“Not too many years ago, some evangelical Protestants got together – Chuck Colson and some others – Bill Bright and some others – and they met with some Roman Catholics, and they came up with a document called “Evangelicals and Catholics Together.” And in that document, they celebrated a common faith and a common mission. And they said, “We need to embrace each other and carry out this gospel mission together.” This was shocking, to put it mildly, to many – to all of those people who affirm clearly a biblical gospel. And there was immediately a counter to that and all kinds of things brought to bear upon the signers of ECT. Perhaps the most notable, at least in my experience, was a special private session called in Florida, where I was locked up with a very formidable group of people for a period of seven hours, including those on the other side – J. I. Packer, Charles Colson being the notable ones – Bill Bright from Campus Crusade. There was myself and R. C. Sproul, Michael Horton representing the biblical side and reformed theology. And for seven hours we talked about this. What is the gospel? Are the Catholics saved or not saved? That’s really important. It became a discussion of are the Anglicans saved or not saved? Is everybody who’s within quote-unquote Christendom automatically saved? Are they saved because they’re baptized? Are they saved because they quote-unquote believe in Jesus? It was a very heated discussion at many points.
What was at stake? I’ll tell you what was at stake. What was at stake is whether or not we evangelize Roman Catholics. That’s what’s at stake. One billion of them in the world. Are they a mission field, or are they our co-laborers for Christ. That changes everything. Everything.
On the other side, one of the leading evangelicals said, “I think it’s so wonderful that we can now see Catholics as Christians because that means millions and millions of people are Christians,” as if somehow by them deciding they were Christians they became Christians. I was absolutely incredulous; I almost fell off my chair.
It was like, ‘What a monumental meeting this is. We just redeemed millions of people without leaving the room.”
https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/90-291/~/about
That is alarming.
A group of men got in a room,
Decided that all of a sudden Catholics are saved.
Just like that.
• No one changed their theology
• No one repented
• No one clarified the true gospel
• They just all decided that they would agree that both were saved
That’s a scary reality.
And I’m not saying that no Catholics are saved,
• But as we have said many times before Catholics that are saved are saved in spite of Catholic doctrine, not because of it.
• And so to make a sweeping judgment that all Catholics are saved is foolish.
But here you have men who are willing to widen the gate, declare people saved, and then rejoice in it.
It is a clear indicator that the church today
Needs to hear how Jesus answers this question:
“Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?”
I want you to hear Jesus’ answer.
• Now Jesus doesn’t give a simple yes or no answer.
• He doesn’t give a percentage or a number.
What He does do is give the realities about salvation
And allow you to answer the question for yourself.
As if to say:
“Well, here is the truth about who is saved and who is not. Now you tell Me if you think that is most people or just a few.”
So we have here from Jesus the realities about salvation
And whether or not that is most people or only a few.
And we can examine Jesus answer in 3 truths about salvation.
#1 TRUE SALVATION HAS AN UNACCOMMODATING ENTRANCE
Luke 13:24
What I mean by saying that salvation has an unaccommodating entrance is that IT IS NOT EASY TO ENTER.
This alone may cause some red flags to go up
Because we have certainly been taught how easy salvation is.
Salvation is commonly described with terms like
“free” and “simple” and “open” and “easy” and “available”
Many a preacher has stood at an invitation and assured people that
• Entrance into the kingdom is free and easy
• And all you have to do is raise your hand or pray this prayer
• Or sign this card or walk this aisle and you will be saved.
We’ve heard it all.
But that doesn’t sound anything like what Jesus said.
Look again at what He said:
“Strive to enter through the narrow door”
Stop there for a moment.
“Strive” It is the Greek word (A-go-need-zo-my) AGONIZOMAI
It is where we get our word for “agonize”
It is also translated “Fight” in the New Testament
And Jesus says that is what is required “to enter”
• It is a struggle.
• It is a fight
That is a far cry from calling salvation easy.
Jesus didn’t say it was easy; Jesus said it was difficult.
And the reason salvation is difficult is because the door is “narrow”.
IT IS HARD TO GET THROUGH.
• You don’t skip through it.
• You don’t walk through it with all your friends.
• You don’t carry all your stuff through it.
You have to squeeze and fight and agonize to get through the door.
It reminds us of some of the other times our Lord spoke of salvation.
We remember Jesus telling the Rich Young Ruler that he had to sell all his possessions and give it to the poor and he went away sad.
And Jesus said:
Matthew 19:23-26 “And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. “Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
• There Jesus used the word “hard” to describe salvation.
• And the disciples picked up on the analogy asking “who can be saved?”
• Jesus even said as far as man is concerned, it is “impossible”
Those aren’t words that speak of salvation being easy or simple.
It is hard. It is a struggle.
Or we could read the parable of the soils and see that of the 4 types of soil, only 1 is saved; 3 are lost.
Or we could go to the sister passage of our text this morning and read:
Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
And Jesus there describes salvation again as “small” and “narrow”
And that it is only found by a “few”.
JESUS MOST CERTAINLY DOES NOT PAINT SALVATION AS EASY.
HE SAYS IT IS HARD.
In fact, He says, “many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.”
Jesus says there’s going to be a lot of people
Who want salvation, but who will not obtain it.
There’s going to be a lot of people who, like the Rich Young Ruler,
Will want to go to heaven, but who won’t make it.
WHY?
BECAUSE SALVATION IS HARD, NOT EASY.
Is that a startling revelation to you?
Does that go a little against what so many preachers and evangelists have told us over the years?
Let me explain it to you.
Jesus said that the door is narrow.
Well, we know who the door is.
John 10:7-9 “So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. “All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.”
Jesus also described Himself as the “way”
John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
And some would say, “Oh, I get it. Jesus is talking about how salvation is impossible if you try to earn it yourself.”
Well certainly it is, but that’s NOT what He is talking about.
Jesus is the door and Jesus said that the door is “narrow”.
That is to say that the “door” doesn’t let everyone through.
What we are talking about is
Jesus’ requirement for salvation.
AND IT IS HARD.
Many today seem to think Jesus just lets everyone in.
IS THAT TRUE?
• Did He let the Rich Young Ruler in?
• Did He let the Pharisees in?
• Did He let that guy who only wanted to follow after collecting his inheritance in?
JESUS REQUIREMENTS ARE HARD REQUIREMENTS.
May I remind you?
Matthew 16:24 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”
• Jesus called for death to self.
• Jesus called for abandonment of our own life.
• Jesus called for cross bearing.
• Jesus called people to forsake their comforts.
• Jesus called people to forsake their families.
• Jesus called people to forsake their reputations.
• Jesus called people to forsake their occupations.
• Jesus called people to forsake their lives.
That is not easy.
And when Jesus says you have to fight to enter
(Well everyone in here who has been saved likely knows that fight all too well.)
I hope I don’t embarrass Cheyenne, but that is what she spoke of in my office.
• She was baptized as a child, but never met Jesus, she just walked an aisle and got baptized.
• But when Jesus confronted her last year and wanted her to leave her sin and leave her life and deny herself and give it all to him, that is when the battle started.
• She fought for a year.
• Her flesh didn’t want to die.
• Her flesh didn’t want Jesus to be in charge.
• It was a struggle to kill it off.
Many of you remember that battle in your own life.
That is what Jesus is talking about.
He is the door, but following Him costs you everything.
• You are acquiring the treasure in the field, but it costs you everything to get it.
• You are acquiring the pearl of great value, but it costs you everything to get it.
Paul said:
Philippians 3:8 “More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,”
And that is why so many won’t enter.
• They want to go to heaven, but they are not willing to forsake this world to obtain it.
• That is why the Rich Young Ruler wouldn’t enter.
SALVATION IS HARD.
It has an unaccommodating entrance.
• Salvation won’t let you enter on your schedule.
• Salvation won’t let you enter on your terms.
• There is no negotiating your surrender.
True Salvation has an unaccommodating entrance.
#2 TRUE SALVATION HAS UNCOMPROMISING REQUIREMENTS
Luke 13:25-27
What you see there is that the requirements of salvation
Are NOT UP FOR DEBATE.
People who do not submit to the requirements of the Lord
To deny self and take up the cross and follow Him
Are ultimately excluded from the kingdom.
They are SHUT out. They are KEPT out.
There is not bargaining.
There is no negotiating.
There is no probationary period.
The standards and requirements are rigid.
And the deadline is set.
There is coming the day when the offer of salvation leaves the table.
It is the day “when the head of the house gets up and shuts the door”.
And on that day, it is over.
And many will be shut out.
Even those who hoped that
A superficial association with Jesus would be enough.
Did you catch that?
There were many who failed to fully submit to Christ, but who hoped that simply being associated with Him would be enough.
And that is what they cry on the day of judgment.
(25) “Lord, open up to us!” And then He will answer and say to you, “I do not know where you are from.” Then You will being to say, “We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.” And He will say, “I tell you, I do not know where you are from; DEPART FROM ME, ALL YOU EVILDOERS.”
• These people were well acquainted with Jesus.
• These people recognized Jesus.
• These people knew about Jesus’ preaching.
• These people may have even fellowshipped with Him.
And yet, they were still shut out in the outer darkness.
And notice how direct and confrontational Jesus is in this answer.
(26) “Then YOU will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence…”
He doesn’t say, “Then they will begin to say…”
Jesus takes this truth and directly confronts this specific crowd with it.
He is speaking to a religious Jewish crowd
Who was more than aware of who He was
And what He did and what He taught.
And yet Jesus tells them that despite their association with Jesus,
They are still lost, and they are shut outside.
It is the reminder that true salvation has Uncompromising Requirements.
When the Day of Judgment comes there is no negotiating.
• It is holy or bust.
• You are either declared righteous by God or you are shut out.
And of course we understand this through the gospel.
2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
• Those who have left everything and pursued Christ are those who are then clothed in the righteousness of Christ.
• Their sin is imputed to Him and He pays their penalty.
• His righteousness is imputed to them and they are accepted by God.
Anything less than this is shut out.
He doesn’t say, “Well, you aren’t righteous, but come on in, I guess we’ll look over it.”
If you aren’t righteous (as righteous as Jesus) you don’t get in.
Matthew 5:20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
• There is no compromise here.
• There is no grading on the curve.
• God has said, “You shall be holy, as I am holy”.
• If you are not, you are shut outside as an evildoer.
He doesn’t accept them based on their knowledge of His preaching
He doesn’t accept them based on their ministry involvement.
Remember:
Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”
All of those things may be good things,
But on their own they are not nearly enough.
Only Jesus is acceptable to the Father.
Only being clothed in the righteousness of Christ will do.
• You DON’T get in just because you fellowshipped with Jesus.
• You DON’T get in just because you took notes on one of His sermons.
• You ONLY get in when you deny yourself, take up your cross, and run to Jesus.
• You ONLY get in when you forsake your own righteousness in order that you might be clothed in His.
God is uncompromising in that way.
Arthur Pink said:
God never forgives sin, He judges it
“Because God is holy He hates all sin. He loves everything which is in conformity to His laws, and loathes everything which is contrary to it. It follows, therefore, that He must necessarily punish sin. Sin can no more exist without demanding His punishment than without requiring His hatred of it.
God has often forgiven sinners, but He never forgives sin; and the sinner is only forgiven on the ground of Another having borne his punishment; for “without shedding of blood is no remission” (Heb. 9:22).”
~Arthur Pink, “The Attributes of God (Holiness)”
Think about that for a moment.
It is a true statement.
We stand as forgiven sinners, but our sin was not overlooked.
Our sin was imputed to Christ for which He paid the penalty in full.
For sinners to assume then that they can stand before God
Without having come to Christ is a foolish notion.
In that day
• Knowing about Jesus will do no good.
• Knowing what Jesus taught will be of little comfort.
• Only those who are clothed in the righteousness of Jesus will be saved and that standard will not change.
Salvation is hard.
• It has an Unaccommodating Entrance
• It has Uncompromising Requirements
#3 TRUE SALVATION HAS UNEXPECTED RECIPIENTS
Luke 13:28-30
This must have been a shocking statement
For the Jews in Jesus’ audience to hear.
First Jesus reiterates the utter horrors of hell.
It is described as a place where “there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth”
There will indeed be many things in hell that will cause a man to weep,
But the one Jesus mentions here is this:
“when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out.”
That is a horrible thought.
That is a predicament worth weeping about.
• Not all Jews will go to heaven.
• Many a Jew rejected Jesus and will thus be kicked out of God’s kingdom.
That alone would have been a surprising statement to many of these Jews; that Jesus said not all Jews were saved.
Well if that was shocking,
The next statement must have made them gasp for air.
(29) “And they will come from east and west and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God.”
Not only will some Jews be kicked out,
But God is going to bring some Gentiles in.
Are you kidding me!
Jews excluded and Gentiles added.
How could this be?
It only points to the reality that
They did not understand the requirements of salvation.
Matthew 5:3-9 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
• It wasn’t the religious that were saved, it was the humble.
• It wasn’t the moral who were saved, it was the mourners.
• It wasn’t the confident who were saved, but those who hungered for righteousness.
It is the shocking reality that so many Jews failed to understand.
• They put so much stock in their religious achievement.
• They put so much stock in their knowledge of God’s Law.
• They put so much stock in things like their circumcision.
They failed to realize that God wanted
Humility, brokenness, meekness, and faith.
And the fact is that many in Israel failed to give Christ these things,
And yet the Gentiles did.
Romans 9:30-33 “What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, just as it is written, “BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”
And that’s not all:
(30) “And behold, some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last.”
The simple point here being that God’s evaluation
May not match human evaluation.
We don’t have time, but if you remember Matthew records an entire PARABLE by Jesus on this very subject, it is found in Matthew 20.
• It is the one about the slaves who wanted to work and some were hired at 9am and some and noon and some at 5pm.
• At the end of the day the vineyard owner paid them all the same.
• And if you will remember those who worked longer were angry because they felt like they deserved more.
But remember His answer:
Matthew 20:13-16 “But he answered and said to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? ‘Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. ‘Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?’ “So the last shall be first, and the first last.”
The vineyard owner reminded that salvation isn’t handed out by merit.
Salvation is handed out by grace to the humble.
The kingdom of God will be filled with people that
The religious Jews would have never considered.
Because God’s criteria is about humility and repentance
And self-denial and faith in the work of Christ.
People who do that will be saved,
• Even if they were pagan and immoral Gentiles.
• Even if they were prostitutes and tax collectors and great sinners.
So when Jesus was asked about salvation He gave some important news.
• True Salvation has an Unaccommodating Entrance
• True Salvation has Uncompromising Requirements
• True Salvation has Unexpected Participants
Now, go back to the question.
“Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?”
And what is the Lord’s answer?
• Yes, because most people are not willing to enter through Christ.
• Yes, because most people are only willing to associate with Christ not follow Him.
• Yes, because most people think their goodness is good enough and do not humble themselves before God.
In our day salvation is so often talked about
As that which is easy and free and of not cost, etc.
But if I were you I’d listen to what Jesus said.
• And then I’d forsake my religious works…
• I’d humble myself before God…
• I’d let go of this world…
• I’d run to Jesus with everything I had…
• I’d beg to be clothed in His righteousness…
• And I’d trust Him to atone for my sin…
Is that easy? No, it’s a massive fight with the flesh.
But it is the only way of salvation.
John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
