The Few
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· 8 viewsScripture says heaven is for the few.
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Introduction
Introduction
Today I want to talk about The Few. I’m not talking about the United States Marine Corps here. One of the mantras of the Marines is The few, the proud, the US Marines.
No, the few I am talking about today is the people who are destined to go to heaven.
When we say the few that are going to heaven, when we say that right out loud, it kind of has a certain shock factor to it.
When the Marines talk about being the few, they are talking about 170 thousand or so Marines in a population of 332 million in the US. That roughly equates to one Marine for every 2000 citizens.
What if only 1 in 2000 people went to heaven, pretty shocking isn’t it?
in 2021 The Pew Research Center conducted a survey to determine just what Americans believed about heaven and who goes there. The numbers are pretty interesting.
Nearly three quarters of US adults say they believe in heaven, 73%. This is the overall number for all those polled.
92% of those who professed to be Christians believe there is a heaven. I found that figure odd. This would lead us to believe that 8% of Christians do not believe in heaven.
About 50%, or half, of the people who say they believe nothing in particular also believe in heaven. It is interesting to note that those who believe in hell tend to lag about 10 percent behind belief in heaven. In other words if 73% of people believe in heaven, only about 63% of those same people believe in hell.
Another question that the poll asked was, can a person who does not believe in God go to heaven.
Among all Americans, about four-in-ten, 39%, say that people who do not believe in God can go to heaven. Let me tell you that one again four out of ten people say you can not even believe in God and still go to heaven. Want to hear something ever more baffling, 45% of professed Christians say that believing in God is not necessary to go to heaven. It seems to me that 45% of professed Christians are not very careful students of scripture.
To return to our theme of “The Few,” let’s look at an account where Jesus was asked a similar question that The Pew Research Center asked:
22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come 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 where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 In that place 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 but you yourselves cast out. 29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God. 30 And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”
The first point for us to look at today is:
Few Will Be Saved
Few Will Be Saved
When we look at the poll numbers it is easy to see that many think that most will be saved, that is, most people will go to heaven. Yet, Jesus taught just the opposite, that few would be saved:
13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
It would be good for us to remember that God has a history of selecting small numbers at times. Only eight souls were saved during the Great Flood. You can read the account in Genesis, Chapter 7. Only Noah, his wife, his three sons and their three wives escape the flood.
Only three people escaped the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. That would be Lot and his two daughters. Of course, there would have been one more if Lot’s wife had not looked back to the city. You can find this account in Genesis, Chapter 19.
And another example we find is the account of the 600 thousand people who fled Egypt under the leadership of Moses. In the end, only 2 men over the age of 20 where allowed enter the promised land. God’s decision in that matter if found in Numbers, Chapter 14.
In scripture we not only find that few will be saved, we also find that:
Jesus is the Only Way
Jesus is the Only Way
There is a common belief today that all religious people will be saved. You will often hear it said that it doesn’t really matter what you believe as long as you are a good person and are faithful to your beliefs. I think people like believe this because it caters to our sense of fairness. It gives us a certain confidence when we are the ones responsible for our salvation. Unfortunately, that’s not what scripture says:
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Remember the example of Cornelius. Here was a religious man who was in need of salvation:
1 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, 2 a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. 3 About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.” 4 And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. 5 And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter. 6 He is lodging with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.”
Then we find the conclusion of the story in Chapter 11:
11 And behold, at that very moment three men arrived at the house in which we were, sent to me from Caesarea. 12 And the Spirit told me to go with them, making no distinction. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter; 14 he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’ 15 As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. 16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’
We find may more examples of religious people who were in need of salvation:
The devout Jews on the Day of Pentecost
The devout Ethiopian returning from worship at Jerusalem.
The devout Lydia, a worshiper of God who kept the Sabbath.
The devout Saul who was doing what he thought was the Lord’s will.
You see, being religious is not enough. One cannot truly be a Christian if you believe salvation can be found anywhere outside of Christ.
12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
So far we have seen; Few will be saved; Jesus is the only way; next we will see that salvation is:
For Those Who Obey
For Those Who Obey
Many people will tell you that believing in Jesus is the only requirement for salvation, but scripture paints a different picture. Jesus had a warning for those who expressed a belief in Him but were still lost.
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
They believed Him to be their Lord They spent their lives in service to the Lord But they had not done the Father's will!
Jesus is the author of salvation to all who obey Him.
7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, 10 being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.
And scripture also describes for us the end of those who do not obey His gospel.
7 and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,
So we see that not all believers will be saved. James 2:19 tells us:
19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
Those who believed, but would not confess Him:
42 Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Believing that many (if not all) will be saved is a comforting doctrine. It fits in with the humanistic desire to be seen as tolerant and loving. But if one really desires to follow Jesus, they must abide in His teaching:
30 As he was saying these things, many believed in him.
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Of course, God wants all men to be saved
3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.
9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
He has provided His Son as the perfect Sacrifice and the perfect Mediator. But will we believe and obey His Son...?
