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November 1, 2015
*Read Lu 13:22-24* – A young lady found an old shotgun in the attic of a new home.
She called Dad to ask what to do with it.
He said, “Take it to the police station.”
“Great idea,” she said.
Then Dad said, “And Katie.”
“Yes.”
“Call first!”
You don’t want to surprise the police by walking in with a shotgun.
And you don’t want to get surprised at God’s judgment seat.
No way.
But it’s going to happen to a lot of people, Beloved.
Billions.
That’s what this passage is about.
How not to be one of them.
The key verse is 30: “And behold, some are last [in this life] who will be first, and some are first [in this life] who will be last.”
That’s not the kind of surprise you want to get.
Most people think they are on the narrow way.
Most of us do.
But the narrow way is called that for a reason.
Few find it.
Most fool themselves with placebos.
Think they’re okay.
They forget it’s what Jesus thinks that counts.
As Jesus was heading for Jerusalem someone asked, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?”
Great question.
Jews were taught, “You’re God’s chosen.
If you’re a Jew, keeping traditions, you’re good to go.”
They expected Jesus to affirm all Jews were in unless they’d committed some grievous sin.
They also thought Gentiles were out.
They presumed superiority of the Jewish few.
So Jesus’ answer came as a complete shock.
24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door.
For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.”
Right between the eyes!
Jesus says, “You want to talk percentages?
The question isn’t will few be saved?
The question is will you be saved?
Are you striving to enter the narrow door?
There are going to be a lot of surprises.
You must ask, will you be one?!” “Will few be saved?” is safe, speculative, academic question.
“Will you be saved?” is abrupt, personal and demanding.
It’s intended to get attention NOW to avoid surprise LATER.
More shocking statements follow – all aimed at eliminating surprise.
If we are thinking we are first, better look out.
Racial background, church attendance, born in America, even physical proximity to Christ are no guarantee.
So our series is “Don’t Be Surprised”.
Three parts.
I. Few Will Be Saved II.
Many Will be Lost III.
It Pays to be Saved.
Why will few be saved?
Partly because we’ve turned two truths on their ear.–
I. It’s Easy to be Lost II.
It’s Hard to be Saved.
We think the opposite.
Let’s see what Jesus says.
*I. It’s Easy to Be Lost*
What do you have to do to be spiritually lost?
Be born!
That’s it.
But few believe that anymore.
For 200 years we’ve been told that man is basically good.
We’ve translated “good” into “good enough for God”, and we’re not worried.
Typical is Codependent No More, Melody Beattie’s best seller where she quotes Nathaniel Branden, “To honor the self is to be in love with your own life, in love . . .
exploring our distinctively human potentialities.
Thus we can begin to see that to honor the self is to practice selfishness in the highest, noblest sense of the word.”
This kind of thinking is our cultural Bible.
You don’t need a Savior; you need to love yourself.
Perhaps a few are lost – Hitler, Stalin, bin Laden, murderers, terrorists, rapists – and even in those cases, it’s probably excusable because of something that happened in the fourth grade.
Actor Will Smith says, “Even Hitler didn’t wake up going, ‘Let me do the most evil thing I can do today.’”
So, if you don’t think it’s wrong, apparently it’s not.
Given that premise, it’s not just hard to be lost; it is well-nigh impossible.
But is that what Jesus taught?
Not even close!
Note the question in v. 23: “Lord, will those who are saved be few?”
The question itself implies all people need to be saved.
And Jesus accepts that assumption.
But He adds: “Let’s stop talking about the world.
Let’s talk about you! Are you saved?
Because you need to be!” The question and the answer both imply that lostness is the normal human condition.
It’s a lostness we don’t see – because we measure by the wrong standard.
In the 1968 Olympics, Bob Beamon collapsed when he found out he had long jumped 29’ 2-1/2” – almost 2 feet over world record.
Most amazing single athletic endeavor of our time.
Next 20 years, guys regularly broke the old record – but against Beamon’s standard they were hopelessly lost.
And that’s how we see sin.
We’re great by our standards, but way short of God’s.
Rom 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
When did that sinfulness start?
Psa 515) “in sin did my mother conceive me.”
It started pretty early, wouldn’t you say?
Eph 2:1 reminds that outside Christ, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins.”
Not just sick – dead!
We’re the walking dead.
And the only solution, according to v. 8 is to be saved by grace thru faith.
God’s perspective is that we all fall into one of two categories – saved or lost.
And it’s easy to be lost if you don’t even believe in “lostness.”
Leaving aside the Bible for a moment, is mankind really as bad as God says?
H. G. Wells didn’t think so.
He was an Enlightenment Age optimist.
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