Striving to be saved; Luke 13:22-30

I like the old Welsh hymn, Here Is Love that we sung today.  It is a good hymn, teaching sound doctrine, and one that I find refreshing in a time when so much Christian music is favored not because of what it says, but because of the way the music sounds.  But though the origin of this hymn preceded the Welsh Revival by about 20 years, it found a certain measure of fame from it’s use in what became known as the Welsh Revival of 1904, 1905.

There were a number of revivals or spiritual awakenings that happened both in this country and abroad in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.   But I want to quote from Wikipedia about the distinction of some aspects of the Welsh Revival as opposed to previous revivals.  “Unlike earlier religious revivals based on powerful preaching, the revival of 1904-05 relied primarily on music and on alleged paranormal phenomena as exemplified by the visions of Evan Roberts.”

I am not qualified to speak authoritatively on the veracity of  the revival that happened in Wales during that year.  Undoubtedly, some people were saved.  There are many reports of lives being transformed, bars being closed, policemen not having anyone to arrest because entire towns were being transformed.  There seems to be ample evidence of true repentance in many cases, resulting in real conversion.

But at one point Evan Roberts claimed to have a vision in which he saw that he would be the means by which a 100,000 people would come to Christ.  And such was the effect of the revival throughout the countryside that many claimed that there were indeed 100,000 souls saved in a six month period.  However, this number was arrived at by arbitrary means, for there was no real way to confirm that number.  But the report of this number of conversions was in and of itself a sort of confirmation to many that this was a great new work of the Holy Spirit.

But at the same time, there was obviously a counterfeit work that was going on concurrently with the revival.  Several of the histories that I read emphasized that much of the paranormal phenomena was centered particularly upon young teenage girls who became a driving force in the revival.  As a consequence of the emphasis on the paranormal, much  of what was initially attributed to the work of the Holy Spirit was in fact eventually deemed to be not of God at all.  Evan Roberts himself had a nervous breakdown after the first year of the revival.  He began to suffer from serious depression.  He was taken in by a well known patron of the movement, a woman named Jessie Penn-Lewis, who was a prominent religious author.  As a result of this and other events, the revival declined as quickly as it had begun.

Together, Roberts and Penn-Lewis would author a book a few years later renouncing much of what went on during the revival.  The book was called “War on the Saints” and detailed the way in which Satan and his demons counterfeit the work of the Holy Spirit, made especially deceitful when naïve people readily accept all spiritual phenomena as being of God, without discernment of the fact that there are many deceitful spirits gone out in the world.

The main point that I wish to make from this illustration though is that great numbers are not necessarily an indication of true revival in the hearts of believers.  Undoubtedly, many people were saved.  But just as certainly, many more were simply swept along in the emotion and frenzy of the moment and when that had passed, they were no longer as zealous for the things of God as they once were.

Today we see much of the same thing happening in our culture.  Joel Olsteen’s church is held in an football stadium and they have supposedly 60,000 people in attendance on Sundays.  Tens of thousands of people regularly show up in stadiums around the country to hear him speak.

But this fascination with large crowds and great numbers isn’t just limited to Joel Olsteen.  Many evangelists such as Joseph Prince conduct services around the world to packed out audiences numbering in the tens of thousands.  On a national level, mega churches boast several thousands of members at multiple services and some even have multiple satellite church campuses around their cities.  As Americans, we tend to think that bigger is always better.  We think there is no greater testimony to a pastor’s success than the size of his congregation.  And I’m afraid there is no greater assurance to his congregation than the self confirming  knowledge that they are part of a huge congregation.

But great numbers or large churches have never been the credentials of a godly prophet or pastor or a work of God.  Though Jesus Himself had thousands of people following Him, only 500 were in attendance at His ascension, and only 120 in the upper room on the day of Pentecost.

I think there is going to be a great upset at heaven’s Bema seat judgment one day, when some of the preachers and evangelists that received the most accolades here on earth will be last, and those unknown faithful missionaries in foreign lands and pastors of tiny churches in the boondocks will be first.  Jesus says that very thing in vs. 30; “And behold, some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last.”

I think this seemingly contradictory element of ministry was the basis for the scenario that we see identified in this passage.  Jesus has this great crowd numbering in the thousands that is following Him around and waiting for Him to do a miracle or some great thing.  But yet there weren’t many that were actually getting saved.  And someone in the crowd recognizes this and questions Jesus by saying, “Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?”

It’s obvious that this  question was prompted by the two parables Jesus had just finished giving to that effect in vs. 18-21.  In both of them He showed that the kingdom of God was something that would have an unhealthy, unnatural, even monstrous element to it.  In the first parable Jesus relates the kingdom of God, which by the way is simply a way of speaking of the church, that the church becomes a large tree where the birds of the air nest in it’s branches.  As we said last week, mustard seeds produce mustard bushes, not trees.  And so this picture is of a monstrosity, a seed that produced a tree that instead of producing fruit, had birds of the air nesting in it’s branches.  And I showed you last week that in Jesus prior parable about the soils, that He identifies the birds of the air as being the devil and his angels.  So the devil and his angels (demons) nests in the branches of the church.

And the other parable is basically indicating the same thing.  In this case it’s leaven, always a picture of sin in the Bible, that is hidden in the three pecks of flour until it’s all leavened.  And we told you last week that the three pecks of flour, which are likened to the kingdom of God, the church, comes from the Old Testament idea of the grain offering which was offered to the Lord in worship.  And so the picture is of sin being in the worship of the church, and the entire church being corrupted by it.

Now that is the scenario then when someone from the crowd asks Jesus the question, “Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?”  Whoever it was, and I think it may have been the disciples, was kind of confused.  There were all these people following Jesus around, seeing His miracles and listening to Him preach.  There was all kinds of enthusiasm, and emotion, and expectations that surrounded His ministry.  And yet it was apparent from His teaching that the majority of those listening were not entering into the kingdom. And furthermore, Jesus is making it clear in His messages that not all that thought that they were of the kingdom were really in it.

And so Jesus gives an answer to this person that is instructive for us today as well as we consider the great tree that has become the church, and as we recognize that doctrines of demons have found residence in the church, and that sin has corrupted the church and it’s worship.  And many of us are left wondering at how the crowds rush to embrace the next new church trend, while those of us that try to be faithful to God’s original blueprint of the church are left feeling and looking like an archaic, out of touch relic of the Reformation.

It’s a question that gives rise to speculation that perhaps if we just adapted to what other churches were doing, perhaps if we just loosened up on some of the doctrines of the church, if we just followed some of the strategies that seem to be working so well for others, then perhaps we could enjoy some of the same success.  We might become more popular.  This thinking progresses along the lines of “it’s got to be our fault. We need to update.  Maybe we need different music, or a younger, hipper pastor.”  After all, whatever brings more people into the church can’t be a bad thing.

But notice that Jesus doesn’t really even answer those questions.  He doesn’t even directly answer the question that was posed to Him.  But what He does say is to present a version of salvation that is totally at odds with most evangelical’s approach to salvation.  Jesus presents salvation without a formula, without a sinner’s prayer, or even using the Roman’s Road.  He doesn’t give a method for invitations, or a method for church growth.  He doesn’t give the number of how many will be saved.  But what He does is present yet another picture of salvation, of entering in the kingdom that is at odds with most people’s understanding.

Note that first of all, Jesus says in vs. 24, “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.”  Strive is an interesting word.  It comes from the Greek word “agōnizomai”.    It means to contend, to fight, to struggle to endeavor.  It was used to depict the struggles of a sport or a fight.

And I dare say that it is a principle that I have never heard a preacher use in relation to salvation.  Salvation is presented as accepting a gift, of receiving a blessing, of being given something for nothing.  But Jesus is presenting it as something that you have to battle for.

Now what on earth does He mean?  I’ll tell you what He means.  He means that you have to battle with yourself, fight against your sin nature, your selfish nature, your desire for self rule, for self gratification, for self fulfillment.  Salvation means nothing less than being willing to give up your will for His will, your desires for His desires.  And the flesh doesn’t want that.  Satan doesn’t want that. The world doesn’t want that.  So there is a great conflict in coming to Christ.  Because most of us come to Christ wanting something, wanting deliverance from a crisis, or deliverance from hell, but unwilling to sacrifice anything to get it.  And yet salvation does not come without a cost.

Jesus said we must count the cost of following Him.  You say, “But Roy, I thought Jesus paid it all, and grace is free.”  You don’t understand grace.  Grace is Jesus paying a price you could never, ever pay.  But there is a cost for  you as well.  Jesus said in chapter 12 that it is the cost of division between mother and daughter, between father and son.  It is the cost of not having a place to lay your head.  It is the cost of giving up your possessions.  It is the cost of taking up your cross and following Him in the fellowship of His sufferings.  It is the cost of rejection by the world, it is the cost of losing business, it is the cost of being an outcast in society.  There is a cost to following Jesus which involves a battle between your natural inclinations and God’s will, your natural instincts and God’s commandments, your common sense and God’s wisdom.  It’s a struggle, and it’s an epic struggle.

Now look at the rest of the statement, “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.”  Note second of all that it is a narrow door.  It’s not necessarily easy to find, nor is it easy to go through.  It’s not a door that allows you to carry a bunch of baggage in with you.  You can’t enter into the kingdom of heaven with the world on your back.  You have to leave the world on the other side.  And it’s a door that you have to go through individually.  It’s not entered as part of a crowd, or a congregation, or by a race or nationality.

Jesus said in Matt.7:13, “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.”

Listen, there are many who seek to enter into the kingdom of heaven.  There are many that think that they are already in the kingdom of heaven, but if what Jesus says is true then most of them are not in the kingdom of heaven after all.  Many statistics have come out in recent years that show that about 80% of Americans consider themselves to be Christians.   And yet the percentage that believe in the inspiration of the Bible as God’s word is just a tiny fraction of that.  The percentage that believe in a literal hell is just a tiny fraction.  There is a great difference between those that think that they are on the road to heaven, and those that will find it.

Everyone wants to go to heaven.  Only a fool is an agnostic.  Only a fool is an atheist.  But merely believing to some extent in God does not bring about salvation.  Even just believing that Jesus existed and lived on the earth does not constitute salvation, otherwise Jesus would have just shown that everyone who was looking at Him in the flesh on that day would have been saved.  That He was alive was irrefutable.  And all Jews believed in the existence of God.  But yet He says that few there are that are saved. Obviously just believing in His existence did not save them.

I’m afraid that many people in churches today are not saved.  I fear that over zealous evangelists and preachers have used gimmickry to get people to make an emotional response to the gospel.  As I have studied some of these revivals and the men that led them, it’s apparent that many of them used theatrics, music, emotional appeals and every thing imaginable to get people to come forward in an invitation and say a prayer and then counted as having made a decision for Christ.  But even a cursory look at some of those results a year or two later and you will find very few of them living a Christian life.  But I’m afraid that vast numbers of people like that fill our pews on Sunday mornings, under the illusion that they are good with God.

This is a tragedy, that people are being deceived into thinking that they are in the kingdom of God, and yet one day they will find out that they are not.  Jesus presents an illustration of this point.  He says, “Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from.’

It’s possible to be caught up in the enthusiasm, to be a part of the congregation, to think that you have been accepted in the kingdom of God, and one day the door is closed and you find yourself on the outside.  What a horrible thought.

Vs. 26, “Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets’;”.  These are people that think that they are in the kingdom.  They went to church.  They took communion.  They listened to sermons, participated in the worship. They were members on the rolls.  They may have even taught Sunday School.   They thought they were in.  But they are not.

Vs. 27, “and He will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from; DEPART FROM ME, ALL YOU EVILDOERS.’”   Here is the distinction folks, don’t miss it.  There is a distinction between those that claim to be in the kingdom and are not, and those that are in the kingdom.  And the distinction is their fruit.  Now please understand something;  fruit is not the means of salvation, but it is the evidence of salvation.  Look once again to Matthew 7:16, “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?  So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits.”  Twice Jesus says that you will know true believers by their fruits.

Now what are fruits?  The text makes it clear that fruit is simply doing the will of God, obeying the word of God.  The contrast is in the next verse; to not do the will of God is to practice lawlessness.  Vs. 21, “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.’”  

So salvation is not dependent upon saying “Lord, Lord.” Salvation isn’t dependent upon what comes out of the mouth, but what comes out of the heart.  But salvation is dependent upon doing the will of God.  This throws much of our contemporary theology right out of their stained glass windows, doesn’t it?  But they will say, “Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Didn’t we cast out demons? Didn’t we do miracles in your name?”

Hey, these guys had all the spiritual gifts going, didn’t they?  One of the problems of many charismatic churches is that the proof of their salvation is that they speak in tongues, they prophesy.  One of the proofs of their salvation is that they think that they are empowered by the Holy Spirit in all sorts of paranormal phenomena.  And naïve congregations clap and hoot and holler at the histrionics of their leaders, not knowing what spirit they are of.

Listen, I’m not hear to tell you today who is saved and who isn’t.  I don’t know.  I might make an educated guess by examining the fruit of someone that claims to be saved.  But I can’t know for sure.  But God knows.  He knows the hearts.  He knows the deeds that we do in secret.  He knows whether or not we have ever really repented of our sins and have in fact turned away from sin and the world.  Whether or not we have forsaken sin.

Listen, the only way to have fruit in your life is to first of all be a fruit tree.  In our natural state, we are not fruit trees. In our natural state we are unable to produce righteousness. But by repentance from sin and faith in Jesus Christ we are grafted into the body of Christ.  That is the first step.  It’s coming to Christ in desperation and poverty and bankruptcy, begging God for forgiveness and mercy. Begging God to be transformed and changed from a sinner to a child of God.  And God promises that whoever comes to Him like that will not be cast out, but will be adopted into the family of God.  And when we are grafted into this body, then we will bring forth fruit.  We will be in Christ and Christ will be in us.  We will be new creatures, living a new life in and through Christ who lives in and through us.  And then it is going to be evident to everyone that we are bearing fruit. We live righteously because we have been made righteous.

That invitation to be grafted into the body of Christ is universal.  The Jews thought that it was a physical thing, that their salvation depended on being sons of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.  They thought they could get in based on heredity.  Based on nationality.  Based on religion.  But in vs. 29 Jesus says that those that are going to be in the kingdom “will come from east and west and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last.”

There is an invitation that is inherent in Christ’s message.  There is good news and that is that Jesus has paid the price you could never pay.  And for those that are willing to forsake sin and the world to follow Him there is salvation from the judgment to come.  But please understand what it means to follow Christ, to forsake the world.  It’s a battle of the will to let go of everything for this pearl of great price.  But it is a battle that has eternal reward.

I hope no one here has been deceived into thinking that somehow they have entered into the kingdom without the struggle of repentance and forsaking sin.  I hope no one thinks that they are in because of an association, or membership, or their relationship to someone who is in.  I hope that on that day when God shuts the door, you won’t find yourself on the outside wondering what happened.  There is going to be a terrible day of judgment that day is coming soon when the door will be closed.

I’m afraid that the point Jesus is making in this message is that most people lack true repentance. They lack the true contrition, true brokenness. They have never come  in desperation. They don't have a true relationship to Jesus Christ. They just hang around the church and think that is enough. They don’t know what it means to bow to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  They want a gospel that doesn't ask for repentance. They want a gospel that has no threat of condemnation or judgment. They want a gospel that allows them to have some superficial attachment to Jesus, but not a bowing to His absolute sovereignty at any cost. They want a gospel that fixes them in this world to make them more comfortable. But that's not the gospel that Jesus is preaching. And that's not what Jesus offers.

Listen, the word revival is not even in the Bible.  Don’t be deceived great movements, great signs and wonders. Jesus says that the church will be characterized by an unnatural growth, it will be the roost for doctrines of demons, it will be puffed up by the corruption of sin, but not all that think that they are part of the kingdom are actually known by God.  They thought that the way was easy, the road was broad, but in fact the road was narrow, and the gate was small.  It is with difficulty that people are saved.  It is by striving, by contending, and by struggling with sin and false doctrine.  The church of God is not going to be characterized in these last days by great revivals where thousands and tens of thousands are swept into the kingdom in a wave of emotion and ecstasy. But true revival is an individual process of repentance, and then bringing forth the fruit in keeping with repentance.