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Discussion Forum : Scriptures and Doctrine : The Many and the Few

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 The Many and the Few

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

Matthew 7:13-14

If you will examine the teachings of the Bible, you will discover that very few are living according to what is written in it. Very few follow God's ways. People have become corrupt on the earth and they have turned against their Creator. This paper will show three Biblical truths. First of all, according to the Bible relatively few will enter heaven; only a "few" of those who claim to be God's people will actually enter his kingdom. Secondly, sin in your life is what will keep you from heaven whether you profess to believe the gospel or not. Finally, many people tolerate sin in their lives because of their ignorance of God's Word and because they have been deceived by a great number of false teachers.

Jesus didn't hesitate to proclaim to people that the path leading to hell is traveled by many more people than the path to heaven (Matt. 7:13-14). He said that only a few find the gate that leads to eternal life. As an illustration of this, consider what happened in Noah's time. God put an end to the wickedness on the earth by causing a great flood. How many were saved from destruction? In the ark "only a few people, eight in all, were saved" (1 Peter 3:20). How many people will be saved when Jesus comes back and the ungodly are destroyed? Jesus gave us a clue: "As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man" (Matt. 24:37) -- there will be few. Indicating how rare true faith is Jesus said, "when the Son of Man (Jesus) comes, will he find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8). Indeed, only a few are chosen (Matt. 22:14).

From the beginning, God predicted that only a few would survive his judgments because of the disobedience and rebellion of the people. He said, "You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky will be left but few in number, because you did not obey the Lord your God" (Deut. 28:62). Quoting the prophet Isaiah, the Apostle Paul declared, "Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved" (Romans 9:27).

Some of you may be thinking that because you have given an intellectual ascent to certain facts of the Gospel you will be saved from God's wrath--you think that you will be numbered among the "few". However, the corruption in the world is not isolated among those who are "unchurched". Many of the very people who claim to know and love God draw near to him merely with their lips, but deny him by their actions (Titus 1:16). As the number of church buildings in America increases, the country continues to get more and more wicked. Why is it that, despite churches scattered throughout every town in America, wickedness still abounds? Many people who claim to be Christians do not live the type of lives required by God. They live in outright contradiction to God's Word and yet they expect to enter heaven when their lives on Earth are finished. While claiming to be "saints" the many continue to live as "sinners" and admit freely that they are still sinners despite the very stern warning that "all sinners will be destroyed" (Psalm 37:38).

So then both those who do not know God and those who claim to know him will be kept from entering his kingdom because of sin. Everyone has sinned in the past (Rom. 3:23) and for his sin, each person earns death as his reward (Rom. 6:23). (This "death" includes not only physical death of the body, but the "second death" spoken of in Rev. 21:8). Now God commands all people everywhere to turn from their sins in repentance (Acts 17:30) and to prove their repentance by their deeds (Acts 26:20). Those who come to their senses and accept the knowledge of God will stop sinning (1 Cor. 15:34) because Jesus bore their sins on the cross so that they would "die to sins and live for righteousness" (1 Peter 2:24). Many people refuse to believe that through Christ they can die to sins and live for righteousness. And so while claiming to be "saved" it is unclear what the many are "saved" from. Jesus came to "save his people from their sins" (Matt. 1:21) and to "destroy the devil's work" (1 John 3:8) and yet many professing Christians claim that they can't help but sin. Thus while claiming to love God, they actually become servants of the devil because "he who does what is sinful is of the devil" (1 John 3:8). Refusing to believe that "without holiness no one will see the Lord" (Heb. 12:14), many will even admit to telling an occasional lie or occasionally doing something that is impure in God's sight. They think that God will wink at their sin. They don't think that sin is an incredibly serious matter that will keep them from the kingdom of God if they continue in it. But concerning those who will enter heaven God says, "Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life" (Rev. 21:27). Since the Apostle Paul knew this, he wrote that among God's people there should not even be a hint of impurity (Eph. 5:3).

The idea of being completely saved from sins--for God's people to stop sinning--is rarely believed today. Very few people accept the truth that can set them free from sin (John 8: 31-36) and so many find themselves still in slavery to sin, still serving the devil (1 John 3:8). Because many people continue to be evildoers, Jesus will forbid them to enter the kingdom of heaven even though they call him "Lord" (Matt. 7:21-23). So why are so many people who claim to know God so ignorant regarding what God actually says about who will enter his kingdom? It is because they do not want to know. They are willfully ignorant. Think about it. Nearly everyone in America has a Bible or has access to a Bible. How many people read it? How many professing Christians read it as much as they should? If you surveyed professing believers, many of them would admit that they do not read their Bibles as much as they know that they should. They know the good that they ought to do but they do not do it and thus they sin (James 4:17). These people claim to live by every word of God (Matt. 4:4), but throughout the supposed many years of being "Christians" many of these people have never even read every word of God. And so they show that they are not seeking to please God because they do not make every effort to find out what is written for them in his Word. God says, "my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6).

While the "few" diligently read, study and obey their Bibles, the "many" rely almost solely on their churches to make up for their lack of knowledge of God's Word. They look to their pastors, priests, and other ministers to teach them what God's Word says, but few are teaching the truth of the Gospel. As we shall see, the Bible actually predicts that only a few will be teaching the truth of God's Word, while there will be many deceivers in the world (1 John 4:1). Over and over the Bible warns of the danger of trusting what any person says without comparing it to God's Word. It says that we need to "test everything" (1 Thess. 5:21). It is necessary to examine everything we hear or read and compare it to the Bible to see if it is true because Jesus said to "watch out for false prophets" (Matt. 7:15) and that many will come to deceive you (Matt. 24:4-5, 24). The Bereans were commended for receiving the Apostle Paul's message with great eagerness and for examining the Scriptures daily to see if what Paul said was true (Acts 17:11). After he said farewell to the elders of the church in Ephesus, the Apostle Paul knew that false teachers would arise (even from among the church) and distort the truth of God's Word (Acts 20:29-30). For three years and with many tears Paul warned them night and day to be on their guard (Acts 20:31)! Paul also writes warnings of a time when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but will gather to themselves a great number of false teachers who will tell them what they want to hear (2 Tim. 4:3). Infiltrating modern Christianity, many false teachers have come and have deceived many people just as the Bible predicted (2 Peter 1-2). If they would have taken heed to the Bible's multiple warnings of false doctrines and diligently studied and obeyed the Bible they would not have been deceived.

Concerning the many hypocrites that claim to know God and yet deny him by their actions God says, "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me" (Isaiah 29: 13). They claim to do "all for the glory of God" (1 Cor. 10:31) and yet do most things for the purpose of bringing themselves entertainment or pleasure with no thought for the many other things that God may have them do. The prevalent false "gospel" that many false teachers are preaching deceives people into thinking they can live for themselves. This is an outright contradiction to the true Gospel of the Bible which declares that Jesus died for us so that we would stop living for ourselves and start living for him (2 Cor. 5:15). False teachers teach that you can keep sinning and have heaven too, but the Bible says "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness" (2 Tim. 2:19). The false gospel appeals to the masses by allowing them to do what they want to do--and so they embrace it.

This false gospel is no gospel at all. It is a death sentence that deceives many people into thinking that their souls are secure and in right standing with God. The poor deceived people who cling to unbiblical teachings and refuse the truth are among the "many" who Jesus said would try to enter through the "narrow door" and not be able to (Luke 13:14). They try, but only half-heartedly. They seek, but only when convenient. They follow God, but only when they are not following their own appetites. They claim to know God, but in actions they deny him (Titus 1:16). They seem eager to know God's ways, but they end up doing as they please (Is. 58:1-4). And since their mind is on earthly things, "Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame" (Phil. 3:19).

Which group are you in--the many or the few? Are you in the remnant that is serving God or the multitude who is not? "The remnant of Israel will do no wrong; they will speak no lies, nor will deceit be found in their mouths" (Zeph. 3:13).


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SI Moderator - Greg Gordon

 2005/10/1 16:27Profile
LetUsPray
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Joined: 2004/10/12
Posts: 173


 Re: The Many and the Few

Amen and Amen!

Do we really understand that our God is a Holy God? If we did, we would not play around with sin and desire to be totally sold out to Him.

Thank you Brother,


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Hans Prang

 2005/10/1 20:29Profile
crsschk
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Joined: 2003/6/11
Posts: 9192
Santa Clara, CA

 Re: The Many and the Few

Well done brother.


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Mike Balog

 2005/10/2 11:42Profile
Warrior4Jah
Member



Joined: 2005/7/5
Posts: 382
The Netherlands

 Re: The Many and the Few

Quote:
The idea of being completely saved from sins--for God's people to stop sinning--is rarely believed today.



Can you go into a bit more detail about that statement?


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Jonathan Veldhuis

 2005/10/2 17:06Profile
DckyChcknLdy
Member



Joined: 2005/9/27
Posts: 1
Pakenham, Ontario

 Re: The Many and the Few

Very sobering and excellent paper. May God have mercy on us...We need to follow Christ's words..
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (intellect)." (Matt. 22: 37)


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Cheryl Baxter

 2005/10/2 19:37Profile
dullrainbow
Member



Joined: 2005/8/10
Posts: 98
Iowa U.S.

 Re: The Many and the Few

Quote:
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."



May I say...how this passage has caused me to tremble and melt within more then once? I believe it is true! Jesus was not talking to the wind, No.

Men who will dare to stand and proclaim the gospel in truth are close to my heart and in my prayers. I thank God for them all

Psalms 119:3 They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways.

1 John 3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.




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Eileen Teitsworth

 2005/10/2 23:16Profile





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