How the saved are lost

“For this people’s heart is waxed gross^G3975, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.” (Matt. 13:15).

G3975 “greasy”, “fat”

“Make the heart of this people fat^H8082, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.” (Isa. 6:10).

H8082 “greasy” “rich”

“Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, 

Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. 

When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: 

Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. 

But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. 

There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. 

And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. 

And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.” (Luke 13:23-30).

What was going on here? If the great teacher was eating at their tables, then He loved them so much that He would dispense with truth and justice, and authomatically and forever forgive all their sins. Right? If He was teaching in their streets, then they were in good standing with Him and God. Right?

That was their assumption, but not the reality. They were listening, but not hearing. They were watching the joy and peace in those who were healed, but they weren’t participating or attentively seeing any of it. It wasn’t registering. Like Ben Franklin coming out to listen to George Whitefield preach in Philadelphia, but the only thing engaging his mind was calculating how many people were in the crowd, and how the preacher was able to speak for them all the hear him. Not a thought of spiritual things, things of eternal weight, things that would allow the mighty Spirit of the holy God and Creator, and the Judge of all the earth, to transform the heart of this founding father, and give him a new spirit and mind.

Likewise with the people of Israel in the Lord’s presence. What were the people of Christ’s day doing while He was teaching in their streets? Playing kick ball? Watching the sparrows flit and tweet? When He was and at their tables were they wondering how they were going to get 5 eggs? Did they engage their minds with the powerful Teacher? Did they listen to His yearning, His spiritual masterpieces, which every sermon was? Did they think He would be around forever, so if they listened only half-heartedly, it wouldn’t matter because He would always come back another day? Or, was it that they were distracted by the hated occupying Roman soldiers who monitored the multitude, and the hated publicans who stood in the crowd, and the hated prostitutes who also listened, and the despised Samaritans, and lepers and beggars and homeless street urchins?

The first example in Christ’s parable was that the seed thrown on the hardened path was immediately devoured by birds. Yet, most of the people that day had no idea that that very thing was happening to them because they didn’t ask the Teacher for His interpretation of the parable. Did they even realize it was a parable, or just a nice description of the regular, mundane life around them?

Charo Washer

While husband her Paul preached, her mind was on the laundry and cooking. Some of his words describing the true Christian got in edge-wise and began to bother her. The more she thought on her lack of interest in the gospel the bigger her problem appeared to her conscience. Finally her lack of conversion was overwhelming and scary because the sermons were telling her that it meant she wasn’t converted, born again, and saved. But she was afraid to tell her husband that the preacher’s wife wasn’t saved. What kind of earthquake would that send through the church community? But his sermons never let up on the convicting message to the people and to her.

Finally she couldn’t stand it anymore and confessed her condition to Paul. He was loving and kind about his reply, but he had to be honest with her. He said, “Then that means you aren’t born again. You aren’t saved.” Her response was not to shoot the messenger, “You will die for such a judgment call.” Or, “Who are you to judge me!” Her response was, “Thank you! That’s exactly what I wanted to hear! I wanted confirmation on this!”

Do we realize how truly precarious our salvation is? If we do not strive for a better connection with Jesus, and His life and peace, then we will eventually lose our first love and out candlestick will go out. Jesus’ secret for who will be saved is that they will strive against all hopelessness. In spite of feeling lost and having committed the unpardonable sin, trust with all faith in the ever enduring mercy of God.

If one could boil all of biblical exhortation down to a single plea, it would be, “Strive!” “Fear to be lost!” “Strive to enter into the strait gate.” If you aren’t saved, “Strive to enter into the strait gate.” If you feel lost forever, “Keep striving, anyway. It may be that the Lord will be gracious.” It never hurts to ask!!!!

“And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the LORD will work for us: for there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few.” (1Sam. 14:6).

“Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.” (Dan. 4:27).

“Now therefore that I am come to speak of this thing unto my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid: and thy handmaid said, I will now speak unto the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his handmaid.” (2Sam. 14:15).

“Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.” (Amos 5:15).

If you are saved, “Keep striving.” Jesus strove His whole 33 year fight against the god of this world. From day one, His Father didn’t make life easy for Him. His was a life of poverty and hunger, thirst and exhausting labor.

So will the whole world be saved into the eternal kingdom? Not at all. Jesus didn’t disagree with the question, would “few” that would be saved.

“Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.” (Luke 13:23,24).

And the lost had previously been saved.

“There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.” (vs. 28).

They were in, and now they are out.

They wouldn’t strive.

“What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. 

Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, 

And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 

That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; 

If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. 

Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. 

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 

I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 

Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. 

Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing. ” (Phil. 3:7-16).