Jesus’ 2,000 year old answer was especially given for those at the end of time.

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South Bay SDA Church

Phil Mills

Lord, Are There Few Who Are Saved?

Please turn in your Bibles to Luke 13 because we are going to be studying a passage from Luke 13 this morning.

1 of our new elders, Peter Petgrave, was scheduled to speak today, the Sabbath, but is quarantined because of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Now Brother Peter Petgrave works in a mechanic shop.

The workers are careful to wash their hands and on Monday evening of this week as he was finishing his work he went to the sink with a co-worker to wash his hands.

On Tuesday morning he learned that that very co-worker he'd been standing next to and working with and washing his hands had tested positive for COVID, was sick and did not come to work.

Peter Petgrave's workplace was very careful on Tuesday and sent everyone home early so that they could sanitize everything in the workplace.

But Wednesday morning, he learned that another worker who had been working closely with that first co-worker that came down with COVID also had come down with COVID.

As you can imagine, Thursday and Friday and all day Wednesday, all the workers were carefully observing very strict COVID mitigation rules, masks, social distancing, hand washing.

It reminds me of the words of another elder named Peter.

Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.

Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.

But may the God of grace, who called us to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.

To him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever.

Now Peter Petgrave's story was interesting to me for another reason.

In the very effort to stay clean and avoid disease, in the very act of washing his hands, Brother Petgrave was exposed to the dangers he sought to escape.

It reminds us that all around are hidden spiritual dangers.

We can quickly be infected and left very sick spiritually.

And Satan designs that our very best efforts may inadvertently expose us to the spread of the disease that we would like to see extinguished.

How important it is to begin our Bible study with prayer that Satan will not use any words from my mouth or thoughts in your mind to infect other people here this morning.

That Satan's hateful presence may be banished and we will be free from his contaminating influence during our time of scripture study together you just bow your heads I'm gonna kneel once again father in heaven we're opening your word we're going to be studying it We're here because we want to be washed.

May there be nothing in what I say that would inadvertently infect somebody here.

May nothing they say inadvertently infect others.

And speak to us through your word we pray in Christ's name, Amen.

Our study this morning is in Luke 13 and we're going to start with verse 22 and he went through the cities and villages teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem.

It was late winter, early spring of AD 31.

Although this was Jesus' final journey and last ministry in Israel before his crucifixion, no 1, not even Jesus' disciples, realized that.

The presence of Jesus, his miracles, his mighty works, his words of wisdom no longer attracted curious multitudes.

The disciples couldn't help to note how few people now came to hear Jesus speak when once there were crowds of hundreds and thousands.

Finally, 1 of the disciples was brave enough to voice the question they were all thinking.

Verse 23, then 1 said to him, Lord, are there few who are saved?

It's always a perplexity to people that so few individuals are willing to follow the Bible.

So few are willing to accept the marvelous salvation that Jesus offers all men.

Alfred Rehwinkle's groundbreaking book, The Flood, in light of Bible geology and archaeology, was published in 1951.

My dad purchased it some years later when our family attended a creation seminar.

It's a classic volume, been reprinted many times and is still available on the internet for purchase today.

I must have been about 10 years old when I took it off my dad's bookshelf and began to read it.

I still remember 1 chapter that attempted to determine the probable population of the world at the time of the flood.

Various population growth assumptions and formulas were used and depending on these assumptions in the formula, Raewinkle was able to estimate the population at the time that Noah entered the ark and the flood came as somewhere between 1 and 11000000000 people.

Out of that entire population, probably numbering in the billions, only 1 family, 8 people were saved.

The Bible contains many other stories showing the lost vastly outnumber the saved.

Out of the thousands of citizens living in Sodom and Gomorrah and the other cities of the plains, only 3 people were saved.

Of the 3000000 Israelites and Egyptians that were delivered from the Egyptian bondage, only 2 entered the land of Canaan.

Paul quotes the principle that Isaiah gave us Romans 9 27 though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea the remnant will be saved.

99% of Gideon's 32, 000 original fighting force left his army before the first battle.

Only a remnant, 300, stayed to attack the Midianites.

And now at the very close of Christ's life and ministry, the multitudes had vanished.

And then 1 said to him, Lord, are there few who are saved?

As we study Jesus' answer to this important question, we notice 5 answers that Jesus did not give in answer to the question.

First, Jesus didn't say, God predestined all these people to reject their own salvation.

God elected a small number to be saved, to glorify him.

His answer shows that whosoever will can be saved, The lost are lost because they don't value Christ's salvation enough to choose to be saved.

Second, Jesus didn't answer the question by giving a false assurance of salvation.

He didn't say, no, you're completely wrong.

There are billions and billions who are saved and only a few who will be lost.

Third, Jesus didn't say, you've heard the 4 step gospel presentation.

And once you're saved, you're always saved.

These people who followed me for a time but no longer are following me will be saved.

Fourth, Jesus didn't give an answer that drove even 1 of his listeners to despair.

Among his hearers were those who were sincere and conscientious, but some were struggling with an overwhelming sense of guilt, of depression, and discouragement.

There were those who feared that they had committed the unpardonable sin.

They were unable to grasp the stupendous and encouraging truth that whosoever will may come and be saved.

They were unable to seize the promises of God for themselves.

And while Jesus' answer did not minister to the pride of the proud, it did not extinguish the hope of those feeling hopeless.

Matthew 20, 20 says, a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoking flax he will not quench.

And Jesus' reply brings hope to the discouraged and despairing.

Lastly, Jesus did not reply with a matter-of-fact, simple statistic or fact.

The question, are there a few who are saved, is a yes or no question.

But Jesus didn't answer the question with a yes or no.

If someone would have asked me that question, I think I would have given a simple, direct answer.

We've just looked at a few passages that demonstrate this.

But this short factual answer, few will be saved and many will be, few will be saved and many will be lost, though true, fails to deal with the deeper needs of the listeners.

Jesus didn't provide an answer by giving statistics and facts.

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Lord, Are There Few Who Are Saved?

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