Someone once asked Jesus, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” If you read the story in Luke 13:22-30, you will see that the person asking Jesus about this is most likely a Jew who feels certain that he is saved. And Jesus is once again upset about the arrogance and aloofness of the person asking, practically brushing him aside and saying “Away from me, I don’t know you.”
Here we have another confrontation where Jesus surprises the audience and reminds them to take their faith in God to a much deeper level than they have been superficially doing.
In fact, if you scan the four gospels, you will see many instances when Jesus shakes the biases and mindset of people who felt comfortable in their faith. And Jesus says things like: “not all will be saved,” or “not everyone who says “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven.” And throughout His teaching ministry, Jesus gives many lessons about what it means to follow Him, and thereby one day be able to join Him in His eternal kingdom.
Now, my friends, most of you listening to this video are probably keenly aware of these lessons, and have embraced a life of following Jesus. Chances are, you don’t struggle with passages in the gospel like this. Praise God for that, and I’m not going to challenge your dedication and devotion, though I wouldn’t take it for granted if I were you. Until now, I myself feel that there are many more things I have been lax in following what Jesus tells me to do.
But I will leave that for another lesson. For today, I want to go back to the question in Luke 13:24: “Lord, will only a few be saved?” We have to understand one thing. Jesus died for ALL mankind. But not all will be saved. Think about that for a moment, my friend, and ask yourself, “I wonder why not?” (repeat)
What if Jesus says to you, “Don’t worry my son. I know you love Me and you’ve dedicated your life to me. You’re saved. But rather, I want you to worry about the others, because they are lost, and they don’t know it. Many of them have heard my teachings, but they still don’t embrace it fully. They are comfortable with their lives today, but they are in danger of losing it forever. Now, go and make disciples of all nations.”
You see, my friend, whether you know it or not, the moment you accepted Jesus as your savior, meant that not only have you been adopted as sons and daughters of God, you have also been enlisted in the task of building Christ’s kingdom on earth; the task of proclaiming the good news. The responsibility of making disciples of others becomes our individual responsibility. That people may reject the invitation you give to them is their own lookout, and they will be accountable for it. But if people have not been invited to follow Jesus because we failed to reach out to them, then we will be held accountable for that.
Let me remind you that there are sins of commission, and there are sins of omission. Only those who do the will of the father will enter the kingdom.
So, my question is: are you doing your part in purposely, intentionally reaching out to “everyone” and proclaiming the good news to them? Have you adopted an evangelistic lifestyle? Do you even know what it mean to evangelize and proclaim the good news?
Here’s what I suggest for you to do. First of all, come before the Lord and ask for His forgiveness. Then ask for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit so that the fire of the kingdom will burn inside of you, so that you will have a burning passion for the destiny of everyone. And seek practical help from your church leaders and community leaders. Instruct and encourage one another, and hold each other accountable for this.
For now, let me leave you with one important clarification about evangelization. Evangelizing everyone doesn’t mean inviting them to your church or your community, simply because not everyone you know or meet will have access to your church, but everyone needs to access and welcome Jesus in their hearts. And YOUR mission is to help everyone come to that.
May God bless you so you can be a blessing to others. Now, let’s go and proclaim the good news to everyone!
Leave a Reply