Luke 13:23
Having looked at only a few examples in part one of our lesson we will now look at other examples of many other religious people who needed salvation. The devout Jews on the Day of Pentecost - Ac 2:5, 36-38 “Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven.” – “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified." Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
The devout Ethiopian returning from worship at Jerusalem - Ac 8:27-28, 35-38 “And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah.” – “Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.” (KJV)
The devout Lydia, a worshipper of God who kept the Sabbath - Ac 16:13-15 “And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay." And she prevailed upon us.”
The devout Saul, doing what he thought was the Lord’s will - Ac 26:9 ‘"I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth.”; Ga 1:14 “And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers.”
Being religious is not enough, and one cannot truly be a Christian who believes that salvation can be found outside of Christ (Ac 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."’). But note that Jesus also taught salvation is for those who obey. Many think that all who believe in Jesus will be saved. They believe that we are saved by faith only, with no need for obedience. Yet Jesus warned of those who believed in Him but were lost - Mt 7:21-23 ‘"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'” They believed Him to be their Lord. They spent their lives in service to the Lord. But they had not done the Father’s will!
We do well to remember that Jesus is the author of salvation to all who obey Him - He 5:9 “And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,” We do well to remember the end of those who do not obey His gospel - 2 Th 1:7-9 “and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,” Not all believers will be saved. The demons believe, yet tremble! - Ja 2:19 “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe--and shudder!” Some believed, but were unwilling to confess Him - Jn 12:42-43 “Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.”
Believing that many (if not all) will be saved is a comforting doctrine. A view praised as tolerant and loving. But if one really desires to follow Jesus, they must abide in His teaching (Jn 8:30-32 “As he was saying these things, many believed in him. So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."’)...
That few will be saved. That Jesus is the only way. That salvation is for those who do His Father’s will. Of course, God wants all men to be saved (1 Ti 2:3-6 “This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.”; 2 Pe 3:9 “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”). He has provided His Son as the perfect Sacrifice, the perfect Mediator and the perfect plan. But will you believe and obey His Son...?
