How Many Will Be Saved?

This might sound like a silly question, or even an obvious question.  Of course, the Bible can save anyone and everything . . . right?  Well, let’s think about this.  Is everyone saved?  Just looking around, it should be pretty obvious that the answer is “No,” but let’s let Jesus answer that question for us.  In Matt. 7:13-14, Jesus says that there is a broad road and a wide gate that leads to destruction(a reference to Hell).  He also tells us that many enter that gate, but few(by comparison) enter the narrow gate that leads to [eternal]life.  So, Jesus is telling us that most people will not be saved.  This is sad, but it is also informative.  It helps us to understand that if we are looking around and thinking that many or most people will be saved and make it to heaven, we are wrong, and we are looking at things incorrectly.  We need to change how we are seeing things.  But that is a subject for another time.

How Does God Reach the Lost?

In Rom. 10:14-15, Paul is writing to the church in Rome.  He had just told them(Rom. 10:9-13) that in order for someone to be saved, they will need to declare with their mouth and believe in their heart that Jesus is Lord.  There is more than this to salvation, but part of salvation involves not just what we say(declare) about what we think.  And Paul is subsequently addressing the question, “How will anyone ever hear about Jesus?”  Working in reverse order, Paul asks how someone can call on the name of the Lord, if that person has not believed?  Furthermore, how can someone believe that Jesus is Lord if they have not heard about Jesus?  Further still, how can they hear about Jesus if no one speaks to them(preaching) about Jesus?  Lastly(or actually firstly), how can someone preach to them(the lost) if that person is not sent?  So, let’s put this in chronological order:  a preacher is sent; the preacher speaks to the lost; the lost hear the message about Jesus; the lost believes that Jesus is Lord; the lost declares that Jesus is Lord.  This declaration is a person stating that they believe that Jesus is Lord, the Son of God.  When the Jews in Jerusalem(at the time of Pentecost) expressed belief in the message, they were baptized and added to the church(Acts 2:41).  When the Philippian jailer asked what he needed to do to be saved, Paul told him he needed to believe in the Lord Jesus.  Paul and Silas then preached Jesus to the jailer and his whole family.  They believed and were baptized(Acts 16:31-34).  At the end of the day, it’s really that simple. Yes, you need to repent of your old way of life(Mark 6:12; Luke 5:32; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 17:30; 20:21; 26:20; II Cor. 7:10), but it really boils down to belief in Jesus.  Without that belief, salvation is not possible.

Are the Lost Without Hope?

As we have seen, it’s really very easy to be saved.  We have to believe(yes, again there are other things we have to do), but from a foundational point of view, it really is as simple as believing that Jesus is the Son of God.  And yes, that belief is going to cause us to change the way we live our lives(Rom. 6:1-4).  But in terms of what it takes to be saved from sin, it is all founded on our belief in Jesus.  We need to hear His message and believe it.  If it’s that simple, why are so many lost?  Why will so many never head the gospel call to salvation?  Why will so many refuse to acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God?  We know there will be many who will be lost, as compared to the few who will be saved.  Jesus already told us that(Matt. 7:13-14).  But why?

Why Won’t People Be Saved?

I will never claim to know the content of the heart of another, but looking at it logically, I think there are a few possible reasons that people just will not be saved . . . why people will just not believe in Jesus.  Here are three possible reasons, and this is likely not an exhaustive list.

People Do Not Know Jesus

This might sound odd, given that Jesus is probably the best known person(yes, He is God, too) on the face of the planet!  But what I mean is that they simply do not know Who Jesus is.  Yes, they have heard of Him, and they know He is supposed to be the Son of God.  He did a bunch of good stuff.  Moral guy.  Good teacher.  But they know very little of any of the specifics about Jesus.   They do not know what He actually taught.  They might know that He taught us to love one other, but they do not know what He taught about divorce(that you should not get divorced – Matt. 19:4-6).  Jesus admitted that not everyone could accept this teaching in Matt. 19:11.  He told people they were evil(Matt. 7:11), and He was not just talking about a few, isolated people.  In John 8:11, He told a woman caught in the act of adultery to go and sin no more.

Some people belong to religious groups that do not promote Bible reading; some even discourage it.  This might sound odd, but considering the fact that many people choose the path of least resistance, they only need to be told they do not need to read the Bible once.  If you are being told by religious leaders that you cannot understand the Bible, and they will explain it to you, that makes your life easier.  Why wouldn’t you do that?  Of course, what if that leader is wrong?  The religious leaders during the time Jesus was teaching were wrong about a great many things.  And if you do not find out about Jesus for yourself, it will be difficult for you to ever really get to know Him.

People Do Not Like Jesus

Some people DO read about Jesus in the Bible and they do not like what they read.  His message about divorce and adultery and a host of other topics drives some people away when they find out what Jesus was really like.  He sounds very judgmental.  And He spoke about Hell more than He spoke about heaven.  Who wants to hear about Hell?  That place sounds awful!  Many of the religious leaders at the time looked down on Jesus because He actually spoke to “sinners.”  They did not realize they were sinners, too, and needed to listen to Jesus’ message just a much as those terrible “sinners.”

Jesus said you had to love Him more than you love your own family(Matt. 10:37).  That means you put Him AHEAD OF your family members.  When a family member does something wrong, you side with Jesus . . . not the family member.  When someone does something wrong, you confront them(Matt. 18:15-17).  If they do not repent, you tell others and bring them.  If they still don’t repent, you treat them like a pagan or tax collector(i.e. sinner).  A lot of people do not like these types of things, so they have no interest in Jesus.

People Change Jesus

Some people do not know Jesus.  Some people learn about Jesus and do not like what they find out.  Lastly, some people learn about Jesus, do not like what they find out, and so they modified Jesus.  They effectively create Jesus version 2.0.  He is a “better” Jesus.  He loves people . . . everybody.  And it is true that God loves everyone, but they change it to mean that God loves you exactly as you are and you don’t need to change a thing.  This is diametrically opposed to Jesus, as He spent a lot of time telling people how they needed to change their lives.  But instead of Jesus changing their lives, these people instead choose to change Jesus.  He is changed to be the Jesus they want.  And that Jesus will look different from person to person.  Some versions of Jesus do not mind if you commit adultery.  Some do not mind if you hate people.  Some do not care if you engage in sexual immorality or commit any other sin that Jesus spoke against.  Jesus just loves you.  And that’s all there is.  It sounds nice, but it is completely ineffective.  Jesus said that not everyone who called Him Lord would enter the kingdom of heaven.  In Matt. 7:21-23, He states that He would tell some to depart(to Hell) because they practiced lawlessness.  That lawlessness is a reference to the fact that they did not do what Jesus said to do(or they did what Jesus said to not do).  In Gal. 1:6-9, Paul warned about people bringing a  different(i.e. altered) gospel(the good news message about Jesus).  That different gospel will not save.  Only the true, unadulterated gospel has the power to save.

Conclusion

Is the Bible enough to save everyone?  The answer is both “yes” and “no.”  It is “yes” because anyone can be saved by the gospel, the good news message from Jesus. The answer is “no” because not everyone will hear the message, some will hear and will not want to follow it and others will try to change it, effectively creating an adulterated version of Jesus, which is useless.

How do we combat this for ourselves?  Read your Bible.  Don’t be satisfied with what you know.   Read more.  Don’t be satisfied with what others tell you.  Find the truth.  It’s there.  And if you see something you do not like, change.  Don’t change the truth; change yourself.  Don’t make up some “new and improved” Jesus.  Accept Him as He is.  He is perfect.  If you try to change Him, He will no longer be perfect.  And you need a person Savior.

How do we combat this for others?  We teach them about Jesus.  We encourage them to find Jesus for themselves . . . by reading about Him.  We can try to help people to better understand Jesus, but their belief has to be their belief, not ours.   We cannot believe for them, but we can encourage them.  Let’s do what we can.