If you would turn with me to
Matthew chapter 7. While you're turning there, I
want to mention so I don't forget, next Sunday, the Lord willing,
I'll be bringing a message on baptism. What it is, what it
represents, who ought to be baptized. But here in Matthew chapter 7,
I want to direct our attention today And in verse 13, the Lord
Jesus is speaking. And he says, enter ye in at the
straight gate. That word straight there means
narrow. Enter ye in at the straight or
narrow gate for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth
to destruction and many, I wanna emphasize that word many, there
be which go in there at. Because straight is the gate
and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life and few, few there
be that find it. How many will there be that find
this way that leadeth unto life? Few, few. We live in religious times where
most everybody professes to be a believer. Very few in our day
would profess to be a deist. A deist is one who believes in
the existence of a supreme being, specifically a creator, but one
who does not interfere or intervene in the affairs of this universe.
That's what a deist is. Sadly, many who profess to be
Christians are just that, They believed that their God made
the world and then left the affairs of the world unattended to chance
and luck. That couldn't be further from
the truth. Very few today would profess to be infidels. An infidel
is one who does not believe in the Holy Bible or one who holds
to some religion that is not based at all upon the Holy Scriptures. Very few in this religious world
would profess to being an atheist, one who does not believe in the
existence of God. Some might, but few do. But for the most part, everybody
loves Jesus. You can ask someone if they're
a Christian, oh yes, been a Christian all my life. Well, that's just
a little too long. they believe that Jesus loves
everybody, and it's sad, but it's true. Very few compared
to the overall number of people in the world really believe the
scriptures as they are written. Oh, they search the scriptures
and in the scriptures they think that they have life, but the
scriptures are they which testify of Christ, and few, few, ever
truly see Him in this book. And that's such a sad and sobering
truth. There are many who profess to
believe that the Bible is true. They believe in the virgin birth
of the Savior. They believe in Christ's death.
They profess to believe that He rose from the dead. And many
of them even say that they believe that He provided salvation. And
all these are facts, but will believing these things, as mere
fact, profit you anything in the end? Will simply knowing
these things do your soul any good when you die? In a word,
let me ask it this way. Will you be saved? Anymore, it seems to be such
an easy thing to be saved. I wouldn't trouble you to consider
this searching question. If God had not spoken plainly
in the Bible about these things, I would probably just remain
silent. If God hadn't spoken plainly
and directly in his word about the number of the saved, I probably
wouldn't be bringing this message. But the Lord is plain. and the
Lord is direct on the subject and therefore I must warn you
of religion's carelessness to assume that they know Christ. First of all, what does it mean
to be saved? You and I may have two different
opinions of what it means to be saved. But what does the Bible
say? That's the final authority. What does God say? If God shows
us what the scriptures teach about being saved, then there
can be no misunderstanding. May God be true and every man
a liar. So let me quickly tell you what
being saved is not. It's not to merely claim to be
saved or to call ourselves believers or Christians. As I said, most
everybody today does that. There are many who give outward
yet false evidences of salvation. They made a decision, they've
walked an hour, they've repeated a prayer while they've even been
baptized. They attend church services somewhat
regular. They give tithes and offerings,
all these outward things. They partake of the Lord's table.
They have some head knowledge of doctrine. Yet in the end,
when they profess All that they've done, they'll be found on the
Lord's left hand among the goats, and they'll hear these words,
dreadful words. Depart from me, ye that work
iniquity. What is so alarming to me is
that the Lord said many, many, will say unto me in that day,
haven't we done this? And haven't we done that? And
haven't we in thy name done many wonderful works? And the Lord
said, depart from me. I never knew you. I never knew
you. Salvation is Christ knowing me and me knowing him. So what is it to be saved? Well,
first, it might be a good idea to understand what men and women
are saved from. Hold your place here in Matthew
chapter seven and turn back a few pages to Matthew chapter one
with me if you would. Matthew chapter one. In verse 18, now the birth of
Jesus Christ was on this wise, when as his mother Mary was a
spouse to Joseph before they came together, she was found
with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph, her husband, being
a just man and not willing to make her a public example, was
minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these
things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a
dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not, take no reservation,
don't be hesitant to take unto thee, marry thy wife, for that
which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. and she shall
bring forth a son, and thou shall call his name Jesus. Now look
at the last part of verse 21. For he shall save his people
from their sins. In order to be reconciled to
God. Now listen to me. so important, in order to be
reconciled to God and brought back into fellowship with Him.
We've been alienated from God. Our sin has alienated us from
God. In order to be brought back in
fellowship with Him, we must be saved from our sins. That's
the issue. It has to be perfect to be accepted.
We're nothing but sin, far from perfect. To be saved is to be
delivered first from the guilt of sin. We all know something
about guilt. We've all experienced it. We've
all felt it. Why, even as a child, God gave
me a conscience. And when I did something that
I knew was wrong, I felt guilt over it. But salvation is to
be delivered from the guilt of sin. And the only way that that
can be accomplished is by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The
only way that I can be free from the guilt of sin is to be sinless. And to be sinless, I must be
pardoned. I must be justified, I must be
forgiven of every charge of sin, and it's by faith in the blood-bought
sacrifice and the mediation of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Christ,
I have no sin, and therefore I have no guilt. Secondly, salvation
is to be delivered from the power of sin. And this is accomplished
by a new birth from above, by being sanctified. That simply
means to be made perfect, to be made what God requires, sanctified,
made perfect by Christ's substitution. It's to be freed from the dominion
that sin has over us. For sin shall not have dominion
over you, for ye are not under the law, but under grace. Romans 6, 14. And thirdly, to
be saved is to be delivered from the awful consequences of sin. There is consequence for sin. The wrath, the judgment, and
the justice of God has been appeased for the believer. The child of
God is adopted into the kingdom of his dear son, made the very
children of God. and they hear the words of pardon,
come ye blessed, while the consequences of sin fall on others in the
words of depart, ye cursed. Oh, how I desire to hear those
words, come ye blessed, come ye blessed. And such is Christ's
salvation. It is to be saved from the guilt
of sin, the power of sin, and the consequence of sin. He shall
save his people from their sins. Now we look to God's word to
expose the mistakes that many make about the number that are
saved. You go to a funeral service for
one who's departed this life and pretty much without exception,
that one who has departed is declared to be in heaven. It
seems that everybody's saved. Brother Montgomery asked the
funeral director here one time. I was there when he asked him. And I asked one in Texas the
same thing. And the question was, has there
ever been one who came through this place that was lost and
perishing in hell? And the answer we both received
from two different funeral directors was a resounding no. They all
saved. They are in heaven. So it seems
that it matters little how a man or a woman behaves while they
live. And what I mean by that is Doesn't
seem to have to be any signs of repentance for sin ever shown,
no concern for faith in Christ, no evidence whatsoever of conversion,
no indication of a need of forgiveness. Has God shown you your need of
forgiveness? But as soon as that person dies,
men say things like, well, they're better off now. Oh, I'm telling
you, I just shudder when I hear that. knowing that the man never
had an interest in the things of Christ. They're better off
now. They've gone to a better place while they're having a
big happy reunion and glory with all their family and friends
that have gone before them. This is the religious world's
thinking. You know it to be so, and so
do I. Why? Because this world believes that
everybody is saved. They really do. They really do. Oh, he was a fine man. He was
such a good husband and father, and she was such a caring person,
such a wonderful wife and mother. But what did they think of Christ? No man, no woman cometh to the
Father, but by Him. What do you think of Christ?
That's the issue. Our Lord Jesus said, narrow is
the way. which leadeth unto life, and
few there be that find it. Turn with me to Luke chapter
13, if you would. Luke chapter 13. Verse 22 tells us that our Lord
Jesus went through the cities and villages teaching and journeying
towards Jerusalem. Then said one unto him, Lord,
are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, strive
to enter in at the straight gate. For many, I say unto you, will
seek to enter in and shall not be able When once the master
of the house has risen up and has shut to the door and you
begin to stand without and to knock at the door saying, Lord,
Lord, open unto us and he shall not answer. And saying to you,
I know not whence you are, I don't know who you are. Then shall
ye begin to say, well, we've eaten and drunk in thy presence,
and thou has taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you,
I know not whence you are. Depart from me, all ye workers
of iniquity. And there shall be weeping and
gnashing of teeth. And when you see Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and yourselves
thrust Now, let me say that I understand that in heaven's glory, there
will be a number that no man can number. All the elect throughout
all time will be a great multitude, a great number that we cannot
number, but it will be few, few compared to all that have lived
throughout time. Our Lord Jesus said in Matthew
22, verse 14, for many are called, but few are chosen. You see,
many have seen the creation of God and were unmoved to worship
the creator. Romans 1, verse 20. Many have heard the preaching
of Christ, who is the life and the light of men and have remained
in their darkness. Many have been given ample opportunity
to repent, but yet they have remained obstinate in their sin. Many have. Many have been called,
but only few chosen. Many are determined, it seems,
to believe that it's an easy thing to get into heaven. We
preach and we keep nothing back that is profitable unto men. We clearly proclaim free justification
by faith. We simply declare that regeneration
is alone by the Spirit of God. We preach that Christ was made
to be sin and he put away our sin. We preach that righteousness
comes not by the law, by our doing, but by faith in Jesus
Christ who has made us the righteousness of God in Him. And many are called
with a general call to come to Christ, but only few, only few
are called with an effectual call. Who are these few? Those whom God hath chosen before
the foundation of the world and gave to Christ to redeem. And
the result will be that while few repent and are saved, the
great majority will not bow, receive, or believe on Christ.
That's just a fact. Sobering and sad it is, but it's
a fact. Now they may not oppose him publicly. They may even seem to esteem
our Lord and respect him as an earnest, sincere, kind-hearted
man who meant well. There will be many who claim
that Christ was a great prophet, a great teacher, and a healer.
But there will be few that will confess with Peter, thou art
the Christ, the Son of the living God. Oh, there'll be many who
will turn and follow him no more, but there will only be few who
will say, Lord, where else would we go? Thou hast the words to
eternal life. And sadly, it's always been this
way. It's been this way since sin
entered into the world. How was it in the days of Noah?
While the earth was filled with violence, the imagination of
man's heart was only evil continually. All flesh had corrupted his way. The warnings of God by Noah were
absolutely, absolutely despised. And when the flood came on the
world and every living thing was drowned, there were but eight
people who had faith enough to flee. for refuge in the ark. Eight. Peter 3.20 tells us that
when the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah while
the ark was preparing, wherein few, that is eight souls were
saved by or from water. Do you know why those eight were
saved? Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. How was it
in the days of Abraham, Isaac, and Lot? Well, in the matter
of knowing God, they stood very much alone, didn't they? We studied
that in our study of the book of Genesis. Their family members
were idolaters. The nations among whom they lived
were in gross darkness and in sin. While when Sodom and Gomorrah
was burned, there were not five righteous people to be found
in the four cities of the plain. Not five. When Abraham and Isaac
desired to find wives for their sons, while there wasn't a godly
woman in the land that they resided in, to whom they would have their
sons to be married to. Were there many saved in Abraham's
day? No, only a few, only a few. How was it with Israel in the
days of the judges? Time and time again, we read
of the people of Israel forsaking God and following idols. They joined themselves with the
Canaanites and they learned the Canaanites ways and they learned
the Canaanites religion and they continually forgot their miraculous
deliverance out of Egypt by the sovereign hand of God. And they
were constantly being oppressed by foreign kings because of their
sins. The scripture's so clear, yet
the Lord delivered them time and time again. Were there many
saved in those days? No. God caused only a few to
trust and serve him. What about in the days of the
kings? From Saul, the first king, to Zedekiah, the last king, their
history is a sad and pathetic account of backsliding, unbelief,
and idolatry. Even to the best kings, there
was a great deal of unbelief and ungodliness. And how does
Isaiah describe their condition of Judah and Jerusalem? He does
so this way, their whole head is sick. and the whole heart
is faint. From the sole of the foot, even
into the crown of the head, there's no soundness in it. And except
the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should
have been as Sodom and we should have been as Gomorrah. How was
it with the Jews when our Lord Jesus Christ was on earth? He
came into his own. and his own received him not.
Our Lord lived a blameless, harmless, and holy life. He always went
about doing good. He preached as no man ever preached. Even the officers of his enemies
said, never may a man speak like this man. He performed miracles
that confirmed his deity. Yet regardless of all these things,
they refused to believe in him. They followed Him in the city.
They followed Him in the wilderness. They followed Him to Capernaum.
They followed Him to Nazareth. They followed Him to Jerusalem.
And everywhere they followed Him, it was the same result.
Oh, they were amazed. They were silenced. They were
astonished. But very few became disciples. How was it in the days of the
apostles? There was never a period in time
that true religion flourished as it did then. Never did the
Holy Ghost call into the fold of Christ so many souls. Never were there so many conversions
under the preaching of the gospel as when the servants of God in
the days of the apostles preached. But it's plain, when you read
the account of the Acts, that Christianity was everywhere spoken
against. Acts 28, 22. In every city, even
in Jerusalem, true believers were a small majority, very small. There was such affliction put
on the apostles, they went through much suffering for the gospel's
sake. All of them, with the exception
of John, met violent deaths. Everywhere Paul went, he was
in danger of violence and persecution. Were there many saved in those
days? No doubt the answer's no. Are then there few saved today? The answer is there are only
few saved. Only few enter into that straight
and narrow gate. I think we've proven that by
the scriptures. Now the question is, will you
be one of the few? Or will you be one of the many?
Oh, that God might show you that salvation in Christ is the one
thing needful. He showed Mary that. I thank
God that he's shown me that Christ is the one thing needful. He's
the good part. He's that that can never be taken
away from me. Oh, I'm telling you, health,
riches, and titles, they're not needful things. Oh, we think
they are. The world has convinced us they
are, but they're not. A sinner can gain heaven without
those things. Are there few saved? The answer's
obvious. If you're not one of the few
already, oh, may you strive to be one and don't delay. There
have been many who have put off to another day, that day that
never came. Come to Christ right now and
you shall be saved. Now is the accepted time. Behold,
now is the day of salvation. When? Now. Now. The gate that leads to life may
be straight, and it may be narrow, and it may be that only few find
it, but it was wide enough to admit the thief on the cross.
It was wide enough to admit Saul of Tarsus, while it was even
wide enough to allow David Edmondson to enter. Why not you? Why not you? The way that leads to life may
be narrow, yet I see the footprints of thousands of sinners just
like you and me, a number that no man can number. Are there
a few saved? Well, the answer's certain. And
if you're one of the few, be thankful because you've been
chosen and called of God. Multitudes have sunk in unbelief. Thousands around you are utterly
blind. If God has been pleased to reveal
Christ to you, be thankful, be thankful. Are there a few saved? The answer's alarming. alarming,
so then we should take every opportunity to tell others the
gospel. Take every opportunity to tell
others of Christ. If God is pleased by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe, and if that is the only
means that God has for the saving of sinners, then we ought to
be constantly looking for opportunities. to invite people to come hear
the gospel. That's how God saves. That's
how God saves. May we never forget the words
of our Lord and Savior. May we always act as those who
know the time is short and eternity is near. Our Lord Jesus said,
for broad is the way that leadeth to destruction and many, many
there be that go in there yet because straight is the gate
and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that
find it.