Luke 13:24
24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.
There’s something very polarizing about this statement. Hearing this kind of thing from Jesus,
makes us ask the question:
Is Salvation Inclusive or Exclusive?
There are many verses in the Bible leading us to think it’s Inclusive of everyone:
John 3:16
16 For God so loved THE WORLD that he gave his one and only Son, that WHOEVER believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Revelation 3:20
20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If ANYONE hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
Acts 10:34-35
34 … “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.
The Bible is full of God showing His love for ALL people, and loving them as His inspired creation!
There are also a few verses in the Bible leading us to think it’s Exclusive, and not many will make it:
Matthew 7:13-14
13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Matthew 22:14
14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
John 5:29
those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned
Luke 13:24
24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.
The gospel really is for everyone, but SO MANY will not make it. Because of that, we can sometimes incorrectly look at salvation like God created the Narrow Door TO BE narrow, SO THAT only some people can get in.
What it really comes down to, is:
The INTENT is that all enter the door,
The REALITY is that not many will.
So, the question is not really one of Inclusive vs Exclusive, it’s:
God’s INTENT vs humans’ sinful REALITY
Personal Action
Jesus talking about a Narrow Door isn’t a threat or an ultimatum, it’s a WARNING!
The world aroudn us is falling apart, and our bodies are falling apart more and more, but our souls are created for eternity. Jesus offers this Narrow Door as an emergency exit out of our destruction.
Jesus is so passionately in love with you that He’s offering you a way out of your pain and your anguish. Take it!
Public Action
Luke 15:8-10
8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
We should be the ones taking a cue from God, and looking fervently for the lost coin.
2 Corinthians 5:20
We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.
As people, we often think about our legacy, or what we leave behind when we're gone. We look back on the time we’ve spent,
and the things we’ve achieved with our lives. We also look forward to the things we want to do,
and the things that will be our legacy.
Salvation, seeing people enter the Narrow Door, is truly the only eternal thing that we can live for. It's the only thing WORTH living for.
The people we lead to Jesus are our legacy.
The ending of the verse in Luke 13, should really stick with all of us.
Luke 13:24-28
24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.
25 Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’
“But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’
26 “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’
27 “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’
28 “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out.
