A Flood of Thoughts

“Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.” Luke 13: 24,25

Jesus didn’t directly answer the inquirer’s question. However, he said that many would not be saved. The many would seek to enter in but wouldn’t be able. When I read that response, I immediately thought about Noah and his family. Few; only eight people, were saved from the flood. In 1 Peter 3:20, we are told that God long-suffered the sins of the world during the time the ark was being prepared, which tells me that God will only tolerate so much for so long. It is curious too that Peter wrote that Noah and his family were ‘saved by water.’ I suppose it’s a matter of perspective, but speaking for those who drowned, I doubt they saw themselves saved by the torrent. Nonetheless, God’s ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts. It amazes me though how the Holy Spirit opens up so many thoughts through a passage that first appears to present a simple question and answer session between Jesus and an unnamed inquirer.

Anyway, when I first read this passage in Luke, I was taken back when Jesus used the word ‘strive.’ So I looked it up in the Greek, which was agōnizomai. It means to contend, fight, to struggle with strenuous zeal. It sounded to me at first that Jesus was saying that we had to ‘work hard’ if we were to enter the strait gate into His kingdom. Doctrinally, that ran counter to  my understanding of Ephesians 2:8,9  “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Of course, I know that one basic rule of studying the Bible is to let the Scriptures interpret Scriptures, meaning that a proper and right understanding should ‘bring into agreement what is read throughout the Bible, however seemingly contradictory. The word of God is like the heavens; such is it set that to follow a single wayward star will bring a foolish mariner to ruin. Why? Because God simply does not contradict Himself. So in this case, I ruled out Jesus using the word ‘strive’ in teaching what we personally had to do to be saved; specifically, to justify ourselves and prove our own righteousness in the eyes of God. If we could, then we could boast. No, what I suspect is that when Jesus answered the man, He knew that through his death on the cross and the shedding of blood that God would declare those men, who believed by faith through grace, free of guilt and acceptable unto Him. In this passage of Luke, I believe that Jesus was advising the inquirer that those who enter the strait gate strive to do so by making their calling and election sure (2 Peter 1:10). Why? Because Jesus knew, absent the evidences of salvation (love for the saints; fruit of the Spirit; performance of ordinances; prayer, study and meditation) that many who believe they will enter will fall short.

“Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”  Philippians 2:12