24 Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.
26 Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.
27 But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.
28 There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.
29 And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.
30 And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.
What we have here in this parable someone asking the following question,
Are there few that are saved? Luke 13:23: —“If the saved be few? Master, I have heard thou shouldest say so; is it true?”
13:24: The gate is strait (that is, narrow) because Christ is the only Door (John 10:7-9), and repentance and faith are the only means of admission.
13: 25-27: At the Last Judgment the door will be closed, and those who are now indifferent to Christ will claim acquaintance with Him. However, superficial knowledge about Christ and His teaching will not substitute for personal repentance and faith, which bring a true relationship with Him.
Dear friends,
Think how many of us take some pains for salvation and yet may perish because we do not take enough, and some of us will say that there are few that will be saved and that it highly concerns us to strive: Many will seek to enter in, and shall not be able; they seek, but they do not strive. Note: the reason why many of us come short of grace and glory is because we sometimes rest in a lazy seeking of that which will not be attained without a laborious striving. Then there are some who have a good mind to happiness, and a good opinion of holiness, and take some good steps towards both. But their convictions are weak; they do not consider what they know and believe, and, consequently, their desires are cold, and their endeavors feeble, and there is no strength or steadiness in their resolutions; and thus they come short, and lose the prize, because they do not press forward. Christ avers this upon his own word: I say unto you; and we may take it upon his word, for he knows both the counsels of God and the hearts of the children of men.
Think of the distinguishing day that is coming and the decisions of that day, and perhaps it will be you who will say there are a few that shall be saved and that we are concerned to strive: The Master of the house will rise up, and shut to the door, Luke 13:25. CHRIST IS THE MASTER OF THE HOUSE, that will take cognizance of all that frequent his house and are retainers to it, will examine comers and goers and those that pass and re-pass. Now he seems as if he left things at large; but the day is coming when he will rise up, and shut to the door. Perhaps some of you may be asking, what door? The below is what the WORD OF GOD says:
[1.] A door of distinction. Now, within the temple of the church there are carnal professors who worship in the outer-court and spiritual professors who worship within the veil; between these the door is now open, and they meet promiscuously in the same external performances. But, when the Master of the house is risen up, the door will be shut between them, that those who are in the outer-court may be kept out, and left to be trodden underfoot by the Gentiles, Rev. 11:2. As to those that are filthy, shut the door upon them, and let them be filthy still; that those who are within may be kept within, that those who are holy may be holy still. The door is shut to separate between the precious and the vile, that sinners may no longer stand in the congregation of the righteous. Then you shall return, and discern betwixt them.
[2.] A door of denial and exclusion. The door of mercy and grace has long stood open to them, but they would not come in by it, would not be beholden to the favor of that door; they hoped to climb up some other way, and to get to heaven by their own merits, and therefore when the Master of the house is risen up he will justly shut that door; let them not expect to enter by it, but let them take their own measures. Thus, when Noah was safe in the ark, God shut the door, to exclude all those that depended upon shelters of their own in the approaching flood.
(3.) Think how many who were very confident that they should be saved will be rejected in the day of trial, and their confidences will deceive them, and you will say that there are few that shall be saved and that we are all concerned to strive.
[4.] How terrible their punishment will be (Luke 13:28): There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, the utmost degree of grief and indignation; and that which is the cause of it, and contributes to it, is a sight of the happiness of those that are saved: You shall see the patriarchs and prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out. Observe here, First, That the Old-Testament saints are in the kingdom of God; those had benefit by the Messiah who died before his coming, for they saw his day at a distance and it reflected comfort upon them. Secondly, That New-Testament sinners will be thrust out of the kingdom of God. It intimates that they will be thrusting in, and will presume upon admission, but in vain; they shall be thrust out with shame, as having no part or lot in the matter.
Thirdly, That the sight of the saint’s glory will be a great aggravation of sinner’s misery; they shall thus far see the kingdom of God that they shall see the prophets in it, whom they hated and despised, and themselves, though they thought themselves sure of it, thrust out. This is that at which they will gnash their teeth, Ps. 112:10.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, I confess that I can in no way make it without the help of the GOD and the Holy Spirit working within me. I constantly need direction, and I hope that you will meditate and pray with me on the WORD OF GOD in, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (GNT)
Playwright Janet Irene Thomas
Founder/CEO
Bible Stories Theatre of
Fine & Performing Arts (BSTFPA)
www.biblestoriestheatre.org
info@biblestoriestheatre.org
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