The Unconverted "Believer"

First Baptist Church Leominster

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And my sister gave me grief about that.

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Good morning and welcome to First Baptist Church. Our scripture reading this morning is

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Luke 13, verses 22 to 30.

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Luke 13, 22 to 30. He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem.

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And someone said to him, Lord, will those who are saved be few? And he said to them,

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Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.

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When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door saying,

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Lord, open to us, then he will answer you, I do not know where you are from.

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Then you will begin to say, we ate and drank in your presence and you taught in our streets.

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But he will say, I tell you, I do not know where you have come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil.

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In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves cast out.

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And people will come from east and west and from north and south and recline at table in the kingdom of God.

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And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.

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Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, this is a very sobering passage.

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And Lord, as we hear this warning, we pray that each one of us would take it to heart. Help us,

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Lord, in our understanding of this passage. Help us to hear the truth of it and help us,

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Lord, to discern and to examine ourselves. Help each one of us to test ourselves and to make sure that we truly know who you are and that we are truly known by you.

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Lord, we thank you for this opportunity that we can share online in your word and we pray that we would apply these truths and that you would make them real to us in our lives.

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Lord, help us live these truths out. We thank you for this morning and we thank you for this time together.

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In Jesus' name, amen. This is the second

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Lord's Day that our church has been able to meet together for worship due to this coronavirus pandemic.

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But we're grateful to the Lord for this means of live communication with our church family.

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And even though it's not an adequate substitution for our corporate worship, nevertheless, it's a blessing that our

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Lord in his providence has given us for the short term. We thank God for that. We've put on hold our weekly sermon series on the

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Gospel of John until we're all able to be back together once again, Lord willing, in a couple weeks.

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And so we're giving attention to other matters just as Pastor Jason did last

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Lord's Day. So we will do so today and every Sunday, Lord willing, until we are able to reconvene as the body of Christ.

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I would like us to consider a subject today that has always been an abiding concern of mine. This is the problem of the unconverted believer that is found throughout our world.

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Just as this coronavirus has become a common plague throughout the world, so this spiritual virus of unconverted

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Christians, so -called, is also a worldwide menace. But whereas the coronavirus is only of recent origin, this spiritual disease of nominal

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Christianity, Christians in name only, has been with us throughout this

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Christian era throughout the world. And this spiritual malady is not only seen in the world, but it's perhaps most prevalent within churches.

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The fact is that there are many, many people who profess they are Christians, that they are believers in the

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Lord Jesus, but they are actually strangers to the grace of God in Christ that brings salvation.

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And so they are, as the old adage states, they are professors of Christ, but they are not possessors of Christ.

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They are unconverted, even while they and many others believe that they are true Christians.

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This is a matter that needs to be addressed repeatedly and loudly.

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There is those described in Proverbs 30, verse 12. There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, yet is not washed from its filthiness.

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And so it is with professing Christians who are strangers to saving grace.

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They think they're quite clean from their sin, but in truth, they are not washed from the defilement of sin that characterizes them.

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They're swimming about treading water in a sea of nominal Christianity. And although they think they're treading water just fine, they're doomed to drown in their sins for they're not in that ship that's captained by our

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Lord Jesus, the ship that we might call mercy. The greatest need of the day is not a cure for those infected with the coronavirus or a strategy to avoid contracting the disease.

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The greatest need of our world has always been the true gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the only way of salvation from sin, that remedy for that great spiritual virus that has already and has always infected us all.

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Now, whenever we address this subject, I'm always concerned about unsettling the tenderhearted and the easily troubled soul.

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We've stated in the past that the most difficult task for the preacher is to awaken souls who are ignorant and insensitive to their lost condition, while at the same time attempting to comfort and encourage ignorant souls, but who are truly gracious, who may be weak or easily shaken in their faith.

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And so you try and alarm some and comfort others. And that's a difficult task.

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And this is especially the case since the devil is hard at work keeping the unawakened soul fast in his spiritual slumber at ease in his condition, even as the devil attempts to disrupt, confuse and torment the true

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Christian, who may be rather weak in faith. And ultimately, of course, only the

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Holy Spirit can apply his truth rightly and appropriately to the people in whom he is working.

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But this is always a concern that weighs heavy upon me when we address this matter.

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Now we address this subject because it's critically important in biblical soul work.

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It is important not only because we desire to awaken and alarm those in this sad condition so they might seek and resort to Jesus Christ for true life that only he can impart, but we also address this in order to better equip true

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Christians in the art and labor of love, of dealing with souls that we encounter frequently.

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The Holy Scriptures declare that he that win his souls is wise, according to Proverbs 1130.

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And so may our Lord enable each of us who know him in truth become better fishers of souls, which is becoming of all of the

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Lord's disciples, of course. As Jesus told those fishermen on the shores of Galilee, follow me and I will make you fishers of men.

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So may he enable us to follow him and thereby become better fishers of men and women and of boys and girls.

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Now, before we get to the heart of the matter, I think it's important to state and emphasize the essential foundational biblical doctrine of the sinner's justification by the grace of God through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone.

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The reason this is necessary is that those who question, react or reject what we say about these matters will commonly do so because they wrongly think that we are in conflict with this biblical doctrine.

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But that would be a wrong conclusion, a wrong assessment. And so let us affirm first the sinner's justification by the grace of God alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone.

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What is meant by the sinner's justification before God through faith in Jesus Christ alone?

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Well, the word of God teaches that the only way a guilty sinner can receive the forgiveness of his sins and granted the gift of righteousness is through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone, the crucified risen son of God.

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And here is a good biblical definition of the biblical doctrine of justification.

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Justification is an act of God's free grace wherein he pardons all our sins and accepts us as righteous in his sight only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone.

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And that's a classic definition of justification is set forth in the Westminster Shorter Catechism drafted back in 1647.

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Justification through faith alone answers the problem which had to be resolved if sinners were to inherit eternal life.

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And here is the problem. How can a person who is guilty of sin be found in the day of judgment to be righteous before a holy and just God who judges all people according to his law?

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And the answer is that the sinner may be pardoned of sin and declared to be righteous by God through faith alone in God's son, the

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Lord Jesus Christ. This doctrine of justification through faith alone is at the very heart of the biblical gospel.

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If one is not right in this biblical teaching, he does not know the gospel through which

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God brings salvation to his people. We're not saved by works, but by grace through faith.

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Justification is through faith alone. That is, our justification is through faith apart from any works that we perform.

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Justification is an act of God in which he forgives the guilty sinner of his sins and declares the believing sinner to be righteous.

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The one who believes on Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior. And when

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God justifies a sinner, that sinner is no longer regarded as a guilty sinner who's deserving of the eternal wrath of God, but rather God regards and treats the believer as a child of his.

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One who is in union with Jesus Christ. Justification is complete.

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It knows of no degree. You cannot be partially justified. Everyone who truly believes the gospel, everyone who truly believes on Jesus Christ, is holy and fully justified at that moment.

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So justification is a once -for -all act of God, a declaration of God. A justified sinner cannot become unjustified.

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Once Almighty God has declared his verdict of forgiven and righteous with regard to the true believer, that verdict can never be reversed.

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Justification can never be rescinded. The believing sinner is pardoned and righteous before God for eternity.

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And so we state and we affirm this biblical doctrine of the sinner's justification before God, by God, by God's grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone.

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But we need to address this matter of nominal Christianity. For sadly there are many who think they're justified through faith alone, but in actuality they are not.

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And in fact these are not just a few here and there, but the Bible says that there are many, and there will be many, who stand before the

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Lord Jesus on the day of judgment, only then to discover that they do not have salvation.

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This is a serious matter. So let's consider a few biblical verses that speak of this spiritual pandemic of unconverted believers.

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Again the Word of God speaks of many who will not discover until the day of judgment that they were never converted to Christ.

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Although they thought themselves to be true believers, they are only then discovered to have been unwashed from their sin.

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It was at the onset of our Lord's public ministry. At the end of his Sermon on the Mount that our

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Lord Jesus declared that hearing and believing his words alone would not result in salvation.

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Many nominal Christians, Christians in name only, think that hearing and believing his words alone is sufficient to bring salvation.

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And the Lord Jesus made very clear that this is not the case. There must be obedience to Christ as Lord.

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Obedience to his words in order to be saved. And so here are the often quoted words of Jesus at the end of his

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Sermon on the Mount. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my

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Father in heaven, and here it is, many will say to me in that day,

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Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name and done many wonders in your name?

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And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.

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Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them, hearing and doing wise man who built his house on the rock and the rain descended, the floods came, the winds blew and beat on that house and it did not fall for it was founded on the rock.

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But everyone who hears these words, these sayings of mine and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand and the rain descended, the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house and it fell and great was its fall.

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So according to our Lord Jesus, the wise man within this context is the one who will be saved from damnation on the last day, on the day of judgment.

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His life was characterized by righteousness. He both heard and obeyed

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Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, but the foolish man is the one who vainly presumed that he would be saved because he wrongly thought he knew and believed the

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Lord Jesus. He will be damned forever on that day for the Lord never knew him.

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His life was not characterized by righteousness, that is law -keeping, by following Jesus, ordering his thinking and living according to the words of Jesus.

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Rather, his life was characterized as one who practiced lawlessness. He did not live righteously as the

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Lord Jesus directed and enabled him to live, but he lived in accordance with sin, a life characterized as disregarding and transgressing

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God's laws. What a sad and tragic discovery for many on that day when they hear the just sentence upon them by King Jesus, depart from me,

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I never knew you. Our Lord taught these people that he had the authority to bestow salvation on them.

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He also taught them that he had the authority to govern the manner in which they were to live. Those who did not obey him did not truly know him.

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He taught these things to the people at the beginning of his earthly ministry, at the end of the

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Sermon on the Mount. But also at the end of his public ministry,

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Jesus again emphasized this truth, that there would be many unconverted

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Christians so -called, and we put that term Christians in quotation marks because they're not true

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Christians, they only think they are and perhaps many think they are, but they will be damned because they were unprepared in life to meet their

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Lord whom they were anticipating to return. You could say these were believers, they would have said so.

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They were looking for the return of the Lord, but they were not ready in the way that they lived.

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And so here is the parable of the ten virgins that our Lord taught at the end of his ministry. Then the kingdom of heaven will be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.

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Now five of them were wise and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

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But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight a cry was heard,

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Behold, the bridegroom is coming, go out to meet him. And then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.

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And the foolish said to the wise, give us some of your oil for our lamps are going out. But the wise answered saying, no, lest there should not be enough for us and you, but go rather to those who sell and buy for yourselves.

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And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went in with them to the wedding and the door was shut.

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And afterward, the other virgins came also saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said,

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Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you. Same wording, same kind of language at the beginning of his ministry, here at the end of his ministry.

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And then Jesus said, Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the

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Son of Man is coming. We won't go into detail about the possible meanings of the various details of this parable.

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The main point is that only half of those who are waiting for him were actually prepared to meet him.

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The other half who presumed that they were waiting for his return were not prepared to face the returning bridegroom.

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Charles Spurgeon wrote of the implications of this parable and what it suggested to him.

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That many professors, that is professing Christians, are deceived is clear enough from the language of Christ himself, both here and in other places.

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For instance, then shall the kingdom of heaven be like unto ten virgins, which took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom, and five of them were wise and five were foolish.

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We hope that in our churches we have not such a division as this. For it were fearful to contemplate only half as sincere, the other half graceless, having the lamp of profession without the secret vessel of spiritual life.

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Yet so alarming a proportion as five out of ten should make us search ourselves very carefully.

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Lest we be found among the virgins, among the virgins having lamps, aye, and among those whose lamps are burning, and yet should be cast away as having no oil in our vessels with our lamps.

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Throughout our Lord's earthly ministry he sought to awaken and warn people to be aware of their true spiritual condition and to be always prepared for the day of judgment.

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He desired to make true disciples, his committed followers, not superficial believers only.

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Now how is it that these unconverted believers are settled in the opinion of themselves that they are safe?

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Well there's some common errant thinking of these unconverted believers and it would do us well maybe just to cite a couple of their beliefs that are unbiblical.

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It's a sad reality that many unconverted believers enter into their false standing before the Lord due to errant views of the nature of faith that results in justification.

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And so we can identify I think several common errors that are believed by many, many professing believers.

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First, they reason this way. Because the doctrine of justification asserts that we're justified through faith alone apart from works, unconverted believers commonly believe that they may be saved irrespective of how they live.

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Wrong views of works results in wrong views of what is true justifying faith. And so the unconverted believer says to himself, since I'm safe through faith apart from works

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I can choose to disregard obeying Scripture without imperiling my salvation.

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As long as I believe on Christ it does not matter how I live for I am not saved by my works.

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That is terrible error. But before they were

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Christians, at least in their own estimation, they were told by preachers, perhaps they read in tracts and books, they heard on the radio, watched on television, that all they had to do in order to be saved from their sin and be granted the gift of everlasting life was to believe on Jesus Christ as their

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Savior. And then upon a simple prayer of faith, they were assured that they were saved.

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Most often there was never a word said of the need of repentance from sin and the responsibility to both hear and obey the

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Lord Jesus in whom they claim to believe. Of course the Scriptures declare we're not saved because of our works.

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But those same Scriptures teach us that we will not be saved without works. The lives of true believers are characterized by works of righteousness.

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John wrote about this, little children let no one deceive you. And these unconverted believers have been deceived.

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John warned them, the Holy Spirit warns them, little children let no one deceive you.

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He who practices righteousness, that is, orders his life according to the law of God, which is righteousness, he who practices righteousness is righteous.

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That's the justified one, the one who is living in obedience to King Jesus.

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He who practices righteousness is righteous just as he, God, is righteous. A second error that is commonly held by unconverted believers is this.

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Although they are told that they are justified through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone, unconverted believers commonly fail to understand the true nature of biblical saving faith.

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Biblical saving faith is validated and vindicated by its fruit. True saving faith is seen in the way a person lives, not in what he says.

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James wrote, someone will say you have faith, I have works. Show me your faith without your works,

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I will show you my faith by my works. And on the day of judgment, if you have faith, you are going to have to show it by your works, by the way you live.

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And James is countering, talking about this one who claims to be a believer but is unconverted.

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But do you want to know, oh foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered

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Isaac his son on the altar? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

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If your faith does not govern, press you toward the way you live, submitting and obeying the

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Lord Jesus, your faith is dead. It's not biblical faith, it's not saving faith.

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Biblical saving faith is known by its continuance through tribulation. 1 Peter 1, 7.

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Biblical saving faith overcomes the world. 1 John 5, 4 and 5. Biblical saving faith keeps the soul in fellowship with Christ and with fellow believers in Jesus Christ.

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1 John 3, 10. And again, biblical saving faith is shown forth in a life of righteousness, of conscious ordering one's life according to the will of God as set forth and revealed in the

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Holy Scriptures. And so biblical saving faith is shown forth in its persistent, lifelong desire and commitment to grow in grace and to bring glory to God through his son.

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A third wrong understanding or belief of unconverted believers. Unconverted believers have commonly been taught to believe a distorted and truncated view of salvation.

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They believe that salvation entails the forgiveness of sins, only the forgiveness of sins.

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This is a very common error. But biblical salvation is God saving his people from all the consequences and all the manifestations of sin.

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Justification addresses salvation from the penalty of sin. But justification says nothing about dealing with our alienation from one another due to sin.

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Even our alienation from God that set forth in the biblical doctrine of reconciliation or adoption.

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Our justification says nothing of our salvation from the power of sin, which is our sanctification.

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Our justification is not often linked to our final salvation from sin and our glorification of the final judgment when we'll be safe in the very presence of sin within us.

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Salvation is declared, sadly, only to address the need of God's forgiveness of sins.

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Do you desire to have your sins forgiven? Embrace Jesus Christ as Savior. If you believe this, you have salvation.

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That is not the kind of salvation the Bible speaks about. Salvation is from sin, not just the guilt of sin, not just the penalty of sin, but from all the effects of sin.

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A fourth errant belief that is very common among unconverted believers and among those who are truly converted as well.

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They commonly fail to see the full spectrum and weight of salvation as a future experience of inheritance.

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They made a decision. They came to faith 10 years ago, 30 years ago, 40 years ago, and they think that salvation is a done deal.

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I'm saved. It's over. But more often than not, salvation is presented as a yet future prospect.

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It's a certain thing for true believers, but it's future. We have not yet fully received salvation.

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And so these unconverted believers, only looking salvation as a completed deal, a received gift in the past, they're not concerned about what the

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Bible says about our future salvation as say an inheritance that we are to one day receive.

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They view salvation as something that only occurred when they first believed the gospel. But the

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Holy Scriptures more often speak of our salvation is not yet received, but will only be experienced after we've successfully navigated and completed this life of faith.

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Saving faith is not a one time act of faith, a one time decision. Saving faith is continuance in faith.

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He who believes on the sun, not he who once believed the sun, he who believes on the sun has everlasting life.

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Even John 3, 16, it's present tense. He who believes on the sun shall not perish, but have everlasting life.

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Not he who once believed. Saving faith is a continuance and continuing faith.

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And so the scriptures speak of true believers who will yet receive salvation. Peter wrote to believers who, by God's power, are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

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It's yet future, 1 Peter 1, 5. And then a few verses later,

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Peter wrote to believers receiving the end or the outcome of their faith, even the salvation of their souls.

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And then Paul wrote, and do this knowing the time that now it's high time to awake out of sleep, for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed,

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Romans 13, 11. A fifth and related false understanding of unconverted believers is they fail to see that our final salvation is received upon the culmination of a life of persevering faith and obedience to the will of God that has persisted through all adversity and opposition in this life.

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There's a need to persevere, to overcome the world, to withstand and conquer the devil and his minions.

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There is the need to overcome all obstacles and all opposition so that we will stand before him in faith after our journey is completed.

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And this is emphasized everywhere, but in a special way in the early chapters of the book of Revelation.

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Our Lord Jesus told the churches of Asia Minor, He who has an ear, let him hear what the

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Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give to eat from the tree of life.

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That's eternal life, that's salvation, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. Revelation 2, 11.

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He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt of the second death.

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The second death is the lake of fire, but it's the one who overcomes who will not have to experience that second death.

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Revelation 2, 17. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes,

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I will give some of the hidden manna to eat, and I will give him a white stone. And a stone, on that stone a new name, which no one knows except him who receives it.

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Personal, intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus will be granted to that one who overcomes all the obstacles in life through his faith.

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And at the end, he's standing before Christ as a believer. Revelation 2, 26.

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He who overcomes and keeps my works until the end. To him I will give power over the nations.

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He shall rule them with a rod of iron. They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter's vessels as I also receive from my

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Father. And I will give him the morning star, signaling the onset of the eternal day, the morning star.

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Revelation 3, 5. He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments. And I will not blot out his name from the book of life, which

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I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. It's only the overcomer, the one who perseveres in faith and obedience to King Jesus throughout life, who receives this blessed gift.

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His name is in the book of life. Revelation 3, 12. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my

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God. He shall go out no more. I'll write on him the name of my God, the name of the city of my

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God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven for my God. And I will write on him my new name.

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And so the Lord Jesus himself emphasized that salvation only belongs to those who overcome.

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And it's a future prospect. And it's a certainty for those that persevere in their faith and overcome through this life.

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So it's also found, by the way, at the end of the book of Revelation, Revelation 21, 7. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his

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God and he shall be my people. ...about

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the nature of saving faith and the need to overcome. Six, unconverted believers commonly fail to see the need to continue in faith and obedience if they are to inherit salvation.

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Consider the words of Paul to the church at Colossae. Moreover, brethren,

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I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and which you stand, by which you are also saved.

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He's talking about the gospel. By which you are also saved. And then we have the conditional clause.

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If you hold fast that word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. To believe in vain is to be an unconverted believer.

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The one who is a true believer holds fast the word, holds fast the gospel throughout life.

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Only that one who perseveres in faith is saved by the gospel. And then to the

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Christians in the church at Colossae, Paul wrote, And you who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now he has reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and blameless and above reproach in his sight, if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which you heard.

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And then the writer to the Hebrew Christians, repeatedly pressed upon his readers their responsibility to persevere in their faith and obedience.

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Their continuance as members of the household of God, centered on their persevering faithful obedience to Jesus Christ.

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Read Hebrews 3 verse 1 through verse 6. We won't read the entire passage.

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But here Christ is the head over his own house. And then the writer said this,

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Christ as a son over his own house, whose house we are. And then here is the conditional clause, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

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And then farther down in this chapter of Hebrews chapter 3, the writer gave a warning.

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Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief and departing from the living

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God, but rather exhort one another daily while it's called today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

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And here it is, for we have become partakers of Christ. If we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.

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Salvation is only promised to those who have true faith. And this faith is an endured persevering faith throughout life, even on to the end.

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And then perhaps one of the most alarming passages, I think, in the scriptures is that of the need for endurance, for perseverance in Hebrews 10.

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Again, the writer is speaking to professing Christians. And he's encouraging them not to forsake

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Christ, but to cleave to Christ and continue with him. You have need of endurance so that after you've done the will of God, you may receive the promise.

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And he's talking about the promise of salvation. For yet a little while, he who is coming will come and not

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Terry. Now the just shall live by faith. But if anyone draws back and here drawing back is to forsake

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Christ, to apostatize from Christ. My soul has no pleasure in him.

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But then the writer voiced this optimism he had for himself and for his readers.

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But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but those who believe on to the saving of the soul.

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Hebrews 10, 36 through 39. If these professing

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Jewish Christians failed to persevere, it would result in their forfeiture of any hope of salvation.

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To refuse to believe and obey the word of God will confirm to them they will be damned forever.

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But note here to salvation of the soul is set forth as something yet to be experienced after a life of persevering faith and obedience to the

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Lord Jesus. Persevering in faith through life takes great grace, but also takes great effort.

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It takes great grace that God has provided through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, who is our high priest.

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From him we may receive grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4, 16. But persevering in faith through life also requires great effort.

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Attaining the salvation that God bestows by his grace involves our full attention and dedication.

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It requires our full devotion and commitment. And so this life as a

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Christian that is moving forward to our final promised inheritance is depicted in the scriptures repeatedly.

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A life of striving, struggling, fighting, running, sowing, seeking, journeying, enduring, overcoming, and even in one place exerting violence in order to enter the kingdom of heaven.

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This idea that somehow as long as I believe on Jesus it doesn't matter how I live is a lie of the devil.

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It is a departure from the gospel. It is a turning of the grace of God into the error of licentiousness that Jude wrote about in Jude verses 3 and 4.

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Essentially we have just been dealing with introductory matters. Now I want us to turn our attention to the parable that Pastor Jason read for us at the beginning.

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And this is the parable of the narrow door and the need to be striving to enter the kingdom.

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And this is found in Luke chapter 13 verses 22 through 30.

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Here our Lord Jesus pressed upon his hearers the importance of striving in order to enter eternal life.

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There you have effort, aggressive, persevering, fighting, striving to enter the door.

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Let me read it again now after we have considered all these other matters. Jesus went on his way through towns and villages teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem.

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And someone said to him, Lord, will those who are saved be few? That question ought to be asked in churches all over the world.

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And then answered biblically, he said to them, strive to enter through the narrow door.

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For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, you begin to stand outside and knock at the door saying,

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Lord, open to us. And then he will answer you, I do not know where you come from.

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And then you'll begin to say, we ate and drank in your presence and you taught in our streets. But he will say,

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I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil.

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In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves cast out.

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And people will come from the east and west, from the north and south, all over the world, Gentile lands and recline at table in the kingdom of God.

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And behold, some are last to be first and some are first who will be last.

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Now, as we've been stressing, there is no place for a spirit of complacency in the

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Christian life. And yet, sadly, each of us has this tendency of complacency, do we not?

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We tend to take matters for granted. We tend to become dull with respect to spiritual duty.

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We tend to become lazy with respect to spiritual discipline. We lose our alertness to spiritual danger.

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We become all too passive when the scriptures urge diligence. We become all too presumptive when the scriptures urge caution.

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Our own hearts tend toward these things. Give us half a chance and we'll delude ourselves and stray. And then there's so much to help us in that direction.

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The devil is a very real force who first deceives and blinds his prey before devouring them.

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And there are false teachers all about to deceive people, all about them. And then there are the sincere, well -intentioned, but ignorant teachers who fail to instruct

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God's people properly, failing to impart truth, failing to dispel error. And so given the propensity to err and given the forces which would cause us to fail, the

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Lord has given the scriptures in numerous places, many passages, which should counter these tendencies that each of us has.

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We have one here before us in Luke 13. In this passage, we have an instance in which our

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Lord pressed upon his hearers a sense of urgency and responsibility to respond to his message by turning from sin and following him.

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Our Lord and his disciples were proceeding on his final journey to Jerusalem. Jesus taught the crowds all along the way in the various towns and cities.

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With the arrival to his destination in Jerusalem, Jesus would meet his destiny, and that was to die.

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The time was short. His hearers must not put off responding to him, for the day of salvation would end soon, and then the judgment of God would befall that entire generation of Jews.

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This was particularly true with the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the seat of Judaism. This journey to Jerusalem, the impending death of Jesus, and the subsequent judgment on Jerusalem, provide a sense of importance to Jesus' teaching and a sense of urgency that he gives his hearers, as well as the readers of the gospel.

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It presses upon us a sense of urgency. And so while they were traveling, one speaks up and asks

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Jesus, Lord, are there few who are saved? And this resulted in our Lord's teaching that we have recorded for us regarding the way of salvation.

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Now, of course, when we speak of salvation, the idea of salvation that permeates all of scripture, the basic idea is of being rescued from a life -threatening situation.

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And when we talk about salvation from sin, we're basically talking about being saved from the wrath of God due to sin.

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And so when the Bible speaks of becoming saved, it's the idea of being delivered from sin and its consequences, escaping the wrath of God by the grace of God, who faith in God's provision, his son,

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Jesus Christ. When this man from the crowd asked the question, Lord, are only a few people going to save?

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His perspective was probably this. Lord, you've been speaking of God's judgment upon us.

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Will there only be a few of us who will escape this judgment? Lord, are there few who are saved?

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Well, it would do us well to hear the answer of the Lord Jesus if we desire to escape

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God's judgment. And really, what was at the heart of our Lord's response to this man?

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Essentially, he said this to him. Do not be concerned with the matter of how many will be saved. Rather, you be concerned that you're numbered among them.

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He pressed upon this man. You need to be concerned. Strive to enter the door which leads to life.

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Now, let's consider some of the details. It's very important. First, the meaning of the narrow door.

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To what does the narrow door refer? Some say the narrow door refers to Jesus Christ himself.

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They would refer to John 14 6. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

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Or John 10 9 might even be cited more frequently. I am the door, Jesus said.

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Whoever enters through me shall be saved. And certainly, Jesus Christ is the only way by which we may be saved.

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But in the context of Luke 13 24, the Lord is not using the narrow door to refer to himself.

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In this context, the Lord Jesus is the owner of the house. The keeper of the door.

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Who opens and shuts the door, permitting or forbidding entrance. He refuses to open the door to some, even though they had heard him teach and had eaten with him.

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To what then does this narrow door refer? And here's the answer. It graphically describes the life of the

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Christian as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Forcing himself onward in the face of trial, temptation, and resistance.

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To follow Christ in faith and obedience. The disciple of Christ struggles against sin.

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Perseveres in faith and obedience. In the face of doubts and troubles, he labors to do the will of God in spite of all opposition.

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This is what it is to strive to get through that door. Let's consider the description a little more closely.

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By showing that this narrow door differs from the narrow gate and way of Matthew 7 13 and 14.

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This is significant and one of the reasons why there's so much confusion about this. Unfortunately, the

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King James Version and the New King James Version do not translate this word as door, but rather as gate.

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What does Matthew 7 13 say? Entered by the narrow gate for wide is the gate, broad is the way that leads to destruction.

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There are many who go in by it because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life.

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And there are few who find it. Now the Greek word in Luke 13 24 can be translated either as gate or door.

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This Greek word, however, is actually different from the Greek word used in Matthew 7 13. But that word can also be translated either gate or door.

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It's the context that must determine the nuance of meaning of the word. And here in Luke 13, it should be understood as a door into a large house in which there's a great hall prepared for a banquet.

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In Matthew, we have the Lord telling his hearers to enter a small gate which leads onto a narrow road which leads to life.

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That narrow gate would be an entrance into the into the role of a disciple. But in this account in Luke, the word the

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Lord is urging his hearers not to enter through a small gate, but through a small door that allows entry into a rather large house in which there is a large banquet hall.

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In Matthew, entrance to the gate begins a disciple's life on a narrow road that leads to the life at the end of the journey.

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The straight and narrow roadway depicting persevering faith and obedience to the Lord Jesus. In Luke, however, the

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Lord depicts salvation as being experienced after having successfully entered the door of the house.

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The door is not an allusion to the initial entrance into a life of discipleship as in Matthew.

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Here, the door speaks of the entire life as an opportunity and occasion to strive so as to enter one day into the presence of the

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Lord and his people in the future banquet hall. It should be noted that in both contexts, life or salvation is pictured as something experienced at the end of one's life, the narrow road that leads to life.

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And here, going through the door, you go into eternal life, as it were. In Luke, disciples are striving through their entire lives to enter the door.

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Striving is not just done at the end of time. It's this whole life. We're striving to enter this banquet hall, this great house.

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This is a narrow door that leads into a large house where there's a banquet hall. In this banquet hall, this large gathering, all the

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Old Testament Jewish saints, as well as amazingly, Jesus says, a large number of Gentiles who are all dining together at this large feast.

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That's what's set forth in Luke 13, 28, 29. What is pictured by this great banquet hall is the kingdom of God, in which there is the body of all the redeemed of all ages enjoying peace, security and fellowship with their king and Lord.

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However, on the outside of this house are those clamoring to enter, who believe that entry should be granted to them, but are nevertheless excluded from the gathering.

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Now, of course, this idea of a great banquet is an image that's used frequently in Scripture to depict the blessing and fellowship of the kingdom of God.

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And it's commonly referred to as the messianic banquet, a great feast that the Messiah provides for his people.

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And we could spend an hour reading passages that speak about this end -time messianic banquet.

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The idea of eating together had a great significance in the ancient world. To dine together was the fullest expression of enjoyment of a relationship between friends.

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You really didn't know a person unless you sat down together and had shared a common meal. And here the full meaning and enjoyment of one's relationship with God is to have a meal with him.

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Think of Abraham. Recall when he met those three figures going down to Sodom.

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And later he discovered one of them was God. They sat down and had a fellowship meal together. There are many instances of that throughout the

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Bible. The hope of Judaism was this, one day the Messiah would come and a golden age would be established and a great messianic banquet would be prepared and the people of Israel all reunited as one large family would dine with their deliverer.

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And this is found in the Old Testament prophets. Isaiah 25, 6 -8. I'm not going to read that passage, but I would urge you to do so.

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Take the time to do so. Isaiah 25, 6 -8. Also Isaiah 65, 13 -16 speaks about those who are hungry.

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But his servants, in contrast to them, shall drink. Those who are on the outside shall be thirsty, but my servants shall rejoice.

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You shall be ashamed, but my servants shall sing for joy of heart. And it speaks about this banquet and joy and fellowship with God and with one another.

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And the same idea is in the New Testament also. In the chapter following our text, in Luke chapter 14 and verses 15 and following, we read these words,

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Now when one of those who sat at the table with him heard these things, he said to him, Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.

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Probably thinking of the messianic banquet. And then Jesus gave this parable to them.

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A certain man gave a great supper and invited many. Sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited,

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Come, for all things are now ready. But they all with one accord began to make excuses. And I trust that you're familiar with the account.

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Jesus was referring actually to many of the Jewish people, particularly the Jewish leaders, whom

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God had so graciously invited, and yet they would not come to Christ. And so the

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Lord urged the servant to go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

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And that's what the Lord's been doing throughout this gospel age. And his house is going to be filled. But there's going to be this blessed banquet in which we're all gathered.

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And King Jesus himself will serve us amazingly. And even in the last book of the

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Bible, Revelation 19, John wrote of this. Then he said to me, Write, Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the

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Lamb. And he said to me, These are the true sayings of God. I came across another paragraph.

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Now, you can read those other portions of Isaiah that spoke about this. But I came across a statement from an apocryphal book.

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It's not biblical, but it is a Jewish writing from the first century A .D.

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It's called 2nd Enoch. And listen to this Jewish understanding of the banquet that the

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Messiah would provide for his people. When the last one arrives, he'll bring out Adam together with the ancestors, and he will bring them in there so that they may be filled with joy.

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Just as a person invites his best friends to have dinner with him, and they arrive with joy, and they talk together in front of that man's palace, waiting with joyful anticipation to have dinner with delightful enjoyments and riches that cannot be measured, and joy and happiness and eternal light in life,

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I say to you, my children, happy is the person who reverences the name of the Lord and who serves in front of his face always, and who organizes his gifts with fear, offerings of life, and who in this life lives and dies correctly.

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2nd Enoch 42, verses 4 through 6. This was a common idea and anticipation on the part of the

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Jewish people. Notice this narrow door may only be entered through striving.

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Strive to enter the narrow door. It's important to recognize our

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Lord uses the present tense imperative form of the verb strive. You are to keep striving until the day that you are granted entrance into the banquet hall.

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He was not talking about a one -time decision, a one -time effort. Jesus is speaking of the great effort that's to be expended by any and all who would enjoy eternal life.

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Strive suggests the idea of fighting, struggling, straining every nerve to force one's way through the door, for inside the people enjoy great peace and joy, and all who are left outside the door will experience weeping and gnashing of teeth.

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The idea of you and me having to strive continually in order to gain entrance to eternal life is not heard these days.

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That would be viewed as heresy. You're teaching works righteousness, but this is the Lord teaching these things here in this passage.

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Some would react, well, this seems to conflict with our general concept of faith, which is seen as merely trusting simply and solely resting in Christ and his work alone, and it seems to suggest that one merits salvation through works, this striving, but those would be wrong conclusions.

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These seeming contradictions only reveal the misunderstandings we have in these days, for it was not seen to be contradictory in former days.

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Listen to the words of the well -respected commentator Matthew Henry about this matter of striving.

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Strive to enter the straight gate. Now, he uses the King James word gate, it should be door.

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This is directed not to him only that asked the question, but to all of us. It is in the plural number that command strive is plural.

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He wasn't just talking to the man, he's telling everybody, he's telling you and me. Note first, all that will be saved must enter in at the straight gate, must undergo a change of the whole man, such as amounts to no less than being born again, and must submit to a strict discipline.

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Two, those that would enter in at the straight gate must strive to enter. It is a hard matter to get to heaven, and a point that will not be gained without a great deal of care, pains, difficulty, and diligence.

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We must strive with God in prayer, wrestle as Jacob, strive against sin and Satan.

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We must strive in every duty of religion, strive with our own hearts, be in agony, strive as those that run for prize, excite and exert ourselves to the utmost.

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He went on to write, Matthew Henry, take note of the different awakening considerations to enforce this exhortation.

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Oh, that we may be all awakened and quickened by them. They are such considerations as will serve to answer the question, are there few that shall be saved?

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First, think how many take some pains for salvation and yet perish because they do not take enough.

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And you will say that there are few that will be saved and that it highly concerns us, therefore, to strive.

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Many will seek to enter in and shall not be able. They seek, but they do not strive.

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Note the reason why many come short of grace and glory is because they rest in a lazy seeking, that which will not be attained without a laborious striving.

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They have a good mind to happiness and a good opinion of holiness and take some good steps towards both, but their convictions are weak.

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They do not consider what they know and believe, and consequently, their desires are cold, their endeavors feeble, and there's no strength or steadiness in their resolutions, and thus they come short and lose the prize because they do not press forward.

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How different are words from what we hear today of the name it and claim it crowd.

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They say, just name it, Jesus is your Savior, and then rest in that. Again, entrance through this narrow door is not a one -time decision.

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Again, the verb is a present tense imperative. You are to keep striving until the day that you're granted entrance into the banquet hall.

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We're infected with a spirit of decisionism these days. Pick up just about any gospel track and there's a sinner's prayer at the end of it, and they pronounce you as saved if you just pray that prayer with sincerity.

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And Christian workers go about leading people to make one -time decisions of faith, and they thereafter assure their converts that regardless of their subsequent behavior, they'll be granted entrance into heaven.

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It's a lie of the devil. And sadly, these deluded, self -assured, complacent individuals who live a self -willed existence, who say they believe but their faith seems to have little impact on the way they live, continue without challenge, unshakeable in their confidence that they indeed are safe.

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When the Lord was asked about salvation, he emphasized believing, yes, but also repenting and obeying, suffering, enduring, overcoming, and here striving.

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No entrance through this narrow door is not a one -time decision. Rather, it's a lifelong endeavor of striving to enter through faith, repentance from sin, obedience to the

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Lord Jesus. And this kind of message is trouble. This is the kind of message that the

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Lord blessed to bring about the great awakening in our land. Everybody went to church. Everybody thought they were

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Christians. And Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield came along and said, you think you're a

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Christian? This is the way the Bible describes a Christian. And it awakened people to the fact that they were only

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Christian in name only. May God help us and deliver us from complacency.

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May he awaken us and give us a true desire and delight in striving.

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This is a life of a pleasant endeavor, a pleasant labor. And it's a labor of faith and a labor of love.

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How does one strive to enter the narrow door? It does not mean you just listen to the word of God regularly.

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It does not mean that you believe what you hear. It does not mean that you had a measure of acquaintance with Jesus.

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These people had heard him apparently believe what he said. It does involve an ongoing repentance from sin, a continual following of Jesus and faith and obedience.

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We're striving to enter the door even now as we attend to the word of God, as we strive by his grace to order our lives according to what we hear.

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We dare not be hearers only deceiving ourselves. We hear and do as he enables us to do so by his grace.

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And again, it certainly doesn't mean that you're attempting to merit entry by your good works.

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That's the quickest way to be damned. Why then, as we close, should we strive to enter the narrow gate?

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Jesus says the door is small, only admits a few at a time. He also says the door is open only for a time.

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Now is the day of salvation. A third reason to enter the door, strive to enter the door.

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Many are deceived and thinking that it's not necessary. May the

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Lord help us and give us great grace and great desire to put forth great effort to live for our

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Lord, to overcome all that would depose us, all that would cause us to become less concerned, less intense, less obedient to our

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Lord and Savior. May we take to heart the warnings of Scripture so that we are faithful to our

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Lord. The consequences of failure to enter are so severe, why would we do anything less?

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There'll be tears of great disappointment due to missing blessing for many, tears of great regret due to neglected opportunity.

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Tears of even Gentiles were admitted entrance freely, but they themselves are barred from entry.

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So as we close, let me ask you this question. Could you honestly say that your life may be characterized as striving to enter the door?

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As we said at the beginning, there's no place for a spirit of complacency in the Christian life. We cannot presume on mercy.

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Yes, have faith in God, who is a God of great mercy, but do not presume upon it.

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It is time to awaken from lethargy and begin to strive if we have been neglectful and lethargic.

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Be aggressive with this matter. Lay a hold on eternal life as Paul instructed. Be alert, be prayerful, be diligent and seek grace from him who alone can enable you to do these things.

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Let's pray. Father, we pray you'd help us to take to heart these matters and be true disciples of Jesus Christ.

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And Lord, help us to be able to assess rightly as best we can, although we're so limited in doing so, the spiritual condition of those about us.

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Help us, Lord, not to presume as they might presume that they are Christians simply because they claim to believe certain things.

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We pray, our God, that you'd not only help us, but help us to exhort others to strive to enter this narrow door.

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And we look forward to the day, our God, when we will enter that door fully and finally into that glorious banquet hall and we'll be able to sit down with you and with all your people throughout history who are redeemed by the blood of the

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Lord Jesus Christ. Help us, our God, to be faithful and true to you in these matters, for we pray in Jesus' name.