The Few Who Are Saved Well I can't find a passage in my Bible friends that is more alarming than the one we will read tonight, it's a summation of mankind in a final dissolution of all things on earth, if you can read this passage of scripture without dread and trepidation, you're a bigger man than I am, I think you stand in a minority, when asked who will be saved, Jesus answered that few are saved, if you were to have a roll call of every human on earth at this hour, it makes no difference if they're oriental or Indian, Englishman or American, European or African, rich or poor, all that matters is just two things in regard to eternity, two things, who are the saved, and who are the lost, the majority of mankind are lost, and they'll stay lost, many of them have the religions to make them happy and give them satisfaction, but at the final judgment, clinging to a religion won't do you any good, the world's full of lost religious people from every religion and every denomination, it breaks my heart to say this friends, I get choked up even trying to preach a message like this, but many, a proud Baptist deacon has died, opened his eyes in hell and screams right now in that chamber of horrors, many ministers who knew their theology are in hell right now because they didn't know the God of the Bible, you may think you're on a firm foundation as you listen to my voice, but as I'm speaking, God may speak to you personally, you may hear his voice, his voice may pull off the garment of your self -righteousness and show you how corrupt and sinful you really are, that if the people around you here could really get an inside look into your life, they'd be so horrified by what they saw, they'd run right out the building, but when the corn is shelled down, you're just a bare exposed cob ready for the fire, well that's enough of my introduction, let's get to the message that God has put on my heart for you, I pray that you hear it friends, a message is no good unless you've got ears to hear, I pray you'll have ears to hear, if you will, turn in your Bibles to the book of Revelation, we will be in chapter 20, we'll be in verses 11 through 15, it's a familiar passage of scripture, but listen, don't allow your familiarity with it to prevent you from being disturbed by it, and I saw a great white throne and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them, let me pause here to say friends, that great white throne signifies the holiness of a thrice holy God, he is holy and man is sinful, God declares for all of sin and comes short of the glory of God, and we have sitting on that great white throne a judge, the judge of all the earth, and shall not the judge of all the earth do right, every person will stand before that throne and face that judge, the trouble is even the earth and the heaven flee from his face in a final dissolution, if these elements cannot stand before him, how can a weak little worm like you face that terrible judge and survive, your blood will drain out of your face, your knees will go to knocking, like old Belshavar at his feast, you'll stand there squirming like you got the heebie -jeebies, God himself will take a good look at you with those eyes of fire, and you will see your life under his glowing glaring light and be under his intense scrutiny, the corn will be shelled down, that's for sure, well let's pick up our narrative friends in verse 12, and I saw the dead small and great stand before God, and the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works, well let me pause here to say, what are these books that are mentioned, some are biographical in nature, some are law books, some are record -keeping books, God will open the pages of your biography and take his time reviewing every day of your life, from your birth to your death, it's a time of intense review, where the corn is shelled down, it's spoken of in our earlier text from Ecclesiastes, for God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil, well let's look this little more friends, in verse 13, and the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them, and they were judged every man according to their works, and death and hell were cast into the lake of fire, this is the second death, well let me pause here friends to say, that sentence that reads, they were judged every man according to their works, really reads in the Greek, they were judged and sentenced every man according to their deeds, if man is on probation while here on earth he goes to trial at the last judgment, that judge behind that great white throne has all the time in the world to carefully review each case as the evidence is presented, cases will be reviewed, judgments handed down, and sentences carried out, for the sentencing of the law must be carried out upon all guilty lawbreakers, oh, oh friends, how the corn will be shelled down on that day, it's a heavenly courtroom scene, and if I may so speak, the angels or the bailiffs in charge of the books, the devil is the prosecution with evidence of sins committed, for he is the accuser of the brethren, and God himself is the righteous judge, if you think your little profession of faith to some mere intellectual assent, to some Bible verse or Bible truth, gonna save you, then you're dead wrong, if you're not born from above and washed in the blood, you'll bust hell wide open when you die, even if you're the chairman of the deacons, listen to the chilling words of verse 15, and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire, every single person facing that judge will feel the intense heat of that lake of fire crackling and flashing at their backside on that day, with all its threats of hell and damnation, fire, fire, fire, oh, how the hypocrite will holler and scream as seen in Isaiah, the sinners in Zion are afraid, the fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites, who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire, who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings, this is the day reckoning friends, this is the day when the chickens come home to roost, all those crooked politicians who covered up their dirty deeds in life will be exposed on that day, husbands who kept their cheating adulteries secret from their wives will be exposed on that day, for my bible speaks of an infallible detective who goes around and haunts down sin, for God's word declares, be sure your sins will find you out, every action, every deed done, every thought, every word spoken along with the motives behind them will be brought to light and examined, so as to be held up against the strictness and severity of God's unbending law, and all will be found guilty of breaking God's law for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, and if you stand there friend, in your own merits, you will fail that test, you must stand there in the merits of another, the Lord Jesus Christ, where his blood is on my soul, the best way to describe this scene to your friends is with the following story, bear with me while I share it to you, and you'll be glad I did, there was a man traveling through the city of St. Louis, and it was a Sunday, and he was a Christian, so he parked his car at a downtown church and went inside to worship, once inside he realized he was the only white person in an all -black church, so he took his seat on the back row, up on the platform was the elderly pastor, who was speaking on a subject that morning, and the subject was heaven, he began his sermon by saying, some folks call heaven paradise, other folks call it Abraham's bosom, but I like to think of heaven this way, here is Jesus, just returned from his earthly ministry, and old Gabriel greets him, hello Jesus, sure is good to see you Jesus, we sure missed you up here Jesus, welcome home Jesus, but wait, who's that with you, is that that thief, that thief from the cross, oh no sir, we can't have no thieves up here, he's not welcome here, then Jesus replied, never you mind Gabriel, never you mind, then Jesus reached his arm around the thief and said, never you mind Gabriel, he's with me, that story sums up the whole deal, better than any I heard friends, he's with me, can Jesus say you young lady, she's with me, can Jesus say of you young man, he's with me, listen to me Bible church member, can Jesus say you, he's from me, or will he only say, depart from me, I never knew you, I can imagine myself among that crowd on that day, there I stand as my name is called out of the roll call of life, and an angel comes over, grabs my arm and escorts me over to that throne of judgment, as I face my God, and I'm as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs, I feel God doesn't even have to open those books on me, because I know I'm already guilty, I've broken his law time and time again, but he reviews it anyhow, and I stand there and squirm as I can feel the heat of that lake of fire behind me, I can feel the heat of those white hot flames as they rise and fall on my back, as they crackling flash in that burning lake of fire, and I'm so upset and agitated, I'm as nervous as a firecracker on the fourth of July, my knees are knocking, my hands are trembling, my forehead sweating, as I come under that judge's intense scrutiny, and as the evidence is dragged out, all my collective sins are dragged out before me, the old devil is laughing at me, he's pointing at me, he's laughing, he's got his hands on his belly, he's mocking me, he's licking his chops over me, but wait, but wait, I have an advocate in that courtroom, he rises from behind his throne, and regally he walks over to me, and then he wraps his arm around me, as he turns us to address that large assembly, and he announces in a clear voice, that sounds as refreshing as a clear mountain stream, and Jesus, Jesus with his arm around me, calls out in a loud voice, he's with me, I shout, I praise God, his blood is on my soul, why there's a shout in the courtroom of hallelujahs, as the angels go to singing, they escort me over to my welcoming committee of friends and loved ones, and I enter glory to be with my God forever and ever, a dear friend, if God's spirit has brought conviction to you, and has shown you, that you are lost in a need of a savior for sin, I've got good news for you, the gospel is for the hungry, the gospel is for the weary, the gospel is for the thirsty, you got to feel your need of a savior for sin, let me ask you friend, are you hungry for God, are you sick and tired of your sins, are you thirsty for Christ, then come to him and believe on him, and on Jesus, as your savior and Lord, Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh to the father, but by me, salvation is not by religion friend, it's not by a good reputation, or good works, it's not even by being a church member, you must come to Jesus, you must come to him, and repent, and believe on him, don't delay, listen friend, oh please listen to this gospel call, and the spirit and the bride say, come, and let him that hears say, come, and let him that is a thirst come, and whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.