I believe many of Christ's teachings look "odd" when compared to the beliefs generally espoused by the Christian church. They are therefore the least likely to be discussed in church, so in the interest of equal time, I'll share them occasionally.
A comment made by Thinker on an article at Between Two Worlds got me to thinking.
How do those subscribing to Orthodox Christianity understand Luke 13:23-24 or Matthew 7:13-14, both of which suggest few people are actually saved.
How does this compare with most Christian's viewpoints on Salvation? The number of evangelicals worldwide is estimated as at least 250,000,000.
Thoughts?
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
3 comments:
No idea. I could confabulate an answer based on Jesus trying to get the Jews to give up trying to save themselves by the Law, throwing themselves on God's mercy. Sounds pretty good, but is it right?
Unfortunately, the original article is missing, but this is certainly something I have struggled with lately. I am 'unaffiliated' in the church right now partially because #1 I can't find any congregation that actually follows the bible #2 I'm having a 'wilderness' learning experience. I had a dream where I saw the Lord speaking with/restraining the Destroyer and since then truly felt that the gate is really narrow and actually very, very small, which is not to say that there are not good people in Christianity...but of course, not everyone was wholly evil in Noah's day either and still the Lord chose to only save 8 people...I have off and on considered that the 144,000 are the ones entering the gate, but that grieves me heart and soul. It is my experience that many Christian's, by definition, hate God... meaning that they 'act good' not for God, but for themselves (it is so difficult to assess this and you have to really examine your soul and you must have help from the Lord to do that) while they have done nothing to address their underlying hatred. You can confess Christ and still hate God. I know how harsh that sounds, but I am in no way judging people, simply observing their behavior and its divergence from Biblical Laws and the Word of God. John 15:10 I guess you have to ask yourself...was the Lord mocking the woman in by telling her, "Go and sin no more" or is this what He is expecting from each and every one of us? And beyond that can we achieve a sinless life while hating God (I'm voting 'No')? John 8:11 To be 'saved' the Lord himself must save you (this has nothing at all to do with Loving you)...what I mean is that He himself must have an interest in the individual or have a purpose for saving you, you can't save yourself, you could confess, repent, live a righteous life, but in the end it is His decision who He saves not ours. Despite any 'works' to the contrary or 'words' to the contrary it is not something you can do...Still, it is not a 'sin' to not be 'saved' in the literal meaning (as in Noah)...Christ himself demonstrated this in Luke 13:4 and the story of the Tower of Siloam. The problem becomes incorrectly defining what is important or relevant to God as what is important or relevant to us or culture.
Thanks, Christian, for your comment. I wanted to apologize for taking so long to post it. I have lots of spam and only now saw it.
I do think the way is narrow, but I think the 144,000 number probably refers to a special Jewish remnant.
Post a Comment