City Life Starter

Written by Stefan Johnsson

The Word

²² He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. ²³ And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, ²⁴ “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. ²⁵ 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, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ ²⁶ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ ²⁷ But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ ²⁸ 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. ²⁹ And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God. ³⁰ And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

Luke 13:22-30 (ESV)

¹⁵ We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; ¹⁶ yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

Galatians 2:15-16

⁹ because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. ¹¹ For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”

Romans 10:9-11 (emphasis mine)

Reflection

The context for this passage is that Jesus is speaking to the Jews around him. They worshipped at the temple and praised God for His goodness and mercy. They followed the Levitical laws and cleansed themselves in ritual baths. Yet, they were still unclean from the inside and weren’t willing to recognize the need for God to send a Savior to atone for the sins of mankind. Jesus said on the Sermon of the Mount that one has to be more righteous than the Pharisees to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. And only Jesus accomplished this.

Jesus came to the Jews saying that if you do not repent, turn from your wickedness, and trust in me, then you will be shut out from the kingdom of heaven.

In essence, Jesus is calling them to trust in Him to be truly clean and right with God. Their works could not save them. But not only that, Jesus is saying that people from all four corners of the world will come and recline at His table while many Jews would be shut out. That is, us, as gentiles, will be given homes in God’s kingdom. This was Jesus’ message to the Jews, that He was going to spread the good news to the gentiles and the Jews who failed to believe would miss out.

We see stories in the Old Testament were the Israelites began worshipping other gods and failed to follow God. In the story of Gideon (Judges 7), there were 22,000 people who answered Gideon’s call to save Israel from oppression. God told Gideon to have anyone who laps water like a dog set aside and anyone who kneels down to drink to be sent home. That is because those who knelt down to drink were used to that position when worshipping false idols. The end result was 300 men left to fight, but God used them to defeat the enemy.

Many come knocking on the doors to the kingdom of God, but few enter.

Application

Even though Jesus was speaking to the Jews at that time, we can surely take a lesson from this story and remember that there are few who find the narrow path and follow Jesus. We also see how Jesus foretold how the gospel was going to be shared amongst the gentiles and that people from all corners of the world will come to worship Him.

There are many who believe only that Jesus rose from the dead, but have not put their faith in God and made Jesus the Lord of their lives. Simply put, even the demons believe all that Jesus did and who He is. Believing is simply a part of it. Salvation requires you to repent, believe, and accept Jesus as Lord. Lord means simply master or ruler. That is, we have to give up our own self-righteousness and plans and accept that Jesus is our Lord and that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. The Jews failed to both recognize Jesus as the same God (Lord) they worshipped and their prophesied Savior; we, on the other hand, fail to recognize Jesus as our Lord. Romans is very clear that both titles of Lord and Savior is a required component in professing faith and receiving salvation.

There are many who come to church thinking that they are saved, but haven’t made the commitment to truly turn from their wickedness and making Jesus Lord of their lives. This does not have to do with works, but with understanding that putting your faith and commitment in Jesus requires a full understanding that we are enemies of God and that we have chosen to walk our own paths(the wide road). Repentance is key.

Have you truly repented and turned to Jesus? Check your heart and see if this a commitment that you’ve truly made.

Prayer

Father in heaven, thank You for Your goodness. I believe that Jesus is God and that He came to this earth to live a perfect life, die on the cross for my sins, and that He rose on the third day. I confess this and also repent from my sins. Jesus is my Lord and I will trust and obey You and follow You the rest of my days. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.