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4.11.21 Luke 13:22-30 Pastor Sam Porges · HBCWestminster

• 0:00
  Well, good morning, church. So glad that you guys could join us online again. We hope that you're doing well. The spring is finally upon us, which we are really grateful for, but glad to have you guys with us this morning. If you don't know me, my name is Sam. I'm the youth pastor here at Highland, and I get the privilege of just sharing the word with you this morning. So if you've got your Bibles, open them up to Luke chapter 13. We're going to be...
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  covering verses 22 to 30 and if you're new with us we've been in the gospel of luke now for i think about a year and a half and so we took a break last week for easter but we're going to pick it back up again this morning with verses 22 to 30. well on april 9th 1945 just over three quarters of a century ago a courageous man was hanged
• 0:51
  by the Gestapo for his involvement in a failed assassination attempt on the life of Adolf Hitler. This man was not a soldier, nor was he a part of an elite task force dispatched to topple the Third Reich. Rather, he was a pastor and professor of theology. He had grown up in a Polish Lutheran home in early 20th century Germany and studied theological dogmatics at universities in Germany and New York.
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  Eventually, he found himself in the eye of the Nazi hurricane in 1930s Berlin, and he decided to act. While multitudes of self-professing Christians in Germany succumbed to the influence of the growing National Socialist movement, this man and his pastoral comrades entrusted themselves to God and pushed against the tide of evil that was sweeping through Europe. The goal of Germany's true Christians at the time?
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  called the Confessing Church because of their confession of Christ alone, was to uphold Scripture's authority and oppose the immoral advances of the Nazi party. In time, a plot to assassinate the Fuhrer was hatched and this man was convinced that he must partake in it for the good of his nation. In the end, however, the plan failed and he was captured, detained at Flossenburg concentration camp, and hanged.
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  just two weeks before the 90th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army liberated the camp. This man's name was Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Since his death, Christians have formed many differing opinions on Bonhoeffer's life, his theology, and especially his involvement in the assassination plot. Regardless, however, of whether one's personal convictions align with Bonhoeffer's, all who study his writings
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  cannot help but be inspired by his theology of Christian holiness. Dietrich Bonhoeffer took Christ seriously, and he believed that true Christian discipleship always involves holiness of conduct and responsible social action in the world. He despised what he called cheap grace, which he defined as grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, and advocated instead for
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  costly grace, which he defined as costly because it causes us to follow and grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. In a word, Bonhoeffer believed that faith in Christ necessitates total submission to and a lifelong striving for Christ. And in this regard, he modeled well for us what this morning's passage teaches. And so if you would stand with me in honor of God's word.
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  Luke 13 verse 22 says, He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. And someone said to him, Lord, will those who are saved be few? And he said to them, 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, Lord, open to us, then he will answer you, I do not know where you come from. Then you will begin to say, we ate and drank in your presence and you taught in our streets. But he will say, I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
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  when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves cast out. And people will come from east and west and from north and south and recline at table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last. Lord, I do ask a blessing on the preaching of your word this morning. I pray that we would submit ourselves wholly to your word.
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  And that as Jesus commands here that we would strive to enter your kingdom. Bless us as we hear and seek to obey your word. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Well, as you've repeated over the course of the last few months or so, at this point in Luke's gospel, Jesus has his eyes set on Jerusalem. He's heading toward the city.
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  for the final days before his crucifixion. And at this point he's journeying through towns and villages in Judea. And as he goes, someone asks him a very controversial and provocative question. They ask him, Lord, will those who are saved be few? Now at some point in our lives, haven't we all asked this same sort of question?
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  How many will be saved? Are we going to be surprised at who isn't or who is in heaven? This inquirer most likely did not understand salvation in the same way that we do. They probably understood it as God's establishment of his earthly kingdom in Israel that would include adherence to Judaism and would exclude pagan Gentile nations. It is noteworthy that Luke
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  in his assembly of his gospel puts this question immediately after what we studied two weeks ago the parables of the mustard seed and the leaven which detail the widespread influence of the gospel after hearing teaching like that the people must have wondered if a majority of earth's inhabitants would be saved or if it would only be a minority jesus response to this question is
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  Very interesting, because rather than give a numeric answer or a percentage, he gives individual instruction. So in response to this controversial question, we have individual instruction. He says this in verse 24, 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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  Jesus commands the questioner and those standing near to focus on their personal salvation. It's like he's saying, never mind about how many people will get saved. Make sure that you're one of them. At first glance, we might think to ourselves, it kind of sounds like Jesus is speaking heresy. Because aren't we saved by grace, not saved by works? Now it is clear from scripture that salvation comes by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. And so what does Jesus mean?
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  here by that word strive. That word is translated from the Greek agonizomai, from which we derive the word agonize. It is used elsewhere in the New Testament to mean to compete, to fight, and to struggle. And it denotes the total attention and utter obedience that Christ requires of his followers to strive to enter
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  through the narrow door requires absolute abandonment of self and complete commitment to christ in all areas of life including money marriage work leisure sexuality parenting and time management just a few months ago we studied luke 9 verses 23 and 24 where jesus says this if anyone would come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me
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  For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. And not long from now, when we go to Luke 14, in verses 26 to 27, we'll read this. Again, Jesus says, if anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not
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  bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple if you were here with us toward the beginning of this year we began 2021 with a worship night and we focus specifically on philippians chapter 3 verses 12 to 14 which says this not that i have already obtained salvation or i'm already perfect but i press on to make it my own because christ jesus has made me his own
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  Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own, but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead. I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. We see this kind of paradox where our salvation is by faith, and yet the apostles and Jesus himself command us, strain toward the goal, strive toward the goal.
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  Unfortunately, many in our world, when confronted with their sin and with submission to Christ, reject him outright. And others, even more sadly, masquerade in external religiosity while inside they are filled with dead men's bones. Both the irreligious and the falsely religious are heading not toward the narrow gate that leads to life, but are on the broad path that leads toward destruction.
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  Jesus' words here are so reminiscent of Matthew 7, verses 13-14, which say this,
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  By saying many will seek to enter and will not be able, Jesus is not saying that God is going to reject those who earnestly seek him. Because we see in Matthew 7, remember Jesus says, seek and you will find. Ask and it will be given to you. Knock and the door will be opened. Rather, Jesus means here that there are many who think that they are heading towards salvation, but actually are not.
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  This was true in Jesus' day when so many of the religious elite and so many of the crowds rejected him, and this is true also of our day. Churches by the thousands have abandoned biblical truth in order to please the palate of the culture, and many think that they are pleasing God in doing so. They are seeking to enter the gates of heaven, but they will not. One commentator has said this,
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  He has only to look around him and compare the ways of the many with the word of God, and he will soon come to the conclusion, if he is an honest man, that the saved are few. It is an awful conclusion. Our souls naturally turn away from it, but scripture and facts alike combine to shut us up to it.
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  Salvation to the uttermost is offered to men. All things are ready on God's part. Christ is willing to receive sinners, but sinners are not willing to come to Christ. And hence, few are saved. It's interesting, when Jesus evangelized, he did not invite people into an easy believism in which they receive forgiveness without moral transformation or without the bearing of fruit in their lives, without repentance.
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  He called them to strive, strive to enter through the narrow door. Jesus continues here by essentially threatening his hearers with a sobering story about the day when it will be too late for unbelievers to repent. So we've got the controversial question, Jesus' individual instruction, and now Jesus' sobering story. Look with me at verse 25.
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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 Lord open to us Then he will answer you. I do not know where you come from Then you will begin to say we ate and drank in your presence and you taught in our streets But he will say 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 and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves cast out. And people will come from east and west and from north and south and recline at table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last. Those who are listening, Jesus says, would be surprised at their exclusion from God's kingdom at the day of judgment.
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  They displayed a shallow association with religion, right? You taught in our streets, we ate and drank in your presence. However, they had no relationship with God, evidenced by God's distance from them. He says, depart, I do not know you. And we know that God knows everything in his omniscience, but here is a relational knowing, saying, you did not accept my invitation to be on the guest list into my house.
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  I do not know you. These Jews prided themselves on their ethnic descent from Abraham, yet Jesus says that ethnic association with the Hebrew forefathers was not enough to be included in God's kingdom. A personal relationship with God and an individual relationship with God that bore fruit was necessary. Due to their lack of faith, Jesus prophetically pronounces
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  that they would be excluded from the benefits of God's kingdom while the Gentiles, who he says would come from north and south, would enjoy the benefits of the kingdom. In this regard, what was last, the Gentiles, would be first and what was first, the Jews, would be last. Their tragic example teaches us that proximity to spiritual truth is not equivalent to possession of spiritual truth.
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  No one displays this tragedy more than Judas, who for three years of his life was in very close proximity to the Son of God. He had seen all the miracles. He had been sent out by Jesus to do miracles. He didn't love Jesus. And in the end, he sold him out for 30 pieces of silver. It was not enough, Jesus is saying, for them to sit back and mildly support Jesus' ministry.
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  They needed to follow him. Verse 27 tells us that Jesus' specific indictment of these listeners is that they were workers of evil, which again harkens back to Matthew 7, where people said, Jesus didn't, Lord, Lord, didn't we do all these things in your name? And he says, depart from me, I never knew you, you workers of lawlessness. These people's comfortability with sin displayed their lack of true faith, and in the end,
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  Jesus says would forfeit their chance at eternal life with God. The controversial question, Jesus' individual instruction, Jesus' sobering story. What do we do with this? What do we do with this? Church, I think that we would do well to pay attention to Jesus' words in Luke chapter 13. There will be a day when Christ comes back and all will stand before God to give an account for their lives. On that day, there will be no more second chances for the unrepentant.
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  The door of God's grace and mercy will be shut, and all will stand utterly exposed before the omniscient eyes of God. The fountain of Emmanuel's blood will cease its flow, and the throne of grace will be set aside, and the throne of judgment will be set up in its place. It will be too late to pray. It will be too late to repent. It will be too late to believe.
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  The unbelieving will be cast away forever from God's presence in hell. But the faithful will be seated with the patriarchs and the prophets at Christ's table. Christ's goal in this passage was to create within his listeners a sense of desperation that would result in the employment of every effort to seek Christ. And I wonder if in us, if there is this same sense of desperation.
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  A desperation to strive to enter through the narrow gate. I wonder if our words and schedules and affections in our hearts testify to our deep love of Jesus. I wonder if we can sing with the psalmist, as a deer pants for streams of water, so pants my soul for you, O God.
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  I wonder if we can sing with the hymn writer, when he shall come with trumpet sound. Oh, may I then in him be found, dressed in his righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne. Are we desperate for Jesus? Are we desperate to see heaven come? Are we desperate to know God intimately? Where are the Christian men and women?
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  Who will not just believe in Christ but agonize over their pursuit of Him? Where are the Christians who with Dietrich Bonhoeffer will swim against the sinful current of our world and who will unashamedly identify with the small number of the people of God? Where are the American Christians who will stand up and say something for the truth and for the sake of God's glory?
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  Will we strive for Jesus? Listen to this quote from J.C. Ryle. He says,
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  If we go to heaven alone, we must resolve that by God's grace, we will go. Church, Christ is all, and all the effort we put toward our pursuit of him will not leave us wanting in the end. He is our goal. It is for Jesus that we wait, and it is in him we trust. Let me pray for us. Lord, we confess that we do not always strive for you.
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  and for your kingdom as we ought we get distracted with the voices of the world distracted by our sin distracted by the enemies of our souls so we ask for your forgiveness lord we ask for your forgiveness and we pray now that your holy spirit would reveal to us areas of our lives where we need to set those things aside in order to pursue christ
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  in order to agonize over our pursuit of him. Reveal those things to us, Holy Spirit. Convict us, shed us of all of our condemnation, and help us to walk in this world how Jesus would have us walk. I pray that we would be a people who are marked by a love for Jesus. Not just a people who are moral or who are good, but people who love Jesus.
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  Give us the power and the energy to strive, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.