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| To Part 1 |
Mike and I took no joy in our conclusions. It was very sad when
we compared our numbers with over 7 billion people on the earth. We both hoped
that we were wrong in our estimations, but we had this sick feeling in our gut
that we might be in the ballpark. Wheat Christianity was smaller in numbers than
Weed Christianity and smaller still among current world population estimates.
We both based our results on a historical/grammatical approach to Scripture,
not on the bias of the “I’m right, and everybody else is wrong” mentality. Mt
7:13-14 paints a grim picture that is contrary to any thought or idea of
dominating numbers or of any notion of universal salvation.
Consider this; the United States is described as a Christian
nation founded upon Judeo-Christian values, but penetrative polling numbers
would indicate that Christianity today in America runs the gamut from outright
heterodox to orthodox, heretical to holy, even among those claiming to be
evangelical! All stripes of Christianity are placed under the umbrella of
Christianity in the name of categorizing religions. The number of believers
living today is definitely smaller than being projected in Wikipedia based on
the Matthew passage above and 2 Cor 4:4.
One last thing concerning numbers, if a man like Elijah was
wrong on his polling numbers (1 Kgs 19:14, 18), we could be, too! So, I could
not defend my conclusion nor could Mike with any dogmatic authority. But if it
strikes you as absurd that so many in the world are vulnerable to perishing,
recall that Noah was 600 years of age when the flood came (Gn 7:11). How many
survived the great deluge? Only 8 (Gn 7:7; 1 Pet 3:20; 2 Pet 2:5). Population
estimates during Noah’s day could have reached into the billions given the long
length of life.
Whether it was hundreds of millions or into the billions, the
actual number surviving the great deluge illustrates the truth of Mt 7:13-14,
yes? Call it a hatch, a door, a gate, a way, or whatever, but the entrance
to avoiding hell is small, no matter how many lives are in the when and where
(cf. Jn 14:6), and few there will be that find it!
One of the strategies of our adversary is to take full advantage
of believers claiming to be Christian but are severely limited in their
knowledge of the Word. They are willfully disobeying the command to grow in the grace and knowledge of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Pet 3:18), inviting all kinds of avoidable problems into their
lives. Instead, they willfully remain ignorant of the profitability of
Scripture that provides structure, development, responsibility, and blessings
(cf. 2 Tim 3:16-17). Remember Yahweh’s words to Joshua,
(Jos
1:7) Only be strong
and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which
Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the
left, that you may prosper wherever you go.
(Jos 1:8) This
Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it
day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in
it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good
success.
God is the standard; biblical success is staying the course and
not deviating from that standard. Interestingly, the English word “success”
occurs one time in the KJV, here in Josh 1:8. What an apropos context for a
prescription for biblical success! Sin is what causes us to miss the mark, whether it is a sin of commission or omission. Disobedience will always miss the mark of
God’s standard of righteousness. Let’s imagine Satan’s revision of Joshua
1:7-8,
Be weak and cowardly, so that you may fail to observe to do what
has been commanded of you. Deviate from God so that you are guaranteed to fail
wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall depart from your mouth; it is not
to be a part of your thinking. Don’t concern yourself with doing all that had
been written; you can pick and choose or ignore it altogether. For then you
will make your way unfavorable, and then you will have
unsuccess.
Then imagine Satan dispatching his demons and directing them to
sell that revision to believers who are riding the fence by any means possible.
Biblically, the forces of darkness cannot make us do anything, but they can
influence our decision-making if we ignore the wise counsel of the Word. And we
wonder why we stumble, fall, and fail, and have the audacity to blame it all on God
because of this or that thinking, “Living for You is an impossible task!”
Ignorance of the Scriptures makes believers vulnerable to
spiritual error that is twisted, tenuous, and temporary and challenges the
promises of God and creates doubt in the mind of believers in God’s ability to
keep His promises by being
led away with the error of the wicked (cf. 2 Pet 3:17). This happens when believers are
not mindful of the
words of the prophets
and apostles (2 Pet 3:2).
How can we be mindful if
our mind is constantly on other things that prevent us from hearing or reading
the Word of God daily with a heart bent toward obeying what is heard or read
and rightly dividing
the word of truth (2
Tim 2:15)? Too many are under the Word but not in it. We cannot be mindful of
what we do not know! This is precisely why willful ignorance of the Word poses
the greatest threat to biblical Christianity and remains a grave concern of
many conservative theologians today. I am not being hyperbolic by any stretch
of the imagination.
Our adversary loves for believers to be willfully ignorant of
the Word of God; it makes his job easier. Satan energetically wants to limit or
block the spiritual radiance of the sons of light (Mt 5:14-16) by seducing them
to be more like the sons of the world. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to
see that when the sons of light behave like the sons of the world, the world
will not see the radiance of the light
of the gospel of the glory of Jesus Christ in us (2 Cor 4:4). We are called to be witnesses, not worldly.
The sons of the world see themselves as being true to themselves
and the sons of light as hypocrites, particularly when the sons of light are
behaving like the sons of the world. Satan, the accuser of the brethren, is an
expert in finger-pointing believers (cf. Rev 12:10)! While Jesus was in the
world, He was that light (Jn 9:5). That mantel has been given to every believer
to be the light of the
world (Mt 5:14-16),
not to be dabbling in darkness and acting like the sons of the world. Recall
this verse by Paul,
But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are
perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who
do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is
the image of God, should shine on them (2 Cor
4:3-4, emphasis mine).
Acting like the sons of the world (or children of darkness)
rather than sons of light contributes to people noticing the inconsistencies in
our testimony who are looking for any excuse to validate their opinion that
Christianity is a sham. Our disobedience only encourages those who are
perishing and are in danger of perishing for an eternity to continue in their
unbelief.
Love (agape), the second command, has no participation in the
destruction of others who are blinded by the god of this age due to personal
unbelief. So, if we are truly sons and daughters of Abraham, it is unloving for
us to think, say, or act like the unregenerate sons and daughters of Adam.
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