"Will only few be saved?"

When teaching in the towns and villages as he made his way to Jerusalem, Jesus was asked if only few would be saved.  Jesus responded by saying; "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough."  (Lk. 13:24)  In Matthew's account of the Sermon on the Mount, the parallel of this passage reads; "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many.  How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life.  And those who find it are few."  (Mt. 7:13-14) 

The assumption seems to have always been, those who pass through the broad gate are destined for damnation.  For that to be true, than only few will be saved; and those fortunate few will become so through their own capabilities because they were "strong enough."  Contrarily, we have salvation only because Christ won it for us, not through any merit of our own.  As Paul teaches, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so no one may boast."  (Eph. 2: 8-9) 

In a later passage Paul also discusses how some will be saved, but through the fire.  "The work of each will come to light, for the day will disclose it.  It will be revealed with fire, and the fire [itself] will test the quality of each one's work.  If someone's work is burnt up, that one will suffer loss; the person will be saved, but only as through fire."  (1 Cor. 3:13,15)  To paraphrase Mark 9: 43-48, Jesus said if your hand, foot, or eye causes you to sin then cut them off, or pluck it out.  It is better to enter life maimed, crippled, or with one eye, than to be cast into Gahanna whole.  This doesn't just apply to minor sins.  Paul also expresses the same perspective concerning a grave mortal sin.  When addressing how incest was to be dealt with Paul says, "You are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord."  (1 Cor. 5:5)

When considering all of these passages it seems clear that there will indeed be few that fulfill Christ's call to holiness (entering through the narrow gate), while most will fall short of that ideal but will still be saved through some sort of destructive process that makes them fit for eternal life (entering through the broad gate).

The answer to my question posed on the "Rebirth and the Eucharist" blog is; No!  This does not mean only those who accomplish conformity to the holy standard of not sinning will be saved.

What then does Jesus mean by only few will find the road that leads to life?  For my answer!

Why we need to repent our sins

Question:
Why do we need to repent our sins if we are justified by faith (See Rom. 5:1), and only need to believe in Jesus Christ to obtain eternal life (See Jn. 3:18)?

Some might say we must repent our sins in order to validate one’s self as a believer. However, the example Christ gave us for validating one’s faith in him pertains to performing works of mercy, illustrated by his parable of separating the sheep from the goats (Mt. 25:31-46). Those who gave food, drink, clothed, etc., to the least of his brothers are invited to enter the kingdom of God because they did those things unto him, and those who did not do those things neglected him and are denied entrance into the kingdom. If repentance were the means for substantiating one’s faith in him his parable would have at least mentioned the need for our repentance; of which there is none.

Consider this; if repentance of our sins was necessary for one to receive eternal life wouldn’t that compromise the belief that we are justified by faith? It would seem that such a condition believes the work of redemption accomplished by Jesus was incomplete because having faith isn’t enough to obtain forgiveness for our sins. The Church has always maintained all the way back to the apostles that the work of forgiveness for our sins was accomplished completely by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross; yet the Church, also back to the apostles, consistently preaches the need for repentance of sins.

Consider as well Paul’s dialogue in Romans, chapters 3 - 8. He goes to great length to try and explain; though we are justified by faith we cannot just continue sinning (Rom. 6:1-4). Why would Paul experience the need to exert so much effort to teach the need to avoid sin if his teaching about salvation, which gives all the credit for our justification and salvation to the work accomplished by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, wasn’t misinterpreted by the people of his time as giving them the freedom to sin? A misunderstanding many people still make even to this day.

And so I pose the question: Why did the Lord command us to repent our sins?

Visit: "A Layman's Journey: In Search of Spirituality" for my view.