 | Rev. Patrick Notley is the Associate Pastor of First Presbyterian Church located at 525 N. Broadway in downtown Wichita. Reverend Notley received an MA in Divinity at San Francisco Theological Seminary and a Master of Arts in Christian Education from Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, VA. Born in Denver, CO and raised on the East Coast, Reverend Notley along with his wife, relocated to Wichita in 1997 to join the church, where he is responsible for Evangelism Educational programs. You can reach Reverend Notley at (316) 263-0248 ext. 22 or by email at pwnotley@firstpresbywichita.org |
Religion
2005-02-01 09:22:00
Is it true that most people who have lived on this earth will go to hell?
: In Matthew Chapter 7, and Luke Chapter 13, our Lord says, "Struggle to enter the Kingdom through the narrow door. The road to hell is wide with plenty of room and most go that way. But the door is small and the path is hard and narrow that leads to life and only a few find it." Is it true that most people who have ever lived on this Earth go to hell?
ANSWER: First let us deal with what The Gospels of Matthew and Luke actually say. Using the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), the Gospel of Matthew 7:13-14 records Jesus as saying, "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and many take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it." The Gospel of Luke records a similar saying in chapter 13, verse 24 when Jesus says, "Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able." The Greek word apolelia which is translated destruction is incorrectly translated in the New International Version (NIV), the Today's English Version (TEV) and the Living Bible as "the road to Hell". This raises an important issue to remember that such versions as the NIV, TEV and the Living Bible are all paraphrases which, while seeking to place the Biblical story in a more modern accessible language, are never-the-less not accurate word for word translations of the actual text. Thus a good practice is to use a variety of translations and paraphrases when studying the Bible so that a greater sense of the message is gained.Now to deal with the question at hand… The simple answer to the question is; no these texts do not support a conclusion that most people who have ever lived on Earth will go to hell. When taken in their larger contexts these sayings of Jesus in both Matthew and Luke take on a different meaning. Matthew 7:13-14 is a portion of a much larger setting which starts back in chapter 5 with the sermon on the mount or more familiarly "The Beatitudes" and concludes at the end of chapter 8. The context of this entire section is to give to both the disciples - those closest to Jesus, and the crowds - those still inquiring about his ministry and teaching, lessons about what it means to be a disciple. Two themes that run through this portion are first that God is the one who is in control and God's love for humanity means that God will care for humanity. The second theme is that in response to God's love and care humanity is called to treat one another with the same love and care as God does. This is highlighted especially in the emphasis placed on the special care given to those who are least able to care for themselves - the poor and weak. In the midst of this sermon the call to enter through the narrow gate is both a call to live as God would have us to live and a realistic look at the world to notice that the overwhelming majority of those living on earth during the time of Jesus were not living in a way that either honored their fellow human beings or God. The Gospel of Luke follows a similar theme starting at the beginning of chapter 12 through at least the end of chapter 13, if not further. A major theme of this section of Luke is to challenge the apparent and visible hypocrisy of those who claimed to be religious and faithful yet who never-the-less treated their neighbors with contempt and arrogance. An underlying pattern of thought in that day was that one could tell how faithful one was by the amount of good or bad fortune that was present in one's life. In other words; if one was successful and had not experienced tragedy in their life they were faithful and were thus being rewarded by God. In contrast, if one experienced loss it was because they had done something to displease God and were thus being punished. For example if one's house has been destroyed by a tornado it is because they have been unfaithful and are thus being punished by God. The point Jesus is making in this section is that all fall short of the glory of God and thus all are in need of repentance. In this context, a portion of the message being given by Jesus is that those who are so inflated or puffed up by their own egos are going to find it very difficult to enter into God's kingdom. It is those who are going about the work that God calls them to and who are not trying to equate their lack of tragedy some scale of holier-than-thou that will be recognized as true disciples. In short both of these passages are not prescriptions or predictions of who or how many will enter heaven. Rather they are descriptions of what the life of a disciple is like. It is good to note that in both of these larger sections of the gospels of Matthew and Luke the passages about not worrying but seeking the kingdom of God are central in their placement and content. The basic message here as in the entire works of Matthew and Luke is to spend less time trying to figure out who is saved and who is not and to spend more time living as a true disciple of Jesus Christ.
