 | The Reverend Amy Baumgartner is the Associate Pastor of First Presbyterian Church, 525 N. Broadway, Wichita, KS. Amy was ordained at First Presbyterian Church of Wichita, Kansas in June 2008. She earned a Masters of Divinity from Denver Seminary. Before attending seminary, Amy graduated from Ball State University with a degree in Landscape Architecture and worked several years for an architectural firm in Indianapolis, Indiana. You may contact Rev. Baumgartner by email AssociatePastor@firstpresbywichita.org, or by phone at (316) 263-0248.
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Religion
2012-08-29 14:47:28
How many people are saved?
Q- There are several verses in the Bible that deal with how many people are saved. Matthew 7:13-14: Enter through the narrow gate. The gate that leads to damnation is wide, the road is clear, and many choose to travel it. But how narrow is the gate that leads to life, how rough the road, and how few there are who find it! And Luke 13:24: Try to come in through the narrow door. Many, I tell you, will try to enter and be unable. Do these mean that more than half of all people are not saved?
A- To be saved in the Bible means to be rescued from danger and restored to a condition of well-being. In the New Testament, “saved” is the result of divine deliverance through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. Salvation is new life by release from slavery to sin for all who acknowledge Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Jesus saves individuals by bringing healing in his/her relationship with God, others and himself/herself. Salvation is a gift from God; we are saved by God’s grace alone when we respond and receive God’s gracious redemption by faith. Behind salvation is the loving nature of God and the incarnation of Jesus—God coming in flesh—is proof of God’s love.
God’s heart is that all will be saved. There are numerous verses that speak to this: God “is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe” (1 Timothy 4:10); “every knee should bow and…every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” (Philippians 2:10-11); and “God has bound all human being over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all” (Romans 11:32). Romans 5:18 and 1 Corinthians 15:22 state that condemnation came to all human beings through Adam but that all will be made alive through Jesus Christ. So, there are Biblical passages that seem to open the door to salvation to all people.
However, there are also verses that clearly teach that some will be eternally lost instead of all being saved as you mention (see Matthew 25:46; John 3:16; 5:28-29; Romans 2:5; 9:22; 2 Thessalonians 1:9; Revelation 21:8). Yet in all these verses, there is no specific verse sharing exactly how many people will be saved.
While some people may not accept God’s gift of salvation, the fact remains for the potential of salvation. Those who know they have been saved are encouraged to share the freedom and peace they have received from God through Jesus Christ because how can other people accept God’s gift of salvation without hearing God’s message of good news (see Romans 10:14-15)?
