Why Some Are Not Saved – Luke 13.34

Rejection of salvation in Jesus can be a very frustrating problem for those who believe in Him. In a sense I’m glad that it is a frustrating problem. Too many people and too many churches are becoming indifferent to those who reject salvation in Christ. Many pastors and theologians are falsely teaching that we must be open to all brands of faith. Acceptance of all religions and philosophies is the new approach. (Actually it is nothing more than ancient paganism.) "Do not be judgmental. Do not discriminate. Be tolerant of all faiths" they say. "Who are you to say that a person is not saved unless they believe in Jesus?" When we point out that this is exactly what the Scriptures teach, quoting for instance Peter, who said, "There is no other name under heaven, given among men by which we must be saved," we are assaulted with a "Well, that’s your interpretation." No, it’s not our interpretation. It is Peter’s, and that is clear enough throughout the Scriptures (John 14.6; 1 John 5.11-12). People need faith in Jesus to be saved. We should be very concerned about those who do not believe. Jesus, certainly was concerned:

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing." Luke 13.34

Some of us know someone who has their back turned to Jesus. They may even be a close relative. I pray that what we learn today from St. Luke’s Gospel will help us understand why some are not saved. I pray for confidence and strength in the Lord, who could not be undone by man’s rejection. This sermon has two parts. First, I will show you the Bible’s answer to the question "Why some are not saved?" Second, I will show you the Bible’s answer to another question: What are we to do about those who are not saved?

I have been reading the prophets lately for a number of different Bible studies. If there is anything to be gained from an experience with Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and the other prophets it is this: God must pour out His wrath on unbelief, yet He relentlessly pursues the salvation of souls. Page after page describes the pain and sorrow of God’s wrath. God’s wrath is a consuming fire (Isaiah 9.19). Frankly, I can’t blame anyone for getting a little depressed reading it. But the other half of the prophet’s message is summed up well by Ezekiel: "I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?" (33.11) Over the years Israel had its revivals of faith, but besides a small remnant of believers who waited for the Messiah, for the most part it turned its back on God. Why? Stephen, a disciple and the first martyr for Jesus said, "You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you" (Acts 7.51). There is the answer to the question. You might like to know more. But God will take us no further on this. In 2 Thessalonians 2.7 God describes this rebellion as the "mystery of iniquity." It is a mystery indeed.

I have run across a number of people exercising this opportunity to reject God. One man that I remember well was my sergeant. We were training for two weeks on a beautiful island just off of the coast of California near San Diego. There were many things to do during that time. But as the weekend approached I wanted to find out when worship services and Bible studies were going to be held. My sergeant, however, just couldn’t bring himself to go to a worship service. He indicated that he wanted to be a Christian but he just felt uncomfortable going to church. I wasn’t sure how to respond. One thing I did not do, however, was to tell him that it was OK not to worship. I remember very plainly explaining that something was wrong. Unbelievers will often try to blame their lack of faith on other things. People have said they don’t believe because their parents shoved Jesus down their throats when they were little. As we heard in last Sunday’s Bible class many Jews today blame their unbelief in Jesus on the Holocaust. Others say it’s all just too confusing, or that there’s too many hypocrites in the church, or the pastor said something that made them angry. These are excuses. The reality is that unbelief is nothing more than resisting God.

Someone might ask, "Does it make sense that people can resist God?" That’s a good question. Ultimately no one can resist God. But God can be resisted when He chooses to work through means. When he sends forth His word on the written page or in the mouths of His people, this word can be resisted and rejected. People can resist God’s prophets. God works through means so that we can be saved by faith. Otherwise there would be nothing left for us except to meet God face to face, and that would be judgment day.

We must all realize that we were born into this mode of rejection also. Even though God has overcome our rebellion (we did nothing to save ourselves), we still have to contend with the old self that wants to reject God’s word. While we may be saved, we cannot claim to be without vestiges of resistance. We also have a tendency to resist the working of God’s word in our lives. "Lord, I believe. Help Thou mine unbelief," (Mark 9.24) the man said to Jesus. For this we continually repent. Day after day God continues to break down that lingering resistance through the working of His word and Spirit.

Before we can be of any help in overcoming the resistance to God’s Spirit, we need to consider what has happened in our own lives. The fact that we are here this day to worship God and to call upon His name for our salvation is due to His persistent love! Jesus was dismayed by Jerusalem’s rejection. But that didn’t stop Him from accomplishing His mission. Nothing could deter Him from the task of fulfilling this work of salvation. Not Herod, not the Pharisees, not Pilate, not being forsaken by His disciples, not the scourging, not the ridicule, not the cross, not the pain, not the death, could prevent Him from giving His life as a ransom for the sins of the whole world. After His resurrection this persistence of Jesus filled the hearts of the Apostles’ and of the church. No matter how persecuted, rejected, or ridiculed for their faith, they persisted by God’s grace. Down through the ages saints, pastors, missionaries, teachers, parents, friends, relatives all carried on this great work accomplished by our Lord. Man resists. But God persists. That’s all we need to know.

O how God persists in overcoming man’s rebellious nature! Francis Thompson, a Roman Catholic Christian from England, wrote a famous poem that describes this wonderful persistence of God. It is called the Hound of Heaven. I won’t read the whole poem but the opening lines give you the idea:

I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;
I fled Him, down the arches of the years;
I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind; and in the mist of tears
I hid from Him, and under running laughter.
Up vistaed hopes I sped;
And shot, precipitated,
Adown Titanic glooms of chasmèd fears,
From those strong Feet that followed, followed after.
But with unhurrying chase,
And unperturbèd pace,
Deliberate speed, majestic instancy,
They beat -- and a Voice beat
More instant than the Feet
"All things betray thee, who betrayest Me."

(http://www.library.utoronto.ca/utel/rp/poems/thompf1c.html)

God never gave up on us. We are here because of that. We are not here because we are more holy or righteous than someone else. We are not saved because we chose God or committed ourselves to Him. All that is the result, the result of God’s overcoming our rebellion. Each of us can think of someone or maybe several people who played a role as the vehicles of God’s saving persistence. I can think of Sunday school teachers who put up with youthful shenanigans. Pastors carry on the persistence of God when they visit the erring and the fallen away. Parents refuse to concede the battle against Satan for the souls of their children. When we are up against rebellion, we must not try to understand it. Rather we must look to God’s mercy that the Bible says so often "endures forever."

Yesterday we baptized an 82 year-old man. What a convoluted spiritual journey this man has been on. How many regrets he has about his past life. But God’s grace came to him through his youngest daughter. She picked up the phone and called us to go visit him a couple of years ago. She was concerned about his spiritual life. We brought him the Good News. Others had sown the seed, still others had watered, and we harvested. Altogether God’s grace finally overcame the spiritual weaknesses and fleshly willfulness.

Some of you are grieving quietly in your hearts for loved ones who have yet to respond to God’s call. I grieve with you. If Jesus wept over Jerusalem, shall we not also weep over the unsaved? But our sorrow need not paralyze us. Jesus wept, but He kept on walking. He came to Jerusalem, and He came into your life and mine bringing us forgiveness of sin and peace with God. Now the persistence of God is ready to move forward again through you. "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’" (Isaiah 52.7).

Some of you are already familiar with the story of St. Augustine. Nevertheless it is a true story that I never tire of hearing. Augustine lived in north Africa in the fourth century after Christ. He was one of those boys who was too smart for his own good. He grew up in a Christian home, but he left the Christian faith for philosophical speculation and a life of immorality. But Monica, his mother, never gave up on him. She can be remembered for two very important things she did. The two things are the classic assault on the rebellion of sin. First, she never conceded to Augustine’s sinful choices. She always spoke the truth. She was not afraid to tell her son that he was acting wickedly and that he was not saved as he continued in these sins and unbelief. At times their relationship was stormy. One time she even threw him out of the house! Second, she never gave up on God’s love and the power of the Gospel. She loved her son. Her arguments with him were not about "who’s right" or "look how you’re embarrassing me" but about Augustine’s salvation. This love that she knew from Jesus prompted her to incessant prayer and supplication on behalf of Augustine. Eventually she was blessed to see her son return to the Lord.

I leave you today with this encouragement: Your sorrow over those who reject Christ is overcome by the Christ who rejects no one. As Jesus persisted in bringing salvation to you and me despite our rebellious nature, so now we look to Him. He called us to faith by the Gospel. He will call others. It is our privilege to be part of God’s great persistence. Amen.

Pastor Michael P. Walther March 11, 2001   Copyright: Michael P. Walther, 2001

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Collinsville, Illinois Second Sunday in Lent