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This is a bible study that I ran across on the internet. I am NOT the author, I DID NOT write this. However it is a great study and well worth passing on. I am not exactly sure of the authors name, if you know, feel free to let me know.
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"Can a person think he is a Christian and not be?"
Luke 13
23. Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them,
24. Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.
25. When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:
26. Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.
27. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.
28. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.
29. And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.
30. And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.
31. The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee.
32. And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.
33. Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.
34. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!
35. Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say,
Introduction:
1. Movie directors must picture a scene in their minds long before it is filmed on location or on a sound stage. Think of yourself directing a movie set in the slums of a major industrial city 50 years ago. The cars are old and rusty. There is garbage piled up by the street curbs. A bearded man is sleeping in a doorway, dressed in a ripped cloth overcoat. Most of the buildings have broken windows and the majority of the lights are from beer signs in a series of bars on both sides of the road. Down the street is a storefront with neat lettering on the glass and a red neon sign over head. The sign repeatedly flashes the words "Jesus Saves." It is a rescue mission where men and an occasional woman go in hope of a hot meal and a clean bed for the night. The price they have to pay is sitting through some music and a sermon about getting saved.
2. Such signs have all but disappeared from the late twentieth century cityscape. There are only a few lingering jokes about the bank with a sign that says "Jesus Saves" and the snickering from those who hear the humor in the play on words.
3. "Jesus Saves" seems to be a phrase for another era. It was for a more simple and simplistic time. It smacks of a worldview where everyone was going to either heaven or hell and the line between the two destinations was very clear and clean.
Today "tolerance" is one of our highest cultural virtues. We are uncomfortable with the old-fashioned idea of anyone going to hell or the intolerance that suggests that there is only one way to God. We prefer to believe that everyone's beliefs are equally valid, that a loving God accepts everyone into heaven and there is no longer anything from which Jesus needs to save us. It is a huge change in a single generation.
4. There was a similar but different mindset among Jews in the first century. They believed that every Jew was more-or-less guaranteed a place in heaven. In the ancient Jewish writing Sanhedrin 10:1, it is stated that "all Israelites have a share in the world to come." In other words, if you were a Jew you were in. You could have varying beliefs and be better or worse than other Jews, but you were still counted as one of God's "chosen people" and therefore guaranteed a ticket to heaven.
They were very tolerant-toward Jews. However, they were equally intolerant toward non-Jews called Gentiles. All Gentiles were more or less assumed to be destined to hell. After all, if you weren't born one of God's chosen people there wasn't much hope.
