How many people will make it into Heaven?

GeorgiaGuyinAtlanta

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How many people will make it into the Heaven. Obviously, we know it is few, as the Bible talks about the narrow way as the path for salvation and the wide path which leads to destruction.

That said, by looking at the Bible, it appears that the number of people who will make it to Heaven is even less than most think.

For one, the Bible tells us that it is sin which separates us from God.

Isaiah 59:2
But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

The Bible says that those who practice sin are of the devil.

1 John 3:8
He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

Now obviously, someone who is of the devil is not going to make it to Heaven. This is because it is the sin separating you from God.

What is sin?

1 John 3:4
Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

What is the law being spoken of here. It is God's Law, not Moses' law, for we are not held accountable for the latter.

http://www.preparingforeternity.com/mosevs10.htm

God's Law is outlined in the 10 Commandments and it lasts forever.

Psalm 119:160
Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.

So, as you can see, God's law is eternal, and sin is the transgression of the law. Sin also separates us from God. Therefore, what prevents us from having eternal life is the transgression of the law. Let's take a look at the Ten Commandments.

As found in Deuteronomy 5: 7-21

fc6b62c70bbac1d05aa8dd8624515782.jpg


Jesus told us that the Greatest Commandment, and the second Greatest Commandments are:

Matthew 22: 36-40

Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38 This is the first and great commandment.

39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.


God's Law, as outlined in the 10 Commandments, hangs upon the two great commandments. This is because the first commandments deal with loving the Lord with all they heart, and the latter commandments deal with loving others.

Let's look at some things that the Bible says will prevent someone from sharing in eternal life.

1 Corinthians 6: 9-10
Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

As with all of these, the reason that they prevent eternal life is because to engage in these acts is to not love the Lord with all your heart or your neighbor as yourself. The Bible is God's Word. To deliberately commit acts that are condemning indicates that you are not loving the Lord with all your heart. Therefore, this will keep someone from having eternal life. You can see that some of the 10 commandments are related to with "adulterers", "thieves", and "covetous".

As with redemption, God offers us the ability to get right with Him when we sin.

Consider:

1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Herein lies why eternal security before physical death, encapsulated in the phrase "Once Saved Always Saved (OSAS) is not a guarantee. If OSAS is true, then there is no reason to confess our sins to forgive us our sin. There would be no cleansing for unrighteousness because under the OSAS you're already going to Heaven, so there's no sin to be seen. Biblically, you can see that this is in error.


Now that I have shown how the Bible indicates what sin is and how it matches up with the disobedience to God's Law, it is important for all people to see that if they're not living according to God's Law, they will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

Based on a reading of the Word, those who divorce and remarry, except for marital unfaithfulness, are committing adultery. Adultery is something that prevents you from entering the kingdom of God.

According to the reading of the word of God, it can be ascertained that if you commit a sin and are suddenly killed before confessing your sin, then this uncleanness will separate you from God and prevent you from having eternal life.

With this being so, I feel that this makes it dire for people who divorced on non-biblical grounds and then remarried. It seems to indicate that being of a OSAS mindset is dangerous, for it causes people to rest on their laurels, which could cause people to not confess their sins to God. With all of this, this is why I believe that the way is super narrow. I think that many people truly believe that they are going to Heaven, but due to violating the law they are condemned. After all, the Bible says that they will call Him Lord but He will say that He never knew them.

Do you agree?
 

Albion

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Do you agree?
No, I certainly don't agree--and for this reason:

Your thesis virtually omits the matter of forgiveness and instead wants to fall back upon a doctrine of "works righteousness" and keeping the Law that was the standard BEFORE the Gospel and the Resurrection.
 
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GeorgiaGuyinAtlanta

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No, I certainly don't agree--and for this reason:

Your thesis virtually omits the matter of forgiveness and instead wants to fall back upon a doctrine of "works righteousness" and keeping the Law that was the standard BEFORE the Gospel and the Resurrection.

Not sinning is NOT a work. God clearly tells us that committing these sins will prevent us from having eternal life. How do you get around this?

I clearly mentioned confessing your sins to be cleansed from unrighteousness. That is the forgiveness aspect.
 
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Hieronymus

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Of course, there will be a great multitude, but it is a fraction of those who will not make it to Heaven.
Apparently not.
Man can count quite a way, but the multitude that will be saved (perhaps through the Fire though) no man can count.
 
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Albion

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Not sinning is NOT a work. God clearly tells us that committing these sins will prevent us from having eternal life. How do you get around this?
My guess is that you are having trouble with the term, "works righteousness." This means that we may achieve salvation ON ACCOUNT OF the good deeds we do, at least in part. That includes all moral behavior relating to the Decalogue. While this is a view that's characteristic of some of the splinter Protestant churches, and Catholicism to a certain extent, it's not the only view. Most of us believe, with the Bible, that Christ came to save us who are sinners and unable to atone for our sins by our own efforts.

I see that you insist that you mentioned "forgiveness" in your OP, but I see in that post a strong argument being made for something else. And in your reply to me above, you wrote that "God clearly tells us that committing these sins will prevent us from having eternal life."
 
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GeorgiaGuyinAtlanta

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Apparently not.
Man can count quite a way, but the multitude that will be saved (perhaps through the Fire though) no man can count.

Your view of multitude conflicts with the narrow gate, which FEW find.

There will be a lot of people in Heaven, a multitude if you will, so much so that a man is not going to be able to count on his own, BUT it will be few in comparison to those who have taken the wide path.
 
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Hieronymus

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Your view of multitude conflicts with the narrow gate, which FEW find.

There will be a lot of people in Heaven, a multitude if you will, so much so that a man is not going to be able to count on his own, BUT it will be few in comparison to those who have taken the wide path.
I guess i have more faith in God's Grace than you do.
God created us not to perish.
And who knows what happens in during the terminal breath?
Sure, i believe quite a bunch of people will refuse to the end, but in one man the world fell, and in One Man the world is redeemed.
Not all are "the elect", some will be "small in Gods Kingdom".

We shall see.
Maybe i'm wrong..
 
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GeorgiaGuyinAtlanta

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My guess is that you are having trouble with the term, "works righteousness." This means that we may achieve salvation ON ACCOUNT OF the good deeds we do, at least in part. That includes all moral behavior relating to the Decalogue. While this is a view that's characteristic of some of the splinter Protestant churches, and Catholicism to a certain extent, it's not the only view. Most of us believe, with the Bible, that Christ came to save us who are sinners and unable to atone for our sins by our own efforts.

I see that you insist that you mentioned "forgiveness" in your OP, but I see in that post a strong argument being made for something else. And in your reply to me above, you wrote that "God clearly tells us that committing these sins will prevent us from having eternal life."

Salvation is NOT of works. God does it through Him drawing us to Him when we read and hear His word. We then confess the Lord Jesus Christ. He forgives us, not ourselves.

Staying saved is an act of obedience to Christ. It is quite clear that sin separates us from God. Thus, one is not saved any longer. That is why the need of confession/repentance.

This is not a work, "like doing 100 hail marys", "praying the rosary", etc. This is simply NOT sinning, or not performing works of unrighteousness. God commands us to not sin, to violate God's law.

I feel that a straight-forward reading of the scripture reveals this, but manmade viewpoints contrary to scripture have led people astray and have caused confusion.
 
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Rick Otto

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How many people will make it into the Heaven. Obviously, we know it is few, as the Bible talks about the narrow way as the path for salvation and the wide path which leads to destruction.

That said, by looking at the Bible, it appears that the number of people who will make it to Heaven is even less than most think.

For one, the Bible tells us that it is sin which separates us from God.

Isaiah 59:2
But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

The Bible says that those who practice sin are of the devil.

1 John 3:8
He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

Now obviously, someone who is of the devil is not going to make it to Heaven. This is because it is the sin separating you from God.

What is sin?

1 John 3:4
Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

What is the law being spoken of here. It is God's Law, not Moses' law, for we are not held accountable for the latter.

http://www.preparingforeternity.com/mosevs10.htm

God's Law is outlined in the 10 Commandments and it lasts forever.

Psalm 119:160
Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.

So, as you can see, God's law is eternal, and sin is the transgression of the law. Sin also separates us from God. Therefore, what prevents us from having eternal life is the transgression of the law. Let's take a look at the Ten Commandments.

As found in Deuteronomy 5: 7-21

fc6b62c70bbac1d05aa8dd8624515782.jpg


Jesus told us that the Greatest Commandment, and the second Greatest Commandments are:

Matthew 22: 36-40

Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38 This is the first and great commandment.

39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.


God's Law, as outlined in the 10 Commandments, hangs upon the two great commandments. This is because the first commandments deal with loving the Lord with all they heart, and the latter commandments deal with loving others.

Let's look at some things that the Bible says will prevent someone from sharing in eternal life.

1 Corinthians 6: 9-10
Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

As with all of these, the reason that they prevent eternal life is because to engage in these acts is to not love the Lord with all your heart or your neighbor as yourself. The Bible is God's Word. To deliberately commit acts that are condemning indicates that you are not loving the Lord with all your heart. Therefore, this will keep someone from having eternal life. You can see that some of the 10 commandments are related to with "adulterers", "thieves", and "covetous".

As with redemption, God offers us the ability to get right with Him when we sin.

Consider:

1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Herein lies why eternal security before physical death, encapsulated in the phrase "Once Saved Always Saved (OSAS) is not a guarantee. If OSAS is true, then there is no reason to confess our sins to forgive us our sin. There would be no cleansing for unrighteousness because under the OSAS you're already going to Heaven, so there's no sin to be seen. Biblically, you can see that this is in error.


Now that I have shown how the Bible indicates what sin is and how it matches up with the disobedience to God's Law, it is important for all people to see that if they're not living according to God's Law, they will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

Based on a reading of the Word, those who divorce and remarry, except for marital unfaithfulness, are committing adultery. Adultery is something that prevents you from entering the kingdom of God.

According to the reading of the word of God, it can be ascertained that if you commit a sin and are suddenly killed before confessing your sin, then this uncleanness will separate you from God and prevent you from having eternal life.

With this being so, I feel that this makes it dire for people who divorced on non-biblical grounds and then remarried. It seems to indicate that being of a OSAS mindset is dangerous, for it causes people to rest on their laurels, which could cause people to not confess their sins to God. With all of this, this is why I believe that the way is super narrow. I think that many people truly believe that they are going to Heaven, but due to violating the law they are condemned. After all, the Bible says that they will call Him Lord but He will say that He never knew them.

Do you agree?
No. I have no laurels to rest on, and I still have eternal security.
So keep collecting "I don't sin" laurels... I don't know exactly how many you will need, but I'm sure you'll figure something out.
 
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GeorgiaGuyinAtlanta

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I guess i have more faith in God's Grace than you do.
God created us not to perish.
And who knows what happens in during the terminal breath?
Sure, i believe quite a bunch of people will refuse to the end, but in one man the world fell, and in One Man the world is redeemed.
Not all are "the elect", some will be "small in Gods Kingdom".

We shall see.
Maybe i'm wrong..

It is by God's grace that we are saved. We can't supernaturally eliminate our sins, only God can do that. However, willful disobedience/violation of the Law/sin separates us from God.

Remember if you live a life sinning, you are of the devil according to God's Word. You're no longer under God's grace. It's why Jesus told sinners to "Go and SIN NO MORE".
 
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Rick Otto

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Not sinning is NOT a work. God clearly tells us that committing these sins will prevent us from having eternal life. How do you get around this?

I clearly mentioned confessing your sins to be cleansed from unrighteousness. That is the forgiveness aspect.
Not sinning is not a work only if you are never tempted.
 
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Albion

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Salvation is NOT of works. God does it through Him drawing us to Him when we read and hear His word. We then confess the Lord Jesus Christ. He forgives us, not ourselves.
OK, but why?

Staying saved is an act of obedience to Christ.
See...that's where you appear to have gone wrong and why I said you're trying to insert a version of "works righteousness" into your thesis. It amounts to "He forgives us--but only if we are blameless." We wouldn't need a savior if we were able to keep the Law perfectly.

It is quite clear that sin separates us from God. Thus, one is not saved any longer. That is why the need of confession/repentance.

This is not a work, "like doing 100 hail marys", "praying the rosary", etc. This is simply NOT sinning, or not performing works of unrighteousness. God commands us to not sin, to violate God's law.
It's not THOSE particular works, no. However, to isolate them from "Honor thy Father and thy Mother" is an illusion.

That's a distinction without a difference. To keep the Law is to act in a certain way just as much as is performing any other work.
 
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Hieronymus

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It is by God's grace that we are saved. We can't supernaturally eliminate our sins, only God can do that. However, willful disobedience/violation of the Law/sin separates us from God.

Remember if you live a life sinning, you are of the devil according to God's Word. You're no longer under God's grace. It's why Jesus told sinners to "Go and SIN NO MORE".
Frankly i find it rather disgusting how many Christians seem to not want to believe that many many people will be saved.
 
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GeorgiaGuyinAtlanta

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No. I have no laurels to rest on, and I still have eternal security.
So keep collecting "I don't sin" laurels... I don't know exactly how many you will need, but I'm sure you'll figure something out.

Hebrews 10:26-27
For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins ,But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
 
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GeorgiaGuyinAtlanta

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Frankly i find it rather disgusting how many Christians seem to not want to believe that many many people will be saved.

How is it disgusting when the Bible says that in relation to those who choose the wide way it will be few?
 
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Hieronymus

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How is it disgusting when the Bible says that in relation to those who choose the wide way it will be few?
It's the pride and arrogance of Christians that comes with it i despise.
It's judgemental and condescending.
It will be up to God, not us.
 
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Rick Otto

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Hebrews 10:26-27
For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins ,But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
Willfully.
 
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