Salvation Summaries

In this post, I’ll answer the following three questions: Why did Jesus come to earth? How many people go to heaven? And, How can you know if you’re a Christian?

Why did Jesus come to earth?

Before I answer this question, let me ask you a question.

If you are a parent, how did you decide the names you would give to your children? Were they of a grandparent or other relative? Were they trendy names? Bible names?

My wife and I chose Bible names for our first two boys, and then a name my wife simply liked – but was close to a Bible name – for our third child, a girl. We preferred to use a Bible name rather than a relative or trendy name (though my wife wanted to use a name in her family as the middle name for our first child), and also wanted one with a good meaning, although we have long forgotten the meanings of the names we gave them.

Matthew shows us that Jesus’ name defined his purpose for coming to this earth.  It was not to be a good teacher, or a prophet, although He was both of these.  Rather, it was to save people from something that would kill them (spiritually), and to do this, Jesus himself would have to die.

• Matthew 1:21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”Matthew 20:28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

• Matthew 26:26-28 26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” 27 Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

When you understand that Jesus came to this earth to die for the sins of His people in order that they might be saved, you begin to realize that He is the main element, the main component, in how a person becomes saved (and therefore a Christian).  You also see, by extension, that becoming a Christian has little or nothing to do with us, or what we have done.

How many people go to heaven?

If I were to ask you what percentage of the population will likely go to heaven, what would you say?  75%?  50%?

You might be surprised to learn that the Bible tells us how many people go to heaven. It doesn’t provide a specific percentage or number (and we wouldn’t expect it to), but rather a general indication.

So, what’s the answer?  The answer is a “few.”  Only a few people go to heaven; most go to the other place.  We see this from the following verses:

• Matthew 7:13-14 13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

•  Matthew 22:14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

Now, some of you might be saying, “That can’t be true!” Or, “That’s not fair. How can only a few people make it to heaven?” Still others might say “I thought there were many roads to heaven, for I see coexist bumper stickers everywhere, and since there are many roads, many people must go to heaven.”

First, I don’t make the rules on who goes and who doesn’t go, and you don’t either. God is the one who determines this.  And while it’s true that God is loving and gracious and merciful and kind, He is also to be feared for His power and ability (even authority) to send people to heaven or hell.  One of my purposes in writing this blog is for it to be a “wake-up call” for you to see how a person goes to heaven, for I don’t want you to be in the majority on this issue.

Second, take a step back and look at the growing immorality in our world, and its increasing violence.  Look at how God has been removed from our schools and government.  And look at how Christians are being portrayed by the media and in our society (in an increasingly negatively light given their supposed intolerance on certain issues).  Based upon these things, it should not be all that surprising that most people will not go to heaven. It is sad but true, at least in our country, that most people do not live to please and obey God, or to include Him in the details of their lives.  Instead, they live to please themselves (by trying to be successful, earn lots of money, be well thought of , well liked, and have a high standard of living), and they pay little attention to Him (with the possible exception of Sunday mornings).

Third, your question (not you specifically; it’s a rhetorical question as you know) makes sense if people go to heaven based upon the common notion that heaven is a reward for people who think that they are good. But as I’ve talked about in a number of posts, and eluded to above, heaven is not a reward for how good you think you are, or how many good things you do; heaven has everything to do with Jesus Christ, and your relationship with Him. Because so few people have a relationship with Him (if they did, it would be evident in our schools, government, the media, etc.), few people will spend eternity with Him.

How can you know if you’re a Christian?

A few books in the New Testament provide us with guidance on how to know whether someone is a Christian, and Matthew is one of them.

According to Matthew, there are at least two ways by which you can tell if someone is a Christian.  Both should be viewed together though, in order to more accurately determine whether a person is saved.

The first way is by a person’s “fruit.”

• Matthew 7:16-20 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

Now, this raises the obvious question, “what do you mean by fruit?”

Fruit is mentioned a number of times in the Bible, and it appears to have more than one meaning.  However, I believe the primary meaning in the verses above is that used in Galatians 5:22-23, which says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”  As a result, if you would characterize yourself as having love, joy, peace, faithfulness, etc., in your life, that would be good evidence that you indeed are a Christian.

There is one important caveat to what I just said though. Some people who are not Christians may look at  themselves and say, “I love others, I am kind, and I am good, so I must be a Christian.”  The Bible indicates that non-Christians cannot bear the type of fruit the Bible speaks of.  In other words, while a non-believer may think he or she loves others, or is kind to others, it is not Biblical love or kindness.  True fruit can only come from a person who has the Holy Spirit and has a union with Christ, or in other words, is a Christian (although such person will not necessarily have all of the fruits listed).  We see this in Galatians 5:22 above (where the fruit is “of the Spirit”) and the two verses below:

• John 15:4 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

• John 15:8 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

So, even though evidence of fruit is one way you should be able to tell whether another person is a Christian, it is not necessarily easy to do, or a fool-proof way.

The second way you can tell if a person is a Christian is by one’s obedience in doing the Lord’s will.

• 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

• 24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

In summary, you can know if someone is a Christian by their fruit and obedience in doing the Lord’s will.  Those that clearly have at least some of the fruit mentioned in Galatians 5, and who seek to obey the Lord, can have confidence that they are a Christian and thus saved.  Those who may question whether they have the fruit mentioned in Galatians 5, and who do not seek to obey the Lord in how they live, are likely not a Christian. There are other ways to determine if you are a Christian or not (one is by examining yourself to see if you have real faith), that I have mentioned in prior posts and will mention in future posts (so please keep reading).