The Synoptic Jesus Did Not Expect Many To Be Saved

"Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few."

-- Matthew 7:13f

"For many are called, but few are chosen."

-- Matthew 22:14

And some one said to him, "Lord, will those who are saved be few?" And he said to them, "Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able."

-- Luke 13:23f.

"Not every one who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.'"

-- Matthew 7:21ff.

"For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened."

-- Matthew 24:21f.


And [the disciples] were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, 'Who then can be saved?'

-- Mark 10:26

When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, 'Who then can be saved?'

-- Matthew 19:25

"And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days."

-- Mark 13:20

And they that heard it said, 'Who then can be saved?'

-- Luke 18:26

Did The Many Women Followers Of Jesus "Say Goodbye To Everything They Owned"?

Or keep it but devote it to cook for him and the disciples?

"And the twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Mag'dalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joan'na, the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many other women, who customarily served him out of their own possessions." -- Luke 8:1ff.

"So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions." -- Luke 14:33

One Thing Needful, Or Two?

Two things I ask of thee; deny them not to me before I die: Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, "Who is the LORD?" or lest I be poor, and steal, and profane the name of my God.

-- Proverbs 30:7ff.

And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving; and she went to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me." But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things; one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the good portion, which shall not be taken away from her."

-- Luke 10:39ff.

"If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there"

"If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there."

-- Psalm 139:8

True Repentance: The "Cannot Be My Disciple" Sayings Are All Luke's

walk away

"If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple."

-- Luke 14:26f.

"So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple."

-- Luke 14:33

God's Judgment May Tarry For Centuries . . . Or Not

"After four generations your descendants will return here to this land, for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction."

-- Genesis 15:16

Meanwhile, the angels questioned Lot. "Do you have any other relatives here in the city?" they asked. "Get them out of this place—your sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone else. For we are about to destroy this city completely. The outcry against this place is so great it has reached the LORD, and he has sent us to destroy it."

-- Genesis 19:12f.

Sorrow is better than laughter, Mourning better than mirth

For the trials and travails of the week that was, for the intemperate threats of an immature Kim Jong Un, for the annual reckoning that is tax day, for the two-day collapse in gold prices, for the inconvenience of a local power outage, for old friends who no longer act like it, for the Boston Marathon Terror Massacre, for the death of a loved one in the family far away, for the passing and funeral of Margaret Thatcher, for torrential rains and winds and record-setting floods in West Michigan, the words of The Preacher:

"A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth. It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth."

-- Ecclesiastes 7:1ff

If It Weren't For Islam You Wouldn't Need A "Coexist" Bumper Sticker At All

So says Mark Steyn, here:

"[I]f it weren’t for that Islamic crescent you wouldn’t need a bumper sticker at all." 

One Man's Altar Is Another Man's Alter

Jesus, Cleaver Of Relationships, Especially Family Ones

"Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law."

-- Luke 12:51ff.

"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me."

-- Matthew 10:34ff.

"Love your enemies."

-- Luke 6:27, Matthew 5:44

What Belongs To Caesar Belongs To God, Because Even Caesar Belongs To God

The earth is the Lord's . . . and they that dwell therein . . . whether they like it or not.

Who Rules The World, The Lord Or The Devil?

"He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, and on them he has set the world."

-- 1 Samuel 2:8

"The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein."

-- Psalm 24:1

"Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God. ... If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof."

-- Psalm 50:7, 12

"The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them."

-- Psalm 89:11

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"Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out."

-- John 12:31

"I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me."

-- John 14:30

"[T]he ruler of this world is judged."

-- John 16:11

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

-- Ephesians 6:12

The Sons of the Kingdom and of the Evil One Must Coexist Until The End

Weeds among the Oregon hard red wheat

And the servants of the householder came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then has it weeds?' He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?' But he said, 'No; lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'

-- Matthew 13:27ff.

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Explaining America's Obsession With Perfect Lawns

"The weeds are the sons of the evil one."

-- Matthew 13:38

If You Turn Up Your Nose At God, He Will Turn Up His At You?

"Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap." -- Gal. 6:7

"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." -- Matthew 5:44f.

Wisest Thing Barry Ritholtz Ever Said

Here.

The problem is, he may one day soon come to believe it's an original insight, along with the other insights he's had which he thinks are original but are not.

"It is exceedingly difficult to change the world. It is apparently impossible to change human nature."