Do these three Bible verses teach that Christians are now,
and will be in the future, few in numbers? No!
(A) Luke 12:32's "little flock"
(B) Matthew 7:14's "only a few find it"
(C) Matthew 22:14's "many are invited, but few are chosen"
Why not few in numbers?
Because there are well over 2,300,000,000 Christians in the world
.and 2.3 billion Christians cannot be a "little flock" or only a "few".
There are over 16,000,000 Southern Baptist in the United States.
Sixteen million Christians cannot be a "little flock" or a "few."
There are over 1300 Protestant mega-churches in the United States
with weekly attendance over 2000. That many Christians cannot
be a "little flock" or just a "few."
There are over 3000 Catholic churches in the world with a weekly attendance
of over 2000. This many Christians cannot be just a "few" or a "little flock."
Anticipated objection:
"Those people up there are not true Christians."___John Small Church
My reply to John Small Church:
It is absolutely impossible for you to know for certain that they are not
true Christians. You do not have the power or the authority to judge
the hearts of other people. That's just a fact and its an absolute fact.
Only God has the power and the authority to judge the hearts of people
and to know if they are, or are not, true Christians.
I say all this, John Small Church, in the spirit of love and kindness.
Remember this: You, like all Christians, are imperfect. You are not sinless.
Therefore any one of those 2.3 billion Christians could look at the
imperfections in your life and they could say about you, what you
just said about them, namely that you are not a true Christian.
So the conversation can end up like this:
Bob: I am a true Christian, but you Tom, are not a true Christian.
Tom: No Bob, I am a true Christian, but you are not a true Christian.
Bob: No Tom, you do not meet my standards for being a true Christian.
Tom: No Bob, you do not meet my standards for being a true Christian
________________
I plan to consider these 5 biblical passages regarding the
HUGE-ENORMOUS numbers of the Christian Church.
(1) Genesis 22:15-18 with
(2) Galatians 3:6-9 with
(3) Romans 4:16-17 with
(4) Hebrews 11:11-12 with
(5) Revelation 7:9-10
Meanwhile this thought:
"As of the year 2015, Christianity has more than 2.3 billion adherents,
out of about 7.5 billion people. The faith represents one-third of the
world's population and is the largest religion in the world, with the three
largest groups being the Catholic Church, Protestantism, and
the Eastern Orthodox Church."__wiki
______
Clearly, Christianity is not now a "little flock" and it is impossible to interpret
the Bible as teaching that the Christian Church is always going to be a "little
flock." When was Christianity a "little flock"? Answer: It was a "little flock"
at the time the Lord Jesus spoke the words of Luke 12:32. At that time
there was probably less than 300 Christians in the entire world of the
1st century. The Christian Church is not a "little flock" now and
will never again be a "little flock."
So?
So clearly these verses . .
(A) Luke 12:32's "little flock"
(B) Matthew 7:14's "only a few find it"
(C) Matthew 22:14's "many are invited, but few are chosen" . . .
. . .are NOT predictive of the future of the numerical size of the Christian Church.
`
and will be in the future, few in numbers? No!
(A) Luke 12:32's "little flock"
(B) Matthew 7:14's "only a few find it"
(C) Matthew 22:14's "many are invited, but few are chosen"
Why not few in numbers?
Because there are well over 2,300,000,000 Christians in the world
.and 2.3 billion Christians cannot be a "little flock" or only a "few".
There are over 16,000,000 Southern Baptist in the United States.
Sixteen million Christians cannot be a "little flock" or a "few."
There are over 1300 Protestant mega-churches in the United States
with weekly attendance over 2000. That many Christians cannot
be a "little flock" or just a "few."
There are over 3000 Catholic churches in the world with a weekly attendance
of over 2000. This many Christians cannot be just a "few" or a "little flock."
Anticipated objection:
"Those people up there are not true Christians."___John Small Church
My reply to John Small Church:
It is absolutely impossible for you to know for certain that they are not
true Christians. You do not have the power or the authority to judge
the hearts of other people. That's just a fact and its an absolute fact.
Only God has the power and the authority to judge the hearts of people
and to know if they are, or are not, true Christians.
I say all this, John Small Church, in the spirit of love and kindness.
Remember this: You, like all Christians, are imperfect. You are not sinless.
Therefore any one of those 2.3 billion Christians could look at the
imperfections in your life and they could say about you, what you
just said about them, namely that you are not a true Christian.
So the conversation can end up like this:
Bob: I am a true Christian, but you Tom, are not a true Christian.
Tom: No Bob, I am a true Christian, but you are not a true Christian.
Bob: No Tom, you do not meet my standards for being a true Christian.
Tom: No Bob, you do not meet my standards for being a true Christian
________________
I plan to consider these 5 biblical passages regarding the
HUGE-ENORMOUS numbers of the Christian Church.
(1) Genesis 22:15-18 with
(2) Galatians 3:6-9 with
(3) Romans 4:16-17 with
(4) Hebrews 11:11-12 with
(5) Revelation 7:9-10
Meanwhile this thought:
"As of the year 2015, Christianity has more than 2.3 billion adherents,
out of about 7.5 billion people. The faith represents one-third of the
world's population and is the largest religion in the world, with the three
largest groups being the Catholic Church, Protestantism, and
the Eastern Orthodox Church."__wiki
______
Clearly, Christianity is not now a "little flock" and it is impossible to interpret
the Bible as teaching that the Christian Church is always going to be a "little
flock." When was Christianity a "little flock"? Answer: It was a "little flock"
at the time the Lord Jesus spoke the words of Luke 12:32. At that time
there was probably less than 300 Christians in the entire world of the
1st century. The Christian Church is not a "little flock" now and
will never again be a "little flock."
So?
So clearly these verses . .
(A) Luke 12:32's "little flock"
(B) Matthew 7:14's "only a few find it"
(C) Matthew 22:14's "many are invited, but few are chosen" . . .
. . .are NOT predictive of the future of the numerical size of the Christian Church.
`
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