Most Americans Are Not Saved

Most Americans are not saved. Most Americans are going to hell, barring a revolutionary event or revival. That includes many evangelicals. How can I say such terrible things? It’s the watchman story, from Ezekiel—when he must speak the negative word to avoid the blood on his hands in judgment (Ezek 33:6ff). I know how unacceptable this paper is going to be; I’ve spoken parts of it to people, and they went elsewhere for light conversation. But there is, after all, a message of hope, if you get to the end of this paper. 

So, you want to know, what proof do I have for the first paragraph? Well, it’s what you call a numbers game, based on Matthew 7:13-14:

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction (hell), and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life (eternal life), and there are few who find it. 

Well, how many is “few,” the ones to be saved? I welcome you to take a survey like I did to see if you agree to my results. Invite someone to close their eyes. Tell them to imagine viewing from overhead, 100 people milling together on a person’s extended lawn. Then say, “OK, picture in your mind that a few of those people cross over a bridge to a gazebo.” Then you ask, “How many people, to your best knowledge, did you imagine doing that?” I did ask people that, and the answers were 3 to 7. Let’s be generous and say the average is 6. By that measure, Jesus is saying 6% of the people are going to heaven—so 94% are going to hell. There is no third alternative. I think 94% fulfills the word “most” in my title. 

Now, you might argue that Americans are “different” than these depressing numbers would suggest, that we’re “better than just a few.” Well, quite the opposite may be true. Consider this well-known fact: America is the richest large society in the world, and has been for several decades now. Our middle class is huge, and our middle class—including you and me, most likely—is “rich,” measured by any standard in world history. Now here’s my point: Jesus warns rich people (and that includes you and me) several times in Scripture. When Jesus said, the chances of a rich person going to heaven are worse than the chances of a camel going through the eye of a needle (Matthew 19:24), that suggests to me that even less than the “few,” the 6%, are saved in our country. So America’s saved folk wouldn’t be greater—we might even suggest that it is less than 6%! What do Bible-believing Americans do when they read that their chances of being saved are like “the camel going through the eye of the needle”? Do they experience a fear of God? No; they either say “I’m not rich” (which is easily disproven in the vantage point of the world and of history, as I’ve pointed out above), or they call the phrase hyperbole—and then completely dismiss it. But folks, Jesus’ point when He does hyperbole is, it contains mostly truth. And you never dismiss what Jesus says. 

Well, people may ask in pride, what is our great evil here, that makes Jesus pick on us, that makes it extremely hard for us (Matt 19:23) to be saved? It’s this: If you have wealth assets (we’re talking larger houses than 1400 square feet, a retirement or 401k, or your own stocks or decent savings)--and lots of Americans have that wealth, not just the upper class—you probably got it by ignoring your suffering brothers in the world. I know, that's an extreme statement, but please read on, please. The Scriptural fact is, we are supposed to use money on ourselves to fulfill basic needs only—and give the rest away, to the desperately poor and needy of the world. If we make the mistake of accumulating wealth, Luke 12:33 tells us what to do: Sell what you have and give to those in need. This will fatten your purses in heaven! And the purses of heaven have no rips or holes in them. Your treasures there will never disappear; no thief can steal them; no moth can destroy them.  See my blogs on this point. 

So I'm saying, you should only own what you "need." Scripture makes it clear what defines “need”: Food, basic clothing and basic shelter. Every dollar you make above the ability to meet your needs, you have a choice: Do I give this to a brother or sister in the world who is starving, even to death, who is repeatedly terribly sick because he is drinking contaminated water, who doesn’t have a decent or safe place to live—or do I just keep it, buy another toy, or throw it on my pile of savings to make my future easier? The fact is, most middle- and upper-class Americans choose the latter—without a single pang of conscience. But we must learn to know and think like God; He loves every person, and hates to see people suffering--of any religious faith. His saved children are supposed to make a difference in the world for the poor and the oppressed. As Jesus did. But we are complacently ignorant, consuming our extra money selfishly on ourselves. God will judge us for this—perhaps more than we know, because our pastors have been on a kick, far too long, of teaching us that God is a grandfatherly fellow, not a Judge. We assume we got the extra wealth because we’re smart, or God gave us this wealth because He loves us; or because our country is great, and we're proud of that. But the reality is, He gave us this extra money for us to share it with His suffering children, thereby bearing fruit. But we spend it on ourselves, and thus do not bear fruit. 

So what have you done with your extra dollars in the past? We’re talking about the difference between eternal life or eternal death. Surely you’re aware of the parable of the man who used his extra earnings to build better storehouses (Luke 12:18ff). Well, that “godly” savings plan drew God’s judgment—He took his life away. His sin? Clearly stated in Scripture (Luke 12:21)—he was adding to his wealth. Hey, that’s an American goal, “everybody” does it—well, “everybody” is on the broad path (Matthew 7:13-14); that's a hellish path. And what about the story of that rich man, who passed by the beggar Lazarus every day (Luke 16:19ff)? What was his sin? He didn’t oppress him, like rich people often do to poor people; he just ignored him. What did God do to him, evidently because he ignored the poor? Sent him to hell (Luke 16:23). And that’s also what most of us better-off in America do. We are rich, but we buy, buy, buy things. We gorge our lusts so much we even get into debt, so we are trapped with huge payments and then we can never help the poor. Meanwhile, our desperate brothers often die in our complacency. 

Jesus says in Matthew 6:19, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth...” That is a crystal-clear command not to accumulate wealth. Frankly, I’ve never heard a single pastor—and I’ve heard many—teach this simple truth of Jesus’ statement: DO NOT accumulate wealth. And He says why in verse 21: Because the desires of your heart will be thinking about wealth, rather than on what God wants you to do for His kingdom. Also think about the Sower sowing seed into the thorns: “the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful” (Matthew 13:22). Guess where the unfruitful go? Hell (see John 15:5,6). What is the “deceitfulness” of riches? Maybe it’s this: Wealthy people assume they’re rich because God loves them—so they conclude they are assured of heaven. In America, even the large middle class is rich by world (and history) standards—so lots and lots of people feel assured of God’s love, assured they’re going to heaven. They want to believe this—so they ignore what Jesus says about rich people in Scripture. Surveys back up this assurance that people feel, indicating that 70% of Americans say they’re going to heaven (Gallup poll). But a more accurate number is 6%, as we’ve said--or even fewer, considering our richer people—so that means the other 63% are deceived, probably by their riches in most cases. So if 70% of Americans say they’re heaven-bound, but the real number is 6%, there’s a whole lot of people deceiving themselves. And a whole lot of surprises at the Judgement seat. Another way of putting this data is, of every 12 people who think they’re saved, 11 of those are going to hell. Only one is going to heaven. Only one is truly saved. 

Think of the odds against you, my friend. I'm hoping the fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom (Prov 9:10), might actually enter your heart. The question to ask is: have you been deceived? Out of the 12, are you in the 11? Statistically, more than likely. Or are you the one? Prove you're the lucky one by the standards I've enumerated above. If you assert that you are the one, what did you do to show you're the one? The odds place you in the 11. Are you one of those, in judgment day, pleading like in Matt 25:44ff:

‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Will you be one of those hearing these sad words-- 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment

Could hell be your destination, and you don’t even know it? What would you do to avoid that horrible possibility? Let’s assume you believed in Christ as Savior, you felt assured of heaven; but this paper is an eye-opener, and you wonder what to do. To get motivated to do this, to revive the Spirit within you, you might read your Gospels intensively, make a list of Jesus’ commands—to be forgiving, to help the oppressed, to turn the other cheek, to love your enemies—and ask the Spirit, in prayer, to show you where you have violated each one. Develop a fear of God’s judgment on the unfruitful, ask in deep sincerity for forgiveness for each sin. God may discipline you, but He will forgive (I John 1:8,9). But you must repent. You can’t keep falling back, out of weakness or pride.  Don't just trust your feelings, saying "I feel God's got me."  God has patience, but it’s limited patience. Believing in Jesus as God, Who died on the cross to save us, Who rose again from the dead, will give you the Holy Spirit and is a good start. But we must endure to the end to be saved (II Tim 2:3,12). As the book of James says (especially 2:14), you must show your intellectual faith is real by bowing to His Lordship, by being His servant, ready to read His commands in Scripture and repeatedly work on them. If you are gifted with income above what you need (please prayerfully consider what the word “need” entails), would you change your lifestyle? Would you move into a smaller, less costly house? Would you sell the second car? Yes, there would be inconvenience, but the money you save and can give is huge; you could save many lives. Your reward is in heaven, your reward is eternal—that’s a much longer time than your “reward” (convenience) for keeping the second car on earth. God has promised to return our investing in heaven’s treasures 30, 60, 100 times (Matt 13:23)!  And you’re fighting for a 4% return on your investments here, which keep you “happy” for a vapor in time, comparatively.

Why fight for scraps on the floor, when if you look to the table of 100 times investment above, a feast awaits you! If you’re married, would you make it a dedicated goal to see your spouse change his/her mind, so you can do this effectively, together? Would you carry out a tight budget for a long time, and thus eliminate debts, and then go on to help the Lord? It would take a lot of “no we won’t comfort ourselves by buying that.” Would you go  online to get websites of relief organizations that are run efficiently (those that spend little money advertising or trying to manipulate people)? Try googling “charity review sites” and get a long list. Please, please consider international organizations, not just your local church. I doubt God approves of all the money we spend on making our buildings comfortable and beautiful when there are people who cannot meet publicly in safety, who cannot even get enough Bibles to go around. Will you help these people? Yes, obeying some of Jesus’ commands is tough. Lifestyle changes are tough. I know how you want to dismiss His clear command to give away assets, thinking that Jesus doesn’t want us to be so “imprudent,” giving away savings. You have a million excuses to keep piling up savings: for your retirement (but does the Scripture talk about retirement?--no), for your kids’ college (in most cases, where they will learn how to nullify morality and turn away from God). But we must discipline ourselves, turn away from self, and sacrifice. Because Scripture says if we don’t obey His commands, we’re not saved (I John 2:4). It’s being obedient on a difficult command like this that we really learn the real meaning of faith. If we begin obeying here, then if we lose our job and have no savings because we gave it away to a needy brother, you can bet on this--God will help you find another job. It will be far better than what you could get on your own. None of His children beg for food, He promises (Psalm 37:25). I pray your answer is Yes to Jesus and No to the world.