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 that go to "evangelical" churches. How can I say such terrible things? It’s part of the job of the watchman, when necessary.  God made prophet Ezekiel a 'watchman,' whose purpose was to look for gross sin in the people, hear from God that it was time to speak, and then speak strongly to caution and warn them.  If he didn't warn, their blood exacted from them in God's judgment would be on his hands when God comes by to punish them for their apostasy (Ezek 33:6ff). Most people dislike the prophets, so 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 my assertions about America? Well, it’s what you call a numbers game.  It starts with 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 or on a golf course. Then say, “OK, picture in your mind that a few of those people separate, 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. God does not provide a third alternative for eternity. I also think 94% fulfills the word “most” in the title of this paper. 

Now, you might argue that Americans are “different” than these depressing numbers would suggest, that we’re “better than just a few” for heaven. 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 (but getting smaller), and our middle class—including you and me, most likely—is “rich,” measured by any standard in world history. (Not measured by America 25 years ago).  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 than 6%—we might even suggest that it is less than 6%! What do I find that "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, or even any discomfort? No; they either say “I’m not rich” (which I've already proven false in the vantage point of the world and of history, as I’ve pointed out above), or they call Jesus' camel comment hyperbole—but then make the terrible mistake of completely dismissing it. Can you be so cavalier, to dismiss statements about eternity as "well, He doesn't mean it."  But folks, Jesus’ point when He does hyperbole is, it contains mostly truth. And you never dismiss what Jesus says. 

I'm saying that people in America may ask in pride, what is our great evil here, that you think Jesus would pick on us, that makes it extremely hard for us to be saved? It’s this: If you have "wealthy" assets (we’re talking larger houses than 1300 square feet--obviously larger if you have children at home--or 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 and kept it by ignoring your suffering brothers and sisters in the world. I know, that seems to be a nasty 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 the excess of what you have and give to those in need. This will fatten your spiritual rewards 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.  They're forever.  See my "radical"-titled blogs, which nail down proof on this command that Jesus really did make. 

So Jesus said, 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 for myself, or throw it on my pile of savings to make my future even 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 His children suffer. His saved children with extra income (you and me) are supposed to make a difference in the world for the poor and the oppressed. As Jesus did. Our desire for sanctification is to become more like Jesus, right? But we are complacently ignorant, consuming our extra money selfishly on ourselves. Mothers go to work to help pay debts, or to supplement income—leaving the kids supervised by someone else. But kids love mom and want her praise. She, in return, will teach them how to sacrifice and they learn good morals.

God will judge us for this—perhaps more than we know. Our pastors are no help; their sermons have been on a kick, far too long, of teaching us that God is a grandfatherly fellow. That leads to complacency. We figure that God gave us wealth because He loves us, and heaven is a sure thing. 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. If we get too wrapped up in consumption and materialism, we bear less fruit.  Not bearing fruit means no heaven for us—John 15:5-6.

So what have you done with your extra dollars in the past? We’re talking about the difference between eternal life or eternal death here. Surely you’re aware of the parable of the man who used his extra earnings to build better storehouses (Luke 12:18ff). Well, if you survey people innocently about his plan and procedure, without referring to the Bible, it sounds quite logical to save up for the future, so it must be godly.  But it drew God’s judgment—He took his life away! His sin? Clearly stated in Scripture (Luke 12:21)—he was adding to his previous wealth. Hey, that’s an American goal, “everybody” does it—well, as I proved, “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 who are comfortable in America do. We are rich, but we still buy, buy, buy things. We gorge our lusts so much that our plenteous income isn't enough; we even are into the idolatry of materialism so much that we go into debt, then we are trapped with huge payments, and then we can never help the poor. Meanwhile, our desperate brothers of the world often die without help.  This is especially true of refugees, who have no medical care, no income, and live in crowded quarters--leading to more disease and dysentery. (I’m sorry if you believe that all refugees in the world are terrorists, so you won’t help them.)  

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. Not piling up savings seems foolhardy. But Jesus says He provides for the birds, and aren’t we worth more than birds? He will not let us starve if we give to the poor as He commands. Frankly, I’ve never heard a single pastor—and I’ve heard many—teach this simple truth.  What did Jesus say?? Let's quote Him: “DO NOT lay up for yourselves treasures on earth,” or 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 (John 15:5,6, remember). They want to believe that God wouldn’t send them to hell—so they ignore what Jesus says about rich people in Scripture. Surveys back up this assurance about the confidence people feel, indicating that over 60% of Americans say they’re going to heaven (Gallup poll). But try to say that Scripture indicates a more accurate number to be 6%, not 60%, as we’ve said—so that means the other 54% who think they are going, are deceived. So if 60% of Americans say they’re heaven-bound, but the real number is 6%, 90% of people who think they're going to heaven--aren't.  That's a whole lot of people deceived. And a whole lot of surprises at the Judgement seat. Another way of putting this data is, of every 10 people who think they’re saved, 9 of those are going to hell. Only one is going to heaven. Only one of ten is truly saved of all those who “know” they’re saved.

Think of the odds against you, my friend, if you are the "normal Christian." I'm hoping the fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom (Prov 9:10), might actually enter your heart. I'm talking about sins like complacency or idolatry. The question to ask is: have you been deceived? Scripture points out (Matthew 24) the rampant deception in the Last Days. Could this be you or me? Out of the 10, are you in the 9? Or are you the one out of 10? Prove to yourself that you're the lucky one by the standards I've enumerated above. What did you do to show you're the one? Are you going to be with 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

In summary, this says that people who refuse to help those in need are deceived and going to hell. 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 first ask if you've had that initial salvation.  Did you sincerely repent of your sin as a nauseous offense of God?  Did you sincerely place trust in Jesus as saving you from the hell you deserved, and the Substitute who paid for your sin? Then, read your Gospels intensively, to secure that you are in obedience to His commands, that He is truly Lord of your life.  This means doing all the things Jesus commands—you strive for best efforts. It would help if you make a list of Jesus’ commands in the Gospels—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 any. 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, turn around your behavior with regularity. You can’t keep falling back into sin, 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 initial salvation. But sanctification is a necessity. 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 head-faith is real by bowing to His Lordship, by being His servant, ready to do 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. Jesus mentions sacrifice many times. Your reward is in heaven, your reward is eternal—that’s a much longer time than your “reward” (i.e., 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 yet 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 a return of 60 times investment above, a feast awaits you! Why look at your return on earth—when you die, you take nothing with you—except the investments in heaven. Do you want to please God or yourself? If you’re married, and want to make a change, 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 of good international charities. (I follow Ministry Watch.) 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, our young are not prepared to hear agnostic professors on how to nullify morality and turn away from God). But we must discipline ourselves. 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.