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[Announcer] (0:00 - 0:18) Think about the Bible like you never have before. You're listening to Christian Questions. Access more audio, videos, and Bible study resources at ChristianQuestions.com.

Our topic is: "Why Are Many Called if Only Few Are Chosen?" Here's Rick, Jonathan, and Julie.

[Rick] (0:21 - 0:31) Welcome everyone. I'm Rick. I'm joined by Jonathan, my co-host for over twenty-five years. Julie, a longtime contributor, is also with us.

Jonathan, what's our theme scripture for this episode?

[Jonathan] (0:31 - 0:36) Matthew 22:14: "For many are called, but few are chosen."

[Rick] (0:37 - 1:49) For many Christians, these words of Jesus should bring a pause-and-consider moment. What was Jesus saying here? If we believe that "God is love" and we believe that Jesus came as our savior, do we also believe that everyone outside of Christianity, outside of this call, is lost and gone forever?

Is this what Jesus was saying? If so, then how does that square with God being love? Is Jesus saying that God is love but only for the few whom he chooses, and the rest of his human creation are essentially garbage?

Isn't that a massive contradiction? If we're willing to examine this statement by Jesus in the light of Scripture, we will find a completely different answer. What we will find is a logic and a harmony that is founded upon God's love AND His justice.

There's a big question here. "For many are called, but few are chosen." What does it mean?

We're going to introduce two scriptures that we're going to consider as foundational "go to" scriptures to remind us of God's true character as a baseline for this discussion. Let's start with John 3:16-17.

[Jonathan] (1:50 - 2:13) This is one of the most quoted scriptures in the world: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life." But most people don't keep reading in verse 17, which says: "For God did not send the son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him."

[Rick] (2:13 - 2:37) You have this addition to John 3:16 which everybody reads, that says Jesus was sent to save the world. Keep that thought in mind; save the world.

The next scripture brings us back to God's promise to Abraham. This promise to Abraham opens the door to understanding how God's love would be manifested. Now, let's go to Genesis 22:15-18:

[Jonathan] (2:38 - 3:09) "Then the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies.

In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."

[Julie] (3:09 - 3:22) This is the reaffirmation and expansion of what's called the "Abrahamic Covenant." It was a promise from God given in response to Abraham's obedience. Israel was given the privilege of blessing the world through Isaac, who represented Jesus.

[Rick] (3:23 - 4:29) We have this tremendous conglomeration of things happening. You have the son, Isaac, being sacrificed and God stops that, and He says, because you've done this, I'm going to multiply your seed as the stars of heaven. That shows us one part of the blessing.

The sands of the seashore, that shows us another part of the blessing. He says, and basically in your seed--which we know represents Jesus because Isaac represented Jesus--in your seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed. Again, when you think about "many are called" and "few are chosen," and you look at that and say, is it discounting everybody else?

These two fundamental scriptures say, no way! Can't be, because the blessing of the whole world is in both of these scriptures. Let's continue now.

Let's get to our scripture, and why does it say what it says, and how do we understand it? The context of Jesus' "many are called, but few are chosen" statement is a parable about a wedding feast. As we touch on this parable throughout this episode, it is critical to remember that the things said in this story are there to illustrate a much bigger and far different reality.

[Julie] (4:30 - 5:02) This parable was spoken within the last week of Jesus' ministry. He had cursed the fig tree and he was being challenged by the chief priests and elders at the temple, and he answered them by speaking in parables aimed directly at them.

His theme for those parables was the hypocrisy and spiritual blindness of those same chief priests and elders who were Israel's religious leaders. The final verses of Matthew 21 set the stage. This is right before the Parable of the Wedding Feast that we're going to get into in Matthew 21:45-46:

[Jonathan] (5:03 - 5:38) "When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they understood that he was speaking about them. When they sought to seize him, they feared the people, because they considered him to be a prophet." Jesus begins the parable in Matthew 22:1-14.

Let's begin with Matthew 22:1-3: "Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come."

[Rick] (5:39 - 7:14) This is important. This is Matthew 22, the first few verses, and he starts this parable, but there was no break between Matthew 21 and Matthew 22.

The Pharisees knew he was talking about them, and Jesus doesn't back down. He says, I'm going to talk about you some more and basically puts this parable out, and he says the kingdom is compared to this king with this feast, sending out those to invite, and they don't want to come.

Hello, Scribes and Pharisees. Let's look at this. Jesus was the Messiah.

He had come to Israel, and the nation under the leadership of these same chief priests and Pharisees was going to reject him and thereby begin rejecting part of their given privileges of being those who would bless others. Again, we go back to the Abrahamic Promise--sands of the seashore and stars of heaven. There's two parts of the blessing.

Israel is essentially rejecting the call to that heavenly part of blessing. However, it's important to understand that Israel is not being rejected forever as a nation. In Romans 11, the Apostle Paul is emphatic about the fact that they had lost favor for a period of time but their favor would come rushing back.

They are God's chosen people still to this day. We've got this parable in place that gives us this sense of, you guys are in trouble! That's the message he's sending to the chief priests and the Pharisees.

Days later, Jesus would present several "woes" to the scribes and the Pharisees. Let's get going with Matthew 23:13:

[Jonathan] (7:14 - 7:31) This was the first of seven "woes," which are exclamations of grief. "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in."

[Julie] (7:32 - 8:02) What the Pharisees were doing is they were in a sense shutting the door for this calling to the heavenly kingdom, this "stars of heaven" version of the Abrahamic Promise. It's the call to be a part of that group who would be in heaven with Jesus, for both themselves and all that they were shepherding. Following Jesus is the only way to receive a heavenly reward.

By teaching the people to reject him, they were in fact blocking the door, the only way to the kingdom of heaven. They shut the door by literally shutting down Jesus.

[Jonathan] (8:02 - 8:06) They took a tremendous opportunity away from the people.

[Rick] (8:06 - 8:33) What a tragedy! I mean, think about it. The tragedy of leadership gone awry means those who follow end up suffering, and that's exactly what happened.

Those "woes" are listed in Matthew 23. If we go to the end of Matthew 23, what we see is these "woes" end in a proclamation of serious national consequence. Let's look at Matthew 23:36-39:

[Jonathan] (8:45 - 8:50) "Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! For I say to you, from now on you will not see me until you say, BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!"

[Rick] (9:03 - 10:02) There are several things here. First of all, there's the sorrow of "your house is being left to you desolate."

There's that sorrow, but there's that ray of hope that Jesus says when he says, "you will not see me until you say, BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD." You see that Jesus is speaking this Parable of this Wedding Banquet, and the guests being invited but not coming, to focus in on the chief priests of the Pharisees and all of their direction to the people, essentially like you said Julie, closing the door. He's warning them, he's warning them, he's warning them...this is not where you want to be, this is not appropriate.

He's putting them on the spot, and they're not feeling good about what's happening here. He's doing it because he's trying to show them the right thing to understand. As we look at this part, as we introduce this parable and to begin to understand "many are called, but few are chosen." Who was called and HOW did they answer?

[Julie] (10:03 - 10:17) Israel, as a nation, was given the unique opportunity to be those who would bless the world as the stars of heaven. But their national rejection of Jesus before his crucifixion was a first step in their journey away from God's favor.

[Rick] (10:17 - 10:40) There were several steps, and this was the first step in their journey. Usually when you say, hey, we're going on a journey, you say, oh good, where are you going? This is not a journey you really want to be on, and yet they took it.

It's impressive and inspiring to see how Jesus fearlessly taught the leaders around him. Their religious authority did not slow him down.

[Jonathan] (10:41 - 10:49) What comes next? How does the parable unfold and what does it teach us about the calling of God and the choosing by God?

[Rick] (10:49 - 11:52) As we move forward, it's important to observe how the patience of God always comes into play before the consequences He imposes. Patience first, consequences next. As revealed in the promise to Abraham that we spoke about, God's plan clearly included those who would bless in two classes, as well as those who would be blessed by them, and that is the rest of the world.

The development of the gospel shows us how these two "blesser" classes would be developed. Again, stars of heaven, sands of the seashore; blessing comes from BOTH. When we look at the scriptural prophecies we can see that God's kingdom does come through Israel on earth, but it comes as a result of the faith of ones who are in heaven.

Blessing from both, to whom? To everyone else. Now, let's begin to understand "many are called, but few are chosen" by unfolding how God's call to follow Christ actually works.

There's a very specific process involved here. Let's look at John 6:41, 43-45:

[Jonathan] (11:53 - 11:58) "Therefore the Jews were grumbling about him, because he said, I am the bread that came down out of heaven. Jesus answered and said to them, Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, AND THEY SHALL ALL BE TAUGHT OF GOD. Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to me."

[Rick] (12:26 - 13:26) Jesus himself says, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him."

Now I want to just take a moment on this "come to me." This is not curiosity seekers, that's not what this is. This is not people who would rush to Jesus because I'm sure he can heal my leprosy, I'm sure he can take care of my sister's blindness.

That's not what's being spoken of here. "No one can come to me" meaning to be in line as a disciple-- not to receive the goods, but to follow in the path--unless the Father draws them.

That's an important aspect of this. God does the drawing. We don't decide. God does the drawing.

Let's take that principle and let's go to the next piece. God's selective drawing to discipleship in Christ was taught several times by Jesus. Other places...but several times by Jesus.

Let's just look at one example of this, and that's in Matthew 11:25-26:

[Jonathan] (13:27 - 13:41) "At that time Jesus said, I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight."

[Rick] (13:42 - 14:10) God hides things from different people. That's what Jesus says. He hides things. Why?

Because now is not the time for everyone, and that's why you get the "many are called, but few are chosen." It's not EVERYONE is called, it's MANY are called here. That gives us a sense of the clarity of this is special, this is special.

It's obviously a limited call, and the question again remains, why?

[Julie] (14:11 - 14:17) But Rick, if it's a LIMITED call, why is the title from the scripture MANY are called? Which is it?

[Rick] (14:18 - 14:56) Because "many" is a limited number. That's an easy way to get out of answering a question. The point is that there are many called but not everyone.

In other words, you had the call going out to just those within the Jewish nation at the beginning. That completely ignored the everybody else, but there were many who were drawn. When the call was opened up to the Gentiles, as we'll get to, there were many called but not everybody.

Many is still very, very limited, and you notice it's "few are chosen." That's what we want to understand. Why is it many, which is a whole lot more than few, but a whole lot less than everybody?

[Julie] (14:56 - 15:25) That makes sense. Let's get back to the parable. Remember, it started with a king giving a wedding feast for his son.

Invitations went out, but no one would respond that they could attend. We start to see the obvious meaning. God is the king.

Jesus is His son. Invitations to be a part of the heavenly kingdom by way of Jesus are being refused, as we saw in the actions of the Pharisees. Here we see the patience of God in resending the invitation as we continue with Matthew 22:4-6:

[Jonathan] (15:26 - 16:04) "Again he sent out other slaves saying, Tell those who have been invited, Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast. But they (meaning the ones being invited) paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them."

Not only was Jesus slain by the unbelieving ones who had been invited to the feast, but his faithful disciples also were treated evilly and slain.

[Rick] (16:05 - 17:51) We had the first invitation, and we look at that as during Jesus' earthly ministry. The second invitation, with God's patience, the second invitation went out and still is rejected pretty dramatically, and now you've got these slaves being mistreated. This second invitation, we believe, happens after the time of Pentecost, where God's spirit came,

because at Pentecost the disciples were given God's spirit and therefore the authority to go and search for those whom God would call. Their search still began within the nation of Israel. While there were many who did individually come to follow Christ, the nation and its leadership rejected him.

This rejection, Jonathan, as you alluded to, was highlighted by the stoning of Stephen and the persecution of the work of one Saul of Tarsus, who later became the Apostle Paul. We can see that in this part of the parable the call goes out again, and there's a dramatic rejection again, and it's a violent rejection here. It's showing the chief priests and the Pharisees, this is the recipe that you have put forth for the people, and this is not a godly recipe.

He's showing them bluntly, in a harsh parable, what they're doing and what they're setting the people up to do to follow their lead. It's not a good thing. Now, parables don't address every detail of every story, of every account of every part of God's plan.

This parable does not address the next detail of the call. That is, we know that this call from God to follow Christ was expanded to Gentiles within just a few years of Pentecost. Cornelius would be the first Gentile called. He was a Roman, he was a soldier for Rome. Why, why, why call him of all people?

[Jonathan] (17:52 - 18:25) Technically, he was the enemy of God, but was he? Acts 10:2-3, 5:

(Cornelius was) "...a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, and gave many alms to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually. About the ninth hour of the day he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God who had... come in and said to him, Cornelius!...Your prayers and alms have ascended as a memorial before God. Now...send for a man named...Peter..."

[Julie] (18:25 - 18:45) Cornelius had been living a life that honored the God of Israel--and God noticed-- even though, as a Roman, he had no right to Israel's favor. God would now dramatically bless him!

The angel told Cornelius to send his men to the city of Joppa to find the Apostle Peter and invite him to his home to hear Peter's message.

[Jonathan] (18:45 - 18:54) The parable Jesus spoke is now literally happening! Cornelius is receiving an invitation to come to the wedding feast.

[Rick] (18:55 - 19:22) Now, the call of the Gentiles wasn't specified in this parable at this point, but this is how it had its small beginnings. You're right, this is what Jesus is telling them, that you're about to lose this tremendous, tremendous, tremendous opportunity. Let's get back to Cornelius.

Cornelius is there, and he has been told to send for somebody named Peter, and now the Apostle Peter arrives at his home. Let's continue with Acts 10:24-30:

[Jonathan] (19:22 - 19:47) "As he (Peter) talked with him, he entered and found many people assembled. And he said to them, You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean.

That is why I came without even raising any objection when I was sent for... "

[Rick] (19:47 - 20:43) Peter makes this dramatic statement, I came against everything that I have been taught up to this point. I came because God, through a vision, showed me I need to come to see you because you were special in His sight. To have a Gentile be special in the sight of God is completely unheard of!

And yet, Peter is following God's plan, and this is following the pattern of the parable that Jesus is teaching to the chief priests and the Pharisees. What happens next is Cornelius (back to the Cornelius account), he then speaks of his vision and the instructions that he was given. God's call to Cornelius and his household would now be proven.

It would be utterly, clearly proven-- we talk about "many are called, but few are chosen"-- the call here is proven by God's spirit falling upon them, and that's in Acts 10:45-48:

[Jonathan] (20:44 - 21:10) "All the circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the holy spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter answered, Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the holy spirit just as we did, can he?

And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ..."

[Rick] (21:10 - 21:43) Again, a completely contrary action to everything he had been taught. What this is showing us is how the call of God works. Sometimes the call of God goes to places and to people we would not expect, and we need to be open to what God's directions are in this situation.

He and his household were living outside of God's favor and yet reverencing God, and God called those willing hearts in that household to discipleship.

[Julie] (21:43 - 22:02) This was a big change in Jewish history. God made it clear that now ALL people who choose to follow Jesus and worship God have the opportunity to receive the privilege of God's favor and blessings. Israel was offered an invitation to become the spiritual seed of Abraham, but their collective refusal ensured that others would have to be invited.

[Rick] (22:03 - 22:33) It did, and it's important to recognize that when the call was going out to Israel, it was exclusively to those from Israel. Was the entire nation being called to the heavenly call? No, there were a few called from the nation of Israel, but they were not responding, and they were going to be rejected because of their rejection, and so that call that goes out to man--not every, but many--is now focusing in on Gentiles.

Let's expand this a little bit further. Who was called and HOW did they answer?

[Jonathan] (22:34 - 23:03) Just as Jesus had prophesied, the exclusive favor to Israel as God's chosen people began to diminish. Now discipleship would be opened up to Gentiles, those who were considered outsiders and unclean. God would now call such rejected ones because of the condition of their hearts.

The call to discipleship is not about where we come from, it is about who we, by God's grace, may become!

[Rick] (23:04 - 23:25) That's part of "many are called, but few are chosen." It's not about where you come from, it's about who you, by God's grace, have the potential of becoming. Jesus continues to teach the scribes and Pharisees pointed lessons about following God's ways.

The question here is, are WE listening to what he is telling them?

[Jonathan] (23:26 - 23:34) Now the call has expanded, and Gentiles are clearly able to share in the privilege as well. Does this complete the task?

[Rick] (23:35 - 24:02) In the parable, it does complete the task of filling the banquet room, but not without challenges. There's always challenges. As we shall further see, there were consequences for those who rejected and rebelled against the call.

This rebelliousness helps us to begin to put in place the seriousness and the deeper meaning of what this call to discipleship actually requires.

[Julie] (24:03 - 24:13) Back to the parable. Remember the king's invitation went out; no one accepted it. A second invitation went out and everyone had excuses as to why they couldn't come. Some even killed the messengers!

[Jonathan] (24:14 - 24:24) Let's read Matthew 22:7-10: "But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire."

[Julie] (24:24 - 24:51) Setting the city on fire seems a little extreme, but we have to remember this is a parable; a made-up story that means something else. This is widely understood to foreshadow the destruction of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple in AD 70 by the Romans. The armies symbolized divine judgment and the "burning of the city" reflects the total devastation that came upon those who rejected the Messiah and persecuted his prophets and apostles.

[Jonathan] (24:51 - 25:41) Continuing with the parable <Matthew 22:7-10>: "Then he said to his slaves, The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast. Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests."

The call initially went out to the entire Jewish nation during the three-and-a-half year ministry of Jesus. John 1:11 from the King James Version: "He came unto his own, and his own received him not"--the equivalent of they were unwilling to come. The wedding is provided, but Israel's refusal to accept Messiah necessitated the invitation to others, Gentiles, to fill the number needed.

[Julie] (25:41 - 25:54) Israel's a nation was scattered, so a third invitation went out. This time the king's servants went to the highways, meaning the world over. The call was no longer restricted solely to the Jewish people, but was to be made known to everyone.

[Rick] (25:55 - 26:31) All right, so now we have to come down to the question. It goes out, it's gone here, it's gone there, and now it's going out amongst all those people in the world. Why are many called and few chosen?

Why? Why is it that way? Why isn't it just called and then you're in?

Why is it this way? Several reasons, we're going to cite a few here. Why are many called, but few chosen?

First of all, the call does not discriminate and is a mighty privilege. It is a powerfully high and lofty thing that we are drawn to in this call. Jonathan, let's go to Colossians 3:9-11:

[Jonathan] (26:31 - 26:55) "Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him— renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all."

[Rick] (26:56 - 27:55) The concept of this non-discriminatory call, you say, Well, that's great. People would flock to that. Yeah, not necessarily,

because sometimes we like what we like and who we like. What this is saying is this call has to be able to dissolve any of those previous preconceived notions about others, maybe outside of your circle or your ethnicity or your traditions, whatever it is. "Many are called"--

everybody called is not going to be able to see that clearly, and that's why few are chosen. What we're going to see is the calling is a time of testing.

Let's see if we can follow through with what's being asked of us. Another example: Why are many called and few chosen? Why?

Well, the call brings us to a difficult and dangerous journey. When you're brought to something difficult and dangerous, everybody may not have a sense of what it's going to be before they get there. Maybe they have second thoughts or something.

[Julie] (27:56 - 28:17) Luke 9:23 says: "And he was saying to them all, If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me." Excerpts from John 15:18, 20 says: "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you... If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you..."

[Rick] (28:17 - 28:23) Let's get this straight. Deny yourself, take up your cross, be hated, be persecuted. Any takers?

[Julie] (28:24 - 28:25) It's not the best sales pitch.

[Rick] (28:25 - 28:56) No, but that's why many are called and few are chosen. Because there's a lot of challenge put in your way.

The calling is to whittle the chosen down to those who are willing to actually follow through on the things that they're told. Another example: Why are many called, and few chosen? It's not enough that you have to go through self-sacrifice and being hated and persecuted.

This call requires us to be completely transformed while we're at it.

[Jonathan] (28:56 - 29:21) Romans 12:1-2: "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."

[Rick] (29:22 - 30:06) Present your body as a living sacrifice. Really? Come on.

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind"? This is why many are called and few are chosen because it's hard work.

Not only is it hard work, it's not like, okay, I'll focus on this for two weeks and then I'll be good. This is "be transformed by the renewing of your mind," which incidentally, is a lifelong process. We've got denying yourself, hated, persecution, transformation.

But wait, there's more. Why are many called and few chosen? Because this call requires us to leave earthly gain behind. Really? Let's take a look a further.

[Julie] (30:06 - 30:33) Sure. Mark 10:20-22, and this is the account of the rich young ruler talking to Jesus: "And he said to him, Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up.

Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me But at these words, he was saddened and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property."

[Rick] (30:34 - 31:13) Okay, leave earthly gain behind. In other words, do not be attached to that which you have from an earthly perspective. It's not just being transformed, but it's now letting go.

This is why many are called and few are chosen because this is not easy. Look, this is the path that Jesus himself walked. When you look at all of these qualifications, you saw Jesus just running to and through every one of these things.

Let's go to one other example: Why are many called, and few chosen? Well, the call requires us to become deeply consistent in our walk.

You think, okay, consistency, that's not so bad. I can do that.

[Jonathan] (31:14 - 31:22) Matthew 5:13: "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again?..."

[Rick] (31:22 - 33:04) Okay, that's an interesting statement to be putting into this list. If the salt becomes tasteless, how can it become salty again? The point is, if the salt loses its intrinsic value, then it is valueless and it just gets thrown away.

That's what this is talking about. If we as Christians begin to lose our effectiveness, if it diminishes along the way, if the consistency of striving begins to diminish, we're losing our value. Salt enhanced flavor, and it was therefore a desired commodity.

In Scripture, it also preserved and therefore was a required commodity. It preserved meats and so forth. It was also, in Scripture, a necessary sacrificial commodity for some sacrifices.

If we look in Leviticus 2:13, it says: "Every grain offering of yours, moreover, you shall season with salt..." Salt is this picture, this strength and focus of our character. It's the consistency, the preservation aspects of maintaining its value as you go.

If the salt was not salty, it was worthless. Learning to be in line with the pattern of Christ, so that the holy spirit can accomplish its work in us, requires a consistency as we are willing to take up our cross, and be hated and persecuted, and leave the earth behind, and be transformed. As we're doing all of these things, there needs to be that consistency that says, I am staying with this each and every day to the best of my ability.

Why are many called, and few chosen? You can see there's a lot of reasons, and a lot of justification for all of that happening. Once again, Who was called and HOW did they answer?

[Julie] (33:05 - 33:36) Being chosen means, just like Cornelius, given God's spirit, and getting time to prove that they're faithful, and running for a heavenly reward. Being a disciple of Jesus, as we've seen, is no small thing. The bottom line is the call requires anything and everything we might have to offer in this life to be laid out before God as a free and willing gift to be used according to His will and His way.

It's not surprising that only a few follow through with such a sober privilege!

[Jonathan] (33:37 - 33:58) We can liken this call to a job interview. A company puts out a notice of a job opening--the call for candidates--and has to go through many resumes in order to decide who will be "chosen" for an actual interview. Then, during the interview, you need to determine if the person is consistent with what the company is looking for.

[Julie] (33:58 - 34:08) But what about the everybody else? Rick, you opened with asking if the rest of God's human creation are actually garbage. Are they just discarded from God's plan?

[Rick] (34:08 - 34:51) No, no, no, a thousand times NO! because the Scriptures are completely, overwhelmingly descriptive in what's going to happen with them and for them. The point of this is that this calling comes first, before the goodness comes to them afterwards. That's why we focus on this now, because this is the aspect of God's plan that is clearly unfolding before us, this calling and this choosing.

No, the world is not discarded. We're going to get to that in just a moment. The more deeply we explore the concept of God's call to follow Christ, the more we see responsibility and privilege rising up to the surface.

[Jonathan] (34:52 - 35:00) We can certainly see how reverently we should be responding to this call. How does the Bible describe the work of those who are chosen?

[Rick] (35:01 - 35:24) Answering this question requires us to look at the call from the perspective of those who show up and are simply there for the ride, as well as those who are truly engaged in the work. There's a difference between the two. The parable here again shows us the utter seriousness of being drawn by God and walking in Jesus' footsteps.

[Jonathan] (35:25 - 35:34) Let's remember that the purpose of this invitation, this call, is to receive a heavenly reward described in the promise to Abraham as "the stars of heaven."

[Julie] (35:35 - 35:44) Back to the parable. The call went out again and finally people responded to the invitation. Guests arrived. Matthew 22:11-14:

[Jonathan] (35:44 - 35:58) "But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to him, Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes? And the man was speechless."

[Julie] (35:59 - 36:29) Okay, something goes wrong! At an ancient Jewish wedding, it was customary for the host to provide wedding garments for the guests. They were often simple robes, sometimes white, and they hid the distinctions of class or status so that all were equal.

Not wearing the garment provided would have been seen as a serious insult to the host's generosity and authority. For anyone to appear at the wedding without the robe would imply that he had defiantly taken it off, because no one would have been admitted without this robe.

[Jonathan] (36:30 - 36:51) This covering of the wedding garment represents the necessary covering of Christ's righteousness. Let's continue with the parable <Matthew 22:11-14>: "Then the king said to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness;

in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen."

[Julie] (36:51 - 37:09) This phrase "weeping and gnashing of teeth" appears seven times in the Bible, and we talked about it at length in Episode 1342. Each time it's used, it expresses a deep regret related to the loss of opportunity. It is NOT related to a final torment after death and does not last forever.

[Jonathan] (37:10 - 37:25) Without the proper attire (the covering of Christ) this man is then cast into outer darkness -- away from the light of favor--since he did not "clothe" himself to accept it. There is a consequence for not doing what he should have done.

[Julie] (37:25 - 37:38) The point is to be "clothed with Christ" in order to be acceptable in God's eyes. When a person pretends to play the part but they're not actually doing all they should, they are discovered and removed from the blessings that they could have had.

[Rick] (37:38 - 38:57) That's pretty harsh stuff. You can't go along for the ride. You can't go along to get the goodies, so to speak,

without doing the work that's required. That is part of it. That's why we went through all of these examples of why are many called and few chosen. Now remember, here, Jesus is teaching the scribes and the Pharisees and he's also teaching everyone else that this call, like you said earlier, cannot be taken lightly.

Why? Why can't it be taken lightly? As we'll see, it's through the faithfulness to this call of the few chosen ones that the entire world's blessings will be opened up.

One of the major reasons this call is so high and lofty and difficult and few are chosen, is because the work required of them requires incredible loyalty and maturity. You have to grow into that. Let's examine that a little bit now.

Again: Why are many called, and few chosen? Well, another reason; the call's purpose is to be an eternal blessing to ALL.

That does not come easily. That does not come like, oh, great, what do I get to do now? How's that supposed to work?

There is a maturity that we have to grow into to be a part of that. Let's look at 1 Peter 2:9-10, 12:

[Jonathan] (38:57 - 39:41) "But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.

Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation." The "day of visitation" is another name for the Day of Judgment. It's not a 24-hour day;

it's a period of time.

[Rick] (39:42 - 39:58) Okay. These verses describe four distinct titles for the faithful disciples of Jesus. Why are many called and few chosen? Because these are parts of what we must strive towards.

The first title here is A CHOSEN RACE or CHOSEN GENERATION.

[Julie] (39:58 - 40:06) They're chosen out of all nations to follow Jesus for the purpose of reconciling the world to God through Christ.

[Rick] (40:06 - 40:29) Okay. Next is A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD. A priesthood exists to serve and help others.

That's what it's there for. It's not for yourself. It's for others.

These faithful ones serve as an example of being in full compliance with God. That's what you're learning now. That's where we have to be going.

The next qualification, the next title is A HOLY NATION.

[Jonathan] (40:30 - 40:49) A holy nation is not literally a nation that is Christian, but it is individuals out of various nations. Christians are to be an example of living in full compliance with God's will, even in a world of temptation and trials. They are called to live a life that reflects the grace given to them as disciples.

[Rick] (40:49 - 40:54) You have to grow into that. The fourth title here is A PEOPLE FOR GOD's OWN POSSESSION.

[Julie] (40:55 - 41:04) They've been chosen to be sons of God and they have God's plans working through them. They're spiritual new creatures in Christ, according to 2 Corinthians 5:17.

[Rick] (41:04 - 41:37) It's work. There's a lot of work. Titles,

great! Everybody wants a title, but do you want to do the work that requires qualifying for the title and putting yourselves out towards those things? Let's go on to the next piece.

You can see that it's service to others here. That's the theme that's beginning to unfold. Why are many called and few chosen?

Those called are the first to receive redemption in Christ. Again, huge privilege. The priesthood they're called to must be in place to give the world its blessings.

Let's go a little bit further. Jonathan, let's go to some scriptures in Romans.

[Jonathan] (41:38 - 41:50) Romans 8:19, 22-23: "For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God." Wait, Rick, what does that mean?

[Rick] (41:50 - 42:16) Yeah. Yeah. The world doesn't say, man, if the sons of God would just be revealed in my life would be better.

But what the apostle is saying is that the world is in turmoil. Have you noticed? The world's in turmoil. What are they looking for?

Deliverance; somehow, some way deliverance. The only deliverance comes through the manifestation of the sons of God; those who are called and chosen.

That's what we're looking at here.

[Jonathan] (42:17 - 42:37) Continuing to Romans 8:22-23: "For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body."

[Rick] (42:37 - 43:01) It says we have the "first fruits of the spirit." There's something that says you are being called beforehand to prepare the way for "the everybody else" afterwards. That's why this is such an important thing.

It is a tiered process of God's plan unfolding. That's why many are called and fewer chosen. Let's go to another scripture that helps us see this a little more clearly. 1 John 2:1-2:

[Jonathan] (43:01 - 43:04) "My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he himself is the propitiation (satisfaction) for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world."

[Rick] (43:24 - 43:56) You see the order, you see how that's put in place. He's the propitiation--the satisfaction--for our sins,

and also for...it gives you a sense, yours first, theirs second. Christ brings salvation first to his followers, then to the rest of mankind. How do we know this?

Because this is what the Scriptures teach us. One last piece. Why are many called, and few chosen?

Why? To accomplish God's original plan. He had this plan right from the start, a blessing, all the families of the earth.

[Julie] (43:56 - 44:38) There are so many kingdom scriptures, but here's just a few: Daniel 2:44: "In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people;

it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever." Isaiah 11:9: "They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea." And finally, one of my favorite scriptures ever; Revelation 21:4: "...and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes;

and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."

[Rick] (44:38 - 45:13) Those are just a drop in the bucket of the many scriptures that describe a kingdom on earth that is eternal, that is run by God through Christ and all of these things. That's what this is all about. That's what the calling is all about.

That's why many are called and fewer chosen. This is no small thing. This is no, hey, I'm saved.

I'm great. This is, I'm given privilege to stand up and go beyond for the sake of walking in Jesus' footsteps. Finally, Who was called and HOW did they answer?

[Jonathan] (45:13 - 45:42) The call from God to follow Jesus is a glorious privilege. At the same time, we can also see that answering this call and following through is likely the most serious decision and change we will ever make in our lives. If we believe we are called, let us each take a breath and consider what God placed before us and then let us run this race with our whole being!

[Rick] (45:42 - 46:45) Folks, that's really what the call of Christ is all about. It is not about being relieved from things, though that's part of it. It's not about being blessed in this life,

although that's part of it. It is about something much bigger. It is about following in the footsteps of Jesus, the footsteps of sacrifice, the footsteps of loyalty to God's will above all else in every circumstance with every thought as best as we can. Do we fall?

Yes. Do we sin and get off track? Yes.

Following the call "many are called, but few chosen" means the chosen ones fall and get up and ask for forgiveness. They go again and again and again. That is why many are called, and fewer chosen.

It is the fulfillment of God's plan for the entire world of mankind. That, my friends, is something worth fighting for. Think about it.

Folks, we love hearing from our listeners. We welcome your feedback and questions on this episode and other episodes at ChristianQuestions.com. Coming up in our next episode: "How is Jesus The Way?"

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