Jesus is more serious about the salvation of the lost than we can ever imagine! He was once criticized for healing a man on the Sabbath, and immediately used it as an opportunity to steer the conversation toward the importance of bringing the lost back to God.
When the Lord says something that sounds harsh, such as in the quote below, one can easily come to the conclusion that He is an extremist, a radical, or a religious zealot. It is either that or because He knows something about eternity in hell that He wants to save people from:
And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire—where ‘Their worm does not die And the fire is not quenched.’ Mark 9:47,48
Tough words, but in actuality words of love. Us humans are notorious for choosing not to think about life after death, eternity, and hell — as if ignoring the topic will make it go away. Then there are those who choose to believe the fallacy that a God of love will never send anyone to hell. Of course He won’t — everyone who goes there will do so by their own choice: rejecting Jesus is to choose hell by default.
Jesus paid a very high price to save us from the eternal dread of hell, and that alone shows God’s heart toward the lost. As He responded to the criticism of healing a man on the Sabbath, He began to tell a parable to prove His point:
Then He said to him, “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’” Luke 14:16,17
The invitation was to chosen people to enjoy his hospitality, but some of them had other things to do that were more important to them. Of course they were invited beforehand, and knew the day and time of the supper, but just when everything was ready, they excused themselves. The Master was adamant not to waste the meal, and chose to extend his invitation to a larger group:
So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.’ Luke 14:21
Everyone who was previously excluded now received an invitation, no matter their social standing. The most important thing in the master’s mind was not the standing of the guests, but to have his house full.
And the servant said, ‘Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.’ Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.’ ” Luke 14:22-24
The master of the house changed his invitation from a select group to those on the fringes of society, and everyone else that they could find. There was always room for more; nobody was disqualified.
We now know who the master of the house in this parable is: the Lord Himself! His invitation to come to His house is to everyone that can be found — without excluding anyone!
“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance. Isaiah 55:1,2
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. Revelation 3:20
Note the progression in the master’s invitation: he first invited, then he commanded his servant to bring them, and at the end he instructed his servants to compel everyone they could find to come so that his house could be full. You cannot blame the master if he gets angry if you first reject his invitation, then refuse to come along, and eventually decline when he compelled you to sit down in his house to enjoy a free meal.
We invite, we go out to bring people with us, but let us not forget to compel those who are still outside. We compel them by adding urgency to our invitations and testimonies, and warning them of the consequences that await those who refuse the Lord’s free grace.
The time for weak invitations “to come to my church” is over. We also know that bringing people, who already made up their minds, will not fill the House. We live in the days of Noah when people were “eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage” — living the business-as-usual kind of lives without considering the Lord’s invitation.
The time for Sunday School lessons without a clear message, and sugar coated preaching from the pulpit, are long gone. Our message must be charged with the seriousness it deserves. This is not about joining a church, but getting right with God. Our communications must be very clear with no room for misunderstanding. Make it hard for people to ignore the invitation — as hard as you can. Only the raw, undiluted gospel is able to save the lost. Motivational speeches, no matter how Christian it may sound, will not compel anyone to drop what they are doing to follow Jesus with a cross on their back.
Salvation is free, just as this man’s dinner was, but it is not cheap. Somebody paid for it. If God thought it necessary to take such drastic steps to save sinners, we should view it just as serious too. Jesus shed His blood to pay for our redemption.
“For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.’” Luke 14:24
Invite, bring, compel. You don’t want to see your worst enemy in hell. May we have the heart of Paul who understood the urgency of the gospel message! Let’s make his prayer ours too:
Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak. Colossians 4:2-4
