Dare We Hope? Sermon June 22, 2025
June 22, 2025
Dare We Hope?
Pastor Donnie Sturgill
Exodus 32:1-15 Matthew 7:13-14; 21-23
Last week, David, Jacky Fletcher, and I attended the Mountain Sky Annual Conference, which is an annual event when clergy and laity gather in fellowship and to do the work of the conference.
David mentioned last Sunday the clergy who were retiring were honored along with those who were to become ordained Elders. It was a beautiful and meaningful ceremony. At the end I received this beautiful walking stick.
To me, its symbolism was to remind me of my time serving as a pastor and to accompany me along the next adventure in my life. At the end of the conference, I was walking to my car to return home when I heard a voice calling out my name.
It was the conference historian reminding me to send her my biography so that when I died, she could place it in the conference’s historical record. It was then I began to wonder whether the walking stick was to aid me as I traveled through many more life journeys or to my final journey walking on this earth.
There are times when all of us will face our mortality; maybe at an Ash Wednesday service or due to an event or illness when we might have died or receiving a diagnosis that we have a terminal illness. Whether we choose to confront our mortality or not, the fact remains, we will all die one day.
When Christians think about death they often find comfort in scripture. Many find assurance in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 11:25-26 can also bring comfort, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he dies, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.”
The Bible is clear that those who believe and trust in Jesus will have everlasting life, or is it? Many Christians are certain they are handed the keys to heaven if they believe in God and in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. But we find in other scripture it takes more than belief to enter the pearly gates.
Our scripture passage from Matthew dispels the thought that belief alone leads to eternal life. Jesus says in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you who behave lawlessly.’
Not only does Jesus say that everyone who believes in him will not necessarily receive eternal life, in Matthew 7:13-14 he instructs his followers to, “Enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
That’s really comforting, not only are there some people who believe in Jesus who will not receive eternal life, but apparently only a few of those are going to make the cut. In addition, these particular passages are lacking specific instructions. What exactly does Jesus mean when he says we should “do the will of my Father?
Still, even if few go to heaven, all of us know we will be one of the few. Really? Can we be sure?
Don’t think I’m trying to use the Bible to bar you from the gates of heaven, my point is, and I will later bring it up again, you can’t interpret scripture based on a few verses.
Though there are many pastors, denominations, and other Christian groups who disagree with me, I am confident when I say scripture can be very ambiguous...I have just made that point. Does that mean we can’t find meaning in scripture? Absolutely not! It means we need to study the Bible in a wholistic manor before we can begin to grasp its meaning. Understanding scripture cannot be accomplished using a few isolated verses.
When we read the Bible we will not always find clear answers to our questions, and we need to accept that fact. I believe we get in the most trouble when we say we know what the Bible says. It’s easier to know what the Bible says than to discover what it means. We need to remain humble as we interpret scripture, knowing our interpretations, including my own, could be wrong or only partially true.
What did Jesus mean when he said only a few will find eternal life? Is he to be taken literally or is he using hyperbole, exaggerations, to make a point?
Much of the Bible presents a very dualistic theology, a theology where beliefs are either right or wrong. But there are passages in scripture that dispute a dualistic theology. For example, the Pharisees used scripture to support their strict theology of resting on the Sabbath, but Jesus interpreted the same scripture differently by explaining there are exceptions to a strict interpretation on how to observe the sabbath. Jesus claimed it was okay for him to heal on God’s day of rest.
Scripture also makes many references about those who will receive eternal life and those who won’t.
Among those who won’t go to heaven are those who don’t believe in and follow Jesus, and those who follow Jesus but somehow don’t achieve the expectations scripture requires of them.
I first want to address those Christians who believe and serve God, who, within some scripture, appear to be excluded from a heavenly reward. When Jesus says few will enter heaven, it’s clear what he said, but is it as clear regarding the meaning of his words?
It doesn’t sound like believers who innocently misunderstand scripture, believing they are living Christian lives, should be excluded from eternal life. Not to worry, Jesus said in John 5:24, “Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgment, but has passed from death to life.”
Is this the same Jesus who said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.” There is dissonance, a mixed message found within these scripture passages regarding what we need to do to receive eternal life. On the one hand, we need to believe and do the will of God. On the other hand, we just need to believe, and not only will we get into heaven, we will not be judged. Most of the Bible says we will all be judged.
Are you beginning to get the idea that there can be tension between different Bible verses that appear to claim opposing viewpoints?
You might say I am trying to confuse you by being selective in the verses I have chosen for this sermon. I am being selective, not for the purpose of confusing you, but to make the point that there are passages in the Bible that can mislead us if looked at individually under a microscope. You can’t see the entire picture of a puzzle with only half the pieces put together.
I want to spend the remainder of my sermon on the topic of who gets into heaven and who doesn’t. Most scripture supports a theology that non-believers do not receive eternal life.
Depending on which scripture passage you use, non-believers either perish, spend eternity in hell, or exist in some state apart from God. I believe such passages should be taken seriously. They cannot, should not be ignored! Let repeat myself, I believe Bible passages that state non-believer don’t go to heaven should be taken seriously. They cannot, should not be ignored!
But I am going to introduce a few selected passages that indicate it might be possible that non-believers can walk heaven’s streets of gold after all. I believe I am standing on firm ground by using selected passages to make my point because those disagree with me must also use selected passages to prove their point.
I am NOT trying to disprove the traditional view that non-believers do not enter heaven, because it would be impossible to do so. But I am trying to make the point that it might be possible they do.
If we go back to the book of Genesis, God told Jacob, …your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring.”
When John the Baptist first saw Jesus he declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
John 3:17 says, “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved.”
1 Corinthians 15:22 says, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”
I believe, these verses, and there are others, though few, support the view that it is at least possible that heaven is more crowded than some scripture might imply?
I’m going to go a step closer into the realm of heresy. If Jesus came into the world for all people, do you think it’s possible that all people go to heaven?
Listen to the words of Jeremiah in 32:17, “Ah Lord God! It is you who made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.”
Luke 1:37 says, “…nothing will be impossible with God.” Jesus says in Matthew 19:25-26 when Jesus’ disciples asked, “…who can be saved? But Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”
Did Jesus come to earth and die for just a few people? Maybe, but he sure made a huge sacrifice for only a few. The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 2:5-6, “For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself a ransom for all.”
I know I’ve opened a can of worms, but sometimes you need to open a can of worms to go fishing.
I don’t have any statistics whether the majority of Christians adhere to the belief that some people will go to heaven and others will go to hell, but I’m going to assume the majority do. My question is, do they know this to be true?
I refuse to let a majority opinion prevent me from hoping it is possible that all go to heaven. What’s the sin in hoping? There’s a big difference between hoping and knowing. I’m quite comfortable being in the minority. After all, there was a time when the majority of southern Christians believed in slavery. Sometimes the majority is wrong.
Next Sunday I’m going to elaborate on my thoughts about how it is possible for all to go to heaven without going against scripture. I’m also going to talk about why we should believe it to be true.
I’m going to spend what little time I have left today to address one characteristic of God we find in our reading from Exodus.
Our story found in Exodus is very familiar to many of you. Earlier, Moses brought the Ten Commandments to the Hebrew people. Moses explained that the commandments were a covenant, a binding agreement, between God and themselves.
Moses later went to the top of Mt. Sinai again, leaving the Hebrews behind. While he was gone, they formed a golden calf from the gold they possessed, and worshiped the idol. In essence, they rejected God by worshiping an idol. Even though one of the commandments declared they should not worship any idol, they did.
This made God mad as heck. God told Moses to go down to the ungrateful Hebrews saying, “I have seen this people, how stiff-necked they are. Now let me alone so that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them…”
Moses then pleaded with God to change his mind, and God eventually did. Unless God didn’t mean it when he said he would consume the disobedient Hebrew people, then he changed his mind. The Hebrews were brazened in their rejection, their disloyalty, to God. They deserved to be destroyed, but God changed his mind and spared them all…even before they repented!
I ask you, if you, like Moses, could convince God to change his mind, would you pray that all people go to heaven. Would you pray for hell to be empty? Would you pray this for your enemies? Could the answer to these questions determine whether you will be saved or not? May the Holy Spirit give you wisdom. Amen.
Pastor Donnie Sturgill
Exodus 32:1-15 Matthew 7:13-14; 21-23
Last week, David, Jacky Fletcher, and I attended the Mountain Sky Annual Conference, which is an annual event when clergy and laity gather in fellowship and to do the work of the conference.
David mentioned last Sunday the clergy who were retiring were honored along with those who were to become ordained Elders. It was a beautiful and meaningful ceremony. At the end I received this beautiful walking stick.
To me, its symbolism was to remind me of my time serving as a pastor and to accompany me along the next adventure in my life. At the end of the conference, I was walking to my car to return home when I heard a voice calling out my name.
It was the conference historian reminding me to send her my biography so that when I died, she could place it in the conference’s historical record. It was then I began to wonder whether the walking stick was to aid me as I traveled through many more life journeys or to my final journey walking on this earth.
There are times when all of us will face our mortality; maybe at an Ash Wednesday service or due to an event or illness when we might have died or receiving a diagnosis that we have a terminal illness. Whether we choose to confront our mortality or not, the fact remains, we will all die one day.
When Christians think about death they often find comfort in scripture. Many find assurance in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 11:25-26 can also bring comfort, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he dies, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.”
The Bible is clear that those who believe and trust in Jesus will have everlasting life, or is it? Many Christians are certain they are handed the keys to heaven if they believe in God and in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. But we find in other scripture it takes more than belief to enter the pearly gates.
Our scripture passage from Matthew dispels the thought that belief alone leads to eternal life. Jesus says in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you who behave lawlessly.’
Not only does Jesus say that everyone who believes in him will not necessarily receive eternal life, in Matthew 7:13-14 he instructs his followers to, “Enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
That’s really comforting, not only are there some people who believe in Jesus who will not receive eternal life, but apparently only a few of those are going to make the cut. In addition, these particular passages are lacking specific instructions. What exactly does Jesus mean when he says we should “do the will of my Father?
Still, even if few go to heaven, all of us know we will be one of the few. Really? Can we be sure?
Don’t think I’m trying to use the Bible to bar you from the gates of heaven, my point is, and I will later bring it up again, you can’t interpret scripture based on a few verses.
Though there are many pastors, denominations, and other Christian groups who disagree with me, I am confident when I say scripture can be very ambiguous...I have just made that point. Does that mean we can’t find meaning in scripture? Absolutely not! It means we need to study the Bible in a wholistic manor before we can begin to grasp its meaning. Understanding scripture cannot be accomplished using a few isolated verses.
When we read the Bible we will not always find clear answers to our questions, and we need to accept that fact. I believe we get in the most trouble when we say we know what the Bible says. It’s easier to know what the Bible says than to discover what it means. We need to remain humble as we interpret scripture, knowing our interpretations, including my own, could be wrong or only partially true.
What did Jesus mean when he said only a few will find eternal life? Is he to be taken literally or is he using hyperbole, exaggerations, to make a point?
Much of the Bible presents a very dualistic theology, a theology where beliefs are either right or wrong. But there are passages in scripture that dispute a dualistic theology. For example, the Pharisees used scripture to support their strict theology of resting on the Sabbath, but Jesus interpreted the same scripture differently by explaining there are exceptions to a strict interpretation on how to observe the sabbath. Jesus claimed it was okay for him to heal on God’s day of rest.
Scripture also makes many references about those who will receive eternal life and those who won’t.
Among those who won’t go to heaven are those who don’t believe in and follow Jesus, and those who follow Jesus but somehow don’t achieve the expectations scripture requires of them.
I first want to address those Christians who believe and serve God, who, within some scripture, appear to be excluded from a heavenly reward. When Jesus says few will enter heaven, it’s clear what he said, but is it as clear regarding the meaning of his words?
It doesn’t sound like believers who innocently misunderstand scripture, believing they are living Christian lives, should be excluded from eternal life. Not to worry, Jesus said in John 5:24, “Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgment, but has passed from death to life.”
Is this the same Jesus who said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.” There is dissonance, a mixed message found within these scripture passages regarding what we need to do to receive eternal life. On the one hand, we need to believe and do the will of God. On the other hand, we just need to believe, and not only will we get into heaven, we will not be judged. Most of the Bible says we will all be judged.
Are you beginning to get the idea that there can be tension between different Bible verses that appear to claim opposing viewpoints?
You might say I am trying to confuse you by being selective in the verses I have chosen for this sermon. I am being selective, not for the purpose of confusing you, but to make the point that there are passages in the Bible that can mislead us if looked at individually under a microscope. You can’t see the entire picture of a puzzle with only half the pieces put together.
I want to spend the remainder of my sermon on the topic of who gets into heaven and who doesn’t. Most scripture supports a theology that non-believers do not receive eternal life.
Depending on which scripture passage you use, non-believers either perish, spend eternity in hell, or exist in some state apart from God. I believe such passages should be taken seriously. They cannot, should not be ignored! Let repeat myself, I believe Bible passages that state non-believer don’t go to heaven should be taken seriously. They cannot, should not be ignored!
But I am going to introduce a few selected passages that indicate it might be possible that non-believers can walk heaven’s streets of gold after all. I believe I am standing on firm ground by using selected passages to make my point because those disagree with me must also use selected passages to prove their point.
I am NOT trying to disprove the traditional view that non-believers do not enter heaven, because it would be impossible to do so. But I am trying to make the point that it might be possible they do.
If we go back to the book of Genesis, God told Jacob, …your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring.”
When John the Baptist first saw Jesus he declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
John 3:17 says, “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved.”
1 Corinthians 15:22 says, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”
I believe, these verses, and there are others, though few, support the view that it is at least possible that heaven is more crowded than some scripture might imply?
I’m going to go a step closer into the realm of heresy. If Jesus came into the world for all people, do you think it’s possible that all people go to heaven?
Listen to the words of Jeremiah in 32:17, “Ah Lord God! It is you who made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.”
Luke 1:37 says, “…nothing will be impossible with God.” Jesus says in Matthew 19:25-26 when Jesus’ disciples asked, “…who can be saved? But Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”
Did Jesus come to earth and die for just a few people? Maybe, but he sure made a huge sacrifice for only a few. The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 2:5-6, “For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself a ransom for all.”
I know I’ve opened a can of worms, but sometimes you need to open a can of worms to go fishing.
I don’t have any statistics whether the majority of Christians adhere to the belief that some people will go to heaven and others will go to hell, but I’m going to assume the majority do. My question is, do they know this to be true?
I refuse to let a majority opinion prevent me from hoping it is possible that all go to heaven. What’s the sin in hoping? There’s a big difference between hoping and knowing. I’m quite comfortable being in the minority. After all, there was a time when the majority of southern Christians believed in slavery. Sometimes the majority is wrong.
Next Sunday I’m going to elaborate on my thoughts about how it is possible for all to go to heaven without going against scripture. I’m also going to talk about why we should believe it to be true.
I’m going to spend what little time I have left today to address one characteristic of God we find in our reading from Exodus.
Our story found in Exodus is very familiar to many of you. Earlier, Moses brought the Ten Commandments to the Hebrew people. Moses explained that the commandments were a covenant, a binding agreement, between God and themselves.
Moses later went to the top of Mt. Sinai again, leaving the Hebrews behind. While he was gone, they formed a golden calf from the gold they possessed, and worshiped the idol. In essence, they rejected God by worshiping an idol. Even though one of the commandments declared they should not worship any idol, they did.
This made God mad as heck. God told Moses to go down to the ungrateful Hebrews saying, “I have seen this people, how stiff-necked they are. Now let me alone so that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them…”
Moses then pleaded with God to change his mind, and God eventually did. Unless God didn’t mean it when he said he would consume the disobedient Hebrew people, then he changed his mind. The Hebrews were brazened in their rejection, their disloyalty, to God. They deserved to be destroyed, but God changed his mind and spared them all…even before they repented!
I ask you, if you, like Moses, could convince God to change his mind, would you pray that all people go to heaven. Would you pray for hell to be empty? Would you pray this for your enemies? Could the answer to these questions determine whether you will be saved or not? May the Holy Spirit give you wisdom. Amen.
Posted in Liturgies
Recent
Archive
2025
January
March
April
May
2024
February
March
May
August
October
No Comments