Will only a few people be saved?

Gospel reading of Luke 13:22-30 for October 26, 2022 - Wednesday, 30th Week

I still remember reading with my students Romans 9-11 and discussing Paul’s strong belief that in the final analysis, all the Jews are going to be saved (Romans 11:25-26). And then, we came to this passage, “For God has consigned all people to disobedience so that he may show mercy to them all” (Romans 11:32). And the question was raised: ‘Will all people be saved?’

In the 3rd century C.E., Origen proposed the doctrine of the universal restoration of all things, known as apokatastasis. It speaks about reconciliation between God and all human beings. Those who uphold it present evidence from the Bible. In First Timothy we read that God “wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth”, and Christ Jesus “gave himself as a ransom for all” (1 Timothy 2:4,6). Then, in the letter to the Romans, we read: “Consequently, just as condemnation for all people came through one transgression, so too through the one righteous act came righteousness leading to life for all people” (5:18). Moreover, there were Fathers and Doctors of the Church who supported it. For example, Saint Gregory of Nyssa, Evagrius Ponticus, and even at some point Saint Jerome.

But things are not so simple. Many disagree and they also can find support for their position in the Bible. They quote Jesus’ words about the narrow gate from the Gospel of Matthew. “Enter through the narrow gate because the gate is wide and the way is spacious that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. How narrow is the gate and difficult the way that leads to life, and there are few who find it!” (Matt 7:13-14). They can also bring the opinion of many Saints and Doctors of the Church who stated that only a few people would be saved. Such opinion was expressed by Saint Augustine, Saint Gregory the Great, Pope, Saint Thomas Aquinas, and also Saint John Vianney, to name some of them.

The question, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?”, is phrased in such a way that it seems to indicate the answer that indeed only a few will be saved. But, Jesus does not answer it and neither does the Church. Jesus warns about the possibility of final destruction and the Church, based on the testimony of the Scriptures, teaches about the existence of Hell and of the eternity of its punishment. Moreover, God who endowed us with freedom takes our freedom seriously. And so, there is indeed a possibility of freely rejecting God’s offer of salvation, his call to repentance, and persisting in sinful life till the end.

But, whether only a few, many or all will be saved, I think it is not for us to debate. Jesus’ warning about finding the door shut and unable to enter is a call for repentance and responsible living directed to each one of us. The others we bring in our prayers into the hands of the merciful God pleading for his mercy, believing that He is “not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).