Luke 13:24—Do all seekers find God?

Problem: Jesus says, “Seek and you will find.” Other passages of Scripture reaffirm the same truth (1 Chron. 28:9; Isa. 55:6; Acts 10:35). Yet, according to Jesus, “many ... will seek to enter and will not be able” (Luke 13:24). Likewise, Jesus said in John, “You will seek Me and not find Me” (John 7:34).

Solution: All who earnestly seek God, find Him, for “He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11:6). In fact, God is “longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish” (2 Peter 3:9).

Of course, there are those who seek God on their own terms (by human works) who will not be saved, since it is “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us” (Titus 3:5). The Bible says, “there is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death” (Prov. 14:12). Further, there are those who seek too late, namely, after they die for “it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Heb. 9:27). But there is no one who comes to God in this life in penitence, falling upon His mercy, that does not receive His gracious gift of salvation.

Judas regretted his sin (Matt. 27:4), but Peter repented of his. Hence, Judas is lost (John 17:12), and Peter is saved.

This excerpt is from When Critics Ask: A Popular Handbook on Bible Difficulties (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1992). © 2014 Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Click here to purchase this book.