The Way Of The Saved Series

God has an amazing life of adventure and purpose waiting for us all. But very few people find it. A lot of people think “I tried the God thing, but it didn't work.” The problem is that the promises of God don't happen without the practices of Jesus. AND Most people aren't taught what those practices are. OR how to live them out in a busy life in the real world. Good News! Jesus promised, “I am the Way.”

In other words, if we learn to do what Jesus did, we’ll discover the pathway to purpose THAT God has for all of us. This Lent season we will explore the 7 practices of Jesus to help you grow spiritually. Religion doesn’t lead to real life– following Jesus does. This is “The Way” is our series leading up to Easter

The followers of Jesus for the first 100 years were known as the followers of The Way - The way of Jesus. The pre-christian label was a by-product of Jesus' famous statement from John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.”

The problem is many people don’t understand what this means. Jesus tried to let us know how difficult it will be to stay focused in his most famous teaching when he said Matt 7:13-14.

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it

This week we look at another “Way.” The Way of Salvation. Have you ever met the person who is quick to tell you they have been saved? They will recite a day and maybe even a time of when they were saved? I’ve always been a little awed by these people. Maybe because I come from a faith tradition where it was assumed our infant baptism and subsequent confirmation ritual assured us of our unique relationship with Christ. In either case, the larger question is the same one being asked in video with the words by Nicodemus - What must I do to be born again? Or in other words, what must I do to be saved? What is the way of salvation?

An age old question, we can find in the scriptures in a few places. This morning we will dive into a text named the rich young ruler from Matthew 19 beginning in verse 16:

Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” “Which ones?” he inquired. Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’” “All these I have kept,” the young man said.

A quick note - Jesus' answer was not saying works are needed for spending eternity with him. He was letting everyone know there is an inherent goodness that comes when someone lives in obedience to God’ commands and it can be an indicator of a person's heart. However, if you ask the next question to yourself often, you may need a refresher on the idea of faith.

“What do I still lack?” Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

Another side note: we do not know what happened to this rich young ruler. The scriptures don’t tell us. The point is that at some point God may ask you to give up your dreams and to follow Him. It might be the hardest lesson of all. We may be asked from time to time to surrender even more of life to follow Jesus. The thought jared the disciples so it should jar us as well.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

The last line leads us to an undeniable truth. We will never be able to right the wrongs and all the consequences of our life. Sin is the reason we need to be saved. No matter how many good deeds we do there will never be enough to tip the scales of justice. Thankfully, our relationship with God does not come from what we do, it comes as a gift from God for those who believe in God and that He has given us all a way to be forgiven of our sin so that we can experience eternity with Him.