“A man came up to [Jesus], saying, ‘Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?’ And he said to him, ‘Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.’ He said to him, ‘Which ones?’ And Jesus said, ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ The young man said to him, ‘All these I have kept. What do I still lack?’ Jesus said to him, ‘If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.’ When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
“And Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again, I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.’ When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, ‘Who then can be saved?’ But Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’ Then Peter said in reply, ‘See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.’” [1]
When I was a boy, a nickel would purchase a bottle of pop. With a quarter, I could ride the train from my little town in southeast Kansas to the next town eight miles away, go to a movie and enjoy a soda. A quarter meant something in that day. Woe betide the young man who happened to have a hole in his pocket, causing him to lose his dime, or worse still, lose his quarter. There was always some sharp-eyed son of a pickpocket who’d spy the dime or the quarter on the ground. That scoundrel would gloat, “Finders keepers, losers weepers.” I learned to live by that rule as a young boy— “Finders keepers, losers weepers.”
On one occasion, a rich man, a young, virile, handsome young man with a position of power, came to Jesus. Jesus represented something this young man didn’t have, but he was confident that he could get what he wanted. After all, who wouldn’t want a fine-looking rich man like him on board with their team? Who wouldn’t want someone with authority and power representing their cause? He was certain that he could pay for whatever Jesus was peddling.
However, Jesus didn’t play along with that young man. Jesus didn’t need his influence. He didn’t need his verve, his authority, his money. Jesus would gain nothing from that young man’s presence, but that young man desperately needed what Jesus could give him. The price Jesus demanded was too much for the young man, and so we read that he went away sorrowful. He was crest-fallen. The young man’s approach and his exit afforded the Master one of those teachable moments for the disciples. To the disciples, Jesus turned the saying of my childhood upside down; Jesus said, “Finders weepers, losers keepers.”
“WHAT GOOD DEED MUST I DO TO HAVE ETERNAL LIFE?” The young man that approached Jesus almost asked the right question. However, he was off in one point, and that point was critical. This young man should have asked, “How may I have eternal life?” Instead, he wondered what he could do to ensure that he received eternal life. He was looking for a guarantee that he would receive God’s gift of eternal life. He wasn’t terribly concerned about experiencing a transformed life, he wanted some sort of assurance. He was far more concerned about a fire insurance policy than he was concerned to have a life that revealed transformation.
I recall a man asking what he could do to be saved. I responded, “You’re too late. You can’t do anything to be saved.” He was shocked, expressing his disappointment in a rather vigorous fashion. “But, I want to be saved! What can I do?”
Again, I responded, “You’re too late. You can do nothing; it’s already been done.” We can’t encourage people to do anything, since salvation has already been purchased by the sacrifice of the Son of God. We need to hear the Word of the Lord as recorded in the Letter to Hebrew Christians. The passage to which I now direct your attention, HEBREWS 10:1-18, is somewhat extended, but makes a significant point. “Since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
“Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,
‘Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
but a body have you prepared for me;
in burnt offerings and sin offerings
you have taken no pleasure.
Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God,
as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’
“When he said above, ‘You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings’ (these are offered according to the law), then he added, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will.’ He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
“And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
“And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,
‘This is the covenant that I will make with them
after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws on their hearts,
and write them on their minds,’
“then he adds,
‘I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.’
“Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.”
Let’s be honest and admit that if the most of our contemporaries should have a concern about what lies beyond this present existence, they endeavour to discover what they can do to secure a better position in the afterlife. In the popular view, we must do something to be accepted by God. Most people are seeking a fire insurance policy, not a transformed life. They want forgiveness of sin and a welcome into the eternal home without surrendering control over their lives. Truthfully, this was likely our concern when we first began to think of eternal life. We were concerned with what we could do to ensure that we didn’t have to face the wrath of Holy God. People want to be freed from the fear of eternal judgement, but they aren’t particularly concerned about a holy life. The most of mankind is willing to be “nice,” to live a life that reflects what is acceptable to the most of mankind, to so live that they are recognised as hail fellow, well met; but they aren’t especially interested in living a life that is transformed.
Whenever someone asks, “What good deed must I do to have eternal life?” they need to know what is written in the Word of God! Paul assembled a collection of statements from the Old Covenant that should be read by everyone. The Apostle wrote,
“‘None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.’
‘Their throat is an open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.’
‘The venom of asps is under their lips.’
‘Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.’
‘Their feet are swift to shed blood;
in their paths are ruin and misery,
and the way of peace they have not known.’
‘There is no fear of God before their eyes.’”
[ROMANS 3:10b-18]
Paul continued with this assessment which applies to us to this day. “We know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin” [ROMANS 3:19-20].
Isaiah, speaking on behalf of the Living God, has written of our efforts to be righteous,
“We are all like one who is unclean,
all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in your sight.”
[ISAIAH 64:6a NET BIBLE]
Job, lamenting his condition as sinful in the sight of the Lord, speaks an incredible truth when he says,
“Man who is born of a woman
is few of days and full of trouble.
He comes out like a flower and withers;
he flees like a shadow and continues not.
And do you open your eyes on such a one
and bring me into judgment with you?
Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?
There is not one.”
[JOB 14:1-4]
Job was admitting what every one of us need to confess before the Living God—we are sinners. If we are spiritually alive, it is by the grace of God. If we have purity of heart, it is because the Lord has cleansed our heart.
Because we are unclean in the sight of the LORD, then it follows that we cannot do anything to make ourselves acceptable to Him. Truly has the LORD God spoken through the Prophet,
“Truly no man can ransom another,
or give to God the price of his life,
for the ransom of their life is costly
and can never suffice,
that he should live on forever
and never see the pit.”
[PSALM 49:7-9]
One of the greatest barriers to eternal life is man’s inability to see himself in the light of God’s holiness. Our natural tendency is to excuse ourselves, saying, “Well, yes, I’m a sinner; but I’m not that bad!” We will either minimise our sinfulness, or we seek to compare ourselves to someone else whom we imagine is worse than we are. “I’m not as sinful as …” and we supply the name of almost anyone we can imagine. We need to remember that God does not judge on the curve. Sin is sinful; and in the light of God’s holiness all of us fail miserably. Sin brings death and ruin; we must confess that our sin is “sinful beyond measure” [see ROMANS 7:13].
Jesus provided a graphic example of the attitude that honours God with a parable. He told of two men who went to the Temple to pray. Here is the account as Luke recorded it. “[Jesus] told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: ‘Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.” But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted’” [LUKE 18:9-14].
“What must I do to have eternal life?” Jesus pointed to a transformed life as reflecting the heart that has been changed by God Himself. Jesus pointed to the Ten Words, specifically noting several of the commandments written in the Pentateuch. The young man felt he was home free. He honestly believed that he had kept these commandments perfectly from childhood. However, he realised that something was still lacking. He didn’t possess confidence that God had accepted him. In short, his life wasn’t transformed!
“IF YOU WOULD ENTER LIFE, KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS.” There it is! Jesus said, “If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” Are you surprised at Jesus’ answer to the question this young man was asking? I am. It isn’t an answer we would expect in one of our churches. We pride ourselves on biblical fidelity, but Jesus’ answer throws us for a loop! We want Jesus to say to the young man, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” We want Jesus to say, “Believe on Me!” But He doesn’t do that.
The reason I’m uncomfortable with Jesus’ answer is that it is impossible to keep the Law. Recall Peter’s rebuke of the Judaizers during the Jerusalem conference. Peter stood up and said, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will” [ACTS 15:7-11]. Peter’s assessment was that neither the Jews of his day nor the fathers had been able to keep the commandments.
Paul becomes quite personal while writing the Christians gathered in Rome. He assesses that the Law had the great purpose of demonstrating his sinful proclivity. The particular passage in which he makes this admission is found in the seventh chapter of the Book of Romans. There, Paul writes, “What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’ But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me” [ROMANS 7:7-11]. Though he might try ever so hard, yet the Apostle was unable to keep from coveting! And that is only one command; there are six hundred thirteen commands recorded in the Old Testament!
From the exchange, I conclude that the Master graciously sought to reveal to this young man what was lacking in his life. The man was assured that he had indeed kept the commandments, and he was confident that he had done so since earliest days. He wasn’t conscious of his deficit because he was so focused on what he thought he had accomplished. Yet, despite his self-assurance, he recognised that something was missing. He still wanted what he knew was missing, and that was peace with God!
Mark adds an important context to this exchange. Listen to what Mark said. “Jesus, looking at him, loved him.” And with a heart of love, Jesus revealed what was lacking in the man’s life. Jesus urged him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me” [MARK 10:21]. Maybe he hadn’t kept the commandments perfectly, after all.
“IF YOU WOULD BE PERFECT…” The young man questioning Jesus was perceptive enough to recognise that God expects perfection. Isn’t that what we read in the Word? “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy’” [1 PETER 1:14-16]. This young leader was quite certain that God would accept him. Surely, the Lord would approve of him. He felt pretty good about himself. He could boast of keeping the commandments that Jesus named. However, Jesus put His finger on the precise facet of life that betrayed the young man’s boast as hollow. An old saying warns against being straight as a gun barrel theologically, and just as empty. That is an apt description of this young man. Tragically, it accurately describes many of the professed saints of this day.
Jesus invited that young man to set aside what had kept him from humbly looking to God for mercy. This man’s wealth had become a god, and consequently, he couldn’t follow Jesus because to do so would require him to rid himself of his god.
One afternoon this past August, while working on messages planned for delivery in the future, I received a phone call that I found to be somewhat strange. The number displayed on my phone indicated that the call originated in a distant province. Upon answering the call and identifying myself as the pastor of New Beginnings Baptist Church, a woman immediately and brusquely launched into a series of questions.
Her tone was demanding; she could be defined as sounding almost fierce. Certainly her attitude and the tone of her voice could easily be mistaken as angry; it was extremely difficult to tell. Her initial question to me was, “How do you tell someone how to be saved?” I wondered whether she might be attempting to start an argument, and that made me somewhat guarded in my response to her. I encouraged her to consult our web site. She informed me that she had done so, but that while she found our church covenant, she couldn’t find a doctrinal statement.
I suggested that she go to www.sermoncentral.com, where almost all the sermons I have preached from this pulpit for the past decade are posted. She brusquely responded that she didn’t have time to do that. Her motive in asking her questions was not in the least apparent, so I determined that I would assume the best, imagining that she was lost and truly needed to hear the message of life. Therefore, I told her that Jesus, the Son of God, died a sacrificial death for lost mankind. He was buried and rose again on the third day. He ascended into Heaven where He is seated at the right hand of the Father. Now, believing Him—believing that He died because of her sin and believing that He was raised from the dead, believing Him without any work on our part, is sufficient to bring her into a right relationship with the Father. I continued by asserting that our authority for this understanding is the Bible, which we receive as the Word of God. Abruptly, she thanked me and rung off. I do field some calls which are confusing, at best.
We point lost people to look to Jesus as the perfect sacrifice for our sinful condition. Thus, our expectation is that Jesus will call this man to faith, to believing that Jesus is the Son of God. Instead, Jesus points to “the commandments.” What is going on? The answer to the seeming conundrum lies in the approach the young man made to Jesus. Much as was true with the woman demanding an answer of me, this young man didn’t shape his question by asking about a relationship with the Master; he gives no indication that he was willing to follow the Master. Nevertheless, Jesus guided him past his deeds to the relationship that would be necessary. Jesus met the young man where he was and guided him to where he needed to be. We want to drive straight to the perfection that no man can possess without guiding our interlocutors through the maze that must be negotiated before we reach that place.
Are you seeking eternal life, that new quality that describes a genuine relationship with the Living God? Or are you simply seeking a fire insurance policy? Is your motive to find what is pleasing to God? Or are you seeking to find an easy way to make it to Heaven? Let’s be honest—the majority of people aren’t actually interested in having One who will rule over life; they are seeking a way to avoid the consequences of a life lived fulfilling their own desires.
Take a moment to review Jesus’ answer to this man. There is something that is easy to overlook if we simply take a global view of what took place at that time. Jesus said to this man, “If you would enter life…” That statement implies that the young man had not at that time entered into life. Likewise, people are not born possessing eternal life. Each person must be born from above if they would enter into eternal life.
There was another man who was startled by Jesus’ blunt assessment when he attempted to discuss spiritual matters with the Lord. Here is the account as John recorded it. “There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, “You must be born again.” The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit’” [JOHN 3:1-8].
Nicodemus didn’t even have to ask how to be born again. He didn’t know enough to ask this question! But Jesus knew that Nicodemus needed to hear the answer to this question. It is the essential question that few know to ask. When one does ask the question, they should receive a clear answer, just as a jailer in Philippi received a pointed and clear answer when he asked the question. He had been on the verge of taking his own life when the missionaries who were held in his jail stopped him from acting so rashly. This shaken jailer called for lights and rushed into the darkened interior of the jail, and fell down before the missionaries. He asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Immediately, Paul pointed this man to Christ as Master. “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” The account of this incident is recorded in ACTS 16:19-34.
We do not inherit eternal life from any mortal. We cannot earn eternal life. If we will ever have eternal life, it will be because God has freely given that gracious gift. The Word declares, “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” [ROMANS 6:23]. Eternal life is given when we receive Christ Jesus as Master over life. When we receive the sacrifice presented through the death of Christ the Lord, we are perfected. As the Scripture says, “By a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified” [HEBREWS 10:14].
“THE YOUNG MAN … WENT AWAY SORROWFUL.” Confronted by the demand that Jesus be Master over life, the young man was grieved. Week-by-week, you have heard me quote Paul’s call to faith. “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation” [ROMANS 10:9-10 CSB]. Jesus must be Lord of all, or He is not Lord at all.
Luke identifies this man as “a ruler” [see LUKE 18:18]. In our text, the man is identified as having “great possessions” [see MATTHEW 19:22; MARK 10:22]. Luke identifies the man as “extremely rich” [see LUKE 18:23]. Our text clearly intimates that this man wealth stood between him and God. He was willing to sacrifice eternal riches for the tawdry baubles of this present life. Jesus explained to His disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God” [MATTHEW 19:23-24].
How tragic! This man gripped his wealth so tightly that he could not release that grip in order to seize eternal wealth.
So, you decide to follow Jesus as Master over life. Have you thought about the cost of following Jesus? The Saviour was quite blunt in confronting those who thought they wanted to be disciples in that earlier day. On one occasion, Jesus turned to a great crowd following Him, and He said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”
Then, Jesus appended a warning against attempting to trifle with the Faith. Jesus said, “Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear” [LUKE 14:26-35].
What’s in it for you? Perhaps death! In AD 44, Herod ordered that James, the brother of Jesus, be killed with a sword.
What’s in it for you? Possibly suffering! Luke was hung from an olive tree in Greece.
What’s in it for you? Potentially pain and agony! Thomas was pierced with a pine spear, tortured and burned alive in India.
What’s in it for you? Torture? In AD 54, Philip was crucified, though it is reported that he continued preaching even as he hung on the cross.
What’s in it for you? Attack? Matthew was stabbed in the back while preaching in Ethiopia.
What’s in it for you? Assault? Bartholomew was flogged to death. James the Just was thrown down from the southeast pinnacle of the Temple, falling more than one hundred feet to his death.
What’s in it for you? Andrew was crucified in the form of an “X,” on what has since become known as a Saint Andrew Cross.
What’s in it for you? Simon the Zealot was crucified. Thaddeus was beaten to death in Mesopotamia. Mathias, who replaced Judas, was stoned and then beheaded. Peter was crucified upside down at his own request because he didn’t consider himself worthy to die in the same way the Master died. John, the Beloved Disciple, was the only one to die a natural death; and that is because he survived being boiled in oil and exile to the Isle of Patmos. He died of old age at age ninety-five.
What’s in it for you? Pain! Suffering! Assault! Agony! Being unfriended! Deserted! Loneliness! People will lie about you. People you love will walk out on you because you follow the Saviour. People you help will speak ill of you. People to whom you’ve been good will lie behind your back. Your children will break your heart. Loved ones will criticise you. Fellow Christians will misunderstand you. That’s what’s in it for you! That’s what’s in it for me! You’re going to cry sometimes; your heart will be broken sometimes. But let me tell you what else is in it for you!
“Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.”
[PSALM 30:5B]
You know what else is in it for you? “Peace … that surpasses all understanding” [PHILIPPIANS 4:7].
You know what else is in it for you? Divine strength! We who follow the Saviour are promised, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” [PHILIPPIANS 4:13].
You know what else is in it for you? Joy! Praising the Lord! Shouting! Comfort! Blessing! Because when you follow Jesus, He has obligated Himself to do some things for you. Here’s something to think about, every one of those men to whom Jesus spoke that day was promised that they would sit on thrones. Those who despised Christ’s disciples had a kingdom, but those disciples got a throne. On the authority of Christ’s own words, I anticipate that I’m going to reign with Him, and each one who follows Him will also reign with Him as He promised.
Hasn’t He promised? Hasn’t He promised? Isn’t the promise of God given by Paul? “If we endure, we will also reign with him” [2 TIMOTHY 2:12].
Didn’t He promise? “Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years” [REVELATION 20:6].
I don’t want anyone to imagine that I’m trying to sell a religion that focuses on them. Candidly, following Christ can be very costly in this life. We serve Him, not for what we can get out of the decision—we serve the Lord Christ because He is worthy of our best service. Christ alone merits our deepest devotion, our greatest effort. If He never did anything for us in this life, He is worthy of our love.
Consider the words of the Master spoken to great crowds that pressed in to hear Him. “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
“Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear” [LUKE 14:26-35].
I’ve spoken from my heart because there are some who hear me who still imagine that eternal life is a commodity for which we can barter. God does not barter; God does not haggle. If you will receive the gift of eternal life, it must be received as presented—freely and without reservation. Jesus will save all who come to Him, receiving Him as the perfect sacrifice who is risen from the dead. God promises, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Master,’ believing with your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be set free. It is with your heart that you believe and are made right before the Father, and with the mouth one agrees with God and is set free.”
Jesus called that rich young man to follow Him, just as He now calls you to follow Him. He does not call you to clean up your life and then seek Him; rather, He calls you to come to Him as you are. He will take care of whatever transformation needs to be carried out. You need only come to Him, receiving Him as your Living Saviour. Amen.
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2] Author’s translation of ROMANS 10:9-10
