"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. '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. Then Jesus said to his
disciples, 'Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to 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 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?'" (Matthew 19:16-25 MSG)
I can't help feeling sad when I read this story.
This poor young man had been striving all his life to do everything possible
to be saved; only to find out that he is not saved.
Even Jesus' disciples were astonished at Jesus'
response. When Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is
rich to 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 someone who is rich to
enter the kingdom of God" (vs. 23-24 MSG), the Bible records, "When the
disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, 'Who then can
be saved?'" (Vs 25 MSG). At this point, seeing that the man who actually
tried to follow the ten commandments wasn't saved, they were asking
themselves if they, who had given up everything to follow Jesus, were saved
as well! In fact, it seemed to them that no one could be saved! No one!
There are very legalistic churches that teach we
have to do certain things to be saved. But just like the rich young ruler,
they are not saved by their works! I'm sorry, but this is in the Bible!
but the story doesn't end here. When we listen to
what Paul, under the influence of God's Spirit has to say, something
happens:
"But in our time something new has been added.
What Moses and the prophets witnessed to all those years has happened. The
God-setting-things-right that we read about has become
Jesus-setting-things-right for us. And not only for us, but for everyone who
believes in him. For there is no difference between us and them in this.
Since we've compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and
them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives
God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in
right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we're in
and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means
of Jesus Christ. God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear
that world of sin. Having faith in him sets us in the clear. God decided on
this course of action in full view of the public—to set the world in the
clear with himself through the sacrifice of Jesus, finally taking care of
the sins he had so patiently endured. This is not only clear, but it's
now—this is current history! God sets things right. He also makes it
possible for us to live in his rightness." (Romans 3:22-28 MSG)
Notice what Paul says here in Romans 3:24-25: "All
are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ
Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the
shedding of his blood." (Romans 3:24, 25 NIV). That means that we can't work
our way into Heaven! Salvation is a gift! That is what happened when Grace
came down to this earth!
While in a little town in Spain one evening, my
wife and I went out for a walk. We didn't keep a close enough eye on the
clock, and by the time we turned around to head back to our hotel, twilight
set in. In the dim light of the setting sun, nothing looked familiar to us.
How would we get back to our hotel?
As is our custom, we began looking around for
someone who could give us directions. Unfortunately, there was only one guy
on the street. He was big and strong, and he was covered in tattoos. Not
exactly the kind of person you might choose to ask directions of at night.
Not knowing what else to do, however, I asked him in my broken Spanish if he
could give us directions to our hotel.
He didn't respond right away, and we had to wonder
if this was good or not. After a few seconds, however, he smiled and
indicated in Spanish that he knew where the hotel was located. He gave us
directions, and within 10 minutes were back to our hotel.
So many of us are anxious about whether or not
we've been "good enough" for Heaven, and we are a bit scared to turn to
Jesus. After all, shouldn't we already know how to get to Heaven? All we
need to do, however, is to trust in Jesus. He is on our side, and just like
that Spanish young man, He will guide us into all Truth and into a
relationship with Him. Thank you Lord!
Remember, the law cannot save us. What saves us is
God's grace, sent to this Earth in the form of Jesus Christ to suffer and
die so that we might live. There is no hope for us without Jesus. He is the
only One who can save. He died on the cross so that
anyone who
comes to Him can be saved.
Are you wondering if you've done enough good deeds
to be saved? The good news is that you haven't. But Jesus has, and He is
willing to give His own
righteousness to
you! All you have
to do is ask!
Rob Chaffart