We live in a world where the supreme virtue is tolerance. The unwritten code is that if you are not tolerant, then you're not "Christian". The gospel has become watered down, all in the name of tolerance, to the point that it no longer holds any power. Hell is no longer preached on. Sin is treated as a normality in the Christian experience. The born again experience has become a man made, step by step program that is not biblical. Most significantly, in the name of tolerance we have reduced God to an image we have created in our own minds.
Rather than getting a picture of who God is from the bible, we get our image of who God is from society. The image of God that we get from society is one of a sweet old grandpa who just has great, oozing feelings of love for everyone. He looks down at a man molesting an infant or at a man murdering his mother, or the drug dealer selling drugs to kids, and He is overwhelmed with feelings of compassion and love. He looks at a man with the door closed to his office, looking at pornography on the web, and God has wonderful feelings of love for him. This is not the God of the bible. This is the god of tolerance. The truth is, the one true God hates that man and His wrath and anger burn against him. The only reason this man is still breathing and God has not thrown this man into hell, is because of His goodness and longsuffering, waiting and hoping this man will repent.
Ps 5:5 The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.
Ps 5:6 Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.
This is the God of the bible. He hates all those that live in sin. He hates those that live in a state of disobedience and rebellion. He will destroy the people that speak lies, and He abhors the bloody and deceitful person. The next passage is God speaking...
Ps 50:18 When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers.
Ps 50:19 Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit.
Ps 50:20 Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother's son.
Ps 50:21 These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.
Ps 50:22 Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.
God says that you consented with the thief and partook with adulterers. You allowed your mouth to speak evil and deceit. The whole time God was silent and so you thought that God was like you. But He will reprove, He will set things right. Consider this what He has said, you that forget God, lest He tear you in pieces. This isn't the tolerant God that I heard about on "Christian" radio. This is not the God I heard about from society. Most everyone is ignorant of who God is, so they go on living in their sin because they adopted their image of God, from the world. They don't know that He is their enemy and that He hates them and His wrath burns. They don't know that He will not forget a single sinful thought or deed, and is longing for the day when He will throw them into hell and punish them for ever. In fact, it will be a sweet savour to Him.
2Co 2:15 For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:
2Co 2:16 To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life.
How do we get out from under the wrath of Almighty God? To get into the love of God, we must get into Christ. If we are not under the blood of Christ, then we are under His wrath and hatred. I am so glad that I know my sins are forgiven and that I am in Christ. I do not fear losing my salvation, because my life is hid in Christ, but I do fear God. I fear Him enough to know that I won't get away with disobedience. He will chasten me whom He loves, I have no doubt, seeing I am not a bastard but a son.
If you can live in sin, not fearing God, then you don't know the same God I know. If God is not in your thoughts and in the decisions you make, then you don't know God. If you can retreat into darkness, turn the computer on, do a little search on the internet and come up with pornographic images, and you don't fear God... You don't know God. You are an enemy of God and the only way to get into His love, is to turn to Him and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ with all your heart. You must be born again. The only salvation is found in Him.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
You Can Be Sure!
So many professing Christians are living day to day, doubting whether they are really saved. I do not look with disdain on these people, rather I feel with them because I know exactly how they feel. For years I walked in those exact footsteps.
For a long time I struggled with fears and doubts, that tied in nicely with the sin in my life. I cried out to God night after night wanting that assurance, but it wouldn't come. I fasted, read my bible a lot, witnessed, but assurance wouldn't come. I called out to God and accused him of not keeping His end of the bargain. I mean, God had said in His word...
1John 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
He said, "That Ye MAY KNOW", and I wanted to know. My problem was that I left out the, "believe" part. I was not content with just, "being Christian", and following a religious routine. If I could not know God, and not know I was saved, then to me it wasn't worth it. Just another empty religion. So, I didn't know what else to do but to continue seeking God. I knew that if I knew God and loved Him, then I would know. If God and I were on the same team, and I knew it, them everything would be OK. It never occured to me that God just wanted me to believe, and if I would believe, then I would naturally be sure. What did I do? Just sought Him harder. I fasted and prayed, trying to feel something or experience something so I could know.
I hope you all see the futility in what I was doing. I was begging God for assurance, trying to have an experience, when that was never the route that God had designed for us in His book. I admit, if a person doesn't know any better, then that is the safest route to go, instead of growing comfortable in that state of unbelief. FOR A WHILE I DID START THINKING THAT I MUST BE SAVED, BECAUSE I TRIED MY BEST, AND GOD COULDN'T ASK MORE THEN THAT. (It makes me chuckle at the stupidity)
God never told us to pray for salvation. God never told us to beg and cry for forgiveness, in order to be saved. God never told us to fast in order to get right with Him. He never told us to work really hard and prove to ourselves that we are indeed saved. Here I was trying to make up my own salvation, trying to get right with God. We can't get right with God. That's right, we can not get right with God by doing something. God saves people who believe the gospel, not people who are trying to do their best. God saves people who believe and are trusting that what Jesus did on the cross is enough to get us saved and into heaven. Again, God does not save people who ask to be saved. He saves people who believe the gospel. There is no working in that. There is nothing for you to do or can do. We are utterly helpless to do anything, except believe that it has all been done for us, by a wonderful Savior who died on a cross. You believe that and you are saved.
So, how can you know? You know, because you are fully persuaded that your life is Jesus. You are sure that Jesus died for you personally. A person that is doubting their salvation, has put their faith or trust in the wrong thing. For example, a person might put their faith on their confession and doubt that they really meant it. Or a person might be believing in an experience they had one night at a revival meeting, and not in Jesus. Some people put their faith in their modest clothing, and not in Jesus. Or a person might be putting their faith in their prayers or their fasting, like I did, and not in Jesus. If a person is believing with all their heart in Jesus and knows that their life is hid with Christ, in God, their is absolutely no need ever to doubt.
Col 3:3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
Col 3:4 When Christ, who is our life,...
God says in His book, that we are part of Jesus's body (flesh of His flesh and bone of His bone. Eph 5:30). How could we be unsure if our very life is in Jesus? Could Jesus be unsaved? Then how could we be? The only condition that God has placed on us, is that we believe it. There is therefore no bragging. Some folks think you are bragging if your sure of your salvation. How can you brag about something that you didn't do? Jesus did it all. He died and shed His blood on that tree for us, and paid the debt owe by us, to God. We had nothing to do with the actual process which happened over 2000 yrs ago. It was settled even before we were born. The payment for our sin was paid a long time ago. All that is left is for us to believe this good news. When Jesus cried out on the cross, "It is finished", it was finished indeed. Too add to His finished work and free gift, would be a slap in the face to Him. All God requires from us is to reckon the payment made and rest in that finished work of Christ. How can you be sure? Just give up on yourself and believe. When you believe, you will know and be saved as a result.
For a long time I struggled with fears and doubts, that tied in nicely with the sin in my life. I cried out to God night after night wanting that assurance, but it wouldn't come. I fasted, read my bible a lot, witnessed, but assurance wouldn't come. I called out to God and accused him of not keeping His end of the bargain. I mean, God had said in His word...
1John 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
He said, "That Ye MAY KNOW", and I wanted to know. My problem was that I left out the, "believe" part. I was not content with just, "being Christian", and following a religious routine. If I could not know God, and not know I was saved, then to me it wasn't worth it. Just another empty religion. So, I didn't know what else to do but to continue seeking God. I knew that if I knew God and loved Him, then I would know. If God and I were on the same team, and I knew it, them everything would be OK. It never occured to me that God just wanted me to believe, and if I would believe, then I would naturally be sure. What did I do? Just sought Him harder. I fasted and prayed, trying to feel something or experience something so I could know.
I hope you all see the futility in what I was doing. I was begging God for assurance, trying to have an experience, when that was never the route that God had designed for us in His book. I admit, if a person doesn't know any better, then that is the safest route to go, instead of growing comfortable in that state of unbelief. FOR A WHILE I DID START THINKING THAT I MUST BE SAVED, BECAUSE I TRIED MY BEST, AND GOD COULDN'T ASK MORE THEN THAT. (It makes me chuckle at the stupidity)
God never told us to pray for salvation. God never told us to beg and cry for forgiveness, in order to be saved. God never told us to fast in order to get right with Him. He never told us to work really hard and prove to ourselves that we are indeed saved. Here I was trying to make up my own salvation, trying to get right with God. We can't get right with God. That's right, we can not get right with God by doing something. God saves people who believe the gospel, not people who are trying to do their best. God saves people who believe and are trusting that what Jesus did on the cross is enough to get us saved and into heaven. Again, God does not save people who ask to be saved. He saves people who believe the gospel. There is no working in that. There is nothing for you to do or can do. We are utterly helpless to do anything, except believe that it has all been done for us, by a wonderful Savior who died on a cross. You believe that and you are saved.
So, how can you know? You know, because you are fully persuaded that your life is Jesus. You are sure that Jesus died for you personally. A person that is doubting their salvation, has put their faith or trust in the wrong thing. For example, a person might put their faith on their confession and doubt that they really meant it. Or a person might be believing in an experience they had one night at a revival meeting, and not in Jesus. Some people put their faith in their modest clothing, and not in Jesus. Or a person might be putting their faith in their prayers or their fasting, like I did, and not in Jesus. If a person is believing with all their heart in Jesus and knows that their life is hid with Christ, in God, their is absolutely no need ever to doubt.
Col 3:3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
Col 3:4 When Christ, who is our life,...
God says in His book, that we are part of Jesus's body (flesh of His flesh and bone of His bone. Eph 5:30). How could we be unsure if our very life is in Jesus? Could Jesus be unsaved? Then how could we be? The only condition that God has placed on us, is that we believe it. There is therefore no bragging. Some folks think you are bragging if your sure of your salvation. How can you brag about something that you didn't do? Jesus did it all. He died and shed His blood on that tree for us, and paid the debt owe by us, to God. We had nothing to do with the actual process which happened over 2000 yrs ago. It was settled even before we were born. The payment for our sin was paid a long time ago. All that is left is for us to believe this good news. When Jesus cried out on the cross, "It is finished", it was finished indeed. Too add to His finished work and free gift, would be a slap in the face to Him. All God requires from us is to reckon the payment made and rest in that finished work of Christ. How can you be sure? Just give up on yourself and believe. When you believe, you will know and be saved as a result.
Monday, February 15, 2010
IT'S FREE!
Ro 5:15 But not as the offence, so also is the FREE GIFT. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the GIFT by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.
Ro 5:16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the GIFT: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the FREE GIFT is of many offences unto justification.
Ro 5:17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of GRACE and of the GIFT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
Ro 5:18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the FREE GIFT came upon all men unto justification of life.
I want to write today about how free our salvation is. I want to write today about how Jesus did it all and how free the gift really is! I want to write about the wisdom of God, in saving people by a method that seems like foolishness to the world. Whole denominations are deceived into thinking that they will add their own offering of good works to God's free gift. Oh how foolish! God, through His infinite wisdom, conceived of a plan that would seem foolish to the wise. He conceived of a plan that was so genius, that it would not only fool the rich, it would fool the wise, the proud, the noble and the mighty. God sent His Son Jesus, to live the life we failed to live and be the substitute for our sin, with His very life and blood. It took God's only Son to die on a cross, so that we might have eternal life and be spared certain damnation. God looked on Jesus on the cross, and His justice and wrath was satisfied. Christ's blood, that was to pay for all sin, flowed to the ground. "How vile!", the noble of the world say. "Blood to pay for our sin?!! God's Son to die in our place?! Why we aren't that bad. We haven't sinned that much, we are actually pretty righteous, see how others respect our person?" Do you see how wise God was?! All God wanted was for people to believe that He actually did what He did! God set forth Jesus for all to see and proclaimed the job, FINISHED! He did it all Himself! God made it so easy, that the wise ones wouldn't get it! He made it so base, so despised, that the proud, wouldn't accept it! He made it so weak, that the mighty couldn't grab a hold of it! Then God, in His infinite wisdom, used the foolishness of preaching to send out the message of the gospel, so that those that would hear, and believe, would be saved. I marvel at the simplicity and the awesome wisdom of Almighty God!
1Co 1:25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
1Co 1:26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: (SAVED, BORN AGAIN)
1Co 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
1Co 1:28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
Why did God do it this way?
1Co 1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
So no one could glory in His presence. So nobody could stand before His throne and be proud and say to Him, "I did it, you owe me". How foolish it is to think that one can add anything to God's free gift! How foolish it is to think that one could add works of righteousness to God's grace! It is free! Completely free! There is never any work of righteousness you need to do to be saved. Not now and not ever. If you did have to, than it would no longer be free, would it? That would make God a liar.
Ga 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have BELIEVED in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: FOR BY THE WORKS OF THE LAW SHALL NO FLESH BE JUSTIFIED.
What is meant by, "works of the law"? That would be anything you would do, as in an act or good deed".
What Jesus did, is the grounds for our salvation, and faith, or believing is the condition. There is no act or good deed here to do. There is no twelve step program. Just turn, or repent to to God and believe that Jesus did all that was necessary for us to get into heaven. That is as easy as it gets. Believing is the easiest thing you will ever do. All you are doing is taking hold of the promise of God trusting it to be true, and nothing glorifies Him more than that. What does Paul say to those that try to get right with God by doing good works?
Gal 2:21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
If a person can get righteous by doing what he ought to do, Christ died for nothing. If a person can work their way to heaven, then Christ died for nothing. The righteousness we need, comes to us by believing. When we believe on the Lord Jesus, God imputes to our account all of Christ's righteousness.
Here is where many people are deceived. They say it can't possibly be this easy. Just believing doesn't sound like it would have any practical effect at all. So they don't believe. People that say, "It is free, but...", don't really believe. Once a person really believes, they stop "butting", Jesus and their grace, and just go on and believe that it is all of grace. They start believing that Jesus did it all, and that they did nothing. Then they go and rejoice and rest in His finished work. It is selfishness and pride, that prevents people from believing with all their heart. God wants people that give up on themselves and admit that there is nothing we can do to be saved. He wants a people that are without hope in themselves or in this world, and have nothing to offer God, either from their soul or as a work of righteousness in order to get right with Him. People that are without hope in themselves, and have no confidence in how they have lived, and come with a childlike faith. A people that believe whatever He says, even when it is far outside of their reality. A people that when He says, "Jump" (when there is no reason to), they jump. When He says, "duck", they duck. Simply because He is trustworthy. This is perhaps the most marvelous verse in all of scripture...
Ro 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
To the person that doesn't try to work for salvation, but simply believes in God, his faith is counted for righteousness. Aren't you amazed that God takes on the name, "Him that justifies the ungodly"? You might have thought that salvation is only for the religious, the repentant and the church goers. But here it says that God justifies the UNGODLY. You must be an ungodly sinner in order to be justified (innocent of all charges), and you must "work not"! That sounds like FREE to me!
Ro 5:16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the GIFT: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the FREE GIFT is of many offences unto justification.
Ro 5:17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of GRACE and of the GIFT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
Ro 5:18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the FREE GIFT came upon all men unto justification of life.
I want to write today about how free our salvation is. I want to write today about how Jesus did it all and how free the gift really is! I want to write about the wisdom of God, in saving people by a method that seems like foolishness to the world. Whole denominations are deceived into thinking that they will add their own offering of good works to God's free gift. Oh how foolish! God, through His infinite wisdom, conceived of a plan that would seem foolish to the wise. He conceived of a plan that was so genius, that it would not only fool the rich, it would fool the wise, the proud, the noble and the mighty. God sent His Son Jesus, to live the life we failed to live and be the substitute for our sin, with His very life and blood. It took God's only Son to die on a cross, so that we might have eternal life and be spared certain damnation. God looked on Jesus on the cross, and His justice and wrath was satisfied. Christ's blood, that was to pay for all sin, flowed to the ground. "How vile!", the noble of the world say. "Blood to pay for our sin?!! God's Son to die in our place?! Why we aren't that bad. We haven't sinned that much, we are actually pretty righteous, see how others respect our person?" Do you see how wise God was?! All God wanted was for people to believe that He actually did what He did! God set forth Jesus for all to see and proclaimed the job, FINISHED! He did it all Himself! God made it so easy, that the wise ones wouldn't get it! He made it so base, so despised, that the proud, wouldn't accept it! He made it so weak, that the mighty couldn't grab a hold of it! Then God, in His infinite wisdom, used the foolishness of preaching to send out the message of the gospel, so that those that would hear, and believe, would be saved. I marvel at the simplicity and the awesome wisdom of Almighty God!
1Co 1:25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
1Co 1:26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: (SAVED, BORN AGAIN)
1Co 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
1Co 1:28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
Why did God do it this way?
1Co 1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
So no one could glory in His presence. So nobody could stand before His throne and be proud and say to Him, "I did it, you owe me". How foolish it is to think that one can add anything to God's free gift! How foolish it is to think that one could add works of righteousness to God's grace! It is free! Completely free! There is never any work of righteousness you need to do to be saved. Not now and not ever. If you did have to, than it would no longer be free, would it? That would make God a liar.
Ga 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have BELIEVED in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: FOR BY THE WORKS OF THE LAW SHALL NO FLESH BE JUSTIFIED.
What is meant by, "works of the law"? That would be anything you would do, as in an act or good deed".
What Jesus did, is the grounds for our salvation, and faith, or believing is the condition. There is no act or good deed here to do. There is no twelve step program. Just turn, or repent to to God and believe that Jesus did all that was necessary for us to get into heaven. That is as easy as it gets. Believing is the easiest thing you will ever do. All you are doing is taking hold of the promise of God trusting it to be true, and nothing glorifies Him more than that. What does Paul say to those that try to get right with God by doing good works?
Gal 2:21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
If a person can get righteous by doing what he ought to do, Christ died for nothing. If a person can work their way to heaven, then Christ died for nothing. The righteousness we need, comes to us by believing. When we believe on the Lord Jesus, God imputes to our account all of Christ's righteousness.
Here is where many people are deceived. They say it can't possibly be this easy. Just believing doesn't sound like it would have any practical effect at all. So they don't believe. People that say, "It is free, but...", don't really believe. Once a person really believes, they stop "butting", Jesus and their grace, and just go on and believe that it is all of grace. They start believing that Jesus did it all, and that they did nothing. Then they go and rejoice and rest in His finished work. It is selfishness and pride, that prevents people from believing with all their heart. God wants people that give up on themselves and admit that there is nothing we can do to be saved. He wants a people that are without hope in themselves or in this world, and have nothing to offer God, either from their soul or as a work of righteousness in order to get right with Him. People that are without hope in themselves, and have no confidence in how they have lived, and come with a childlike faith. A people that believe whatever He says, even when it is far outside of their reality. A people that when He says, "Jump" (when there is no reason to), they jump. When He says, "duck", they duck. Simply because He is trustworthy. This is perhaps the most marvelous verse in all of scripture...
Ro 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
To the person that doesn't try to work for salvation, but simply believes in God, his faith is counted for righteousness. Aren't you amazed that God takes on the name, "Him that justifies the ungodly"? You might have thought that salvation is only for the religious, the repentant and the church goers. But here it says that God justifies the UNGODLY. You must be an ungodly sinner in order to be justified (innocent of all charges), and you must "work not"! That sounds like FREE to me!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Coming Like a Child
Do you ever lay in bed at night and wonder, "am I really saved?" Well, we are going to look at this question together and see what the word of God has to say about this. I trust in the word of God and am not ashamed of the Gospel because it is the power of God unto salvation. Let us look at how Jesus answered a man, that was asking about inheriting eternal life. Remember, the whole context is the first verse where Jesus will go on to show how this man, is not coming like a little child.
Lu 18:17 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.
Lu 18:18 ¶ And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
Lu 18:19 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.
Lu 18:20 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.
Lu 18:21 And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.
Lu 18:22 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.
Many people who cling to their own righteousness and subscribe to a work salvation, use this verse to verify their assertions, but Jesus here is showing how this man is not coming like a little child. The ruler in this story, is obviously missing something in his life. If there was nothing missing he would not have approached Jesus and asked that question. It was a sense of lack. Many people, including myself before I was saved, had a deep sense of lack. A feeling that there is something missing in my life. For most of my life I felt it, and I tried to fill that with worldly pleasures, but to no avail. This sense of lack and loneliness never went away through all my pleasure seeking. This sense of lack is one of the biggest signs to someone, that they are not saved. You see, people may try to fill it with religion, reading scripture, bible studies, fellowship with Christians, witnessing, trying to get right with God, but it just doesn't get right. That sense of lack won't go away no matter how hard a person may work and try to "abide in Christ". The mind, will and emotions might be for God and for the things of God, but the heart is for the world. They know Christians ought not act and think the way they do (when no one is looking) so they try harder and immerse themselves in their, "Christian life", to try to be sanctified and get assurance, but to no avail. The desire is for the things of this world, and not for God. They are not coming like a child. The ruler in this passage was not coming like a child.
There cannot be anything in between a you and God when you come. If there is something you have put in the way, something you just won't give up... Maybe it is pornography or maybe it is your nicotine habit. Something that you love more than God, you can't be saved. A child when it is offered something better, than what it has in its grasp at the moment, immediately lets go and grabs the new and better thing. The child doesn't think about what comes after, or how it will all work out. The child simply lets go and grabs the new, without thinking about consequences. The child doesn't need to figure it all out. In contrast, an adult tries to figure it all out. An adult says, "No it can't be that easy. There must be more to it than that. There must be something for me to do here". This adult is no longer coming like a little child.
Jesus, knowing the ruler's heart, told him to keep the commandments. He offered him salvation by keeping the law. The law says, if you keep it perfectly, you will inherit eternal life. The ruler, lying, claimed that he had done all those things. Jesus replied back that he lacked something yet. He should sell all his riches, give the money to the poor, and follow Him. You see, Jesus knew the man's heart. He knew that the man loved his riches more than God. If the ruler had come like a little child, he would have dropped what he was doing, sold his riches, given them to the poor, and followed Jesus. But he didn't. Instead of eternal life, the man preferred his riches. Instead of choosing Jesus, he chose eternal death and hell.
God does not require anything of us, except that we come. Remember what Phillip told the eunuch when the eunuch asked what hindered him from being baptized?
Ac 8:37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart,
There is a kind of believing with the mind, like the devil believes, and then there is a believing with the whole heart, that is unto salvation. If it is an experience you are looking for, you won't be saved. To be terrified and want to escape hell, is no reason for you to be saved. To be sorry for your sin and to beg God to forgive you, is no reason to be saved. God is not impressed that you are sorry. What you should be is very, very sorry for your sin, but that is no reason to be saved. You must believe with all your heart.
There is a wonderful state of mind that you must be in to get saved. You must want to know God and desire Him over all else. You must desire righteousness and holiness and have a hatred for sin. You can't have any confidence in the way you have lived. All your right doing is dung, as far as God is concerned. Most importantly, you need to know that Jesus became your sin so that you could become His righteousness. He went to the hell that you deserved so that you could go to the heaven that you didn't deserve. He shed his blood to on that tree, to pay your debt in full. You need to know that it is absolutely free! Just believe that, and be saved! Believe that Jesus paid it all. "Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to the cross I cling."
Romans 3:24 Being justified FREELY by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
To be justified is better than never to have been tried at all. The supreme court of Heaven has gone through your record and found you innocent of all charges! God looked at Jesus on the cross and His wrath was satisfied. Believe and be saved! Just like when Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness and sent out messengers telling them to tell the people (that were being bitten by snakes) to look to the serpent and they would be saved. The same way Jesus was lifted up on the cross, and all that look to Him and believe that he paid it all, will be saved.
Lu 18:17 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.
Lu 18:18 ¶ And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
Lu 18:19 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.
Lu 18:20 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.
Lu 18:21 And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.
Lu 18:22 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.
Many people who cling to their own righteousness and subscribe to a work salvation, use this verse to verify their assertions, but Jesus here is showing how this man is not coming like a little child. The ruler in this story, is obviously missing something in his life. If there was nothing missing he would not have approached Jesus and asked that question. It was a sense of lack. Many people, including myself before I was saved, had a deep sense of lack. A feeling that there is something missing in my life. For most of my life I felt it, and I tried to fill that with worldly pleasures, but to no avail. This sense of lack and loneliness never went away through all my pleasure seeking. This sense of lack is one of the biggest signs to someone, that they are not saved. You see, people may try to fill it with religion, reading scripture, bible studies, fellowship with Christians, witnessing, trying to get right with God, but it just doesn't get right. That sense of lack won't go away no matter how hard a person may work and try to "abide in Christ". The mind, will and emotions might be for God and for the things of God, but the heart is for the world. They know Christians ought not act and think the way they do (when no one is looking) so they try harder and immerse themselves in their, "Christian life", to try to be sanctified and get assurance, but to no avail. The desire is for the things of this world, and not for God. They are not coming like a child. The ruler in this passage was not coming like a child.
There cannot be anything in between a you and God when you come. If there is something you have put in the way, something you just won't give up... Maybe it is pornography or maybe it is your nicotine habit. Something that you love more than God, you can't be saved. A child when it is offered something better, than what it has in its grasp at the moment, immediately lets go and grabs the new and better thing. The child doesn't think about what comes after, or how it will all work out. The child simply lets go and grabs the new, without thinking about consequences. The child doesn't need to figure it all out. In contrast, an adult tries to figure it all out. An adult says, "No it can't be that easy. There must be more to it than that. There must be something for me to do here". This adult is no longer coming like a little child.
Jesus, knowing the ruler's heart, told him to keep the commandments. He offered him salvation by keeping the law. The law says, if you keep it perfectly, you will inherit eternal life. The ruler, lying, claimed that he had done all those things. Jesus replied back that he lacked something yet. He should sell all his riches, give the money to the poor, and follow Him. You see, Jesus knew the man's heart. He knew that the man loved his riches more than God. If the ruler had come like a little child, he would have dropped what he was doing, sold his riches, given them to the poor, and followed Jesus. But he didn't. Instead of eternal life, the man preferred his riches. Instead of choosing Jesus, he chose eternal death and hell.
God does not require anything of us, except that we come. Remember what Phillip told the eunuch when the eunuch asked what hindered him from being baptized?
Ac 8:37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart,
There is a kind of believing with the mind, like the devil believes, and then there is a believing with the whole heart, that is unto salvation. If it is an experience you are looking for, you won't be saved. To be terrified and want to escape hell, is no reason for you to be saved. To be sorry for your sin and to beg God to forgive you, is no reason to be saved. God is not impressed that you are sorry. What you should be is very, very sorry for your sin, but that is no reason to be saved. You must believe with all your heart.
There is a wonderful state of mind that you must be in to get saved. You must want to know God and desire Him over all else. You must desire righteousness and holiness and have a hatred for sin. You can't have any confidence in the way you have lived. All your right doing is dung, as far as God is concerned. Most importantly, you need to know that Jesus became your sin so that you could become His righteousness. He went to the hell that you deserved so that you could go to the heaven that you didn't deserve. He shed his blood to on that tree, to pay your debt in full. You need to know that it is absolutely free! Just believe that, and be saved! Believe that Jesus paid it all. "Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to the cross I cling."
Romans 3:24 Being justified FREELY by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
To be justified is better than never to have been tried at all. The supreme court of Heaven has gone through your record and found you innocent of all charges! God looked at Jesus on the cross and His wrath was satisfied. Believe and be saved! Just like when Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness and sent out messengers telling them to tell the people (that were being bitten by snakes) to look to the serpent and they would be saved. The same way Jesus was lifted up on the cross, and all that look to Him and believe that he paid it all, will be saved.
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