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Is It Impossible?
by Annagail Lynes 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." - Matthew 25-26 In verse 16, Matthew records, "Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" He asked the wrong question. What good thing...he was trying to earn his salvation. Jesus perceived this, so Jesus worked from the man's level. In verse 17, Jesus told him to obey the commandments. In verse 20, the man says, "All of these I have kept." Okay, dude, you have missed the point. I John 1:8 (NIV) tells us "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." Galatians 2:24 explains the purpose of the law (the commandments), "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.' The purpose of the law is to bring us to Christ, to show us that we cannot keep God's standard of perfection, that we need a Savior. This man missed that part completely instead relying on how he could earn his way to Heaven. Jesus hit him where it hurts when the man asked, "What do I lack? (verse 20). Jesus said, "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. (verse 21)." Jesus was saying, "If you want to act like you are perfect, give up that one thing, that idol, that stands between you and God." Only the man prized his money above all else. It was his god. The disciples didn't understand how to be saved until later either because when Jesus told them in verses 23-24 (NIV), "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, they ask in verse 25, "Who then can be saved?" Easy. John 3:16 answers this plainly, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. " Believing in Jesus saves us. It is not our works. It is Jesus and Jesus alone. Getting to Heaven on our own is an impossible feat, but with Jesus, it is as easy as believing on Jesus and what He did for us at the Cross. What is impossible with men is possible with God. Annagail Lynes is a pharmacy technician, certified life coach and ordained minister. She is helping people move forward after trauma by helping them discover their purpose. Follow her blog at 316counseling.com Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |