Wealth and Salvation
23 And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 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.” 26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”
The backdrop to the above verses is about the rich man who comes to Jesus to ask what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus knows he is rich and tells him to give away all he has that he might gain eternal life. Jesus was not saying he could buy eternal life by doing the good work of giving away his goods. He is showing him (and the disciples) that it is a matter of the heart. The man had too much money and did not want to part with it, therefore he did not have God at the center of his heart. Jesus uses this time to teach the disciples. The disciples had no idea how to answer Jesus’ question. This was typical of most of His questions to them. Jesus wants them to know:
1. The rich have many distractions in life. Distractions cause us to look away from our eternal needs because we are so caught up in the world around us. This is what James was warning us about in his epistle. James was one of the three key disciples (along with Peter and John) and he might have been thinking of this event when he wrote this:
4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
The rich young ruler was a friend of the world and coveted his riches.
2. The rich can be saved, but it is through the power of God. Now, to be clear, no one has eternal life unless it is the power of God. But, Jesus’ point, above, is that what seems impossible with man is possible with God. Nothing is impossible with God. Knowing that truth is vital to our working with those who reject God. Even the riches, the most wise-in-their-own-eyes, and/or the most vial, who hate God, can be saved if God so wills it. We ought not to give up on those who, at first reject Christ. God is powerful. He can turn the wicked heart and set it free from the bondage of sin. Or, the bondage of a 401K, a big boat, a condo on the oceans and/or a penthouse in Manhattan. With God it is possible for anyone to inherit eternal life. But, they will need to have Christ at the center of their lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment