Salvation for the Wealthy
Jesus had an encounter with a very rich young man who wanted to know how to be saved. Jesus pointed him to the commandments and said he needed to keep them. The man felt he had kept the commandments, so Jesus got to the heart of the matter. He called on this man to sell his possessions and follow Him. The man was very sad, because of his wealth, and he was unwilling to obey Jesus' command. When His disciples asked Jesus about this, He told them that it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. They were amazed at this response. They thought rich people were blessed and on their way to heaven. They wanted to know who could be saved then? Jesus told them salvation of wealthy people was possible with God, but with man it was impossible. (Matthew 19:24,26) Why would Jesus say that? We need to stop and think about it.
Jesus made it clear in several passages that to be His disciples we have to "follow Him." In fact, He said to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him. He made it clear we have to love Him first, so that our love for others and ourselves amounts to hatred. (Luke 9:23; 14:26) This shows we must surrender all that we are and all that we have to Him, so that He is Lord of our life. That is very difficult for a rich person to do. It is not only that they do not want to surrender their money to His Lordship, but they have so many other distractions because of their wealth. The scary thing about this is that most of us in the USA are wealthy. Therefore, it is impossible for us to enter the kingdom on our own, but when we do surrender all to Jesus, it is possible for God to save us and change us. I pray that we have all experienced this miracle of salvation. The changes that come are humanly impossible, like a camel going through a needle. However, they are very real by the power of God. Everything else fades in comparison to our love and devotion to our Lord Jesus Christ.
#NHBaptistdotorg
Tomorrow, I intend to read Matthew 20-23.
Jesus made it clear in several passages that to be His disciples we have to "follow Him." In fact, He said to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him. He made it clear we have to love Him first, so that our love for others and ourselves amounts to hatred. (Luke 9:23; 14:26) This shows we must surrender all that we are and all that we have to Him, so that He is Lord of our life. That is very difficult for a rich person to do. It is not only that they do not want to surrender their money to His Lordship, but they have so many other distractions because of their wealth. The scary thing about this is that most of us in the USA are wealthy. Therefore, it is impossible for us to enter the kingdom on our own, but when we do surrender all to Jesus, it is possible for God to save us and change us. I pray that we have all experienced this miracle of salvation. The changes that come are humanly impossible, like a camel going through a needle. However, they are very real by the power of God. Everything else fades in comparison to our love and devotion to our Lord Jesus Christ.
#NHBaptistdotorg
Tomorrow, I intend to read Matthew 20-23.