God wants to remove the heavy burden of performance and give us freedom through Christ.
A wealthy man came to Jesus and asked, “What shall I do so that I may inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17). His erroneous belief was that eternal life could be earned and he qualified by keeping God’s commandments. But when Jesus challenged him to give up his wealth, he walked away. That directive wasn’t the way to eternal life, but it revealed the true condition of his unrighteous heart.
Satan continually promotes the false idea that we can make ourselves acceptable in God’s eyes. Just like the rich man, many today believe the Lord will accept them because they have done good deeds. In thinking this way, they have established their own standard of acceptability while ignoring the only standard that matters—God’s.
The disciples found it surprising that entering God’s kingdom is hard for even the well-off. They asked, “Then who can be saved?” and Jesus answered, “With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.” (vv. 26-27).
Every person is born a sinner worthy of eternal condemnation, and nothing we do will pay for our sin debt. Only through faith in Christ, who died in our place, can we be made acceptable to God. Consider what an amazing blessing it is that through Him, our sins are forgiven and we receive life everlasting.
Mark 10
The Rich and the Kingdom of God
17As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
18 “Why do you call me good?”Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.19You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’”
20“Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”
21Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,”he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
22At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
23Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”
24The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!25It 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.”
26The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”
27Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”
Comments are closed.