This was the million dollar question posed by a rich young ruler to Jesus. There is so much to touch upon in this story (Found in Mark 10), that I don't have time. I want to focus solely on these four lines of the pericope (Red text and italics mine):
17 And as he was going forth into the way, there ran one to him, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good save one, even God.19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor thy father and mother.20 And he said unto him, Teacher, all these things have I observed from my youth.21 And Jesus looking upon him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.
I've been thinking about this question too. What Jesus tells that man is not what we would answer to someone asking the question of us. Most of us would say, pray to ask Jesus into your heart, read the Bible everyday, go to church, fellowship, worship, and so on.
Does that mean we think Jesus was not really serious when he answered "One thing you lack, go and sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me"? Jesus says absolutely none of those things we would expect. Jesus absolutely meant every word he said. This isn't a specific command for one person in particular, and when taken as the answer to the question "What must I do to inherit Eternal life?", this answer seems rather important to salvation.
I remember reading this and thinking, "This is way too much to ask! There is no way I could do this! Jesus must have meant something else!" as if Jesus would never say such radical things. I think we are all like this. No one I know who is a Christian has sold everything they had and gave to the poor to follow Jesus myself included.
The thing is, even the Disciples were astonished about what Jesus said, and I'm sure had the exact some thoughts I had. They ask the question "Who then can be saved?" Jesus then gives the real answer to the question "What must I do to inherit eternal life": "With man this is impossible, but not with God." Essentially, there is nothing you WILL do.
Nothing. Absolutely nothing you can do to inherit eternal life outside of selling everything you have and following Jesus. I can't stress that enough. No amount of praying to ask Jesus into your heart, bible reading, church going, worshiping, or fellowshipping could get you into heaven. It is impossible for us to have eternal life, but the hope is this: "With God all things are possible".
Jesus is saying there is a way into the Kingdom of God that is otherwise impossible to get into, and that's God. God has done everything for us, everything has been done for us because nothing could be done by us. That is the miracle of grace and the mystery of Christ on the Cross and the majesty of His resurrection, if you choose to believe it.
John 6:28-29 (ASV) "28 They said therefore unto him, What must we do, that we may work the works of God?29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent."
Another great example of Jesus changing the focus away from "What should we do". Faith can be the hardest thing you do, but being a disciple requires discipline.
I am not saying things like reading the bible or worshiping are bad. Not at all! But these things in and of themselves are not necessary nor sufficient for salvation, but rather are results (not causes) of faith in Christ Jesus. Believe it or not, I do not need to hold the same theology or believe the same things about the Bible as someone else to live out life as a Christian. As long as it preaches Christ crucified, it doesn't matter the reason (whether for profit like some well-to-do televangelists or out of love from the poorest of poor walking the streets).
There is questionable theology everywhere, and even at Seminary no two people hold the same theology. I disagree with a lot of stuff. What is not necessary for salvation can be done in the name of ministry. A lot of things don't matter at all: Gay marriage, abortion views, baptism views, sabbath views, etc. Only one thing absolutely cannot change and is what binds all Christians together: Belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of God sent as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. I keep my theology simple in order to remain flexible in a faith that demands it. I keep as true to the Word of God as I can.
There is nothing one should do to be a Christian because there is nothing one can do except believe the very Words Jesus taught. There is no right way to express thankfulness for the grace God has given, only usual response that tends to mark a life touched by Christ (i.e. a love for the word of God, a renewed worldview, love for God's people, a desire to seek reconciliation, a hunger to know God (to seek His face) and speak with Him, a voluntary submission to God's will, joyful expressions of thanksgiving (dancing, singing, shouting, clapping, writing, etc.), among many other things!).
Faith without these "works" I listed is only people pretending. If you don't find yourself genuinely wanting to do these things of your own volition (not because you are expected to do them, but because you WANT to do them), you may need to examine yourself. This is especially directed to those of us who serve in a church/religious setting. We do not want to slip into a place where we do things because we are required to do them. It will only hurt us and the people we serve in the long run and we will burn out.
This is my conclusion: I believe that the Church today has been too focused on the results of faith and not enough about Jesus. I want to try and focus more on Jesus, what he taught and said. I am a "Red Letter Christian" through and through. It seems a lot of people when they give their testimonies, don't talk about Jesus and what He did for them, but rather it comes off as what they did. I am a Christian through no fault of my own. The last thing I wanted for my life was Christ or religion or anything like that. JESUS found me, not the other way around. It's not "Have you found the Lord" but rather "Has He found you?"
Alright. I'm gonna stop. See this always happens, I only want to write a little bit and I end up preaching.
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