In my last article I mentioned Jesus words that it was easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the "kingdom of God" and I hope I made it clear that a rich man may not be the only person to encounter difficulty entering. In order to understand this more fully we need to first understand what the kingdom of God is; in short it is not a place but rather is a "state of being". Luke 17:20-21 puts it like this; 20 Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; 21 nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’[a] For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”
Let's look at scripture from a historical perspective. When Jesus spoke of kings and kingdoms there were indeed kings and kingdoms in a literal sense. In those days kings were kind and benovolent only to their subjects and friends, therefore according to scripture there was a time or season when kings went out to war and usually not because of some political dispute but because they intended to conquer another nation and it's king and make them their subjects.
Now these kings had total dictatorial power over their subjects and on a whim could order a person to made very wealthy, or to have their head removed. This is the way it was in sovereign kingdoms. This is indeed the perspective from which Jesus spoke when He spoke of the kingdom of God. The only difference is that He spent the entire 3 years of His ministry trying to show us how His kingdom was benovelant and the decision to be in His kingdom was a personal one made by the prospective subject. But what must not be overlooked is the fact that to enter the kingdom one must be willing to "surrender all and be totally subject to His will" and if we are not willing we simply may not enter.
This was the case with the wealthy young ruler who asked Jesus what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus first told him to keep the commandments and he replied" I have done that since my childhood, Jesus said he lacked one thing and that was to sell all he had and give it to the poor. The young man walked away downcast because his riches were worth more to him than kingdom life. Sadly I believe there are many today that have never surrendered and therefore falsly believe that they have a place in His kingdom.
That is why so many "have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof" 2Timothy 3:5
Jesus promised that He would not leave us powerless but would send the Holy Spirit to teach and empower us to do His will but He will not enter a vessel that is not willing to submit to His will.
In my next article I will try to shed some light on the yoke Jesus spoke of in Matthew 11:28-30
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
THE TRUE DISCIPLE
I was studying this morning and was led to consider what a disciple is. Around here it seems that many believe that there are believers who are saved and those who are disciples and they are different. They seem to think that you can be saved and not be a disciple. Seems that Jesus taught differently. He instructed His disciples to go through all the world and make "disciples" and did not indicate that there were levels of disciples or believers.
He said that we must love Him more than we love our families Luke14:26-27 vs. 28 indicates we must count the cost. A disciple is known as a learner or pupil and that's pretty basic so if it takes that much sacrifice to be a basic learner then how can one be saved and not be a disciple? A wealthy young man approached Jesus and asked what he needed to do to inherit eternal life and Jesus told him basically to keep the things in the Law of Moses to which he replied, "this I have done from my youth".
Interesting that he obviously was a believer in God as many people are but when he came in contact with the Savior he was uncertain of his standing. Jesus reply to him was "sell all you have, give to the poor and come follow me". The young man went away sad because he was very rich, Jesus did not call him back and say "let's negotiate, just give a big offering to the church and get a tax deduction and you’re in".
No He let him go away saying "it's harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle". True but here's the part that is overlooked by most teachers of scripture, and that is that the reason a rich person has difficulty is not his money but that he is used to being in control. His money gives him the ability to command his surroundings and circumstances in almost everything except his physical health. Jesus said we have to surrender to His control to enter the kingdom so it would not matter what the issue was, Jesus would have told him that he must give up whatever it was in his life that would hinder total obedience and surrender to Jesus control. Therefore none of
us are really any different than the rich young man, we all must make that choice "to take up our cross (whatever we must sacrifice) and follow Him.
There's much more to this matter which I shall add later.
I was studying this morning and was led to consider what a disciple is. Around here it seems that many believe that there are believers who are saved and those who are disciples and they are different. They seem to think that you can be saved and not be a disciple. Seems that Jesus taught differently. He instructed His disciples to go through all the world and make "disciples" and did not indicate that there were levels of disciples or believers.
He said that we must love Him more than we love our families Luke14:26-27 vs. 28 indicates we must count the cost. A disciple is known as a learner or pupil and that's pretty basic so if it takes that much sacrifice to be a basic learner then how can one be saved and not be a disciple? A wealthy young man approached Jesus and asked what he needed to do to inherit eternal life and Jesus told him basically to keep the things in the Law of Moses to which he replied, "this I have done from my youth".
Interesting that he obviously was a believer in God as many people are but when he came in contact with the Savior he was uncertain of his standing. Jesus reply to him was "sell all you have, give to the poor and come follow me". The young man went away sad because he was very rich, Jesus did not call him back and say "let's negotiate, just give a big offering to the church and get a tax deduction and you’re in".
No He let him go away saying "it's harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle". True but here's the part that is overlooked by most teachers of scripture, and that is that the reason a rich person has difficulty is not his money but that he is used to being in control. His money gives him the ability to command his surroundings and circumstances in almost everything except his physical health. Jesus said we have to surrender to His control to enter the kingdom so it would not matter what the issue was, Jesus would have told him that he must give up whatever it was in his life that would hinder total obedience and surrender to Jesus control. Therefore none of
us are really any different than the rich young man, we all must make that choice "to take up our cross (whatever we must sacrifice) and follow Him.
There's much more to this matter which I shall add later.
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