"Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, 'Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?' 'Why do you ask me about what is good?' Jesus replied. 'There is only one who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.' 'Which ones?' the man inquired. Jesus replied. 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself'. 'All these I have kept,' the young man said. 'What do I still lack?' Jesus answered, 'If you want to be perfect, go, sell all your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.'"
Matthew 19:16-21
I've heard it said that salvation is a free gift that will cost you everything. It is absolutely true that our salvation is a free gift that God, through Jesus Christ accomplishes completely on his own. We contribute nothing. Our sanctification is also something God accomplishes completely on his own through the Holy Spirit. Even the desire to obey is something that God accomplishes through the rebirth. However, that does not mean that we simply go along our merry way as God does his work. In order for God to give us his gift of salvation, we must let go of the things we hold dear in order to receive this gift.
Rule Keeping or Following
In the narrative about the rich young rular it is important to note that he did not ask Jesus how to be saved. It was also in contrast to the Jews on Pentecost who responded to Peter's sermon when they asked, "What shall we do" This man was looking specifically for some duty or action that he could perform that would then qualify him to receive eternal life. Jesus responded by saying to keep the commandments. It is true that one way to enter into eternal life is to live a perfect, sinless life. Unfortunately, by the time any of us are old enough to read this we have committed enough sins to condemn the entire world several times over. We all need saving now. But the story continued: The young man then asked Jesus which ones. Jesus responded, "Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself."
The young man responded that he had kept all of these and asked what else he needed to do. It is interesting that Jesus only cited the ten commandments that are based on loving your neighbor. The young man obviously knew that Jesus had left out the Greatest Commandment, to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and the first four of the Ten Commandments. So when he asked Jesus what he still lacked, he did so knowing that Jesus had left those commands out. But rather than state those commands, Jesus showed this young man what it was truly going to mean for him to truly love God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strangth:
"If you want to be perfect, go, sell all your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me."
Denying oneself is a prerequisite to following Christ
Some have made the mistake of assuming that Jesus was talking about wealth. He wasn't. He was essentially saying just what he had said in Matthew 16:24 (and several other places) "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." Denying oneself will mean giving up that which we value most because anything we value more than God is an idol. In this man's case it was his wealth. Two thousand years earlier God gave Abraham the same test when he required him to sacrifice his son, Isaac. In Abraham's case that was what he valued most. He had been willing to sacrifice his wife, Sarah's, honor twice in order to save his own skin. Money wasn't a major issue with him. In Genesis 23 he paid what many scholars believe was an outrageous price for a burial spot without any qualms at all. But Isaac was the son he had been promised and in Genesis 22 God told Abraham to give him up. Abraham did as he was commanded and in verse 12 God said, "Now I know that you fear God because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."
Truly denying oneself goes far beyond strict commandment keeping. If Jesus would have told the young to keep the other commandments as well he would have likely replied that he had kept those too. But when he learned what was really required it says he went away sorrowful. Simply living by a set of rules is easy. Denying oneself is not. The truly faithful were not acknowledged as being heroes of faith because they obeyed a set of rules. They were known for following their Lord. Abraham was called to leave his country and all that was familiar and go to a place that God would show him. He was called to follow. Enoch was considered righteous not because he followed a set of rules. It says in Genesis 5:24 that he "walked with God." It may not be possesions or things we are required to forsake. Many times it is our deeply held opinions and beliefs that must be surrendered.
ALL MUST COME UNDER THE LORDSHIP OF JESUS CHRIST IF WE ARE TO BE HIS DISCIPLES!
The Gospel Call is to Follow Christ
Just as the rich young man was told to follow, Jesus's disciples were told to follow him as well. As you read the accounts of their individual calling it says that they left and immediately followed Jesus. As Peter said in verse 27 of Matthew 19; "We have left everything to follow you." They had done what the rich young man was unable to do. The rich man simply wanted a set of rules: "Tell me what to do and I will do it." But to follow Christ goes far beyond rule keeping. In Matthew 16:24 Jesus said, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." The apostle Paul echoed the same thing when he said, "Follow me as I follow Christ."
We cannot follow Christ
"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him." John 6:44
The fact is the carnal mind is not able to follow Christ. Romans 8:7 says that the carnal nature is hostile against God. It is inherently sinful and cannot submit to God. To try and achieve righteousness by our own merit through keeping a set of rules is idolatry. It places our focus on us. The only thing the law could do was expose sin and restrain human nature...keeping man from being as wicked as he would otherwise be (Galations 4:23). Following Christ means completely forsaking ourselves, our possessions, our desires and dreams, and our ideas of right and wrong, AND...SIN! The carnal nature simply is not able to do that. In John Chapters 13 -- 17 Jesus basicly explains that the only way we can follow him is if he is living in us through the Holy Spirit. In chapter 15:5 he said, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."
Truly coming to Christ means coming to the point of realizing that we are completely helpless and completely dependant on him. Then it means complete and total surrender of our will to his as we leave everything behind and answer his call:
"FOLLOW ME!"
