Too Attached To Follow?

Matthew 19:16-22

Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?"  So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.  But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments."  He said to Him, "Which ones?" Jesus said, " 'You shall not murder, ' 'You shall not commit adultery,' ' You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother,' and , "You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' "  The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth.  What do I still lack?"  Jesus said to him, " If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."  But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

This was a law abiding man.  He obeyed the laws. He wanted to have assurance of eternal life.  He wanted to know what else he could do to gain that confidence he needed to enter heaven.  There is nothing we can do to enter heaven.   After the man leaves sadden because he does not want to part from his earthly possessions Jesus tells His disciples that 'it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.' v23-24

v25 'His disciples were greatly astonished' then asked, "Who then can be saved?"  

v26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

No one enters heaven by his works. (Eph 2:8-9)   

So why are this man's possessions keeping him from eternal salvation?  Because his earthly treasures are where his heart is, he won't give them up, they are more valuable then salvation.

Why would Jesus ask him to give them up?  

Are the only people to be saved poor?  

Matthew 6:19-20 Jesus is speaking.  "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be."

It wasn't the man's physical possessions that kept him from eternal salvation, this man was so attached to his treasures he wasn't able to part with them. The Lord was addressing the condition of the heart.  On the Sermon on the Mount Jesus explains that to keep the physical commandments of not murdering or committing adultery is not enough, because hating someone and lusting after someone in your heart is an act of committing murder and adultery in the heart.  

v21 Jesus answers this rich man first by saying, "If you want to be perfect..."   Only perfection will gain a man entrance into the Lord's kingdom.  However, this perfection can only be accomplished through Christ.  Jesus instructs this man to sell his possessions, give to the poor, and to follow Him.  The man's sorrow was heavy, he wanted entrance to heaven but his possessions were too great and more valuable keeping him from his ultimate goal.  Following after the world (or the Joneses) will only bring sorrow.  Earthly possessions will not last, everything deteriorates, and possessions are not completely safe from thieves.  

Jesus, God in the flesh, was asking this man to be like Him.  Jesus, as God, left heaven, where riches abound.  Jesus gave it all up to come live in the flesh as a man, a poor man, and give His life so we could partake in the riches of heaven.  He left all He had to give to us.  Jesus will never ask us to do something He has not already done for us.  He is our example. (1Peter 2:21)  Giving our treasure is more than selling our physical goods, it is setting our heart on the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 6:33) not of this world, so that what we have been given we will gladly give to others.

The condition of our heart is an impossible thing to change without Christ-the power of God within us.  If the rich man would've cried out to Jesus to help him he wouldn't have walked away sorrowful.  Colossians 2:9-10 tells us we are complete in Christ.  Phil 2:13 tells us God can give us "...the will to do for His good pleasure." 

When Jesus instructed the rich man to sell all and follow Him, Jesus knew He was ultimately headed for the throne of the kingdom of heaven and anyone who follows Him in earth will follow Him to heaven.

The disciples asked Jesus what they would get because they had left all to follow Him. (Matthew 19:27)  Jesus answered, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration , when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life."

Jesus is not speaking of abandoning family for personal gain.  This is not an excuse to leave your commitments but in the example of Moses in Hebrews 11:24-27 By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter (forsaking the family that raised him, earthly riches, being a prince in Egypt) choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin (God's people were poor slaves in Egypt) , esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches then the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward (heavenly treasures).  By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. 

Moses eventually left Egypt and his people and family because of pending death from Pharaoh.  Thus he left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother and lands for Christ's name sake.  Moses heart was set on God's promise of eternal reward.  We too have a inheritance reserved in heaven for us (1 Peter 1:4-5).

How do we set our hearts on heavenly things to lay up treasures in heaven?  Put off the old man and put on the new man (Eph 4:21-24), seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Mat 6:33), fix your eyes on things above and you will be "filled with all the fullness of God" (Eph 3:19) and be renewed in the spirit of your mind (Eph 4:23) by reading the word daily.

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust  (2 Peter 1: 2-4).

Jesus is coming for us, will we be found too attached to earthly treasures to want to follow Him?  I pray not!

Blessings,

CC

Me Forgive You?

Matthew 18:21 

Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?  Up to seven times?"

Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven...then He goes on to tell a parable about a king who wanted to settle his accounts.  He had a certain servant who owed him 10,000 talents, but the servant could not pay, punishment was set.  The servant fell down before the king and humbly begged for patience until he could pay the debt.  The king "moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt." (v27)  The king didn't release him to earn the money to be paid back, he released him and forgave the debt-wiped it off his record.  

However, the servant went out and found his servant who owed him a small amount, demanded his payment of him and when his servant asked for patience until he could pay his master (the first servant) threw him in prison until payment could be made.  

The first servant owed a big debt, was shown mercy and the debt was forgiven.  When his servant pleaded for mercy concerning his small debt he showed him contempt, and treated him harshly throwing him in prison where it would've been impossible to pay back his debt.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

John 19:30 Jesus before giving up His spirit on the cross said, "It is finished."  The transaction for our sin debt is final, paid in full.

Every person alive owes a sin debt, for all have sinned.  We all owe a debt to God for the sin in our lives, no one is good enough on his own merit to pay this debt.  Jesus, God in the flesh, paid that debt for us on the cross with His life.  

So, the question still stands, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?"  Jesus said, "...seventy times seven."   Four hundred and ninety times we should forgive the one who has sinned against us.  Why?  

In the parable there were witnesses to the harsh treatment of the second servant, they went and reported it to the king.  The first servant was called in to give an account for his treatment of his servant.  The king was not pleased, he said to this servant, "You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.  Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?"  And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. Matthew 18:32-34

Initially the first servant's punishment was to be sold into slavery, with his family, until the debt was paid.  He probably would've been a slave in the king's household for a certain time until his debt was paid.  How often do we joke that we will have to do dishes when we are at a restaurant and the bill is too high.  Jokingly we are saying we will become your (the restaurant's) slave (working without pay) to pay our bill (our debt, meal price) knowing it would only be a short time of washing dishes before the debt is paid.  This was the first servants punishment for not having the money to pay back his debt to the king.  

However, we see that the first servants punishment for his unforgiveness towards a smaller debt owed to him is of a graver consequence.   He was given to the torturers until his debt was paid.  

You see our debt of sin we owe to God is death, not physical death, but spiritual death.  The punishment is to "be cast out into outer darkness.  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matthew 8:12

Our debt to one another is so much smaller than our debt to God.  He forgave us on the day we turned our lives over into His hands, acknowledging our debt of sin to Him, pleading for His mercy.  He had a compassion on us and forgave us our debt.  We owe a debt and when we cry out to Him instead of treating us harshly and turning us over to the torturers He deals with us tenderly and wipes our debt clean to the point that He does not remember it.  We are no longer accountable for that debt.    

Psalm 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed His transgressions from us.

If it is good enough for our Lord God to forgive us so grave a debt then it is good enough for us to forgive others their debt against us.  Unforgiveness bears it's own consequences.  God knows this and ultimately it is for our good, not the offenders, that we forgive others.  

Years ago I was date raped, I knew the guy, he was supposed to have been my friend.  I lived with unforgiveness for years.  It consumed me, I was miserable living with thoughts of hate and murder.  It didn't bother him, my unforgiveness didn't make him unhappy, or sad nor did it affect the quality of his life one bit.  However, it robbed me of joy and happiness.  One day, through a series of events, I was able to forgive him.  At the moment of forgiveness I literally felt a weight come off my shoulders.  I no longer was consumed with hate, and my joy was returned to me.

I lived in a prison of my own making, my thoughts torturing me until I released all that hate and replaced it with forgiveness.  If someone has hurt you deeply, maybe even repeatedly, ask God to work into your heart forgiveness.  He will do it.  It's His will for you to forgive.   "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you."  Matthew 6:14

1 John 5:14-15  Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will , He hears us.  And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

Ask your Lord to free you from unforgiveness then turn your heart over to Him and be filled with joy inexpressible. (1 Peter 1:8)

With love,

CC

If Need Be

I love Peter epistles, particularly his first.  This book was written within a year of his martyrdom and shortly before Caesar Nero burned Rome and then blamed it on the Christians.  As a result the Christians were heavily persecuted.

Peter wrote this book by the divine leading of the Spirit.  He wrote to encourage his brothers and sisters in Christ to be holy (1:15-16), to remind them of the preciousness of their salvation (1:19), to remind them they are in God's hands (1:5), he wrote also to remind them that Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example (2:21).  Peter wanted to equip this body of believers with living hope that has been given ...through the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1:3).  

Apparently persecution was among them, Peter says to them in 1:6, "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials."  The phrase "if need be" in the original language means an unavoidable, urgent compulsory necessity.  This is the same word Jesus used in Mark 8:31 And He began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 

It was a necessity that Jesus be beaten, scourged and killed so He could pay our debt, and conquer death.  Trials, sufferings, hardships and persecution must come in our lives. These are the very tools used to refine, purify, cleanse, so that we could "Let our light so shine before men [that they would] glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16).  

Before a diamond can relax and the stresses removed from it it must be subjected to intense heat and pressure.

Peter says, "that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ." (1:7)

The Lord, in His infinite wisdom, knows the outcome of the trial will bring about perfect beauty.  We, in a sense, are a diamond in the rough, not ready for resale.  The pressure and heat of sufferings and hardships will cause us to relax and stresses be removed.  

The trials of life are an unavoidable, urgent compulsory necessity if we are going to shine.  

Our Lord is the Potter, we are the clay sitting on the potter's wheel.  The Lord applies pressure to form us into a vessel of beauty usable for His purposes.  If the Lord's hands are upon you don't remove them and climb off the wheel, let Him have His way with you and greatly rejoice in the promises to come.  Keep your eyes on the Potter, His gaze is loving towards you, His hands are gentle upon you, for He says, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you...thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11

Stay on the wheel Christian.  Abide continually in His word, stay down on your knees and never forget the living hope of a time when we will be perfected and in His presence.

As the Lord was with Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego in the fiery furnace so He is with you. 

Jehovah-Shammah: There Lord is There.

In His love,

CC

Anyone can be saved and everyone needs to be saved.