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Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Matthew 19:23 10/29/2019*

“Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.”

This passage confuses people because our churches have quit preaching God’s requirement of complete commitment.  Many churches today preach a Jesus that would have run after this young man to negotiate…. They often proclaim Christ as Savior but rarely refer to Him as Lord.

We have forgotten that sometimes the bible says hard things, but they are never suggestions. So instead of obedience we have created a biblical buffet where we pick and choose what we like out of the bible and ignore the things that bother us. If we don’t agree with what the bible says about marriage, our role in the church, how we are to respond when mistreated, or any other issue…We explain the verse away and assume God would not require obedience if it doesn’t make us happy.

But that is not the Jesus we see in this passage. What Jesus demanded was hard – And with one look into the eyes of Christ the young man knew there was no need to make a counteroffer… The price of discipleship is everything….  You either follow God - or you don’t… and obeying only what you are comfortable with is not following God - it is following yourself.

Like a loving parent, God has given guidelines for your protection. He has pointed out sin so it will not overtake you. He has written truths that are nonnegotiable. God does not give recommendations He gives commandments. And they are to be obeyed not debated.

Our fatal flaw is believing that what we want, and what we need are always the same thing… so we change His word to fit our lives, instead of changing our lives to fit His word …which insures there is never a need for submission or obedience.

God loves you deeply…. but He did not die on the cross to make you happy…He died to make you Holy. It is what you were created for, and only holiness will fill the void in your life and bring lasting joy and true freedom.
 
“More than once Jesus deliberately addressed certain issues that quickly diminished the number of onlookers. It was commitment that thinned the ranks.”
- Chuck Swindoll

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