Ancient Words For Today - 22
Has anyone ever asked you the question, "What does God require that I do to receive eternal life?" or, "What must I avoid doing so as not to disqualify myself from receiving eternal life?" These are the most important questions a person can ask since they concern the issue of their eternal destiny. Jesus is the most qualified person to answer those questions so let's consider His answers to several individuals that asked Him about salvation and eternal life.
A certain lawyer asked Jesus: "What shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And He said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up. Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved? And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God. Luke 18:18-27
For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. Mat 5:20
There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again......
And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. John 3:1-6 & 13-19
No one, other than Jesus Himself, has ever kept these laws perfectly. The simple answer is that there is nothing we can do to earn eternal life. It is a gift from God that is not merited by our conduct. We receive eternal life by accepting God's gift when we believe in His Son Jesus. However, as believers saved by God's grace, these high standards for living should be foremost in our minds. For Christians, God should be our highest priority and we should be thinking about Him and His will for their lives continually. When we do so, He gives us the mind of Christ by establishing His thoughts in our minds so that we know His will. He also helps us to perform it and to keep His commandments.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your grace by which You have forgiven us our sins and accounted the righteousness of Jesus to us when we believed on Him as our Savior and Lord. Please help us keep our minds stayed upon You, to live our lives in ways pleasing to You, and to bear much spiritual fruit. Thank You for giving us eternal life through our faith in Jesus.
Luke 10:25-28