Who Can Be Saved?

INTRODUCTION

In Luke 9:23–24 Jesus said, “23…“If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. 24 “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.”

That is a call to salvation.

And that is what the rich young ruler didn’t understand.

He wanted eternal life without the cost.

He wanted what Jesus had but he didn’t want to give up anything to have it.

After stating that he had kept the commandments that Jesus mentioned, Jesus then told him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” (v.21)

But because the young man “owned much property,” and was “extremely rich” (Luke 18:23), he was unwilling to do what Jesus said.

So “he was saddened, and he went away grieving” (v.22).

Jesus now addresses this with His disciples in verses 23-31.

This is the lesson Jesus taught about salvation.

Before we look at these lessons, let me read verses 23-31 as you follow.

They will be on the screen behind me.

Read Mark 10:23-31 (slides)

There are 3 lessons that we learn from this story of the rich young ruler.

These 3 lessons explain how a person is saved.

The first is found in verses 23-26 and it’s this…

I. Salvation is Humanly Impossible (vv.23-26)

There are many people that think it is humanly possible.

They say “All you have to do is believe.”

Some describe it as “walking an aisle,” “joining a church,” or “getting baptized.”

But that’s not what Scripture teaches.

In fact, we hear in verses 23-24 the opposite.

And Jesus, looking around, said to his disciples, "How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!”

Notice two times Jesus says it is “hard…to enter the kingdom of God”…

Salvation is hard because only a “few” find the narrow way - Matthew 7:14 (“difficult” KJV)

You also have to “strive” to find it - Luke 13:24

All the lexicons define “hard” (dyskolos) as “with difficulty” but Jesus defines what He means by “hard” in verse 27 with the word “impossible.”

Mark says in verse 27, “Looking at them, Jesus said, “With people it is impossible…”

He then illustrates it in verse 25 by describing something that is “impossible.”

He says, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

Paul Washer said, “Salvation is not a joint effort between God and man. It is all of God, from beginning to end, because we bring nothing but our sin” (Shocking Youth Message).

First Jesus says…

It is Impossible for the Rich (v.23)

There are a number of reasons why it’s impossible…

He says in verse 23, “How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Being wealthy brings it’s own problems

So does being poor

But…

Wealth breeds false security and trust in riches - 1 Timothy 6:17

John MacArthur says, “The point is not that rich people are worse sinners than poor people, but that their wealth gives them a false sense of security and independence from God” (The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Mark 9-16).

Wealth fuels pride and self-sufficiency - 1 Timothy 6:17

Wealth deepens attachment to this world - James 5:1-5; 1 John 2:15-17

Wealth chokes the word - Matthew 13:22

Wealth can bring ruin and destruction - 1 Timothy 6:9

Notice the disciples’ reaction to what Jesus said in verses 23-26…

Jesus said, “How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!” “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” And they were even more astonished, saying to Him, “Then who can be saved?”

Two times it says they were “amazed” (v.24), “and even more astonished” (v.26)

The word “Amazed” (thambeo) means they were “stupefied” or “taken back by Jesus’ statements.

They had always thought of wealth as an advantage, not a danger.

The dominant Jewish view was that riches were an indication of divine favor and a reward for piety (Job 1:10; 42:10; Ps. 128:1–2; Isa. 3:10).

The second word “Astonished” (ekplessomai) means “to strike out of” (one’s senses), to be overwhelmed, “struck” with astonishment.

So they were “stupefied” and “struck” with astonishment.

But if that wasn’t astonishing enough, Jesus says…

It is Impossible For the Rest (vv.24-26)

Go back to verse 24.

Not only is it “hard…for those who are wealthy” (v.23), but it’s “hard” for the rest of us who aren’t wealthy.

Notice that the phrase…

“The kingdom of God” is used 3 times in verses 23-25 and it is referring to salvation according to the statement the disciples make in verse 26.

They said to “Him, “then who can be saved?”

The disciples understood what Jesus was saying, especially after what He said about a camel and a needle in verse 25.

This is not the first time Jesus used language like this.

He referred to the Pharisees in Matthew 23:24 as “blind guides, who strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!”

It’s interesting to note that in the Babylonian Talmudic writings (post-dating Jesus) there’s a reference to an elephant passing through a needle’s eye as a symbol of something impossible but elephants weren’t native to Israel, so Jesus used the largest animal in Israel, which was a camel.

Let me briefly give you 7 more impossibilities to get saved…

It’s humanly impossible…

Because man is spiritually dead - Ephesians 2:1-3; Jeremiah 13:23

Paul Washer says, “Man is so depraved that he cannot come to God without God first coming to him. Salvation is impossible apart from divine intervention” (sermon “The Gospel”).

This is man’s greatest obstacle!

He is dead in trespasses and sins (Eph.2:1)

There’s another reason why this is impossible…

It’s impossible…

Because no one naturally seeks God - Romans 3:10-12; Ps.14:2-3

It’s impossible…

Because no one can come to Christ without a divine drawing - John 6:44, 65

It’s impossible…

Because the flesh cannot submit to God - Romans 8:7-8

It’s impossible…

Because salvation is not by works in any degree - Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5

It’s impossible…

Because fallen man cannot provide for his own ransom - Psalm 49:7-8

It’s impossible…

Because the decisive will is God’s will, not man’s - Romans 9:16

Verse 27 says, “Looking at them, Jesus said, “With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”

Salvation might be humanly impossible but it is also…

II. Salvation is Divinely Possible (v.27)

“Looking at them, Jesus said, “With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.””

With People Salvation is Impossible

Were not born again by “blood nor the will of the flesh nor of the will of man”

We’re “born…of God.”

John 1:12–13 “12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

John MacArthur said, “People can be born again only by the power of the Spirit, and He goes wherever He wants. God’s choice is the determining factor in the new birth, not man’s will.

Only God Can Do What Man Cannot - Mark 10:27

He makes salvation possible but it is His choice who He saves. He is not obligated to save anyone.

Scripture says…

He elects those He saves - Ephesians 1:4; Acts 13:48

He draws them to Himself - John 6:44

He gives them grace - Ephesians 2:8-9

He regenerates them - Titus 3:4-7; Ephesians 2:4-5

He grants them faith and repentance - Philippians 1:29; 2 Timothy 2:25

In the words of Romans 8:29–30 “29…those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers; 30 and those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified; and those whom He justified, He also glorified.”

That leads us to Peter’s question to Jesus in verse 28…

“Peter began to say to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You.””

They had done what the rich young ruler wasn’t willing to do…

Jesus said in Luke 14:26-27 to the large crowd (v.1) that was following Him: “26 “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. 27 “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”

The disciples heard this too but had already given up everything to follow Him…

What Jesus says next reveals that…

III. Salvation is divinely Rewarding (vv.28-31)

There are rewards…

Just as their are consequences for not following Jesus, there are consequences for following Him…

In the Present Age (vv.29-30)

“29 Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, 30 except one who will receive one hundred times as much now in the present age—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life. 31 “But many who are first will be last, and the last, first.””

In the present age…

God blesses us with a new family (“brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, children”) (v.29)

God blesses us with “farms, and houses” and “persecutions” that come from it. (v.30) (Gen.26.12; Ps.84:11)

There are also rewards…

Psalm 58:11 says, “And men will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; Surely there is a God who judges on earth!””

Jesus says…

In the Age to Come (v.30)

“And in the age to come, eternal life.”

This is what Paul refers to as “gaining Christ.”

Paul said in Philippians 3:8, “More than that, I count all things to be loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ”.

Remember what Jesus prayed to the Father in John 17:3, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”

John said in 1 John 5:10–12 “10 The one who believes in the Son of God has this witness in himself. The one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the witness which God has borne witness about His Son. 11 And the witness is this, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have that life.”

Jesus ends by saying…

The Humble Are Exalted in Eternity (v.31)

“But many who are first will be last, and the last, first.”

Jesus also uses this phrase in Matthew 20:16; Luke 13:30.

This is a chiastic structure: “first... last, last... first".

What is Jesus saying?

This is the great reversal.

This is what Jesus meant in Luke 9:24, which says, “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.”

The “first” are like the rich young ruler who have privilege, status, wealth and influence.

The “last” are like the disciples, who are poor, persecuted, and humble.

In the kingdom of God, these roles flip.

The self-exalted may be humbled, while the lowly are elevated.

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:26–29, “26 For consider your calling, brothers, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, 28 and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may abolish the things that are, 29 so that no flesh may boast before God.”

James 2:5 says, “Listen, my beloved brothers: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?”

John MacArthur says, “The first will be last and the last first is a profound reminder that God's economy is upside down from the world's standards; true greatness is found in humility and servanthood.”

Jonathan Edwards says, “True virtue is grounded in humility; those who exalt themselves will find that they are far from the grace of God.”

CONCLUSION

All that I give up here to follow Christ will not go unnoticed by Christ.

If you are here today without Christ, you need to understand that you cannot save yourself.

It is humanly impossible.

But what is impossible for man is possible for God.

Romans 10:8–14 “8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, leading to righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, leading to salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes upon Him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him, 13 for “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?”

I encourage you to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to you today.

Let’s pray.