Receiving the Savior

This summer, we are looking at our church covenant and why it is so important to the life of our church. Last week, we talked about what a church covenant is. This week, we are going to begin the journey of walking through our church covenant and looking at each important factor.

Our church covenant starts at the beginning and that is always a good place to start. It says, “Having been led, as we believe by the Holy Spirit, to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior...” The beginning point of any church is the beginning point of any person’s relationship with God — salvation.

What a person believes about Jesus Christ is the single most important thing in a person’s life. That one decision will affect every other decision that a person makes in life. It is also the lone decision that will determine what happens after a person dies.

We begin our church covenant with the declaration that we believe that we have been called to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior. It is this confession that brings us all together into one fellowship. Some may wonder, “Is that decision really that important?” To answer that question, I want to look at a conversation that Jesus had with someone about this topic.

Mark 10:17–27 CSB

As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: Do not murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not defraud; honor your father and mother.” He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these from my youth.” Looking at him, Jesus loved him and said to him, “You lack one thing: Go, sell all you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” But he was dismayed by this demand, and he went away grieving, because he had many possessions. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” The disciples were astonished at his words. Again Jesus 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 person to enter the kingdom of God.” They were even more astonished, saying to one another, “Then who can be saved?” Looking at them, Jesus said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God, because all things are possible with God.”

A good but flawed question

We see that a certain man - Luke tells us in his gospel that he was a ruler of some sort - coming to Jesus with the question of all questions. It is a question that lies on the heart of many today. “What can I do to inherit eternal life?’

While it is good that this man (and others) are thinking about their spiritual state before God, the question asked here is fundamentally flawed. Notice that the man asked what did “he” have to do to “inherit” eternal life. This was not a question intended to trap Jesus as many were during His day. This question was one of genuine concern. But it was still a flawed question.

There are many people asking this very same question today: what do I have to do to be made right with God? It doesn’t take much to see that things are not right between us and God naturally. We have sinned against a holy God and affirm when the Bible says...

Romans 3:23 CSB

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

But to think that there is something that we can do to make that right is fundamentally wrong. It is fundamentally wrong because our sin has made us spiritually dead.

Ephesians 2:1 CSB

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins

People who are “dead” cannot do anything for themselves. This is why the question is flawed and why Jesus will direct the conversation into truth so that the real answer can be given.

Jesus turns the converation

We see in verse 18 that Jesus addresses the issue of “goodness.” This was not just Jesus messing with this man’s words. Jesus was trying to get the man situated for the answer he desired.

Jesus states that no one is “good” but God alone. God is the only one who has not sinned. Everyone else outside of God has sinned. For this reason, Jesus’ words are so true: “No one is good except God alone.”

This was also Jesus showing the man that he was so close to what he desired. Jesus questioned the man as to whether or not the man associated Jesus with God. If only God is good, then is Jesus God because He is good?

But Jesus turns the conversation to what the man could and could not do. Jesus first tells him to obey “the commandments.” This was a common reference to the Mosaic Law particularly the 10 Commandments. It is interesting to me that the ones that Jesus first lists are the final 6 of the 10 Commandments. These are the horizontal commandments — those dealing with our relationships with other people.

The man answered that he had kept those since a child. He was a good guy. This guy would not have been seen as a heathen by most. This guy would have been the one that you hoped your daughter brought home to “introduce to the family.” He had walked the straight and narrow when it came to other people. Even though this man had “done right”, it is interesting that he knew and felt that something was still missing.

We need to be careful that we do not get sucked into the lie of believing a “gospel of behavior.” There are many who live good and even moral lives but are just as far from God as a murderer, rapist, or child molester. It is not about how good we are… remember, because of one sin, we are dead spiritually. A person can hear the rules and learn to play the game and look good. That does not mean that they are right with God.

This is why verse 21 is so special. It says that Jesus looked at the man, loved him, and shared the truth with him. The word ‘looked’ has the idea of looking one in the eyes intently and seeing what is really there. The word ‘love’ is the Greek word ‘agape’ or unconditional love. Jesus looked at this man and cared for him deeply. Jesus loved him so much that He was willing to share the truth of this man’s situation with him.

This is a proper demonstration of love. If you knew that one was in danger and really cared about them, what would you do for them? Would you allow them to continue on their course to destruction, or would you step in and intervene with everything that you are?

“If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go unwarned and unprayed for.”

― Charles Spurgeon

Jesus shares with this man just how he has failed in his task. In verse 21, Jesus points to how the man had broken the first 4 of the 10 Commandments — the vertical commandments dealing with man’s relationship with God. The man’s wealth and possessions had become more important to him than God.

There is nothing wrong with having wealth and possessions as long as they don’t have you.

This is why Jesus commanded this man to get rid of those things and come follow Him. What was more important to the man — his possessions and wealth or his relationship with God?

This is the same thing that plagues many today. There are many who want what God offers but do not want to exchange what they already have. Jesus will not share His throne with anyone or anything. You cannot have Jesus and _______ controlling your life. It is either one or the other.

Are we trying to make Jesus share the throne of our lives with someone or something else?

James Hudson Taylor (missionary to China at the turn of the 20th century) said,

“Christ is either Lord of all or not at all.”

The choice is given

As Jesus presents this rich ruler with the opportunity to receive the greatest gift ever, we see that this man turns and walks away. This baffles me. How in the world could you just turn and walk away from the God of the universe as He extends an invitation to become right with Him? But that is exactly what we see in verse 22. We see this ruler walk away from Jesus grieving because he considered his wealth and possessions greater than Jesus.

Make no mistake about it, it is costly to truly follow Jesus. As our church covenant says, it is “receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior.” It is not just about getting our sins forgiven. It is not about saying a prayer and going on with life as usual. It also entails handing over complete control of every aspect of our lives to His leading. This is what it means to become a Christian. It is simple, but it is not easy.

As this young ruler walked away, we see Jesus turning to those who had been following Him and explaining this even further. It is hard for those who do not recognize their need to come to Jesus. This astonished the disciples to the point that they asked, “Who can be saved?”

This is what it means to become a Christian.

Jesus’ reply to His disciples is the clear answer to the question at hand: with man, it is impossible, but God is in the business of the impossible. Only through faith in Christ and following Him can we be saved and made right with God.

That same invitation that Jesus gave to people as He walked this earth 2,000 years ago is still being given out today. Jesus stands at the point of our questions and offers the only way to be made right with God. Have you received that gift? Notice I didn’t say are you a good person or do you do good things. Have you fully trusted in Christ alone for your deepest need? Are you following His lead each day?