Based on Matthew 19:16-30 (New King James Version)
“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. Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, 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.’ When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, ‘Who then can be saved?’ But Jesus looked at them and said to them, ‘With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’ Then Peter answered and said to Him, ‘See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?’ So Jesus said to them, ‘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. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
There are many teachings in this passage, so we will try to see those that are most applicable to our daily lives, and how we can follow Christ practically, because there are very practical things to do in our relationship with the Lord, which takes us to the first. Is it true that the law no longer has any type of validity for eternal life now that the grace of God is present? And the answer is, no. This is what the Lord said: “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:17-20. But, some will say, “Is it not written that the old covenant will go away and be substituted by a new one, by grace, as it is written: “In that He says, ‘A new covenant,’ He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away (Hebrews 8:13)?”. The old covenant, which had to do with dealing with sin, no longer applies since Christ died on the cross. Therefore, neither circumcision nor sacrifices are necessary anymore. But, we must remember that there was never forgiveness of sins before because the burnt offerings only “covered” sin temporarily, but they never took away sin. And the relationship with God was always through faith. We become children of Abraham through faith, because he was justified before God by his faith. So, it is unbiblical to believe that the law and the prophets were eliminated through Christ, but on the contrary, they now have more meaning and value than ever through Christ, in our daily lives.
And this brings us to our next point: How do we know the law applies now? Because the Lord Himself explained it, the same One who came to make grace possible through His Person, through His sacrifice. Now, what did the rich man ask the Lord? “…what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” And what did the Lord respond? He said, “But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” And furthermore, He began to remind him of them. Now, a person would say: But aren't we saved by grace and faith alone? And the answer is, yes. But, the Lord Himself reiterated with this that there is a practice, there are things to do that must come as a result of faith and grace. Or if not, why study the Word of God if we are only saved by grace and faith? Why preach and teach the Word if everything is already resolved with faith and grace? Why worry about our actions if our works supposedly do not save us? Do you understand that it is absurd to think that faith and grace invalidate the law and the works that are produced as a result of the instruction of the law? In love, there is structure, there is direction, there are parameters, there are instructions so that love can be love. The Lord Himself spoke of marriage, for example, a relationship fully founded on love between a man and a woman. And He explained that a marriage can be broken if there is adultery, as it is written: “He said to them, ‘Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.” Matthew 19:8-9. So, what is the practical thing that one should avoid if one is married? Adultery, because even in grace, a marriage can be broken if there is such a thing, and the offended person can rebuild their life with another person, if they wish, and the one who committed adultery only has left to recover the person they offended. Because if the adulterer marries another person, they will live in adultery while married to someone else. This is what the Lord said.
Now, what about what the Lord said, that we must leave everything to follow Him if we wish to inherit eternal life? Do we really have to abandon our loved ones, and get rid of our material possessions, to be saved? And here comes the answer, precisely through the foundation of the law, as it is written: “Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40. And the Lord also said this: “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” Matthew 10:37-38. So, the One we must love above all things and people is the Lord, but that does not mean that we cannot love anyone else. The basis of the law is that we learn to love the Lord above all, and that He has priority in everything, and this is what obedience is about. If the Holy Spirit guides us through the Word to do something, and our parents or our husband or wife tell us to do something else, the Lord should have preeminence. But of course, it should be clear that the Lord is not going to lead us to do something that goes totally against what His Word teaches. And our clear example is Abraham with Isaac. The Lord asked Abraham to sacrifice his firstborn Isaac, but when Abraham was about to do so, the angel stopped him, because God only wanted to “see” (and not just know) that Abraham loved Him above all things. Love for the Lord ultimately must be “seen” in action, which implies work. So, do you understand that following Christ involves faith and work, as the fruit of our uncompromising love for Him? Lord bless! John. God bless Israel!