Luke 18:26-27

(Luke 18:26-27)

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.

 

An official asked Jesus. He was a rich young man. The Gospel of Mark says, "He ran and knelt down and fell down to ask." He said to Jesus that he was a good teacher, but Jesus asked, "Why do you say I am good?" In the meantime, Jesus said, "There is no one good person except God." This means that all human beings are not good at all. However, this rich young man seems to have thought that he also subtly belonged to the good side by telling Jesus, "He has kept the law well since he was a child." But Jesus said that a rich young man lacks one thing.

 

In 18: 22『 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. 』

 

One of them is greed. The Bible tells us how we feel about wealth. In Mark's Gospel, it was said, "Do not deceive wealth and take it." Greed is a heart that is deceived and drunk. Anything a person doesn't take rightly is deceived. The important thing is to point out whether wealth was obtained without breaking the rules of the law, but against conscience. People may think that it is justified if it does not go against the provisions of the law, but it points out whether the process of acquiring the wealth was caused by greed. Jesus spoke lovingly to the rich young man, but the rich young man left Jesus because he had a lot of wealth. He gave all the riches he had gained through greed and told him to follow Jesus, but he left with extreme distress.

 

So, "Jesus looked at him and said, "How difficult it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God." If Jesus tells people today, "Give back all the riches you have earned through greed, and follow me," what would you do? They will laugh in vain, hear with one ear and let go of it, or pretend not to hear it. But the problem is that it is really difficult to enter the kingdom of God.

 

He said, "How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God." The riches will be those obtained through greed. In 18:25, 『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. 』It is an expression that salvation is so difficult.

 

When the disciples heard it, they wondered, "Who will ever be saved?" Strictly speaking, covetousness does not only apply to rich youth, it applies to all human beings. That's why the disciples asked Jesus. Jesus said, "God can do anything that man cannot do."

 

Salvation is not something that can ever be done by man, but is completely by God, and there is only one man, repentance. Repentance is the death of greed. When covetousness dies, as a result, the behavior toward wealth changes.

 

As soon as Jesus called the twelve disciples, he began talking about wealth. In the Old Testament, the idols are Baal and Ashtaroth. The Bible says that these idols are to be broken, cut, and smashed. These two are the beast (wealth) and the harlot (pleasure) in Revelation. Jesus said, "You cannot serve God and money." And to deny yourself. Self-denial is a problem of the ego caused by bloodline, and the family members become enemies. All of this comes from greed. The original sin was because Satan wanted to be like God and opposed God, and all the beings who listened to him and rebelled against God's word were like that.

 

In Luke 12:15, "And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. It's about fighting for heritage. It will be the same today. Every problem in the world comes from greed. In Colossians 3:5, Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: 』. The Bible says that the greedy is the idolater. In the Old Testament, God says through the Ten Commandments, "Do not covet someone else's wealth." In Luke 4, Satan sees that when he boldly tests Jesus, he induces him to covet God's place. Basically, Satan is the core of the desire to become like God.

 

Greed is a matter of conscience before the law. Greed defiles the conscience and causes sin to fall. So the Bible says to kill covetousness. Greed is the heart of loving the world. So I tell the world to die. In 1 John 2:15-16, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 』1 John 5:4 says, 『For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 』No one can overcome the world except those who are born again. Those who are born again are those who deny themselves and are reborn by the power of God.