Those who follow Him will inherit eternal life 21 Jesús le dijo: Si quieres ser perfecto, anda, vende lo que tienes, y dalo a los pobres, y tendrás tesoro en el cielo; y ven y sígueme. {Mateo 19:21} If you died today, and God asked you why He should let you into His heaven, what would you say? I’ve tried to be a good person all my life”? I would have answered that question the same way a few years ago. But I discovered in God’s Word that being a good person will not get you into heaven. And neither will a shallow religion—trying to obey God’s laws and pretending to be “perfect.” We can see an example of this from Scripture, taken from Matthew 19:16-29. This is the story of the wealthy ruler who thought he could get into heaven by following the letter of the law: A rich young man once asked Jesus, “What good thing must I do to get eternal life?” (16) ‘Why do you ask me about what is good?’ Jesus replied. ‘There is only One who is good’” (17). The Scriptures speak of Christ as the only “perfect” one—without sin. In 1 Peter 2:22, we are told, “He committed no sin.” Jesus explained the requirements for heaven to the affluent man: “If you want to enter (eternal) life, obey the commandments” (17). But the man continued to question Jesus, claiming he had obeyed all of the commands Jesus outlined. Then, Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell all your possessions…. Then come, follow me” (21). Unfortunately, because the young man had great wealth, when he heard this, he went away very sad (22). Afterward, Jesus taught His disciples, “…it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven” (23). They “were greatly astonished and asked, ‘Who then can be saved?’” (25). Jesus explained, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (26). Then, Peter, one of His disciples, asked Jesus, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?” (27). Jesus assured them that those who follow Him will “inherit eternal life” (29).
Posted on: Tue, 22 Oct 2013 15:32:24 +0000