Q15. Impossibility

[Pastor Ralph]

Q15. (Luke 18:18-27) How does the story of the rich young ruler show the impossibility of salvation without a miracle of God? Why does Jesus use a rich and outwardly righteous man to make this point? Where does grace show through?

[Jen]

Q15. (Luke 18:18-27) How does the story of the rich young ruler show the impossibility of salvation without a miracle of God? Why does Jesus use a rich and outwardly righteous man to make this point? Where does grace show through?

The rich young ruler did not understand the whole  nature of the law.  To him the outward obeying of the law was keeping the law.  He did not understand the heart issue that his very thoughts condemned him.  He did not understand that he needed to be cleansed on the inside.  He was rich, a ruler and outwardly righteous and good in men's eyes.  All the things that people see but God looks at the heart.   These deceitful old hearts of ours.  Just looking at my own thoughts I know that I am not good and I need God's goodness, His righteousness.  I get that through believing  in the finished work of Jesus on the cross to pay the price for my sins not on my own merits of which there are none.

I like the words of J Vernon McGee:  I only know the thoughts of a righteous man and those are scary enough.

God Bless!

Jen

"Let goods and kindred go. This mortal life also, The body they may kill, God's truth abideth still, His kingdom is forever.'

[Lottie]

Q15. (Luke 18:18-27) How does the story of the rich young ruler show the impossibility of salvation without a miracle of God? Why does Jesus use a rich and outwardly righteous man to ma

Q15. (Luke 18:18-27) How does the story of the rich young ruler show the impossibility of salvation without a miracle of God? Why does Jesus use a rich and outwardly righteous man to make this point? Where does grace show through?
Because the rich young ruler cannot get into heaven on his own. He cares too much about his money and possesions. It would take Him realizing that He needs Jesus in order to be saved, He cannot do it on works alone. He has to come to the realization that nothing he can do will earn his way into heaven. That he must accept salvation as a gift and admit that he is a sinner. Because he is putting his money in place of God.

Jesus uses him because he wants to show us that no one not even a good person can get into heaven on their own. Because all our good works are nothing but filthy rags to God.

Grace shows through in that Jesus came to die on the cross for us so that we could get into heaven. He did what we could not do; because he was sinless.

 

 

 

 

 

ke this point? Where does grace show through?

[Katy]

Q15. God is the creator ruler and sustainer of this world and everything in it. . He is in control of everything including our salvation. We need God’s miracle to be saved. This young man appears to be doing all that a Jew was expected to do. But when Jesus speaks about his need to be generous it’s a step too much. He has been keeping the law but appears to lack a real desire to please Jesus or obey Him. We may think we are doing the right things in life but it is only by a miracle of God that we have our salvation. Jesus uses this young man as a warning to others that God is the one who judges who is saved and who is not. It is nothing to do with who we are or what we have done. There would be no question of us being saved if it wasn’t for Jesus’s grace and love shown when He died on the cross to redeem us. He was the only sinless person good enough to die in our place to appease God’s wrath towards us.

[Diane D.]

• I noticed that all of the commandments that Jesus asked him about were the ones that dealt with the attitudes that come from the heart.  This young ruler truly had done as much as was required of him when it came to relationships with others.  One can surmise that he also followed all the other commandments. However, he was a responsible person as well, gathering and maintaining his wealth. The giving away of wealth that possibly his family and the community counted on was a step too far even for him.  He had done his best but this was not enough.  It was a strange idea for him to trust God enough that this, too, would be given up.
• Jesus used this example because the young ruler reflected the ultimate in Jewish worship as the Sanhedrin would have liked to see. The fact that this was not enough would be noticed by the listeners and the leaders very quickly.  This example would also point a finger at how their relationship with God was faring.
• Grace shows through in the last verse of the scripture with a promise that what things men may aspire to do are impossible but with God all things are possible.  The implied hope is that God is able to help us, even though it appears impossible (and He will).  I also noticed that Jesus in this scripture does not rebuke the young man openly even though he had refused to give up his wealth. I think the human touch of God shows best in this scenario in Mark 10: 17-22.  After the rich young ruler told Jesus that he had followed the commandments he spoke about, it says "21) Then Jesus beholding him loved him, …"  To me, this shows a loving God recognizing how hard we try for Him and He notices and gives us grace.

[Krissi]

Jen, upthread, stated our situation well, "... He did not understand the heart issue that his very thoughts condemned him.  He did not understand that he needed to be cleansed on the inside.  He was rich, a ruler and outwardly righteous and good in men's eyes.  All the things that people see but God looks at the heart. These deceitful old hearts of ours." 

"Mr. Perfect" -- the rich young ruler -- was young, rich and powerful. He had won  life's lottery. On top of this, he was genuinely a nice guy. And even he couldn't be saved???

The ruler represents the best we could imagine ourselves to be by our own effort or by birth -- Jesus takes our best to a new level and in doing so makes our best look like nothing. If salvation is contingent on perfect belief/thoughts not behavior, then we're all condemned. Implicit in this parable is the idea that would be possible to behave very well, even perfectly, but not possible to think perfectly. Our minds/hearts are corrupted to such an extent that the virtue of self-discipline will not control our inner or most real selves.

Given this situation, that our minds are corrupted, we need a way out of this morass. Most seculars simply say to themselves that it doesn't matter, that they're good enough or that they don't care or need salvation. They don't need grace because they don't want it. As Jen said, "He did not understand ..."

Increasingly, I'm seeing that God calls us to salvation. He plants the seed. He waters it. He makes people willing to come to Him. Without His initiative, no one would know God.

Are my prayers for the salvation of people I know or love heard by God? I think so.

Will He answer them affirmatively? I don't know. He chooses and beckons as He does. 

 

[BoazNigel]

Jesus said 'what is IMPOSSIBLE for people is POSSIBLE with God' (Lk 18:27, NLT) - salvation is IMPOSSIBLE by human effort & is only POSSIBLE through the MIRACLE OF GRACE

Jesus 'cast' a rich/righteous man in this parable because such a man 'appeared' to have everything in his favour & it was believed only such as the rich could afford to keep all the commandments necessary for salvation

Grace shines though in this way ... salvation is IMPOSSIBLE for us but Jesus in His grace came & died in our place to make salvation POSSIBLE

To quote the old adage:

• salvation for me is IMPOSSIBLE

but with Jesus I'M POSSIBLE    😃

[t-c]

Because of the statement Jesus made in verse 25-26, “For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God. But the things that are impossible with people are possible with God.”
Seemingly in the story of the rich young ruler, he wanted to add eternal life to the wealthy life that he already enjoyed, without losing that wealth. It  probably was the one thing he wasn’t willing to give up. God sees the heart a knows where our treasure lies.

Because it illustrates well that God looks at the inner man, his heart, and not the outward appearance. The rich young ruler looked great on the outside to all the people, saying righteous things. But when Jesus told him that he still lacked one thing,  “selling all his possessions and distributing it to the poor,” it was more than he was will to give. He was sad, because he wanted eternal life, but not enough to give up his wealth.

When Jesus says, “the things that are impossible with people are possible with God.”

 

 

[Liliane]

Jesus shows through this story, that no matter how good you think you are or how obedient to God you try to be, you can’t be saved through it. It is by grace and by putting Jesus first in our lives. Jesus dis not ask susana or johana , cuza s wife ( they were rich) to sell everything they had . That is because their hearts were not on their money, like the rich boy s situation 

[Janzie]

On 10/6/2022 at 7:33 PM, Pastor Ralph said:

Q15. (Luke 18:18-27) How does the story of the rich young ruler show the impossibility of salvation without a miracle of God? Why does Jesus use a rich and outwardly righteous man to make this point? Where does grace show through?

The word says where your treasure is, there your heart is also.  He was rich, young, and worldly did not want to give up everything. He needed to trust and believe in God.  His love for money and things did not allow him to give up his goods and money to receive Eternal life.   Yes, he needs a miracle to change his heart.

Probably the richer you are the harder it is to give up all because they are used to a rich lifestyle.  Those who have less and suffered some are more willing to give and believe God.

We can't save ourselves no matter what we do, but God comes to us in our need and reveals Himself to us. Pouring His wonderful Grace on us and we respond to His love.

[hanks]

Q15. (Luke 18:18-27) 
How does the story of the rich young ruler show the impossibility of salvation without a miracle of God? Why does Jesus use a rich and outwardly righteous man to make this point? Where does grace show through? 
We know that salvation is not inherited, and it is not gained by doing good works. James teaches us that we must keep all the law, all God’s commandments, perfectly to gain entrance to His kingdom, eternal life (James 2:10). To break one part of the law is to be guilty of all. God does not allow us to keep the laws we like, and break others. By breaking just one law, we are sinners. So, by our own efforts we cannot be saved, it is only by the miracle of divine grace that we can be saved, only by grace can our hearts of stone be changed to repent and accept Jesus as our Saviour and Lord. Jewish people believed that riches was a sign of God’s blessing (Deu 28:1-8). So, they would ask the question if rich Jews aren’t saved who can be? That is why Jesus used the rich man to show 'what is impossible with men is possible with God” (Luke 18:27). He did not rule out all wealthy people from salvation, but wanted us to note that God can do the impossible. He can by grace take a greedy, materialistic person, and remove his love for possessions and substitute it for true love of the Lord. More grace! Grace upon grace. 
 

[haar]

Q15. (Luke 18:18-27) How does the story of the rich young ruler show the impossibility of salvation without a miracle of God? Why does Jesus use a rich and outwardly righteous man to make this point? Where does grace show through?

Salvation is not by works or deeds but grace of God that is undeserved hence the rich man could not qualify to go to heaven by mere observance of the laws.
 

[Rob Mc.]

In man’s eyes, you can do everything right: live right, pray right, act right, speak honestly, live righteously and love honestly, but that still won’t get you an eternal life with God.  John 3:16 states clearly that God gave us his only Son; if you believe in him and the truth of His death on the cross, you will receive eternal life.

Jesus selected this man to show that one might be wealthy, charismatic, religious and repentant (i.e., one who has “everything”), but it will not earn salvation.  It’s not about us and what we’ve done, it’s about God and what he’s done.

[Zanele Tlhakanelo]

The impossibility of salvation without the miracle of grace clearly indicates that neither riches nor knowing the law front and back, will buy you salvation. Jesus Christ wanted to show the rich man that salvation is not earned but it is only by grace that we receive salvation. Unfortunately, the rich man missed the opportunity of receiving grace and decided not to listen to Jesus Christ when He asked him to sell everything.

Jesus Christ wants us to understand that it is not the temporary things of this world that can buy salvation but it is only through the grace that we are saved. It is not righteousness as well because God saves all human beings that are ready to accept the wonderful gift of salvation.

Grace goes into deep trenches of this world. It will search even people that the world has written off. There is no one that God will not save and that was hence we talk about the amazing grace. It is indeed amazing because if it were not amazing, we would all have perished.

[lighthouse2014]

The story of the rich young ruler displays that regardless of one's position in society or their wealth and ater keeping the law he must follow the lord to enter heaven.

Jesus uses this parable of the rich man because many believe they enter heaven by being good.

Only God can show how his grace for us can cleans us of our sins so we can have eternal life with him in heaven.       

[Irmela]

Q15. (Luke 18:18-27)

How does the story of the rich young ruler show the impossibility of salvation without a miracle of God?

Why does Jesus use a rich and outwardly righteous man to make this point?

Where does grace show through?

Then as even now many are under the false belief that salvation can be bought or alternately they believe that a rich person is the one favoured by God and he will thus receive eternal life.   Jesus pointed out quite clearly that the young ruler could not buy his way to eternal life. His treasure was in the wrong place.  When he told the young man to sell all he had and give to the poor and then to come follow Him. The ruler turned away sadly for he had great wealth.  Jesus then states an impossibility, viz,. that a camel cannot go through the eye of a needle.  He adds that what is impossible with man is possible with God.  So by a miracle of God, by His grace, it is possible for this to be so, it is possible to love God and not be greedy for earthly riches.  Nothing that we do can buy us salvation, it is completely grace and grace alone whereby salvation is attained.  

[pickledilly]

No one can be rich enough to buy or earn your way into salvation and the reward of heaven. This extremely rich ruler looked like he had it all and should deserve such reward because of that. He had certainly been blessed according to earthly terms, and he was very pious in keeping Jewish law.  He was surely the envy of many people. But like the religious leaders of the day, he completely missed the true path to salvation that required faith. He never grasped a main purpose of the Law - to reveal God's perfect character and the utter lack of human ability to live up to it, thus leading one to humility and recognition of the need for a Savior. His heart and reliance were set on worldly treasures, positions, and piety.

To those listening to Jesus’ answer to such a man, the frightful question arose that if he wasn’t guaranteed heaven then who could expect to get there? Jesus’ answer was simple and to the point – heaven is an impossible goal though human effort and can only be gained by the absolute miracle of God’s grace and mercy. And that grace at work in our lives will change our desires and perspectives. Worldly possessions and comforts will not be our primary treasure and hope for heaven any more. Jesus exposed the ruler’s superficial carnal heart with the suggestion that he sell all his possessions and give it to the poor. But he was completely reliant on position, possessions, and self-effort in keeping the law.

[Debra Grant]

Q15. (Luke 18:18-27) How does the story of the rich young ruler show the impossibility of salvation without a miracle of God? Why does Jesus use a rich and outwardly righteous man to make this point? Where does grace show through?

1. The rich ruler though he could get into heaven with riches. He did not know that wealth and worldly things could be a weight to serving God. He didn't  know that it was a price to pay when following Jesus. Jesus was showing him that salvation was not earned or deserved, neither did his riches matter.

2. It is shown to the rich man and to us that it doesn't matter how much money and other material things we have, it is our heart that God looks at. We must humble ourselves in order to follow Jesus and not put anything above him.

3.  Grace shows because Jesus is letting the man know that what is impossible with man is possible with God even through miracles.

[blezed]

Q15. (Luke 18:18-27) How does the story of the rich young ruler show the impossibility of salvation without a miracle of God?

The impossibility of salvation without miracle of God is because of God's grace.  It is nothing that you can earn or is it anything that you deserve.

Why does Jesus use a rich and outwardly righteous man to make this point? Where does grace show through?

It shows that no matter how rich you may be, you cannot earn salvation.  Nothing is impossible for God.

 

[JOLLAM BANDA]

The story of the rich young ruler (Luke 18:18-27) illustrates the impossibility of people being saved without a miracle of God - especially the rich and outwardly righteous. Salvation requires a miracle of grace and it can't be earned or deserved. The rich young ruler had kept the key points of the Law all his life. But keeping the law is not enough to earn someone salvation. Jesus uses the rich and outwardly righteous man to make his point because it was a common belief that only the rich could afford to keep all the commandments with the rigor the Pharisees did. Grace shows through where there are impossibilities of salvation and Jesus clearly explains that what is impossible with men is possible with God.

[Jejujojo]

This rich ruler parable has always troubled me. I recognize that one main teaching is that the ruler could not earn his way into eternal life. Not by moral living or wealth. However, look at his question of Jesus, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  Shouldn’t the right response have been, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” Instead, Jesus tells him to do a work (give all your money to the poor and follow Jesus). If we can’t earn eternal life, why did Jesus give an answer based on works? 
 

Today’s church and evangelical Christian would simply say, “Pray this prayer and you’re saved. And, oh by the way, never question whether you’re saved. If you sincerely prayed this prayer, you’re saved and don’t doubt.”

This parable raises the issue of receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior. While today’s church says you can receive him as Savior and later follow him as Lord (or not), Jesus seems to be saying you must trust and follow him as both Lord and Savior. “Produce fruit in keeping wit repentance.”  “Why do you call me Lord, Lord and do not do as I say.”

I’m certainly not advocating salvation by works, but Jesus seems to be saying, “If your faith is genuine it will produce righteous living”.  Real faith is not just believing the facts about salvation, but is acting consistent with what we say we believe (not perfectly but characteristically). After all, aren’t we new creatures in Christ?

[Old Jerry]

The story of the rich young ruler shows that money can’t buy everything and that faith is the only thing that will get us to heaven. The faith that only Jesus can forgive us fort our sins and then graciously give us salvation.

[Lisa Wolf]

Q15. (Luke 18:18-27) How does the story of the rich young ruler show the impossibility of salvation without a miracle of God? Why does Jesus use a rich and outwardly righteous man to make this point? Where does grace show through?

The Jews of the day and particularly the Pharisees, assumed they were the righteous ones--keeping the Law far above the capabilities of all others.  Jesus knew their hearts and disclosed them. Thus, Jesus used the rich and outwardly righteous man to make the point that it is impossible to follow God unless one gives ALL to God. ALL: acknowledge sin and repent.  I agree with you, "salvation requires a miracle of grace. It can't be earned or deserved." Only by the Grace of God are we saved from eternal wrath.

[HCDukes]

Topic: Impossibility

Q15. Luke 18:18-27 (AMP)

“A certain ruler asked Him, “Good Teacher [You who are essentially and morally good], what shall I do to inherit eternal life [that is, eternal salvation in the Messiah’s kingdom]?” [Matt 19:16-29; Mark 10:17-30] Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is [essentially and morally] good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT MURDER, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT TESTIFY FALSELY, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER.’ ” [Ex 20:12-16; Deut 5:16-20] He replied, “I have kept all these things from my youth.” When Jesus heard this, He said to him, “You still lack one thing; sell everything that you have and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have [abundant] treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me [becoming My disciple, believing and trusting in Me and walking the same path of life that I walk].” But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. Jesus looked at him and said, “How difficult it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man [who places his faith in wealth or status] to enter the kingdom of God.” And those who heard it said, “ Then who can be saved?” But He said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.” [Gen 18:14; Jer 32:17]”

‭Question(s):

1. How does the story of the rich young ruler show the impossibility of salvation without a miracle of God? 
2. Why does Jesus use a rich and outwardly righteous man to make this point? 
3. Where does grace show through?

Answer(s):

1) Without Faith, the Belief and Trust in Jesus (it is impossible to attain salvation). 

2)He uses a rich and outwardly righteous person man to make this point, because most of us are very similar to him. In that, we all hold on to something (very dear to us) that is very hard to let go of and fully trust the Lord with our all. 

3) Grace shows through, because what appears Impossible with people becomes possible with God - when we decide to choose to have faith, trust and belief in what Jesus tells us versus what we see with our eyes and in the material world.