But If Thou Wilt Enter Into Life, Keep The Commandments

[Walter and Deborah]

Tuesday 2-28-23 3rd. Day Of The Weekly Cycle Adar 7, 5783 70th. Winter Day

Matthew 19

Instruction About Divorce

1 And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan;

2 And great multitudes followed him; and he healed them there.

3 The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?

4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,

5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?

6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

7 They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?

8 He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.

9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.

10 His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.

11 But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.

12 For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.

13 Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them.

14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

15 And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence.

Rich Young Ruler

16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?

17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,

19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?

21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.

24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

25 When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?

26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

The Apostles' Reward

27 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?

28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

29 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.

30 But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.

Love, Walter and Debbie

Edited February 28, 2023 by Walter and Deborah
More info.

[TheBlade]

Amen at that moment He and they were living by keeping the law... 

[Tzephanyahu]

Amen

[Vine Abider]

On 2/28/2023 at 12:29 PM, Walter and Deborah said:

17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
 

My take on this is if one enters into life, then they will keep the commandments.  The New Covenant is based upon the indwelling Spirit of life, not of the outward letter.  So if we are born-again and enter into life, this divine life in us will cause us automatically to behave more godly and obey His word.

In other words, it's not by our outward efforts, but by the power of the indestructible life in us. (Heb 7:16)

[Wayne222]

By the law no one will be saved. Once we are saved by grace we need to follow Jesus and keep his commandments. 

[TheBlade]

25 minutes ago, Vine Abider said:

My take on this is if one enters into life, then they will keep the commandments.  The New Covenant is based upon the indwelling Spirit of life, not of the outward letter.  So if we are born-again and enter into life, this divine life in us will cause us automatically to behave more godly and obey His word.

In other words, it's not by our outward efforts, but by the power of the indestructible life in us. (Heb 7:16)

Yes.. maybe like wide road and narrow road  Just one way for me to interpret 

[farouk]

The believer trusting in the finished work of Christ at the Cross exercises 'the obedience of faith' / 'obedience to the faith' (Romans 1; Romans 16); such obedience is not meritorious, since all we have and are is because we are in Christ.

[farouk]

@Walter and Deborah A lot of discussion has taken place on forums such as these about divorce and remarriage. My own views - I trust informed by Scripture - are such that a lot of ppl in North America who have become accustomed to going with the flow of general practice in evangelical circles would not agree with. Inevitably it's a subject that involves a lot of heart searching, with potential for breach of fellowship among those who have come to different conclusions.

[Vine Abider]

50 minutes ago, Wayne222 said:

By the law no one will be saved. Once we are saved by grace we need to follow Jesus and keep his commandments. 

And we keep His commandments the same way we are initially saved - by trust in Him (and not our own efforts).

[AdHoc]

On 2/28/2023 at 8:29 PM, Walter and Deborah said:

Tuesday 2-28-23 3rd. Day Of The Weekly Cycle Adar 7, 5783 70th. Winter Day

Matthew 19

Instruction About Divorce

1 And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan;

2 And great multitudes followed him; and he healed them there.

3 The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?

4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,

5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?

6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

7 They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?

8 He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.

9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.

10 His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.

11 But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.

12 For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.

13 Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them.

14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

15 And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence.

Rich Young Ruler

16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?

17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,

19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?

21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.

24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

25 When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?

26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

The Apostles' Reward

27 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?

28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

29 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.

30 But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.

Love, Walter and Debbie

The text is not in dispute here, so the meaning is simple and clear.
A Rich young man had heard that one could HAVE Eternal Life. HAVING Eternal Life is HAD by FAITH (Jn.3:15-16). "HAVING" eternal life means it courses through you intrinsically. But the rich young man said "what can I DO ..." That is, he alluded to WORKS as the way to eternal life. This makes our Lord's answer more mysterious. He answers that by DOING the commandments given my Moses, a man can ENTER Eternal Life. After the rich young man had departed, Jesus explains things to His disciples but changes the term "ENTER Eternal Life" to "ENTER the Millennial Kingdom". And this seems to provoke the understanding of the disciples but they change the term "ENTER the Kingdom" to "BE SAVED". This is how the conversation went:

Rich man; "Master, what shall I do to intrinsically be the owner of eternal life?"

Jesus; "You have recognized and confessed that I am "good" and "Master". This takes FAITH. The issue is NOT HAVING eternal Life for this you already possess. Rather, you need to know how to ENTER the Kingdom."

But Jesus had another equivalent term for entering the Kingdom - that is, "Being SAVED". Why? Josh is a US Marine. He is on patrol somewhere in Afghanistan and is pinned down in an ambush. His platoon escape when an A10 strafes the enemy position. He is "SAVED". The next day his commanding officer needs some troops for protection while he visits another valley and commandeers Josh. That day, while Josh is protecting his Colonel, his platoon (without him) are again ambushed - and all killed. Because Josh had a new duty that day, he is "SAVED". Although we all agree that Josh was "SAVED" twice, they are completely different "SALVATIONS". In one he was "SAVED" by the intervention of a second party while under fire. In the other he was "SAVED" by following orders without a shot being fired.

The rich man was born again by what he believed. But according to John 3:3-5 being born again allows you to SEE the Kingdom (v.3) but NOT ENTER IT. For that you need to DO something. That something is to OBEY ORDERS to be IMMERSED in water. That is;
1. The rich man is "SAVED" from the Lake of Fire and RECEIVES eternal Life because he believed Who Jesus was - "good Master"
2. The rich man is "SAVED" from DISCIPLINE IF he entered the kingdom - the reason why he was saved in the first place
3. But the rich man refuses to DO what is commanded by the king and although he HAS eternal Life, and is SAVED from the Lake of Fire, he never achieved what he was saved for - TO BE A CO-KING WITH CHRIST IN THE MILLENNIAL REIGN.

The basic story, or lesson, is that to be SAVED from the Lake of Fire and HAVE eternal Life, you must BELIEVE. But to be CO-KING with Christ in the Millennial Kingdom you must be prepared to GIVE ALL YOU HAVE TO GIVE. In this case it was money. This money was NOT EVIL. The man's riches CAME FROM GOD! The Law says that any one who keeps the Law will get riches from God (Deut.28:1-13). As a man under Moses this was a good man, and in Mark 10:21 it says that Jesus "loved him"! What the rich man failed to appreciate was that the principle of Law is different to the principles of the Kingdom. Under the Law YOU were rewarded. But in the Kingdom you SERVE. That is, what God gives you are resources for blessing others.

In the Covenant that God made with Abraham, one of the Promises is that "all the families of the earth will be blessed by Abraham's seed. That is, when Jesus and His Church, who are seed of Abraham (Gal.3:29), set up the Kingdom on earth, the Nations will be blessed by the righteous GOVERNMENT. This understanding does not only answer Matthew 20. You will notice that in Matthew 25:31-46 "ALL Nations" are judged. Whoever helped "the least" of Christ's brethren will "ENTER Eternal Life" (v.46). But in verse 34 it ENTER THE KINGDOM. These are "ALL NATIONS" (v.32). They are UNBELIEVERS. They can never HAVE Eternal Life, BUT THEY CAN ENTER ETERNAL LIFE - which is the same as receiving all the benefits of Christ's rule on earth.