"…If you want to enter life, obey the commandments…”All these I have kept since,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven. The come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. –Matthew 19:17-22
I can’t begin to count how many times I have heard preachers tell their listeners that if they just said a repenter’s prayer, they would be saved and will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. I always knew this couldn’t possibly be true, but I just accepted it for all it was. God begun to convict me, so I decided to research his word for more knowledge.
If it was easy to inherit the kingdom of Heaven, the Bible would not tell us that “narrow is the gate that leads to heaven.” If it were that easy, the Bible would not say that, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what would become of the ungodly and the sinner?” Christ is telling us through his conversation with the rich young man in Matthew 19:16-30 that although obeying all the commandments and living a sin free life is good, it is not good enough.
So what do we need to do you ask? “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” –Matthew 5:20. You have to become righteous, meaning you have to become like Christ. You have to be willing to spend yourselves spiritually, physically, financially, and emotionally for the sake of others. You have to be willing and available to spread the word of God. You have to remain faithful in all situations. And most importantly, you have to be willing “to sell your possessions,” and take up your cross daily and follow Christ.
One requirement that all the disciples had to fulfill before they could follow Christ was that they had to give up something. What are you willing to give up today? When Jesus told the rich man in the verses above to sell all his possessions, he was stressing a point that still remains very essential today: Anything that is more important to you than faithfulness to God must be removed from your life. When two candidates with the same exact credentials apply for a job, an employer can’t make a decision until after he interviews both people. During the interview, the employer determines who has the more fitting personality, attitude, and extra qualities that can’t be quantified. It is after this that he makes a decision about whom to hire. The same way, many people can probably say that they have obeyed all God’s commandments, but God is not going to hire every candidate, so he considers other qualities such as our righteousness.
What qualities are you going to show to God during your interview? What is it that you have that makes you a better candidate that everyone else? What have you done during your lifetime that can be credited to you as righteousness? Why should he hire you? This is your time to prepare for your interview! Doing the bare minimum is good, but in order to inherit the kingdom, good is not good enough. Think about it.
Stay blessed and spread the word.
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Good Is Not Good Enough