Class Notes_Obeying...Surrendering

Our reference for the discussion this week was 1 John 2:1-6, and our focus was on the theme in verse three. Here we have John telling his congregation that “they have come to know him, if [they] keep [God’s] commandments.” The tendency is to look at this passage of verses and think “If I really love God, then I would not break His commandments...am I really saved?” But I urge you to dig a bit deeper and consider the context.

We discussed chapter one last week, in which we found out that we are not called to be perfect, but to continually confess our sins (admit it, be sorry, be real, ask for change) and walk in the light (pray, read, learn = “see”). And yet you may ask, “Why the heck would John say ‘if we say we have no sin...the truth is not in us’ and then turn around and say we must always obey all the commandments in order to really love God?”

The answer? John’s not saying that at all! The issue here is that our salvation results in an inward change that enables us to change our actions—and to want to change them. Obeying the commandments are actions we perform out of reverence for God because we slowly lose our selfish nature. Our godly actions are the result not the reason---the effect rather than the cause. Do you get it?

The bottom line is this: If we love Him, we will seek to know Him and grow closer to Him. He is the all sufficient fountain of living waters---we are asked time and again to turn to Him in all things, rather than digging our own cracked wells (Jeremiah 2:13). As we grow closer to him through the Word and prayer, we can’t help but begin to follow the commandments---to be like Christ! This is part of what’s called “sanctification,” a life-long process that begins with our daily submission to God.

This brings me to the other part of our Sunday discussion...the rich young man (see Mark 10:17-32).

This guy had a ton of wealth (v. 22) and had obviously been a pretty good guy (v. 20) all his life, but he wanted confirmation that he was on the right track to Heaven. When asked “how can I inherit eternal life?” Jesus replied “you know the commandments.” Indeed he did, and when Jesus ran over a portion of the commandments, the young man responded that he had “kept these from [his] youth.” But Jesus turned the tables on him.

Jesus knew his heart, and in verse 21 he looked him in the eye, “loved him, and said to him, ‘You lack one thing’...” Jesus demanded he sell all he had, give it to the poor, and then follow Him. A huge demand! You’ve heard the “camel through an eye of a needle” story before, and like me you’ve probably been confused as to its meaning. But let’s get one thing straight here---Jesus is not saying that there are to be no well-to-do Christians out there.

You can very easily look at this verse and see that Jesus makes a good point about how we can get too comfortable---too reliant on our stuff. He had also said that we should not “store up treasures” here on earth, since they are perishable in light of eternity---this is part of it. And yes, we have heard that riches do not bring satisfaction. But there is still more to it...

Again, Jesus knew this man’s heart. Look at the commandments that He listed: all of these deal with his “neighbor” (adultery, stealing...etc.). What was his first charge to the man? “Sell all that you have and give to the poor.” Only by giving it all away could he be released from his self-centeredness. Jesus wanted him to go deeper than the law and go to the meaning behind it---“love thy neighbor! And by doing so, release yourself from what prevents you from doing Commandment #1---‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart!’”

He had spent his life being good, following the rules, earning his money the hard way rather than cheating to get to the top, but he missed the spirit of the law! Remember Mark 12:30-31?

But this was his specific problem. Wealth may not be your problem (if it is, then how about hooking a brother up?). So what is your idol? What gets your focus/your attention? Is it a job? College? Girlfriend? Boyfriend? Or does it go deeper? We can hold on to wounds and to the hatred for those who caused them, too. Jesus wants it all, no matter what it looks like...

Jesus called this man’s hand---hitting him in his precise weak spot. He loved him, remember? So instead of beating around the bush, he went straight to the root of the issue: “I love you, young man...but you can’t love me as long as you are holding on to all that stuff. And that stuff won’t get you eternal life!” (Jesus always went to the heart of the issue...consider the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4:1-30---“go get your husband” was a cut to the bone, as she had not one husband but a string of failures and was living in sin---he knew that she was trying to replace God and fill the “God-shaped hole” with Mr. Right or even Mr. Right Now...you see the parallel?)

But the man’s response showed his heart. He desired Heaven, but could not see that his loyalties lied more in the acquisition of wealth than in honoring the God he had prayed to since his youth. He was a good man, but he “lacked one thing”---an desire to give God what He deserves.

It is still my opinion that if the young man would have responded by throwing up his hands in desperation and said, “Oh my Lord, I can’t do that...how is that possible? I really desire to honor God...but help me, Lord...what you are asking me to do is too much for me!” then Jesus would have answered him with the answer he gave his disbelieving disciples. But instead he ran off all busted up over what he thought was unfair.

What if he would have hung around for another five minutes? The disciples had trouble with Jesus’ answer, too. They were “amazed at his words” and “exceedingly astonished”---in other words, they were saying, “what the heck, Jesus? That’s crazy!”

But what’s the difference between their reaction and the reaction of the young man? Their hearts! They were committed---they were going to listen and believe no matter how hard the message became. They hung around for an explanation, and when they questioned him honestly, Jesus gave them the straight answer---“With God all things are possible.”

God can enable us to release what binds and blinds us from knowing Him. Rather than running off and feeling bad that we can’t be good enough for God, we can say, “Jesus, this thing (this hurt, this job, this girl, this guy, this sin, this stuff...whatever has the majority of my attention) that I am holding on to is too big for me. Can you help me do the impossible?”