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There wasn't aoy question
in
his
mind, and we can't find in ' these
scriptures an excuse not to keep the
five Jesus didn't mention.
You can't have eterna! life if you
covet other people's goods, prop–
erty, wife, husband. You can't have
ete rna! life if you worship other
gods before H im, or a re a n idolater,
or ta ke H is name in vain, or break
His Sabbath.
It
just won't work that
way.
God isn't going to have anybody
in His Kingdom who doesn't em–
body wi thio himself at least a burn–
ing
desire
to love God, and his
neighbors-to KEEP THE COMMAND–
MENTS.
Of course, as John points out , if
a ny man says,
" 1
have not sinned,"
he is a liar, and the truth is not in
him!
(1
John
·1:10.)
So Sam, by the
condemna tion of John, the a postle,
stands before Jesus his Savior-ask–
ing about how to get eterna! life..:..
and says,
"1
have not sinned, l've
kep t all those comma ndments,
there's nothing to it, it's just like
ro lling off a log, easy, no problem–
I've got it made!"
But he didn't , did he?
In fact, John in effect labels him a
liar. And if he was a liar, he broke at
least o ne commandment. And
J ámes te lls us that if one is broken,
we stand guilty before God on a ll
counts.
We
al/
stand guilty before the
th rone of God on any and all of
these
Ten Commandmenrs
at any
given time.
What Dld Sam Lack?
Jesus' answer seemed too simple to
Sam. So Sam wasn't satisfied: "I've
kept all these things from my youth
up:
what lack 1 yet?"
Sam wanted
more detail, specifically tailored for
him. He wasn't satisfied with Jesus'
answer so fa r. He wanted things
spelled out. He
wanted
a list of do's
and don'ts. He wanted to know
exactly
what he needed to do
in
o r–
der to GET eternallife.
That's the one thing he lacked.
He just had physical life, human
life. He just had a tempora ry life
that he knew was sealed in doom
like every other hum·an being-and
even though he was in the prime of
life he could recognize with his
mind that there would come a time
The
PLAIN TRUTH October-November
1977
when his heart didn't beat and his
lungs didn't pump, his blood d idn't
circulate; a time when he wouldn't
be a ble to think a ny mo re, wouldn' t
see, smell, taste, hear anymore:
there would come a time when he
would be dead!
So Sam asked, " In add ition to
keeping the commandments, what
else do
1
have todo?"
Jesus' answer at this point was,
"Now look, Sam, if you really wa nt
to be totally perfect, the epítome of
perfection: sell a ll your beloogings,
give everything to the poor and
come and follow me!" (Verse 21.)
But that was not what Sam
wanted to hear!
Maybe he was hoping J esus
would say Sam could have eterna!
life if he performed the twelve feats
of Hercules, killed seven dragons,
chopped off all the heads of the
hydraheaded monster, swam the
deepest ocean, climbed the highest
mountain, or slipped Jesus seven
million pieces of si lver to buy his
way into the Kingdom, o r ...
But sell
al/
he had? and give
al/
to
the poor? and follow Jesus?
That
was too much! The price was too
high!
Sam turned and left J esus-sorrow–
ful because the answer Jesus gave
him was not the answer Sam wanted
ro hear.f
The Lesson for Us
Just between you and me, do you
suppose if Sam
had
sold all his pos–
sessions, had given all to the poor
a nd followed Jesus, tha t Jesus would
have given him eterna ! life? Could
Sam have bought his way into
God's K ingdom that way?
Well, as you and
1
very well
know, you can ' t even earn it by
"keeping the commandments," can
you?
No, eternal life is the GIFT OF
Goo. You can't buy it, earn _i t, bar–
gain for it, blackmail it out of God,
extort it, demand it , argue or reason
it out of Jesus:
l t rnust be a gift!
You h·ave. to say, and mean ,
deeply and sincerely: " Lord, God,
my Creator.
l
fully recognize tha t
1
am a sinner, that
1
cannot 'keep the
commandments' of myself; l am im–
perfect and unclean, deceived of the
devil and sentenced to death-but
picase forgive me for all these things
that stand between me and life,
wash it all away with the blood of
Christ, and grant me the
gift ofeter–
na! lije,
1 beg of you in deep repen–
tance!"
That's what J esus -wanted Sam to
see for himself. That's why J esus
continued to add requiremeots to
His original statement "keep the
commandments." He wanted Sam
to see that of himself he could no t
qualify, could
not
keep the com–
mandments; that Sam had indeed
NOT kept a ll those from his youth
up, because he was not willing to
part with this world's goods-believe
it o r not he
coveted
that which he
already had
to
such an extent he
was not willing to pa n with it evcn
to attain eternal life !
Sam never saw the light during
his lifetime-maybe he will when
he's resurrected. Maybe Sam will
re–
pent
yet. when he has his opportu–
nity. Maybe Sam will be
baptized,
have his sins washed away, buried
with Christ, paid for by Jesus' quali–
fied , perfect sacrifice. Maybc Sam
will have hands laid on him and
receive the
GIFT
of the Holy Spirit
which will help him understand the
intent of the commandments and
give him a burning desire to live in
obedience to them. Maybe Sam will
grow in grace and knowledge
over
the period of time he's given, and. in
his turn, be changed in a moment
a nd a twinkling of an eye. changed
from physical to spi ritual, from
human to divine- after he's "fol–
lowed Jesus" minus all. his worldly
goods, and losing bit by bit his own
self-righteousness along the way.
Sam won't have to GET eterna!
life: Eterna) life will be given to
him.
Maybe
you
can learn from Sam's
conversation with Jesus- maybe
you
can learn enough to be g iven eterna(
life NOw-and maybe
you
will be
able to
help
Jesus give eterna! li fe to
Sam la ter!
O
RECOMMENDED READING
Does salvation mean going te heaven?
ls salvation a place. a destinat1on. a
condition, a reward-or what?
When
do
you receive salvation? These ques–
tions are answered in the booklet
Just
What Do You Mean .. . Salva/ion?
lt is sent free of charge upon your re–
quest (see addresses on inside front
cover).
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