Keep the commandments.

Now someone approached him and said, “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?”  He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good?  There is only One who is good.  If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”  He asked him, “Which ones?” And Jesus replied, “‘You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness;  honor your father and your mother’; and ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” Matthew 19:16-19

As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good?  No one is good but God alone.  You know the commandments: ‘You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother.’” Mark 10:17-19

An official asked him this question, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good?  No one is good but God alone.  You know the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery; you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother.’”  Luke 18:18-20

In Matthew 5:17-20 Jesus said,“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.  For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.  Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.  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.”

In our day, many religious teachers are denying the validity of these commands in the name of “good theology.”  It is true enough that we are not under law but under grace.  It is true enough that we cannot and will not earn salvation by obeying these commands.  But what so many fail to recognize is that if we recognize all that Christ has done for us, and if we walk in the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit Whom He gives us, our love and gratitude and Spirit-filled life will result in a life that surpasses these commands.  We will not only obey them but we will go beyond them.  Obeying them out of love and gratitude is the least we can do.  Keep the commandments.  Teach the commandments.  Do it from a Spirit-filled life of love and gratitude.

Let children come to Jesus and do not despise them.

Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked them,  but Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:13-14

And people were bringing children to him that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them.  When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  Truly, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.” Then he embraced them and blessed them, placing his hands on them. Mark 10:13-16

People were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them, and when the disciples saw this, they rebuked them.  Jesus, however, called the children to himself and said, “Let the children come to me and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  Truly, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.” Luke 18:15-17

At that time the disciples approached Jesus and said, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”  He called a child over, placed it in their midst,  and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.”  Matthew 18:1-6, 10

In the eyes of men, children are of little account.  They are often viewed as inconveniences.  In the United States, in the name of convenience, we have murdered about 310 million babies through abortion (including chemical abortions) since Roe v. Wade in 1973.  Only China, with their one-child policy is worse in this regard.

We ignore children.  As a culture we often seek to delegate as much of their care and nurture as possible, through childcare programs, schools, age-specific programs in churches, babysitting, sitting them in front of televisions or computer screens, etc.  We consider children a nuisance to be avoided.

Jesus had a very different attitude toward children and He instructs us as His followers, to follow His example.  He spent time with them.  He paid attention to them.  He valued them.  They served as an example of His pattern of valuing the last, the least and the lost.  In fact, He held them up as an example for us to emulate.  Their humility and dependence are a shining example in our world of pride and independence.

Value children.  Demonstrate it by loving and investing in them.

Be wholesome in your speech.

“Either declare the tree good and its fruit is good, or declare the tree rotten and its fruit is rotten, for a tree is known by its fruit.  You brood of vipers, how can you say good things when you are evil? For from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.  A good person brings forth good out of a store of goodness, but an evil person brings forth evil out of a store of evil.  I tell you, on the day of judgment people will render an account for every careless word they speak.  By your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”  Matthew 12:33-37

Words matter.  Unplanned words reveal the heart.  For good or for bad, our words will defend or condemn us on the day of judgment.  Amy Carmichael, the great missionary to India had a quote that always impressed me.  She said, “No matter how suddenly you jar a bowl of sweet water, no bitter water will ever spill out.”  True enough.  Let us guard our hearts, ever walking in the Spirit, so our speech might be gracious and suitable for a Kingdom ambassador.

Remember Lot’s wife and do not try to preserve your life.

Remember Lot’s wife!  Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it.  Luke 17:32-33

Here is yet another place where Jesus tells us to live for eternity and not for our temporal life here.  If, like Lot’s wife, we become enamored with the pursuit of earthly benefits, then we will lose sight of eternal ones, and our lives will be led astray.  Our direction determines our destination.  If our eyes remain fixed upon the Lord, He will guide us and bring us safely into His presence.  If we are distracted by the things of the world and seek them, we will end up with sulphur and fire in the end as Sodom did, and miss out on eternal reward.  It is impossible to serve both God and worldly wealth.

When you have done all you were asked to, say, “we are unprofitable slaves, we have only done our duty.”

“Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’?  Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’?  Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do?  So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”  Luke 17:7-10

I’d say this this is a bit counter-cultural and politically incorrect in our day.  There are lots of biblical metaphors of our relationship with Christ: slaves, friends, bride, body, etc.  I dare say that slave is the least popular.  It’s true Jesus told the twelve disciples they were no longer His servants, but now were His friends.  Despite this we see later disciples, including the apostle Paul, refer to themselves as slaves of the Lord.  In some of His parables, Jesus has a master telling his slaves at the end of their service, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Here, Jesus says that even if we do everything we’ve been asked to, that we have only done the minimum.  Let us rather seek extravagant ways to demonstrate our love for Him for all that He is and  our gratitude to Him for all He has done.  He says that even in regard to our enemies, if they ask for our shirt we should give them our coat as well.  If that is to be our attitude toward our enemies then how much more should we go beyond what has been asked of us to glorify our perfect and gracious Lord?

Use temporal wealth for eternal purposes.

I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.  Luke 16:9

Jesus said this in the context of His telling of the parable of the shrewd manager.  He followed it up with His statement that whoever is faithful in little will be faithful with much.  He clarifies and illustrated that statement by saying,

“So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?  And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?  No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”  The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus.  He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.”  Luke 16:11-15

Our use of wealth in this life is a test of our hearts and can be a tool to use for eternal purposes.  Are we seeking God or wealth?  Are we living and serving for the kingdom of this world or the Kingdom of God?  Clearly God has a purpose for our use of money other than our own pleasure and comfort.  Jesus tells us to use temporal wealth for eternal purposes.

Exalt the humble and serve them.

Then he said to the host who invited him, “When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment.  Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind;  blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” Luke 14:12-14

Jesus isn’t saying we shouldn’t seek reward for our actions.  He is saying we should seek reward in eternity rather than in the “here and now.”  He is saying we should seek reward that is truly valuable because it endures rather than deceptive and temporal reward.  It is a sign of maturity and wisdom to understand delayed gratification.  God is concerned to exalt the humble and to serve and bless them.  He asks us to do the same.  He sacrificed His very life to serve others, including us.  He sends us to do the same, to live a life of sacrificial service.  He will reward His children who live in that way.  Do not be deceived, there are degrees of reward in heaven.  That is a clear teaching in Scripture and the subject of several of Jesus’ parables.  Aspire to please God and hear Jesus say, “Well done, you good and faithful servant.”

Humble yourself.

“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor. A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him,  and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then you would proceed with embarrassment to take the lowest place.  Rather, when you are invited, go and take the lowest place so that when the host comes to you he may say, ‘My friend, move up to a higher position.’ Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table.  For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”  Luke 14:8-11

With people, sometimes the proud are allowed to exalt themselves, but this never happens with God.  In the end, everyone who exalts themselves will be humbled.  Scripture repeatedly tells us that “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”  There are numerous examples of that, psalms and proverbs about it, and Jesus’ own teachings and illustrations such as His story of the Pharisee and the tax collector.  Pride is the complete anti-God state of mind.  It is the primary sin of Satan.  C.S. Lewis called it “the cardinal sin.”  It is insidious and deceptive.

The root of pride often comes from comparing ourselves with others.  If we are going to compare ourselves with anything else, it needs to be with God Himself and His standards.  That will lead us to humility and to dependence on God and worship of God and gratitude to Him.

Be ready and watching for My return.

“Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning,  like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him.  It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them.  It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak.  But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.  You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”   Peter asked, “Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or to everyone?”  The Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time?  It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns.  Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.  But suppose the servant says to himself, ‘My master is taking a long time in coming,’ and he then begins to beat the other servants, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk.  The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.  The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows.  But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”  Luke 12:35-48

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.  But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.  So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.  Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time?  It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.  Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.  But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’  and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards.  The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of.  He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”   Matthew 24:42-51

“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.  Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door.  Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.  But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.  Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.  It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.  Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn.  If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping.  What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”  Mark 13:28-37

He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees.  When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near.  Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.  Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.  Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap.  For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth.  Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”  Luke 21:29-36

This command of Jesus is both important and urgent.  He calls for vigilance.  He calls for faithfulness.  He calls for consistency.  He warns against selfishness, laziness, and distracting anxiety.  We are to live in a state of service to our King.  It is not that we can thereby earn our salvation, but it is evidence of whom we serve.  There are evidently those who claim to serve the Lord, but their lives betray the fact that they are actually serving themselves.  They will be cast out by the Lord when He returns.  As His servants, we are to constantly be about carrying out His instructions and His desires so we will be ready for His return at all times.

Sell your possessions and give to the poor. 

An official asked him this question, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.  You know the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery; you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother.’”  And he replied, “All of these I have observed from my youth.”  When Jesus heard this he said to him, “There is still one thing left for you: sell all that you have and distribute it to the poor, and you will have a treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”  But when he heard this he became quite sad, for he was very rich. Luke 18:18-23

Now someone approached him and said, “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?”  He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”  He asked him, “Which ones?” And Jesus replied, “‘You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness;  honor your father and your mother’; and ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”  The young man said to him, “All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?”  Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to [the] poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”  When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions. Matthew 19:16-22

Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. ³⁴ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  Luke 12:33

I find it interesting that every time I have heard anyone teach on the Luke 18 or Matthew 19 passages above, they are quick to point out that the Lord is asking that particular individual to do this, and it isn’t intended for others.  The Luke 12 passage above, however, is a general teaching given to His disciples.  It seems clear from that passage that Jesus is instructing us not to accumulate wealth but rather to be generous in giving our surplus to those in need.  This command comes with a promise of wealth in heaven in all three passages.  Our hearts are where our treasure is.  To say it differently, what we treasure is what we value.  If we value the principles and purposes of the Kingdom it will be reflected in how we use our lives and our resources.