In my previous essay, we looked briefly at the letter to the Laodiceans in Revelation (Rev. 3:14-22), and how it described a church that was being chastised for depending on their own resources and abilities rather than depending on God.
This is an easy mistake to make, and Scripture is full of reminders that we need to depend on the Lord.
I believe an example of lukewarm thinking often occurs when we look at Jesus’ encounter with the rich young ruler. In that passage, Jesus makes two statements about the possibility of the rich being saved. To me, this gives us the opportunity to explore where we think the focus should be placed when doing the Lord’s work.
Here is the text:
And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?”
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” (Mark 10:17-27 ESV)
The most commonly quoted phrase is when Jesus essentially says that it is impossible for a rich person to enter the kingdom (assuming the reference to the camel is to be interpreted as a metaphor). It is certainly taken this way, since it’s common to hear this passage applied as a warning to rich people.
However, Jesus then goes on to state that, while it is impossible with man, all things are possible with God. This statement is virtually never quoted with reference to the rich young ruler or, more generally, with the idea of the rich being saved.
Looking at both these statements, they seem to contradict each other. Is salvation for the rich possible or impossible? I think to understand what’s going on, it’s important to consider the whole passage, the whole context for the statements under discussion.
To start with, note that the man starts by asking what he can do to inherit eternal life. Basically, he is asking how he can earn salvation, what works will save him. Of course, the answer is nothing – there is nothing he can do, no work, to earn salvation.
Jesus teaches that truth by giving the man a requirement that is impossible for him to meet.
Note that the disciples, who probably didn’t understand this yet either, were surprised by Jesus’ answer. In that time, it was often thought that wealth was a sign of God’s favor, so a wealthy obedient Jew would be the most likely person to be able to be saved by human effort. So if it’s impossible for him, how then could anyone be saved?
Jesus finished the teaching by stating that, although salvation is impossible by human effort, it is possible with God. In other words, there is no contradiction. The impossibility that Jesus mentions first is due to the limitations of human effort, while the possibility mentioned at the end is because of God’s abilities.
In other words, salvation for the rich is possible by the power of God, which is the same power that saves all of us.
Pentecost shows that Jesus was right. When the Spirit was unleashed and thousands came to faith, the rich did what Jesus had required of the rich young ruler:
There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need (Acts 4:34-35 ESV).
In addition, there are numerous other examples of rich, intellectual, and powerful people being saved, demonstrating the same truths through narratives. These include Zacchaeus (Luke 19:2, 9), Joseph of Arimathea (Matt 27:57), Sergius Paulus (Acts 13:6-7), leaders in Berea and Thessalonica (Acts 17:4, 12), and more.
Jesus was not the only one to teach these spiritual principles. His statement that “no one is good” would later be taught by Paul when he wrote that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23). Paul also made it clear that works can’t save when he wrote that salvation is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast (Eph 2:1-10).
Despite all this, however, our focus in this passage often goes to the limitation of human ability rather than the possibility of God’s power. Perhaps it’s because we have a natural tendency to focus on ourselves and our own abilities.
If we’re not careful, focusing on the impossibility can turn our hearts away from God’s power, at least in the context of reaching other people for Him. We stop seeking and depending on the Spirit’s guidance and empowerment and we become comfortable depending on our own abilities, which is what happened in Laodicea. Such evangelism becomes lukewarm.
With God, all things are possible, without Him we are lukewarm. This is another lesson of the rich young ruler – do not stop at what we can do, but rely on God.
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