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IEvery day pray that everyone you know will either become a Christian or influence others to become a Christian, and please share this online book with others - www.areyousureyouaresaved.com      

 

For Wednesday evening services, the Lord has lead me to do a Bible study for practical Bible verses in Matthew. Please come back to these Bible lessons in order to review them and learn them. Whenever we have learned the meaning of Bible verses and think about them throughout each day, we will be in perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3). Not only that, but when we are in a situation in our daily lives and are tempted to sin, we can think back to what we have learned from the Bible and say to ourselves, "The Bible says to not do what I am tempted to say, think, do, and/or desire right now, so I am going to refuse to give in to this temptation." This is what Romans 12:2 means, and it says, "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." This is also the pattern that Jesus used when the devil tempted Him to sin in Matthew 4:1-11.

 

Chapter 19

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

 

Matthew 19:16-22

16And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? 17And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. 18He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, 19Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. (Jesus wasn't saying that someone can recieve salvation if they keep those commandments; He was setting up His next point by drawing a connection between the rich young man and his behavior toward others.) 20The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? 21Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. 22But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

 

A similar section of verses is Mark 10:17-25, so I am going to explain those verses. The Rich Young Man came to Jesus seeking salvation, but Jesus knew his heart. It seems that Jesus was going to give him salvation if he sold his possessions and gave to the poor, but that wasn’t the case. Jesus set two ways of life before him and made him make a choice. The Rich Young Man could either take up his cross (be willing to identify with Jesus everywhere he went) and follow Jesus in every area of his life, or he could control his own life. The Rich Young Man may have been willing to follow Jesus in different areas of his life, but he wasn’t willing to follow Jesus in giving. This is why we should explain to people who are interested in becoming Christians what it means to be willing to follow Jesus "from that moment on and for the rest of their lives", instead of just telling them to believe that Jesus died on the cross for their sins and arose from the dead. (For outlines to help you lead people to Jesus, see chapters 26-32 of this book - www.areyousureyouaresaved.com) The Rich Young Man wasn't willing to sell his possessions and give to the poor after Jesus told him to do that, but Jesus said that to test his heart - The rich young man wanted to spend more of his time, thoughts, and effort toward his possessions and money, and he wasn't willing to spend more of his time “from that moment on” following Jesus (helping others, and when he wasn't doing that, thinking like Jesus thought. See chapter 39 of this book - www.areyousureyouaresaved.com). Not only was he not willing to take up his cross and follow Jesus (Mark 10:21), he wasn’t willing to “deny himself”, and take up his cross daily, and follow Jesus (Luke 9:23). He wasn’t willing to “deny” his time, thoughts, and energy toward “his” wants. As a result, the Rich Young Man didn't get saved. The Rich Young Man simply couldn’t serve two masters (Matthew 6:24).

 

If you have prayed or made a decision to become a Christian, but you haven't been living the way this message has described, please follow chapter 10 of this book - www.areyousureyouaresaved.com   

 

If you have never prayed or made a decision to become a Christian, please follow this website - http://chriswaug5.wix.com/howtogotoheaven      

 

If you have prayed or made a decision to become a Christian, but you are not sure you are really a Christian (Hebrews 11:6, Matthew 21:18-22, 1 John 5:14, and Hebrews 11:1), please follow this website - http://chriswaug5.wix.com/howtogotoheaven

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