Romans 14:9
“For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that He might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.”
The Rich and the Kingdom of God
17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’[a]”
20 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”
21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”
24 The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is[b] to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
26 The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”
27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”
Mark 10:17-27
When many of us became a Christian, it is because we want to be saved. We discover we are sinners and ask God to forgive us so we can go to heaven when we die. This is a necessary and wonderful part of the Christian life, but it has never been the most important part. When Paul talks about why Christ died and returned to life, his focus is on Christ’s lordship, not His saving work. In fact, the New Testament refers to Jesus as “Lord” over 600 times, but as Saviour only 24 times.
We cannot separate Christ’s work as Saviour from His role as Lord, because Lord is who He is while saving is what He does. To illustrate, Pat is an excellent cook but I would never introduce her to others as my cook. I did not stand before a group of people on our wedding day and say, “I take you to be my personal chef.” Her role as cook is a wonderful benefit to our marriage and family, but I will always relate to her as my wife.
Salvation is a wonderful benefit of the Christian life, but we deeply grieve the Holy Spirit if we only think of Christ as our Saviour. The reality is we miss out on all that Christ has to give if we do not bring our lives under His lordship. When the rich young ruler asked Jesus what he must do to receive eternal life, Jesus told him he would have to sell everything he owned, give to the poor and follow Him. Mark 10:22 tells us, “At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.” It was not the rich young ruler’s wealth that excluded him from the kingdom, but his attitude, because he already had a master in his life and refused to transfer his loyalty from his wealth to Christ.
If we want the benefit of salvation but do not allow Christ to rule as Lord of our lives, we are left to our own, which are insufficient and fallible. Accepting Christ means accepting who He is – the Lord of all creation – and His offer of the unlimited resources of heaven, which promise us “life to the full” (John 10:10). To have Christ reign in our hearts will likely require us to give up certain habits and desires, but for this we have the Holy Spirit’s help. It is not an overnight transformation in which we become exactly as God wants us to be, but submitting to the lordship of Christ is what brings about transformation, enabling us to have and enjoy “life to the full”.
PRAYER: Sovereign Lord, thank You for cleansing me of sin. Reveal to me anything in my life I value more than You so that I may surrender more fully to Your lordship. I today from the depths of my heart invite Jesus Lord in every area of my life. Thank You, God.