Tag: Asked Him

6. What must we do

Mark 10:17  And as Jesus 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.

John 6:28    Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?”

Acts 2:37     Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

Acts 16:30    Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

Romans 10:2-4    For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.  For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.

John 6:27     Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you.

We see this young rich man who went away sorrowful and disheartened.  Why, because he could not give his all to follow Jesus.  We see others who asked what must we do to be saved.  We see the disciples asking what must we be doing to do the works of God.

The works we must do is to “Believe” and to believe is translated “Cling to, Rely on, and Trust in.”  Sometimes I think believe means something less to people.   It does not carry the weight of clinging total reliance and trust.

It is one thing to come to the knowledge of saving grace and another to live so that God is honored through continual reliance, obedience, and trust.  When we give belief a lesser application we will find we are thinking we are better off than we are.  We end up at a place where we think we are good enough and doing enough – we’re ok enough.  In reality, we become dull to the Holy Spirit, blind and deaf, as though we were asleep.  When we are to be spirit-filled we are spiritless.  When we are to be reaching out to a lost world we are hiding.  When we are to be listening and obeying we are deaf and doing what seems right to us.  When we ought to be seeking God we are neglecting.  When we are to be drinking the living water and bread of life from His word we are starving and dying from thirst. And don’t even know it!

We are called to active humble service to God, at His leading and at His timing.  The word “Called” is better translated as summoned.  When we see the word just as called it gives way to say yes or no.  When we see the word as summoned by God there is no room for denying action on our part.

It is a choice to commit heart, mind, and soul to God every single day.  It is a choice to be led by Him.  It is a choice to listen and obey Him.

Thinking you are ok enough leads to being asleep and deaf to the Holy Spirit’s leading.

What must you do?

The Foundation

“If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

Joh 4:39  Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.”  So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days.  And many more believed because of his word.  They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”  After the two days he departed for Galilee.  (For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.)  So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For they too had gone to the feast.

1 Corinthians 2:4     and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,  so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

Ezekiel 13:6    They have seen false visions and lying divinations. They say, ‘Declares the LORD,’ when the LORD has not sent them, and yet they expect him to fulfill their word.

Romans 16:18     For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.

With the internet and access to mountains of information we have to be diligent to build and continue to build and fortify our Faith.  The foundation of our Faith is Christ.  Building on this foundation is what keeps our heart, mind, and soul anchored and by which we can discern that which is good, true, right and pure.  Things get twisted very quickly when our attention turns from building on our foundation (Christ) to things of this world that propel us away from humbly serving, honoring, following and obeying.  Take care to continue to build that which was started in you through faith in Christ.