| Matthew 19:16-21 16 And, behold, someone came and said to him, "Good Master, what good thing must I do to have eternal life?" 17 And he said to him, "Why do you call me good? There is none good but one, and that is God; but if you will enter into life, keep the commandments."1 18 And he asked him, 'Which ones?' Jesus said, "You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness. [Notice! Jesus did not say that you must keep all the commandments; He listed only those that make up the moral core of the Law, which is included in the law that is written on every man's heart, by which all men shall be judged by God, and which has never been annulled or canceled. From the Word of the Lord within: "You must have a devotion to the law that is on every man's heart; you must listen; and you must obey."] 19 Honor your father and your mother; and you shall love your neighbor as yourself." 20 And the young man said to him, "I have kept all these things from my youth up, what do I yet lack?" 21 Then Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor,2 and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me." [Notice! Jesus has told us that perfection is necessary to enter into the eternal life of God; and if we would be perfect to have eternal life, (which is the life of God), we must follow the moral commandments, (included in the law on every man's heart), give to the poor, and then follow Him. We follow Him by exposing ourselves to hear his commands and then obey them; we deny our will and submit to His commands — that is the cross all men must bear to the death of self, to perfection, to attain salvation, to attain eternal life.] | Mark 10:17-21 17 Now when he was going on his way, a man came running, and kneeling asked him, "Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?"2 18 And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God. 19 You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'" [Notice! Jesus did not say that you must keep all the commandments; He listed only those that make up the moral core of the Law, which is included in the law that is written on every man's heart, by which all men shall be judged by God, and which has never been annulled or canceled.] 20 Then he said to him, "Master, I have observed all these from my youth." 21 And Jesus looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack, go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor,3 and you will have treasure in heaven; and come and follow me ." [To have eternal life, (which is the life of God), we must follow the moral commandments, (the same as the law on every man's heart), give to the poor, and then follow Him. We follow Him by exposing ourselves to hear his commands and then obey them; we deny our will and submit to His commands — that is the cross all men must bear to the death of self, to attain salvation, to attain eternal life. From the Word of the Lord within: "You must have a devotion to the law that is on every man's heart; you must listen; and you must obey. You must obey every law the Spirit establishes."] | Luke 9:23-24 23 And he said to them all, "If any man desires to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. [To follow is to be led by the Spirit. To be led, you must persistently and patiently sit in humble silence to wait on the Lord, as you listen for his word within your heart to speak to you; then you must obey Him. Self-denial occurs by obeying the Lord's commands you hear instead of your will, (His will, not your will); this is the inward cross of self-denial. First, He will lead you out of darkness to a sinless state; to then guide your thoughts, words, and works; which works show His glory and love to the world.] 24 For whoever desires to save his life shall lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. [When you continually deny yourself and obey the Lord's commands, you will eventually die to your selfish life on the inward cross of self-denial, and thereby save your soul to live Life in union with God. You lose your life at the conclusion of your crucifixion of self, with many many acts of commanded repentance, several trials with suffering, and then the baptism of fire, which is the baptism of death. For detail on this baptism of fire and death, see the footnote to Matthew 3:12 on this site.] | |||||||