"Then Who Can Be Saved?"

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Last week, you heard about the rich young man who came to Jesus and asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus commanded him to obey the Law, and to give all he had to serve the poor. Mark records that the man went away sorrowful, because he had many possessions.

On the heels of that account, Jesus says, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of heaven!” Indeed, how difficult it is to enter God's kingdom. The way is long, the road is tough, and distractions and detours threaten on every side.

There is no short-cut to heaven. You only get there by traveling the road set before you through this world and life. And that road is very difficult, very narrow, and often fearsome. It truly is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a man to enter heaven. To enter heaven, you must pass through the valley of the shadow of death. You must pass by the riches and glitz and glamor that this world lays out before you. You must forsake home and work, family and friends, and all that you have. The devil and his forces will try very hard to distract you from the truth, to detour you from the road laid ahead.

Indeed, it is very difficult to enter the kingdom of heaven. You might even say it is impossible. But what is there for man to do? Must a man work forever to toil in vain? What is the lot of man in this world?

Solomon says,

There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt, and those riches were lost in a bad venture. And he is father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand. As he came from his mother's womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand. This also is a grievous evil: just as he came, so shall he go, and what gain is there to him who toils for the wind? Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness in much vexation and sickness and anger. (Ecclesiastes 5:13-17)

There is a great harm that comes from greed. Solomon diagnoses the problem here. Greed is at its root selfishness. Selfishness is at its root idolatry – the fear, love, and trust in something besides the Lord God. You cling to riches as though there were nothing better than the accumulation of wealth. Then, in a moment, they are lost in a bad venture. Where, then, is your god?

While you are accumulating and storing away your wealth, what is to become of your neighbor? Your brother who needs your help and support will go unnoticed. Your children who need your love and instruction will go untrained. Your wife who needs your love, your presence, and your service will go unloved and unserved. Service to the neighbor is the first thing to fall by the wayside on the road to wealth which is paved with greed. You cannot cling to your riches and at the same time help and support your brother in every physical need.

The love of money blinds a man to all else. It causes him to forsake those who love him, to forget those who need him. The love of money is the root of great evil. For from the depths of greed come murder, jealousy, strife, covetousness, suspicion, deceit, and much other great shame and vice. How often do you see this in our world? A man who lives a life for self, accumulating riches, and at the same time squandering his time with his wife and children, until they are gone. Then what does he have to show for it? Nothing.

All this is vanity, as Solomon declares. And more than vanity, it is idolatry. Our Lord said that you cannot serve both God and money. If amassing riches is your focus, then you cannot fear, love, and trust in God above all things. Your god is that to which you turn in trouble and that which you praise in times of good. If that is money, then you are more than unfaithful to your brother – you are unfaithful to God.

And what becomes of it? As Solomon says, all your fame and fortune can be lost in an instant. Riches can be taken away in a single bad venture. Then you are left with only heartache and pain. Naked you came from your mother's womb, and naked you will go into your grave. Nothing you have earned or amassed in this life will help you in the next. God is no respecter of bank accounts or balance sheets. The love of money is the cause of a great deal of stress, illness, and unrest.

Truly, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of heaven! And so the disciples ask Jesus, “Then who can be saved?” Good question. Who can be saved? By wealth and worldly gain, no one can be saved. This is why the rich young man went away weeping, since he was unwilling to sacrifice his wealth. Riches in this world will not help you one bit to get into heaven. God cannot be bought. Salvation is not for sale. The gates of heaven do not stand on donated footings, and neither does the Church.

God, who made the heavens and the earth and all that fill them, does not need anything from you. You cannot give Him anything that does not already belong to Him. He does not need your money or your work. For even if you could, your works are tainted with the sin you have inherited from Adam, and to which you yourself have added daily and much. Who can be saved? No one, no not one – for all have fallen short of the glory of God. On the basis of worldly reckoning, all shall be condemned.

But “Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.'” All things are possible, even the salvation of a world full of poor, miserable sinners. For God has made the impossible happen. He has sent His Son, the only-begotten of the Father from all eternity, into the flesh to bear your sin and be your Savior. He has sent Jesus Christ, the one who holds the riches of heaven, to be emptied of His heavenly glory, and to take it up again upon the cross.

For you, who are poor in spirit and empty in heart, the riches of heaven have been poured out by our Lord Jesus Christ. God is glorified chiefly in showing mercy, and He delighted to show mercy to you and to all sinners by executing His wrath upon the sinless Son of Man, that He might forgive your sins and give you all the riches which are His to give. Your sins are forgiven. Your life is hidden securely in Christ. You are now the beloved child of God. You are filled with the riches of the kingdom of heaven. There is nothing you need do to earn or deserve to inherit eternal life. All is prepared for you.

So, now, what remains for you? “Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot.” (Ecclesiastes 5:18) What remains for you is to eat and drink, and to find enjoyment in the work which God sets before you in this body and life.

It is truly a good thing to enjoy the gifts which God gives to you in this life. God delights in giving good things to His children, and you should receive His gifts with daily thanksgiving and praise. He gives, just as He promises, all that you need to support this body and life. And He gives even more wonderfully than you need. He crowns creation with beauty, glory, and majesty. He makes the wonders of this world in His joy and love.

And He gives to you to eat and drink, and be satisfied. He certainly gives to you the daily bread which fills your bellies and satisfies your bodily needs. And He also gives to you the food of immortality, the very Bread of Life from heaven and the wine of gladness which flows from His pierced side. He gives you the living water which wells up in you as a never-ending spring. When you pray for daily bread, our Lord answers you even more and more wonderfully than you could ever imagine.

Then, you are set to enjoy the work of your calling which begins anew each day. Your work may not be pleasant or pretty. You may not see immediate pay-offs, or ever get rich by worldly standards. But to do honest work and enjoy an honest wage is a good and godly thing. You faithfully serve those who employ you and those who depend on you for their daily sustenance. There is nothing better on this earth than to do your work faithfully.

And the work of your calling as a Christian includes the work of showing mercy to your neighbor, to your brother. As you go about your lives, you will come across those who need your service. God is not bribed by this, but your neighbor, your brother, your wife and children – all these desperately need the service which only you can provide, however menial you think it is. God has given you each gifts and talents, and He calls you to use them to show His mercy to your brother.

Eat and drink, and find enjoyment in your work. Eat the food of immortality, and store up for yourself riches in heaven. Find your enjoyment and fulfillment in the work of your calling, in love and service to your neighbor. This is a blessed thing. This is God's good and gracious will. And He who is faithful will grant you the strength to do the works which He has prepared for you to do.

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.