The Strand Study Bible

MATTHEW 19:15

MATTHEW 19:30

1531

24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a 10 needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God . 25 When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? 26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, 11 With men this is impossible; 12 but with God all things are possible . 27 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and 13 followed thee; what shall we have therefore? 28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the 14 regeneration when the 15 SON OF MAN shall sit in the throne of his glory, 16 ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. P The promise to faithful saints to rule and reign with CHRIST (Fulfilled - Rev 20:4) 29 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, 17 and shall 18 inherit everlasting life. P 30 19 But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first . The promise of a Kingdom where CHRIST will rule (Fulfilled - Rev 20:4,6)

15 And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence. The rich young ruler asks about eternal life (S/A - Mk 10:17-31 & Lk 18:18-30) 16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what 1 good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? 17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none 2 good but one, that is , God: but if thou wilt enter into life, 3 keep the commandments . 18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, 4 Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness , 19 5 Honour thy father and thy moth- er; and , 6 Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love thy neighbor as thyself means - “Learning to give your heart (or, mind) to God” 20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? 21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, 7 and give to the poor, and thou shalt have 8 trea- sure in heaven: and come and follow me . 22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. 23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a 9 rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven .

1. Rom 3:10-12 & Eph 2:8-9 & Titus 3:5 2. or, “sinless” - Deut 32:4 & Job 34:10 & Isa 53:9 & II Cor 5:21 & I Jn 3:5 3. Lev 18:5 & Neh 9:29 & Ezk 20:21 & Rom 7:10 & 10:5 & Gal 3:10-12,21-24 4. Quoted from the OT - Exo 20:13-16 & Deut 5:17-20 5. Quoted from the OT - Exo 20:12 & Lev 19:3 & Deut 5:16 6. Quoted from the OT - Lev 19:18 7. Acts 2:45 & 4:34- 37 & I Tim 6:18-19 8. Mt 6:19-21 9. Lk 16:22 10. or, “sewing needle” 11. Gal 3:21-22 12. Gen 18:14 & Job 42:1-2 & Jere 32:17 13. Mt 4:19 & 9:37-38 14. or, “1000- year Millennium” 15. Fulfilled - Rev 20:4,6 (Christ’s Kingdom) 16. Lk 22:28-30 & I Cor 6:2 & Rev 2:26 & 3:21 17. Fulfilled - Rev 20:4 (Saints to Reign) 18. or, “totally enjoy” - Mt 25:23 19. Mt 20:16 & 21:31-32 & Lk 13:30

19:16 There are over 31,100 verses found in the Bible. Of those 31,100 plus verses, only 7 appear to indicate that keeping the law ( what good thing shall I do ) is a necessary part of salvation Mt 19: 16- 17 b , Lk 10: 25- 28 , Rom 7:10 , Gal 3: 19- 21 -22 , Jn 5:29 and Heb 12:14 b and Jms 2:14 a,b . Which means, less than 0.0002245% of the entire Bible even appears to teach salvation via good works. Yet strangely enough, many of the world’s religions teach that how you live your life here determines what happens to you on the other side of the grave. Andy Stanley in his book called Since Nobody’s perfect… How Good is good enough? , explains the “flawed” logic behind why many major world religions subscribes to the notion that our “good deeds” here on Earth determines our destination in the afterlife. He notes:

The logic flows something like this: There is a good God who lives in a good place reserved for good people. This God goes by many names. He is behind all major world religions. Therefore, all major, and possibly minor, religions provide a legitimate path to God and, therefore, heaven. The criterion for making it to this good place is to be good. Each religion has its own definition for good . But what they all have in common is that men and women must do certain things, and not do certain things, in order to assure themselves a spot in this good place with a good God. 1 The logic behind good people go to heaven is seemingly impenetrable on two accounts. First, it is fair. By fair, I mean people who do good deserve good things. If you do well in school, you move to the next grade. If you do well in tryouts, you make the team. If you do well on the job, you receive raises and promotions. Being rewarded for your efforts is part of our human experience and expectation, so it makes sense that this dynamic originated with God… So it only seems fair that if you do well in this life, you should go to heaven. Second, it coincides with the notion that there is a good God. If there is a good God, and if he dwells in a good place, then it makes sense that God would fill heaven with good people. If heaven were full of “bad” people, it wouldn’t be heaven. A good God in a good place sounds like the ideal destination for good people. 1

Stanley continues:

As logical as this sounds, the good people go to Heaven view has some serious flaws: