Must I Abandon Earthly Possessions to Truly Follow Christ?

Jesus told the rich young ruler that he must abandon his earthly possessions in order to follow him. How does that command apply to Christians today? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of Core Christianity. Well, hi there. This is Bill Meyer along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. We pray that you had a wonderful holiday weekend.

We talk about the Bible and the Christian life every day, and we would love to hear from you. Our phone lines are open right now for the next 25 minutes. If you have a question, here's the number. It's 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. You can also post your question on our Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter accounts. You can email us at questionsatcorechristianity.com. And by the way, you can watch us live on YouTube and send us a message that way. First up today, let's go to Brian calling all the way from the United Kingdom. Brian, welcome to the program. Great. Thank you.

Thanks for having my question. I really appreciate your ministry. I have a sister-in-law, and her husband and her two kids go to a seeker-sensitive church that pretty much just preaches a sophomorely zone.

There's no gospel. I've had conversations with them in the past about this, and she now sees that it's an error and that she's missing out on the essentials of church. But her husband's fully committed.

He's quite loyal to what they're doing there. And so she's in a weird spot now where she's not sure what to do in terms of coming under the spiritual headship of her family or deciding that she needs to get her and her youngest son out of the church. Her oldest son now comes to church with me. But I'm just trying to figure out or ask the question of what might be the wise direction for her to take going forward.

Yeah, Brian, this sounds like a really difficult situation. We want to pray for your sister-in-law, especially as she seeks to love and honor her husband, but above all else, lead the family and be in a place where the gospel is being preached first and foremost. There's nothing more important than that. Churches can have, as you know, the title church. There are churches on all sorts of street corners that actually don't really deserve even to be called churches because the gospel is not preached there. The marks of the true church are the faithful preaching of the gospel, the right administration of the ordinances or the sacraments that Jesus gave to the church, and discipline.

The church governed the way in which Jesus commanded the church to be governed. If churches don't have that, chiefly the preaching of the gospel, then I would say, yeah, they're not churches that anyone should attend. We shouldn't be in those churches. They might make people feel good.

It might be a great show. It might be an entertaining message. But if the gospel is not being preached, then we really ought not to go there.

In this situation, it sounds like the tough thing is her husband wants to stick around there. I wonder if even just saying, hey, can we begin to check out other churches, visit other churches where the gospel is being preached because this is so important? I just think about what Paul says in Romans 1 verse 16 where he said, I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also for the Greek. In other words, it's only in places where the gospel is being faithfully preached that we are going to experience the power of God at work in our lives today.

It's through the gospel that we've experienced the presence of God's Spirit and the growth and grace that each of us needs. I wonder, Brian, if her husband would be open to visiting other churches? You said that he likes this church. Do you think that he'd be open to checking out other churches potentially? The thing about it is they've had the conversation in the past and he just gets really defensive. He's kind of in a position where he will say that he doesn't like theology or he doesn't want to discuss the Bible because he thinks that everyone can have their own interpretation.

So it's been difficult trying to explain reasons why that he doesn't just automatically shut down from preference. Yeah, a really, really tough situation. As you know, if you're going to a church where the gospel isn't preached, then the power of God is not going to be at work there. And yet, in a situation like this, would you just tell the wife to leave and go to a different church apart from her husband? I would say, man, we need to pray for wisdom for your sister-in-law.

Wives are called to submit to their husbands insofar as we're not being called to sin. In this situation, it's really difficult because here, it sounds to me like he's wanting to stick around at this church that's maybe spiritually dead. There's not a faithful ministry there. The gospel is not being faithfully preached. So praying for him that his heart would be softened, maybe that he would be willing to visit other churches and experience the power of the gospel as it's preached and realize, boy, I've been missing this.

There's something distinct here that I haven't experienced. And praying also for your sister-in-law that the Lord would give her grace, patience, wisdom. There may come a point where she just says, look, I need to go somewhere else because the word of God is not being preached here. This is in a church and God calls me to be in a true church.

And if the gospel is not being preached, it's not a church. So it could come to the point where she feels like I do for the sake of my own soul and my family need to be in a church that actually is a church. But that's going to require a lot of wisdom and prayer.

And I don't want to just give an answer from my vantage point here, not knowing the entire situation. But let me just pray for your sister-in-law right now and also for her husband. Gracious Father, you know all things. You know this situation, God, and we know that apart from sound theology, apart from truly growing in your word, God, that really churches don't provide us with anything. Lord, if a church is not preaching the gospel faithfully, if it's not digging into the scriptures, Lord, it could be a social club, it could be all sorts of things, but it's not what you call it to be. And Father, I pray for this couple in particular that you would get them plugged into a church where your word is faithfully taught, where your spirit is at work. Would you work in this husband, Lord, giving him a sense of longing, Lord, not for argumentation, not for debate about theology, but just for the meat of your gospel. Lord, there's nothing sweeter than that. And would you give him a sense of longing for that and an openness, Lord, to listen to the wife of his voice as she raises some of these concerns. Lord, that he would listen to her and that you would be with her giving her patience and wisdom as well in this situation, that you would minister to her in a special way, Lord God, nourishing her by your grace, by your word, and just being with her and with the entire family we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

Amen. And Brian, if you go to our website at corechristianity.com, we actually have a great core question, which might be helpful for this couple. It's called, how do I choose a church? Maybe as she goes through that material with her husband, perhaps he will see that the church he's going to does not really measure up as far as biblical standards go. So it's called, how do I choose a church?

You can find that on our website corechristianity.com forward slash questions. Let's go to Terry in Fenton, Missouri. Terry, what's your question for Pastor Adriel? Hi, Pastor.

I really enjoy your show. My grandson and I have a question. We just had to put down our family pet.

She was just about 17. And we just wanted to know if there was somewhere in the Bible that says that we will be reunited with her again. Well, Terry, thank you so much for your call and I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your family pet.

I know that that can be just real sad, really devastating even. And we give thanks to God for the goodness of his creation for pets that we can have and enjoy. And so to your question, there isn't a specific verse in the Bible that says that our pets are going to be with us in heaven. We do know that the whole creation groans for the revealing of the sons of God, that God is going to redeem, if you will, in one sense the entire world that's been corrupted by sin. And that that redemption comes through the work of Jesus Christ. But the created world isn't the object of redemption in the exact same way that we are. Our sins are forgiven. We have access to the new creation, to heaven through the blood of Jesus Christ.

But it's also through his work that the whole world is going to be renewed. And when you go to the end of the Bible, you have this picture of a new heavens and a new earth, a new creation. And I do believe that there are going to be animals and pets even, perhaps, there in the new creation. Now, will my particular dog be with me there in the new creation?

I'm not sure. The Bible doesn't say. But I do think that we can take comfort in the fact that we know that God is good, that God gives us good gifts.

God is creation. He calls us to care for them. I would say giving thanks to the Lord for this pet that you had and for the time that you guys had together.

And then just looking to the Lord and saying, Lord, I know you're good. I'm not sure what the future holds. But we do know that in the new creation, it's going to be glorious. It's going to be wonderful. And there's going to be perfect peace. We're not going to feel as though we're missing anything there because we're going to be in the presence of the Lord himself. So I want to be careful not to speculate about something that the Bible doesn't say specifically. Is my specific pet going to be there in heaven?

But I do believe that the new creation is going to have animals. So maybe. I'm not sure. And I think that's all that we can say. And may the Lord give comfort to you and to your grandson in this time. Thank you again for giving us a call.

Appreciate your support. You know, Adriel, I took my dog to a harvest crusade and he made a commitment, so I'm pretty sure he's going to be with me. Did he say the prayer, Bill?

Did he say the sinner's prayer? Yeah, that's right. Well, I've had a couple of pets that I was were certain were reprobate. So, you know, just definitely, you know, dogs that bit or cats that would scratch that kind of a thing.

So I don't know about those, but maybe your dog, Bill, you can have some. OK, thank you. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. If you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life or pets, you can call us 833-THECORE. That's 1-833-843-2673.

Let's go to a voicemail we received from one of our callers. Do we have to sell all that we have in today's economy and obey the book of Luke chapter 18 verses 18 to 22, sell everything and then give the money to the poor in today's economy? Or was it just for the rich young ruler? Do we also have to do that, too?

Yeah, thank you for this question. I love this story with the rich young ruler that approaches Jesus. And of course, on a number of occasions in the Gospels, when Jesus talks about following him, he indicates that to follow him looks like not just, oh yeah, you know, I'm going to add a little bit of religion to my life or, you know, go to church occasionally, that kind of a thing, which is, I think, how a lot of people think about Christianity. It's just sort of something I add to my life, my already busy life, when I have time for God or for Jesus. And yet Jesus said, actually, that's not what it looks like to follow me.

To follow me, you know, to follow me looks like everything else in your life, every other relationship even, being eclipsed by your commitment to me. And I think that that's one of the things that Jesus is highlighting here in Luke's Gospel with the rich young ruler, beginning in verse 18. It says, A ruler 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 commit adultery. Do not murder. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness.

Honor your father and mother. And he said, and this is how the rich young ruler responded to Jesus, All these I have kept from my youth. When Jesus heard this, he said to him, One thing you still lack, sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come follow me.

But when he heard these things, the ruler became very sad, for he was extremely rich. And Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God, for it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. And those who heard it said, Then who can be saved? But Jesus said, What is impossible with man is possible with God.

Now I think the rich young ruler totally didn't understand the depth of his own sin. You know, he says, What do I need to do to enter into heaven? Jesus points him to the law. The Ten Commandments. Okay, you know, don't murder.

Don't steal. Don't commit adultery. And this rich young ruler says, I've done all that from my youth. I've kept the law. Now, of course, you know, in the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus talks about obedience to the law, he says, If you even look at a person with lustful intent, you've already committed adultery in your heart. In other words, you know, he takes the law and he shows us it's not just about our external actions, but even about what's going on in our hearts.

And I don't think the rich young ruler understood that. He thinks that he's been pretty good, that he's done enough, that he has, you know, essentially kept the law to the point of being able to inherit eternal life. What do I, what else do I got to do, Jesus?

I've done it all. And Jesus helps to expose the fact that he hasn't. It seems to me like Jesus is focusing in on something that he knows that it is. He's going to get the rich young ruler's attention.

He says, Okay, look, there's still something you're missing. Sell everything you have and distribute it to the poor and you'll have treasure in heaven and come and follow me. It sounds to me like this rich young ruler was still clinging to money, to riches. And you know what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount?

He says, actually, that's the same thing as idolatry. You can't serve God and money. And this rich young ruler here is forced to make a decision.

Who am I going to serve? My riches or Jesus? See, he really hadn't kept the law. And the fact of the matter is no one, not one of us by virtue of our keeping the law will ever inherit eternal life. Because the fact of the matter is none of us, all of us have sinned and fallen short of God's glory. We've all broken God's law.

We've all we've all broken the commandments of God. And that's why we're hopeless apart from God. And isn't that what Jesus seems to indicate here? Who can be saved then, the disciples say. And Jesus says, with man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.

What the rich young ruler needed was a little bit of humility. He needed to realize that he was a sinner. And when we recognize that, that we're sinners, we come to God broken, realizing that we've failed to keep the law and we're able to receive his grace. And then, as recipients of his grace, we turn and we follow him. We commit ourselves to him in a way that we recognize. There's no other relationship, there's no other thing that's more important in life than Jesus. To follow Jesus, friends, is not this sort of light decision.

Something I might choose to do when the time comes or when I feel like I've gotten to do my own thing for long enough and then I'll sort of become religious or add a little bit of religion. No, Jesus is Lord and he demands our allegiance. He demands your allegiance and he gives you his grace.

He gives you his very own body and blood, the forgiveness of sins, so that in him you might be renewed and so that you might follow him. And that's what the rich young ruler needed. He just didn't know he needed grace yet. He thought he had kept the law perfectly and that was the problem with him.

And frankly, there are many people today who have that problem still, who think that they measure up when in reality they don't. And so Jesus brings the law to us and he reveals to us our need of his grace and of his gospel. Thanks for that call. It all starts with repentance and humility. Boy, this is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Some great questions today and we want to let you know if you're a parent or a grandparent, we have a new free resource that we'd like to make available to you today. Yeah, Bill, I have four children and I'm frequently, you know, surprised by the things that the Lord teaches me and my wife through our children.

It really is wonderful to see and this is actually something that you see throughout the gospels as well. Jesus uses children as an example of faith. He says, you know, you got to become like the little children. We've created this core guide. It's called Seven Things Children Teach Us. I want you to get a hold of this resource. We are called as parents to raise our children in the fear of the Lord, but the Lord tells us to look at them in order to learn more about himself as well. So get this free resource, Seven Things Children Teach Us. You can head over to corechristianity.com forward slash offers to download that Seven Things Children Teach Us.

You can also call us for that resource or any one of our resources at 833-THE-CORE. Well, let's go to Kenny calling in from Memphis, Tennessee. Kenny, what's your question for Pastor Adriel?

Hey, thank you for taking my call and enjoying the show. My question was Romans chapter 1 verse 31 about those who know the judgment of God. Not only do the things, but take pledge to those who do it through their consent and approver. So my question is, should Christians give their consent and approver to a political party or a politician that we know promote ideas and platforms that contradict the word of God?

Yeah, this is a sticky question. I mean, obviously, we shouldn't give our approval to or, you know, the sort of thumbs up to anything that is contrary to God's word. And here in particular, as Paul is talking in Romans chapter 1, he's highlighting the universal sinfulness of mankind, the fact that all of us have sinned and that apart from the grace of God, we're completely lost. And here in particular, he's referring to the Gentiles and the fact that God has given them over to dishonorable passions back in verse 26.

And he begins to lift a number of the things that they were doing there. Women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature. Men, likewise, gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another. Men committing shameless acts with men receiving in themselves a due penalty for their error. They didn't want to acknowledge God, Paul says, and so God gave them over to a debased mind to do what they should not do.

And then he says, you know, he goes on to talk about those who give hearty approval in verse 32, that though they knew God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them, but give approval to those who practice them. And so there's a very serious warning here about how we also talk about these kinds of things and whether or not we're sort of just turning the blind eye or giving a stamp of approval. It is sort of a complex situation when we're thinking about, you know, civil rulers, government rulers, because the fact of the matter is every single politician is going to probably align himself with something that's going to be outside of God's word.

I mean, you know, we don't have like a Christian president per se or party, if you will. This is a huge issue, and that's why it requires wisdom to approach this. And we're trying to apply biblical wisdom and to, when we're engaging in the sort of broader civil society, you know, bring about things or pursue things that are going to be for the good of our neighbors. And certainly things like sexual immorality is not for the good of our neighbors. It leads to destruction and corruption. And so we have to keep that in mind as we think about the decisions that we make when it comes to engaging in politics and that kind of a thing.

And so it's a question of wisdom, though, in terms of, you know, supporting one particular candidate or another. And I appreciate your question, and I hope the Lord blesses your day. You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. One of the ways you can ask a question is by emailing us.

Here's the email address. It's questions at corechristianity.com. Christy wrote to us, and she says, I have a mental block when it comes to prayer. I blank and I can't think of much to say. How can I strengthen my prayer life? It's hard when I don't feel any sort of spiritual connection. Yeah, Christy, I can relate.

And I think probably everyone listening right now can relate to you as well. What do you do when you sit down and you try to pray, but you just don't have the words? Well, one, Jesus gives us the words, doesn't he? In Matthew chapter six, where he taught his disciples how to pray, they ask him, you know, in Luke's account, you know, teach us how to pray. And Jesus responds with the Lord's Prayer. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.

Amen. And so one thing that can be helpful is even just taking that prayer, Christy, and focusing on each petition there, maybe going through it slowly and meditating on the words that the Lord Jesus gave to us and praying as Jesus taught us to pray. We really have all sorts of prayers in scripture that we can use when we feel like we don't have the prayer ourselves.

And the fact of the matter is, is there are a lot of times where we feel like this. Maybe it's about a depression, maybe it's sickness, maybe it's just sort of that spiritual drought that we can feel from time to time. And, you know, we sit down to pray and nothing comes to mind. Well, take advantage of the prayers that are given to us in Holy Scripture. The entire book of Psalms is a book of prayers. And there are, you know, Psalms that were written, I think, when the Psalmist was going through something very similar, when he's going through a very dry season.

And so I would say, take advantage of that. Go to the Psalms and pray those prayers. Another thing that I found helpful is a prayer journal. Maybe sitting down and writing down your prayers helps you to stay focused and to think through what it is that you're saying. And may the Lord bless you as you seek to draw near to him in prayer because it really is such a blessing to pray. When you contact us, please let us know how you've been encouraged by this program and be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's word together.