Mark 12:32-34

Mark 12:32-34  “Well said, teacher,” the man replied.  “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him.  To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”  When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”  And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions. 

You are not far, BUT you are not in the kingdom.  The aspect of love is important, for God is love.  But actions and emotions alone do not allow us to enter the kingdom of God.  Many people have tried this avenue to get into the kingdom of God.  Many preachers who deny the divinity of Jesus preach this message of doing good and loving others almost every Sunday morning.  However, even though the message is important and positive, it does not contain the key to opening the gate to the kingdom of heaven.  The key is faith in Jesus Christ, for He is THE GATE, THE DOOR, THE WAY.  Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep.  All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.  I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.  He will come in and go out, and find pasture.  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.  (John 10:7-10)  Life originated in the Creator, Jesus, the Son of the living God.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of men.  (John 1:3)  AND THROUGH HIM IS ETERNAL LIFE: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  (John 3:16-17)  

There is no substitute for believing in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.  There is no other way to eternal life.  You might be a very good person, maybe the best, but without Christ you are hopelessly lost in your sins, for you don't have a propitiation for your sins.  Without him there is no one who can cleanse your life, no one who can take away your sins.  That is the message of the gospel, the message that changed the world.  That is the message of the angels who announced that the Christ had come to Earth in the form of a baby.  “Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.  (Luke 2:10-11)  The "good news" is not that love has come to Earth, even though God is love.  The "good news" was that a Savior has been born to you.  And who is He?  He is CHRIST THE LORD, our Savior, Redeemer, and soon coming King.  When we accept Jesus into our lives, we accept him as Lord.  It is no longer we who live; it is Christ who lives in us.  From that time on, we are his.  We are His sheep, the sheep of his pastures.  And his sheep hear his voice: we follow him.  Eventually, we will follow him into heaven, there to abide eternally.  The glorious message is that a Savior has come to Earth, not necessarily that we are good.  We are forever his, children of the Most High.  Amen!