In Luke 18.27 the Lord Jesus is recorded as saying: “The
things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” We all know the
context in which the Lord said this word. A young man had come to Him and
asked, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (v.18) Since he asked what he
should do, the Lord answered, “Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit
adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor thy
father and mother” (v.20). Our Lord mentioned these five commandments to show
that there were things to do and things not to do if anyone thought of
inheriting eternal life (the uncreated life of God) by works. The young man
regarded himself as having observed all these commandments from his youth up.
But the Lord reminded him, “One thing thou lackest yet” (v.22a).
There is a principle to be learned from this passage. When
the young man asked the Lord what he should do to inherit eternal life, our
Lord told him only five of the commandments. Why not tell him all? Why, after
having mentioned but five of them, did the Lord add, “One thing thou lackest
yet”? The only reason was to let him know his inability. Eternal life is a
gift; it is God’s grace; it cannot be earned by man’s works. But the young man
did not understand; he even boasted that he had observed all five of these
commandments from his youth. The Lord knew, however, that there was one thing
this young man could not do; so He added, “One thing thou lackest yet?” And we
know the end of the story: the young man failed to inherit by works.
Now concerning this matter of victory, it runs along the
same principle. Some of you may claim that you are not as proud or jealous or
hard as many other people. In fact, you may be better in many areas of life
than are others. Yet God knows there is one area in your life which you cannot
overcome. He leaves this thing in you to cause you to see that with man this is
impossible. You deduce you can do all things because you have not committed
adultery, murdered, stolen, or borne false witness and have honored your
parents. Were anyone to ask you if you have overcome, you would probably answer
that you have overcome in this thing and that thing. And you would thus reckon
that all is well. However, the question today is not how many things you have overcome,
but is there one particular thing you cannot overcome? God allows this thing to
remain in your life so as to convince you of your inability.
We have already seen that God’s verdict for us is that we
deserve to be crucified. For He knows us through and through. He knows we
cannot overcome sin, nor can we even do good. He has seen us through clearly
but we see ourselves dimly. So that when God declares we are worthless and
useless, we still consider ourselves to be somewhat good and useful.
Notwithstanding our claim to be good, however, God declares to each of us: “One
thing thou lackest yet.” Some people are troubled by their hot temper; others,
by their hardness. One may not be proud or jealous, but his hardness always
follows him: “One thing thou lackest yet” There must be one area which he has
not overcome, one sin that he has no power to conquer. Someone may not be proud
or jealous or hard or hot-tempered, but his mouth operates incessantly. He
cannot live without talking. He may proclaim that he has committed neither this
nor that nor the other sin, but the Lord will say to him, “One thing thou
lackest yet.” Or someone else is tight with money. Throughout his life he has
not committed any gross sin; nonetheless, he commits the sin of greediness. The
love of money is the basic ingredient of his conduct. Hence God says to him:
“One thing thou lackest yet.” And this one thing proves his inability. People
long to have a perfect life manifested in them, but they have one thing which
testifies against them. Thus the first condition is to confess this one thing.
With some, it is pride; with others, it is jealousy; with some, it is
talkativeness; with others, it is unclean thoughts. And with many, it is even more
than one thing.
What was the Lord trying to say?
Salvation is impossible with men; life eternal is impossible with men; victory
is impossible with men; abundant life is impossible with men. Yet the young man
refused to believe he was unable. How bold, strong and confident were the
phrases that passed from his lips: “from my youth up,” “all these things,” “I
have observed.” What a majestic-sounding answer! How elated he must have felt!
He thought he had all in his life under control. But the Lord responded with:
“One thing thou lackest yet” You may argue that you do not have the sins of
pride, jealousy, hardness, impure thoughts, or talkativeness that I have mentioned.
But let me echo our Lord Jesus: “One thing thou lackest yet.” Go alone to God’s
presence and ponder what thing it is that you lack.
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