06.01. "Sell All That You Posses"

CHAPTER 6 - “Sell All That You Posses”

We now come to a great lesson in the story of the rich young ruler, a lesson which pertains to us all, not just the rich. We have previously learned that the Lord Jesus was truly trying to show the young man how to have eternal life in the next age. In the case of the rich young ruler, the Lord was trying to point out a fundamental problem which was keeping him from gaining entry into the coming Kingdom. It is this fundamental problem that will now be dealt with in this chapter. Most believers think that if we could just conquer sin we would be pleasing to God. Of course, sin is a detriment to our relationship with God and can cause us to miss the Kingdom enjoyment (1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 5:5). As respects moral matters that we normally classify as sin, however, the rich young ruler had kept these commandments (Matthew 19:17-20)! Jesus was desirous, however, of touching another matter with this young man, something apart from the issue of sin and morality. According to the Biblical revelation, he still lacked something beyond the realm of “sin”. After the man said he had kept the commandments from his youth, Jesus said to him, “One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess, and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven, and come, follow Me” (Luke 18:22). After the young man went away grieved, the Lord stated this great lesson of discipleship: “. . . Truly, I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:23-24). Though you may not be “rich”, please do not start feeling comfortable. You will see how the problem the Lord was addressing is seen clearly in the rich man, but it is a problem that grips us all. We must try to explore the depth of meaning of this lesson in light of the whole record of Scripture. Was the Lord simply saying that only “rich” people will have a hard time getting into the coming Kingdom? What is the problem with “riches” anyway? Put simply , the riches here represent man’s self-indulgent enjoyment and preoccupation with the things of this world. Such enjoyment so occupies and usurps man that man is unable to fully follow the Lord. The Lord Jesus’ requirement for the young man (beyond the moral commandments), was stated in an exceedingly simple way--just dispose of your possessions and “come, follow Me.” As believers, don’t we want to “follow the Lord” ? If we do, then we must learn the lesson presented here. We must come to grips with the issue of “selling all that we possess.” In application, the Lord is not just dealing with rich people. Based upon this encounter, the Lord spoke of “everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake” (Matthew 19:29). Houses, family and farms do not necessarily equate with being rich, so this means the Lord broadened the principle of the “rich man” to include us all. From the world’s perspective, a rich man has certain advantages. He seems to have a great security. “A rich man’s wealth is his strong city. And like a high wall in his own imagination” (Proverbs 18:11). He can have a life of ease, comfort, and pleasure (see Luke 12:16-19). The rich man is also accorded special recognition by others (James 2:2-3). However, these very items (security, ease, comfort, pleasure, and recognition) are the ones that we must be willing to give up if we are to be His disciples. The World

Beyond sin, we believers face a problem that is related to what the Bible calls “the world”. The world (kosmos, Greek), in the sense we are speaking of here, means the entire ordered arrangement of things in human society. Of course, sin is included within the expansive realm of the world, but the world encompasses many things that are not strictly “sin” in the moral sense. Note these words from the apostle John: Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15-17) This passage from First John tells us that the world system has some built-in lusts, or strong desires, that are common to men within the system. The lust of the flesh refers to the passionate desires of our bodies, and the lust of the eyes refers to the longings of the soul of man to possess and experience things seen through the eyes. The boastful pride of life is that sense of pride that springs up within man and may stem from a myriad of sources: success, talent, looks, wealth, position, family, accomplishment, nationality, etc. Now, imagine yourself as the rich, young ruler that came to the Lord. Jesus has just told you that you need to sell all that you have and give the proceeds to the poor. What “losses” will flash through your mind? All of the opportunities to pamper and please yourself are suddenly gone. Your menu of steaks and rich foods is now replaced by beans, and you don’t even know how you will get them. All the pleasures that you enjoyed--the outings, the banquets given for friends, the sporting activities, the travel, the splendid flocks, the fine clothes--all of these are gone forever. Finally, the recognition and attention you were accustomed to as an important person of wealth are destined to end abruptly. “The poor is hated even by his neighbor, but those who love the rich are many” (Proverbs 14:20). So, we can understand that this cost was considered too great by the rich young ruler. He had wanted to inherit eternal life, but the price was too high. He went away sorrowful.

Self-denial

    A comparison of two verses will demonstrate that what the Lord required of the rich man was just a specific application of the general requirement for all disciples.

Jesus was calling the rich man to discipleship, to follow Him and learn of Him. To understand what this discipleship involves, we need to look carefully at Matthew 16:24-28 to see how relevant were Christ’s words to the rich man. Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it. For what will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and will then recompense every man according to his deeds. Truly, I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who shall not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom. (Matthew 16:24-28) Please notice several key words in this portion of God’s word. One key word is soul (psuche) in Matthew 16:26. In the Greek, this same word appears in Matthew 16:25 translated as “life”. So the life in Matthew 16:25 refers to the same thing as the soul in Matthew 16:26. Further, the term “himself” in Matthew 16:24, although not the word psuche, refers to the soul also. This is proven by the parallel passage in Luke, where Luke 9:25 speaks of forfeiting “himself” but Matthew 16:26 speaks of forfeiting his “soul”. So the three terms “himself”, “life”, and “soul” all refer to the same thing here in Matthew 16:1-28. Remember that the soul is that part of man that contains the mind, the emotion and the will of man. Thus the soul is really the very life (the inner, non-physical life) of man. One writer has stated that “the word ‘soul’ signifies, as we have said, the natural or personal life of the individual man, in the broadest sense, including all the experiences, sensations, and emotions pertaining thereto.” Further, this passage speaks of one denying himself and taking up his cross (Matthew 16:24). Then, since Matthew 16:25 starts with an explanatory “for”, we naturally must consider such self-denial as equivalent to “losing one’s soul.” The contrast to losing one’s soul is to save it. Remember that the word for “to save,” sozo, means “to save, make whole, preserve from danger, loss, destruction.”

Now, let’s put these thoughts together and begin to understand this passage. Jesus is teaching concerning saving one’s soul, that is, keeping it from loss or destruction, versus losing one’s soul, that is, allowing it to suffer loss. Look at the verses that just precede this section (read Matthew 16:21-23). Here Jesus was telling His disciples that “He must go to Jerusalem and suffer” (Matthew 16:21). Peter, inspired by Satan, immediately tried to stop this! He did not want Jesus to suffer! Jesus rebuked him, declaring that Peter’s mind-set was completely wrong: “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men” (Matthew 16:23, NKJV). Fallen man wishes only to please his soul, doing what keeps it whole and happy, preserving it from any suffering or loss. Jesus immediately gave the needed teaching after Peter expressed the natural thought of man. Jesus taught His disciples that if anyone wished to come after Him (to really follow Him), that person must be willing to deny himself and take up his cross. That person must be willing to lose his soul. This could mean to the point of physical death, martyrdom, if need be, although that is not the explicit point here. Jesus is not teaching that every disciple must so prove himself by being a martyr. Only God’s sovereign will decides who will be martyred; it is not our decision. But God wants us to be willing to deny ourselves so completely. In our experience, what does it really mean to “deny ourselves”, “take up the cross”, and “lose our soul”? A few quotes from some insightful teachers will help us here. Watchman Nee comments: “Let him deny himself”--Denying the self means disregarding one’s self or renouncing one’s privileges. To deny oneself denotes a setting aside of the self in seeking the mind of God, so that in all things he may not follow his own mind nor be self-centered. . . . “And take up his cross, and follow Me”--this is even deeper than denying the self. For self-denying is only the disregarding of self whereas taking up the cross is obeying God. To take up the cross means to accept whatever God has decided for the person and to be willing to suffer according to the will of God. By denying the self and taking up the cross we may truly follow the Lord. In commenting on a parallel passage in John 12:25, Philip Mauro observes: Loving the soul signifies indulging it in the things it craves; and hating the soul signifies depriving it of those gratifications. . . . From the above passage (John 12:25) and from other Scriptures, it clearly appears, as we have already said, that the soul of man is that part of his being which is capable of experiencing sensations arising from relations with created things--“the world”. The actual functions of seeing, hearing, tasting, etc., are performed by the organs of the body; but the experiences and emotions resulting therefrom are realized in the soul. Watchman Nee also comments that, “To save the soul denotes gaining for oneself happiness and joy to his heart’s fullest satisfaction. To lose the soul, on the other hand, speaks of losing one’s joy, desire and satisfaction.” Additionally, he writes the following concerning the salvation of the soul: “Whoever shall lose his life for My sake”--This is the self-denial and cross-bearing spoken of in the preceding verse. Losing the soul is the same as denying the self. The Lord concedes that if for His sake anyone is willing to forsake all the pleasures of the soul and to suffer according to the will of God, he will find the soul. It simply means that whoever is willing for the sake of the Lord to deny his own thoughts and desires so as not to be satisfied with the things of the world but instead to undergo much suffering, he will at another time be given by the Lord his heart desire with full blessing and joy.

Finally, Philip Mauro states: “Manifestly, the expression ‘losing one’s soul’ is a strong figure of speech for voluntary parting with those things which delight or gratify the soul.” Now we can return again for a moment to the rich ruler. What was the problem that Jesus was addressing? This rich man was not willing to “lose his soul” in order to follow the Lord. He enjoyed the pleasures of this world. The pleasures he indulged himself in were not immoral things, as has already been noted. The pleasures were just “the good things of life.” His refusal to give up his riches simply unveils his refusal to give up the enjoyment of this world. He was unwilling to suffer such a loss to his soul. Let us look again at Matthew 16:1-28. “For what will a man be profited if he gains the whole world” (Matthew 16:26). “Gaining the world” is linked to ‘saving the life [soul]” (Matthew 16:25). The fallen soul of man seeks its gratification in the things of this world. In this world, the earthly realm of human society, there are many attractions for man’s soul. Indeed, the Bible tells us that the world itself is “outfitted”, in a sense, with man’s desires for gratification; these desires are built into the world system and feed upon it for satisfaction. “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away, and also its lusts” (1 John 2:16-17). Jesus has spoken here that a man will not “be profited if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul” (Matthew 16:26). In other words, even if a person could somehow gain all the benefit and pleasure that could be derived from the entire world, this “income” of pleasure could not produce a profit for him when it is offset by the forfeiture (or loss) of his soul! Dear Christian, here is a statement we must seriously think about. What does it mean? Consider that the next verse explains it, because the next verse again starts with a connective or explanatory “for”. “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and will THEN RECOMPENSE every man ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS” (Matthew 16:27). What the Lord Jesus is telling us here in these verses (Matthew 16:24-27) is that if a believer decides to save his soul now, in this life, “he shall [future tense] lose it” (Matthew 16:25), or forfeit it, when Christ returns and renders judgment upon us according to our deeds. To lose your soul, therefore, means that your soul will suffer loss at that time. And the loss to your soul at that time will be so great that it will more than offset the pleasure your soul could have gained during your lifetime if it had been possible for you to “gain the whole world”! We are talking about the potential here of a very significant future loss to the believer. Dear Christian, we must take this word of our Lord very seriously. The future gain for the believer (“shall find it”--future tense, Matthew 16:25), or the future loss (“shall lose it”--future tense, Matthew 16:25), according to the context, involves the Lord’s recompense at His return and the coming Kingdom. A believer who denies the self (loses the soul) in this age will be rewarded with “finding his soul”, that is, having his soul experience joy, pleasure and satisfaction in the coming Kingdom age. Conversely, a believer who does not allow his soul to suffer loss in this age, will receive a recompense from the Lord that will cause his soul to suffer loss in the Kingdom age. The recompense in Matthew 16:27 is tied to the Kingdom in Matthew 16:28, and the glory of the Kingdom is depicted in the verses that follow. Matthew 17:1-8 (cf. 2 Peter 1:16-18) is a preview of the coming Kingdom. Notice that only the closest disciples were chosen to go with the Lord onto the Mount of Transfiguration. The transfiguration is a foreshadow of Christ in His glory during the coming age. Participation in the glories of that age is a reward, dependent upon self-denial. This is also in view in the story of the rich young ruler (see Luke 18:24-30). The World’s Influence

We need to look further at the topic of the world and its effect upon the believer so that we can see how the Holy Spirit is trying to work in our lives. We are in the world system. If we could have God’s unhindered spiritual sight, we would most certainly be amazed at how much we are unconsciously and adversely influenced by the world system around us. It is needful for us to recall that we are in a spiritual battle. Our adversary, the Devil, is “the ruler of this world [kosmos]” (John 12:31). Further, “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one [Satan]” (1 John 5:19). He is not only the ruler of the kosmos, but he is also termed “the god of this age [aion]” (2 Corinthians 4:4, NKJV). The current age (aion) is nothing more than the present form of the kosmos, or world system, which takes on different forms throughout history. Satan is a terribly powerful being and the Bible depicts him as very subtle (working insidiously, secretly, or imperceptibly) (Genesis 3:1), and extremely deceitful (2 Corinthians 11:3; Revelation 12:9). The Second Chapter of Ephesians shows us how, through the kosmos, he works in man to place man essentially under his control. …you formerly walked according to the course [aion] of this world [kosmos], according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. (Ephesians 2:2-3). Although these verses speak of how all believers once lived in such a condition, as is the common lot of all unbelievers, they do not indicate that we are no longer subject to being deceived by Satan’s world after conversion. The world is still an active enemy of the Christian after conversion (James 4:1-10; 1 John 2:15). The interesting thing in the verses cited above from Ephesians is that they show how Satan (the prince of the power of the air) exercises control over people by getting them to follow, to go along with, “the course and fashion of this world . . . under the sway of the tendency of this present age” (Ephesians 2:2, AMP). How can this be? Simply put, it is because the course of this world is designed, by Satanic forces, to appeal to the cravings within man. “Among these we as well as you once lived and conducted ourselves in the passions of the flesh--our behavior governed by our corrupted and sensual nature; obeying the impulses of the flesh and the thoughts of the mind” (Ephesians 2:3, AMP). Notice that not only the lusts of the flesh are involved, but also the “thoughts of the mind”. Remember how Satan worked within Peter’s mind to object to the Lord’s suffering (Matthew 16:21-23). Also, Romans 12:2 admonishes us: “And do not be conformed to this world [aion, age], but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Any conformity we have to the world’s ways is due to our mind not having been renewed in particular matters. Satan’s goal in so using the world (kosmos), which is under his control, is simple. It is to keep people from knowing God, loving God, serving God, obeying God and growing in God. He uses the world to attract, distract and preoccupy people, whether believers or unbelievers, so that they will not know God or progress with God. The Greek word for “world” is kosmos, which means system or organization. Satan not only employs the necessities of life, such as people, activities and things, to preoccupy man, he furthermore organizes them into numerous individual systems in order to intensify his grip upon man. The world today resembles a university, in which are many different departments, such as eating, drinking, clothing, marriage, funerals, literature, music, money and fame--more than we can enumerate. The aggregate result is a world university, occupying man with many courses. One by one, these courses enslave and possess man, causing him to completely forsake and forget God and go along with the current of the world. Man believes that he is handling and enjoying all these, but actually, without realizing Satan’s deception, he has fallen into the hands of the evil one and is controlled and tricked by him. Therefore, the world denotes the enemy’s scheme, system, and organization to usurp the place of God in man and finally to gain full possession of man. This quote shows us that the world has many departments, much like a university. Some of the departments will fit the “taste” of some people more than others. One person may be attracted by sports while another might enjoy recreational reading. This world offers attractions and activities that suit every kind of personality. Satan’s world also contains a huge religion department, with one section carrying a Christian label. Remember that he “disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14), meaning that he can disguise his activities as “Christian.” All Christian activities must be put to the test. What is their source? Do they glorify Christ exclusively? Are they thoroughly Biblical? Does the Spirit bear witness? Are the activities so designed to strictly build up and nourish the spirit? I regret to tell you that my spiritual discernment convinces me that many of today’s Christian activities and projects are not of the Lord. And, in respect to the point here, many “Christian” activities today, I strongly fear, are designed to appeal to the soul of man. These activities simply gratify the soul’s natural likes and longings. In other words, these activities are helping Christians “save” (preserve) their souls today. Any such activity would be inspired by subtle demonic forces, working through the souls of seemingly well-meaning believers. Was not Peter, the great apostle, himself deceived (Matthew 16:23)? The world is designed to rob God of our love. The apostle John wrote to Christians, “Stop loving the world, or the things that are in the world. If anyone persists in loving the world, there is no love of the Father in his heart” (1 John 2:15, Williams). Do you feel that your love of God and Christ has waned? If so, it is probably because your affections are on the things of this world. Our love for God is to be supreme (Luke 10:27). We should love our families, but we must be careful that our heart loves Christ foremost. This is also a matter related to the salvation of our souls: He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take up his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life shall lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake shall find it (Matthew 10:37-39; see also Luke 14:26-27). In the materialistic society of the western world, possessions and the enjoyment of amusements and recreation have become a great snare to the people of God. The majority of believers have been influenced by the “course of this world”. The mind-set here is that of a “consumer” society: Get a good job so you can make lots of money. Use your money to buy whatever you want (in other words, please your soul --save it!). When you think of a car, don’t think “transportation”. Instead, think status, think power, think leather seats. Think what will make you feel good! Always think in terms of “moving up” to a better neighborhood and a bigger house with more amenities. Be sure to get the latest fashion, and don’t neglect getting the proper name brand, especially one that can be “recognized”, maybe by a distinctive logo. Now is the time to have more hobbies; this is the leisure life! Since you like sports, why not a season ticket? You can afford filet mignon now; it’s your money, so forget the hamburger! ENJOY YOURSELF! Dear brother or sister, is not God disgusted with this attitude? If you believe the money you earn is your money--which you can spend however you like in order to enjoy yourself--then based upon the authority of the Word of God you need to repent. The attitude of the materialistic consumer society in the western world is utterly against God’s Word: He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. If therefore you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous mammon, who will entrust the true riches to you? And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another’s [namely God’s], who will give you that which is your own? (Luke 16:10-12). “So therefore, no one of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions” (Luke 14:33). (Here Christ speaks of our willingness to let go of all of our possessions. This is the opposite of the attitude that wants to increase and enjoy possessions.) Besides robbing God of our love and affection, preoccupation with the things of this world prevents us from serving God and from doing His will. This truth was taught by Jesus Himself: “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). God wants to meet our legitimate needs. If we, however, attempt to fulfill our lusts, seeking satisfaction in possessions and pleasures beyond our legitimate human needs, then we have been caught by Satan’s world and are guilty of saving our soul. We have been deceived by the mind-set of the world. “What God allows is restricted to natural requirement; and hence we should only seek for the supply of needs and not the gratification of lusts!” Dear Christian, may I ask you to think about some questions? Why did you buy the car you now have? What influenced your decision on where to live? Do you need all the clothes that you buy? Or, did it just make you “feel good” to buy special things that just please your soul? What about your hobbies and leisure time activities? How much attention do you pay to them? How much entertainment and television do you indulge in for pleasure? Are you a great sports fan? Do you crave good novels? How much affection do you have toward the things you do in your “free time”? Are you a music lover that frequently goes to concerts? (I fear that even many “Christian” concerts may cater to the love of music rather than to the glory of God.) Do you welcome and cherish opportunities to be recognized and praised by others, thus feeding your inward pride? May God open our eyes to see how much we may be captured by the things of this world, robbing God of our love and service.

Preoccupation with Daily Affairs

Apart from the issue of pursuing the gratification of our lusts, the Bible indicates that even our involvement with things necessary to our human existence can become an entanglement to us. We all need clothes, food, houses, and jobs. Our families are also part of our fundamental human existence. Yet, these are things in the world and they can be sources of anxiety and preoccupation. To be overly involved in them is to be entangled in the world and usurped by it. Thus, we may not be able to fully love God, know God and His will, and serve God. Note the following observation: Actually, when a believer pursues the Lord, he is seldom usurped and entangled by things beyond his living necessities. On the contrary, he is usually usurped and entangled by things that are needed for living. Therefore, when the Lord on earth called people to follow Him, He did not ask man to forsake that which exceeded his daily needs, but stressed that he should forsake the involvements of his daily life, such as parents, wives, children, lands, houses, etc. If these necessities usurp man, they seize the Lord’s place in man. Of course, the Lord Jesus did not ask us to forsake our responsibility, but He desired us to relinquish the entanglements of people, activities and things. For this reason, in the Epistles, the Lord teaches us again through the Apostles that we should honor our parents, treat our wives fittingly and care for our relations, etc.” Therefore, we see that although the Lord warned that the rich would have difficulty in entering the Kingdom, his application of that teaching to the disciples made it clear that one must leave not only the excess riches, but even the necessities of life. Luke’s gospel tells us: And Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! . . . Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times as much at this time and in the age to come, eternal life (Luke 18:24; Luke 18:29-30).

Hints for Victory in Self-denial

How do we get released from the entanglements of the world? Do we literally sell all of our possessions? Do we move away from civilization to a kind of monastic environment? Let us first be very clear concerning one thing: the biblical answer is not asceticism. Asceticism involves the religious self-discipline of depriving one’s self of things good in themselves (food, warmth, comfort, etc.) for the sake of spiritual attainment. Paul condemned this practice as one that itself involves worldly principles! If you died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” (which all refer to things destined to perish with the using)--in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence (Colossians 2:20-23). Space does not permit us to detail here all of the spiritual helps related to disengaging the believer from the world. For this, the reader needs to consult the suggested reading list for help in Christian growth (especially Love Not the World by Watchman Nee). However, some observations now follow in overview. First, we need to be continually conscious of the “world” and the “saving of the soul” as issues for us, not thinking of immorality or “sin” as the sole issue. To this end, we should study the Scriptures on this subject and pray for God to enlighten us and sensitize us. In conjunction with this, it would probably be very helpful for us to read the writings of men of God who have seen these things clearly from God’s Word and from experience. Secondly, we need to go to the Lord in prayer and deal with Him over the issue of “selling all”. Jesus told us, “So therefore, no one of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions” (Luke 14:33). Here, He is talking about having an attitude of releasing--inwardly letting go of--all of our possessions and relationships in order to follow Christ. This self-denial is primarily a heart matter, a matter of willingness. He is not saying that every believer needs to literally get rid of all he owns (this would be against the record of the New Testament). However, our heart should be so willing to relinquish these things, that if the Lord speaks to us to actually dispose of some possession, we would be ready to do it. In our heart, we need to “leave” (let go of in terms of primary affection and involvement) job, house, family and material possessions in order to follow Him (Matthew 19:29). He wants our heart to be free from the entanglement of these things (2 Timothy 2:4). We need to tell the Lord that we are willing, by His grace, to suffer loss to our soul in this age; that is, we are willing to give up the enjoyments that please our soul. We need a caution here. We must be very genuine with God and sincerely ask for His enlightenment in our life as to what needs to be dealt with. Watchmen Nee comments: “But the things in which we usually take great delight are things about which we are insensitive as to our being entangled.” Thank God that His Word tells us that He has already dealt with the problem of the world at the cross. “But may it never be that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14). We need to take this word, meditate on it, and claim it every day, preferably praying it to the Lord. This truth is our release from the grip of the world and the attractions within us to it. We need to exercise our faith in the accomplished fact of what Christ did to us and the world on the cross. Remember that Luke 9:23 tells us that self-denial and bearing our cross is a daily matter. I believe that specific prayer is needed every day, mainly because the world is so deceptive and so easily entraps us subconsciously. How do we know when we are being “of the world” instead of just “in the world” (John 17:14-18)? There is no set of rules in the Bible as to what is “worldly” behavior or indulgence. The following comments on this subject are important: So a serious problem faces us here. As we have said, presumably there must be a limit. Presumably God has drawn somewhere a line of demarcation. Stay within the bounds of that line and we will be safe; cross it and grave danger threatens. But where does it lie? We have to eat and drink, to marry and bring up children, to trade and to toil. How do we do so and yet remain uncontaminated? How do we mingle freely with the men and women whom God so loved as to give His Son for them, and still keep ourselves unspotted from the world? If our Lord had limited our buying and selling to so much a month, how simple that would be! The rules would be plain for any to follow. All who spent more than a certain amount per month would be worldly Christians, and all who spent less than that amount would be unworldly. But since our Lord has stipulated no figure, we are cast on him unceasingly. For what? I think the answer is very wonderful. Not to be tied by the rules, but that we may remain all the time within bounds of another kind: the bounds of His life. If our Lord had given us a set of rules and regulations to observe, then we could take great care to abide by these. In fact, however, our task is something far more simple and straightforward, namely, to abide in the Lord Himself. Then we could keep the law. Now we need only keep in fellowship with Him. And the joy of it is that, provided we live in close touch with God, His Holy Spirit within our hearts will always tell us when we reach the limit! As we walk closely with God, we will begin to realize the Holy Spirit’s subtle promptings and movings. When we start to engage in some worldly activity, begin to let pride swell up, or crave some possession that God has not desired us to have, there will arise within us an uneasiness, a certain repulsion deep within our spirit reacting against the longing of our fallen soul. It is then that we must yield to the Lord, agreeing with Him that our self must be denied and put to death. With full dependence upon Him, and not using our energies to fight the cravings, we must allow the Holy Spirit to crucify, to cut off, that longing within our soul that wants to be gratified at that moment. As we grow in Christ, we will also discover that some things of the world that used to have a strong hold on us no longer even present an inward struggle. Further, our sensitivity to the world and its entanglements is also a progressive matter: Also, by God’s sovereign arrangement, we should realize that each one of us has a different place in society. Some are well educated and may have professional jobs with good salaries, whereas others may be impoverished. God does not expect that all persons in the church should have the same standard of living. The Bible shows that believers may be rich, yet they must handle riches properly (1 Timothy 6:17-19). Each believer must learn how God wants him to live, how he should use his money, when he is being entangled by the world, and when he is being tested by God in the matter of self-denial. One more help: God has given us His Word in order to effect a separation from the world (sanctification) within us. I have given them Thy word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not ask Thee to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Thy word is truth. As Thou didst send Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.” (John 17:14-19) We should read and meditate upon His Word every day (Matthew 4:4). The more time we prayerfully spend in the Word of God, the more opportunity God has to sanctify us from the world. The lesson of the rich young ruler is this. He loved this world. He loved the pleasures his money afforded him; they were a delight to his soul. He made a very bad and costly decision. He decided to trade the pleasures of this world for the eternal life to be experienced in the next age. He gave up a thousand years in the glory of the coming Kingdom, even forfeiting ruling with Christ, in order to hold onto his worldly enjoyment. Dear Christian, are you making such a tragic trade? May we learn from his negative example. Finally, I conclude with an amazing thought. As we let go of the world in our hearts and allow our souls to suffer the loss of earthly pleasures, we find, even now, that our soul has a new enjoyment! The enjoyment of the worldly things is replaced by the enjoyment of Christ! This enjoyment is the increasing experience of eternal life, in which God becomes more precious and real to us (John 17:3). As a result, we feel more detached from the world, but more attached to Christ. What a glorious thing! Our foretaste of eternal life in the coming Kingdom is being deepened and expanded. Praise be to His Name!