#130 - What If Salvation Starts With Diagnosis {Reflections}

“What must I do to be saved?” sounds like it should have one clean answer. We can quote Paul in Romans without blinking: confess Jesus as Lord and believe in the resurrection. But when people bring that same question to Jesus in the Gospels, he refuses to hand out a single script. Instead, he responds with startling, specific words that feel less like a formula and more like a diagnosis.

We walk through four encounters that make this clear: the rich young ruler who can’t loosen his grip on wealth and control, the lawyer who wants to shrink the definition of “neighbor,” Nicodemus the respected teacher who needs more than religion and intellect, and the woman at the well who longs for living water that finally satisfies. Each conversation points to a different barrier, and each reveals something about how Jesus leads people into eternal life, the kingdom of God, and true worship.

The thread running through all of it is painfully personal: Jesus goes after “the thing” we cling to most, the attachment that blocks us from receiving a full, robust life in him. If you’ve ever wondered why faith can feel stuck even when your beliefs feel right, this reflection will help you name what might be in the way and what it could look like to exchange your life for Christ’s life. Subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find the show.

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Transcript

Paul’s Clear Answer In Romans

Jesus Gives Different Answers

The Lawyer And The Neighbor Test

The Common Thread In Every Reply

Naming The “Thing” That Blocks Life

Exchange Your Life For His

Share The Show And Join Us

SPEAKER_00 0:16

What is up, everybody? Hey, this is Ryan, and welcome to our Reflections Podcast. Hey, if somebody were to ask you, hey, what must I do to be saved? How would you answer that? I think a lot of us who grew up in the Christian faith might respond with something like this: Well, if you declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, then you will in fact be saved. And that's a fair answer. Actually, that's a quote from Paul. Paul wrote a letter to the church in Rome, and in the book of Romans, you find it where he actually says that. That's what you have to do to be saved. But if you read the Gospels, this is where I the Gospels are fascinating, and you read Jesus, the Jesus stories, which are in the Gospels, Jesus is asked that question a few times, several times, and he never gives the same answer twice. It's wild. For many of us, salvation is some kind of a formula, but it doesn't seem to be that way for Jesus. It's almost like more of a diagnosis with Jesus. Here's what I mean. So there's one example where Jesus comes in front, uh comes across this rich young ruler, and the rich young ruler, he's got lots of money, he's got some prominence, um, some some uh some say-so in this area of the world. He's a rich young ruler, and he asks Jesus, Hey, what must I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus says, Well, here's what you do keep the commandments. And then he says, Okay, well, I've done all that. What else must I do? And then Jesus says this He says, Sell everything you have and give it to the poor, and come and follow me. And interestingly enough, the guy can't do it, and he walks away and leaves. Another time, Jesus is talking with this lawyer, and uh this is like the setup to the Good Samaritan story, so just before that, but this lawyer asks Jesus, What must I do to inherit eternal life? By the way, this is a very typical thing to ask a rabbi, hey, how do you see the world? How do I inherit the kingdom of God, eternal life, salvation in your eyes? What do you say? And so this lawyer asks Jesus. So Jesus says, Hey, what's written in the law and how do you read it? And the guy answers, Well, love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself. And Jesus is like, Yeah, that's right, you've answered correctly. Do this and you will live. So he tells this guy, hey, follow the law. And then the guy says, Well, who's my neighbor exactly? And then Jesus tells him the story of the Good Samaritan. In other words, like, hey, love the person who you don't want to love, your neighbor. The neighbor is anybody that you don't like, really, in the according to the story. So already, like the first guy, hey, sell your things, give to the poor. Um, the second guy, well, uh, you know, love the neighbor that's really unlovable. There's another story that Jesus uh that is told about Jesus. He's he's hanging out late one night. There's a guy called Nicodemus. Nicodemus is a rabbi, a sort of a famous Jewish rabbi who comes to Jesus under the cloak of darkness. And he says, Hey, how does someone enter the kingdom of God? And Jesus says, Well, look, listen, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they're born again or born from above or born of the spirit. And he's like, What does that mean? Like, he has no idea what it means, Nicodemus. So Nicodemus says, Do I have to like crawl back into my mother's womb and be born again? And Jesus like, No, no, no, no. You're missing the idea, like born afresh, born of the spirit, born of God, born anew. That's what I mean. It's wild. Okay, last one, the fourth one. So there's this time where Jesus comes across this woman at a well. This is in John 4, and she's by herself, she's filling up water, and they're having this conversation, and it's like this incredible conversation. But like as the conversation goes on, her eyes begin to be more and more open to who he is, who she's talking to, who Jesus is. And so she asks him, Hey, where do we find true life? Where's true worship? What is it uh up north or is it in the south in Jerusalem? And she's asking him all these probing questions about like eternal life and salvation and where is the truth at? And he says, sort of to sum it up, he's like, Hey, whoever drinks of the water that I give them will never thirst again. And he says, true worshippers will worship in spirit and in truth. It's it's a wild answer. Okay, so if you've been keeping track here, here's how you are saved. According to Paul, confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus rose from the dead. According to Jesus, and the rich young ruler will sell all your things, go to the poor. Uh the lawyer will love your neighbor, the Samaritan, the one you don't like, obey the law. Nicodemus will be born from the spirit, be born from above, be born of God. Uh the woman at the well will drink of the water that you'll, you know, that will satisfy all your thirst. And there's many more of these. And here's what I think is happening. I love it. Jesus seems to be going after the thing that sort of ties them up the most. Like, what's the thing? Jesus knows their thing. You have a thing too, by the way, and I'm sure you know what your thing is. Like the thing that's like blocking you from living like a full, rich, robust life. Well, for the rich young ruler, it was his riches. He like had his riches, his money on this pedestal. Like having money is not a bad or evil thing, but for this guy, it seems like the money that he had had its claws in him. And so the barrier for him to follow Jesus was his wealth, his attachment to his money and control and having this power and popularity and prestige. For the lawyer, I don't know, it seems like uh he wanted to kind of limit who counted as his neighbor. Well, I'll love everybody except for that guy over there. Well, that guy's thing is the other. And Jesus knows it. Hey, you need to include, love, you know, serve, wash the feet of the other. And this guy is like struck by this thing. Nicodemus, of course. Nicodemus is his rabbi. He thinks, of course, that what the world needs, what Israel needs, is just another famous, wise, good, popular rabbi. And uh, and it's sort of this intellectual, you know, religious thinking that sort of got Nicodemus. And Jesus is like, no, no, no. You need to be born afresh, born anew. Something brand new needs to happen in you. And I love it. And of course, the woman at the well, she is like, you know, she's just sort of stuck in these ways that are taking her farther and farther away from home. Uh, more like, you know, she's she's sort of disintegrated life. She's she's not living this whole life. And Jesus wants to give her water that will make her never thirst again. So, yeah, I love it. It's not so much a formula for Jesus. It's more like this diagnosis. He knows what the people need to hear. He knows the thing blocking them from receiving his teachings, his instruction, his way of life, the thing that they're clinging on to so desperately that won't give them life, and that that's that's causing them to refuse uh to exchange their life for his life. Jesus says, whoever wants to keep their life will lose it. But if you lose your life for my sake, you'll find it. And so he's asking them, hey, exchange your life. You're measly, pitily, not meaningless, but like your like your life that's sort of empty and shallow and flattened, and let me give you robust, full life, and you'll have you have no idea yet what this could be like. But exchange yours for mine, and you'll just uh and you just might find eternal life. So, what's your thing? What's the thing you're clinging on to so desperately? The thing that's blocking you from receiving this full, robust life in Jesus. And maybe that's what you need to get rid of or let go of or lie down or stop believing in order to receive salvation today. Alright, love you guys. Peace. Hey, if you enjoy this show, I'd love to have you share it with some friends. And don't forget you are always welcome to join us in person at Central in Elk River at 8 30, which is our liturgical gathering, or at 10 o'clock, our modern gathering. Or you can check us out online at clcelkriver.org. Peace.