Talking with a friend recently, he said that Jesus will take 99 steps toward you, but you have to take the last step. Is that really true and Biblical? Is someone’s salvation dependent on that person taking that one final step? Is even God Himself somehow dependent upon man to take the final step before He can save?
“And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Luke 18:18
Could you imagine? Here is the perfect scenario and set up for a successful evangelistic encounter. The person is inquiring about eternal life. Not only that, but he also comes to the right person, the Lord Jesus Christ, who Himself “is the true God and eternal life.”(1 John 5:20) This is a slam dunk. The fish is nibbling at the bait. Catching this lost soul would be a sure thing.
And yet this young ruler left this personal encounter with Jesus Christ without eternal life. Jesus confronted this ruler’s claim that he kept all the commandments since his 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, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.”
Luke 18:22-23
This ruler’s God was his riches, which proved that he did not love God with all his heart, soul, mind and strength, the first 4 commandments of the Decalogue. And by not being willing to sell and distribute his riches to the poor proved that he did not love his neighbor as himself , the last 6 commandments of the Decalogue.
The disciples were shocked. Here was the perfect scenario and Jesus let this evangelistic prospect get away.
“Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?”
Luke 18:26
Could Jesus have benefited from taking a class in Evangelism 101? Perish the thought. Here was the Son Incarnate who knew that salvation is completely a sovereign work of God.
“But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
Luke 18:27
Like this ruler, there are 3 reasons why nobody can take the final step toward Jesus for salvation.
- They are spiritually dead.
- They are spiritually blind.
- They are spiritually enslaved.
They are spiritually dead.
In writing to the Ephesian believers, Paul tells them what they were(past tense) before salvation in Christ.
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked,…”
Ephesians 2:1-2a
Dead in sin. That is the condition and spiritual state of a person apart from Christ and without salvation. As dead as a corpse is, that is how dead a person is spiritually. In the same way there is nothing one can do to invoke a response from a corpse, so there is nothing one can do to solicit a response from a spiritual corpse!
They are spiritually blind.
Not only are people spiritually dead, but also they are spiritually blind.
“In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
2 Corinthians 4:4
Their minds have been blinded from the light of the Gospel. It is like a veil that covers them that can only be taken away through Christ(2 Corinthians 3:14). And that is why they cannot understand the things of the Lord.
“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”
1 Corinthians 2:14
They are folly, literally “moronic” in the Greek text. True spiritual blindness.
They are spiritually enslaved.
“and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.”
2 Timothy 2:26
Enslaved and captured by the devil to do his will.
“You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires.”
Jesus(John 8:44)
According to Scripture, there are 2 categories of people, children of God and children of the devil.
“By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil:”
1 John 3:10a
So, my question is:
a) How can a person who is spiritually dead in sin, a spiritual corpse, take the last step toward Jesus?
b) How can a person who is spiritually blind see Jesus to take the final step toward Him?
c) How can a person who is spiritually enslaved by the devil unshackle himself to take that last step to Jesus?
Answer to all: He can’t take the last step or any step for that matter. It is impossible.
The question of the disciples still remains today as our question and the answer still remains the same, from the lips of the Lord Jesus.
“Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” 27 But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
Luke 18:26-27
