three sets of letters after his name b a m a uh and dd the ba is born again the mi is masters advocate and the dd is a devoted disciple god bless you steve stewart thank you very much [Music] thank you david we do look alike but he's much better looking don't you agree also a little bit older than me so that helps me out a great deal is there a better time in the experience of god's people than when they unite together to worship god what a wonderful time this is thank you for inviting me to join in worship with you and heaven we worshiped already this morning it's been wonderful hasn't it this is my fourth time here in your beautiful country i understand that at the fifth time you have to grant honorary citizenship is that right i'm looking forward to coming back again the next time will be the best i have the privilege from time to time of joining camp meetings around the world and three months ago i was at our camp meeting in holland speaking for a lovely group of adventist believers there who also are united in worshiping our heavenly father i was met at the airport in holland by an elderly gentleman that i had never met before he assured me that he was to take me to my room and the place where i was going to spend the week speaking to our believers there and i followed him out of the airport and all of a sudden he stopped and he looked to the left and he looked to the right and he said this doesn't seem right i i think we came out of the wrong exit and we went back into the airport and walked down a little bit and walked out again and he looked no this wasn't right either went back into the airport and he remembered that he had to go upstairs and we took a ramp upstairs we got to the place where you pay for the car park and he couldn't seem to make it work i stood by and watched him i wanted to help him out but that's not a proper place for a visitor in a foreign country i waited for a few minutes and finally he got some help and he got the car paid for and we walked into the car park and spent the next 25 minutes trying to find his car we finally got in the car and you know he stopped two times on the way out to camp to have to consult a map i didn't think i would ever get there but i'm happy to say that today we know where we're going we know where we are we know where we've been and we know that soon we're going to be worshiping god together in heaven isn't that a wonderful thing would you open your bibles with me to matthew chapter 19 and while you're opening let me tell you a few things that i believe about the purpose of bible study it's okay if i move around do i have my mic this way i'll keep it with me good a couple of things about the purpose of bible study that i want you to know about what i believe before we open and begin to study in god's word today first of all i want you to know that i don't think that the reason that we read the bible is just to have a better sense of history of what happened a couple thousand years ago it's not a history book that we're opening this morning and this week to look at i was in a discussion just a couple of weeks ago when a man stood up and said there is not one single archaeologist alive today who believes that the exodus actually took place well i don't believe that for a moment but it began taking me down a road that i don't think we need to go to in fact many biblical archaeologists take their life and their reputation and their life's work and the fact that the events in the bible are real and they did take place the discussion in biblical archaeology today is not really whether the exodus took place or not but did it happen in the 18th dynasty of egyptian history or the 19th dynasty but i want you to know this morning that i think that is a road we don't need to go down together the point of the bible is not good history and that we get to know the bible events exactly as they happened it's not primarily a cultural primer where we learn about what life was like thousands of years ago the purpose of bible study is not to find out who these wonderful heroes of god were the bible is not really a book about abraham and jacob and moses and joshua and david and paul and all the people it's not the people that are the heroes of the bible story the better we find out what the bible is all about the more we understand that the bible is a story that makes god the hero of every story we need to find out what god is like not what the human beings are like we know quite a bit already about what human beings are like don't we and look next to you in the seat that's a person sitting next to you look in the mirror in the morning we know a great deal about what human beings are like we don't need to know a lot more about humanity what we need to know is about who god is and what his purposes in our life are really about that's why we study the bible not to find out more about humans secondly i believe that we study the bible in order to allow god to speak to us today it's wonderful when we look at what jesus said to the rich wrong ruler in matthew 19 but if we leave it there then we're missing the main inspiration of the bible the primary inspiration of the bible is allowing god to speak to you and me today if we hear his voice in this time in this place in our lives then we begin to understand what inspiration is all about remember that the bible says in romans 15 verse 4 for everything that was written in the past was written to teach us so that through endurance and the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope and when john was through writing his gospel and all the stories of jesus that he has written he said there are a lot more stories that i could have chosen but these are written that you might believe that jesus is the christ the son of god and that by believing you might have life in his name the bible was written so that you and i can hear the voice of god today and then thirdly i have come to believe the older i get that every story in the bible is really a story to teach us about salvation you want to worship god in a united way let's find the reason that we should worship him and i believe with all my heart that we worship god because he has given us the incredible gift of salvation through jesus christ his son and i have come to believe the more i study the bible that every story in the bible was really written to tell us something about salvation i'm going to try to show that point in the in the presentations that i have here in this tent in the morning meetings this week as we look at some of the great stories of the old testament i believe that those stories were to tell us that jesus has given us salvation you remember the key passage on the inspiration of the bible that we all know by heart second timothy chapter 3 verse 15. the holy scriptures are able to make you wise unto salvation through jesus christ our lord so let's begin today to open the bible and see if we can see what god is like see if we can hear god's voice speaking to us and see what these passages tell us about salvation matthew chapter 19 and the other gospel writers tell us that one afternoon a rich young ruler came running up to jesus actually it's mark that tells us that he didn't walk up to jesus he ran up to jesus this was a rich young eager ruler he had something on his heart and he wanted to talk to jesus about it in one of the great art galleries of the world i've seen a beautiful painting of the outskirts of a home and of a village in palestine and in one part of the painting all of the people are walking out of the village following jesus and then one solitary figure comes running from the other direction running straight toward jesus to try to catch him and and confront him with this one question the rich young eager ruler comes up to jesus but i want to say today that this story is not about rich people or poor people it's not about the young or the old it's not about people in positions or people just going about their everyday lives it's not about eager people or people who don't care those rich young eager ruler words are merely descriptors of this particular young man who came up to jesus the fact is it could have been you and it could have been me any of us wanting to ask jesus the most important question that's on our hearts this is you and me walking up to jesus as all of us must in our experience at some time in our lives and we stand before jesus and we ask the question that is the most important question that we can ask what must i do to inherit eternal life the rich young eager ruler asked jesus the answer to that question has been the bible's focus throughout the ages it's answered in the song of solomon in ex in the song of moses in exodus 15 the lord is my strength and my song he has become my salvation it's repeated in the last words of david in second samuel 23 is not my house right with god has he not made with me an everlasting covenant arranged and secured in every part will he not bring to fruition my salvation and grant to me my every desire this is what isaiah is talking about in isaiah 45 rain down righteousness you heavens above i was thinking of this verse last night let the clouds shower it down let the earth open wide let salvation spring up let righteousness grow with it the lord has created it israel will be saved by the lord i the lord have created it i will save you with an everlasting salvation the new testament joins in when it tells us jesus came to seek and save those that were lost peter reminds us at pentecost in acts 2 everyone who calls upon the name of the lord will be saved it was the question on the lips of the philippian jailer what must i do to be saved paul repeats it to the church in ephesus because of his great love for us god who is rich in mercy made us alive with christ even when we were dead in transgressions it is by grace you have been saved these are the words you and i will say at the second coming surely this is our god we have trusted him and he has saved us let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation and when we stand with a great multitude in heaven worshiping god in the most united worship service of all time our song will be hallelujah salvation and glory and power belong to our god from the beginning to end this is the question that the bible answered what must i do to be saved the rich young man came to the right person to ask the question from the very beginning of his life when the angel came to his mother we were known that his name would be called jesus because he would save his people what must i do to inherit eternal life and to remember in matthew 19 and the other versions of the story jesus gives an unqualified answer to the question there's no hesitation with jesus so what it's going to take for you and me to be saved he knows exactly his answer is very carefully given to the rich young eager ruler first of all he told him that his life had to exhibit perfect obedience of all the commandments all of them had to be kept every one of them not nine or eight or seven of them but every single one had to be kept perfectly and then just to be unders just to be sure that the rich young eager man understood what he was saying jesus said but you have to do it with a perfect motivation do it in a way that shows you're coming and following me go home and sell everything else and come and follow me jesus's answer to the question what must i do to inherit eternal life is this perfect obedience plus perfect motivation and we call that perfect righteousness how are you doing in your quest for eternal life any of you here can answer like the rich young ruler that your obedience has been perfect all of your life perfection you know means not stopping sinning but never having sinned at all anybody want to raise their hand and say that's where their life has been and if you do let me add to you this second qualification for inheritance of eternal life perfect motivation perfect obedience perfect motivation perfect righteousness i did meet a woman one time who claimed to meet the qualifications i was talking in a camp meeting i was through with my seminar in the afternoon and i was walking down the hall of a building on my way out with several the people that had been in my seminar and we passed the door that was open into a room where a woman was giving a seminar to this camp meeting and i stopped because i thought i heard her say that she had not sinned in three years i thought i must have misunderstood what she said but it sounded like an interesting story to me and so i stopped i went back in the hall into the door and i stood next to the wall in a very crowded room every seat in the room was taken all the people that were left were standing against the wall and i listened as this woman began to explain that for three years she had been sinless perfect obedience to every command of god perfect motivation perfectly righteous for the last three years i was amazed i was more amazed as i looked at the people and i saw them sitting there with their mouths open saying yes she's done it i can't believe it but she's done it and they were just taking it all in and i left the room before everybody else got in i was troubled by what i had heard and i thought about it during the night and i thought maybe she was just trying in her way to give all the glory to jesus but jesus's name had not come into the conversation one time i wondered what she was trying to say and i went home and i began to think about it at the time i was a bible teacher in an adventist academy and the summer was over camp meeting season had ended and school year began and on the first day of school i was standing at the door to my classroom welcoming the new students into my bible classroom and it was almost time to begin the class period and i looked up the hall to see if there were any other students that were running down to join the class and coming down the hallway was the principal of my school and this very woman that i had heard say she had not sinned in three years she didn't belong in our community she was from a different part of the states i had never seen her in that part of the country before but here she was walking down with my principal my principal came right to my door he came up to me he said stuart i'd like to introduce you to someone and i stuck out my hand and shook her hand pretended that i didn't know who she was and the principal said this woman has just written a book about her experience and she's on a tour promoting the sale of her book and i've told her she can teach your bible classes here in the academy today i didn't know what to do i was a young teacher i didn't think it was permissible to go against the wishes of your principal so i welcomed her in i had prayer at the beginning of my class i introduced her to my class and i sat in the chair in the corner of the room as she began to talk to the my students second year in high school 14 15 16 year old students and she began to talk about she hadn't sinned in a little over three years and the people in my classroom the young people in my classroom looked at each other they looked back at her they looked at me sitting in the chair over in the corner of the room they looked at her and they began to shake their heads and she preached about how by the strength of her will and her understanding of the power of temptation she had decided to quit sinning and couldn't do it anymore perfect obedience perfect motivation perfect righteousness it's almost time for the classroom to be over the class to be over and to my horror in the second row i saw a young girl raise her hand and then stand to her feet to ask a question i was hoping this wouldn't happen in this particular class period and the woman recognized her and this little 16 year old girl said i don't believe a word you're saying i think you're a stupid old woman there was a gasp in the room as everybody who had been thinking the same thing said oh she said it i put my head down and hoped the bell would ring and then i looked up as this woman leaned over the lectern and pointed her finger at the 16 year old girl in the second row and began to yell at her and she said when you see jesus coming in the clouds of heaven you're going to be sorry you talk to me that way i thought there goes the three years that's over the first thing i did when the bell rang was to go up to that girl in the second row and i put my arm around her and i whispered in her ear you're right and she's wrong and they went my three years i'm sure students got up and filed out of the classroom and i had to face this woman and i said i don't believe what you're teaching and you're not welcome to teach in my classroom well she said your principal said i could teach here and i said you go talk to my principal about it i didn't see her again that day tell you the truth i haven't seen her since a couple of years ago i was asked by the editor of ministry magazine to write an article about the doctrine of salvation by grace alone through faith alone and jesus christ alone that is so dear to seventh-day adventists i took several months to write it choosing every word as carefully as i could documenting it by many bible verses adding the writings of ellen white for extra authority it was published in ministry magazine i got two letters saying that i didn't know what i was talking about and the first one was by the same lady that i haven't seen in all these years i don't think she knows who i am but she didn't like my theology jesus said the condition of eternal life is perfect obedience plus perfect motivation perfect righteousness have you read this passage in steps to christ page 62. it goes like this the condition of eternal life is now just what it always has been just was it what it was in paradise before the fall of our first parents perfect obedience to the law of god perfect righteousness the condition of eternal life if eternal life were granted on any condition short of this then the happiness of the entire universe would be imperiled the way would be opened for sin with all its train of woe and misery to be immortalized perfect righteousness the condition for eternal life standing around in the circle when the young man asked jesus the question were the disciples the people that had walked most closely with jesus for the last few years the people that would stay close by him and the bible tells us that they were discouraged and astonished by jesus's answer and they came to jesus and said who then can be saved isn't it a question that comes to your mind when we say that the one condition of eternal life is perfect obedience and perfect motivation perfect righteousness don't you also wonder who then can be saved surely you don't jump up in your in your chair and you say then that's calling me we wonder who can be saved and so jesus answers them by telling a story that is one of the most incredible stories in the bible he says to the to the question who then can be saved with humans it is impossible in fact he said it's easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than for a young man like that to get into heaven we have done amazing things to this story we have tried to make it be a story in which god in which jesus says it's pretty hard to get to heaven but if you try hard enough you can make it have you ever heard that when jesus said it's easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle what he was referring to was a small gate a small opening in the wall of jerusalem we heard this story that that was so tiny that it was difficult for anyone to get through but even a camel if it got down on its hands and knees or whatever a camel would get down on and if the owner of the camel would be on one side of the wall and would would pull the camel with all of his might and some helpers of the man who owned the camel got behind the camon pushed with all their might that it was possible for a camel to get through this little gate and that they began to call this little gate in the wall of jerusalem the eye of the needle have you ever heard that story it's been told by people who want you and me to believe that it's hard to get into heaven but if you try hard enough you can do it if you try to perfectly obey and your motivation is perfect if you try not to sin for three years at a time maybe with people pushing and pulling you can do it you can get in there's a couple of problems with that interpretation of jesus's words first of all there was a gate called the eye of a needle a small opening in the wall of jerusalem but it wasn't there until hundreds of years after jesus was walking those streets he couldn't have been referring to that it wasn't there secondly when he said through the eye of a needle the word that he used was a needle not a gate jesus knew the language he could have said that in fact when it's reported by the gospel writers the word in greek is a sewing needle that jesus uses he intended to tell us the biggest animal that we could think of here in jerusalem which would have been the camel and the smallest opening that we are familiar with the sewing needle by the way you know that when dr luke tells the story he uses the greek word for a surgeon's needle not a sewing needle but still one with a tiny opening what jesus meant was that it's impossible for the largest animal that we know here to get through the smallest opening a camel cannot get through the eye of a needle what jesus meant was that for you and for me it is impossible to get to heaven by our own effort what jesus meant was that for you and for me it's impossible to get to heaven you and i do not have perfect obedience you and i do not have perfect motivation our righteousness is not perfect and so if it's left to you and me folks this is as good as it gets this is it enjoy camp meaning this year because this is as close to heaven as you and i are going to get jesus meant to say it's impossible we can't do it by ourselves i was talking about the solution to this problem in a camp meeting one time talking about how the grace of god is for people who have welcomed the impossible camel the grace of god is what god has planned for you and me who do not have perfect obedience and do not have perfect motivation perfect righteousness it is god's way of saving people who find it impossible to get to heaven themselves a young man came up to me afterwards and he said to me you obviously haven't read steps to christ page 62.
i have a devious strike streak in my soul and i said really what is steps to christ page 62 say tell me what i missed and he stood there and he quoted to me this passage that i just read to you the condition of eternal life is now just what it always has been perfect obedience to the law of god he said you've obviously missed that and i said and what does the rest of the page say i wish you could have been there with me and seen the look on his face as he said is there a rest of the page i reached in my bible where i carry a three by five card that has the whole page on it i said oh look i happen to have the steps to christ page 62 here let me read the rest of it to you ellen white goes on to say this it was possible for adam before the fall to form a righteous character by obedience to god's law but he failed to do this and because of his sin our natures are fallen and we cannot make ourselves righteous since we are sinful and unholy we cannot perfectly obey the holy law we have no righteousness of our own with which to meet the claims of the law of god i said to the young man have you read that part no i haven't read that part but it's rather discouraging he said indeed it is and if that is where the paragraph ended you and i would be hopeless people but the paragraph does not end there listen to the rest of it what is impossible for humans is possible only because of god's grace christ has made a way of escape for us he lived on earth amid trials and temptations such as we have to meet he lived a sinless life he died for us and now he offers to take our sins and give us his righteousness if you give yourself to him if you accept him as your savior then sinful as your life may have been for his sake you are accounted righteous christ's character stands in place of your character and you are accepted before god just as if you had never sinned is that not the best news we could ever hear we worship god united today because he stands in our place giving us his righteousness this is what christians have been called to worship and to tell other people this is what seventh-day adventist christians have been called to explain to every nation and tongue and kindred and people around the world this is the everlasting gospel that is to fly around the world before jesus comes the science of salvation ellen white calls it and i would like to challenge you at the beginning of this camp meeting to make sure that all of us who speak on these grounds this week remember these words from gospel workers page 160. let the science of salvation be the burden of every sermon the theme of every song let it be poured forth in every supplication and prayer bring nothing into your preaching to supplement christ the wisdom and power of god my friends we are not here at camp meeting to talk about anything else but jesus christ our savior and i ask you to hold us to it come up to me after the meetings in the morning and everybody else the speaker it's easy for me to say because i'm here now and i don't know where the other speakers are but you make sure that we're talking about the science of salvation you quote gospel workers 140 back to us all the time 160.
