Impossible Memories, Part 3

Main Session 1 – Timothy Nash

For our first session, we focused on Matthew 19:16-26, the story of ‘The Rich Young Ruler’. Yet, in introduction, Tim referred to Genesis 1:31; 6:5; 8:21 to demonstrate how God created and it was very good, yet with the fall there was sin and it tainted (and this is still the case) everything. We saw sin as the #1 killer in the world! Again, this came to be from the fall (Genesis 3).

Now, since there is this pervasive problem [of sin], we continued to look to the word of God, to our focal passage for the session, to see the correct diagnosis from the Great Physician. There were six key lessons we learned:

1. Devotion to religion cannot cure sin
The rich young ruler was a ruler in the synagogue (oversaw concerns of the synagogue; elected by the elders), thus he had high status socially, religiously, etc. Yet he recognized that he did not have eternal life

2. The wisdom of man cannot cure sin
The ruler approached Jesus just as though He were a mere teacher, probably regarding him as a very wise man. He did not acknowledge the Lord’s deity. In any case, Jesus basically told him to look to the word of God

3. External morality cannot cure sin
The rich young ruler claimed to have lived a moral life, claiming to have kept the commandments of the Law (yet, as in the first lesson, he recognized that he did not have eternal life). We referred to Galatians 3:19ff and explored the question, “Why was the Law given?” Do you remember how there is what is called a 2nd-class condition in verse 21? It’s like a rhetorical statement, not suggesting that it is possible for the law to impart life, but actually precluding such a thought. Quite a concept to chew on.

4. A slave of sin does not want his sin to be cured
Very clear, as far as I can see. Anyone have/need more notes on this?*

5. No one person is more easily cured than another
We are all tainted, and "evil-evil-evil-evil" (just quoting Tim) – in our natural state, nothing has changed since Genesis 3 (c.f. Genesis 6:5). Think Total Depravity!

6. But with God all things are possible
Saving sinners is just a part of it, but only God can do it.

This gave a good representation of what Impossible was all about. Tim mentioned how, in the next main session, we would explore the question, “What does it look like when God cures sin?”