Possible with God

"But he said, 'What is impossible with men is possible with God'" (Luke 18:27, ESV).

Jesus has just finished his encounter with the rich young ruler. The yound man was moral in many ways, but he had made an idol out of his wealth. The young man was shocked when Jesus informed him that he would have to sell his possessions and give it to the poor. The man went away sad. Jesus, too, was saddened by the affair. After the young man leaves he states, "How difficult is it for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven" (Luke 18:27, ESV). And the crowd replies, "Then who can be saved?" (Luke 18:28, ESV).

Jesus' response is profound, "What is impossible to men is possible with God." Thus, the hope of salvation rests not in riches, nor morality, nor lineage, but in the grace and power of God. Mankind cannot force their way into heaven. They can't seize the gates and demand entry. We cannot buy our way in, nor can we steal it. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (see Romans 3:23). Thus, we need the Lord to rescue us. And that is precisely what Jesus is saying here.

Salvation stems from God's desire to save, not man's desire to be saved. In truth, most people don't even know that they need to be saved (many don't know what "saved" even means). When we talk about salvation (getting saved), we mean a person is forgiven of their sin, through grace, by faith in the atoning death of Christ on the cross. The penalty for sin (breaking God's law) is death (physical and spiritual death). Jesus died in our place, for our sin. When we believe, he applies Christ's substitutionary death on our behalf and gives us Christ's righteousness as well. If left to our own devises, we would never come to God, because we love sin. God sent his Son into the world to save the world; the Father and the Son sent the Spirit into the world to apply that salvation. Thus, salvation is only possible through God.