Luke 18:27 Deep Dive // Why Salvation Is Impossible Without God

Why is salvation impossible for us? And what has Jesus done to make it possible?

"Jesus Replied, 'What is impossible with man is possible with God.'” — Luke 18:27

Today's Episode: Natalie Abbott takes a deep dive into Luke 18 and helps us understand one of Jesus’s most hope-filled—and often misunderstood—statements.

We often use this verse when life feels difficult or overwhelming. But in its original context, Jesus is talking about something even bigger: salvation. We cannot make ourselves right with God. We cannot earn his favor or fix our own souls.

Natalie walks us through the stories surrounding Luke 18:27, including the Pharisee and the tax collector, the rich ruler, and Zacchaeus. You’ll be reminded that salvation is not something we achieve through good behavior, hard work, or religious effort. It is the impossible gift God has made possible through Jesus.

This Month's Memory Verse:
"Jesus replied, 'What is impossible with man is possible with God.''
📖 Luke 18:27

Memorize Scripture with Us:
Discover the easy button for Scripture memory through Dwell Differently's resources.

Resources from Today's Episode:
Use code TREASURE to get 30% off your copy of "Storing Up Treasures" at thegoodbook.com today.

Transcript

0:00:01 - (Natalie Abbott): Hey, welcome back to the Dwell Differently podcast. I'm Natalie Abbott. I'm your host and today is a teaching episode. Today we are talking about a passage of scripture that I absolutely love. It is so beautiful. And specifically the verse that we have picked out to memorize and to meditate on and to say over ourselves and to pray through is Luke 18:27. It says, Jesus replied, what is impossible with man is possible with God.

0:00:37 - (Natalie Abbott): And can I just say that that is the most true truth, the most fantastically amazing true truth. And it is something that I hope will anchor you and give you joy and hope as you think about your life and what God is doing in the world. But specifically, the hope today is that as we talk through this passage of Scripture where we find Luke 18:27, that we would be more fully exposed to what specifically Jesus is talking about here and more just grounded in that truth and excited about the fullness of it. Because I think sometimes we take a verse like this and we think, oh, well, you know, it's impossible for me right now to be able to get all the things done in this day that I need to get done. So God, with you, all things are possible.

0:01:37 - (Natalie Abbott): And while that isn't untrue and it isn't bad for us to pray that God would make possible things in our lives that are difficult or beyond our human capabilities, right? What is impossible with man is possible with God. While that is true, it's not actually what Jesus is talking about here. Jesus is talking about something far more grand and far more central to exactly what the Bible is all about. What he came to do, what God is doing in the world currently, what he has done through Jesus.

0:02:18 - (Natalie Abbott): It is like this most essential idea. And if you're anything like me, then maybe you have sort of under applied this verse. You've maybe prayed this idea in a. In a minimal way, when the reality of what is being said here is so grand and beautiful and big and central that hopefully as we kind of digest all of the things in this passage, that we'll get to see that and that we would pray bigger prayers.

0:02:53 - (Natalie Abbott): That is my hope for you today, that you and I would pray bigger prayers. That we would pray, capital P, possible prayers, the kind of prayers that are impossible, but with God are possible. So that's what this verse is about. What is impossible with man is possible with God. In fact, it. It not only is possible, but it has happened that God, the God of the universe, has done the most gloriously impossible thing on our behalf. And so that's what we're talking about today, we're actually talking about what Jesus is talking about.

0:03:31 - (Natalie Abbott): So I've kind of hinted at it. But the big picture possible thing that God has done that is impossible by anything that we could ever do is to make us right with him, to redeem all things, to make everything that is wrong with the world right. And he's done it all through Jesus. It's already happened. It is happening and it will come to its full completion one day. We will experience that culmination. All of us who believe in this impossible possibility that God has achieved for us in Jesus. So we're talking about salvation, we are talking about redemption, restoration, all of these like amazing big picture ideas.

0:04:19 - (Natalie Abbott): So again, this isn't a small thing that we sometimes like, categorize it as. And surely God can do small things. And truly God is pleased to do small things. But what we're talking about today is the best thing, the biggest thing, the most impossible thing made possible in Jesus. And so what we're going to do really quick is we're going to look a little bit at the context of this verse. It's, it's actually this really big, massive, like submarine sandwich of. You can't hardly get all of it into your mouth. So I'm not going to try today to pick apart every single part of it. But I would encourage you to read the end of Luke chapter 17 through the beginning of Luke chapter 19.

0:05:05 - (Natalie Abbott): And, and we find our verse right in the center of that because it is the central idea. It's what Jesus is talking about. He's talking about achieving salvation. And, and actually, as we look at this sandwich, we're going to see that a lot of times in this kind of logic that maybe we don't use as much in today's world, you find the most important idea in the center. And that's exactly what we find. We find sort of the bread and the lettuce and the whatever we got the meat, the most important part. And then we've got like maybe some mayo and mustard and the more, more sandwich stuff. All of that is supporting though, this central idea that salvation has been achieved in Jesus Christ and it is an impossible thing for us to save ourselves. That is what is impossible with man, but what God has made possible in Christ.

0:05:59 - (Natalie Abbott): So that's where we're headed today. We're going to start picking apart this sandwich. And the reality is, I wish that I could go through every little detail. I wish I could teach you this in like seven sessions so we could just like, pull apart every little passage. But basically what you see is a sandwich that tar that starts out talking about God's kingdom and it. It ends with talking about God's kingdom and God's kingdom coming.

0:06:25 - (Natalie Abbott): So, like, sort of this idea of like, what are you doing with your life when God's kingdom is this massive, amazing, beautiful, awesome thing? Are you going to involve yourself in it? Are you going to be ready for when it comes? And. And Jesus likens it to the time of Lot or the time of Noah in that first he. When he first talks about it. And then at the end, we see him heading to Jerusalem, we see him going to the cross, and it's this glorious idea of, yes, his kingdom is coming. And he tells this parable that some of us might be familiar with that basically the king goes away and he's gonna come back.

0:07:06 - (Natalie Abbott): And are his servants doing what his work is, what he has, has encouraged them to do. He's given them this, this treasure. And he says, are you gonna invest it? So in the middle of this sandwich is this idea of salvation. And essentially throughout the rest of this section, we have these parables and these stories that are encouraging our hearts to think, am I believing in this? Am I investing in this in other people? Am I. Is this. The central thing for me is, is the salvation of Jesus?

0:07:39 - (Natalie Abbott): The thing that I get most excited about, that gets me up in the morning, the thing that I'm most praying for, that I am just like, wanting to share with people, Am I investing the salvation that God has given me in Christ? It both as a person, like, am I personally investing in my own salvation? Am I reading my Bible? Am I spending time with believers? Am I worshiping the Lord? But am I also distributing it in the world? Am I sending out this message? Am I. Am I investing it in other people?

0:08:11 - (Natalie Abbott): And so what we see though is, you know, between this, like, this is God's kingdom, it's coming, it's coming. Are you going to believe in it? Is the middle idea where Jesus kind of, he has these interactions with two people and he has these other interactions with two more people. But right in the middle, you're like, what is Luke doing? He just says that Jesus for the third time foretells his death.

0:08:35 - (Natalie Abbott): And that is. And it's right after he tells somebody who asks him this question, who then can be saved? Which the answer is our verse. Jesus replied, what is impossible with man is possible with God. Salvation is only possible with God, who then can be saved? And he right away says, going to the cross. I'm gonna die and I will be raised again. And he is saying, this is how I'm gonna do the impossible on your behalf.

0:09:10 - (Natalie Abbott): I have lived a perfect life and now I will die a death for you for payment for your sins. I'm gonna take all of the evil and all of the wickedness and all of what's wrong with the world on myself, even though I'm spotless and innocent and perfect. And I'm gonna pay the price with my eternally perfect sacrifice on your behalf. That's the impossible. That is the thing that is only possible with God. That is what Jesus is talking about.

0:09:44 - (Natalie Abbott): And so that's the central idea. And I just really quick want to show you the contrast that we see with kind of what we think about when we think about salvation. We think about quote unquote religion and people who are religious or people who seem to be faithful. And we measure things and we think about things as humans. And Jesus kind of flips those things on their head and he proves to us that salvation is only possible with God, that it is impossible for us to please God without the indwelling Holy Spirit in us, without our throwing up our hands and saying, it's impossible for me to earn this Lord. It is impossible for me to be perfect.

0:10:28 - (Natalie Abbott): And so I'm going to tell you two little snippets of what you're going to find in this passage when I hopefully you go back and read it. One of them is a parable that Jesus tells and the other one is interactions that he has with two different kinds of people. So the first one I want to tell you about is a parable that Jesus tells about the temple. So like think church and there's a Pharisee. So think like paid church staff guy, pastor, you know, whatever somebody on staff with church who is like getting his. He is his full time employment is church stuff, right? So think that guy, he's at the church, he's at the temple and he's praying.

0:11:12 - (Natalie Abbott): And then there's this other guy that's there and think like, I don't know if any of you live in small towns, but I live in a small town. And, and they're just people who have reputations because you just know, oh, that's that guy that does that or this, that's that person who does that. And you want to have a good reputation. Well, this guy has like the worst reputation. He is a traitor. He is probably swindling people out of money. He's a tax collector. So he's sided with the, the oppressive leaders who have, who are culturally not from there.

0:11:44 - (Natalie Abbott): And, and he is, he's taking money out of the pockets of his compatriots. He is like the lowest of the low enemy, you know, swindler. And they're both praying. And when you think about people on the outside, what you can see, you're going to think, well, yeah, that who's going to go away justified? That's a question that Jesus wants you to answer. And your immediate thought is, well, probably it's going to be the church staff guy. But let me tell you what his prayer sounds like.

0:12:21 - (Natalie Abbott): He prays this prayer that you're like, ooh. He prays, God, I thank you that I'm not like other people, robbers, evildoers, adulterers, or even like this guy over here. I thank you that I'm not like him. I fast twice a week and I give a tenth of all I get. But you know how the tax collector prays? He beats his breast. He stands at a distance. He doesn't even look up to heaven. He. But he says, God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

0:12:59 - (Natalie Abbott): Now what are they trusting in to save them? That church staff guy, it looks like he's trusting in his obedience, what he can do. He's saying, it is possible for me to please God by what I. I do. And we know from this verse that it is impossible with man to achieve our own salvation. It's impossible. He, Jesus literally says, they say, who then can be saved? Jesus says, it's impossible for you, but it is possible with God.

0:13:35 - (Natalie Abbott): And that's exactly who the tax collector, that sinner guy is trusting in. He is trusting in the salvation of God. He says, God, only you, you have mercy on me. Have mercy on me because I am a sinner. It is his recognition of his need. And that is exactly all we need. We don't. We there. There's nothing we can do. It's impossible for us. But when we lay down our sin before the God of the universe and we say, have mercy on me, God is pleased. And Jesus says, you know who went away justified?

0:14:12 - (Natalie Abbott): It was the sinner, you know, who went away, not justified. This is a guy who didn't need it. He didn't need to be justified. He was already. He's doing it all himself. He's good, right? Wrong. Okay, so that's a parable that Jesus tells in this section of scripture. And then there's these two people that I want to, to draw attention to that. I think it's Just really interesting one of them. And again, it's. You get to see this contrast.

0:14:36 - (Natalie Abbott): So one of them is the most possible possible guy, right? He is obviously blessed. He's rich. He's a ruler. He says that he has followed all the laws since he was a kid. He says, how do I be? How can I be saved? That's basically what he had. How do I get into the kingdom of heaven? This is a question. This is a question that's running through this whole passage of scripture. How then can we be saved?

0:14:58 - (Natalie Abbott): And he's thinking, I already know the answer. I do all the right things. It's me. And so are the disciples. They are thinking the exact same thing everybody's thinking. This guy, hashtag, blessed guy, he is obviously going to heaven. And so Jesus says, yeah, then really, honestly, if. If you have done all these things to keep the law, then what about your wealth? He's enormously wealthy. And Jesus says, just, you know, give it away to the poor and come follow me.

0:15:30 - (Natalie Abbott): And to this, the rich young ruler goes away, Sad. And Jesus says to him, he says it to him before he leaves, how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God. Indeed, it is easier for a camel to enter through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God. He is blowing up their stereotypes because they're. That's like. In their minds, they're like, well, well, then who can get in? And that's exactly what they say, then who can be saved into this? Jesus says, it is impossible to do it with man. It is impossible. It is impossible for you to be perfect.

0:16:13 - (Natalie Abbott): It is impossible for you to achieve or to earn. You can't go to church often enough. You can't serve in Sunday school often enough. You can't be on the worship team enough. You can't be a paid staff person enough. It is impossible. But with God, it is possible. And then he turns right around and he says, I'm going to give up my life. That is how it's possible, because I have done the thing that only I could do.

0:16:44 - (Natalie Abbott): I had to save you. And the other guy that I want to point out is this guy named Zacchaeus who's like the most detestable traitor, enemy, corrupt. He's not only a tax collector, but he's like the chief tax collector. And he's, again, enormously wealthy, but everybody hates him. He's like the worst of the worst. And Jesus says, I'm gonna go to your house. And everybody is just like, up in arms, they're appalled. Like, how could he possibly. How can he go eat with the sinner? It's terrible. Blah, blah, blah.

0:17:11 - (Natalie Abbott): But you know what Zacchaeus does? He stands up and he says to the Lord Jesus, look, Lord, here and now, I give half my possessions to the poor, and if I've cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay them back four times as much. And you know what Jesus says to him today? Salvation has come to this house because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the. The Son of man came to seek and save the lost.

0:17:42 - (Natalie Abbott): That is what qualifies you for salvation. Admitting that you're lost, that you need to be sought and rescued by Jesus. So the impossible, it's way more impossible than you can imagine. It's not just that you need healing. It's not just that you need help. It's not like you need strength. It's not like there's a person that you know who's in a hard way and you need the Lord to step in. And yes, those are all important things.

0:18:14 - (Natalie Abbott): But the impossible thing that Jesus is talking about here, the most. The one thing, the one thing that we need help with for all eternity, the one thing. If you could have God fix one thing, the most important thing, it is your soul. You need to have your soul fixed. You need his righteousness. You need. You need your sins paid for. You need forgiveness. You need acceptance. And that's exactly what Jesus does. He does the truly unbelievable and impossible thing.

0:18:54 - (Natalie Abbott): And. And if you think about it, it's. It's astounding that this, the spotless one, puts on every vile deed, every evil, that the wrath of God is poured out on someone who is innocent, that the eternal life giver dies, that he gives up his life, and through his death, death itself is killed forever. It is undone. So by his life, he offers life to the undeserving, the undesirable, the. The unwanted, the wretches, the sinners, those who could never achieve it.

0:19:34 - (Natalie Abbott): He offers what is impossible for us. He makes it possible. He gives his righteousness to us, even though we are wicked and enemies. And this is Jesus pushing the camel through the eye of the needle. He is the one who calls prostitutes his beloved. He is the one that opens his arms to the smelly outcast and the leper. And he does not take on their unrighteousness. Rather, he gives them his own. He doesn't become unholy. He makes us holy.

0:20:20 - (Natalie Abbott): And so I have to ask this question that Jesus asks in one of these parables. He says, but will the Son of Man find faith on the earth? Will he find faith in you and in me? Will we believe? Will we, will we receive and become so smitten with his love for us, his sacrifice on our behalf and his adoption of us into his family? Will we believe the impossible thing that Jesus has done for us? Will we keep on believing it like it is the most essential thing?

0:20:58 - (Natalie Abbott): And I don't know about you, but I, I, I go wayward. I miss the mark. I, I get off track. And so if that's you, come on back, be inspired that it isn't actually about what you do anyway, that Jesus has already achieved the impossible thing for you. And if you've never believed and received this message, if, if you're the guy who's even on church staff, if you're somebody who's tried to work really hard to earn God's favor, know that that's not what he's about.

0:21:36 - (Natalie Abbott): He is not ticking off all your good and your bad like Santa Claus, you know, you better watch out. Instead, he is a kind savior who gave up his life. He achieved the impossible, and he wants to be in relationship with you for all time, even today. All right, guys, thank you so much for joining me today. I pray that this verse would just seep into your bones and encourage you and give you hope in whatever season you're in.