Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” – Matthew 19:26 NIV
With men this is impossible.
Christ does not entirely free the minds of his disciples from all anxiety; for it is proper that they should perceive how difficult it is to ascend to heaven;
First, that they may direct all their efforts to this object; and next, that, distrusting themselves, they may implore strength from heaven.
We see how great is our indolence and carelessness; and what the consequence would be if believers thought that they had to walk at ease, for pastime, along a smooth and cheerful plain.
Such is the reason why Christ does not extenuate the danger – though he perceives the terror which it excited in his disciples – but rather increases it; for though formerly he said only that it was difficult, he now affirms it to be impossible
Hence it is evident, that those teachers are guilty of gross impropriety, who are so much afraid to speak harshly, that they give indulgence to the slothfulness of the flesh. They ought to follow, on the contrary, the rule of Christ, who so regulates his style that, after men have been bowed down within themselves, he teaches them to rely on the grace of God alone, and, at the same time, excites them to prayer.
In this manner, the weakness of men is seasonably relieved, not by ascribing anything to them, but by arousing their minds to expect the grace of God.
By this reply of Christ is also refuted that widely embraced principle – which the Papists have borrowed from Jerome – “Whoever shall say that it is impossible to keep the law, let him be accursed. “For Christ plainly declares, that it is not possible for men to keep the way of salvation, except so far as the grace of God assists them.
