The Simple Gospel

(Mark 10:35–39)

A Bold Declaration

When James and John approached Jesus with a request to sit at His right and left in glory, Jesus asked them a sobering question: “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” (Mark 10:38, NASB). Without hesitation, they replied, “We are able” (v. 39). But they did not fully understand the cost of that answer. Their confidence was real—but naïve. They had not yet experienced what it meant to suffer for Christ.

Yet Jesus accepted their answer, not because they were already capable, but because He would make them able. James was eventually beheaded (Acts 12:2). John was exiled to Patmos (Revelation 1:9). Their promise was kept—but only by the help that came from God. So it is with us. If we follow Christ, we will face hardship, sacrifice, and calling. But by God’s strength, we are able.

We Are Able to Overcome Temptation

Temptation is real, but with God’s help, it is always resistible. God provides both warning and help. James wrote, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust” (James 1:13–14). We cannot blame our nature, our upbringing, or our circumstances. God holds us responsible because He also gives us help. Paul reassured the Corinthians, “No temptation has overtaken you except something common to mankind; and God is faithful, so He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). There is always a way to escape. God is not setting us up for failure—He is providing the strength we need to resist. As Peter wrote, “The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation” (2 Peter 2:9).

We Are Able to Bear Trials and Suffering

Paul’s life was marked by intense suffering, but he did not despair. In fact, he found strength in his weakness. He wrote, “And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Rather than removing the thorn in the flesh, God gave Paul strength to endure it. That same grace is available to us. Peter reminds us, “Having cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares about you” (1 Peter 5:7). We are not expected to carry our trials alone. We are able—because He helps us bear the load.

We Are Able to Fulfill Our Responsibilities

God never commands what He does not also empower. The parable of the talents in Matthew 25 shows us the danger of the “one talent man” who buried his gift in fear. He was condemned—not for doing evil, but for doing nothing. In contrast, men like Joshua and Caleb trusted God’s help. When others doubted, they said, “We are able to go up and take possession of it, for we will certainly prevail over it” (Numbers 13:30). Paul expressed the same confidence: “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). God gives strength to the willing. If we give ourselves completely to the Lord, we will find the ability to serve, to lead, to give, and to endure.

We Are Able to Give Freely to His Work

Giving is not about gaining material blessings—it is about honoring God with what we have already received. Paul wrote, “Now I say this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows generously will also reap generously” (2 Corinthians 9:6). This is not a guarantee of wealth, but a call to generosity rooted in trust.

He continues, “And God is able to make all grace overflow to you, so that, always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed” (2 Corinthians 9:8). The blessing promised is sufficiency—not luxury—and readiness to serve.

The generous Christian doesn’t give to get; he gives because he trusts. As Paul reminded the Galatians, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a person sows, this he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7). We sow in faith, trusting God to supply all we truly need to do His will.

We Are Able to Reflect the Life of Christ

It is not enough to claim Christ—we are called to live Him. That takes effort, time, and intentionality. “The more you are seen with God, the more of God is seen in you.” This principle is echoed in Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians: “But we all, with unveiled faces, looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18). When we walk closely with Christ, His life becomes visible in ours.

We Are Able to Grieve with Hope

Death is painful—but not hopeless. For the Christian, sorrow is softened by promise. Paul wrote, “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who remain, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17). This hope allows us to grieve differently from the world: “So that you will not grieve, as indeed the rest of mankind do, who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13).

We Are Able to Face Death Calmly and Joyfully

Paul knew that death was not defeat—it was gain. “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). He wrote near the end of his life, “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:6–7). Because of Christ, we can approach the end not with fear, but with peace. We are able to die as those who have lived in hope.

Conclusion: Let Us Use the Strength at Our Disposal

Jesus didn’t promise ease—but He promised strength. The same grace that carried the apostles, the same help that strengthened Paul, is still available to us. If God is for us, we are able—to resist, to endure, to give, to grow, to grieve with hope, and to face eternity with confidence. Let us resolve today to use the strength God provides—not in word only, but in action.