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good morning everyone welcome back to free Grace Baptist Church and a warm welcome to visitors amongst us this morning I think Josh and Katie are here good to have you back as well um a couple of quick announcements this evening our Lord's Supper service again 5 p.m this is our custom first Sunday of every month and then cam Porter is in Armstrong this morning he's preaching there so we'll remember him especially in prayer uh later on when we go to the Lord in prayer for our call to worship this morning please turn in your Bibles to Psalm 138. psalm 138. a Psalm of David I will praise you with my whole heart before the gods I will sing praises to you I will worship toward your Holy Temple and praise your name for your loving kindness and your truth for you have magnified your word above all your name in the day when I cried out you answered me and made me bold with strength in my soul all the kings of the Earth shall Praise You O Lord when they hear the words of your mouth yes they shall sing of the ways of the Lord for great is the glory of the Lord though the Lord is on high yet he regards the lowly but the proud he knows from afar though I walk in the midst of trouble you will revive me you will stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies and your right hand will save me the Lord will perfect that which concerns me your mercy O Lord endures forever do not forsake the works of your hands amen for our first hymn this morning we will sing Psalm 68 and b as in bravo from the psalter hymnal Psalm 68 B please stand together with me as we sing [Music] thank you [Music] please [Music] remember everybody [Music] lyrics [Music] is [Music] to answer [Music] me they are again [Music] and praise is [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] a gracious Heavenly Father we do thank you for this beautiful day thank you that we have this privilege and opportunity to come into your house to meet with your people and to worship together as a Congregation of the Lord thank you for the blessings that you have afforded us thank you that we join this day with Christian Believers all over the face of the Earth to sing your praises and to worship you and we thank you o God for drawing us here thank you for each and every individual Every Soul within this building the four walls of this building I pray o God that you administer to each person here in the area of their need I pray O Lord you would give encouragement you would bring chastisement conviction of sin I pray O Lord today you would bring the forgiveness of sin as well Lord for any here who do not know you who have not closed with Christ may this be the day of salvation thank you for your great mercy upon us Lord I pray for those who are unable to be with us this morning because of because they are traveling abroad or because of illness or other providential hindrance I pray that you'd be with your people I pray especially in particular for Don neufelt that you'd be merciful to him in his trials again in the emergency of the hospital I pray that you would would do him good and and strengthen him and give the doctors wisdom in dealing with his physical ailments Lord we thank you that you continue to bless us you continue to add to us thank you for the the babies that have been born in recent days pray that you would bless summer and clear and their parents as they seek to nurture them and to rear them in the fear and admonition of the Lord thank you for all of the children that you have blessed us with in this church and we pray oh God that you would give us much grace in teaching these children and seeing them brought up to understand and to know the gospel we thank you for our sister churches thank you for the church plants thank you for the good report that brother Josh brought us of what you are doing out there in Dryden Ontario we pray that you would bless that congregation this morning as they gather and Lord I pray for those who are informally in leadership for Josh and Dan that you would give them much much wisdom in the future and I pray Lord that you would bring and add to their number both those who are being saved and those who are established in the faith we pray oh God that you would bring more uh members to their midst that they would be able to constitute and form a solid core group of of Believers in that church that are fully committed to the doctrines of Grace and to the Reformed Baptist principles Lord we pray that you would bless them Bless The Working Armstrong today as well thank you that Pastor Porter or mother Porter has been able to go up there to help and assist and to preach we pray that you would give him an anointing to to preach this day fervently and fluently the word of God bless that congregation bless our Brethren out in the church in Surrey I pray that you would encourage them and continue to add to their numbers continue to unify them Lord we pray that you would continue to build your church and we would see more churches planted across western Canada and throughout this nation Lord we thank you for the many other churches even in this city that are meeting today where the gospel is being preached I pray God that your spirit would attend and that that word would bring forth fruit in the lives of the hearers Lord we pray for churches abroad that we know of and that we support and love we pray oh God that you would bless the work down in Honduras for you to encourage the Christians there Lord we pray as well for the work in Cuba we thank you for the work that you are doing thank you that Pastor lindblad was recently has been able to go down with other Brethren and to teach the Brethren there in various conferences I pray Lord that you would continue to build your church there in the midst of their unique situation and struggles encourage them oh God and add to their number we thank you Lord for the church in various countries where they are persecuted and where there are difficulties Lord in Northern Africa where there are many countries steeped in Islam and where Christianity is frowned upon and often actively persecuted in an attempt to drive the church out of those countries I pray o God that you would be merciful and that the church would grow and be firm and we pray that you would cause a great change to take place in Awakening in the hearts of people that have not yet heard the gospel Lord we pray again today that you would bless our time here bless Pastor Butler as he comes up shortly to preach to US Open our hearts to hear the word we pray this in Jesus name amen for our next hymn we'll turn again to the psalter number 22 d as in delta 22 D the ends of all the Earth shall hear please stand again as we sing together [Music] the years [Music] Glory [Music] foreign [Music] glorious [Music] ly the Glorious honor able foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] thank you [Music] for our morning scripture reading we are in Matthew chapter 6 this morning Matthew chapter 6 we will read from verse 1 through verse 15. Matthew chapter 6 take heed that you do not do your charitable Deeds before men to be seen by them otherwise you have no reward from your father in Heaven therefore when you do a charitable deed do not sound a trumpet before you as the Hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets that they may have Glory from Men assuredly I say to you they have the reward but when you do a charitable deed do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing that your charitable deed may be in secret and your father who sees in secret will himself reward you openly and when you pray you shall not be like the Hypocrites for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets that they may be seen by men assuredly I say to you they have the reward but you when you pray go into your room and when you have shut your door pray to your father who is in the secret place and your father who sees in secret will reward you openly and when you pray do not use vain repetitions as the Heathen do for they think that they will be heard for their many words therefore do not be like them for your father knows the things you have need of before you ask him in this manner therefore pray Our Father in heaven Hallowed Be Your Name Your Kingdom Come your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors and do not lead us into temptation but Deliver Us from the evil one for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever amen for if you forgive men their trespasses your heavenly father will also forgive you but if you do not forgive men their trespasses neither will your father forgive your trespasses amen let us pray gracious Father in Heaven I thank you that your honor and your glory are Paramount and we pray that your kingdom would come and your will would be done here on Earth as it is in heaven thank you that In Heaven There is no corruption there's no lying No Stealing no murdering Lord we see corruption all around us and we desire for your kingdom to come and your rule to overthrow the evil and establish righteousness Lord we pray that you would continue with us we pray that your word would dwell richly in our hearts this day in Jesus name amen for our final hymn turn to 440 440 we will sing it to a different but a familiar tune 440. [Music] peace [Music] time to pray that says angry Grace [Music] tomorrow [Music] [Music] then our consciousness [Music] [Music] this is [Music] Jesus [Music] Christ [Music] this is true [Music] or you can turn back with me in your Bibles to God the Matthew's gospel we're going to be in Matthew chapter 19. a passage we have looked at in the past one that I think is a good reminder for us as Christians as non-christians as people who want to share the gospel with Christians Matthew chapter 19 verses 16 to 22 Jesus dealing with the Rich Young Ruler now in chapter 18 Jesus deals with matters connected to the church chapter 19 for the most part matters dealing with the family we'll hear specifically in verses 16 to 22 a matter concerning a man's acceptance with God that's what's at stake he asks the very simple question what shall I do that I may inherit or have eternal life so I'll read the section we'll pray and then we'll look at it in some detail so beginning in Matthew 19 at verse 16. Now Behold one came and said to him good teacher what good things shall I do that I may have eternal life so he said to him why do you call me good no one is good but but one that is God but if you want to enter into life keep the Commandments he said to him which ones Jesus said You shall not murder you shall not commit adultery you shall not steal you shall not bear false witness honor your father and your mother and you shall love your neighbor as yourself the young man said to him all these things I have kept from my youth what do I still lack Jesus said to him if you want to be perfect go saw what you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven and come follow me but when the young man heard that saying he went away sorrowful for he had great possessions amen well let us pray our gracious God and Father we thank you for this time that we can gather together and look at your holy word we pray for the ministry of the Holy Spirit who gave us the word to guide us and direct us and lead us into a good understanding of what Christ is doing in this passage may you see or may we see the glory of the Gospel of our Salvation the fact that Christ lived the fact that Christ died and was raised again so that Sinners may have everlasting life forgive us and cleanse us now and wash Us in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and we pray in his Most Blessed name amen well as we look at this particular passage the man asks a good question and as we consider it we consider the legitimacy of it notice he says good teacher what good things shall I do that I may have eternal life so the idea is is how do I enter into heaven now I would suppose there's a decline in the amount of people that actually believe that there is a heaven today religion is in Decline especially here in the western world but I think there's still a lot of people out there that given the opportunity to choose yes or no that there is a heaven I think a lot would still say yeah so if there is in fact a heaven that invites the question well how do I enter in and that's precisely what's on this young man's mind he wants to know what he needs to do in order that he may have eternal life in other words he wants acceptance with God he wants to dwell in that place of righteousness and and goodness and blessedness and who can blame him when you look at the world around us it's filled with it's actual perversion it's filled with with godlessness and idolatry it's filled with lies and and theft and all manner of departure from God's holy law so I think the the legitimacy of the question is obvious how do we move from this state into that state of acceptance with God this man is on the wrong track in terms of how he gains acceptance with God and the Lord Jesus corrects him so I want to look first at the question posed by the young man in verses 16 to 19 and then secondly the direction given by the Lord Jesus in verses 20 to 22. now this man is identified as young here in Matthew he's called a ruler in the parable parallel passage in Luke 18 and he's described as rich in all three of the synoptic gospels so Matthew Mark and Luke all tell us that he was a rich man and so obviously when Jesus presses him on the need to sell his possessions and give to the poor and follow him he goes away sorrowful why because he had a lot of money he wasn't ready to divest himself of that so let's look at this question notice in the first place the one he addresses verse 16 Now Behold one came and said to him good teacher what good things shall I do that I may have eternal life as I've said it's legitimate as I said it's a good one if you haven't given thought about that perennial issue what shall happen to me when I die may I encourage you to do so again as there is a decline in religious belief in the Western World people just don't think about this they don't think about a heaven they don't think about a hell they don't think about the reality of Hebrews 9 that it's appointed for men to die once and then comes judgment in fact the idea of standing before a Thrice holy God probably doesn't enter into the minds of a lot of people today and that is something that should grieve our hearts people in the past at least had this Vision or this idea idea that life continued beyond the grave so if you've not thought this then I would encourage you to contemplate it what would happen to me if I were to drop dead today what would happen to me if I got hit by a truck on the way home today I'm not a prophet nor the son of the Prophet so don't fear that I'm somehow giving you the whammy here but rather you need to consider the fact that one day you will die it's appointed and then you will stand before God in judgment so again it is a legitimate question that this young man asks good teacher what good things shall I do that I may have eternal life but it's an illegitimate question for three reasons first of all the question assumes ability on the part of man it assumes that he has it in himself to be able to commend himself to God Almighty well that would be fine if man wasn't a sinner that would be fine if there wasn't that death in Adam that would be fine if we were in a state of perfection we would always choose for God we would always go God word and we would have our acceptance with God based on that reality but the fact that he thinks that there is something that he can do in order to commend himself to God underscores that he's not thinking God's thoughts after him John 6 44 our lord Jesus says no one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him as well in Romans chapter 8 verses 7 and 8 the Apostle Paul says the carnal mind is enmity against God it is not subject to the law of God nor indeed can it be so there is a disregard for the Bible's teaching in on on on the sin of man with reference to this young man as well the question reflects a misunderstanding of Christ's Mission what good things shall shall I do that I may inherit eternal life or that I may have eternal life well the Apostle Paul has to deal with that sort of thing in the book of Galatians and the Apostle makes a statement in Galatians 2 21 that is absolutely crucial for our understanding of this passage you see Paul does what Jesus does In this passage of scripture Paul shows the futility of trying to gain acceptance with God through the law why again because we're sinful we're dead in Adam we cannot commend ourselves to God so Paul shows that and then he highlights the graciousness of God in his free acceptance of Sinners by and through our Lord Jesus Christ so in Galatians 2 21 he says I do not set aside the grace of God for if righteousness comes through the law then Christ died in vain so if this man this young man is to be pressed he would have to disregard the finished work of the Savior if there's something that he can do so that God will accept him then Christ died in vain and that's the problem with mankind today that chooses that path well I'm going to justify harder I'm going to just do better I'm just going to reform my life I'm going to stop visiting prostitutes I'm going to stop smoking crack I'm going to stop embezzling from my employer I'm going to clean up my act and then I'll be so good that God will receive me unto himself that's faulty logic that is bad logic because first of all you can't clean yourself up to a perfect exact entire Obedience of God's law but as well it doesn't do anything with the sins you've already committed see the gospel or good news of our Lord Jesus Christ simply means when you believe in him you're forgiven of sin not some sin but all sin isn't that a wonderful thing my sin oh the Bliss of this glorious thought my sin not in part but the whole is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more praise the Lord praise the Lord but not only are you forgiven of your sins but you receive the righteousness of Jesus Christ by which now you can be accepted in him by God most high so this young man has this idea that he has the ability to commend himself to God what shall shall I do the question is well reflect a misunderstanding of Christ's Mission he didn't just come to set an example he didn't just come to start a new religion he came to save his people from their sins by his life his death and his resurrection he didn't come to help save he didn't come to partially assist he came to save his people from their sins so if you choose the way of your own Works to commend you to God it is to disregard what God sent his son into this world to accomplish and then the question assumes that man is the final Arbiter of who does and who doesn't enter into heaven well we don't have that wherewithal we don't have that ability as we said in the Air Force in the military that's above our pay grade that's not something we're privy to we don't control the Eternal Destiny with reference to our status before a holy God so the young man poses this question in verse 16 now let's look at the response of the Lord in verses 17 to 19. when he says why do you call me good no one is good but one that is God don't want to spend a lot of time on that text I just simply want to point out that this man is asking about good things in order to be accepted by a good God and Jesus is now orienting him to the reality that God Alone is good and that it's God's law that he needs to have dealings with notice the specific direction that he gives him in 17b now I don't want to confuse anybody as we move through this passage so I'm going to go slow not suggesting your morons and you need me to take you slow through the passage but this passage is misunderstood not just by Churches but by commentaries by men that's supposed to supposedly know better Jesus is not preaching the law as the means of Salvation to this man and on the the surface reading of the text some come away and think that's exactly it all I've got to do is have a garage sale all I've got to do is give the proceeds to my neighbor who's poor and then follow Jesus and and everything is going to be good no the Lord Jesus is preaching the law to this young man to show him his sin to show him his need to show him that he stands in a condition of desperation before a holy God and that Jesus is the one in whom alone there is salvation so the way that Jesus does that is Again by preaching the law the Heidelberg Catechism asks the question how do you know your sin and misery I know my sin and Misery by virtue of God's law in other words when I come to grips with What God Says in those Ten Commandments I'm shown to be a sinner I'm shown to be not good I'm shown to be awry I'm shown to be defective I'm shown to be what Isaiah the prophet says Isaiah 53 oh we like sheep have have gone astray so that's the strategy of Our Lord at this place he is preaching the law to the man to show the man his need for Grace and if you have ever read scripture if you've ever pondered that law of God you will know that you fall short you will know that we have a problem an inclination toward idolatry the first two Commandments prohibit that you know that there's an inclination to blasphemy the third commandment prohibits that there's an inclination to break the Sabbath day to have a day of rest in the presence of God most high again dispositionally that's where we gravitate what about insubordination it's not just parents and and children it's governments and citizens I confess that's been a big one over the last couple years the the the the sixth commandment murder as we move through these Commandments as Jesus presses these upon the conscience of his of his hearer understand that he's already taught concerning the Commandments in Matthew chapter five it's not just external compliance but it's the internal heart it's not just enough to not having uh the act of adultery you're not supposed to lust upon another person in your heart it's not enough not to just stop somebody's heart from beating you're not supposed to want them dead in an ungodly way so as the Lord traces through these Commandments again he is bringing it to Bear upon this man so that this man will look outside of himself away from the what shall I do to the one who hath done keep our Lord Jesus Christ so notice the young man asks the question Jesus gives the simple answer in 17b but if you want to enter into life keep the Commandments I should just say again by way of reminder this would be great counsel if we weren't Sinners this would be great counsel if we weren't dead in our trespasses and sins if we weren't in at I mean it is great counsel in the strategy that Jesus is employing it to show the man his need for Jesus so the young man wants to know what good thing and Christ points him to good God's good law and the young man wants to have eternal life in terms of that law so Christ says it must be fulfilled by obeying God now if you're new to this you might say well that seems simple enough we'll consider what Paul again in Galatians says reflecting the Old Testament Galatians 3 10 says curse it is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law to do that now whenever a person say well you know I'm a pretty good guy I'm a pretty good girl I've never committed murder I've never you know engaged in adultery I I think I'll be accepted you need to understand that I think I'll be accepted is not grounds upon which to rest your Eternal state thinking you will be accepted for imperfect obedience to the law is a Fool's errand you must continue in all things that God has commanded and that means all day and that means every day and that means every month which means you get it the true story here every year always our confession says that obedience to God's law must be exact it must be entire it must be personal and it must be perpetual in other words it's not just a one-off you hear a convicting sermon you go home and you say well what I'm done with that I'm going to fix my life and then five minutes later you find that your life needs fixing in a whole lot of places so this man thinks there's one thing that he needs to do in order to approach God and Jesus brings that curse of the law Galatians 3 12 yet the law is not a faith but the man who does them shall live by them the young man wants to know what good thing he must do so Jesus says well if it's the good thing that you want to do you better do it absolutely perfectly you better do it spotlessly you better do it always Spurgeon makes a comment at this point he says yet on the ground of the law he would desire eternal life as a reward he must be as good as God and keep the Commandments to Perfection thus the rugged way of Works was set before him not that he might attempt to win eternal life thereby but that he might perceive his own shortcomings and so feel his weakness as to look for salvation by some other method so Jesus is using the law as it were as a hammer just to smash it to shatter him to shatter this illusion that there's there's things that he can do so that he may have eternal life now notice what the young man says in response he says to him verse uh uh Verse 18 he said to him which ones Jesus said You shall not murder you shall not commit adultery you shall not steal you shall not bear false witness honor your father and your mother and you shall love your neighbor as yourself so the Lord takes what we call the second table of the law our duties toward man so the first four Commandments are our duties toward God you shall have no other gods before God you shall not make for yourself an idol remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy and uh uh I'm sorry you shall not blasphem blaspheme number three and then remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy number four so five to ten is our responsibility toward man notice just put it in the back pocket for a minute that he doesn't mention the tenth commandment okay keep that in your head keep that somewhere where you can access that later so Jesus sets forth the second table of law the sixth commandment murder seventh adultery eighth theft ninth uh false witness and fifth obedience to parents or other authority and then he gives Leviticus 19 as a summarizing principle notice in 19B you shall love your neighbor as yourself that summarizes that second table of the law and again what is he doing here he's pressing this young man's conscience with the reality that the law law of God demands perfect exact entire and Perpetual obedience now that brings us next to the direction given by the Lord Jesus look at first of all the assertion by the young man in verses of verse 20. the young man said to him all these things I have kept from my youth what do I still lack now if you're at least a little bit familiar with the Bible you'll know that this is not a good response okay this this this is you know you get an f ah wrong that this is not good this man is actually suggesting that that the second table of the law was performed impeccably by him I mean you meet proud people in scripture there's that man in Luke 18 you know the two men who went to the Temple of prey you had the Pharisee and you had the Publican and the Pharisees stay prayed thus with himself thank you God that that I'm so awesome thank you that I'm so righteous thank you that I'm so holy thank you that I fast and I die that I and I do everything and thank you that I'm not an adulterer and I'm not not an extortion I'm not like this unjust man you do meet with that in the pages of Holy Scripture Matthew chapter six the guys were uh told not to sound the alarm when we give our our alms you know you don't come into the church and say you know everybody look look what I'm going to do I'm going to drop this big check right into the box you're not supposed to do that why do you think Jesus tells people they're not supposed to do that because it's in us to do that we want to be seen we want to be recognized we want people to say wow what a holy specimen of a human being so this young man has personal wherewithal to claim that he had obeyed the law of God verse 20 the young man said to him all these things I have kept from my youth what do I still laugh the young man claims that he had obeyed it from his youth the young man proudly parades his self-righteousness this is a proudly parading of one's self-righteousness right you don't stand around and you know pat yourself on the back in front of your fellows telling them how good you are this is virtue signaling 101. all these things I have kept from my youth the young man has not properly reflected upon the comprehensiveness of the law again it's not just the external act but it's the internal disposition you you never had a lustful thought you never wanted to rid the world of a particular enemy you you never coveted you never well we're going to see that in just a moment you never engaged in this kind of lawlessness towards your fellows Royal said so utterly ignorant is he of the spiritually of spirituality of God's statutes that he never doubts that he is perfectly fulfilled that how dark must his mind have been as to the nature of God's law how low must his ideas have been as to the Holiness which God requires again just to cut to the point God doesn't accept uh you know he doesn't great on a curve well everybody else around me is you know a a d-minus so so my C is going to get me into heaven no it's perpetual it's perfect it's exact and entire obedience to the law that that God demands by this point you're starting to wonder starting to see what what the goodness is about the gospel the goodness about Jesus because Jesus did obey Jesus didn't have lustful thoughts Jesus didn't engage in those acts of wickedness Jesus was wholly harmless and undefiled Jesus lived in absolute obedience to the law of God for us men and for our Salvation we look to him in faith we're forgiven of our sin and we receive the righteousness that he has won as well the young man has not properly understood the nature of sin and total depravity I've always thought that the diagnoses upon our culture is overly complicated at least from the biblical point of view when you look at what's happening around us the answer is pretty simple it's sin why do we encourage the murder of The Unborn why do we encourage the murder of the elderly and the infirm why why do we encourage children to to mutilate themselves now in the name of you know whatever kind of liberation well yeah I'm sure there's a lot of you know socio-economic policies and factors we can put it's sin it's Rebellion against God it's lawlessness it is a lack of Conformity unto his law it is a transgression of what he has said the the problems in the world are not hard to diagnose and if we diagnose the the problem properly then what is the solution what does the psalter say we don't trust in chariots we don't trust in war says we trust in the power of the the most high God we pray for the proclamation of his gospel we pray that that word would run swiftly and be glorified we pray that sinners from every tribe telling people in Asia would look unto the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved so this young man has not reflected upon sin and total depravity but as well notice that this young man realizes there must be something else see this attempt to work our way into God's favor never brings the peace that justification by faith alone does what is Paul say in Romans 5 1 he says therefore having been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ isn't that the reality of it isn't that the truth of it isn't it wonderful to be ambulopilly or at night and realize that if I die before I wake I'm going to be in the presence of God not because I'm a good guy not because I did good things but because Christ is a glorious savior It Is by virtue of his life his death and his resurrection that I will be accepted Spurgeon says he presses his inquiry as to Salvation by works because he thought himself on the road to winning it and by doing so he evidences that fact that there is no peace ultimately with this works righteousness approach there's always got to be something else there's always got to be something more there's always got to be something other I haven't crossed all the t's I haven't dotted all the eyes I I haven't sufficiently obeyed every John and Tittle what what else is there Lord now notice what Jesus says to him in terms of again preaching the law remember he doesn't mention the tenth commandment because most likely the young fellow was pretty decent at these other things but what was his prevailing sin what's the problem of his heart I mean we all have it right Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 7 God made man upright but they've sought out many devices my devices might not be your devices your devices might not be my devices but rest assured we all have that rest assured we all have our pet sins rest assured we all have the inclination of our own Hearts to a particular departure from God's law what is it with this young man it's his stuff it's his garage it's his living room it's his cars it's his summer home it's his private jet remember he's a rich on ruler he's got all this stuff so with the strategy of a of a of a wonderful preacher the Lord Jesus Takes the specific command that this young man struggled with and he presses him with it and again not teaching him that if you just do this then everything's going to be hunky-dory no this man had an elevated assumption that he was able to comply with six to nine but we are five to nine but Jesus wants to show him that his problem fundamentally is a problem of rebellion against God so notice in verse 21 what Jesus says Jesus said to him if you want to be perfect go sell what you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven and come follow me so the Lord affirms that the young man isn't perfect right if you want to be perfect if you want to be whole if you want to have eternal life if you want acceptance with the father so he acknowledges the fact that the young man is indeed a sinner the young man's elevated thoughts about his own accomplishments were wrong they were misguided they were misdirected they were they were grandiose we might say but as well the Lord preaches the law specifically the tenth commandment which is you shall not covet now I think there's a connection between the tenth commandment and the first commandment see this idea of covetousness means that there's something outside of you that can bring peace it can bring Comfort it can bring stability well when we covet or we engage in that particular sin we are betraying a commitment to our god the first commandment says you shall have no other gods before me not your garage not your living room not your cars not your summer home not your private jet you're to have your comfort and your stability in God Almighty that's where our security lies as well the Lord here is not necessarily condemning money in every jot and title people read this and again they think all I got to do is get rid of my box and follow Jesus and and I'm in well if that's the case why aren't there more people on their way to heaven the Bible tells us the way is broad that leads to destruction he's he's particularizing the law in this instance we know from Paul in first Timothy chapter six that it's not money money doesn't rob banks money doesn't cut people's heads off money doesn't engage in adultery money's a tool what's the problem when it comes to money the problem is in our hearts it's the love of money that is the root of all kinds of evil Paul in first Timothy chapter 6 doesn't tell the rich folk in Ephesus to get rid of all their money Paul tells Timothy have a Bible study with them and tell them not to be haughty don't be proud don't trust in uncertain riches be benevolent and charitable and gracious and willing to share with those who have need Paul in first Timothy chapter 5 verse 8 actually levels a complaint at persons who don't have money and he says it thus he says if any man does not provide for his own he's worse than an unbeliever ah last I checked you needed money to buy milk you needed money to buy gas you needed money to put a roof over your children's heads so it's not money per se that the Lord is after though there is a particular warning in the passage that we'll visit in a few minutes but it's the covetousness it's the stuff it's the the broken law it's the the tenth commandment the Lord points him to Grace for salvation he doesn't say it in so many words but when we compare scripture with scripture when we understand what the Lord teaches elsewhere when we understand what Paul tells us in specifically Romans and Galatians we know that this is the Lord's strategy a couple of weeks ago we considered the fall of David into gross sin remember when kings go out to battle David sent joab and when David stayed behind he saw Bathsheba bathing she was naked so he called for her he took her he lay with her he committed adultery with her she gets pregnant so he has to try to cover that sin instead of confessing it to God confessing it to her husband he Plies Uriah he brings Uriah from the field of combat tries to have him lie with his wife so that when she turns out pregnant nobody will be underneath the wiser well of course Uriah had a lot more Integrity Uriah wasn't going to do that so ultimately David gives The Kill Order have Uriah dead in the battlefield well on the heels of that the prophet Nathan comes and Nathan says to David I want to tell you a little story there were there's a rich man and there was a poor man and this poor man had a little lamb and he loved this lamb it was his own he slept with the lamb I know it's a bit odd but you know go with the story from the prophet Nathan he he received it as if it was his own little daughter well the rich man had a visitor one day so what does he do is the rich man go into his field no he goes to the poor man and he takes that you lamb he cuts it up and he barbecues it for his friend David is outraged David is incense David is angry and what does Nathan say you are the man you had everything David you had houses you had wives you had you had all the stuff that there could be in and God through the prophet says and if that wasn't enough I would have given you more what's the point Nathan brings that man face to face with the law of God and that's what Jesus does here Jesus brings this man face to face with the law of God so he'll quit asking the question what shall I do but To Whom Shall I believe in and it's Christ the lord again Spurgeon makes the observation in Jesus use of the tenth commandment if we love our possession more than we love God we are we are idolaters and if we will hug our property so as to let the poor hunger we cannot be said to love them as ourselves his claim was just that I have loved my neighbor as myself so Jesus comes to him in the specific case necessary and says okay you say you've loved your neighbor as yourself you've done so even from uh the time that you were a boy go ahead and sell everything then take that money and and and give it to the poor well he didn't quite want to do that notice in verse 22 but when the young man heard that saying he went away sorrowful for he had great possessions so what happens Jesus preaches the law to him to show him the futility of trying to gain acceptance with God through his obedience through his uh fulfillment through his righteousness so that then this man would be a Seeker after something outside of himself namely Grace see there's one of two approaches to get into God's favor our own Works our own efforts our own ability or God's free Grace in the person and in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ which one would you choose we say well I'll take Jesus for the win but you see so many people don't so many people hear the gospel and they think well this is just you know it's a Folly it's it's a fairy tale it's it's just for those religious weirdos that that want to spend their time on no this is matters of life and death This Is Heaven and Hell this is the way of acceptance with God or the way of being rejected by God and so Jesus lays the law upon him so that he'll look outside of himself for gospel for good news so notice when the young man heard that saying I'll give him credit he heard it and he understood I don't think there's a lot of comprehension today in terms of the Gospel message and I'm not talking just outside in the world I don't know in the church the the the the error of adding to well I need to believe on Jesus and I need to this I need to believe on Jesus plus I I need to wear this I I need to believe on Jesus plus I I need to go under uh through this that's not what believing in Jesus means if righteousness comes to the law then then Christ died in vain you either bring your words to God for acceptance or you lay hold of the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ we sometimes sing A Hymn and there's two lines you've heard me repeat it often foul I to the Fountain fly Wash Me savior or I die that's as good a confession as you're gonna get or else he says nothing in my hand I bring simply to thy cross I claim that's an understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ Our Lord this man didn't have it what what shall I do what thing do I lack what what is it that I need to to to to bring to the table so that God Almighty will accept me but he did hear he did understand and then he went away sorrowful why because the message didn't resonate with his heart again the idea of look unto the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved on the one hand it's the most simple thing on the face of the Earth on the other hand it's quite challenging why is that because we want to have a have a hand in it we want to have sort of one-upmanship we want to you know bask in our wisdom bask in our righteousness bask in our ability we want to say with the young man yeah I'm as great as you might imagine there is that Wicked pride of Adam and each and every one of our hearts and it's a difficult thing to sort of root out it is through the preaching of God's law that Jesus is rooting it out in this particular instance so notice then how Matthew ends in so when the young man heard that saying he went away sorrowful for he had great possessions the young man's greed or covetousness was found out yet he chose rather to cleave to his possessions than to come to Christ that is sad and it's a sad thing that happened probably to every single one of us that are now confessing faith in the Lord Jesus somebody along the way said you know you're messed up you're a law breaker you're guilty before holy God look unto the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved now what do we do we disregarded it we we said you know what that's not for me I wonder at times with children young people I think it's a great blessing and a great privilege to grow up in a gospel preaching church I think that is a great blessing from God most high but I fear at times being Bible hardened you hear it so much it just becomes sort of old hat you hear it so much it just sort of becomes routine you grow up in it there's a resistance already built in because of your place in Adam and and you just get further hardened you just get further you know sort of rebellions that that that's not the way to be that's not a good place to be listen again to Solomon in the Book of Ecclesiastes he says remember your Creator and your youth if God in his infinite wisdom and in his goodness gave you to Christian parents who bring you to a Christian Church to hear the preaching of the Christian Gospel I would suggest that those are pointing signs pointed by God to his son that you should believe in him that you should look unto him and and be saved don't wait don't Terry don't say well you know I'm going to wait till I'm 25 30 40. I'm going to wait till I'm really old when I'm 50. and then I'll I'll have peace with God most time no remember your Creator and your youth there's no better place to be than in Christ not having your own righteousness which is from the law that that righteousness which is from God received through faith so when we come to consider this particular man Carson says he leaves because if a choice must be made between money and Jesus money wins Ryle says one Idol cherished in the heart May ruin a soul forever and Bruner says he does not have money it has him he does not have money it has him now in conclusion I have a few lessons and then we'll go first the challenge in the text presented by the Lord to an affluent people what do I mean by affluent I mean we've got money we've got stuff we're not living in Huts you know we're not wandering around aimlessly with bare feet in the streets I mean that may come if the wef is to be trusted but for right now we've got lots of blessings manifold blessings the psalmist says in Psalm 68 bless the Lord who has loaded us daily with Benefits certainly that's a prayer the people of God in Canada and America can offer up to the most high again I think the Lord Jesus is particularizing the tenth commandment in this instance to show this man his sin there is an overarching sort of a warning built into the structure notice what he says in verse 23 then Jesus said to his disciples assuredly I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven and again I say to you it is easy easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God when his disciples heard it they were greatly astonished saying who then can be saved but Jesus looked at them and said to them with men this is impossible but With God all things are possible so there is a warning in the passage two influent people a particularizing instance where he uses the law of God vis-a-vis the tenth commandment to show this individual sinner of his need for the Savior but generally speaking Jesus says it is hard for a rich man to enter into heaven why is that because as we trust in our riches we love our money we love our stuff we love the things it affords we love the Comfort we love the blessing and again I'm not telling every single one of you let's have a big garage sale let's get rid of everything and let's give it to the poor the the idea is though is that we need to be careful we need to Be watchful and prayerful it's intriguing because when you compare it Matthew 19 with Luke 19 Luke 19 comes after Luke 18. that's some learning isn't it but in Luke 18 is where you get Jesus statement concerning the rich man and the difficulty or impossibility of them entering into heaven do you love what the disciples say who then can be saved why do you think they did that because in their assessment a rich man was favored by God if a rich man who's favored by God is going to have a tough time getting into heaven then that brings the question who then can be saved it's on the heels of that that Jesus gives that glorious answer with men it is impossible but With God all things are possible so then in Luke 19 we have the case of Zacchaeus Zacchaeus Was a rich man Zacchaeus Was the camel that went through the eye of the needle because of God's grace because of the work of our Lord Jesus Christ because of the reality that the son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost Luke 19 10. so there is a warning a general warning here in terms of riches do not let them seize you rather use them in the manner that God has called us to secondly the methodology of the Lord the young man's question demonstrates his approach to life through what we call in the theology the Covenant of works but what I've tried to explain is simply trying to get into God's favor based on your own Performance Based on your own Works based on what you've done based on how you've done it all things I I've kept from my youth I I'm a great guy you you should accept me you should you know throw the doors of Heaven open when I die so that everybody can Rejoice that I'm finally there that is folly according to both the Old and the New Testament the Lord answers him accordingly to show him his inability to enter life through his own words Calvin says here this reply of Christ is legal because it was proper that the young man who inquired about the righteousness of Works should first be taught that no man is accounted righteous before God unless he has fulfilled the law which is impossible that convinced of his weakness he might but take himself to the assistance of faith in other words he might see the futility of trying to go it on his own and look to the Lord Jesus Christ in faith so that he might have everlasting life again in theology we call this the second use of the law the law functions as a child tutor the law functions as a pedagogue the law shows us our need for the Savior so that by the grace of God we come to him and believe in him Paul treats this in Romans 3 20. he says therefore by the Deeds of the law no one will be justified in his sight for by the law is the knowledge of sin and once we gain by God's grace that knowledge of sin we then see the glory of the Savior it is a beautiful way that God is ordained for Sinners to come to our Lord Jesus Christ that brings us to a third observation the kindness of the Lord the parallel passage in Mark 10 21 before Jesus gives him the instruction that we find here in verse 21 where it says Jesus said to him if you want to be perfect go saw what you have and give to the poor in the parallel passage it says then Jesus looking at him loved him and said to him think about that then Jesus looking at him loved him and said to him that's not what we're about are we in the church to well well you can't condemn people you can't make them feel bad because they do what they do not only is it not condemned by our Lord but it's encouraged by our Lord what's most loving to lie to people yeah you're great whatever path you choose however you live your life whatever law of God you break how however many times you break it you just you just do it because because God's going to accept you Brethren I submit that's one of the most unloving strategies the church has ever adopted it is to love the lost it is to love the sinner to occasionally bash them over the heads figuratively speaking with God's holy law if they don't see their need why would they ever look to the Savior if they don't understand their sin and misery before a holy God why look outside themselves to an altogether lovely Christ just makes no sense so it is a virtuous thing it is a good thing the preaching of God's truth is an act of Love towards Sinners even his law when they might be particularly Lawless and notice the directness of our Lord he knows the brother or the man struggles with the tenth commandment so does he say well you know I don't want to offend him needlessly I don't want to touch his Pet's sin I don't want to stand in Sodom and preach the seventh commandment I don't want to stand outside of an abortion clinic and preach the sixth commandment I don't want to stand outside of of lawlessness and sort of beat around the bush Christ goes for the juggler with the tenth commandment because that was this particular individual sin the preaching of God's truth is not only loving but crucial for sinners now I'm going to suggest something here it's not something I necessarily believe may not be something you've ever heard I don't want to rock anybody's world or freak you out or anything like that some believe this is Paul some believe the Rich Young Ruler here is Paul Paul before the Damascus Road experience Paul who understood the nature of the claim of the Nazarene Paul who viciously persecuted the church and tried to destroy it some suggest this was his sort of precursor now again not saying I necessarily subscribe but what Paul says in Romans chapter 7 I think adds a bit of weight to that view what's Paul say in Romans 7. it's not about God's law he's talking about sanctification he's talking about all these things in terms of the Christian Life Romans 7 7 Paul says what shall we say then is the law sin certainly not on the contrary I would not have known sin except through the law it's that pedagogical tutorial use of the law I would not have known sin except through the law and then look at the particular law he invokes relative to his own experience he says for I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said You shall not covet again not suggesting this is Paul but suggesting there's similarities with Paul's experience Paul had issues as a Pharisee Paul had covetousness in his heart Paul had unbridled lust and sin in him and he says I would have not have known that unless the law had confronted me and shown me my sin so again to that response that in the Christian church we ought never ever to offend anybody we know as the Christian church it's that offense at times that is absolutely well not at times all the time is absolutely crucial to bring Sinners to the end of themselves so that they will look outward they will look Christ's word they will by Grace believe on him matron set a new and more powerful powerful proclamation of that law is perhaps the most pressing need of the hour men would have little difficulty with the gospel if they had only learned the lesson of law so it always is a low view of law always brings legalism and religion a high view of law makes a man a Seeker after Grace pray God that the High View May again Prevail I am in that a hundred percent because we are seeing decline in this area yes we're Ministers of the Gospel but not to the neglect of God's law it is the law that shows men their need for the gospel Jesus said I didn't come to call Sinners to repent righteous but Sinners to repentance what's he saying he's saying preach to Sinners to show them their sin so that they will see their need for the Savior King and then finally the legitimacy of the question the necessity of the question how do I obtain eternal life again don't look at what you shall do but rather in whom you shall believe and that is the Lord Jesus Christ and the wretchedness of his answer demonstrates self-righteousness it demonstrates this idea that yeah I'm okay I'm not as bad as those preachers say I'm not as bad as that Bible says I just need a little help and everything's going to be A-Okay no you're messed up I'm messed up I'm not up here because I'm some wise man or some virtuous man or some righteous man the Apostle Paul wasn't the Apostle Paul for any of those reasons he was a sinner saved by grace that's why he celebrates God's grace throughout his Epistles and that's why he condemns this thought that if I just do enough or if I just engage in more or if I just stop certain things then I'll be accepted with God Paul says no you cannot do that you must look outside yourself unto the Lord Jesus Christ in whom there is forgiveness in whom there is a righteousness in whom there is acceptance with God such that eternal life will be enjoyed by you forever and ever well in conclusion this is the last one I just want to end with a Luther quote I've always thought every believer should read Luther on Galatians Martin Luther not Martin Luther King the Civil Rights guy but Martin Luther the 15th century uh 15th 16th century uh German reformer he makes this observation in his lectures on Galatians he says we on the other hand teach and comfort and Afflicted sinner this way so so as Christians we still have our struggles right everybody should probably be going yeah we we do we got our issues we got our challenges we have our struggles with Assurance we have our struggles with remaining corruption we have our struggles in the world we have our struggles with our family we have our struggles in our own lives we have we have issues we've got struggles we've got problems so how do we encourage that is it you know go out and be better go out and do more go out and try harder now there may be a place for that if your life is stuck to internet pornography stop it get rid of your device throw it out of your pot whatever you got to do stop but first look at Christ he says we on the other hand teach in comfort and Afflicted sinner this way brother it is impossible for you to become so righteous in this life that your body is as clear and spotless as the sun you still have spots and wrinkles and yet you're holy but you say how can I be holy when I have sin and am aware of it that you feel and acknowledge sin this is good thank God and do not despair it is one step toward Health when a sick man admits and confesses his disease but how will I be liberated from sin run to Christ The Physician who heals the contrite of heart and saves Sinners believe in him if you believe you are righteous because you attribute to God the glory of being Almighty merciful truthful you justify and praise God in short you attribute Divinity and everything to him and the sin that still remains in you is not imputed but is Forgiven for the sake of Christ in whom you believe and who is perfectly righteous in a formal sense and this last line is what I want everybody to take home his righteousness is yours your sin is his praise God for the gospel of free and Sovereign Grace well let us pray Father in Heaven thank you for your word thank you for the clarity of our Lord's teaching here with this Rich Young Ruler and I pray that it would find its Mark in our hearts that we would appreciate afresh the grace of the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as well God wherever this gospel is proclaimed today May it run swiftly and may it be glorified as we look at this current evil age we see the need is great but we know the power of God is greater so send forth your Victorious word conquering and to conquer and may you be glorified in the salvation of Sinners here and elsewhere For Your Glory sake and we pray through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen we can turn in your hymn books to 568 and we'll close our service by singing the doxology the doxology and praise to our Triumph [Music] foreign [Music] oh Israel hope in the Lord for with the Lord there is Mercy and with him is abundant Redemption and he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities thank you God for these promises thank you for your truth thank you for your grace we pray that you would go with us now watch over us in this day and help us to glorify and honor you and we pray through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen we may be seated for a brief time of meditation