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Or you can turn back with me
in your Bibles to 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 thing 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 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, sell 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 thing 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 goodness and blessedness. And who can
blame him? When you look at the world around
us, it's filled with sexual perversion. It's filled with godlessness
and idolatry. It's filled with lies and theft.
all manner of departure from God's holy law. So I think 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 wanna 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 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
thing 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 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
thing 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 Godward, 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 on the sin of man with reference to this young
man. As well, the question reflects
a misunderstanding of Christ's mission. What good thing 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 and add up. 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 just try 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 I
do? The question as well reflects
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 wanna confuse anybody
as we move through this passage, so I'm gonna go slow. I'm not
suggesting you're 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 supposedly know better. Jesus is not preaching the law
as the means of salvation to this man. And on 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 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 10 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 in Isaiah 53, all we like
sheep 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 in subordination?
It's not just parents and children, it's governments and citizens.
I confess that's been a big one over the last couple years. The
sixth commandment, murder. As we move through these commandments,
as Jesus presses these upon the conscience of his hearer, understand
that he's already taught concerning the commandments in Matthew chapter
5. It's not just external compliance, but it's the internal heart.
It's not just enough to not having... 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 has done, 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...
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 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. Well, consider what Paul
again in Galatians says, reflecting the Old Testament. Galatians
3.10 says, Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all
things which are written in the book of the law to do them. Now,
whenever a person says, 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 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 trajectory
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, 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 of 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, to smash him, to shatter him, to shatter
this illusion that 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 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 I'm sorry, you shall not
blaspheme, 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, 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 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 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 is, you know, you
get an F. Wrong. This is not good. This man is actually suggesting
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,
or the two men who went to the Temple to pray. You had the Pharisee
and you had the publican and the Pharisee prayed thus with
himself. Thank you God 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
tithe, and I do everything. And thank you that I'm not an
adulterer, and I'm not an extortioner. I'm not like this unjust man.
You do meet with that in the pages of Holy Scripture. Matthew
chapter six, the guys were told not to sound the alarm when we
give our alms. You know, you don't come into
the church and say, you know, everybody, look what I'm gonna
do. I'm gonna 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 the 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 lack? 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? Stand around and 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 never had a lustful thought?
You never wanted to rid the world of a particular enemy? You never
coveted? Well, we're going to see that
in just a moment. You never engaged in this kind of lawlessness toward
your fellows? Ryle said, so utterly ignorant
is he of the spirituality of God's statutes that he never
doubts that he has perfectly fulfilled them. 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 grate on a curve.
Well, everybody else around me is, you know, a D minus, so my
C is going to get me into heaven. No, it's perpetual, it's perfect,
it's exact, and it's higher obedience to the law that God demands. Hopefully by this point, you're
starting to wonder, starting to see 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 holy, 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 do we encourage children
to mutilate themselves now in the name of whatever kind of
liberation? Well, yeah, I'm sure there's
a lot of socioeconomic 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 problems in the world are not hard to diagnose. And if we diagnose the problem
properly, then what is the solution? What does the Psalter say? We
don't trust in chariots. We don't trust in horses. We
trust in the power of 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, tongue, people, and nation 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 does 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 able
to peel your head 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 gotta be something
else. There's always gotta be something more. There's always
gotta be something other. I haven't crossed all the T's.
I haven't dotted all the I's. I haven't sufficiently obeyed
every jot and tittle. 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 10th 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 young ruler. He's got all this stuff. So with
the strategy 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
6 to 9. 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 grandiose, we might
say. As well, the Lord preaches the
law, specifically the 10th commandment, which is, you shall not covet.
Now, I think there's a connection between the 10th 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 tittle. People read this and again they
think, all I got to do is get rid of my box and follow Jesus
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 particularizing
the law in this instance. We know from Paul in 1 Timothy
6 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 1 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 1st 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. 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 broken law, it's the
10th 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 up pregnant, nobody will be any 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 was 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 go with the story from the prophet Nathan.
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? Does the
rich man go into his field? No, he goes to the poor man.
And he takes that ewe lamb, he cuts it up, and he barbecues
it for his friend. David is outraged. David is incensed. David is angry. And what does Nathan say? You
are the man. You had everything, David. You
had houses. You had wives. You had all the
stuff that there could be. 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 10th commandment. If we love our possession more
than we love God, 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 the
time that you were a boy. Go ahead, sell everything. Take
that money 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 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 a fairy tale. It's just for those religious
weirdos 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'm talking about the
church. 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 need to wear this. I need to believe on Jesus plus
I need to go through this. That's not what believing in
Jesus means. If righteousness comes through
the law, 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 going to get. Or else, he says, nothing in
my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling. That's an understanding
of the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord. This man didn't have
it. What shall I do? What thing do
I lack? What is it that I need 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 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 in 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
it. 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 lawbreaker. You're
guilty before Holy God. Look unto the Lord Jesus Christ
and you shall be saved. And what do we do? We disregarded
it. 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 you
just get further hardened. You just get further sort of
rebellious. 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
in 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 pointing
by God to His Son, that you should believe in Him, that you should
look unto Him and be saved. Don't wait, don't tarry, don't
say, well, you know, I'm gonna wait till I'm 25, 30, 40, I'm
gonna wait till I'm really old, when I'm 50, and then I'll have
peace with God most high. 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, but 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 10th 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 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 to an affluent people, a particularizing instance where
he uses the law of God vis-a-vis the 10th 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 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 idea
is, though, is that we need to be careful. We need to be watchful
and prayerful. It's intriguing because when
you compare 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 him entering
into heaven. Don't 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 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've kept from my youth. I'm a great guy. 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 works. 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 betake 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 has 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 sell 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,
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? God, you're
great. Whatever path you choose, however
you live your life, whatever law of God you break, however
many times you break it, you just do it 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? It 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 10th commandment. So does he say, well, you know,
I don't want to offend him needlessly. I don't want to touch his pet
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 lawlessness and sort of beat around the bush.
Christ goes for the juggler with the tenth commandment because
that was this particular individual's 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. It 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 seven, I think
adds a bit of weight to that view. What does Paul say in Romans
seven? He's talking about God's law,
he's talking about sanctification, he's talking about all these
things in terms of the Christian life. Romans 7, seven, 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 Christward, they will by grace believe on Him.
Machen said a new and more 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 amen 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 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
15th, 16th century German reformer. He makes this observation in
his lectures on Galatians. He says, we, on the other hand,
teach and comfort an afflicted sinner this way. So as Christians,
we still have our struggles, right? Everybody should probably
be going, yeah, 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 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've got to do, stop.
But first look at Christ. He says, we, on the other hand,
teach in comfort an 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 are holy. But you say, how can I
be holy when I have sin and I'm 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 a fresh 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's
sake. And we pray through Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen. Well,
you can turn in your hymn books to 568, and we'll close our service
by singing the doxology. The doxology and praise to our
tribe. Oh, O 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. You may be seated for a brief
time of meditation.
