Date: Sunday June 6, 2021      Scripture: Mark 10:17-22 Title: Seeking Heaven, Finding Sorrow

 

Link: Map of Israel at the time of Jesus.

 

Contents

Introduction. 1

1. The Seeker. 2
2. The Standards. 4

How to Evangelize. 9

3. The Sorrow.. 10

Learnings from this message. 11

 

 

Introduction

 

Mark chapter 10 and verse 17. Verses 17 through 22 is our passage.  In 2020, Ligoneer Ministries did a survey called the State of Theology. And in this study, those surveyed were asked to respond to this statement. Here was this statement that they were given.

• Everyone sins a little, but most people are good by nature.

 

They were asked to respond. Do you agree with that or do you disagree with that statement? What did they find? They found that 51% of Evangelicals responded to that statement as either not sure, or that they were in agreement with it. 51% of Evangelicals think that everyone sins a little, but most people are good by nature. And why do people think…why do Evangelicals think that people are good by nature?

 

Because they don't know what good is. They don't know what good is. They don't have a proper understanding of good. Good by today's standard means that you don't kill people. You're not a murderer. You stay out of jail. You're a nice person. And many people think that if someone is nice then that qualifies them as being a good person. And you hear that often. They're such a nice…They're so good, just a really good Christian. And the reason that people think this way is because they have a wrong standard of good, a wrong standard of what good is.

 

In fact, they have an unbiblical standard of good. In our passage here this morning we're going to see what the standard of good is, as Jesus is approached by the rich young ruler. So let's read our passage here this morning and you can follow along as I read it, beginning in verse 17.  Mark chapter 10 and verse 17.

 

17 As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments, ‘DO NOT MURDER, DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, Do not defraud, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER.’” 20 And he said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up.” 21 Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 22 But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property. (Mark 10:17-22)

 

Now as we work our way through this passage here this morning, I want to break this account down into three parts.

1. First, we're going to look at The Seeker. We're going to look at The Seeker -- found in verse 17 there,
2. and then secondly, we're going to look at The Standard. We are going to Look at the Standard
3. and then thirdly, we're going to see The Sorrow.

The Seeker, The Standard, and The Sorrow.  And so let's look at our first point here. Point number one, the seeker.

1.    The Seeker

Found in verse 17. Last week we saw that Jesus was in a house in Perea, and parents were bringing their little children to Jesus so that He could bless them. But the disciples had rebuked the parents, thinking that Jesus didn't have the time for these little ones. Jesus was indignant. He was angry. He was mad at His disciples because the disciples were hindering children from coming to Him. What does Jesus end up doing? He ends up getting those children in the house, right? And He begins to bless them one by one. He begins to bless these children that are there in that house in Perea.

Well, you can see here, in verse 17 in our passage here before us this morning, that Jesus then leaves that house there in Perea, and He begins His journey to Jerusalem in Judea. Jesus is headed towards Jerusalem. He's got to go to Jerusalem.

 

Why is Jesus going to Jerusalem? That's His ultimate destination because Passover is coming. The Passover is coming and Jesus has to get there. In fact, that's what all the Jews in the surrounding area would do. They would come to Jerusalem for Passover, but Jesus is going there not only for the Passover, but to be the Passover lamb.

 

He's got to get there to go and die. He's on His way to go and die on a cross for our sins, and so we see here in verse 17 that Jesus is setting out on this journey, and he's heading towards Jerusalem. And while He and the disciples are leaving, no doubt there's a crowd that's still around Jesus because the crowds loved Him. They swarmed to Him, and while they're setting out on this journey, there's a man who ran up to Jesus and knelt before Him.

Now to us this seems like something normal. Here's a man running up to Jesus, kneeling down before Him. It seems like something that would be a normal thing, like no big deal. This man just runs up to Jesus. But if you understand the culture back then, that wasn't normal. That wasn't a normal thing to do, especially for men of status like this man was.

 

This man was a ruler, he was a man of status -- and men of status did not run. In Luke's account, Luke tells us that this man is a ruler. Matthew tells us that he was young -- and Matthew, Mark and Luke tells us that he was wealthy, so that's why we know him. We know this man as the rich young ruler. He was a ruler.

 

What kind of ruler was this man? Well, we don't know for sure. But he was either a ruler in politics or in religion. It's one of the two: either in politics or in religion.  And if he was a ruler in religion then he would have served in some capacity in the synagogue. And more likely he was a ruler who served…some kind of ruler who served in the synagogue as we will see as we work our way through this passage this morning.

 

This man there was a ruler. He's a ruler and therefore he had prestige and prominence in the area.  People knew who this man was. He had power and authority as a ruler. And in that culture, men like this did not run. They didn't run. Because in order for you to run, you would have to pull up your long robe. That's what they wore -- long robes back then -- you would have to pull up your long robe and expose your legs. And in that culture, that was shameful to do. It's a shameful thing to do. But this man did it.

 

This man ran up to Jesus. And notice what he does is he runs up to Jesus. He kneels before Jesus.  This is a man, who's a ruler, who is coming and kneeling before Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Now he doesn't kneel before Jesus because he recognizes Jesus as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He simply recognizes Him as a good teacher as some kind of rabbi. But he comes before Jesus, and he kneels before Him. And as he comes and kneels before Jesus, this was a position that only servants or slaves did. Only a servant or a slave would come up and kneel before someone like this.

 

This man seems desperate, right? A desperate man. This man seems ready and willing to receive the gift of eternal life. In fact, look at the question that he asked Him.

 

He says good teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

 

This man, although he has worked hard his whole life for salvation, he still recognizes that there is something missing in his life. There's something missing, and this man here seems like the perfect seeker. Right? The perfect seeker. He comes running and he kneels before Jesus and asked Him this very question. Good teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

 

We would love for people to run in our church door and ask this very question, right? What must I do to inherit eternal life? Well, we're glad you're here. Let me tell you.

 

This man seems like the perfect…but this man wasn't asking this question because he wanted eternal life based upon Jesus standards. What did he want? He wanted eternal life based upon his own standards. In fact, he says oh, good teacher, what must (notice) I do? He was living in a system, a religious system that was all about works and he says, what must I do? I want to make sure that I have eternal life. What else do I have to do?

 

In fact, Matthew's account in Matthew 19:16, he says, teacher what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life? What is it? Good teacher. What is the good work that I need to do in order to obtain eternal life?

 

What was this man seeking? Eternal life by his own standards. And you know there are churches that are full of people like this today. Churches that are full of them. People who are seekers of their own religion. Seekers of their own self-gratification. Seekers of their own fulfillment in life. But seekers of God? No they're not. They're not seekers of God.

 

How do we know?  Romans chapter 3 verse 11 says:

THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS,

THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; (Romans 3:11)

 

No one does. There are not people that are filling the pews seeking after God. In fact, it's a big movement today in America…this seeker sensitive movement. They're trying to reach people whom they think are seeking after God, but if they read their Bible, the Scripture says that no one seeks after God. No, not one.

 

While it looks like this man (as we will find out)…it looks like he is seeking after God. He wasn't a seeker after God. He just wanted to get into heaven by his own standards. He wanted Jesus to affirm his own good deeds. He wanted to get there by his own terms, by his own standards, instead of the standards of God.

 

2.    The Standards

So, what are the standards of God? Well, that leads to our second point. Point #2, which we call “The Standards.” Look at verse 18.

 

18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. (Mark 10: 18)

 

Now when the man runs up to Jesus and calls Him good teacher, he does so because he recognizes that Jesus is a good rabbi. He's a good rabbi. He's got followers. There are people that are following Him, and he knows that He's been teaching people. He's been there in Perea and He's been teaching, right? We've seen that as we've been working our way through Mark. This guy notices that there's something different about Jesus.

 

But notice also Jesus’ response. He says, why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.

 

Now Jesus responds this way with this question, and this statement, not to question the man’s statement…and therefore deny that He is God. That's not what Jesus is doing. Notice Jesus never says “I am not good.” He doesn't say “and I am not good, but God is good alone.” He doesn't say that, right?

 

He tells him that God is good alone. Jesus is laying out three things for this man in this question, in this statement here in verse 18.

1. First, he's telling this man that he is not good. He's telling this man you are not good. Notice what He says. No one is good except God alone. He's telling this rich young ruler that he's not a good man. He's not good. His disciples around Him are not good. All those people there in Perea are not good. They're about to go to the temple, and go to Jerusalem, and see all of these people that are there, that are coming for the Passover. All of those people not good. No one is good. No one, in this room here this morning, is good. I am not good, and you are not good. None of us are good. Because Jesus says, “No one is good except God alone.” And so first, He's telling this man that he is not good.
2. Second, He's telling him that no one is good except God alone. And so therefore what he's saying to this man is that “you calling Me good is correct.” You have said that correctly, by calling Me a good teacher. Because Jesus is God in the flesh, and Jesus is affirming His deity here, not denying it. He's affirming…Jesus is declaring Himself to be God--right here in this passage.
   1. So many people will say today Jesus never declared himself to be God. Yes, he did. Many, many, many times throughout the gospels you see where Jesus is declaring Himself to be God. And here's one of them. No one is good except God alone, and I'm the second person of the Trinity. God in the flesh. And therefore you calling Me “good teacher” is correct. I am good, but you're not -- and none of my disciples here are good. I am the only one who is good. Declaring His deity.
3. But third, Jesus is also setting the standard for what good is. He's setting the standard. Do you want to know what the standard of good is? It's God. God is the standard of good. And therefore perfection. Sinlessness is the standard of good. Oh, and by the way, there's only one in the entire universe who is good. And it's not you. It's not me. It's God alone. He alone is good. No one is good. None of us are good. Romans 3:12 says:

ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS;

THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”

 

Not a single one.

 

But 51% of Evangelicals think that everyone sins a little, but most people are good by nature. What does this tell us? People don't have a biblical understanding of good. They don't have a biblical understanding of good because God tells us that no one is good, not even one. And that's why, on your way out, if you were to pick up one of our gospel tracks that we made up, there's a question on the front of that. Are you good enough to get into heaven?

 

Why do we ask that question? Because 51% of Evangelicals think that people are good. But they're not.

None of us are good. No, not one. And Jesus is going to test this man and see how good this man really is.

 

Look at verse 19. Look what he says there.

9 You know the commandments, ‘DO NOT MURDER, DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, Do not defraud, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER.’” (Mark 10:19)

 

Jesus starts off and He says, look, you know the commandments. You know what they are.  Which is probably why this man, we would say that this man served in some capacity in the synagogue. He knew the commandments. You know exactly what they are. Jesus says, you know the law. You know what it is. 

 

Now notice the commandments that Jesus gives this man…look at this list here that He gives to him. These are what we would call the second table of the law. You grew up in Sunday school. You probably learned the 10 Commandments, right? You learn some kind of little thing with your hands and doing all this stuff, and you learn the 10 Commandments, memorize them. Only 10 of them. 10 Commandments. What Jesus gives before this man is the 2^nd…what we would call the second table of the law. That would be the last six of the 10 Commandments.

 

The Ten Commandments
First Table of the Law (Man’s relationship to God)	Second Table of the Law (Man’s relationship to Man)
1.       Thou shall have no other Gods	5.       Honor your mother and father
2.       Do not make any graven images	6.       Do not murder
3.       Do not take the Lord’s name in vain	7.       Do not commit adultery
4.       Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy	8.       Do not steal
	9.       Do not bear false witness
	10.    Do not covet

 

 

You could break the commandments up and do four and six. The first four, and the last six.  And the last six we would call the second table of the law. The second table of the law deals with man's relationship to man. Man's relationship to man. The first four deal with man's relationship to God. So that's what we would call then the first table of the law (man's relationship to God) but the second table (man’s relationship to man.)

 

But notice as Jesus gives this second table of the law, notice that there is a commandment that Jesus leaves out. Notice this in this list. What commandment does Jesus leave out? He leaves out the 10th commandment. You shall not covet. Notice He doesn't say that. He leaves out the 10th commandment.

 

But Jesus lays out all of these ones that He does, to get him to see that he is not good. That's what he's doing. Laying the law before this man, so that this man can see and recognize and realize he is not good, because remember, that is the whole purpose of the law. The whole purpose of the law is not for you to keep it and therefore obtain eternal life. The whole purpose of the law is for you to realize and recognize that you are a sinner.

 

Listen to Romans chapter 3 and verse 20. It says this:

20 because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. (Rom 3:20)

 

Put yourself under the law and see if you have kept all of that. And that should help you to realize and recognize I'm a sinner. I haven't done it. And I can't keep it. But this man here…well this man, according to society, he was a good man. He was really good. Think about this man. He was successful. He was a ruler, which means he was a hard worker. He had worked his way into this position. He was an eager man, and as he came and ran up to Jesus, and we could even say that this man was spiritually minded.

 

What does he ask Jesus about? Eternal life. What a spiritual man…

And by the world standards, this was a good man. Look at him. Good man, in fact, he's a very moral man. Look at how he responds in verse 20.

 

20 And he said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up.” (Mark 10:20)

 

Such a good man… You mean you've kept all of these…from your youth up? That would be around the age of 12 or 13, when a Jewish boy would then be responsible and accountable for the law. And he said, “I've kept all of these from my youth up.” Such a good man. Notice how he responds to Jesus and notice what he says… “Teacher.”  Notice what he left out?  Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up.  What a moral man. He's not murdered anyone. He's not committed adultery. He's not stolen. He's not been a false witness against his neighbor. He's not defrauded anyone, and he has honored his father and mother. What a moral man this guy was.

 

And many people would look at a man like this, and they would say he's a Christian. He's a spiritual guy who does a lot of good things. Must be a Christian. But this guy in reality was exactly like the self-righteous Pharisees that Jesus confronted. He had no clue of what the law was meant to do.

 

• If he would have heard Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, he would have realized that hating someone in your heart makes you just as guilty of murder.
• Or that lusting after another person makes you just as guilty of committing the act of adultery.

 

And instead of looking at the law and realizing that he could not do it, he looked at the law and tried to uphold it so that he could earn his way to heaven. He wanted heaven by his own standards. On his own terms. And this man had become so self-righteous that he thought that he had obtained eternal life by his own outward actions.

 

But the law was never given so that someone could uphold it and obtain eternal life. That's not its purpose. Why did God give the law? It was given to show how wretched and sinful we are.

It was given to show us that none of us are good. No, not one. But this seeker here was thinking that he was good enough for heaven. And this moment here, this response shows that he still didn't get it.  “Teacher, I have kept all these from my youth up….” He was so self-deceived that he thought his good works would get him into heaven.

 

And while this man thought that he was keeping the law every day of his life, the reality was that he was breaking the law every day of his life. He thought his external good works were getting him closer to heaven, but his failure to recognize his sinfulness only pushed him further away from heaven.

 

One commentator compares this man to Paul before he was saved. And he says this. “He was like Paul in his Pharisee days, labor, sleep, and punctiliously performing every legal duty.”

 

Good man. And then just to make sure that he has done enough to get into heaven, Matthew and Matthew's account, Matthew tells us that he asked Jesus one more question. He says this. What am I still lacking? What am I still lacking? Now, why would he ask a question like that?

 

Not because he has recognized his sin and his need for a savior. He doesn't at this point. He's not recognizing that he's a sinner. Look at his response to Jesus when Jesus gives him the law…he says “I've kept all of these from my youth up.” I've done it all. This man never comes to the realization that he is a sinner. He's self-righteous, and he wants to make sure that he has done everything that he can do to make it to heaven.

 

And if there was still something lacking, what else am I lacking? What else is it, Jesus? He wants to know so that he can do it and make sure that he gets himself into heaven. One commentator says, “He wanted Jesus to tell him what that act was because he was a performance-oriented person.”

 

All about his good deeds. And how does Jesus respond? Look at verse 21.

21 Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him… (Mark 10:21)

 

Jesus responds with a heart of love for this man. Jesus loved this man so much that He confronts him with the truth, and points out the idol of his heart. And you know that that is the most loving thing that you can do. That is the most loving thing that you can do for someone is to tell them they are not good enough to get into heaven, because if they are self-deceived and thinking by their good works that they are going to make it to heaven, they will find out one day that they will not make it there because you can't make it on your own terms.

 

And so, the most loving thing that we can do to people is to say “you are not good.” “No, you can't make it there on your own.” “You're a sinner.” And that's what Jesus is pushing this man, to help him to realize that he is a sinner in need of a savior.

 

That's what we're called to do as we go and evangelize with people. Don't tell people that they're good because they're not. Help them to see their wretchedness and their need for a savior. That's what the gospel is all about. That's what we're called to do. There are a lot of self-professing good people in hell.

Do you realize that? A lot of self-professing people, good people…in hell.

 

In 1936, Adolf Hitler stood up and said, this, “I believe today that I am acting in the sense of the Almighty creator by warding off the Jews and Socialists. I'm fighting for the Lord's work.” Good man in his own eyes, in his own, twisted mind. He thought that he was a good man and doing the Lord’s work.  He needed to be put under the law. But he thought he was above the law. He was doing the Lord's work. He was good in his own twisted mind.

 

And this rich young ruler here thinks that he is good. And he wants to make sure that he has done enough good to get into heaven. So how does Jesus respond to what this man is lacking? Look at verse 21. Look what he says there. As Jesus responds, he says,

 

“…One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” (Mark 10:21)

 

Now, notice Jesus doesn't say, “You need to go to church and read your Bible and you'll be saved.” Notice Jesus doesn't tell him, “Repeat this prayer after me and you will be saved.”

Notice Jesus doesn't tell this man, “Just accept me as your personal savior and you will be saved.”

 

It's common in a lot of gospel calls today. But Jesus never responds this way. What does Jesus do? Well, being the sovereign creator of the universe, God in the flesh…He knows this man's heart and He confronts him about the idol of his heart. He gets right down to this man's heart.

 

Now it may seem strange that Jesus would tell him to do this one thing. And it seems as if Jesus is telling him, “You've got one more good work to do.” Right? It seems like Jesus is doing that. Just go and sell all of your stuff. If you go and do that one good deed, go sell all of your possessions and then come and follow me. You'll have eternal life. But Jesus is not telling him you need to go and do something…Jesus is getting after the heart of this man and the idol of his heart.  Again, he's pushing this man to help this man realize and recognize that he is a sinner in need of a savior. So why does Jesus say what He says?

 

Well notice this...what did Jesus confront the man with, in verse 19? The second table of the law, right? It was the 2nd table the law there…How man related to man.  But this time Jesus confronts this man with the 1st table of the law…How man relates to God.

 

How does this question that Jesus asks here, or this statement that He gives…One thing you lack: go and sell all your possessions, give to the poor. You will have treasure in heaven and come and follow me.

 

How does this relate to the first table of the law? Well, what is the first commandment? You shall have no other gods before me. But what was this man’s God? His stuff. His possessions. His wealth. Which also puts the 10th Commandment before him too.  What Jesus does, is he boxes this man in with the 10 Commandments.  He puts before him the first commandment -- and he puts before him the 10th commandment.   You shall have no other gods before me, and you shall not covet.

 

How you doing buddy? This man had an idol. And his money and his stuff was his idol, he had other gods before the one true God.  And Jesus knew this. So He confronts him on it.

 

OK, so you think you've upheld the second table of the law? The commandments? Well, let's go back to the first one and see how you're doing with that. And then we'll go to the 10th one, and we'll see how you're doing with that. Let's just lay two of them out before you.

 

Many of you have probably seen Ray Comfort and how he goes out and proclaims the gospel to people. And the first thing that he does, is he lays the law before people, and he only gives them 4. And he says, OK, based on just four of the ten, we haven't even looked at all ten of them. Based upon four of them, are you innocent or guilty?

 

He wants them to realize, and recognize that they are guilty before God, so that they'll recognize their need for a savior. That's the purpose of the law.

 

And that's what Jesus did with this man. How did the man do? Did he pass or fail the test? He failed it. He failed it miserably. And notice Jesus never even got to the good news with this guy. He never even got to the gospel.  Gospel means “good news.” Jesus never even gets to the gospel with this guy. He gave this rich young ruler the bad news first. And he was never even able to get to the good news because this man never recognized his need for a savior.

 

How to Evangelize

And you know that's how we are to go and evangelize. Jesus gives a model for us of evangelism. We are to go and lay the law down before people. We are to go and tell them the bad news. We have to tell them bad news, and tell them that they are not good. I know it's uncomfortable. I've been there. But that's what Jesus tells us to do. That's the model that He gives for us… to go and tell people that they are bad, so that they can recognize that they are in need of a savior.

 

Because as long as they are self-deceived, thinking that they are a good person who's going to get into heaven…when in reality they are headed towards hell. We have to give them the bad news first. One commentator says, “Sinners are not ready for the good news of the gospel until they accept the bad news that the law condemns them as guilty sinners.”   Why would this man or anyone else need the good news if they think that they are good enough to get into heaven? Why do they need it? Why do they need Jesus if they're good enough to get into heaven? 

People that think that they're good enough for heaven don't need Jesus.

 

And sadly, that's what 51% of Evangelicals are telling people by believing that people are good by nature. Instead, we must recognize that no one is good. No, not one, and we must tell people that they are not good, and because of their sin, they are headed to hell. That's a loving thing for us to do. That's the loving thing that Jesus did with this man. Jesus looked at him and He loved him. And He says, I love you so much…Yes, I'm going to put the weight of the law upon you because I love you.

 

That's loving for us to do. We've got to do that with people. And then once they recognize that they are not good, then we give them the good news. Then we give them the gospel. Then we tell them about the good news of Jesus who came to die for sinners…to save them from their sin. And to pay a price that they could not pay.

 

Then we tell them the good news about Jesus, that He died on a cross and took the wrath of God upon Himself, so that all who would believe in Him will never have to take the wrath of God upon themselves.

Then we tell them that Jesus died on a cross, and He rose three days later, and that He offers eternal life to all who will recognize that they are a sinner, and now repent of their sin, and put their faith in Jesus Christ alone.

 

We tell them that good news. But we've got to help them see that they're bad first. We tell them the gospel, the good news.  Sadly, with this rich young ruler,  Jesus was never even able to get there. He was never able to get to the good news with this man.

 

3.    The Sorrow

Point #3, The Sorrow. The Sorrow. Look at verse 22.

22 But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property. (Mark 10:22)

 

This man, although he was seeking eternal life, walked away. This man was not only self-deceived by thinking he was good enough for heaven, but he also had self-love. He loved himself. He loved himself.

 

Jesus confronted the love of this man's life. He got to the heart of the issue. This man loved himself and he loved his stuff. He loved his comfortable life that he was living because he loved himself. He loved his idols in his possessions because he loved himself. He loved his idols more than he loved God.

 

And notice that word “saddened” there in verse 22. That word in the Greek is the word stugnazo, which means to be shocked or dismayed, to be shocked or dismayed. This man was shocked by Jesus’ statement because he was thinking that he would be told to do another command from the law. What do I lack? Give me another command, Jesus, and I'll do it. And that'll give me assurance of heaven. Look, I've done all this other stuff. Just give me one more. And I'll do it. But Jesus points out the idol of this man's heart, and it shocked him.

 

And if Jesus would have just told him to do one more thing, then he would have responded with “Oh, don't worry, good teacher, I've done that too.” And would have walked away. Self-deceived, thinking that he was going to heaven. But what does Jesus tell him to do? Throw away all of your idols. Get rid of all of your stuff. All of those idols that you love -- get rid of it. Sell it, give it to the poor. And come and follow me. What the disciples did, right? They left everything to go and follow Him.

 

But this man is responding here, although we don't hear what this man has to say, because he just walks away.  In this man's mind, I'm sure this guy is thinking, well, you mean, get rid of all my stuff? I've worked so hard for all of my stuff. Don't you realize what I have? What I've gotten to Jesus? I love my stuff! And it was that idol of his heart that stood between him and eternal life. What was his response?

He went away.  He went away grieving.

 

He walked away from eternal life because of the idol of his heart. Now, I don't doubt for a second that this man still thought that he would enter heaven because he was good. That was the religious system of the day. He would have gone back to the synagogue, and heard that being taught. “And oh, wow, well I remember when that good teacher asked me all of these commands if I had kept up … and I have … I'm good enough.”

 

And that's the lie that many people sitting in pews today still believe. That they're good enough to get into heaven. But they're not. No one is. And when this man was confronted with the reality of eternal life, it grieved him, and he walked away. Because he loved his possessions more than he loved God.

And the really sad thing is that eternal life was standing right in his very face. In front, ready to save this man.  He was standing right there before him, offering this man eternal life.

 

John 11:25 says, Jesus says

“…I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, (John 11:25)

 

He is eternal life -- and He's standing right in front of his face. But this man clung to his stuff instead of clinging to Jesus. And he walked away grieving. And how sad it is to see a man who came seeking after eternal life, and yet leaving in sorrow.

 

Learnings from this message

Friends, what do we learn from this passage here before us?

1. First, we learn that we are not good. None of us are good. There is nothing that you can do to save yourself. There is nothing that any of us can do to save ourselves from our sin. We are all sinners who stand condemned before God…who stand guilty before God. But He offers eternal life.  In Romans chapter 8 and verse 1 says:

  8:1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Rom 8:1)

 

And all who repent of their sin, and come to Jesus in faith, and faith alone, no longer stand condemned, are no longer guilty of their sin, because Jesus took the wrath of God upon Himself. And He covers us with the blood of Himself. And if you're here this morning and you don't know Jesus as Lord and Savior, come to Him today for eternal life. And that condemnation will be gone, because you will be found in Christ. That's the good news that He offers.

 

We have to understand that the standard of good is God.  It's God alone. And we need to have this biblical perspective -- as Jesus did -- so that we can share the truth with others and help them to realize and recognize their need for a savior. Listen, there are many people who think that they are good enough to get into heaven, and they will stand before Christ one day --because every knee will bow before Christ –Philippians (Phil 2:10-11) tells us “Every knee will bow” and everyone “every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” and many will cry out and they will say, “Lord, Lord”, and He will respond with “‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’” (Matt 7:21-23)

We must recognize that we are not good and that no one is good.

 

2. The second thing that we learned from this passage here before us this morning, is that you must “…choose today whom you will serve.” (Josh 24:15) Who is Lord of your life? You cannot serve two masters. Whatever master a man chooses, will master that man. Let me say that again, whatever master a man chooses, will master that man.

 

The rich young ruler was confronted with the idol of his heart and he chose his idol over Christ. He left true joy and true happiness that only comes through Christ, for an appearance of joy and happiness in riches, which only leads to sorrow. He chose the lavish, earthly life instead of the glorious eternal life that was offered to him by Christ that day.

 

Choose today, in whom you will serve. Jesus says in Matthew 6:24,     

24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. You can't do it.” (Matt 6:24)

 

It's impossible. Choose today whom you will serve. One master will lead you to heaven. But every other master will lead you to sorrow.

 

Let's pray. Father, Thank You for the truth of Your Word. The truth of Your Word that impacts hearts.  It's the truth of Your Word that changes us. It's the truth of Your Word before us that causes us to reflect and think about our own hearts. Father, I pray that You would help us to never, ever have any other masters before You.  But that You would be the Lord of our life. That we would serve You, and follow You, and worship You, and give all to You as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Father, I pray for anyone here this morning who thinks that they are good enough to get into heaven. I pray that they would be convicted by this truth from Your Word. That they would come to You in repentance and faith in Christ alone for salvation. Father, I pray for those of us that are here, that may have idols in our lives and have put things before You – Father, help us to tear down those idols and to serve You and to worship You, and to live for You alone. Father, we thank You for this truth that we have heard this morning.  We pray that You would help us to take this and apply it to our lives and that we would leave from here, living for Your glory and for Your Honor alone. We pray in Christ’s name.  Amen.