“A man came up to [Jesus], saying, ‘Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?’ And he said to him, ‘Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.’ He said to him, ‘Which ones?’ And 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 mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ The young man said to him, ‘All these I have kept. What do I still lack?’ Jesus said to him, ‘If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.’ When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions” [MATTHEW 19:16-22].
“As he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 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.”’ And he said to him, ‘Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.’ And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, ‘You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.’ Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions” [1] [MARK 10:17-22].
I do not expect that the name of Wellington R. Burt is familiar to any of us. When this lumber baron died in 1919 at the age of eighty-seven, he was the eighth richest person in the United States. His wealth was estimated to be between forty and ninety million dollars. He is not particularly remembered for his civic labours, despite serving as mayor of Saginaw, Michigan and as a Michigan state senator. He was a benefactor to the city of Saginaw, funding significant charitable gifts such as the City Auditorium, the Burt Manual Training School, a women’s hospital, a Salvation Army citadel and a YWCA. The town of Burt, Michigan is named after Wellington R. Burt and Burt Street in Saginaw was named in his honour; yet neither his charitable bequeaths nor the honours arising from a town and a street named after him are given any particular thought today.
Wellington R. Burt is remembered primarily for one of the most bizarre wills in American legal history. Burt distinguished himself by including a “spite clause” in his will—a clause that exposed him as petty and vindictive, perhaps even greedy. Burt sought to avenge a family feud by specifying a wait of twenty-one years after his children and grandchildren were dead before the bulk of his fortune could go to any descendants. In effect, Wellington R. Burt alienated his children and grandchildren from his estate, beyond some small annuities. The conditions of the will were finally met in 2010 after the 1989 death of his last grandchild. In May, 2011, twelve of his descendants finally received the estate, worth about one hundred million dollars. [2]
In his final years, Wellington R. Burt’s life had become a fortress against meaningful relationships; he walled himself off from family and friends. Even his physical remains are in a fifteen-foot-high mausoleum in Saginaw. It is fortified as if he tried to have an iron grip on his death, much like the tight-fisted way he had conducted himself during his lifetime. In fairness, there are suggestions that he may have suffered from mental deficits during the final years of his life. [3] Nevertheless, the implication for many people is that he walled himself off from the normal interactions that most would expect.
Perhaps Mr. Burt is not so different from many professing Christians. In order to explain what I mean by such a controversial statement, I invite you to join me in studying the text and applying the words of the Master to our own lives.
SEEKING TO PLEASE GOD — “A man ran up and knelt before [Jesus] and asked Him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life’” [MARK 10:17]? We have a few details about this individual. Matthew informs us that he was young [VERSE 22]. The particular term that is used would refer to someone between the ages of twenty and forty. Luke tells us that he was a “ruler” [LUKE 18:18], indicating possibly that he was a synagogue official. Mark notes that he was courteous and aware of the fact that Jesus deserved a measure of deference; he addresses the Master as “Good Teacher” [MARK 10:17]; this doesn’t appear to be intentional hyperbole.
I give the benefit of the doubt to this man when I say it appears he wanted to find how he could please God. Most people, when they allow themselves to think of God at all, think of how they may please Him; few seek deliberately to defy God. If God is holy, and He is, then we dare not presume against Him. Though we do live presumptuously, it is through our ignorance. Clearly, the mass of humanity thinks in terms of pleasing God through their own efforts.
Consider the case for far too many professing Christians. I am a church member; therefore, I must be pleasing to God. I was baptised! Surely that is enough. I participate in the Communion Meal; that should be enough to please God. I say prayers, I read the Bible, I am a good person—I’m not a bad person like so many others. The common perception that one is accepted by God revolves around what is done rather than who one is. In this, too many Christians are no different from Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists or even abject pagans!
Why does the Muslim pray five times each day, reciting in Arabic prayers which are indecipherable to him? Why is it essential for a Muslim to go on Hajj at least once in her life? Why must a Muslim fast throughout Ramadan? Why does a Muslim always append the saying “Peace be upon him” after reciting Muhammad’s name? It is because they have no certainty concerning acceptance by Allah; they are hoping to compel acceptance by this austere deity through adherence to the five pillars of their religion.
The Hindu is careful to avoid behaviour that might offend in fear that they will be reincarnated as a lesser being then they are now; they seek to act consistent with the dharma in order to attain union with Brahman. The Buddhist practises devotion to the Eightfold Path that will lead to enlightenment in hopes of achieving nirvana.
Well, these are non-Christians, and we know they don’t know the way of salvation. We’re quick to write off liberal Christians and those on the fringes of Evangelicalism; but what of the vast numbers of Evangelicals who harbour the thought that because they are generous, because they participate in the rites of the churches, because they once said “the sinner’s prayer,” because they believe the stated doctrines of their denomination are convinced that all is well? What of such people?
Let’s establish clearly that rite and ritual are meaningless before God if there is no relationship. Going back to what was revealed under the Old Covenant we discover that God seeks transformed lives and not slavish adherence to ritual. Recall God’s indictment of Israel through Micah.
“With what shall I come before the LORD,
and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the LORD require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?”
[MICAH 6:6-8]
God calls those who hear Him to relationship and not to ritual if these words mean anything. Speaking with a pastor’s heart that seeks your welfare, I caution you that God does not seek ritual; God looks for those who love Him and who respond to the love He extends.
Recall Jeremiah’s words that were spoken on behalf of God as He confronted His people. Turn to the passage which is recorded in JEREMIAH 7:2-15. God instructs His prophet, saying, “Stand in the gate of the LORD’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all you men of Judah who enter these gates to worship the LORD. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place. Do not trust in these deceptive words: ‘This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.’
“For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly execute justice one with another, if you do not oppress the sojourner, the fatherless, or the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own harm, then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your fathers forever.
“Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—only to go on doing all these abominations? Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it, declares the LORD. Go now to my place that was in Shiloh, where I made my name dwell at first, and see what I did to it because of the evil of my people Israel. And now, because you have done all these things, declares the LORD, and when I spoke to you persistently you did not listen, and when I called you, you did not answer, therefore I will do to the house that is called by my name, and in which you trust, and to the place that I gave to you and to your fathers, as I did to Shiloh. And I will cast you out of my sight, as I cast out all your kinsmen, all the offspring of Ephraim.” The only rational conclusion is that divorced from relationship, ritual is meaningless. This is such a vital point that I must iterate what I said. Ritual without relationship is meaningless.
This is the thrust of Jesus’ response to a question that a scribe posed on one occasion. The scribe asked the Master, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus did not brush this man off, though the interlocutor obviously was seeking to trip Him. Jesus generously gave this man two answers for the price of one when He responded, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” [MARK 12:28-31].
Surely, the answer Jesus gave makes it evident that He calls for a relationship and not for ritual. One who would fulfil the Law will love God supremely. Then, loving God, that individual is transformed by the One whom he worships and reveals his transformed life through loving others. Notice how this truth is iterated in the First Letter from the Apostle of Love.
“Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling” [1 JOHN 2:10].
“By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother… By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him” [1 JOHN 3:10, 16, 17]?
“If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother” [1 JOHN 4:20, 21].
I don’t want to get off into the weeds by ignoring the text; however, I am prepared to argue that the text presents some broad truths that must not be ignored. We do not buy our way to God; we must be born from above into that relationship. The new birth is not accomplished through acts of human effort, but this birth is accomplished through the work of the Spirit in the life of the one coming to God through Christ Jesus the Lord. This is evident from the preamble to John’s Gospel. Recall that John wrote, “To all who did receive [the Christ], who believed in His Name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” [JOHN 1:12,13].
I know our journey from death to life covers familiar territory, but permit me to transit this familiar ground of God’s gracious work in the life of each one who is redeemed. Writing in the encyclical we have received as Ephesians, Paul begins by reminding us of our condition before we were saved before moving to what God has done for us in Christ the Lord. “You were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” [EPHESIANS 2:1-10].
The young man in our text, quite like many among the churches of our Lord in this day, imagined that he could in some way secure the blessing of eternal life through some act without God transforming his life! He erred, just as many err today. There were no deeds—good or otherwise—that he could perform that would move the hand of God. God accepts those who are redeemed through His marvellous grace. God’s mercy cannot be earned, nor may anyone compel God to receive him. Salvation is all of grace. However, that grace, once received, transforms the individual on whom God has showered such mercy.
GOD’S RESPONSE TO MAN’S SEARCH — “Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 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.”’ And he said to him, ‘Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.’ And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, ‘You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me’” [MARK 10:18-21].
This young man asked what would be required to ensure that God accepted Him. Obviously, he realised that Jesus was the One who could tell him what was necessary for life. Perhaps he hadn’t really thought about how to define eternal life, though his question sought to know how he could secure “eternal life.” I suspect that is the situation for many within the Christian community—“eternal life” is a nebulous concept at best. For many professing Christians, perhaps even for the majority of professing Christians, when they think of eternal life they think in chronologic terms. Eternal life must therefore refer to unending days. Thus, because they are ageing, because they know they are moving inexorably toward a rendezvous with death, these people see “eternal life” as something that is yet future.
To be certain, saved people will live without death being a threat. Whenever I conduct a funeral service of one known to have been a Christian, at the interment, as the body of the believer one is lovingly lowered into the grave, I read these words from the Apocalypse. “I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away’” [REVELATION 21:1-4].
What a comfort for the grieving child of God to hear the voice of the Spirit promising, “Death shall be no more.” Life without sorrow, or tears, or hurt is unimaginable for such now marks our days. What joy there is in the resurrection that is promised and that we anticipate! God promises, “Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For ‘God has put all things in subjection under his feet.’ But when it says, ‘all things are put in subjection,’ it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all” [1 CORINTHIANS 15:20-28].
I have wept bitter tears for my people as they grieve at the parting forced on them in this present age. The thought of pain and injury to innocent souls causes the shepherds deep sorrow. It is this hope of eternal glory that encourages me and enables me to continue toward the mark of the high calling in Christ. I do not deny that eternal life speaks of the absence of death. However, we err if we fail to see that any definition of eternal life that focuses solely on the thought of unending days is a miniscule part of the meaning.
Jesus words in JOHN 3:16 must surely qualify as the most recognised verse in all the Word of God: “God so loved the world, that He gave His Only Son, that whoever believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” Take note of an aspect of Jesus’ words that perhaps seems small but is essential to the heart of His statement. The verb translated “have” is in present tense and active voice. This means that Nicodemus heard Jesus say that eternal life begins at a point in time and continues without end. In other words, when I believe in God’s Only Son I possess eternal life from that point. This is the implied meaning in Jesus’ teaching that one must be “born again” [see JOHN 3:3-8]. This new birth speaks of a new quality of life that begins now and continues throughout eternity.
A short while ago, I cited Paul’s words in Ephesians chapter two. He wrote of existing as people who were dead in trespasses and sins, the condition for all mankind. Then, turning to the present condition for redeemed people, the Apostle to the Gentiles affirms, “By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” [EPHESIANS 2:8, 9]. He follows this by speaking of the transformation that occurs in the life of all who are saved when he writes, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” [EPHESIANS 2:10]. The life we live after the new birth reveals the divine parentage we possess. We do not do good deeds in order to be saved; but because we are saved we do good works.
That the new birth itself is an event that is in the past for all believers is evident from the opening words of Peter’s first missive. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” [1 PETER 1:3-5]. As previously noted in the passage from John, note the language. The word translated as “caused … to be born again” is aorist tense and active voice. The verb speaks of a definite action in the past. Because the new birth has already been accomplished, we are now enjoying the eternal life that flows from that new birth. Therefore, we anticipate “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven.” Our hope is founded on the fact that We who are twice-born now possess eternal life!
Again, note Peter’s words beginning in the twenty-second verse. The Apostle writes, “Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding Word of God” [1 PETER 1:22, 23]. Focus on the words “you have been born again.” These words translate a verb that is perfect tense and passive voice. Readers hearing these words in that early day would understand that they were called to observe an activity that resulted because of an action in the past with continuing ramifications. In other words, the emphasis of this verb is on the present condition and not on the act itself. The Spirit of God chose this grammar deliberately to encourage believers to honourable lives.
With this understanding, let’s return to the text. The young man asked Jesus what was necessary for him to inherit eternal life. Perhaps he didn’t have a clear understanding of what he was seeking; however, he knew that in some manner God controlled granting this particular request. Jesus challenges him by asking how good he actually is. This fits because the young man is focused on performing some particular acts in order to secure this condition that God alone could grant. Jesus points back to the Ten Words, listing the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and the fifth commandments. I suggest that Jesus chose these since they are all concerned with how he interacted with others. Each of these commandments speaks of interaction that has an impact on our fellow man. Consequently, in most societies these are recognised as actions that are required for a society that functions without serious conflict.
Look at the response of the young man, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth” [MARK 10:20]. Mark adds a comment that is absent from both Matthew and Luke; focus on the TWENTY-FIRST VERSE where we read, “And Jesus, looking at him, loved him.” The Master loved this young man. His love reflects approval of his desire to know what would be pleasing to God. As well, I suggest that Jesus loved him because he was a good man in society. This is important. Make no mistake, there are people who are not followers of the Christ who are people we enjoy being with, people we enjoy knowing. They are conscientious in maintaining a good relationship with their fellow man. Thus, they are a joy to know, living praiseworthy lives. However, we can never live lives good enough to earn God’s praise!
Jesus, because He loved him, spoke the words recorded in the text. Understand that our Lord was capable of stern words and quite obviously able to speak in tones that intimidated sinners; nevertheless, Mark leads us to believe that in this instance Jesus’ words were warm and inviting. I must believe that the Master sought to transition this young man from being merely a fan to becoming a follower. Jesus said, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have an give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me” [MARK 10:21].
Analyse what Jesus had done. The young man had assumed that he could do something that would compel God to accept him. Being a Jewish lad, and as already noted perhaps a leader in the synagogue, the young man no doubt imagined that keeping the Law would suffice to induce God’s approval. There are six hundred thirteen positive commandments recorded in the Law. The Ten Words are effective a summation of the Law. Therefore, if someone was capable of keeping the Ten Words perfectly they would reflect the character of God. I note that Jesus did not rebuke the young man for his answer. Perhaps he did keep the five commandments listed in commendable fashion. However, Jesus put his finger on something the young man had not considered when he told him to sell what he owned and to come follow Jesus.
Don’t read so fast that you miss the fine points of Jesus’ teaching. Jesus did not so much as hint that He accepted that the young man had maintained even these five commandments perfectly—he had not! Do you remember the sermon we know as the Sermon on the Mount? Recall what Jesus said about a couple of these commandments during that sermon. In the first place, Jesus disabused those who listened that He was abolishing the commandments when He said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Then, Jesus addressed in specific fashion two of the very commandments that the young man testified that he kept. Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire…
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell” [MATTHEW 5:17-22, 27-30].
Was this young man present on the day Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount? Whether he was present on that occasion or not, he was obviously familiar with Jesus and with His teaching as evidenced from the approach to the Master. Though we cannot say definitively that this young man was familiar with the message delivered from that Judean hillside, we can say with authority that you and I have heard that message. Multiplied messages have been preached from the text of this Sermon on the Mount, whether we listened or not. We cannot have read the Gospels without reading this pericope.
It is obviously true that each of us has struggled at one point or another with unrighteous anger. We know full well that we have insulted brother Christians at various times, exalting ourselves as we debased them with our speech. We have boasted of our denomination while depreciating other communions, imagining that we must surely be the people!
Again, who among us can say that we have never harboured lustful thoughts. In our hearts we have not always looked at one another as brothers and sisters. Perhaps such is inevitable when the movies and the television dramas we watch are rife with situations revolving around sexual activity, when our romance novels are salacious (though we argue they are merely racy), when the comedy routines with which we are entertained are replete with sexual innuendo; and if this weren’t enough, we give tacit assent to marital infidelity and sexual liaisons as we continue listening to music that extols such evil and allowing our children to listen to revolting lyrics that degrade women and men alike.
Jesus placed His finger on a grievous sin that contaminates far more people than we could ever expect. You see, this young man was thoroughly infected with a virus that has contaminated far too many of the children of men, far too many of us who are called by the Name of the Son of God—he was filled with greed. We attempt to sanctify our failure to trust God by renaming our greed and lack of trust by speaking of the need for security, by speaking of the need to care for ourselves, by speaking of our right to comfort. When we hear people say that it is greed that drives us to advance in business or say that greed ensures that the Capitalistic system grows, we are not making nearly so positive a statement as we might imagine. God says, “You shall not covet your neighbour’s house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbour’s” [EXODUS 20:17].
Let me say very clearly, God does not condemn wealth. God condemns the exaltation of wealth to a place that rightfully belongs to Him alone. A looney held at arm’s length does not obscure my view of the congregation. However, when that same looney is held close to my eye, I am blind to the people I serve. Likewise, a looney in the proper place will not block my vision of the Holy One. However, when that looney is held close to my eye, I cannot see God.
A SAD TROMBONE — I appreciate the way in which the translators of the Holman Christian Standard Version teats the TWENTY-SECOND VERSE: “He was stunned at this demand, and he went away grieving, because he had many possessions.” [4] This is an eye-opening verse. This man was unable to turn loose of what he possessed. He wasn’t merely sad at the thought that God required him to let go—he was grieved when told that he would have to relinquish his possessions.
It is sad enough when we speak of people who die without the new life because they are captivated by this dying world. How tragic when people pass into eternity still clinging to the accoutrements of this dying world as though they would take anything into the life to come. This is the thrust of Paul’s warning as he draws to a close the first Letter to penned to Timothy. “Godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs” [1 TIMOTHY 6:6-10].
In our text, the young man’s comfort, much like our comfort and earthly security, was more important than serving the True and Living God. He, like so many of us who name the Name of Christ, was focused inwardly rather than seeing globally. The young man went away grieving because he had many possessions—this was his security, and thus, his hope. Churches die for the same reason. Clinging to the elements that are passing away, they wither and die.
You know that my ministry in Canada has been focused on unhealthy churches. I have now started or restarted nine churches in Canada. Many of the churches I served chose to cling to a dead past and ensured that they could not survive. I recall a woman practically in tears at the thought that the growth she had witnessed meant that we needed to seek a larger building. She was so focused on the pitiful little building in which they had met for some decades that she could not imagine moving. She influenced the congregation to choose immediate comfort over God’s glory. Other churches lived in the past, remembering what was rather than recognising what is. They chose immediate comfort rather than the challenges arising from growth. Still others were so intent on holding onto a perceived power that they would not permit the Spirit to move in their midst, sweeping new people into the Kingdom of God. Across the nation are multiplied buildings that once housed thriving, vibrant congregations. Today, those buildings stand vacant, or nearly so, because the congregations chose comfort rather than the glory of God. Make no mistake, we are capable of exalting our desires as though they were the highest good. We tend to imagine that our desires express the will of God, failing to seek His will.
Congregations will spend for their way of doing church. What is important to such congregations is their comfort! Their possessions! Follow the money and you will learn about people and about churches. Deceased churches don’t always die broke. Sometimes they have unimaginable bequeaths which are unspent. What happens, however, is that such churches cease asking how they can make a difference for the Kingdom with the money’s they have. They accumulate because they fear not having enough money! Like the rich young ruler, these mausoleums grieve at the thought of doing something for someone else with the moneys received. They fear they will not have enough money. Thus, they die with “enough” money. [5]
No church can sustain an inward focus for long. The congregation that will honour God must always be focused outward. Churches must always think in terms of building the Kingdom of God rather than building some personal fiefdom that ensures the comfort of the congregation. Preachers can dishonour God when they forget that they are appointed to be servants and not to be princes. Church leaders begin to imagine that their responsibility is to make themselves great rather than building the Kingdom of God. Denominations tend to become so spiritually myopic that they are unable to see that God works throughout His Kingdom and far beyond the environs of their own tiny kingdom.
Listen carefully, I’ve said these things because I do not want us to lose our focus. I urge Community of Faith known as New Beginnings Baptist Church to act with radical abandon to remain focused on Christ Jesus and His will. There are other Christians far beyond the walls of this assembly who hear this message. They, also, must act with deliberate care to urge their fellow saints to remember who they are and to remember the cause in which they are engaged.
Above all, I plead with those who, like the rich young man in our text, have become so focused on the things of this dying world that they are unable to see the Saviour to died because of their sin. You know very well that Christ Jesus, God’s own Son, presented His life as a sacrifice because of your sin. He gave His life for you. Though He was buried in a borrowed tomb, He did not remain dead. He broke the bonds of death, came out of the tomb and revealed Himself to those who had believed. He ascended into Glory where He is now seated at the right hand of the Father. Now, He calls all who are willing to receive Him as Master over life.
This is the reason that we read in the Word, “If you openly agree with God that Jesus is Master, believing with your heart that the Father has raised Him from the dead, you shall be set free. You see, it is with the heart that one believes and is made right with the Father and with the mouth that one openly agrees with God resulting in freedom. [6] Of course, I am speaking of finding what they young man sought and failed to find—eternal life. This is that new quality of life that begins now and ensures that we are accepted by God. This is the reason that the Apostle concludes that passage in the Letter to Roman Christian by quoting the Prophet Joel, “Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord shall be saved” [ROMANS 10:13]. This is our prayer for each one, life in the Beloved Son. Amen.
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers, 2001. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2] “Wellington R. Burt,” (article), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wellington_R._Burt, accessed 28 June 2016
[3] See Thom S. Rainer, Autopsy of a Deceased Church (B&H Publishing Group, Nashville, TN 2014)
[4] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian Standard Version (Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, TN 2009)
[5] See Thom Rainer, op. cit.
[6] See ROMANS 10:9, 10
