SCRIPTURE: Mark 10:17-22 "And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions."
PROPOSITION: to use this text and others to talk about how this rich young man came to Christ and also to show the sin that enslaved him and kept him from being converted to Christ and also to show that any person can have repentance from the sin that enslaves them if they will but acknowledge the truth and come to Christ by faith so that his blood might cleanse them from all unrighteousness.
1.) Who did this young man come to.
A. He came to Christ, and he could not have come to any better, for we are told in God's word that there is salvation none other.
Acts 4:12 "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."
2.) How did he come to Christ.
A. He came with urgency. "There came one running" and this is the way each one of us should come to Christ for refuge. Proverbs 18:10 "The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe."
B. He came reverently to Christ, he "kneeled to him". and If we are to come to Christ we must only come in the spirit of reverence, for Christ is "King of Kings and Lord of Lords".
Psalms 95:6 "O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker."
Philippians 2:10-11 "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
C. He came humbly to Christ, saying "Good Master" and spoke to Christ respectfully giving him honour.
James 4:6 "...Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble."
D. He came inquiring saying "Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?". but his question is somewhat flawed, in that an inheritance is never earned it is always given. and also there is nothing we can DO to gain eternal life, it is a gift.
Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."
3.) How did Christ respond to this rich young man?
A. With the question "Why callest thou me good?" Goodness is a perfection peculiar to God alone, Christ was not saying that this perfection was not in him, but he was letting this young man know that no human or angel can claim this perfection including this rich young man. Romans 3:12 "...there is none that doeth good, no, not one."
B. With the law because the law is like a mirror that reveals all of our moral disfigurations, wrinkles and stains. The law shows us our sin and the depravity, and deceitfulness of our heart.
Romans 7:7 "...I had not known sin, but by the law"
Romans 3:20 "...by the law is the knowledge of sin."
C. With love, this young man told Christ "Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him" Jesus did not love him because he was lovable, none of us can claim that, but Jesus did desired to bless him, and the only way that could happen is if he saw himself as a sinner, and was willing to turn from his sins.
Acts 3:26 "Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in TURNING AWAY EVERY ONE OF YOU FROM HIS INIQUITIES."
D. With a command, this young man knew that he still lacked something and his conscience was accusing him. he did not have peace and lacked fulfillment in life. Jesus said unto him "One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me."
By telling this rich young man to sell everything that he had he showed him that his great sin was covetousness, he had made a god out of materialism and even though outwardly he may have been morally beautiful, inwardly he was an idolater. Jesus has told us that we cannot serve God and mammon. Colossians 3:5 "...covetousness, which is idolatry"
4.) How did this rich man respond to Christs command?
A. The Bible tells that "he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved" now grieving is something that you do at a funeral when a loved one passes away, but this man had such a love for his possessions that he grieved at the thought of losing them and it made him very sad.
1 Timothy 6:10 "For the LOVE of money is the ROOT of all EVIL: which while some COVETED after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many SORROWS."
CONCLUSION: There is never a true faith in Christ without repentance from sin, I'm sure if Jesus wanted to he could have easily led this man in a sinner's prayer, or ask him to believe in his name, but Jesus knew in doing that the man would have only believed in vain. Jesus always dealt with people in different ways but he always exposed their vices, this man came to Christ owning his possessions but he left Christ with his possessions owning him, he was a slave to his covetousness. The battleground for the soul is always fought in the heart, it is fought between the convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit and the sinners favorite sins, and covetousness is always the root of all sin. Christ at Calvary died in the sinners place and paid the debt that nobody could and he rose again the third day but the only way we can apply the blood he shed is to be willing to REPENT of our sins and put our TRUST in Christ ALONE.
Mark 10:24 "But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that TRUST in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!"
Mark 1:15 "And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: REPENT ye, and BELIEVE THE GOSPEL."
