The One Thing You Can't Live Without

Jesus was not denying that He was God, rather He was affirming it. He wanted to make sure the rich young ruler knew what he was saying and was willing to accept the responsibility involved. Jesus Christ is more than "Good Teacher" , He is the divine Son of God who shed his blood on the cross to provide a way for you and me to be forgiven and restored in a relationship with the Living God. Saving faith acknowledges Jesus for who He really is. He is Lord. If we are to have saving faith we must acknowledge Jesus as the Divine Son of God and the Lord of our lives. This is the first quality of saving faith. Who do you say Jesus Christ is and how is that affirmed in your life?

II. The second quality of saving faith is that we accept who we are (vv.17b, 19-20). The rich young ruler not only had a distorted view of who Jesus was but he also did not understand his own position and condition. Jesus tries to help him understand who he is by pointing him to the Law of Moses. Jesus wants us to understand that sin separates us from Holy God and that only by saving faith can we be made right before God.

A. We must understand our position (v. 17b, 19-20). We are lost sinners without the Lord Jesus Christ. The rich young ruler did not see himself as being in a helpless position. In v.17 he asks what he can do to inherit eternal life. He did not realize that good works would not merit salvation. Saving faith acknowledges that apart from the grace of God in Jesus Christ, salvation by works is impossible. Saving faith rests totally in Jesus Christ. The rich young ruler did not see himself as a condemned sinner before the Holy God. He has a superficial view of the Law of God for he measured obedience only by external actions and not by inward attitudes. In exercising saving faith we acknowledge our position as a helpless sinner in need of salvation.

B. We must also understand our condition (vv.19-20). Our position is one of helplessness and our condition is one of imperfection. We all have sinned and fall short (Rom. 3:23). There is none righteous, not even one (Rom. 3:10). Jesus points to the 10 Commandments. The rich young man quickly responded maybe even interrupting Jesus with, "I have kept all these". It turns out that his wealth keeps him from following Jesus which is breaking the commandment "Thou shalt not covet". He failed to see his own condition as a sinner. Many today try to explain away their sin by denial. "I live a good moral life" they say or "I’m just as good as the next guy". They over estimate themselves with too high a view of their condition.

Muhammad Ali, who is one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century and maybe the best boxer of all time is well known for his personal view of himself. He said of himself, "I am the greatest". One day Ali was in flight to a major city when the plane began to experience some major turbulence. The captain ordered all passengers to return to their seats and buckle their seatbelts. One of the flight attendants noticed one of the passengers had not buckled his seat belt. It was Ali, but the flight attendant did not follow boxing and did not know who he was. She approached him and said "Sir, the captain has ordered everyone to buckle up." Ali did not respond but just glared straight ahead ignoring her. She verbally confronts him again and he continues to ignore her. Finally she reaches down to buckle his seatbelt herself. He quickly and firmly grabs her hand glares into her eyes and says, "Superman don’t need no seatbelt!" To which the young attendant quickly responds "Superman don’t need no airplane, now buckle your seatbelt!" Sometimes our view of our condition is too high.