Get comfortable, it’s a long one
today!
Matthew 4:17
“From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of
heaven is at hand.”
Jesus began His earthly ministry
with the message of repentance. The greek work translated 'repent' is Metanoéō:
to repent with regret accompanied by a true change of heart toward God.
“With regret” indicates depth,
rather than superficial response to God's conviction of sin. In other words, it’s
not the person who is telling God, “I'm sorry for my sins” because that person
knows they are 'supposed to', but a genuine remorse for grieving God's heart.
I think to grasp the full measure of
repentance we must examine our own patterns of thought, how we do things and
even the motive behind them. It seems to me the thinking person, if they are
honest with themselves will conclude, “God says I have to turn around and do a
complete 180. If this is required then what I am doing must change and why
I do what I do must change as well. So now what?”
David had it right when he said in Psalm
139:23 “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts and
see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way
everlasting.”
If I may, I’d like to share an excerpt from John MacArthur’s
book “The Gospel According to Jesus” which I think you’ll find, as I did, just
outstanding:
“Matthew 19:16-22 describes a young
man who looked like the hottest evangelistic prospect the Lord had encountered
so far. He was ripe. He was eager. There was no way he would get away without
receiving eternal life. But he did. Instead of getting him
to make a decision, in a sense Jesus chased him off. He failed to draw the net.
He failed to sign the young man up. Should we allow our ideas of evangelism to
indict Jesus? I think we need to allow His example to critique contemporary
evangelism. Christ's confrontation of this young man gives us much-needed
insight into reaching the lost.
Turmoil of the Heart
Though rich and a ruler while still
a young man, he was undoubtedly in turmoil. All his religion and wealth had not
given him confidence, peace, joy, or settled hope. There was a restlessness in
his soul-an absence of assurance in his heart. He was coming on the basis of a
deeply felt need. He knew what was missing: eternal life. His motivation in
coming to Christ was faultless.
His attitude was right as well. He
wasn't haughty or presumptuous; he seemed to feel his need deeply. There are
many people who know they don't have eternal life but don't feel any need for
it. Not this young man. He was desperate. There's a sense of urgency in his
question, "Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I might have eternal
life?" He did not have a prologue; he didn't warm up; he just blurted it
out. He even allowed such an outburst in public and risked losing face with all
the people who thought he was a spiritual giant already.
A lot of people, in seeking to
understand this passage, have taken the young man to task for the question he
asked. They say his mistake was in asking "What good thing shall I
do?" But he asked a fair question. It wasn't a calculated bid to trap
Jesus into condoning self righteousness. It was a simple, honest question asked
by one in search of truth: "What good thing shall I do that I may obtain
eternal life?"
The Issue of Sin
But here's where the story takes an
extraordinary turn. Jesus' answer to the young man seems preposterous: "If
you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments" (v. 17). Strictly
speaking, Jesus' answer was correct. If a person kept the law all his life and never
violated a single part of it, he would have eternal life. But no one can. Since
he had come with the right motive to the right source, asking the right
question, why didn't Jesus simply tell him the way of salvation?
Because the young man was missing an
important quality. He was utterly lacking a sense of his own sinfulness. His
desire for salvation was based on a felt need. He had anxiety and frustration.
He wanted joy, love, peace, and hope. But that is an incomplete reason for
committing oneself to Christ. Our Lord didn't offer relief for the
rich young ruler's felt need. Instead, he gave an answer devised to confront
him with his sin and his need of forgiveness. It was imperative that he
perceive his sinfulness. People cannot come to Jesus Christ for salvation
merely on the basis of psychological needs, anxieties, lack of peace, a sense
of hopelessness, an absence of joy, or a yearning for happiness. Salvation is
for people who hate their sin and want to turn away from it. It is for
individuals who understand that they have lived in rebellion against a holy God
and who want to live for His glory.
Jesus' answer took the focus off the
young man's felt need and put it back on God: "There is only One who is
good." Then He held him against the divine standard so he would see how
far short he fell: "If you wish to enter into life, keep the
commandments." But the young man ignored and rejected the point. He was
utterly unwilling to confess his own sinfulness.
Evangelism must take the sinner and
measure him against the perfect law of God so he can see his deficiency. A
gospel that deals only with human needs, feelings, and problems is superficial
and powerless to save since it focuses only on the symptoms rather than sin,
the real issue. (Emphasis mine) That's why churches are filled with people whose lives are
essentially no different after professing faith in Christ. Many of those
people, I'm sad to say, are unregenerate and grievously misled.
A Call for Repentance
The rich young ruler asked Jesus
which commandments he should keep. The Lord responded by giving him the easy
half of the Ten Commandments: "You shall not commit murder; You shall not
commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor
your father and mother." Then He adds, "You shall love your neighbor
as yourself" (Ex. 20:18, 19). Scripture says, "The young man
said to Him, 'All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?'" (v.
20). That demonstrates his shallow perception of the law. It's possible that on
the surface he did all those things, but God looks for an internal application.
There was no way he could honestly say he had always kept that law. He could
not have been telling the truth-he was either lying or totally self-deluded. And so there was no way the rich
young ruler could be saved. Salvation is not for people who simply want to
avoid hell and gain heaven instead; it is sinners who recognize how unfit they
are for heaven and come to God for forgiveness. If you are not ashamed of your
sin, you cannot receive salvation.
At this point, Mark 10:21 says,
"And looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him." That statement
paints a pathetic picture. The young man was sincere. His spiritual quest was
genuine. He was an honestly religious person. And Jesus loved him. However, the
Lord Jesus does not take sinners on their own terms. As much as He loved the
young man, He nevertheless did not grant him eternal life merely because he
requested it.
Submission to Christ
Jesus lovingly tried to help the
young man see another essential element of salvation: "Jesus said to Him, 'If
you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and
you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me' (v. 21). Challenging
him, Jesus was basically saying, "You say you love your neighbor as
yourself. OK, give him everything you've got. If you really love him as much as
you love yourself, that should be no problem."
Jesus was simply testing whether he
was willing to submit himself to Christ. Scripture never records that He demanded
anyone else sell everything and give it away. The Lord was exposing the man's
true weakness-the sin of covetousness, indulgence, and materialism. He was
indifferent to the poor. He loved his possessions. So the Lord challenged that. Verse 22 says, "When the young
man heard this statement, he went away grieved; for he was one who owned much
property." He wouldn't come to Jesus if it meant giving up his
possessions. It's interesting that he went away grieved. He really did want
eternal life; he just wasn't willing to pay the price of repenting of sin and
submitting to Christ. The story has a tragic,
heartbreaking ending. The rich young ruler came for eternal life, but left
without it. He thought he was rich, but walked away from Jesus with nothing. Although
salvation is a blessed gift from God, Christ will not give it to a man whose
hands are filled with other things. A person who is not willing to turn from
his sin, his possessions, his false religion, or his selfishness will find he
cannot turn in faith to Christ.”
Prevalent
today is a departure from the Word of God. Today churches are drifting away from the Word of God, and satan is filling the void
with truth, mixed with lies. “A little
leaven leavens the whole lump.” -Galatians 5:9 We must
be diligent in our study of Scripture that we might be effective in our
presentation of the gospel message; clear and concise, complete and accurate. I
believe our time is drawing near to a close within our lifetime and there are
multitudes who have not heard, perhaps just as many who have been falsely taught.
The end of which is the same, God's judgement will be poured out upon sinful
man and we hold the truth. Let's get the gospel out there, and live what we believe in
the process, that we be not hypocrites before them!
