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Introduction:
We know him as “the Rich Young Ruler”. He was almost a
disciple, but the cost of discipleship was simply too high. We
have read the story before in Matthew
19,
Mark
10 and in the text we will be using today, Luke
18:18-23. We have read this passage numerous times and
asked lots of questions about that rich young ruler. What was his
motivation? What kind of man was he? What was his background? This
time lets ask questions about ourselves. These questions will
force us to leave behind the surface issues about possessions and
strike at the heart of whether or not we are truly devoted to
Jesus or only almost disciples? Discussion: I.
Do I live as though Jesus was
merely good, or as though He is truly God? A.
Before answering the ruler’s question, Jesus comments on
the young man’s statement: “Good Teacher” (Luke
18:18). Jesus is not questioning His own deity, as some
suppose. Rather, He is expressing His goodness and His Godhood.
The ruler recognized Jesus as a good man, a man whose teachings
were worthy of great consideration. But Jesus wants the ruler to
know the full truth. He is not speaking to one “good teacher”
among many. He is talking to God in the flesh. He is talking to
the only “good Teacher”. His words are not advice. They are
directives. B.
The rich young ruler, however, did not recognize Jesus to
be God. From the beginning of this tale to its end, he saw Jesus
as nothing more than a good teacher. A man whose advice he should
hear and consider, but His words were not commands to be followed.
Thus, when Jesus explained the ruler needed to sell all he had,
give it to the poor and follow Him, he did not obey. To the ruler,
these were not the words of God Himself. These were not the
commands of the Almighty. So, in the end what Jesus said might be
important, but unnecessary. C.
That is the ruler’s story. But what about me? What about
you? Our view of Jesus is not demonstrated by what we say, but by
what we do. No doubt you and I argue doctrinally for the deity of
Christ [John
1:1; Colossians 2:9; et.al.]. We believe Jesus was more
than man. He was God and man at the same time. That is what we
say, but how do we live? In our lives, is Jesus merely good or
truly God? As Luke
6:46 demonstrates, when we see Jesus as Lord, we will do
what He says. If we do not do what He says, then we do not view
Him as Lord. D.
When Jesus says, “He that believes and is baptized shall
be saved,” do you get baptized for salvation? Or do you think it
is only a nice thing to do if you want [Mark
16:16]? When Jesus says you should lay up treasure in
heaven, do you do it? Or are you trying to serve both God and
mammon [Matthew
6:19-24]? When Jesus (remember that the entire Bible is
the word of Jesus) says you are to submit to your husband, do you
obey or claim that advice doesn’t apply to your situation [Ephesians
5:22]? When Jesus says you are to love your wife as
yourself, do you obey or do you continue in selfishness [Ephesians
5:28]? How do you live? Is Jesus merely a good man to you,
whose words are weighty but unnecessary? Is He someone you want to
follow, so long as His words are pleasing and He doesn’t ask too
much? Or is He God, someone you follow because He is your Lord,
whether you like where He leads or not? II.
Who is my god? A.
I am intrigued by the list of commandments Jesus set before
the ruler. Jesus referred to five of the commandments about
man’s relationship with other men. From Exodus
20:12-17, Jesus reminded the ruler he was not to commit
adultery, murder, steal, bear false witness and he must honor his
father and mother. According to the rich young ruler, he had kept
all these commands from his youth up. B.
But what about the other commandments? Had the rich young
ruler kept them? No doubt, he thought he had. Surely, he was not
being a stickler and thinking in his mind, “I sure am glad he
didn’t mention the commandment about graven images.” He
recognized Jesus was giving a representative list and not an
exhaustive list of the only commandments he had to follow. The
young man believed he had kept the law and asked, “What else?”
Jesus cut to the quick, demonstrating that despite what this man
thought, he had not kept the Law. In fact, the rich young ruler
had violated the very first command. “You shall have no other
gods before me” (Exodus
20:3). The rich young ruler had a god that was keeping him
from following Jehovah God. He had a god that caused him to turn
away in sadness from the very Jehovah God who stood before him,
teaching him: his possessions. The young ruler was trying to serve
God and mammon at the same time, and as Jesus had earlier taught
in His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew
6:24), he couldn’t do it. C.
That is the ruler’s story. But what about me? What about
you? Who is our god? Is Jehovah our God? Or is something else our
god? Is there something in your life that keeps you from following
Jesus wherever He leads? If there is, then know you can boast, as
did the young ruler, of all the commandments you have kept, but
your god is not Jehovah. Is there some part of your life you are
unwilling to surrender to Christ? Then do not claim Jesus is your
God. D.
Remember Jesus’ words from Matthew
5:29-30. If your hand or eye causes you to stumble, get
rid of it. Let us not spend so much time explaining the figurative
nature of this command that we miss the point. Jesus is giving the
general principle in Matthew
5:29-30 that He applied specifically to the ruler in Luke
18:22. Don’t let anything get in the way of your service
to God. If materialism is a stumbling block, get rid of your
materialism. If sexual lust is a temptation, purify your heart and
cleanse your mind. If friends or family are coming between you and
Christ, then strengthen your love for God. If your boss or
co-workers are leading you astray, then start leading them on the
right path. Do not be distracted by any of these other “gods”.
Rather, love the Lord with all your heart, soul, strength and mind
(Luke
10:27). III.
What do I value? A.
At first glance, the rich young ruler appeared to value
eternal life. Despite his status as a ruler among the Jews, he
came kneeling before Jesus (Mark
10:17) asking how to inherit eternal life. Additionally,
he believed he scrupulously kept the Law. Further, we find that
was willing to go even beyond keeping the Law and asks Jesus,
“What else?” At this point, who would question that this man
values eternal life? B.
But in Luke
18:22-23, we learn despite all of this show of man’s
works, he did not value eternal life. Perhaps I should not
describe it that way. He did value eternal life. But he valued his
possessions more. For him, giving up his money, land and
possessions in exchange for eternal life just wasn’t a fair
trade. He would be giving too much and receiving too little in
return. Despite appearances, gaining eternal life wasn’t a
driving core value of this young ruler. It was only an
aspirational value. That is, he had aspirations of gaining eternal
life. But that desire did not so drive him that he would do
whatever it took. He would long for it, he would do some things
for it, but he had limits. There were some things he simply
wouldn’t sacrifice for eternal life. So, he went away sad. His
driving core values focused on material things. Therefore, he
would sacrifice everything, including eternal life, to keep his
possessions. C.
That is the ruler’s story. But what about me? What about
you? What do we value? No doubt, we all value eternal life. That
is why we are attending this assembly and listening to a sermon.
But, do we value eternal life above all else? Or is there
something else out there that we value more than even eternal
life? Is there something we wouldn’t give up if Jesus asked us
to? This is a truly soul searching question. It is a difficult
question to ask. It is difficult, because if we value something
more than eternal life, we typically blind ourselves so that we do
not see that the way we are living is in opposition to Jesus’
teaching. We convince ourselves we would surely give up anything
Jesus’ asks, and then read the scriptures in such a way we
don’t think He has asked us to give up anything. Frankly, I can
hear the saddened rich young ruler walking away from Jesus
muttering to himself, “You can’t show me in the Law where it
says I have to give up my possessions.” D.
There is a simple way to determine what you really value.
But you have to be brutally honest with yourself. You see, when
asked in a Bible class what we value most, we will say, “Eternal
life.” We will say, “Saving the lost.” We will say,
“Edifying the saved.” We will say, “Helping a brother or
sister in need.” But our actual values are not demonstrated by
what we say. They are demonstrated by what we do. Consider Paul;
he claimed knowing Jesus was of surpassing value to everything
else in the world (Philippians
3:8). Was that really what he valued? Or was he just
saying that? Read the rest of Philippians
3:4-11. He gave up everything else in order to know Jesus
and be in the resurrection. We know what he valued, not because he
told us, but because of what he did. Just so, if you want to know
what you truly value, look at how you spend your time and your
money. Do you spend time studying, praying, teaching, serving,
etc.? If not, don’t say you value eternal life. Do you spend
your money to serve God, further the spread of His gospel or help
your brethren? If not, do not say you value eternal life. It is
not enough to say you value eternal life, you have to live it. I
guarantee you, the place, work or aspect of your life where you
spend your time and your money is what you value most. What do you
value? Conclusion: Too often we sit in our easy chairs looking back at this rich young ruler who was almost a disciple. We sit in amazement that he wasn’t willing to give up all his possessions in order to gain eternal life. Let us not be so busy thinking about the rich young ruler that we don’t ask the important questions this story brings up about our lives. Do we live as though Jesus was merely good or truly God? Who is our God? And what do we value? These are the questions that pull us beneath the surface, taking us from the shallow end of God’s pool to the deep end. Being honest with ourselves on these questions will drive us to greater devotion and lead us to eternal life. What is your answer to these questions? Are you only almost a disciple or are you all the way a disciple?
Glory
to God in the church by Christ Jesus
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