Let us turn to God's Word and
to the chapter that we read in Luke chapter 18 and reading again
at verse 18 following Luke chapter 18 verse 18 following And a certain
ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit
eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why
callest thou me good? None is good save one, that is
God. Thou knowest the commandments. Do not commit adultery. Do not
kill. Do not steal. Do not bear false
witness. Honour thy father and thy mother.
And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up. Now when Jesus
heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing,
shall all that thou hast and distribute unto the poor and
thou shalt have treasure in heaven and come follow me when he heard
this he was very sorrowful for he was very rich and when Jesus
saw that he was very sorrowful he said how hardly shall they
that have riches enter into the kingdom of God for it is easier
for a camel to go through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter
into the kingdom of God. And they that heard it said,
Who then can be saved? And he said, The things which
are impossible with men are possible with God. We read back in Jeremiah chapter
15 that word that was given to the prophet, if thou take forth
the precious from the vial, thou shalt be as my mouth. That was the mark of one who
was a true prophet of the Lord. In the days of Jeremiah there
were many false prophets. who did not speak the words of
God, but spoke only out of their own hearts. But there, Jeremiah
is told quite plainly that if he is truly the Lord's servant,
the Lord's mouthpiece, his ministry will have that effect, there
will be a separation between the precious and the vile. And as that is one of the marks
of the true prophet, it is not surprising then, when we come
to the New Testament, and read of him, who is the greatest of
all the prophets, who is the very fulfillment of the prophetic
office, the Lord Jesus Christ himself, who only speaks the
words of God, because he is, of course, the Word made flesh. It is not surprising, I say.
when we read of Christ's ministry that we see, that it had that
separating effect. It was a very discriminating
ministry that Christ exercised. In John's Gospel on a number
of occasions we read of the effect there being a separation between
the people because of him, because of the Lord Jesus. or we read
of a separation because of those things that he said, how his
ministry then made a difference, a distinction between men. He is always careful with regards
to the way in which He addresses one individual, and the way in
which He addresses another individual. So discriminating and ministerial
is that of Christ, because He is that true prophet. If thou
take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my
mouth. Now, in this portion that we've
just read, We see the Lord Jesus Christ dealing with this particular
individual, this rich, young ruler, this man who we're told
quite clearly had great riches. And how does Christ deal with
him? How does Christ speak to him? Well, he preaches the Lord
to this man, as we see from verse 20, thou knowest the commandments,
do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear
false witness, honor thy father and thy mother. There is the
preaching of the law to this particular individual. And yet,
as we read through the chapter and come to the concluding part
of the chapter, there at verse 35 following, where We read of another man who has
nothing in the way of this world's riches. He is a blind man and
he sits by the wayside begging. And now the Lord Jesus speaks
a very different language to this man. He doesn't direct this
man to the Lord of Gods, but rather to this man we have that
proclamation of the Gospel. In verse 42, Jesus said unto
him, Receive thy sight, thy faith hath saved thee. And what I want us to do today
is to contrast these two portions of Scripture and Christ's dealings
with these two individuals. And so beginning this morning
by considering what we're told here in verses 18 to 23 concerning
the rich young ruler, the one that Christ deals with in terms
of the law of God. Now there is, interestingly,
a threefold account of this particular incident. So it is something
that is significant, is it not? We know that no word of Holy
Scripture is in vain, there's no idle words anywhere in the
book of God, and so if things are repeated, as we find in this
particular case, it is highly significant. Here is something
worth to take account of. Not only do we have the record
here in Luke, but also in the other synoptic Gospels. In Matthew
chapter 19 at verse 16 following, and then again you'll find the
same incident in Mark chapter 10 at verse 17 following. Now what do we read there as
Mark? introduces us to this particular
individual in Mark chapter 10 and verse 17. We're told, When
he, that is the Lord Jesus, 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? we see then with
regard to this young man a certain amount of anxiety and sincerity
and here is one who is very earnest as he comes to the Lord Jesus
he comes running he kneels to him and he asks him he is a serious
minded individual he comes then with some with some haste to
ask the Lord Jesus this particular question. And how different,
we might say, is this man's approach to the Lord Jesus to that of
others. When we read of Nicodemus, for
example, he was one who came to Jesus by night. Nicodemus,
in John chapter 3, comes under the cover of darkness. He doesn't
want others to see him approaching the Lord. And the reason in part
was because he was afraid. He was afraid of the Jews. But there's a certain boldness
with this particular individual. He comes open. As we saw there
in Mark's account at 17th verse in chapter 10, it was when Jesus
was gone forth into the wild. Here is Christ in a public place. And this man comes quite openly
and quite unashamedly to the Lord Jesus. And so we're told,
and Jesus beholding him loved him. Jesus beholding him loved
him. Surely we need to look somewhat
more carefully and more closely at this particular individual
when we consider his earnestness and his anxiety. He's not coming
to catch the Lord Jesus Christ in His works. There is a certain
sincerity in this man. We need to look at him, we need
to examine him, and the way in which the Lord deals with him.
What does this man do as he comes to Christ? We can only say this,
he speaks of works. He speaks of works. Verse 18
here, in the chapter before us this
morning. Good Master, he says, what shall
I do to inherit eternal life? Are we not reminded here that
by nature all men, in a sense, are wedded to a covenant of worth. They think there's something
to be done. And we see it even on the day of Pentecost, when
under the preaching of Peter some 3,000 souls are awakened? And what is the cry of those
who are there hearing the preaching of Peter? What must we do to
be saved? Men will think in terms of works. When God made the first man Adam,
gave to him his wife Eve, and set them in the Garden of Eden,
and put them under that covenant of works. So men by nature are
ready to it. They think there's something
that they can do. There's some obedience that they've got to
show to God in order that they might decide. And this man is
just typical of so many. Good master, he says, what shall
I do to inherit eternal life? Calvin makes the observation,
saying of the man, he dreams of merit. He dreams of merit. He's going to do something. Something
meritorious. He's going to earn something
from God. And as I say, as he comes in
this fashion, so the Lord speaks to him in terms of the law. Thou knowest the commandment,
says Christ. And then he says in verse 21,
all these have I kept from my youth up. He thought he was one who was
obedient, a keeper of the Word of God, living his life in accordance
with the commandments of God. Oh friends, what a contrast we
see between these two characters, the rich young ruler and the
blind beggar who is spoken of at the end of the chapter. Verse 38, He cried saying, Jesus,
thou son of David, have mercy on me. And they which went before
rebuked him, that he should hold his peace. But he cried so much
the more, Thou son of David, have mercy on me. how different these two men are
in the way in which they speak to the Lord Jesus Christ and
the question that they put to the Lord Jesus Christ. One speaks
of his works, there's something I can do whereby I will earn
and merit salvation, and the other one is not only a literal
beggar, but he's a spiritual beggar. He comes and he sues
the Lord Jesus Christ for mercy. And Christ therefore, I say,
speaks so differently to each of these men. That's what I mean
when I say that the Lord's ministry is a distinguishing and a discriminating
ministry. He doesn't address all in the
same fashion. And remember what we said at
the outset, that is the mark of the true prophet of the Lord.
And not only the mark of the true prophet of the Lord, that
is, the mark of the true preacher of the Word of God. There is
to be a discrimination in the setting forth of the Word of
God. The Lord here then addresses
one man in terms of the gospel, Jesus says to the blind man,
Receive thy sight, thy faith hath saved thee. In contrast
he says to the rich young ruler, Thou knowest the commandments. And remember how previously in
this chapter the Lord has been speaking that parable concerning
two other men. The Pharisee and the Publican. Verse 9, He spake this parable
unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous
and despised others. Two men went up into the temple
to pray, the one a Pharisee, the other a publican. The Pharisee
stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank Thee that I am not
as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as
this publican. I pass twice in the week. I give
tithes of all that I possess." Oh, his language is not dissimilar
to the rich young ruler, is it? Who can speak of himself as one
who has kept the commandments. All these have I kept from my
youth up. He's so like that pharisee. And then in contrast, Verse 13,
The publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as
his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God,
be merciful to me, a sinner. So like this blind man, Jesus,
thou son of David, have mercy on me. And the Lord says, I tell
you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the
other. For every one that exalteth himself shall be abased, and
neither humbleth himself. shall be exalted." How then the
Lord is dealing here with a certain individual and he deals with
this man in terms of the Lord. There is a necessity here that
there should be that real conviction of saying and as this young man
being brought to that the real sense of what he is some knowledge
of himself as a sinner before God and a helpless sinner as
that There is that purpose of the law, is there not, that we
have to take account of. In the account in Matthew, I
said that it recorded this incident in all of the synoptic Gospels. It's not in John, but it's in
Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and there, in the 19th chapter of
Matthew at verse 17, Christ says to the man, if thou wilt enter
into life, keep the commandment. Here is his question, you see.
What must I do to inherit eternal life if thou wilt enter into
life, says Christ, keep the commandments. Isn't that what the law says?
Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, which if a
man do them, he shall live. Moses described the righteousness
of the law. Paul tells us that. Romans chapter
10 verse 5, Moses describeth the righteousness which is of
the law, which is how man do these things, he shall live. Ah, but, and there is a but,
and what a but it is, by the works of the law shall no flesh
be justified in his sight. There is no justification, no
salvation by the works of the law. Wherefore then serveth the
law is the question that's asked in Galatians chapter 3 and verse
19, and we're told it was added because of transgression. There
is no salvation now by the law because of the state of man's
heart. What is man in his very nature
now? He's a fallen creature, he's
a sinner. And the law can bring no comfort to this man, who is
dead in trespasses and in sins, whose condition is so utterly
helpless. What is the law? Well, we're
told, are we not, of it in that third chapter of 2 Corinthians,
it's a ministration of condemnation. That's what the law does, it
condemns a sinner. It's a ministration of death,
it doesn't bring life. It only ministers death to the
soul of man. Again, how Paul speaks of these
things, of course, in his epistles time and again, in Romans, in
Galatians. There in Galatians, so clearly
it speaks of that ministration of the Lord of God. As many as
are of the works of the law are under the curse, for it is written,
Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things which are written
in the book of the law to do them. Here it is, you see. The
law requires a perfect obedience. You have to continue in all things
written in the book of the law to do them. And therefore, if
a man should keep the whole law and yet offend in one point,
he's guilty. And he's guilty of all. And that's
not the language of Paul. Remember, that's the language
of James. And there are those who say that
James says something different to Paul. Of course, that's not
the case. These apostles speak with one voice. It's there in
James chapter 2 and verse 10, "...whosoever shall keep the
whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all."
Chapter 3 and verse 2, it says, "...for in many things we offend
all. If any man offend not in word,
the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole
body." But we don't, you see, we don't keep God's law in its
entirety. And we're not guilty of just
one transgression. One transgression would bring
the curse and condemnation, but we're guilty of many transgressions.
Here is the purpose of the law then. It is meant to bring that
man to understand what he is and where he is as a sinner before
God in vain. We ask God's righteous law to
justify us now since to convince and to condemn is all the Law
can do. That's the ministry of the Law.
We know that what things soever the Law saith, it saith to them
who are under the Law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all
the world become guiltless before God. Therefore by the deeds of
the Law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. Oh, it stops the mouths of men.
That's what it's meant to do. To bring that man in guilt. to
condemn the man and so the Lord the Lord himself you see is dealing
with this man who is still thinking in terms of merit in terms of
his own works thou knowest the commandments and what does he
say all these have I kept from my youth he didn't understand
he didn't understand and the Lord when he speaks of the commandments
he doesn't even speak of the first table Remember how God's
law is divided into two parts, the first table, the first four
commandments have to do with our relationship to God and our
duties before God, and the second table, the last six, speak more
particularly of our relationship to our fellow men. And these
are the only commandments that the Lord speaks, but even here
you see. Even here we're guilty, are we
not? Do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do
not bear false witness, honor thy father and thy mother. And
if we understand the commandment of God, we're concerned not only
with the letter of it, but the spirit of it. We all remember
a guy in the ministry of Christ and his teaching there in the
Sermon on the Mount where he tells us so plainly that anger
That unjustified anger that rises in the heart of a man against
another, that is murder. And the wanton thoughts and the
wanton look, that is adultery. The Lord is spiritual, says Paul,
I am carnal, sold under sin. How the Lord then deals with
a man, you see. Deals with this particular individual
in this discriminating fashion. He speaks to him in terms of
commandments and laws. That's the purpose of the law,
to convince the sinner. But here we see that there is
a particular application of the law of God, a particular application. Verse 22, When Jesus heard these
things, the man had said from my youth, I've kept the commandments.
When Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest
thou one thing? sell all that thou hast and distribute
unto the poor and thou shalt have treasure in heaven and come
follow me and when he heard this he was very sorrowful for he
was very rich this man loved riches this man
loved his riches what was the sin here? it's that sin of covetousness,
is it not? The love of money. The love of
money, not money itself, the love of money, money is necessary,
of course, in order to do transaction and so forth. Ah, but the love
of money is the root of all evil. And we have that commandment,
the tenth commandment, Thou shalt not covet. All that covetousness,
what is it? It is really a form of idolatry. Colossians chapter 3 and verse
5. Covetousness which is idolatry
says the Apostle. It is a form of idolatry. It
is loving something more than God. And that's what this man
does. That's what this man does. The
Lord had said He is to distribute to the poor He'll have pleasure
in heaven and he says, come follow me. In other words, he is to
love Christ more than he loves riches. But he was very sorrowful. For he was very rich, he will
not follow the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a particular application
that we have here then, of a particular commandment. Or that 10th commandment,
how it found out Saul of Tarsus? Does he not tell us quite plainly,
writing there in Romans? He says, I had not known sin
but by the law, for I had not known lust except the law said,
thou shalt not covet. This is Paul writing of course
there in Romans chapter 7. but he was once sword, he was
once the pharisee, and the son of a pharisee. That one who could
speak of himself in Philippians as touching the righteousness
which is in the law, blameless, and he really believed that.
He lived the life of a pharisee. Just like that pharisee that
Christ speaks of in the parable in the previous part of the chapter. And he lived, you see, according
to all those pharisaical rules did Saul of Tarsus. And he thought,
therefore, that he was a keeper of the commandments. But then
the Lord came and dealt with him in terms of that tenth commandment,
thou shalt not covet. And covetousness, it doesn't
have to do with deeds and actions. It has to do with the attitude
of a man's heart. It's here that we learn what
Paul says in Romans 7, that the law is spiritual. It's a spiritual
law, and he's a carnal man. Oh, there is an application,
you see, how necessary it is that there is that particular
application. When God brings His Word home
into the soul of the sinner, and convinces that man in the
very depths of his heart, makes that man feel what he is, he's
a Transgressor is a breaker of God's holy law, and so the law
can only condemn him. And yet I say that that is so
necessary in order to salvation. What does the hymn writer say
of the sinner who is to be saved, nor can he expect to be perfectly
saved till he finds himself utterly lost. or we have to be utterly
lost, we have to know what it is to be condemned, to feel what
we are to learn in our own experience that bitter doctrine of the sinner's
total depravity and all that that entails our impotence, our
spiritual impotence we can do nothing and yet these of course
are the very sinners that Christ came to save He came not to call
the righteous, not to call the self-righteous man He came to
call sinners to repentance. What is Christ doing with this
man? He is teaching him out of the law. There is a ministry
here of the law. This is the emphasis. this discriminating ministry
of the Lord Jesus. He doesn't speak to all and sundry
in exactly the same way. That's how some people today
think that you're to preach the gospel, you're to tell a mixed
congregation that God loves you. God loves you all, God wants
to save you all. And you're to give God the opportunity to save
you all. That's the preaching that is
so common today, is it not? But that's not the ministry of
the Lord Jesus Christ. He deals with men in particular
ways. His ministry in that sense is
a very personal ministry. He speaks to this man then only
in terms of law. And so we see here the great
purpose of the Lord of God, even in the ministry of the Lord Jesus.
But then also here, in the second place, I want you to observe
the importance of a right confession of Christ, the importance of
a right confession, a realization of who Jesus of Nazareth is. Because besides the conviction
of sin in the soul of a sinner, if he's going to be saved, there
must also be that proper recognition of the Savior. Now the man comes
and he speaks very respectfully to the Lord Jesus in what he
says. Look at the language that we
have in verse 18, "...a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good
master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" It's respectful,
it's a form of address, is it not? But alas, that's all it
is. It's respectful. When the Lord tells the parable
of the talents, even the faithful servant is spoken of as good,
good and faithful servant. It is a proper form of address. It's a respectful way of speaking
to another. But look at the way in which
the Lord responds to his address. Jesus, verse 19, said unto him,
Why callest thou me good? None is good save one, that is
God. All the Lord, you see, he sees
that this is just respectful. Nothing improper with that, but
something more than that is necessary. And the Lord tells him quite
plainly, none is good, save one, that is God. There's a great
verse in the 119th Psalm, in verse 68, David says of God,
Thou art good, and doest good. What a mercy it is, friends,
that that's the God that we have to do with, the God who does
good. And why does God do good things? Because He's a good God. None is good, save one, that
is God. Now as this man comes to the
Lord Jesus Christ and approaches Him, we have to ask this question,
is he really seeking instruction from God? Is he seeking instruction
from God? Does he really, does he truly
accept here the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ? All the
important question you see is that, what think ye of Christ? Remember, the end of Matthew
we read of one of the Pharisees, end of Matthew 22, one of the
Pharisees who was a lawyer. A lawyer in the sense that he
was a real expert in the law of God. Comes and speaks to the Lord
Jesus. There... that verse 34 in Matthew 22 when
the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence
they were gathered together then one of them which was a lawyer
asked him a question tempting him and saying master which is
the great commandment in the law and so forth and how wisely
the Lord deals with this man and his trick question and then
he continues to tell us how the Lord asked
the question of the Pharisees. Verse 41, While the Pharisees
were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, What think
ye of Christ? Whose son is he? They said unto
him, The son of David. He said unto them, O then, doth
David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my
Lord, Set thou on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy
footstool." He quotes from the Psalms, Psalm 110. If David then
call him Lord, asks Christ, how is he his son? No man was able to answer him
a word, neither does any man from that day forth ask him any
more questions. The Lord silences them. And how
does he silence them? By that simple question, what
think ye of Christ? And no wider a question it is,
friends. Who is this man? Who is this man that the rich
young ruler has approached and addressed in a very proper fashion? Does he really recognize who
this person is? Of course we sang that hymn of
Newton's just now that's based on That's a question that Christ
puts at the end of Matthew 22. What think you of Christ? Is
the test to try both your state and your scheme? You cannot be
right in the rest unless you think rightly of him. As Jesus
appears in your view, as he is beloved or not, so God is disposed
to you, and mercy or wrath are your lot. Some take him, a creature
to be, a man, For an angel at most, sure, these have not feelings
like me, nor know themselves wretched and lost. So guilty,
so helpless am I. I durst not confide in his blood,
nor on his protection rely, unless I were sure he is God. Now is this man, this rich young
ruler, one who feels himself wretched and lost, guilty, helpless? when he comes to the Lord, is
he looking to him as God, as the only one who is able to save
him? He is not. He is not. There is some self-trust
here. He thinks he can do something.
He's not being brought to the end of himself. This is why the
Lord deals with him in this fashion. How important it is to have a
right view of who Jesus Christ is. There has to be that proper
confession of it. If thou shalt confess with thy
mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God
hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. With the
heart man believeth unto righteousness, with the mouth confession is
made unto salvation. But that confession is one wherein
there is a recognition of all dependence being upon the Lord
Jesus Christ. that Christ is the only one who
can say, thy whole dependence on me fix, nor entertain a thought,
thy worthless schemes with mine to mix, but venture to be naught. This man is not naught. This
man is not a cipher, this man is not a nothing, a zero. And
that's what we have to come to. We have to be nothing. And then
Christ is everything. How the Lord deals with this
man then. He preaches the Lord and yet,
oh even here we see so much of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Yet lacketh thou one thing, he
says, sell all that thou hast and distribute unto the poor
and thou shalt have treasure in heaven and calm. There's a
gospel word, calm. follow me." In Mark, in Mark's
account, Mark 10.21, Kami says, take up the cross and follow
me. There's the self-denialism, taking
up the cross, taking up the cross, the gospel way. Why? It's the way of real trial and
trouble It's coming to the end of self. It's learning the awful
truth about ourselves and our sins. How we're utterly lost. And not just learning that lesson
once but having to be always learning that same lesson over
and over and over. Nothing of ourselves. And yet
not only the way of trial and trouble but also the way of trial.
What does the Lord say? In the world ye shall have tribulation
it cannot be avoided that's the way in which the Lord teaches
his people in the world you shall have tribulation but he says
be of good cheer I have overcome the world or we can only overcome
us with those friends who are trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ
mark then this morning how the Lord deals how discriminating
he is Almighty come to us and deal with us in such a fashion,
be personal and particular, come as it were and touch us, handle
our consciences, make us to feel something of His Word, the weight
of it, the authority of it. Well, God willing, this evening
we'll go on to consider the way in which the Lord deals with
the blind man, that Gospel way, that only way of salvation, the
way of mercy. The man who goes to his house
justified, remember, is that man who comes with that prayer,
that blessed prayer. God be merciful to me, a sinner. That must be our prayer, friends.
God be merciful to me, a sinner. In fact, as you're probably aware,
there in verse 13, the definite article He's used, literally
it says, God be merciful to me, the sinner. I'm the sinner, just
like Paul. Just like Paul there in 1 Timothy
1. He speaks of himself as the chief
of sinners. And isn't that what the Lord
teaches all his children? They all agree with Paul, in
a sense they all disagree with Paul. Paul calls himself the
chief of sinners. If we know anything of the Lord,
we would say, Paul, you're wrong. I'm the chief of sinners. O God, grant that we might come
then as those who are sinners, ever feeling our need of the
Saviour. May the Lord bless His word to
us. Now let us conclude our worship
this morning as we sing hymn 111 the tune St. Agnes, 218. In 111
vain are the hopes the sons of men, and their own works have
built, their hearts by nature all unclean, and all their actions
guilt. Jesus, how glorious is thy grace,
when in thy name we trust. Our faith receives a righteousness
that makes the sinner just. 111. They know the hopes were sons
of men On their own works have built Their hearts by nature
all are free Let you and Gentiles stop them
out Without a murmuring word And the whole race of Adam In vain we ask God's righteous
law to justify us now. Sins to convince and to condemn. can do. Jesus, how glorious is thy grace,
when in thy name we trust. Our faith receives a righteousness
that makes us The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you
all. Amen.