to worship Him, the Lord Jesus
Christ. I pray that's why we're here. If it is, then we have this promise
from Him. He's in our midst. What a wonder. He's in our midst. And I don't
want us, like this rich young ruler, to depart from the presence
of the Lord sorrowful. I don't want that for you, and
I don't want that for myself. Why did he go away sorrowful?
Look at verse 21 of our text again. Jesus said unto him, If
thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give
to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come
and follow me. But when the young man heard
that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. He had great possessions. He was a rich man. And he could
not part ways with his riches and follow Christ, because his
heart was set on them. We just read it in that psalm.
If riches increase, set not your heart upon them. This man loved
the world. What a danger. What a danger. His treasure was an earthly treasure. That's all the treasure he had.
And so he went away sorrowful. But you know, his great possessions were not
actually his greatest problem. No, sir. I pray that God will
show us what his problem really was. This man, not only was he
rich, he was lost in false religion. The first problem with what he
believed, we see in verse 16, he said, good master, what good
thing shall I do? He thought that there was something
good that he could do spiritually. And the Lord was going to teach
him, there is none good, no, not one. Not one. This man came to the Lord, he
called him good master, but then he turned around and said, what
good thing can I do? He put himself on the same level
as God. And what a grave mistake. God
is in the heavens. We're upon earth. God is good.
We're not good. Not good at all. Look at verse
17. And the Lord said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There
is none good but one, God. God, only God, is good. I pray that God will cause us
to believe that. That's the first thing. Now the second problem
that this young man had is he thought that he could do something
good, look at it, verse 16, that he may have eternal life. He thought that eternal life
was something that he could earn. Again, what a grave mistake.
Salvation, eternal life is not something that we can merit.
Not in the least. He asked the wrong question.
He said, what shall I do? You know, when the gospel is
preached, we're not told what we can do. We're told we can
do nothing. We declare what He has already
done. Done, not do. Not do. Eternal life is not the result
of anything you or I could possibly do. We could never earn it. Never. If I had a million years to live
here and try to please God, it would never happen. You know
why? Because I've already sinned. And that's all it takes. One
sin. One sin. Eternal life is God's
gift. Let me show you this in Romans
chapter 6. Romans chapter 6 verse 23. Romans 6.23 says, For the wages
of sin is death. That right there is the only
thing we could ever earn. Spiritual death. Because we've
all sinned. We have all sinned for the wages
of sin is death. But I'm so glad that verse does
not end right here. The wages of sin is death, which
we've all earned. But the gift of God is eternal
life. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
we've earned death. But God's been pleased to give
eternal life. And you know where that life
is? In and through the Lord Jesus Christ. Now the rich young ruler
had not learned that. He had not so learned Christ. If you look back at our text,
Matthew 19. He thought he could do something
good. He thought he could earn eternal life. And in verse 17, the Lord said
unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but
one, and that is God. But if thou wilt enter into life,
keep the commandments. The Lord Jesus Christ, he met
this man on the grounds which he came. He came wanting to do
something, so the Lord told him, keep the commandments. Keep the
commandments. If that's how you want to be
saved, keep them. And look at verse 18. Rich young ruler, he sayeth unto
him, which, which ones do I have to keep? Jesus said, thou shalt
do no murder. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness.
Honor thy father and thy mother. Thou shalt love thy neighbor
as thyself. If you want to be saved by what
you do, If you want to be saved by keeping the law, you've got
to keep it all. You've got to keep it all. God's
law is holy. And His holy law must be honored. It must be kept perfectly. It
must be fulfilled. It must be satisfied. This young man did not know why
Christ came. Christ came to fulfill the law,
and he fulfilled the law. This young man came to the Lord
by law. He was under the law, and being
under the law, God says he was under the curse. Galatians 3.10
For as many as are under 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. James tells us in James
2.10 that we offend in just one point. We're guilty of the whole
thing. You know, the purpose of the
law is not to save us. It's to show us we're guilty.
We need a Savior. This man was under the law. Look
at verse 20. The Lord told him, you want to
keep the law, keep the whole thing. In verse 20, the young
man saith unto him, all these things have I kept from my youth up. I've kept it
all. He foolishly thought that he
had actually kept God's holy law. He did not know that the law
is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. That means sin
is all I can do. I can't obey God's holy law.
I can't do it. He did not know that by the deeds
of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. This young man, he did not know
that his problem was right here in the heart. Turn over a few pages to Luke
chapter 16. Luke 16 verse 15. And the Lord Jesus said unto
them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men, but God
knoweth your hearts. For that which is highly esteemed
among men is abomination in the sight of God. You see, the best
of men are men at best. And scriptures say man at his
best state is altogether vanity. It's not enough to be highly
esteemed in the eyes of men. We're all sinners. We're all
sinners. God is holy. 1 Samuel 16 verse
7 says, The Lord seeth not as man seeth. For man looketh on
the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart. God looks on the heart. God knows
our heart. And you know what He sees? Well,
I'll show you. Turn to Jeremiah chapter 17. When someone says, well, God knows
my heart. If you've ever said that, Perhaps we all have, but
when someone says that, I pray God will show them this verse.
Jeremiah 17, verse 9. I tremble at the thought of God
knowing my heart. Because He's revealed to me a
little bit about what this sinful heart is like. Here in Jeremiah
17, verse 9, it says the heart is deceitful. above all things, and desperately
wicked. Who can know it? Verse 10 says, I, the Lord, search
the heart. I try the reins, even to give
every man according to his ways and according to the fruit of
his doings. This rich young ruler He did
not know he had an evil heart. He did not know that every imagination
of the thoughts of his heart, like yours and mine, was only
evil continually. Do you know that? Our problem is not what we do. It's what we are. We're not sinners because we
sin. We sin because we're sinners. It's what we are. What comes
out of our mouth, the evil that comes off this tongue, it proceeds
forth from this evil heart. The problem is not what we do,
it's what we are. Oh, I pray God would teach us
that. And as verse 10 tells us, God
is going to judge us according to our way, according to the
fruit of our doings. You see, God is a just, righteous,
holy God. He's going to judge righteously.
The soul that sinned, it shall die. He's going to punish all
sin. He's a just God, but here's my only hope, and a Savior. Praise God, He is a Savior. Turn
back to our text. Verse 20, The young man saith
unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up. What
lack I yet? You know, he asked that question
sarcastically. This man thought he was perfect.
He thought he was good enough to stand in the presence of God.
What lack I yet? Here's what he expected to hear.
Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Come on in. Come on
in. But be sure you see what our
Lord told him. Verse 21. Jesus said unto him,
if thou wilt be perfect. You know, we've got to be perfect.
It shall be perfect to be accepted. Our best effort is not going
to cut it. Christ said, Be ye therefore perfect, even as your
Father which is in heaven is perfect. We've got to be perfect.
This man, he wasn't perfect. He wasn't perfect. I'm sure he
was a pleasant man to be around. I'm sure he was a lot more pleasant
than myself. But he wasn't perfect. This young
man, quote in Romans 10 verse 3 and 4, he was ignorant of God's
righteousness. He was going about to establish
his own righteousness. He had not submitted himself
unto the righteousness of God for Christ is the end of the
law for righteousness to everyone that believeth." There's just
one righteousness. In Matthew chapter 5, the Lord
said these words. He said, "...except your righteousness
shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees,
you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." You see,
any righteousness other than Christ's righteousness is no
righteousness at all. There's just one righteousness. Verse 21, Jesus said unto him,
If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give
to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come,
follow me. He said, you get rid of it all. Throw it all away. This man was
trusting in his works. Isaiah tells us that our works
are all filthy rags. We just read highly esteemed
among men, but abomination in the sight of God. Looks good
to each other, but wounds, bruises, and putrefying sores from the
sole of my foot to the crown of my head. That's what we are.
That's what we are. He said, you got to throw it
all away. Throw it all away and follow me. Verse 22, but when the young
man heard that, when he heard that saying, he went away sorrowful,
for he had great possessions. You see, this man had wealth,
yes, but he had something worse. He had self-righteousness, which
we all have by nature. Nothing's more natural to us
than to trust in this flesh. This man had religion. He'd made
a name for himself. But he did not have Christ. In Mark and Luke's account, the
Lord told him, he said, one thing thou lackest. Just one thing.
But if Christ is what we lack, we lack everything. Because Christ
is everything. Christ is all. This man lacked
Christ. And so our Lord said in verse
23, Verily I say unto you that a rich man shall hardly enter
into the kingdom of heaven. Why? Why will a rich man hardly
enter into the kingdom of heaven? Because unless God stops us,
we will all perish trusting in our riches. Turn to Mark chapter
10. Mark chapter 10 verse 23, And Jesus looked round about,
and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have
riches enter into the kingdom of God. It's the same account. Verse 24, And the disciples were
astonished at his words. 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. You see, the problem wasn't that
he was rich. It's okay to have money. It's
okay to have wealth. The problem is he trusted in
his riches. That's the problem. Whatever
our riches are, it may not be money. It might be I'm trusting
in myself that I'm righteous. Oh, trust not in riches. 1 Timothy 6.17 says, Charge them
that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded,
nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God who giveth
us richly all things to enjoy. The problem isn't the riches.
The problem isn't the money. Money's not the root of all evil.
It's the love of money. the love of man. I pray God will
not let us go on trusting in uncertain riches, but in God
who giveth us richly all things to enjoy. Back at our text. Verse 23 again, Then said Jesus
unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, that a rich man shall
hardly enter in to the kingdom of heaven. Why? We're prone to trust in our riches,
and also, rich people, typically, the problem
with rich people is they don't know that they have a need, spiritually. Not having a need. You see, if I'm self-righteous,
trusting in myself, What I'm saying is I don't need anything
from God. I don't need God to save me. That's a problem. That's a great
problem. Turn with me to Revelation chapter
3 and I'll show you this. Revelation chapter 3. Revelation 3 verse 17. Actually, let's look at verse
16. So then, because thou art lukewarm and neither cold nor
hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth, because thou sayest,
I am rich and increased with goods. and have need of nothing. And knowest not that thou art
wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. Do you tremble when you read
that verse? Because that right there is all of us. Until God
intervenes. Trust in ourselves. We think
we see, but we're blind. We think we're good, but we're
wretched. We think we have a righteousness that's going to please God, but
we're naked. We think we're rich, just like this rich man. He thought
he was rich in goodness. He did not know that he was poor. He did not know that he was naked.
He did not know that he was wretched, blind. He did not know. I don't want us to find out our
wretched state in hell. In Luke 16, there was a certain
rich man, clothed in purple and fine linen, and he fared sumptuously
every day. But you know what? He died. And
soon we will too. And it says that in hell he lift
up his eyes being in torments. He saw Abraham. He saw Lazarus,
the beggar, in his bosom. He said, Father Abraham, send
Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool
my tongue, for I'm tormented in this flame. And Abraham told
him, he said, son, remember. Everyone in hell is going to
remember. He said, in thy lifetime thou receivest thy good things.
And likewise Lazarus evil things, but now he is comforted. Why? Because Christ was his treasure.
He was a poor beggar. He said, now he is comforted
and thou art tormented. This rich man, he said, well,
I have five brothers. He said, I beg you, would you
send Lazarus that he may testify to my brethren lest they also
come to this place of torment. Abraham told him, no, I can't
do that. He said, they have Moses and
the prophets. Let them hear them. He said, if you won't believe Moses
and the prophets, neither will they believe one rose from the
dead. You know what we have? Moses and the prophets. Read verse 17 again. Because
thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of
nothing. And knowest not that thou art
wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. If this night thy soul shall
be required of thee, then whose shall those things be? What do
we have that we have not received? It's appointed unto men once
to die, but after this, the judgment. We must all stand before the
judgment seat of Christ. Now is the day of salvation.
Now is the accepted time. Look at verse 18 here in Revelation
3. Here's the good news. This is so good. God says, I counsel thee to buy
of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich. You
see, we think we're rich. God says we're not. God says
we're poor. But then He says, buy of me. You know how we buy
of Him? Without money and without price. Gold tried in the fire. You know who that is? That's
the Lord Jesus Christ. He was tried in the fire of God's
holy justice. God's fierce anger fell upon
Him because He bore our sins. You remember Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego, they were in that fiery furnace. It said not a
hair of their body was singed. They came out, you couldn't even
smell the smoke on them. You know why? Because the Son
of God stood in there with them and He took it all upon Himself. They came out, He didn't. I counsel thee to buy of me gold
tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich, and white raiment,
the righteousness of Christ, that thou mayest be clothed,
and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear. And anoint thine
eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see. I pray that's good news to you.
Oh, I pray that's good news to you. I want to show you one more
verse here if you'll turn to 2 Corinthians 8. 2 Corinthians
8. 2 Corinthians 8 verse 9. For ye know the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes
he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. Praise God. I'll close with this
question. Are you rich? Are you rich? If you're in Christ, you're rich. Oh, you're rich. He is the treasure
of heaven. He is the pearl of great price.
Christ is all. Oh, the unsearchable riches of
Christ. That's wealth that can never
be told. Precious, more precious than
gold. Amen.