If you would, please be turning
to Luke 18. Luke 18. Luke 18, and I want to read verses
18 through 25. 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, honor 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. 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. 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. We have here a man coming to
Jesus Christ who is inquiring how he might inherit eternal
life. Very simple, that's what it says. Coming to Christ is
something that all should do. But there are a lot of people
who come to Christ, but what happens? They do not end up following
Christ. He told them, he tells them that
all that come to him, he would not cast anyone out. And in John
6, you see there's a lot of people follow Christ. I think it was
over 2,000, maybe it was over 4,000, 5,000. But they were following
Christ. But from what Christ said to
them, many of them went back and followed him no more. And
he also said to the disciples, the apostles, will you also go
away? All who come to Christ are rich. They are rich in something. Although
they may not have the material things that this man had, we
are certainly rich in pride. We can be prideful of what we
have. We can be prideful in what we
do not have. One place says this man was rich.
The word means wealthy, and what our Lord says after he went away
supports this, verse 24. And when Jesus saw that he was
very sorrowful, he said, how hardly shall they that have riches
enter into the kingdom of God. The other account in Matthew
says he had great possessions, and that means acquirement. This
is certainly talking about a man that is rich in this world's
goods, material things. But what our Lord says to him
tells me that his lack was not that of material things. Because
Christ told him to get rid of all those. You can do all the
law, but you still lack. Christ did not say he did not
keep those laws. Now he didn't, he can't, we can't. What this man lacked and what
we all lack is the same. For there is one that is good,
and that is God. I want to go through this this
morning to some extent, looking at the things from the two accounts
of this in Matthew and Luke. I mean, I'll mention some things.
I'm not gonna go back to Matthew, but I may mention some things
from there. The man came to Christ and called
him good. In so doing, he was calling Jesus
Christ God. This is what Jesus Christ was
saying. The Greek word means intrinsically good. It is who he is. He does not
have to work at it. He is good and just in who he
is. So what I want to talk about
today is God is good, all those born of Adam lack. All things
are possible with God. We are told that Jesus Christ
is made unto us for things, it mentions. And this is an overview
of goodness. He has made unto us these things,
that is His people, those chosen in Him from before the foundation
of the world. He has made unto us these things,
but He has always been these things and just made those things
unto us. This is those things which describe
who Jesus Christ is, wisdom. His wisdom surpasses all, so
much so we cannot even fathom what His wisdom is fully. We
are given glimpses of it. Wise in creation, wise in purpose,
wise in calling, wise in providence, wise in grace. He's also righteous,
righteousness, totally clean, absolutely right in all things. In fact, he is the righteousness
without the law, the scripture tells us. And he is that glory
that exceleth. Sanctification. He is totally
set apart from anyone or anything. There is none that we can compare
to him. There is none that can say unto
him, what doest thou? And have him listen to them.
He is absolutely clean. Redemption. He is His people's
redemption. He has taken their places, being
pure from all evil and sin, yet being made a curse and sin for
us. He was able to take those sins far away so that not even
God sees them anymore. We might see them, but God does
not see them. God, as it's been said recently,
came to save sinners. And as Art Neuenswander said,
it's the only kind of people he saves. That is goodness. He in fact sees his people in
the face of his son, Jesus Christ. So the only place you're going
to be found perfect and pure and totally righteous before
this good God is in his son, Jesus Christ the Lord. There's
only one that is good and that is God. But there is also severity
with God. Those who are not good will see
the severity of God. If God is the only one good,
then who is it that is not good? This leads me to all those born
of Adam lack. God tells us in his word, there
is none good, no not one. From our head to our toes, there
is no soundness in us. We have an old corrupt, evil,
and deceiving heart which will never bow to the sovereign good
God. Someone show me in God's word
where he says anything good about man born of Adam. It's just not
in there. God did say this when he created
all things, including Adam in Genesis 131. And God saw everything
that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And the evening
and the morning were the sixth day. But let's remember some
things here. First of all, God created Adam. Adam did not create himself,
despite all the so-called scientists saying there was a big bang that
resulted in man coming into existence. The scripture says, God says,
he created man, and that man's name is Adam. God said what he
created was good, yea, very good. But Adam did not stay there.
He did not stay that way. If you do not believe in the
total depravity of man, then you do not believe God. Adam
disobeyed God, and this he did willingly. He willed to do what
he did, and he died in the process, just as God promised or decreed
to him. He ate a fruit that God said
not to eat. When he did this, he died spiritually. He had no
life toward God. All of mankind comes from that. Adam and Eve had not begun to
have children yet. They only did after Adam failed,
and we come from that. That being death, everything
brings forth of its own kind. Adam was dead spiritually, so
those born of Adam are born dead spiritually, and they cannot
recover themselves from that state. It is impossible. We are told in Scripture that
the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God,
1 Corinthians 2.14. But the natural man receiveth
not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness
unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned. All of us are the natural man. Some of us have the spiritual
man, created by God. The natural man will never receive
anything spiritual, because he cannot. That is where we are
as we are born in Adam. That is our lack. We have no
life that we may desire above all things to follow him. Man
is totally dead without Jesus Christ. He cannot lift a little
pinky towards God because he is dead. A dead man will not
move. A dead man will not respond to
another man's plea to save himself. You can ask a dead man to stand
up. He will not listen to you because
he cannot hear. You can ask a man to take a breath,
but he will not because all his faculties are dead. You can ask
a dead man to love you, but he cannot. His heart is dead, and
that is his seats of thoughts, emotions, and all that a man
desires. It's all dead. You tell a dead man to follow
Christ, he will not, because he cannot, because he is dead. Man born of Adam is so dead,
he is rotting dead. From the top of his head to the
bottom of his feet, nothing but putrefying sores, leprous. He cannot hear, he cannot see,
he cannot believe, he cannot love, he cannot follow. All he
can do is embrace death. You know, I had to do this one.
This one time, I had to check to make sure someone was dead.
And I'm not talking spiritually, because I cannot see that. But
I had to do this. I had to shake them to make sure
they were gone. I said, Daddy, wake up. Wake
up. No movement other than me pushing
him. He could not give me the thumbs
up. He could not open his eyes. He could not raise an eyebrow.
This is how we are spiritually. We can make no movement toward
him. We cannot hear him. We cannot
see him. We cannot love him. We cannot
follow him because we are dead. But God is good, God is merciful,
God is gracious, which leads me to all things are possible
with God. But God who is good, if he is
pleased, can make all these things possible. We are told that there
is a chosen people by God and chosen in his son, Jesus Christ
the Lord. Jesus Christ, we are told, saved
his people from their sin, Matthew 121. And she shall bring forth
a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save
his people from their sins. Now this says it as if it's in
the future. At the time that this was written
or at the time this happened, it was future. But now Jesus
Christ has accomplished this salvation. He has already died,
arose from the grave, and ascended to the Father's right hand, Joe,
that right hand of power, having finished that work of salvation
for his people. So anything that happens will
be based on that. We are all born of Adam. We are
of the same lump. We are born children of wrath,
even as others. We have wrath against God, just
like everybody else. If we are to have communion with
God, we must be righteous. We must be as good as God is
because he cannot have anything that is not totally righteous
before him. But we are born dead. But the
good God was pleased for some things to take place in time.
This can only be accomplished by him for he is the creator. Excuse me. What else are we told
in scripture for those whom he died for? This is what pleases
God. This is what God has chosen to
do. Very familiar, 2 Thessalonians
2.13. But we are bound to give thanks
always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because
God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification
of the spirit and belief of the truth. We are chosen to salvation. This salvation does not make
what Christ did effectual. It is to the acknowledging of
what Christ did from man to God. We were chosen out of this world
by God so that we might know the salvation which was wrought
by Jesus Christ. But God specifies how we were
to come to know this salvation. These are not my words. It is
exactly what God teaches us himself in his word. This salvation is
through sanctification of the spirit. This is when the spirit
of God comes and sets us apart. The spirit of God comes and breathes
life into us so that we are once again alive unto God. We once
and again by the power of God are able to commune with him.
We are made meat, as we read in some passages. But we are
not just given life to sit there in the dark world. We are set
apart by his spirit. We are given life by his spirit
for a reason and belief of the truth. God giving us life for
the express purpose to us is believing his gospel. Life is
given so that we might come unto him believing. Without life we
can do nothing. If you do not believe what I
just told you, you do not believe God's word. But God gives us
another witness to this. 1 Peter 1, 2. Elect according
to the foreknowledge of God the Father through sanctification
of the Spirit unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of
Jesus Christ. Grace unto you and peace be multiplied. Obedience means they're attentive,
hearkening, compliance, or submission, obedient. We believe Jesus Christ
once God has given us life and when we hear his gospel. Because
it goes on to say there, sprinkling. Sprinkling means exactly what
it sounds like. It's like this. What does that kind of remind
you of? A sower sowing. The sower is just sprinkling
God's word, the gospel, wherever God leads him to sprinkle it.
When that seed falls on that ground which has been set apart
by his spirit, what happens? First, it takes deep root. His
word takes deep root into that ground made good by God the creator. Then in God's good time, a plant
comes forth. And again, at God's good time,
fruit again begins to appear. That one who has been set apart
by God's spirit when at one time he could not do this, now by
God's power he is enabled, he is made so that he can now believe
Jesus Christ. He obeys God's word, that word
of the blood of Jesus Christ. I make no apologies for God and
his word. That is exactly what God tells
us. You teach that a man can be given life, yet never come
to hear and know the gospel of his salvation? You are lying
on God. If you teach a man can believe
the gospel before God has given him life, or that he hears the
gospel to be imparted life, which only the Spirit gives by God's
own words, then you are lying on God. I have many times thought
I am a clay pot. I know I can be wrong. So I would
pray, God, give me understanding, give me wisdom in his word. I
don't want to be wrong, although I know I am. God says, let God
be true, but every man a liar. I have at times thought, Lord,
teach me. Give me wisdom and understanding,
do not let me teach a lie. I believe he has answered my
prayer. I cannot find in his word where those two scenarios
I mentioned are true. A man is never given life without
him coming to hear and believe the gospel. It is a lie. Also,
a man does not, yea, cannot hear and believe the gospel without
being given life by God's Spirit first, without being conceived
by God first. Jesus Christ plainly tells us
that in his word, the parable of the seed and the sower explained,
not the parable, but our Lord's explanation of it. He tells us
this, and this is not all, but John, and this is not, that's
not all, not just the parable, but John chapter three, our Lord
explains this to Nicodemus. In fact, he tells Nicodemus at
one point, you are a master of Israel and you don't understand
what I'm telling you. Christ teaches him you are conceived
first. Then you are brought forth and
born. That's the way it all works. You're conceived and then you're
born. Jesus Christ was given Nicodemus,
an earthly example of how it comes about, how that life comes
about. He tells him that. Life comes
first by conception. Life comes from the father, not
the mother. This is what we are taught in
scripture. I don't care what man teaches. We have seen it
before in scripture. So and so begat so and so. They are all men. The same is
true of God almighty. All of his children are fathered
of him. He conceives them by his spirit,
breathing life into them. Once they have this life, they
are brought forth by his spirit when the gospel is heard by those
who have been given this new heart, life. When are we conceived? I have no idea. But we do know
when someone is born of the gospel. That is, they are brought forth
by the preaching of his gospel and through his spirit. We know
this because the fruit that comes from this, from the sowing of
his word into a heart created new by God, that fruit is believing. When this happens, it will come
out on you. You will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's what we are told in Romans
10. With the heart, man believeth unto righteousness, and with
the mouth, confession is made. Men may mock us, men may ostracize
us, but it is God we should fear and not men. Here, Matthew 10,
27 through 29. What I tell you in darkness,
that speak ye in light. And what ye hear in the ear,
that preach on the housetops. And fear not them which kill
the body, but are not able to kill the soul. But rather, fear
him which is able to destroy both body and soul in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for
a farthing? And one of them shall not fall
on the ground without your father. God will take care of you. You
may be ostracized, you may be ridiculed, you may be somewhat
abandoned by men, but you will never be abandoned by God. He
is good to his people. I hear so many parrot one another
in what they say. They skip over passages or they
skip over verses. Some, when you begin to talk
about God's word, begin to say, but so and so says, or so and
so believes. Do we not care what God says
in his word? I love these two men right here,
but I want to be sure that they are telling me what they're telling
me is in God's word. They and you also do this to
me, and it should be this way. We hear people say that preachers
are clay pots, but yet they treat them as if they are some kind
of pope. What God says in his word is what matters. He is the
one who is good. All things are possible through
him who is good. And I wasn't going to go through
this when I first started this, but I could not not do it. So
if you would turn with me to Ezekiel 37. Ezekiel 37. Very familiar to you as well. Ezekiel 37. And I'm going to
start out with verses 1 through 7. I'm going to read. The hand
of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the Spirit
of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of a valley which
was full of bones, and caused me to pass by them round about. And behold, there was very many
in the open valley, and lo, they were very dry. And he said unto
me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord
God, thou knowest. Again he said unto me, prophesy
upon these bones. Why did he preach? Because God
told him to. Again, he said unto me, prophesy
upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the
word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto
these bones, behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and
ye shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you,
and will bring flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and
put breath in you, and ye shall live, and ye shall know that
I am the Lord. So I prophesied as I was commanded,
and as I prophesied there was a noise, and behold a shaking,
and the bones came together, bone to his bones. And these
bones were not in a grave in the ground. I believe the picture
here is they were just kind of scattered about in this valley,
you know, on top of the ground. Now listen to this next verse.
This is the one they skip over or they mention it out of order
as it is written in his word. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews
and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them above,
but there was no breath in them. And keep in mind, God did all
of this that's already started happening. He covered them with
sinews. It wasn't Ezekiel's preaching. It was God that covered them.
That's what he said. I will do that. But there was
no breath in them. All the preaching in the world
can do nothing without God. We go on and we read in verses
nine and 10. Then said he unto me, prophesy
unto the wind. Prophesy, son of man, and say
to the wind, thus saith the Lord God, come from the four winds,
O breath, and breathe upon these slain that they may live. So
again, that tells us they're dead still yet. So I prophesied
as he commanded me and the breath came into them and they lived
and stood upon their feet an exceeding great army. There was
no breath in them, no life in them until the spirit of God
blew. Now here in this case, life was
given after someone preached. So does all life come after preaching? The parable of the seed and the
sower explained by our Lord does not teach that. The good heart
was there when the word of God was then sown on that heart.
So is life giving before, during, or after the preaching of the
gospel? I don't know, and no man knows. We do, however, know
that a man has been given life when they come forth believing.
That is certainly true. But notice there in Ezekiel that
God says twice, I brought you up out of your graves. I think
it was Joe who mentioned sometime back that it was said twice.
Maybe it was Walter, I don't remember. God wants us to pay
attention to this. These bones did not stand up
until God breathed life into them. And he brought them up
out of the grave, that grave of death, unto life. One more
I wanna mention in Ezekiel 36, 26. A new heart also will I give
you, and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away
the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart
of flesh. Is this just hyperbole with God
or by God? Is God exaggerating? God does
not exaggerate. He does not tell falsehoods. He is good and the only one who
is good. He means what he said, this old
heart will never be spruced up by God. He will not till any
ground. That is, he is not fixing up
that old heart so that it will receive his word. He creates
a new heart, that good ground. A new heart created by God is
life from the dead. It is no longer a stony heart,
or that is a hard heart of unbelief. It is a fleshly heart, or one
that is soft and moldable, if you will. It is one that is intrinsically
good, as Christ explains when he explains the parable of the
seed and sower. That same word for good used
in that passage in Luke 8 is what is used in our text when
Christ says, why callest thou me good? There is none good but
God. What God creates is good. Because He is good, then anything
He creates is good. So what is the conclusion of
all this? We have read last week that Jesus
Christ tells us, without me, ye can do nothing. You will not
inherit eternal life without Jesus Christ. You will not come
to Jesus Christ without Jesus Christ. You will not bow to Jesus
Christ without Jesus Christ. You will not serve Jesus Christ
without Jesus Christ. You will do nothing without Jesus
Christ because with man, it is impossible to do anything toward
God that is acceptable. Man lacks that which is needed. He is dead in trespasses and
in sin. For us to follow Him, He must
call on us. We have many riches in this world. We have monetary riches in this
world. We have physical things that
are riches to us in this world. We have mental things that are
riches to us in this world. We have health things that are
riches to us in this world. Without Him, we will not leave
them to follow Jesus Christ the Lord. But with God, all things
are possible. Through him, by him, and for
him, we can do all things. Because the goodness of God leadeth
to repentance, as the scripture said in Romans. God is good,
and he is the only one that is good intrinsically. We are corrupt
to the core, and the only, only, he can change that, and that's
only if he wills. Seek him. Seek the one and the
only one who is good. Trust him, wait on him, follow
him. Amen. Dear little God, you are the
one with all the power, dear Lord. We have nothing, we can
do nothing without you, dear Lord. Bless us, dear Lord, with
your word. Open our hearts, minds, and ears,
dear Lord, that we may learn of you, dear Lord. Be with all
those that are out there that are preaching in your name, dear
Lord. Bless them with a sense of your presence and with your
word, dear Lord. Comfort them by your son, dear
Lord. All these things we ask in Christ's
name. Amen.