One Thing

Q: What does the Bible say about the law and its purpose?

The Bible describes the law as a schoolmaster that leads sinners to Christ, revealing our inability to achieve righteousness independently. The law serves a critical purpose as it exposes our sinfulness and drives us towards the need for a Savior. As stated in Scripture, the law can't save us but rather shows us our inability to meet its demands entirely. This realization brings forth the understanding of our sin and the necessity of God's mercy through Christ. Romans 3:20 indicates that 'by the law is the knowledge of sin,' reminding us that the law is intended to point us to our desperate need for redemption and grace found in Jesus Christ.

Q: How do we know that faith is a gift from God?

The New Testament clearly states that faith is not a result of human effort but is given by God to those He chooses. Faith as a gift is anchored in the understanding that belief in Christ is not something we can conjure up on our own. Ephesians 2:8-9 explicitly states that we are saved by grace through faith, and this is not of ourselves; it is the gift of God. This underscores the belief that for a sinner to trust in Christ, something must happen supernaturally, done solely by God's transformative grace. Salvation is ultimately a divine work, which highlights the sovereignty of God in who receives saving faith.

Q: Why is it impossible for sinners to come to God on their own?

Sinners are inherently unable to seek God due to their sinful nature, making divine assistance essential for salvation. The doctrine of total depravity indicates that all humans are born with a sinful nature that prevents them from seeking God or doing good on their own. Jesus Himself articulated this truth, saying that 'no man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him' (John 6:44). This highlights the necessity of God's drawing or calling for anyone to come to faith. As such, without the work of the Holy Spirit to regenerate the heart, a sinner remains blind to the truth of the Gospel.

Q: What is the significance of the phrase 'it is finished' in the context of salvation?

The phrase 'it is finished' signifies the complete and perfect work of Christ in securing salvation for sinners. When Jesus declared 'it is finished' on the cross, He affirmed that the work of redemption was complete. This phrase encapsulates the entirety of His atoning sacrifice, indicating that nothing more needs to be added for salvation. Christ fully satisfied God's justice and fulfilled the law on behalf of His people. As a result, believers are accepted before God not based on their works but on Christ's perfect righteousness. This truth reassures us that our standing before God is secure solely in Christ's work, not in our own efforts or merits.

So our Lord told this young man, if you will enter into life, keep the commandments. And so he confronted him initially with the law. And as we've seen in scripture, the law is a schoolmaster to bring sinners to Christ. When we're confronted with the law and spiritual understanding of it that the Lord gives, then we realize our futility of trying to earn to do what he said, to do something good in order to inherit eternal life. We see the futility of that, and not only that we can't do that, but that we're in hell danger. that we're goners, that we're undone before God, and that we will be punished forever, and rightly so, unless the Lord will have mercy on us. And we will seek that mercy when he brings us to that place. But we answered that question, I believe, from Scripture, why would the Lord confront him with the law? But understand this too about our Lord's teaching.

He answers the question correctly, not with an answer that gives him any hope, because this man needs to understand that on the footing of what good must I do, there is no hope. But our Lord has purposed not only to just say it to him, but to show it to him.

He's purposed during this confrontation, this meeting with this young man, to expose his hypocrisy right there on the spot. He's going to expose him that day. He's going to make this man understand that he's not up for it, that he can't do it, that he doesn't have what it takes to get what he wants. And he's going to do it right on the spot. So how's he going to do that?

The man claimed to have never murdered anyone. Well, the Lord's not going to sit there and, you know, cause him to go through his memories and see if he's murdered anyone. And the Lord knew whether he had actually ever done that physically. It's not going to be proven right there on the spot unless the Lord does some supernatural thing to do that. But the Lord's got a much simpler teaching in mind than that. Who could prove otherwise? Who could have sat there and watched that scene and been able to accuse that man of murder? Even though our Lord said, if you've ever hated anyone, if you've ever hated anyone, you've killed them in your heart.

He claimed to have never committed adultery. I've kept these from my youth up. I haven't done that. I haven't committed that. Even though our Lord said, if you look on a woman to lust after her, then you're guilty in your heart. This young man claimed here to have never lied. Don't bear false witness. When he said these, have I kept from my youth up, then he was breaking one of them right there.

But nobody could know that except the Lord himself. Nobody could see this man's heart, even he couldn't see it. He couldn't see his heart. The heart is deceitful above all things. Who can know it? Only the Lord knew that this man was a liar, an adulterer, a hypocrite, a murderer, But the man didn't know it. But he's about to be called on his hypocrisy in a way that he can't deny.

He's teaching not this rich young ruler either, remember that. The disciples are watching this. And they were shocked. They said, who can be saved? If a man that's coming to try to, that wants to get to heaven, you know, he wants to be saved. And he can't do it, then who can? Who can? So he's the Lord's teaching, not just this man, but his disciples. But how's the Lord gonna expose this man's hypocrisy right here, right now?

Look at his beautiful wisdom. In verse 21, Jesus said unto him, thou wilt be perfect. That will be perfect. There's one thing that you lack If that will be perfect go and sell that thou hast and give to the poor That shall have treasure in heaven Treasure in heaven and come and follow me Notice again that the Lord's talking about being something, not doing something.

The gospel never allows for or encourages any trust in any doing or doing as a solution. Faith is not a work. It's the gift of God, lest any man should boast. And when you're saying believe, you're not telling somebody to do something. You're telling somebody to quit doing stuff. and look to Christ. Faith is a gift, not a work.

So he's saying, the man said, what good thing must I do? And the Lord said, you need to be something. You need to be perfect. Go and sell it, get rid of it. It's not about doing something, it's about being something that you're not. There is none good There's none good but one, and that's God. So what is this about? A sinner is not, as we've said, what you do, but it's what you are. And being saved is not about what you do either. But look what our Lord tells him to do. Right here, Christ both exposes his sin and tells him how to be saved. We've gone from who's who, to a confrontation with the law, to exposing his hypocrisy before the law. You're lacking. When it comes to the law, you're lacking. There's just one thing needful, and you're lacking it.

But then he's gonna expose this man's sin, and he's gonna do it using the very first commandment of God, that this man said, I've kept all of these from my youth up, I've kept the commandments. What's the first commandment? I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Why did this man go away sorrowful? Possessions. He had great possessions. That was his God. He had broken the very first commandment, and he's confronted with it now. He's going to live it. He's gonna actually be guilty of it right there on the spot. He's gonna be exposed in his hypocrisy right there on the spot, and the Lord's gonna tell him plainly why he's not gonna get what he wants to get, eternal life. You're not getting it, and here's why. Great possessions. All right, maybe you think that's a stretch. Well, Chris, you're saying that was his God. Listen, turn with me to Matthew chapter six, please. Matthew chapter 6 and verse 24.

No man can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. One of these two things is going to be embraced and held on to, and the other one's going to be despised. There's not going to be any in between. You see that? It's going to not just be one or the other by a hair. It's going to be one or the other all out. All out. You're going to despise one of these, and you're going to love one of them.

You cannot serve, what are they? God and Mammon. Which one was this man's servant? Thou shalt have no other gods before me. No other gods. The Lord only ever mentions two. God and Mammon, two masters. You can't serve both of them. Which one was this man's servant?

So he confronts him with law number one. I'm the Lord your God. and thou shalt have no other gods before me. Go sell all that you have, follow me, serve me, come to me, believe on me, trust me. Put all of your commitment, as Paul said, I've committed my soul to him. He had a god called Mammon.

Aror told him to leave his god and follow the true God, and he could not do it. He could not do it. You see, the one thing that he lacked, you could say that he broke all the Ten Commandments, but that's just lacking one thing. It's lacking knowing, loving, following, believing on, and serving the Lord Jesus Christ alone.

One thing is needful. You're lacking one thing. What was it? Follow me. Get rid of everything else but me. The only thing you'll have is me. Not gonna do it. Not gonna do it. No man can come to me, John chapter six, except the father which hath sent me, take him from where he is and bring him to me. Simple, simple. He didn't sit there and dither with him about whether he had committed adultery or murder or not. He just simply confronted his hypocrisy in a very simple way. One thing, one thing.

Forsake your God and embrace God's Son. He couldn't do it. Why? Because with men it's impossible. No man can come to me except the Father draw him. And notice something here, the Lord said that if this man would do this thing, that as we've seen, he can't do. It's impossible for him to do without the grace of God, without transforming grace.

The scripture talks about you must be born again. You must, something's got to happen to you that happened to you before, and you didn't have anything to do with it. It's got to happen again in a spiritual sense, and you're still not going to have anything to do with it. It's going to be a miracle of God, just like the first one was. You can't do it, but if you do, you'll be perfect.

That's different than what i'm gonna get you know people think about having a what i'm gonna get i'm gonna get all man i'm gonna have a mansion they sing about it i'll have a mansion just over the hilltop is that what it's all about just earthly things a gold one that's silver lining you heard that song i'm gonna have a gold mansion lined with silver boy people's idea of heaven It's not the Savior. It's stuff still. It's stuff. Heaven is just better stuff than we have here.

One thing, you're lacking one thing if that's your soul. You don't know who you're dealing with. You don't know the value. You don't recognize a priceless pearl when you see one. You're blind by nature, and unless the Son reveals to you, Himself, God the Father, you're not ever going to see it. He didn't say it's tough. He said it's impossible. He said, a camel is going to go through the eye of a needle before you believe on me.

That's scripture language all through. Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then neither can you do good who are accustomed to do evil, in whom it's ingrained to do evil, whose nature, which is what the Leopard in the Ethiopian, the reason that they can't do what they might want to do is because of their nature.

Many have done it. The Lord said you can't do it. In effect, he told his disciples that you can't do it, and yet many have. Have you left everything and followed Christ? You've got to just use this world and not abuse it. You've got to just hold lightly to God's blessings. God has blessed us in earthly things. Enjoy them. Thank Him for them. Don't trust them. Do you trust in uncertain riches? Riches make themselves wings and fly away. Ask Job. You're perfect.

If God gives you faith in his son, faith to see him for who he is, faith to see him as the righteousness of God, of which you have none of your own, but he's God's righteousness and he's your righteousness, if the Lord gives you faith in him, you can stand before God accepted. and you don't have to do one good thing, not even one. What one good thing, you don't even need to do one, because Christ is all of your goodness, all of it. You see how it's the same thing that when the Lord said, you lack one thing now, come follow me, forsake your God, and follow the one true God. And if God gives you that faith, faith to see Him as the propitiation for your sins, you will follow Him.

He said, my sheep hear my voice, and they follow me. That's cause and effect. That's cause and effect. And you will be perfect. You won't have done one single blasted good thing ever, but you'll be perfect. Perfect. Let's look at John chapter 19. We need to turn there. Verse 17 through 30, and then we'll look at the rest of this tonight. John 19, 17. I could just tell you this in 10 seconds. But boy, let's look at it in the Word of God. What a delightful thing to see. John 19, verse 17.

And he, bearing his cross, went forth into a place called the place of a skull. is called in the Hebrew Golgotha, where they crucified him and two other with him on either side one and Jesus in the midst. Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross and the writing was Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews. This title then read many of the Jews For the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city, and it was written in Hebrew and Greek and Latin. Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not the king of the Jews, but that he said, I am king of the Jews. Pilate answered, What I have written, I have written.

Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts to every soldier apart, and also his coat. Now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said, therefore, among themselves, let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be, that the scripture might be fulfilled, which say, if they parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things, therefore, cause, God said they would, the soldiers did.

Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother and his mother's sister, Mary, the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus, therefore, saw his mother and the disciples standing by whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son. Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother. And from that hour, that disciple took her unto his own home.

After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar, and they filled a sponge with vinegar and put it upon hyssop and put it to his mouth. where when Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, it is finished.

And he bowed his head and gave up the ghost. The three words it is finished is one word in the original Greek. And it's exactly the same word that our Lord spoke to this sinner, this young man in our text, perfect. If thou will be perfect, That is how a sinner is perfect. When the Lord Jesus says, it's finished. What good thing must I do? Not a single one. Because Christ accomplished salvation. Look to the Lamb of God. Look to him.

And he said, if I be lifted up, I'll draw all men to myself, men of every nation, tribe, kindred, and tongue. So look to the one lifted up, as my old preacher said one time, look to Calvary until all that's on the cross is in your heart. What did the scripture say?

Hear it, hear it, hear it, until the day star arise in your heart. Keep hearing, keep looking. Keep hearing. Hear ye him. Keep looking until, don't stop, until God's light shines in your heart that you might see the glory of God in the face of his son. Amen.

One Thing

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about the law and its purpose?

How do we know that faith is a gift from God?

Why is it impossible for sinners to come to God on their own?

What is the significance of the phrase 'it is finished' in the context of salvation?

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One Thing

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about the law and its purpose?

How do we know that faith is a gift from God?

Why is it impossible for sinners to come to God on their own?

What is the significance of the phrase 'it is finished' in the context of salvation?

Sermon Transcript

About Chris Cunningham

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