Let's open our Bibles now to
the book of Mark. The book of Mark, chapter 10. I've heard many sermons on the
rich young ruler. A lot of people preach on this
particular passage, the rich young ruler. And I've heard messages
where he's pictured as a moral young man, an outstanding young
man, who really had only one shortcoming. That is, he didn't
believe in Jesus. You know, that's strange. Not
believing in Jesus is the only sin that will send the man to
hell. It would have been better if God hadn't sent Jesus. That's
what to tell him. The only thing that'll damn a
soul is rejecting Jesus, then it'd be better if you didn't
tell him about Jesus. That way he wouldn't reject it.
Huh? If you can't call on Him in whom
you've not believed, and can't believe in Him of whom you've
not heard, wherein lies the condemnation? If that's the only thing, that's
your problem. And then I've heard others set
him forth as a genuine seeker, a sincere seeker. after eternal
life. He really wanted eternal life.
That's what they tell me. I hear messages that tell me
that this young man wanted eternal life, but he didn't understand
the way of life. And when he finally had that
choice presented to him, he had so many riches that he lost his
interest in eternal life. He's not nearly as smart as they
picture him to be then. because the man who found the
field in which was the treasure, he sold everything he had and
bought the field, because he could see a good deal when he
spotted one. But I want us to look at the
story. Let's see what the Word of God says. In verse 17 of Mark
10, what does the Scripture say? Mark 17, Mark 10, verse 17, And
when he was gone forth into the way, this is Christ our Lord,
there came one running, I heard a fellow say, well, that showed
this young man's interest. He came running to Christ. That's
what you ought to do, run to Christ. He came running. But
here is an energetic, interested young man who came running, and
I'm sure he was this way about everything, because he was very
wealthy, and he didn't get that way being lazy. See what I'm
saying, John? He was an energetic young man
about everything he did. He had a keen, sharp interest
in whatever he might be involved at that present time. He was
interested, and he came, he saw this man Jesus, heard some things
about him, and observed what he did and had done, and he came
running to it. He came running. He was interested
in what was going on. And then he said, watch this,
he kneeled to him. See there, I've had people say,
well, he ran to Christ and he kneeled to him. He worshipped
him, not necessarily. Here is a polite and respectful
young man. He was in the presence of a great
teacher. He acknowledges that in a few moments. This was not
necessarily worship or submission as much as an outward show of
respect for Christ's power and Christ's wisdom. He recognized
that Nicodemus came to Christ by night and said, I know you're
from God. I know you're from God. Called
him the same thing this young fellow called him, a good teacher,
good master. And Nicodemus was just as high
up as this young man. Nicodemus was a Pharisee and
sat on the Sanhedrin. And he sought out Christ one
night and came to him and said, I know you're from God. Nobody
could do what you do except God be with him. And this young man,
energetic and interested in what was going on, came and naturally
he knew because there was a prophet on the place. And he did recognize
that. He recognized Christ as a teacher and a prophet. He recognized
it. But it was outward show, it wasn't
inward worship or submission. Not like the leper who kneeled.
When Christ came down from the mountain, the leper came. Here
was a man in need, and he came and kneeled to Christ and worshipped
Him, the Scripture said. And said, Lord, not teacher,
Lord, if you will, you can make me whole. And here's a title he gave Christ.
Now listen. And he kneeled to Him and he
said, Good Master, Good Teacher. Same thing Nicodemus said, you're
a teacher. You're a teacher. Our Lord said
to his disciples one day, what do men say? Whom do men say that
I am? They say you're a John the Baptist
or a prophet or a teacher. But whom do you say that I am?
There's a difference. You're the Son of God. You're
Christ, the Son of God. The art of Christ, the Son of
God. This young man, called him all he knew to call him. Teacher. Teacher. A teacher of good things.
A teacher of good things. A good man. And then we have
a request. Now you see this? He came running. He kneeled out of respect. He
gave Christ the title. Far short of what he deserves.
Good teacher. And then he made a request. Now
listen. He said, Good Master, what shall I do? What shall I
do? And Matthew, now this is reported in Matthew, Mark, and
Luke. All three evangelists report this story. And Matthew said
this is what he asked. Good Master, what good thing
shall I do to inherit life? That's what he asked. What good thing shall I do? Tell
me something to do. in order to inherit, earn, merit,
gain eternal life. Tell me what to do. And that's
what preachers are telling people today, what they can do to earn
eternal life. That's what he's asking. He's
putting forth this question. I want to earn eternal life.
I want to merit eternal life. I want to gain eternal life.
Now you tell me what I shall do, what good thing I can do
in order to receive as a reward for my doing eternal life." Isn't
that what that says? Well, you know that's what it
says. All right, the Master's reply
in this next verse. Now listen to the Master's reply,
and this ought to set the whole, the whole wheels of thought in
motion in this young man. Hear this young man with a high
opinion of himself and a high opinion of Christ. He comes running,
enthusiastic. Religious people are enthusiastic.
They want something. They're after it. They have a
goal. And that goal is pie in the sky and the sweet by and
by. They sing about it on that beautiful show. And I want to
know what I can do to earn eternal life. Good master. Now what the
Lord replied to him ought to, if he'd had any wisdom, he would
set some wheels in motion and set the, these words are sufficient. to set the record straight on
doing something to gain eternal life. This ought to close the
conversation. Christ said to him, listen, why
callest thou me good? If I'm just a man, if I'm just
a teacher, no matter how great, still just a man, just a teacher,
then why do you call me good? Does not God's word say there's
none good but God? Isn't that what Scripture says?
None good? None good but God? Now, that
ought to wind it up. If you come Charles Pennington
and ask me, now tell me something, what good thing shall I do to
inherit eternal life? I say, you're not good. You say,
well, that lets me out, doesn't it? Yes, sir. Let's try another
way now. There's none good. None good
but God. Only God is good. Hold your hand
right there in Mark 10, turn to Psalm, and I'm quoting the
Old Testament because this young man had the Old Testament. He
didn't have the New Testament, he had the Old Testament. And
it says here in Psalm 14, the writing of David, the writings
of David. Do you believe David was saved?
Well, God said he was. He said, he's a man after my
own heart. God said he was saved. There may not be a saved person
in this congregation, including this pulpit, but David was saved,
I know that. because God said he was. God
said he's a man after my own heart. Let's see what he says
about this goodness. In verse 2 of Psalm 14, the Lord looked
down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any,
any, anywhere that did understand and seek God. They're all gone
aside. They're all together become filthy.
Stinking is the word. There is none that doeth good
No, not one. In the flesh dwelleth no good
thing. The Apostle Paul said that. No
good thing. What good thing shall I do to
inherit eternal life? You have no goodness. You can't
produce any goodness. There's no goodness in you. There's
no goodness in any flesh. That's what the Word says. Isaiah
said this. Isaiah was a prophet of God.
Isaiah was a man who saw something you've never seen. He saw the
Lord. He saw the Lord. He said, in
the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord. High and lifted
up, his train filled the temple. I saw the seraphims about his
throne. I saw the Lord. And you know
what Isaiah said? I am undone, I am cut off, I am a man of unclean
lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.
And he said, we all do fade as a leaf. Our righteousness is
our goodness. Our goodness is filthy rags. Our righteousness is our filthy
rags. Now turn, whole Mark 10, turn
to Luke 16. And I know that this word good
is something we constantly use in religious circles. He's a
good man. She's a good woman. My boy's
a good boy. My daughter's a good girl. She's
just not safe. She doesn't need to be safe. That's it. If she's a good girl,
what does she need to be safe for? She's good as God. There's
only one criteria of goodness, and that's God. Here's our problem, Luke 16,
15. And Christ said to them, you are they which justify yourselves. God didn't justify you, you did.
God didn't say you knew Him or He knew you. You said you knew
God. God didn't say you had a covenant with death. You said it. God
didn't say you were redeemed. You said you were redeemed. God
never has said it. You justify yourselves. You're
in the business of justifying yourself. You're justifying your
children. You're justifying your mamas
and daddies. They're good people. Who said so? I did. God didn't
say that. You said it. And you justify
yourselves before men. Who cares what God thinks, as
long as I have a good reputation among men. But, God knows your
heart. God knows your heart. And God
knows all of the evil that lurks there. I used to hear a radio program
when I was growing up called The Shadow. Who knows what evil
lurks in the hearts of men? The shadow knows. You remember
that? The shadow doesn't know. I hate to bust your balloons.
But God knows. God knows. And God doesn't approve
of what he sees. He said, God knows your heart.
God knows your heart, bud. While you're singing, Oh, how
I love Jesus, and carrying your Bible, and talking about how
good you are, God knows your heart. And we read the next line,
and that which is highly esteemed, well thought of, praised among
men, is an abomination to God. An abomination. You see, goodness
is not to be found in this flesh. I'm sorry. Goodness is not there. And in
Matthew 23, our Lord describes the most religious people of
his day. These were the officers of the synagogue. These were
the leaders of religion. These were the folks that tithed
and fasted and went to church and read the scriptures on the
street corner and prayed and did all these wonderful deeds.
And Christ said in Matthew 23, 25, woe unto you, scribes and
Pharisees, the hypocrites, you make clean the outside And you
can do that and get away with it because we're not God. We
can't see your heart. If we could see your heart, you'd
have to throw down your religious profession, wouldn't you? If
we could see your heart. You'd have to throw it down.
You'd have to be honest then. But since nobody can see your
heart, nobody can know the real you but you, then you can clean
the outside. But within, you're full of extortion,
bad motives. Selfishness and excess. Intemperance. You blind Pharisee. This is the Master talking. Now,
cleanse first that which is within. The cup and the plant. Who only
can do that? God only can do that. Cleanse
your heart. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's
Son, cleanses us from all sin. God said, I'll put within them
a new heart. Cleanse first the inside, then
the outside. will be clean also. Now, let's
go back to that Mark 10. The young man made this request,
what good thing shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Christ
said, why do you call me good? There's none good but God. And
then in Matthew, the account of this story, the Lord Jesus
said to him, if you would enter into life If you would enter
into life by doing good, by the way you're mentioning, then keep
the commandments. I'll say the same thing to you
tonight. I'll say the same thing to anybody here. There's no problem
here at all. Perfect men will never perish. Perfect women will never perish.
If you would enter into life by doing good, then do good,
and you'll enter life. That's right. If you would enter
into life by keeping the law, then keep it. And I guarantee
you God will open heaven to you. I guarantee you that if you can
keep the law, God will take you to glory. Because God only punishes
sin, not perfection. That's right. But, but, now wait
a minute. Wait a minute. You've got to
keep the whole law. And no fair breaking one. To
offend in one point of the law, one point, God said, is to be
guilty the whole thing. How many crimes does a man have
to be to commit to be a criminal? Does he have to rob a bank, kidnap
a child, rape a woman, kill a person, be a traitor to his country,
sell to USA Seek? No! No! And all he's got to do
is rob a film station. A little offending station. Just
a little old bitty self-service station. He's a criminal. And I'm saying this, the scripture
says this. That if you would enter into life by keeping the
law, keep the whole law. But otherwise, to offend in one
minor point of God's law, if there is such a thing, is to
be guilty of the whole law. I show you that in Romans 10,
5. Turn to Romans 10, 5. Moses. Moses described the works
road to heaven. Here Paul said Moses described
the way to heaven by works. He says this. Listen to Romans
10, 5. Moses describes the righteousness
which is of the law. That the man which doeth these
things shall live by these things. There it is. But now wait a minute,
Paul goes on in Galatians, turn to Galatians 5, Galatians 5,
verse 3. But I testify to you now, if
you set out on this road, this road of works, this road of circumcision,
Sabbath-keeping, tithing, purity of life, thou shalt not kill,
steal, commit adultery, very false, if this is the road you're
taking to glory, listen, I warn you, I say unto you, I testify
again to every man that circumcised that he's a deather to do the
whole law. The whole law. Look back at Galatians
3. Galatians 3, 12. Listen to Paul
here. The law is not a faith. There's
no faith in the law. Grace and works don't mix. The
law is not a faith, but the man that doeth them, he'll live in
them. So there it is. Our Lord said
to this young man, he said, what good thing shall I do to inherit
eternal life? He said, keep the commandments. Keep the commandments. Well,
you know, it looks like this statement would have been sufficient
to shut his mouth. Because the scripture says in
Romans 3, 19, what the law saith, what the law of God saith, it
saith to everyone who's under the law that every mouth may
be stopped. And all the world become guilty before God. If
your mouth's not stopped, and if you're not guilty before God,
you've never heard God's law. You've never heard it. Most people
haven't heard it. Most people are living by little
religious clichés, and what I think, and what I've heard, and what
I've always been taught. And like the Pharisees of old,
they're bound up in religious tradition and custom. They don't
know a thing about the Word of God. Never have read it through,
even. Never have. They read bits and
pieces. They're like the fellow that
said, well, I'm just going to open the Bible and what it says
to do, I'm going to do. And so he just, you know, he'd open,
go like that, you know. One of the verses said Judas
went out and hanged himself. He thought, well, that's not
too good. So he opened again and said, what do I do? Let's
do it quickly. He deserved that. You do, too. If that's the way
you read God's Word. But listen to verse 20. Our Lord
said, you know the commandments, verse 19, do not commit adultery.
And anyone that looks with lust is already guilty. Do not kill. Anyone who has a hard fault against
another is already guilty. My Lord said that. There's people
sitting right here, they're killing right now. That's exactly right. Hard thoughts. Do not bear false witness. Now
wait a minute. Hold on a minute. You ever exaggerated anything?
You want to hear about that fish I caught in Mississippi last
week? Fishermen lie. You know that? Golfers do too. When that lady came up to you
this morning and said, you like my new hairdo? Oh, it's beautiful. You're a liar. Like my suit? Boy, it really
looks good. Oh, we're awful. How can you
claim to be good? How can? I just, it stuns me. It stuns me. It absolutely stuns me that any
human being could think that in any shape, form, or fashion
that God looks with favor upon the corruption that comes out
of your mouth. We ought to go to hell. Stuff like this won't, it won't
be tolerated in glory now. Flesh and blood will not inherit
the kingdom of God, or anything pertaining to it. bear false wit, defraud not.
Defraud not, not the least bit. No personal advantage now, taking
advantage of any person for personal gain. That's defrauding that
person, that's fraud. Honor thy father and thy mother. Honor, respect, admiration all
the days of thy life. Huh? Well, that didn't shut his mouth. A sinner's mouth's hard to stop.
Only God can do it. Only God can stop a sinner's
mouth. You can't. I can't. Their hearts
are gospel-hardened. Did you know that? So he says, listen to him. And
he answered and said to the Lord Jesus Christ, Master, good teacher,
all these have I observed from my youth. And you telling me
he's a good man? All these. You talk about arrogance. You talk about pride. You talk
about self-righteousness. This young man is a study in
arrogance and self-righteousness. I'm weary of people talking about
the good rich young ruler. He's an arrogant proud, self-righteous
rebel. He's saying here, I am not a
sinner. That's exactly what he's saying. I am not a sinner. He's like the Pharisee in the
temple. I'm not an extortioner. I'm not unjust. I'm not an adulterer. I'm not like that publican. And
my Lord said he hates pride worse than any other emotion. Did you
know that? God said six things I hate, yea,
seven are abomination to me. The first one He named is pride,
a proud look. Pride goeth before destruction
and a haughty spirit before the fall. God resists at the proud. He gives grace to the humble.
I tell you this, you'll never be saved till God gets you lost. You'll never be clothed till
God strips you. No way. Because he's going to get all
the glory, and you won't let him have it as long as you've got
one fig leaf, one thread of self-righteousness. And this young man, he's not
a sinner, he's arrogant. And then look, I've heard this
verse kicked around a hundred thousand times. There's exaggeration,
isn't it? See, whoop, broke the law. I'm
done for. Then Jesus, beholding him, loved
him. This was not a beholding him
in admiration anymore than he admired the Pharisees. This is
not the Lord Jesus beholding a self-righteous, arrogant, proud
young man like that. He's a liar. He says, I've kept
all the law. And Christ is not beholding him
in admiration. Christ is not beholding him in
affection and acceptance. Why, he's going to hear Christ
say to him sometime, I never knew you, depart from me. Christ
is looking upon him like I look at a lot of people to whom I
preach with total pity. Pity. That's exactly what that
is. Same way he looked at Jerusalem
when he said, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how oft would I have gathered
you unto myself, as a hen doth gather her brood, but you would
not. And wept over that city. Did you know that? That city
of God-haters and Christ-deniers and Christ-crucifiers, the Scripture
says our Lord wept over that city. Wept over. And He looked at this young man
in the same manner. Pity. We hate no man. Paul said, and I become your
enemy because I tell you the truth. Huh? Does that make me
your enemy? If I tell you who God really
is, does that make me your enemy? He is who He is. Have I become your enemy because
I tell you the truth about yourself? I expose your wicked heart because
I know my wicked heart? Does that make me your enemy?
Is your doctor your enemy because he says you've got cancer? Is he your enemy? I'll find me
a doctor that says I'm well. Well, you do that. I'll find
me a preacher that talks nice. Well, that'd be smart. what fools we are. Am I become
your enemy because I tell you the truth about salvation? Well, someday you'd wish you'd
listen. Someday you'll wish that you'd
listen. Because I don't know how many
times God lets a man hear the gospel before he becomes gospel-hearted. All the providential dealings
of God to bring you to cross the path of the gospel. Marvelous,
how marvelous are thy works, O Lord. But you've got to hear. And our Lord looked at him and
loved him, and he said, One thing thou lackest. One thing. Are you with me? One thing thou
lackest. And you know what everybody tells me? This fellow was 95%
whole. He just lacked one thing. John,
you've heard that all your life. Here was a good man, a moral
man, a wise man, an intelligent man, and he just lacked one thing.
He hadn't believed on Jesus. But I'll tell you this. Christ
didn't mean that this man was 95% whole and he lacked only
5%. He is saying that this one thing that this man lacked was
everything. That's what he lacks. Everything. And this which he lacked, this
everything, made all that he was and had nothing. Now let
me illustrate. Here's a dead man. Well, just,
Mike, do you mind if I use you? You're pretty young. I don't
think we're going to. But Mike keels over dead. And we try to,
whatever you try, pound on him. It doesn't work. And somebody
who knows, some nurse or physician, says, he's dead, leave him alone. Well, now, he's still got eyes
and ears and nose and mouth, still got a heart and lungs,
he's still got all the organs. But one thing Mike lacks, life. That's all he lacks. But I'll
tell you, lacking that one thing makes you a useless carcass.
And we got to get you out of here before you stink up the
place. That's right. He just lacks one thing. Just
one thing. He's got everything he had, but
lacks one thing. L-I-S-E. And that's what Christ
is saying to this young man. One thing you lack. One thing. One thing you lack. He that hath
the Son hath life. He that hath not the Son of God
hath not life. If I have life in Christ, I have
all things. If I don't have life in Christ,
I have nothing, whatever I have. It's useless. Isn't that right?
He that hath the Son hath wisdom. He that hath not the Son of God
is a fool. You say, what, the young man
had riches? Oh, wait a minute. Turn to Luke 12. Let's see about
these riches, this richest stuff. Let's see about this richest
stuff. Luke 12, 19. Here's another young man that
had what's called riches. In Luke 12, 19, he said, I'm
going to say to my soul, soul, thou hast much good laid up for
many years. Take ease. Take thine ease. Eat,
drink, and be merry. But God said, you're a fool. You're a fool. You're not a wise
man. You're a fool. This night your soul will be
required of you. And then whom shall these things
be that you've accumulated and you've provided? Are they yours?
Are they yours? We brought nothing into this
world, take nothing out. And that means nothing. We brought
nothing into this world, take nothing out. We didn't bring
anything into this world, any relationship, any possession,
any fame or honor, and we're going out the same way. So is he that layeth up treasure
for himself, and is not rich toward God. That's the man that's
rich. There's a man that's rich toward
God. That's the person who's wealthy and rich. There's a man
who's rich toward God. The man had no riches. He was
poverty-stricken. And this man had no wisdom. No wisdom. He didn't know he
was a sinner. He didn't know who Christ was. No, he didn't. He stood face to face with the
Son of God and didn't recognize Him. He knew not the glorious... Now watch this. The Lord Jesus
told him, said, go sell what you have. This reveals that you
don't love your neighbor as yourself. This reveals where your heart
is. This reveals that you're a poor rich fool who trusts in
riches and material things. Go get rid of what you've got
and follow me. Follow me. And this young man
didn't recognize condescension of Christ in extending his hand
to him. Here the Master is saying, come
walk with me. And this fellow is such an earthly,
earth-minded fool that he didn't recognize who asked him to join
him. God said, you come with me. And he had no morality. He had
no real love for his neighbor. He had no concept of true righteousness. He was a proud, arrogant, self-righteous
person. He had no morality. And wait
a minute. This I've discovered. He was lying. He didn't really
have a desire for eternal life. No, he didn't. No, he didn't. Because if he had a real desire
for eternal life, he would have done what the Lord said. Isn't that right? He was a phony. He was a phony. He came to the
Lord. Now listen, he came to the Lord, and he said, Good Master,
what good thing shall I do to inherit eternal life? And the
Lord said, Don't call me good. There's none good but God. But
if you want to inherit eternal life by doing something good,
go keep the commandments. I've kept them all. What like are
you? Well, one thing you lack. One thing you lack. And that's
life. That's me. You come follow me.
I'm the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father
but by me. You come follow me." And there's his answer. But he
didn't do it. Did he? He turned and walked
away. Now, if I come to you and I ask
you, you are the authority on what can I do to do a certain
thing, you say, well, here's what you do. He said, well, he
wasn't serious, was he? He wasn't serious. He wasn't
genuine. That wasn't a true request. I
told him what to do, and he walked off. Christ told him what to
do, and he walked off. And I say this to everybody in
this country. You've come here tonight. You've
sat to listen. You've opened your Bible. Some
of you have. Most of you. And I read to you. There's none
other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be
saved. Do you trust that name? No. Then you weren't sincere.
You're a liar. You weren't seeking eternal life,
there it is. Isn't that right? Christ said,
I'm the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father
but by me. You turn and walk off, you weren't
serious. You want your way, not God's
way. You're not serious. If you're
serious, you'll do what the Lord commands. You'll be like Jacob of old,
I will not let you go unless you bless me. You got me on your
hand, that's what he told God. You got me on your hand. And this young man, he was a
phony. He had no real desire. When the Lord Jesus Christ told
him the way to life is the way of faith and discipleship, he
turned and walked off. That meant he was insincere. And that's what I'm saying to
everyone who says, well, brother man, I'm interested in the Bible.
No, you're not. If you were, you'd believe it.
Well, I'm interested in being saved. I really am. I'm interested. No, you're not. If you were,
you would be. A young man sitting right down
here on the first or second row years ago. He's a preacher now.
Brother Barnard was up here preaching. And he got through preaching.
He said, anybody here wants to pray for you? Some of you remember
this. And this young man raised his hand. He was about 35 years
old, 34, in the Army. And Barnard said, well, come
to Christ. Come to Christ. After the service was over, Barnard
stepped down right down here, walked down, walked right up
to that young man, and he said, why didn't you come to Christ? You
said you wanted to. Why didn't you come? Well, he
said, I wanted to, but I just didn't. Barney said, you're a
liar. Boy, that made him mad. You're a liar. If you'd have
wanted to, you would have. People do what they want to do. That young man went home and
told his wife that night, he's a real man. He said, I'm not
going back there anymore. And she said, why not? He said,
the preacher called me a liar. Well, she said, that's unusual.
Why would Brother Barney call you a liar? He said, well, he said, he asked
me why I didn't come to the Lord, and I told him I wanted to, and
he said, I was a liar. She said, you are. And if you wanted to, you would have.
Is that right? You know that's right. You know
that's right. If any man thirsts, let him come
and drink. That which keeps you away from
Christ is your lack of interest in Christ. secular. Your lack of need, your
lack of desire. Everybody here is going to go
to the table and eat in the morning. Why? You're hungry. Then you're
going to go again at noon because you're hungry. And every time you're hungry,
you go eat. When you're sleepy, you go to bed. And if you were
a sinner, you'd come to Christ. That's exactly right. This young
man, verse 22, listen, he was sad at that saying, Come to me,
Christ said. Come to me. There's no hope in
riches. There's no hope in goodness. There's no hope in morality.
There's no hope in the law. There's no hope in trust in these
things. Follow me. Come to me. That's what I'm saying
to you. I've said that for 36 years here. There's no hope in these things.
the Baptist church, or baptism, or communion, or the Lord's table,
or the wine, or the wafer, or your law, or goodness, or your
profession, or your decision, or walking to the front, or praying
the sinner's prayer, shaking hands with the... or doing all
these good things. There's no hope in these good things. But
there's hope in Christ. And you can turn your back on
your religious... on your religious garbage, and
your religious heritage. That's what Paul called it. He
called it dumb. I count all these things but
dumb. If you can turn your back on your religious garbage, and
all your heritage, and your deeds, and your religious professions,
and your so-called Bible knowledge, and your goodness, and all these
decisions, and everything else, and just lay everything down,
not trusting these riches, and these riches of the flesh, and
look to Christ, you'll have eternal life. Christ said to the young
man, go sell what you have, go part with that which is so valuable
to you and so important to you, part with it and come take up
your cross and follow me and you'll have riches in heaven.
Look at verse 22, and he was sad at that saying. He didn't,
that wasn't the way he wanted to hear it. That wasn't the way
he wanted to hear it. That wasn't what he had in his
mind. That wasn't the natural way.
That wasn't the human way. That wasn't the religious way.
That wasn't the way that he, even God told him and he didn't
believe it. And he went away. And he went
away. And he went away. And there are people right here
tonight I told you the same thing Christ did. Take up your cross. And that cross, what is the cross?
The cross is the symbol of death. The cross is the symbol of death. And the cross also, in the scripture,
the cross, Paul says, I preach the cross, God forbid it shall
ask you glory, faith, and the cross, that's the way of justification
by Christ alone. That's the message of the cross.
It's imputed righteousness, imputed faith, imputed life, all these
faithfulness. God gives you that in Christ
because He suffered as your substitute on the cross. And the cross stands
for the whole Alpha to Omega of justification by the grace
of God through the blood of Christ. Now, you take that up. You take
that up. I'm not going to take up that
offensive cross. The offense of the cross? Death. The offense
of the cross. Paul said, if I preach circumcision,
where's the offense of the cross? And that's what Christ... Christ's
not telling him to take up an actual cross like that silly
preacher that's on television carrying a wooden cross. Christ's
not telling him to wear a cross in his lapel or to hang one off
his Bible. Take up the truth and the message
of justification by the substitutionary death of another. Believe it. Receive it. Take it up. Take
it into your heart. Confess it. Live for it and die
for it. the cross and follow me, and
you'll have riches in heaven." And there are folks sitting right
here that are going to do something. You say, oh, that young man,
oh, nothing. Young man, nothing. Oh, you,
because you're going to walk out, too. You're going to walk
out, too. Now, in conclusion, I make three
statements, four or three or four, listen briefly. Do not
be deceived into thinking that some flesh is better than other
flesh. It's not so. It's just not so. It's just not
so. Self-righteousness is the greatest
sin. No flesh is any better than any
other flesh. You say, I wish I could be like
so-and-so. No, you don't. You want to be like Christ. You
don't want to be like so-and-so. You've got your aim too low.
You're shooting into the dunghill. You want to be like so-and-so.
That's right. But you'd like to be like Miss So-and-so. No,
you don't. No, you don't. You want to be like him. Because
she's on the same condemnation you are by nature. Shooting too
low. Secondly, Christ doesn't make
up what we lack. You don't put new wine in old
bottles. You don't put new patches on old britches. Christ doesn't
make up what we lack. More for some, less for others.
Christ is all our righteousness. He said it took more power to
save that demoniac than it did to save Lydia. Oh no, same blood,
same power, same grace, same love. He said, I'm such an awful
sinner. Christ died for sinners. And
a sinner is a sinner. There's not some more lacking
than others. If you're laboring under that
impression, you're laboring under the worst kind of false doctrine. We're all the same. There's none
good. We're all the same. There's none
righteous. All is sin. In Adam, all died. By the disobedience of one, all
became sinners. That's right. We're all dead.
And the third observation is this. When Christ says to a sinner,
one thing thou lackest. It's in the same thing as in
the case of a man physically who's dead. One thing. And that
one thing is everything. He needs life. And only God can
give life. And that life's in Christ. Why don't you come to Christ? There's a way that seemeth right
unto men, just seems this way to me, we say, but the end is destruction. Brother man, that kind of preaching
doesn't get results. Oh yes it does. Yes it does. The sheep hear His
voice and follow Him. And the rest are hardened in
their own self-righteousness. But it gets results. We're the
saver of life unto life to some, and death unto death to the other.
But it gets results. Because no man can hear this
message and be indifferent. You either love it, you either
love Christ, or you despise Him in His true character. I don't
despise Jesus Christ. You don't despise that little
feminine, frustrated, defeated baby in mama's arms. And that's
the way the world wants their Christ, so they manipulate him.