You will open your Bibles today
to Matthew chapter 19. Matthew chapter 19 and we will
begin in verse 16 reading through verse 22. And behold, one came
and said unto him, good master, What good things shall I do that
I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, why callest
thou me good? There's none good but one, that
is, God. But if thou wilt enter into life,
keep the commandments. He saith unto him, which? 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 mother, and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. The young man saith unto him,
all these things have I kept from my youth up. What lack I
yet? 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. This episode or event in the
life of the Lord Jesus Christ that we've read here in Matthew
is also recorded in the gospels according to Mark and Luke. And I cannot help, as I read
this event and all three of these gospel narratives, I could not
help but think of the last words of the gospel according to John. When he wrote this, there are
also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they
should be written, every one, I suppose that even the world
itself could not contain the books that should be written. That means that the things which
God the Holy Spirit has caused to be written should be studied,
should be looked at very carefully. Seeing that many things he did
are not recorded, Those things which are recorded, and this
one recorded in three of the gospels, we should look at and
consider very carefully. John also, at the end or the
closing of his gospel, wrote these words. The purpose of him writing his
gospel, he said, was that you might believe that Jesus is the
Christ. the Son of God, and that believing
you might have life through his name. Now that's what this man
was interested in. That's what he asked. He came
and asked the Lord about eternal life. And John tells us that
the purpose of his writing was that you might believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God. And without believing that, no
man has eternal life. That you might believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing, believing
that, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, that you might
have eternal life. This man came and asked the Lord
about eternal life. Now when you read this account
in all three Gospels, You learn a few things in each one of the
gospels that the others don't record. Matthew tells us this
man was young. Notice that in verse 20. The young man, saith. And I thought
about the words of Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes when
he said, seek the Lord before, remember now thy creator. Remember
now thy creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days
come not. What does he mean by the evil
days? He means old age. And he goes on to describe what
takes place when a person grows old in this world. Their eyesight,
their teeth, and their limbs, everything begins to fade, loses
the strength of youth. Remember now thy creator in the
days of thy youth. That's a message in itself, isn't
it? And I just want to say this. Remember, first of all, that
you have a creator. Don't, don't, young people here,
please, do not be deceived by Satan's great lie about evolution. No, you have a creator. And your creator is God. And
He created you like He created every other person for His glory. One of the things that I hear
and see today, it seems like among the young people, is people
have no idea. People are confused. Young people
are confused. Why am I here? What's the purpose
of my life? What's going on here? Well, you
know, for years, And every catechism book that I've ever seen, and
men and women believers, they used to catechize their children
from the earliest age. They began to teach them in very
simple terms, but the truth. And the first question always
I've seen is, what is man's chief duty? Why am I here? What's the purpose of my being
here? And the answer's always the same,
isn't it? To glorify God and to enjoy Him
forever. To glorify God. And God made
you perfect. He made you a boy or He made
you a girl. He designed you. Remember now
thy creator in the days of thy youth before the evil days come. And remember that man's creator
became man's redeemer. Right? Remember now. Remember
that man's creator, that is God the Son, became man's redeemer. He came into this world to redeem
his people, to give his life a ransom for many, to shed his
blood, to redeem his chosen people. Remember that your life in this
world is but a vapor. That's something good to remember,
young people. Your life in this world, you're
young now, and you think, when I get to be 70 years or 80 years
or 90 years, oh, that's so far in the future. That is so far
off. It'll be here before you know
it, if God allows you to live. It'll be here before you know
it, because your life in this world is like every other person's
life. It's like a vapor. It appears
for a little while, and then it vanishes away. It's described
in the Psalms, or by the Psalmist rather, as a shadow. As a shadow. You just see the man's shadow,
because he's in a certain position in the sun, in relation to the
sun. But then the shadow, suddenly
you don't see the shadow anymore. And that's the way our life is
in this world. And remember, there's a world
to come. There's a world to come. There's a life. There's an eternity. I think about what the scripture
says, the Lord told about that rich man in hell. And speaking
to Abraham, Abraham said, remember thou in thy life, your life is
over. You had your good things in this
world, but it's over. It's past. And now you're in
eternity and you'll be there forever and ever suffering in
this, and this hell that he was in. Remember. This man was a young man, and
what a blessing it is. Oh, what a blessing. Young people here today, if you
would seek the Lord and find Him and know Him as your Lord
and Savior, how blessed your life is. How blessed. You'll never fully realize it
in this world, but how blessed when God calls young people and
saves young people. And they're saved from a multitude
of sins. Someone, not someone, many have
told me this. Even though the covenant of grace
declares to every believer your sins and your iniquities, I will
remember no more. And God won't. But you will. You will. That's why it's such
a blessing, isn't it, when God saves a young person. And they're
not gifted of so many sins and evils that some people are when
they're saved later in life. And they can't undo those things.
You can't undo them. Thank God there's forgiveness,
right? But remember, Remember now thy creator in the days of
thy youth. This man was a young man, and
he was interested in eternal life. That was his question. What good thing shall I do that
I may have eternal life? We also learn from the other
gospels, not only was he a young man, but he was a rich young
man. And that made his situation even
more precarious, really. To be wealthy and not know God? You know, poverty has its temptations,
but wealth especially. Men, because of wealth, seem
to come to the conclusion I don't need anyone. I can take care
of myself. I have everything I need, everything
I could want. He was rich. And then also we
learned that he was a ruler of some kind. We're not told what
kind of ruler he was, but most likely a ruler in the religious
synagogues or something like that, something to do with the
nation of Israel, a ruler. But I have three things this
morning I want to point out to us about this man. All, let me
say this, all three of the accounts in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, they
all tell us the same thing in the sense that this man went
away sad. This man went away grieved. Three things that this man did
not know. First of all, he did not know
to whom he was speaking. He addressed the Lord Jesus as
good master. And by the title master, He recognized
the Lord Jesus as a teacher. And I remember, and you do too,
that Nicodemus, who was a ruler among the Jews, he did the very
same thing when he came to the Lord Jesus by night. Nicodemus
said, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God.
Now both men, both Nicodemus and this young man were religious,
and they thought that all they needed to do was to add something,
to add something to themselves. That's all they needed. Nicodemus
thought that he was a teacher come from God. That's what he
said. And this man thought he was a
good teacher. Both of those things are true.
The Lord Jesus is a teacher come from God. God sent him into this
world. And he's a good teacher. In fact,
he's a teacher like no other teacher. Because other teachers,
we can open the scriptures, and some men are blessed in being
able to expound and explain the scriptures. The Lord Jesus Christ
could do that. He was a good teacher, but he
also had the power to open men's understandings. that they could
understand the scriptures. He's the only teacher like that. Those of us who teach the word
of God, we depend upon God the Holy Spirit to open men's understandings. We recognize that no matter how
clear and how plain and how powerful We may think a message is, unless
God the Holy Spirit blesses that message and opens the understandings,
opens the heart, no one's going to receive it. Not really. He did not understand, he did
not know to whom he was speaking. He was a good master, a good
teacher, but He was much more than that. And that's what our
Lord confronts him with. Why callest thou me good? There's
none good but one. In other words, do you address
me? Do you come to me recognizing
who I am? He didn't. Obviously he didn't. Why callest thou me good? Because
there's only one good. And that's God, and unless and
until you see me as God, why callest thou me good? I want
you to turn in your Bibles with me. Keep your place here, but
look with me in the letter of Romans chapter three. And I hope
you'll turn with me or mark these scriptures down and read them
later, but in Romans chapter three, I want to begin my reading in
verse 10, Romans chapter 3 and verse 10. As it is written, the Apostle
Paul is writing by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, but he is
quoting from Old Testament scriptures. As it is written, there's none
righteous, no, not one. There's none that understandeth.
There's none that seeketh after God. They're all gone out of
the way. They are together become unprofitable. There's none that doeth good.
No, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre. With their tongues they have
used deceit. The poison of asp is under their
lips. whose mouth is full of cursing
and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed
blood. Destruction and misery are in
their ways, and the way of peace they have not known. There is
no fear of God before their eyes. Let me ask you something. Do
you see why these things are true of all men? Why they're
true of you, why they're true of me, Why, these things are
true of every person who has ever walked on the face of God's
earth except the Lord Jesus Christ. You see why? We began reading
in verse 10, look at verse 9, that they are all under sin. All under sin. In other words, that we were
all born, we all come into this world under sin, under the power
of sin, and under the guilt of sin. Amen. Why call ourselves
good? There's none good but one, God. He was ignorant. He did not know
to whom he was speaking. A second thing that stands out
to me, he did not know that God's law is spiritual. Now he knew
the law. He knew the law. I mean, as far
as being able to quote the commandments, he knew the law. The Lord Jesus
pointed him to the law of God, to the commandments. If you still
have your Bible open here to Romans, look in chapter seven.
He did not know that the law of God is spiritual. In verse 14, Romans chapter 7
and verse 14, the apostle said, we know that the law is spiritual. By we, he means himself and all
saved individuals. We know that the law is spiritual. This man didn't know that. This
man in our text, he didn't know that. He didn't know to whom
he was speaking, and he did not know that the law is spiritual. You might say, well, preacher,
what do you mean by saying that the law is spiritual? Well, let
me just use our Lord's words. The Lord Jesus Christ in his
Sermon on the Mount, He said, you have heard that it was said
by them of old time, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not murder. You've heard that. And whosoever
shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment. Now that's the
law. That's what they had heard. But the law is spiritual. And
the Lord Jesus Christ said, but I say unto thee, Whosoever is
angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of
the judgment. Same thing. Man who kills is
in danger of the judgment. The man who is angry with his
brother without a cause is in danger of the judgment. That's
what I mean by saying the law is spiritual. It's not just the
outward actions, but it is the intent of the heart, the desire.
that word concupiscence, that beginning in the very heart,
the desire for that which is evil. You never carry it out,
you don't put it into action, but God looks at the heart. The
heart is desperately wicked and deceitful above all things, the
Lord Jesus Christ said. For out of the heart, or out
of the mouth, the heart speaketh. This man did not know that the
law is spiritual. The Lord Jesus Christ said this. He said he had come to seek and
to save that which was lost. Luke 19, 10. For the Son of Man
has come to seek and to save that which is lost. The Lord
Jesus Christ said, I am come not to call the righteous, but
sinners to repentance. Does this man sound like a sinner?
Does he? I've kept all those commands.
I've kept all that from my youth up. Does he sound like a sinner? Does he sound like someone who's
lost? No, not at all. And the scripture says, by the
law we have the knowledge of sin. Look at, if you still have your
Bible there in Romans 7, look back to verse 7. Paul says, what
shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but
by the law, for I had not known lust, except the law has said
thou shalt not covet. But sin taking occasion by the
commandment wrought in me all manner of concupiscence, For
without the law, sin was dead. For I was alive without the law
once. I've had some people say, do
you believe that rich young ruler was Saul of Tarsus? And I've
always said, no, I don't believe that that was Saul of Tarsus,
but I do believe this. Saul would have answered the
very same way. If he had been asked by the Lord Jesus, like
this young man, or been told, keep the commandments, he would
have been able to say the very same thing, and would have said
it. All these things have I kept from my youth up. Paul said,
I had not known sin, but by the law, because I was alive without
the law once. I recognized dealt with outward
things, and so I believed I had kept the law perfectly. I was
alive. I was good. I was fine. I didn't
need a savior. But then, when the law came in
power, and that's the power of God the Holy Spirit, isn't it?
When the law came, I was alive without the law once, but when
the commandment came in power, He had the commandments from
his youth up, but when the commandment came in power, pray for your pastor, pray for
preachers. We must preach in the power and
demonstration of the Holy Spirit for the word of God to enter
into the hearts and for God to call and save his people. Paul
said, I was alive once without the law. I was fine. I was good. I was a Pharisee of the Pharisees. I didn't need a savior. He came
to call sinners to repentance. He's not talking to me. That
doesn't apply to me. But oh, when the law came with
power to his heart and he realized that that very beginning, that
lust, Sin, that the law is spiritual, doesn't just deal with outward
actions, but with the thoughts and intents of the heart. And we should also say here,
while we're in chapter seven of Romans, look at verse 12,
where he said, wherefore the law is holy and the commandment
holy and just and good. The law of God is a reflection
of who God is. And the first thing that Paul
says about the law of God is it's holy. It's holy. Now, I've read that this word
in the Hebrew, in the Old Testament, like in Isaiah 6, where Isaiah
saw the Lord high and lifted up, and the seraphims were crying
one to the other, Holy, holy. The same word that Hannah used
in her song when she said, there is none like thee. There's none
holy as the Lord. That word holy, the word that's
translated holy, it actually means to cut off, to cut off. And what that word tells us is
that God, if I can use this term, He's in a class all by Himself. In fact, He said that, didn't
He, in Isaiah chapter 40. He said, to whom will you liken
God? You know, you can compare one
man with another man and one woman with another woman, but
there's no one that you can compare God to because He is holy. Holy! Holy! There's none like Him. Holy. And that word holy also means
to be pure. That word that's translated holy
means to be pure. That's the reason the scripture
says God is light. And I like the illustration.
When I think about light, you can have a window And the window
panes may be dirty. They may be filthy. And that
light on the outside is pure. It's clean. It shines through
that dirty window pane. And it's still clean. It's still
pure, right? God is light. And in him is no
darkness at all, at all. He's holy. And that's the God
with whom we have to deal. That's the God we are all going
to meet one day in judgment. Holy God. And He's just. He's just. He will render to
every man his due. Every man, sometimes people foolishly
and ignorantly say, well, I just want God to be just with me.
I just want him to treat me fair. Yeah? Do you? Do you? No, I don't think so. I hope not. God's just. Not only that, but he's good.
Oh, I'm glad he added that, aren't you? He's holy, he's just, and
he's good. James, the apostle, said, Every
good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down
from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither
shadow of turning. That good gift, that perfect
gift that came down from heaven is his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul said his unspeakable gift,
the Lord Jesus Christ. This man didn't need good advice. He needed a savior. He needed a savior. And the third, the last thing
that this man did not know is that what he asked about is a
free grace gift. He didn't know that. What did
he ask about? He asked about eternal life,
about being saved, having his sins forgiven, knowing God, enjoying
God forever. That's a free grace gift. The Lord Jesus Christ said this
in John 6, all that the Father giveth me shall come to me. And
him that cometh through me I will in no wise cast out. This man,
this man in our text, he serves as a lesson of how not to come
to Christ. He came full, he went away empty. He came rich, he went away poor. No, the way to come to Christ
is to come poor. and go away rich, right? All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I shall in no wise
cast out. How shall I come to him? Come
as a beggar. Come as someone who needs everything. The only thing I can supply is
a sinner. Everything else must come from
him. And it does, and it is a free
grace gift. In Romans 3 and verse 24, Paul
said, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus. Someone said, why would Paul
say freely, being justified freely, and then add by His grace? If it's free, It's by grace. And if it's by grace, it's free. Why would he put these two things
together? Well, I don't know why, but I
would assume because this is one of the hardest lessons for
people to learn, for us to learn. We all think we've got to contribute
something and we've got to add something. Oh no, no. being justified freely without
a cause, just like the Lord Jesus Christ was hated the same word
without a cause, being justified freely without a cause found
in you or in me, by His grace, through the redemption, bloodshed,
sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. I want to close with a story.
I was thought about several years ago, my wife and I were blessed
and privileged to go to South Dakota.