conviction of sin (cf. John 16:9 – 11). I should have looked for evidence of such conviction before leading
He Challenges an Eager Seeker
sinfulness. His desire for salvation was based on an emptiness in his soul, perhaps with a desire to get rid of anxiety and frustration and to attain joy, love, peace, and hope. Good desires — but they do not constitute a valid reason for committing oneself to Christ.
Much of contemporary evangelism is woefully deficient when it comes to confronting people with the reality of their sin. Preachers offer people happiness, joy, fulfillment, and everything positive. Present-day Chris tians are taught that all they have to do is find a person's psychological needs then offer Jesus as a panacea for whatever the problem is. It is very easy to get a response, because people are looking for quick solutions to their felt needs. But if that is all we do, it is not legitimate evangelism.
Our Lord offered no relief for the rich young ruler's felt need. Instead, His answer confronted the ruler with the fact that he was a living offense to God. It was imperative that he perceive his sinfulness. Recognition of personal sin is a necessary element in understanding the truth of salvation. One cannot come to Jesus Christ for salvation only on the basis of psychological needs, anxieties, lack of peace, a sense of hopelessness, an absence of joy, or a yearning for happiness. As we have seen, salvation is for people who hate their sin and want to turn away from the things of this life. It is for individuals who understand that they have lived in rebellion against a holy God. It is for those who want to turn around, to live for God's glory. Salvation is not a mere psychological phenomenon.
Jesus' answer took the focus off the young man's felt need and put it back on God: "There is only One who is good." Then He slammed him up against the divine standard, not because keeping the law would merit eternal life, but so that he would see how far he fell short: "If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments." But the young man ignored and rejected the point. He was utterly unwilling to confess his own sinfulness.
As I think back to my conversation with the man on the airplane, I realize that this is where I failed. Too hastily I offered him Christ for his psychological needs without compelling him to acknowledge his sinfulness.1 The salvation I described to him had a manward focus, rather than a Godward focus.
Evangelism must take the sinner and measure him against the perfect law of God so he can see his deficiency. A gospel that deals only with human needs, only with human feelings, only with human problems, lacks the true balance. That is why churches are full of people whose lives are essentially unchanged
1. If the Holy Spirit had really prepared the man's heart for salvation, he would have been under great conviction of sin (cf. John 16:9 – 11). I should have looked for evidence of such conviction before leading him in a prayer for salvation.
Jesus Heralds His Gospel
after their supposed conversion. Most of these people, I am convinced, are unregenerate and grievously misled.
The pattern of divine revelation confirms the importance of comprehending one's sinfulness. In Romans, Paul spends three full chapters declaring the sinfulness of humanity before he begins to discuss the way of salvation. John 1:17 says, "The law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ." Law always precedes grace: it is the tutor that leads us to Christ (Gal. 3:24). Without the law and its effect on us that God designs, grace is meaningless. And without an understanding of the reality and gravity of sin, there can be no redemption.
We need to adjust our presentation of the gospel. We cannot dismiss the fact that God hates sin and punishes sinners with eternal torment. How can we begin a gospel presentation by telling people on their way to hell that God has a wonderful plan for their lives? Scripture says, "God is angry with the wicked every day" (Ps. 7:11 KJV). A righ teous, holy, pure God cannot tolerate evil. He will not save those who try to come to Him harboring sin.
The rich young ruler asked Jesus which commandments he should keep. The Lord responded by giving him the second half of the Ten Commandments: "You shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother." And then He adds, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Matt. 19:18 – 19). We have no way of knowing why the Lord chose those particular commandments to highlight; maybe He knew the young man was not honoring his parents — a common sin among the religious rulers of that day (cf. Matt. 15:3 – 6). But the significant thing to note is that Jesus preached law to him.
We have no business preaching grace to people who do not understand the implications of God's law. It is meaningless to expound on grace to someone who does not know the divine demand for righ teous ness. Those who do not even sense their own guilt cannot possibly comprehend God's mercy. You cannot preach a gospel of grace to someone who has not heard that God requires obedience and punishes disobedience.
Jesus' words should have awakened a realization within the rich young ruler that he had fallen short. That was the whole point. But he rejected it entirely.
He Did Not Confess His Guilt
Scripture says, "The young man said to Him, 'All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?' " (v. 20). That indicates how he perceived the law. Maybe he had never murdered anyone. Maybe had he never committed adultery. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, perhaps he did not steal or lie, and maybe he
He Challenges an Eager Seeker
thought he had honored his father and his mother. It is quite possible that on the surface he had done all those things. But the emphasis in Jesus' teaching from the beginning had been to define all the law in such a way that no one — even those who adhered strictly to the law's external requirements — could look at the commandments and feel justified (cf. Matt. 5:20 – 48; Rom. 3:20).
The man could not escape the demands of the divine standard. The commandment to love your neighbor as yourself has an inescapable internal application. There was no way he could honestly say he had always kept that law. He could not have been telling the truth — if he was not lying, he was certainly deluded.
The Pharisees were accustomed to externalizing the law. They were very alert to the externals of ritual and conduct, but they never dealt with the heart. Jesus, on the other hand, taught that hatred was the moral equivalent of murder, that lust was tantamount to adultery, and that hating an enemy was as wrong as hating a neighbor (Matt. 5:21 – 47). The young ruler had missed the significance of Jesus' teaching. Boldly before a crowd of people, he claimed he had kept the law. He must have felt they would affirm he was indeed a righ teous man. After all, as far as they knew, he was. Externally, he had kept the law.
This confirms the truth that what the young man wanted was something to fill the emptiness in his heart. He acknowledged no sense of having violated God. He was saying, in effect, "I don't have any real sin. I've kept all the law. I look at myself and don't see any transgression." Self-righ teous religion is deceiving. This man actually believed he was righ teous. He believed he had obeyed the law. He thought he had kept the code. He had no idea how far he had fallen short.
There was no way this man could be saved while he clung to his self-righ teous attitude. Salvation is not for people who want an emotional lift, but for sinners who come to God for forgiveness. Those who are not ashamed of their sin cannot receive salvation.
At this point, Mark 10:21 tells us, "And looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him." That statement paints a pathetic picture. This young man was sincere. His spiritual quest was genuine. He was an honestly religious person. And Jesus loved him. Our Lord was about to die for sinners like him. He was not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Yet that was one thing this man would not do.
The Lord Jesus does not take sinners on their own terms. As much as He loved the young man, He nevertheless did not grant him eternal life upon request.
He Would Not Submit to Christ
Finally, Jesus gave him the ultimate test: "If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven;
Jesus Heralds His Gospel
and come, follow Me" (Matt. 19:21). This challenged his claim to having kept the law. In effect, Christ told the young man, "You say you love your neighbor as yourself. Okay, give him everything you've got. If you really love him as much as you love yourself, that should be no problem."
The ultimate test was whether this man would obey the Lord. Jesus was not teaching salvation by philanthropy. He was not saying it is possible to buy eternal life with charity. In effect, He was saying, "Here is the test of true faith: Are you willing to do what I want you to do? Whom do you want to run your life, you or Me?" The Lord was putting His finger on the very nerve of this man's existence. Knowing where his heart was, He said, "Unless I can be the highest authority in your life, there is no salvation for you." By placing Himself alongside the man's wealth and demanding that he make the choice, our Lord revealed the true state of the young man's heart.
Do we literally have to give away everything we own to become Chris tians? No, but we do have to give Christ first place (cf. Col. 3:18). That means we must be willing to forsake all for Him (Luke 14:33) — that is, we cling to nothing that takes precedence over Christ. And the true believer will desire to do whatever He commands. Jesus' request of this man was simply to establish whether he was willing to submit to the sovereignty of Jesus over his life. Scripture never records another demand that anyone else sell everything and give it away. The Lord was making a frontal attack on the man's weakness — the sin of covetousness, indulgence, and materialism. He was indifferent to the poor. He loved his possessions. The Lord challenged that.
The rich young ruler failed the test. He was not willing to acknowledge Jesus as sovereign Lord over his life. Matthew 19:22 says, "When the young man heard this statement, he went away grieved; for he was one who owned much property." His possessions were more important to him than Christ, and he could not come to Jesus if it meant giving them up. It is interesting that he went away grieved. It seems he really did want eternal life, but he was unwilling to come the way Jesus specified — the way of confessing his sin and surrendering to Jesus' lordship. In other words, he remained in unbelief.
Contrast this man's response with that of Zaccheus in Luke 19. Zaccheus had a deep sense of sorrow for his sin. He was willing to do anything — including getting rid of all his wealth — to come to Jesus Christ on His terms. And Jesus' message to Zaccheus was, "Today salvation has come to this house. . . . For the son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:9 – 10).
The rich young ruler left without the eternal life he sought. This is a tragic, heartbreaking story. Proverbs 13:7 says, "There is one who pretends to be rich, but has nothing; another pretends to be poor, but has great wealth." This young man thought he was rich, but he walked away from Jesus with absolutely nothing.
He Challenges an Eager Seeker
Salvation is by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8). That is the consistent and unambiguous teaching of Scripture. But people with genuine faith do not refuse to acknowledge their sinfulness. They sense that they have offended the holiness of God. They do not reject the lordship of Christ. They desire Him more than the things of this world. Real faith lacks none of those attributes. Saving faith does not recoil from the demand to forsake sin and self and follow Jesus Christ at all costs. Those who find His terms unacceptable cannot come at all. He will not barter away His right to be Lord.
I do not believe, and have never taught, that a person coming to Christ must understand fully all the implications of sin, repentance, or the lordship of Christ. Even after growing in understanding for years as a Chris tian, the seasoned believer will not know all these in their full depth. Because we are sinful creatures, we can never understand or obey His lordship perfectly. But a person must have a willingness to obey. Furthermore, repentance and submission are no more human works than faith itself. They are every bit the work of God — essential aspects of God's work in a believing heart.
A message that offers mere psychological relief but does not require a turning from sin and an affirmation of the lordship of Christ is a false gospel that will not save. To come to Jesus Christ, a person must say yes to Him. That means He takes first priority and becomes the supreme Lord of our lives.
If we learn anything from the account of the rich young ruler, it is the truth that although salvation is a blessed gift from God, Christ will not give it to one whose hands are filled with other things. Those who are not willing to turn from sin, possessions, false religion, or selfishness will find they cannot turn to Christ in faith.