The Unrighteousness of Man

Introduction

Are we Good people?

I felt as if I was a good person. I didn’t drink, smoke, get in trouble, or anything.

The world invents its own good works and persuades itself that they are good. But Paul declares that good and right according to the world are to be judged by the commandments of God.

John Calvin

Today as we read put aside whatever definition of Good that you have learned and let’s look at what the scriptures say!

This evening we are going to be looking at a story in the gospel of Mark of a man that is so similar to myself and many in this room, who felt as if he was a good person and had lived a good life, but Jesus gives the man the heart check that he needed to open his eyes to the proper way to have a relationship with Christ and I hope it opens your eyes today as well.

Turn with me to Mark 10:17-27

Body

Mark 10:17–20 CSB

17 As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: Do not murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not defraud; honor your father and mother.” 20 He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these from my youth.”

Picture this, this man walks up to Jesus in flesh, God in flesh and asks him the question that each of us in this room have asked ourselves at one point in our lives or another

How do I inherit eternal life?

This question leads the heart to a place of unrest. The curiosity of knowing what comes after this life is something that we all will face at one point or another in our lives.

Even this man who had everything a human could ever desire had come face to face with that question.

He was rich

He was young

He was a ruler

He was everything we could want and more.

and when this man came to Jesus and asked him this, Jesus did something that the man didn’t expect.

He brought up the ten commandments.

Now Jesus had a reason for doing this, it wasn’t simply to say if you do all of these then your good. Eternal life is yours, but instead it was much deeper than that.

See Jesus started the conversation with this rich young ruler by saying no one except for God is good.

When Jesus read off the ten commandments, the young ruler says

“teacher I have kept all of these from my youth,” and with that he was clearly showing the attitude of I’m a good guy.

Which is an attitude or trait that I would guess 99% of the people in this room have felt at some point in their life, and even if you don’t always look at yourselves as a good person, you have thought at one point or another at least I’m better than

But the man in this attitude of self righteousness forgot one important thing, that we are all born broken and full of sin. When you break down the ten commandments you realize that there is simply no way that this man obeyed all of these since his youth.

The reason Jesus gave him the ten commandments was in many ways a quiz.

and so I’ll test your righteousness tonight in the same way, by simply going through the ten commandments.

1.) Have you murdered?

Lets hope not

2.) Have you commited adultery?

Maybe you think back now and you have actually shared in the act that was only meant for marriage, but on a deeper level scripture says if you even look or think about someone in a lustful way you have already commited adultery with them.

3.) Have you stolen?

I’m not talking about a car or robbing a bank, but even the smallest thing? When you were a kid did you ever steal someone else’s toy?

4.) Have you ever lied?

Those little white lies you hear all about, which I am the worst at by the way still count as lies and therefore cause us to break the perfect commandments of God.

By this point every single person in this room, as well as the rich young ruler can look into the scriptures and see that by God’s standards we are not hitting the mark and are consumer by our own sin.

all it takes is the one sin to be eternally separated from God, but there is a hope for humanity at the end of the tunnel

keep reading with me

Mark 10:21–27 CSB

21 Looking at him, Jesus loved him and said to him, “You lack one thing: Go, sell all you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 But he was dismayed by this demand, and he went away grieving, because he had many possessions. 23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 The disciples were astonished at his words. Again Jesus said to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 They were even more astonished, saying to one another, “Then who can be saved?” 27 Looking at them, Jesus said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God, because all things are possible with God.”

Verse 27 says it all, what seems to be an impossible task of finding salvation and eternal life is possible, and only possible through Jesus.

Never forget that, let it radiate over you.

Embrace it.

If you haven’t accepted that free gift of salvation there is never a better time than now to choose to Follow after Jesus.

No matter how much money, friends, or anything else you obtain in this life.

Realize you can’t take a uhaul to heaven and choose to put Jesus and your relationship with him over everything.

The rich young ruler wanted to hold on to the things of this world so much that he made the worst trade in the history of the wold, and wouldn’t trade his money for a place in the kingdom of God. If you haven’t made that decision I want to give you the opportunity to trust in the life change that only Christ can provide.

JESUS doesn’t make it complicated.

What are you holding onto today That is keeping you from going all in on Christ?

This is how you find eternal life

All you have to do is turn from your wicked ways, put Christ over everything, and pursue your relationship with him.

It’s not going to be a straight line up. It’s going to zig and zag more than you could imagine.

But, you were never meant to be perfect, but to purposefully pursue Jesus.

What will you decide

PRAY. Give opportunity to accept Christ and then break into small groups.