Sermon Tone Analysis

It’s been said that everyone is seeking something.

Some are seeking meaning, some are seeking purpose, some are seeking relevance, some are seeking power, some are seeking money, some are seeking significance, some are seeking pleasure.

Perhaps everyone is seeking all of these things in different ways.

But not everyone seeks them in the same way.

Some use worldly pleasure to attain purpose, significance.

Some use spiritual beliefs as a way to feel relevant and meaningful.

Some use activism and political involvement to create a sense of value in their lives.

And some use religion to make themselves feel like they matter, like they’re significant, like they have purpose.

Isn’t that interesting?

Some people use religion - sometimes even the Christian religion - as a way not to get right with God, not to have their sins forgiven, not to live for God’s glory and purposes, but as a way to meet their own psychological desires.

They are seekers alright, but they are not actually seeking God.

In other words, there are many people who come to God, or come to Jesus, for all the wrong reasons.

I wonder why you have come to Jesus?

Did you know it’s possible to come to Jesus, and leave empty...if you come to him for the wrong things?

My hope this morning is that as we examine this text we would consider a few things: 1) Why have I come to Jesus?

And I hope, through this text, we will be instructed about the way to approach Jesus rightly, and the danger of wealth and riches.

The Biggest Question

So let’s start with the setting.

Jesus is about to set out on his journey.

His journey is back toward Jerusalem for the last time where he will be crucified.

He’s just setting out, and “a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to be saved?”

We know from the rest of the story that he’s rich, Matthew records the detail that he’s a young man, and In Luke he’s described as a ruler, and so he is well-known to Christians as “rich young ruler.”

Here’s a picture of success.

Even as a young man, he has attained a position of leadership and influence in his culture.

His position has given him the opportunity to attain wealth and prestige, and to accumulate great possessions.

We are not told precisely how he attained his status and wealth, but from this short account it’s not hard to see some of the qualities of a financially successful man.

He’s aggressive - he comes running up to Jesus.

He’s fearless - he doesn’t mind barging in to talk directly to the most popular rabbi Israel has ever seen.

He’s sincere - he falls to his knees, taking the posture of a beggar, something rich people didn’t ordinarily do.

He’s curious - willing to ask the questions that are haunting him.

He’s respectful: he says to Jesus, “Good Teacher,” recognizing Jesus as an admirable and respectable rabbi.

And also, he is thoughtful - he’s asking the single most important question a human being can ask: “What must I do to inherit eternal life.”

At a young age he had accomplished much, and yet he knows, through observation, that even if the stuff he accumulates will last, he won’t.

He knows he’s going to die.

And his question is not how to attain wealth in this life, status in this life, authority and power in this life - no, his question is about how to secure the next life.

It’s almost as if he’s got everything figured out in this life, so now he can start working on the next life.

He’s got everything under control, except that nagging reality called “death,” which he can’t seem to shake.

Do you like this guy?

I do.

I’d like to get to know him.

I love his boldness.

I like the proactive pursuit of knowledge.

I love his question.

I think it’s the most important question you can ask.

I think he’s realized that it really doesn’t matter what he’s accumulated in this life if he loses it all in the next.

He’s realizing that the most important thing about him is not what he’s accomplished, but what will happen to him after he dies.

Friends, this smart young successful man is asking the right question.

I hope everyone of you has asked this question.

“What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

The most important thing about you is not the job you have, the grades you get, the trophies you earn, the college you attend, the career you pursue, the money you make, the status you attain, the stuff you buy.

The most important thing about me is not that I am a pastor.

The biggest question facing all of us is this: do we have eternal life?

What will happen to me after I die?

Will we cross the river of death and enter the land of eternal glory and blessing, or will we drown there, and be lost forever in the darkness of God’s righteous condemnation?

I wonder, do you know, for certain, your answer to that question?

Jesus’ answer to this question will surprise us.

If a young, successful businessman came to you, and genuinely asked you, “What must I do to get to heaven?”

What would you say?

I don’t know if any of us would respond to this many like Jesus did.

And yet, Jesus is the authority on how to get to heaven.

Anybody have better credentials to teach on how one gets to heaven?

Any PhDs or experts out there have a better resume than the Son of God? No.

So whatever Jesus says stands as the highest authority.

Lessons from Jesus

Verse 18: “And Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good?

No one is good except God alone.”

Jesus is simply a mastermind.

His response to the man’s question starts building out a complete doctrine of salvation.

First, notice what Jesus says about God.

“No one is good except God alone.”

Jesus grabs hold of the man’s use of the word, “good” and uses it to stir his thinking and point him to God.

He is saying that God is uniquely good.

God has a particular good.

God is perfectly good, utterly good, without any impurity, without any evil, without a single ounce of bad within.

He will never do anything except that which is good and right, because he is good.

God is good.

Second, take a look at the same statement again: “No one is good except God alone.”

Jesus is making a statement about man.

He is making a clear theological statement about the sinfulness of man.

He says “no one is good.”

You may gather around a small group of 10 or so people and ask them, “Are people basically good?”

And Jesus would say, “No one is good.”

The quality of “goodness” that God has, no human being has.

Paul reiterates this truth in Romans 3:10-12: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands, no one seeks for God.

All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

What Jesus is implying to this young man is, “You’re not a good person.

No one is a good person.

Only God is good.

Are you willing to accept that?”

And many people are not.

Third, think of Jesus’ initial response: “Why do you call me good?

No one is good except God alone.”

Why do you call me good?

Jesus is saying, “Do you realize who I am?” He’s saying, “If you know that I am good, and if no one is good except God, do you realize that I am God in the flesh?”

In other words, through his questioning, he is causing the young man to consider whether Jesus could actually be God.

Jesus is helping the man discover who he truly is.

So follow me: in this brief response, Jesus has laid the foundational doctrine of the goodness of God, of the sinfulness of man, and of the divinity of Christ.

God, man, Christ.

Sound familiar anyone?

And he’s not done: Verse 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.”