The Gospel of Luke (#80) The Rich Ruler October 13, 2024

First Baptist Church Leominster

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And that hymn, of course, was based upon Psalm 119, where the psalmist expressed his love for the law of God in dozens and dozens of different ways.

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Well, today's New Testament reading is what, James 2? Okay, let's turn there, please, and give attention to the importance of faith being lived out in the manner that we live.

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True saving faith will show itself in how we live. James chapter 2.

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My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the

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Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, you sit here in a good place, while you say to the poor man, you stand over there or sit down at my feet.

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Have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers.

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Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?

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But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, the ones who drag you into court?

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Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called? If you really fulfill the royal law according to the scriptures, you shall love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing well.

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But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

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For whoever keeps the whole law, but fails in one point, has become guilty of all of it.

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For he who said, do not commit adultery, also said, do not murder. If you do not commit adultery, but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.

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So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy.

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Mercy triumphs over judgment. What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith, but does not have works?

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Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, go in peace, be warmed and filled, without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?

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So also, faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, you have faith and I have works.

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Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

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You believe that God is one, you do well. Even the demons believe and shudder.

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Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not

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Abraham, our father, justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith completed by his works.

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And the scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness, and he was called a friend of God.

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You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also

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Rahab, the prostitute, justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way.

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For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

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Let's pray. Our Father, we exalt and praise you, and we lift up the name of Jesus Christ.

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And we're so appreciative, Lord, of his work on the cross, that it was his work that saved.

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But it's also our work that verifies that our faith is genuine. And so,

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Lord, we pray that we would look to ourselves through the gospel and that we would live our lives in an according manner.

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We pray that our works would validate our faith, that it would show that our faith is true.

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And so, Lord, give us wisdom as we walk through this world. Help us to see things, help us to do the things that we are called to do, help us to be doers of the word.

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And, Lord God, as we continue our worship service through the preaching of the word, we pray for Lars, that you would give him clarity of thought and mind, give him clarity of voice, so that we might hear the words and that we would be changed.

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We pray that the Spirit would take these words from our ear to our heart, that the Spirit would convict us and teach us, and we pray,

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Lord, that we would live them out. Help us, Lord, to be doers of your word. Thank you,

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Lord, in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, let's return to Luke chapter 18 this morning.

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We're getting closer to Jerusalem. Next chapter, Luke 19, they arrive.

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And then we read, of course, the Passion Week of our Lord. But in the passage before us here in Luke 18, 18 through 30, we read of Jesus encountering a rich man, a rich ruler, who greatly desired to know how to live in order to inherit eternal life.

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But after Jesus spoke with him, this rich man tragically turned away from our Lord, for he loved his riches chiefly.

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He chose to retain his present wealth above our Lord's offer of true riches, that being eternal life.

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He regarded earthly treasure more significant than was available, that which was available to Christ's disciples.

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And so he went away sorrowful. And to this day he is sorrowful.

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If today you could come to him in hell and ask him, he would now be willing to trade a thousand treasures, if he could but be named among the

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Lord's people. But his desire for the things of this life confirmed him in unbelief in his refusal to believe and obey

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Jesus. Tragic story. Here's the account from the hand of Luke, although it's also in Matthew and Mark's Gospel.

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Now a certain ruler asked him, saying, good teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

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So Jesus said to him, why do you call me good? No one is good but one, that is

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God. You know the commandments, do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor your father and your mother.

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And he said, all these things I have kept from my youth. So when

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Jesus heard these things, he said to him, you still lack one thing, sell all that you have and distribute to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven and come follow me.

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But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful for he was very rich. And when

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Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, he said, how hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God.

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For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

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And those who heard it said, who then can be saved? And he said, the things which are impossible with men are possible with God.

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And Peter said, see, we've left all and followed you. And so he said to them, surely

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I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time and in the age to come eternal life.

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The story serves several functions. First, it's a warning against the love of money.

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Certainly, clearly. Secondly, it sets forth that the way of life that leads on to eternal life is through living according to God's commandments.

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That's what Jesus told him. And third, it serves as an encouragement to those who deny themselves for the sake of following Christ in order to enter the kingdom of God.

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You're no loser for having done so, but a great gainer. We will consider this encounter of our

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Lord with this man by first reflecting what we may know regarding this rich ruler. Secondly, we'll give attention to what

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Jesus said about God. No one is good but one. That is God. Third, we will consider the importance of keeping the commandments of God as the way we are to live that leads on to eternal life.

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Fourth, we'll consider the rich ruler's response to Jesus's instruction. And then lastly, we'll consider

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Jesus affirming to his disciples that salvation is only possible for sinners by the grace and power of God.

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So let's work through these. First, what we may know of the rich ruler. Well, we learn much about this inquirer from the few words which described him as well as from the few words he voiced.

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Normally, we've not done so, but we might mention a word or two about him included in the other gospel accounts, the synoptic gospels of Matthew and Mark.

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Matthew describes him as a young man. Luke doesn't say that. Mark. Matthew did.

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We may assume that this young man had perhaps inherited his wealth. But being wealthy, he was also probably a man of social standing respected in the community.

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Riches have a way of doing that. God had blessed this man greatly for he had great wealth.

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Secondly, clearly, he was a religious man. A religious young man, he sought to order his life in a godly fashion.

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With respect to God's laws, he could say honestly as best he knew. He was mistaken, but he was certainly sincere.

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All these I've kept since I was a boy. So he was reflective about himself.

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He thought on matters of eternal significance. He was not an idle, careless young man who only thought live for today.

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He had probably inherited earthly riches. But as I was on a heavenly inheritance of heavenly riches, as indicated by his question, what must

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I do to inherit eternal life? And third, he was not only religious, but he was an earnest and sincere religious young man as well.

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He was not one who just happened by and listened out of curiosity to Jesus teaching. Mark describes him as having come to Jesus running.

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And then he fell on his knees before him. Young men who care little for spiritual things do not act in this manner.

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They may come to church, tolerate a sermon, but the things of Christ really have no vital interest to them.

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This young man was not like this. He took his religion seriously. He wanted desperately to have eternal life.

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Matthew Henry wrote of the importance of having the desire and interest that this young man expressed to Jesus.

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May we all have that desire. The great thing we are, every one of us, concerned to inquire after is what shall we do to get to heaven?

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What we shall do to inherit eternal life. This implies such a belief of an eternal life after this as atheists and infidels have not.

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Such a concern to make it sure as a careless unthinking world have not. And such a willingness to comply with any terms that it may be made sure as those have not.

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Who are resolvedly devoted to the world and to the flesh. Luke describes this man as a ruler.

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This wealthy man may have been a religious leader in his community. Even though he was quite young, he may have been one of the leading young men in the local synagogue.

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Maybe even a member of the Sanhedrin. The supreme religious body of Judaism.

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The 70 elders who would of course live and operate in Jerusalem.

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But clearly this young man was an unsaved man. We see this by his response to Jesus. In the other gospels they tell us his face fell and he went away sad.

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Luke doesn't say that he went away. The other gospel writers do. And clearly what is set forth here is this young rich man loved riches more than he desired entrance into the kingdom of God.

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Sad. Our Lord liked this young man. In fact Mark records that Jesus looked on this young man and loved him.

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He was a likable young man. He had good qualities. And yet our Lord could see through all that was observable to the eye and he addressed the matter of this young man's heart.

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The Lord dealt faithfully with this man for the Lord desired his well -being, his good.

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And by the way people will not always leave our presence happy and content. That should not be your standard of measurement for whether or not the word of God is taking effect.

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If we've dealt with people faithfully, although we wish they had you know responded favorably, they will not necessarily leave our presence happy and content.

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Jesus must have been disappointed to see this man leave him. Again our

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Lord loved this young man. He was not like many others our Lord encountered for this young man had his sincere desire to gain eternal life.

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John Calvin gave his assessment of this rich young ruler. For my own part after weighing all the circumstances,

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I have no doubt that though he is called a young man, he belonged to the class of those who upheld the integrity of the elders, the

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Jewish elders by a sober and regular life. He did not come treacherously as the scribes were want to do but from a desire of instruction.

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And accordingly both by words and by kneeling he testifies his reverence for Christ as a faithful teacher.

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But on the other hand a blind confidence in his works hindered him from profiting under Christ.

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To whom in other respects he wished to be submissive. And thus in our own day we find some who are not ill disposed but who under the influence of I know not what shadowy holiness hardly relish the doctrine of the gospel.

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And that happens. You preach the gospel and they turn away. This young man had a fatal flaw however and of course the

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Lord drew this forth from him. But a seventh characteristic of this young man we can see from the passage.

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The young man betrayed that he was a legalist in his religious persuasion.

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The young man addressed the Lord Jesus as good master. This already hints about his perception of matters.

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It suggests the man young man might have been a legalist. For he may have wrongly thought that people merit or by their way into heaven through their good deeds.

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The legalist will assess everyone by using these kinds of criteria including. Oh this one merits forgiveness.

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That one earns eternal life. But if the young man could view one human being as good he'll tend to view another is not so good and others no good.

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That's the way the legalist looks at the world. He may have viewed himself to be good and therefore merited entrance into the kingdom.

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Viewing life in this way will result in exalting some person your estimation and degrading others.

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When employing this standard of criteria perhaps based on religious devotion or activity moral conduct.

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Religious law keeping or identify with a special group. One can either exalt oneself or debase oneself depending on whom with whom you're comparing yourself.

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Paul wrote that anybody does that is not wise. Clearly the manner that the ruler responded to Jesus's instruction showed forth his legalism.

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But we'll address this more fully after we carefully consider our Lord's words to him.

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But secondly it's interesting to me that the Lord interject this matter at this point.

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Jesus affirmed the glorious truth of the goodness of God. Jesus asked the young man the question and then answered the question himself.

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So Jesus said to him why do you call me good. There's the question and then he answered it.

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No one is good but one that is God. So the Lord understood at once the heart of this young man and drew forth his values and opinions in the open.

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Again having first asked the question why do you call me good. Whereby Jesus stimulated reflection and self -inspection on the part of this young man.

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Questions will do that. That's a good manner of communicating to others regarding the gospel asking questions.

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But the Lord answered forthrightly no one is good except God alone.

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Of course the cult has jumped on this verse. They'll quickly quote it to you. Claim here

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Jesus himself denied his deity. The young man called him good master.

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There's no one good but God. Jesus was denying his deity they would argue. Of course this is certainly not the case.

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The Lord was merely addressing the young man according to what the young man could have known of him at that time. The young man could not have known of anything but Christ's humanity.

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And so the young man should not have addressed him in a manner that God alone deserves. Now we might make a point here.

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We refer to people as good all the time and that's not bad. That's okay. In fact according to King James Version one of the qualifications of being a pastor is he's admirer of good men.

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But when we use the word we speak relatively. He's a good man. She's a good woman.

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Certainly we never even imply that by a person's goodness he earns the blessing of God which this young man seemed to oblige.

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But to be thoroughly good consistently good even infinitely good is an attribute. It is true only of God.

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And that's what Jesus affirmed. Because all mankind are sinners it can be rightly said there is none who does good no not one.

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God alone is good. The Lord Jesus declared it. No one is good except God alone.

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And this is the testimony of all of Scripture. There's no human being that does good all the time to merit entrance to heaven.

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That is of course accepting the Lord Jesus Christ. This young man needed to be corrected at this point or he would never enter the kingdom.

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He must be shown that he too was not good that he was a sinner who did not merit anything from God.

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And oftentimes that's the first design or goal we should have when attempting to tell others about Christ.

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God's good you're not. You need a savior. The goodness of God is one of the glorious attributes of God.

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And we can probably address this subject for weeks and not exhaust the importance the significance of this truth regarding the nature of the one true

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God. I did some reading. There have been efforts to set forth this doctrine of the goodness of God in a clear but rather concise fashion.

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So J .I. Packard did so in two and a half pages of his book Concise Theology. A very good book for the layperson who wants to read about the major teachings of the

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Bible. He sets it forth in very short chapters. It's a very good book. Arthur Pink addressed the goodness of God in his classic book

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The Attributes of God. But he only devoted five pages. And then I pulled out from my library

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Stephen Sharnock his two volumes Existence and Attributes of God.

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And he was very extensive. He spent 146 pages addressing the goodness of God. And I began to read through that and it's just absolutely incredible what he unfolds.

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I found it interesting that Sharnock began his treatment of this subject addressing our Lord's response to this young ruler telling him no one is good but God.

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No one is good but one that is God. And that's how Sharnock opened his chapter 146 pages on the goodness of God.

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What can we say about the goodness of God? Well we could quote scripture quite exclusively for the goodness of God is a pervasive thing in the

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Word of God. Psalm 52 on the goodness of God endures continually. Arthur Pink wrote of God's goodness.

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The goodness of God respects the perfection of his nature. God is light and in him is no darkness at all.

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There is such an absolute perfection in God's nature and being that nothing is wanting to it.

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Nothing's absent from it or defective in it and nothing can be added to it to make it better. God's infinite in his goodness.

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And Pink then quoted Thomas Manton, Puritan who wrote these words regarding the goodness of God. He, God, is originally good, good of himself, which nothing else is, for all creatures are good only by participation and communication with God.

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God is essentially good, not only good but goodness itself. The creature's good is a super added quality.

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In God it's his essence. He is infinitely good. The creature's good is but a drop, but in God there is an infinite ocean or gathering together of good.

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He is eternally, immutably, unchangeably good. For he cannot be less good than he is as there can be no addition made to him.

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So no subtraction from him. God is infinite and perfect.

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So he cannot become more good. He cannot become less good. He is good.

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And it can only be said of God. And Sharnock wrote these introductory words regarding the doctrine of the goodness of God.

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Doctrine is just a word, means teaching. Teaching the word of God, the scriptures. The observation which

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I intend to prosecute is this, pure and perfect goodness is only the royal prerogative of God.

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Goodness is a choice perfection of the divine nature. This is the true and genuine character of God.

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He is good. He is goodness. Good in himself. Good in his essence. Good in the highest degree.

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Possessing whatever is comely, excellent, desirable. The highest good.

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Because first good, whatsoever is perfect goodness is God. Whatsoever is truly goodness in any creature is a resemblance of God.

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All the names of God are comprehended in this one of good. All gifts, all variety of goodness are contained in him as one common good.

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He is the efficient cause of all good. By an overflowing goodness of his nature, he refers all things to himself as the end for the representation of his own goodness.

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Truly God is good. Psalm 73 .1 Certainly it's an undoubted truth.

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It's written in his works of nature and his acts of grace. He is abundant in goodness.

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And everything is a memorial, not of some few sparks, but of his greater goodness.

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This is often celebrated in the Psalms. And men invited more than once to sing forth the praises of it.

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It may better be admired than sufficiently spoken of or thought of as it merits. It's discovered in all of his works as the goodness of a tree and all of its fruits.

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It is easy to be seen and more pleasant to be contemplated. It's something that we should meditate upon.

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The attributes of God, the goodness of God. The goodness of God is shown particularly to those who truly believe him and seek him.

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Asaph wrote Psalm 73 in which he not only declared that God is good, but he declared truly

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God is good to Israel to such as are pure in heart. This reveals that God is particularly and especially good to his covenant people to such as are pure in heart.

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Well, in what ways does God manifest his goodness to his people, to Christians? When the goodness of God is extended to his people,

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God extends certain blessings to them. Blessings that are gifts or manifestations of his goodness.

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And so what are some of these? Well, first God's goodness manifested to the suffering is called mercy.

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God's goodness manifested to the undeserving is called grace. God's goodness manifested to the unrepentant is called

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God being long suffering. God's goodness manifested to the weak and ignorant is seen and is doing good for them and giving truth to them.

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And God's goodness is manifested and continued to bless his people speaks of his faithfulness.

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All of these are manifestations of the quality of God's goodness.

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J .I. Packer in his addressing the attribute of God's goodness cited the love of God as a superlative expression of God's goodness.

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And he quoted Psalm 136 one to substantiate this. We have two lines, but they're in parallel with one another.

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Give thanks to the Lord for he is good. His love endures forever. Clearly here, love of God and goodness of God are equated.

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And so Packer wrote these words. This sovereign redemptive love is one facet of the quality that scripture calls

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God's goodness. That is the glorious kindness and generosity that touches all his creatures.

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And it ought to lead all sinners to repentance. The goodness of God teaches you and me, every one of us, everyone in the world.

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The goodness of God teaches them to turn from their sin and faith. Others aspect other aspects of his goodness are the mercy or compassion or pity that shows kindness to persons in distress by rescuing them out of trouble.

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And the long suffering forbearance and slowness to anger that continues to show kindness toward persons who have persisted in sinning.

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The supreme expression of God's goodness is still, however, the amazing grace and inexpressible love that shows kindness by saving sinners who deserve only condemnation.

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Saving them, moreover, at the tremendous cost of Christ's death on Calvary. His goodness.

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So the creator alone is good. He can create or confer to a created thing or be in the quality of goodness.

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But it's because that thing or being comes forth from him who alone is good.

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We read repeatedly in Genesis one after God created those six days of creation,

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God saw that it was good. But those things were good because he who made them is good for God alone is essentially good.

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And God is the chief good. And what we mean by this is that goodness and the sense of happiness and well -being can only come from knowing

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God and being right with him. Goodness brings happiness. Without God, there can be no goodness in fullness, in actuality.

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And therefore, without God, there can be no true lasting happiness. And the Bible teaches that.

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No God means no lasting happiness, but only evil, emptiness and misery. Hell. But with God, there can be nothing but happiness.

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Happy is that people that is in such a case happy. Yeah, happy is that people whose

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God is the Lord. The psalmist exclaimed, I would have lost heart unless I believed that I would see the goodness of the

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Lord in the land of the living. People lose faith and motivation and the delight in the

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Lord when they lose sight of the goodness of God. The goodness of God is shown and bestowed upon all within his creation, all people.

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God is good and does good to all. He gives life to all. He sustains life in all. He gives pleasure and life to all.

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The world is immersed in the goodness of God. The whole earth is full of his goodness.

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Psalm 119. And this manifestation of God's goodness leads and demands a response of faith and devotion from all his creatures onto him.

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But of course, God's goodness is most clearly and beautifully displayed in sending and giving his son to save sinners onto himself.

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So when this young man called Jesus good and he could only know Jesus as a man,

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Jesus rightly said, none good except God only. Of course, he, you know, speaking about his father directly, but the whole triune

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God is good. Well, next, however, the

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Lord began to address this man directly after setting forth, you know, a true understanding of the nature of God in this man's mind.

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Jesus affirmed the importance of keeping the commandments of God as the way to live that leads on to eternal life.

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Many people misunderstand this. In fact, it wasn't me. Weeks ago, I was accused of being a heretic because I was making this statement, this comment or asserting this truth.

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The young man had asked the question, what must I do to inherit eternal life? And the Lord responded, you know, the commandments do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony on your father and mother.

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In Matthew, his words are recorded. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.

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Jesus incited five of the Ten Commandments, five of the final six on the second tablet of the

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Ten Commandments, man's duty toward man. Of course, all of the laws of the

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Bible may be seen to be extensions or applications of the Ten Commandments. In the

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Ten Commandments, we have a summary of the entire law of God that God has revealed to be the standard for living for all his creatures, but especially for his people who profess faith in him.

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The law of God, the moral law of God is our standard for living. Thomas Brooks described the comprehensive nature of the

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Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are the heads of all the duties of the law, largely contained in the whole

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Bible. They are the text which Christ himself, the prophets and apostles expounded.

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They comprehend the whole duty of man. There's nothing that God requires but may be reduced to one of these commandments.

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So faith is a duty of the first command as it obliges men to believe whatever God reveals.

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The first commandment concerns the object of worship, requiring us to know and acknowledge

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God to be the true God and our God and to worship and glorify him as such in heart and life.

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The second relates to the means of worship, requiring us to receive, observe and keep pure and entire all religious worship and ordinances as God has appointed in his word.

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The third respects the holy reverent use of God's names, titles, attributes, ordinances, words and works.

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The fourth requires us to sanctify the Sabbath, remember the Sabbath, keep it holy, that day which he has set apart for his own worship and service.

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The fifth, now we get into the second tablet, the fifth relates to the duties we owe to one another in our several places and relations as superiors, inferiors and equals.

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The sixth requires the preservation of our own life and that of others, thou shalt not murder.

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The seventh respects preservation of our own and our neighbor's chastity in heart, speech and behavior.

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Thou shalt not bear false witness. The eighth relates to the lawful procuring and furthering the wealth and outward estate of ourselves and others.

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The ninth requires the maintaining and promoting truth between man and man, especially in witness bearing.

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And the tenth requires us to be contented with our own condition, to have a right and charitable frame of spirit toward our neighbor and all that is his.

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And every commandment forbids whatever is opposite to or inconsistent with what it requires. Ten commandments says it all.

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But take note that our Lord quoted the commandments from the second table of the law which speaks of a man's duty to his fellow man.

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But in doing so, the Lord affirmed the need to keep God's commandments to inherit eternal life.

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That's what he said. You want to enter eternal life, keep the commandments.

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Jesus could not have been clearer on the matter. Calvin wrote on this of the importance of ordering one's life according to God's commandments, entering eternal life, keep the commandments.

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This passage was erroneously interpreted by some of the ancients among who the papists have followed,

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Roman Catholics, as if Christ taught that by keeping the law we may merit eternal life.

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On the contrary, Christ did not take into consideration what men do, but replied to the question, what is the righteousness of works?

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We read James 2 that works are required of those who claim to have faith.

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Well, what are those works like? Well, it's ordering your life according to the law of God. That's what

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James declared. We read it in James 2. What does the law require? And certainly we ought to believe that God comprehended in his law the way of living wholly and righteously, in which righteousness is included.

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For not without reason did Moses make this statement, he that does these things shall live in them, speaking about the law.

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And again, I call heaven and earth to witness that I have this day showed you life. It is the law of God.

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So Calvin went on to write, we have no right, therefore, to deny that the keeping of the law is righteousness.

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That's what righteousness is, keeping the law of God. By which any man who kept the law perfectly, if there were such a man, there is no such a man except Jesus, would obtain life for himself.

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But as we're all destitute of the glory of God, nothing but cursing will be found in the law. And nothing remains for us but to take ourselves to the undeserved gift of righteousness.

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And therefore, Paul lays down a twofold righteousness. The righteousness of the law,

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Romans 10, 5, and the righteousness of faith, the gift of righteousness through faith alone, Romans 10, 6.

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He makes the first consist in works, the second in the free grace of Christ. But as clear as our

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Lord's words were on this occasion, it's quite amazing how few people understand this biblical truth.

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If you desire to inherit eternal life, you must order your life according to the law of God.

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Now, Jesus was not speaking of the basis or the ground on which the sinner is saved. And that's what many people assume.

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No. Because everywhere in the scriptures, it's declared that our salvation is due to the grace of God alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, apart from any works that we perform.

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The scriptures make this very clear. Paul wrote of our salvation, but when the kindness and love of God, our

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Savior, toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness, which we have done. It's not by keeping the law.

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But according to his mercy, he saved us through the washing of regeneration. It is the new birth, renewing of the

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Holy Spirit, who he poured out on us abundantly through Christ Jesus Christ, our Savior, that have been justified by his grace.

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We should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Eternal life is a promised future inheritance.

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It, therefore, is a basis of hope. This is what stirs us on and strengthens because we know we're assured of it.

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God has promised it to us in Christ. And then, of course, the often cited passage, Ephesians 2, 8 and 9, for by grace you've been saved through faith, that not of yourselves.

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It is the gift of God. Not of works, lest anyone should boast. You're not saved by your works.

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And that's what this young man wrongly thought. We are saved not by our works, but by the work of Jesus Christ, who is life of righteousness, his death on the cross for the sacrifice of our sins and through the reckoning or imputing his righteousness as a gift to the believing sinner.

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That's biblical. That's classic Protestant reform theology because it's Bible. And further, the scriptures declare that the law of God that had once condemned us in our sin because of the death of Christ no longer has the power to condemn the

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Christian. The law has no power ability to condemn you if you're in Christ.

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When Christ died on the cross, he died to satisfy God's law on behalf of his people. And so the law of God was disarmed.

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His ability to condemn the Christian is no longer. The law of God continues to damn the unconverted sinner, but it can no longer condemn the true

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Christian, the disciple of Jesus Christ. As Paul declared, there is therefore now no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus.

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For the law, the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death, the law that brings forth sin and death.

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We're set free from that condemning letter or that letter as a condemning word.

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The law of God had condemned us in our sin, which would result in our death and damnation. But it no longer has that authority.

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We are in Christ have been set free from the damning sentence of the law of God. But herein lies the very common error among professing

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Christians. Please pay attention. Because Christ's death on his cross removed the authority of God's law to condemn the

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Christian. Many and even true Christians wrongly believe that Christ's death on his cross removed the authority of the law to govern the

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Christian. That's the error. Right there. Well, we were in our sin before having come to Christ and saving faith.

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The law of God condemned us, but it had no ability, no power to enable the believer to live according to the righteousness of the law.

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That is to live in obedience to God's law. But due to Christ's life and death, the resultant gift of the

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Holy Spirit to his people, Christ enabled his people to live according to the righteousness of God's law. That's what it is to live as a

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Christian. But again, sadly, many professing Christians draw wrong conclusions from these truths.

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They've come to believe wrongly since the law of God can no longer condemn me for I've been set free in Christ.

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I'm under no obligation to order my thinking and living according to the law of God. They're wrong.

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Some argue that the law of God is a rule of life that was enforced before the coming of Christ. But now grace alone is to govern our thinking and actions.

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They would argue their understanding from verses like this one from Paul. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you're not under the law, but under grace.

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What then? Shall we sin because we're not under law, but under grace? Certainly not. Well, they would say

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God's grace is to be the rule of life for the believer. That is, the gospel itself is the only standard that should govern the behavior of the believer, but never

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God's law. That's dispensational teaching that was brought forth by them.

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And it permeated and corrupted evangelicalism through the 20th century and still has wide effect today in Christians' thinking.

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They would argue, after all, did not the apostles say, only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ?

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See, the gospel is the standard. I can remember around 1990, I used to argue that because I was wrong on this.

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Because of my dispensational background and influence. Mercy, God.

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So that whether I come to see you in an absent, I may hear of your affairs that you stand fast in one spirit with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel.

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And so they argued, no, no, we don't live according to God's law. We live according to the gospel, which on the surface may sound really holy and good, spiritual.

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But Christians must learn that although Christ's death on the cross delivered his people from the law as a damning and killing letter,

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Christ's death and resurrection did not deliver them from the rule of the moral law over their lives.

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Rather, through what Christ did in dying and rising from the dead was to enable his people to live according to God's law by the power of the

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Holy Spirit that he gives to his people. And Paul declared this forthrightly in Romans 8.

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We must have read this a half a dozen times in the last six months because it's so critically important.

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Again, there's therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, period. The law cannot condemn you.

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For the law, the spirit of life, has set you set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

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For God has done what the law, for God has done what the law weakened by the flesh could not do.

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The law could not make you holy. But God did. How? By sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh.

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Verse 4. Why did God condemn Christ in the flesh, condemn sin in the flesh?

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In order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the spirit.

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This is the nature of Christian sanctification. God is enabling you and wanting you to order your life according to the righteousness of the law as the

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Holy Spirit enables you. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh.

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But those who live according to the spirit set their minds on the things of the spirit. To have your mind set on the things of the spirit is to have your mind set upon the law of God as the moral rule of your life.

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That's what he's declaring here in Romans 8. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the spirit is life and peace.

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And now he describes the mindset on the flesh. For the mind that is on the flesh is hostile to God.

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Notice it does not submit to God's law. It cannot. That's the unconverted person.

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It cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God because you cannot order your life according to the law of God.

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Paul declared the law of God can only condemn the one outside of Christ. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God.

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It does not submit to God's law. Obviously he's saying Christians do submit to God's law.

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Obviously not perfectly, but it's our moral standard of life. We want to order our life according to God's law.

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His moral law and his word. The one in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit is enabled to have the righteous requirement of the law fulfilled in them.

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Not perfectly, but certainly in a measure that characterizes your life. You're not a liar.

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All liars shall have their part in the lake of fire that burns forever and ever according to Revelation. And so you're not a liar.

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You're a truth teller. You don't bear false witness. Someone who lives his life as a lie or a liar is not a

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Christian. You can't do that. You cannot inherit eternal life and be a perpetual adulterer.

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Adulterers and fornicators God will judge. Thou shalt not commit adultery. We order our life according to the law of God.

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It's the moral standard. And so the law of God abides as the moral standard by which

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Christians are to live. This is so much so that only law keepers will inherit salvation.

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That's important. Only law keepers will inherit salvation who do so because they've been regenerated and empowered by the

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Spirit of God. Now this does not mean that they will do so without failure or frustration for we're all plagued by sin in this life.

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And even the Apostle Paul expressed his own struggle in the last verses of Romans 7.

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Paul described himself and these were the verses that first convinced me

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I had it wrong about the law of God being the moral standard of life for the Christian. Because Paul here says the law of God is what governed his

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Christian life. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right evil is close at hand for I delight in the law of God in my inner being.

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It used to always trouble me. Psalm 119 the love of the moral law of God throughout the someone.

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How can that how can that Israelite say that when I had this twisted view of the law of God.

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That's bad. You got to cast that off. We're under grace. Paul said

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I delight in the law of God in my inward being. This is what stirred him motivated him the righteousness of God.

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But I see in my members another law waging against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.

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Wretched man that I am who will deliver me from this body of death. This is Paul the Christian Paul the

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Apostle speaking thanks be to God through Christ our Lord. So how does he conclude the chapter.

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So then I myself serve the law of God with my mind. If you're a

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Christian thinking rightly you're serving the law of God with your mind. That's your desire. But with my flesh

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I serve the law of sin hence the frustration and the difficulty in the Christian life. And so the law of God although it cannot condemn us in Christ nevertheless remains the moral standard for living the

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Christian life. Paul the Christian served the law of God with his mind. True Christians live according to the law of God.

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They do so in faith in their Lord to guide them and empower them to do so. The faith

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I live I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me gave himself for me. But the standard by which we are looking to Christ in faith is to enable us to live according to God's laws.

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If one professes to be a Christian but insists or persists in living his life in disregard or violation of the law of God he will not inherit eternal life.

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He's a hypocrite. He's not a Christian. This is what Paul declared in First Corinthians 6 9.

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Do you not know the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. Don't be deceived. There are multitudes of evangelicals deceived on this.

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Neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor homosexuals nor sodomites nor thieves nor covetous.

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Here's the rich young ruler nor drunkards nor revilers nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.

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But such were some of you. This is how you once were. God saves sinners like this. You were washed.

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You were sanctified. You were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God. So Christians order their lives according to the

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Lord's commandments. This is the way of life for the one with saving faith. Living according to God's commandments is the one is one of the evidences we have of salvation and numerous verses can be cited.

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I listed some. John 15 10. If you keep my commandments, you'll abide in my love just as I've kept my father's commandments and abide in his love.

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Commandments is the law of God. First Corinthians 7. For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision but keeping the commandments of God.

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He's talking to Christians. By this we know that we've come to know him if we keep his commandments.

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It's a basis of assurance of salvation. Whoever says I know him but does not keep his commandments is a liar.

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The truth is not in him. A person who claims to be a Christian but is living in defiance of the law of God.

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I'm not talking about somebody who stumbles over the law of God. You do what I do. But we're talking about somebody who's who's got a different standard of living.

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I'm going to do my will but I'm saved. I believe on Jesus. He is deceiving himself.

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First John 3. Beloved of our heart does not condemn us. We have confidence before God and whatever we ask from him we because we keep his commandments and do what he pleases him.

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First John 3. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God and God in him and by this we know he abides in us by the spirit he's given us.

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By this we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God that we keep his commandments.

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Biblical love is ordering your relationships according to the commandments of God. You don't lie.

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You don't steal from them. You don't covet them. You rejoice in them. You hold up their reputation.

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You don't try and denigrate them. For this is the love of God that we keep his commandments and his commandments are not burdensome.

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He put it within our hearts. This is what we really want and we just lament like Paul because that's not the case all the time.

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And this is love that we walk according to his commandments. This is the commandment just as you heard from the beginning so that you could walk in it.

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And then in Revelation we read that this is what characterizes Christians. Then the dragon became furious with the woman went off to make war on the rest of her offspring on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.

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They believe on Jesus but they're ordering their lives according to the commandments of God. Revelation 14.

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Here's a call for the endurance of the saints. Those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.

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Keeping the commandments of God is how your faith in Jesus is shown. Revelation 22.

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All right. The last chapter of the Bible speaking about the new Jerusalem, new heavens, new earth.

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Blessed are those who do his commandments that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter through the gates into a city.

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Christians order their lives according to the law of God. Let's quickly consider the rich young rulers response to Jesus's instruction.

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You know the commandments and he cited five of the six on the second tablet. The young wealthy man asked

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Jesus good teacher what shall I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus answered. You know the commandments. Do not commit adultery.

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Do not murder. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Honor your father and your mother. The Lord was not baiting this young man telling him a falsehood that if he wanted to enter life he'd have to earn blessing because he keeps

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God's commandments. Jesus never intimated that. For this man to think that he merits entrance by doing so would damn his soul.

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That's heresy of legalism. But to think he could gain entrance apart from keeping the commandments would damn his soul as well.

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That's the heresy of antinomianism that permeates evangelicalism. Doesn't matter how

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I live because Christ died for my sins. As long as I believe on Christ I can really live.

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Oh yeah those commandments are good advisory. It'd be better if I lived that way but I choose not to do so. You got problems.

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The problem which commonly exists is that people take Paul's arguments designed to refute and correct legalism and use those instructions to justify antinomianism.

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There's no place in the Bible that says a lawless person, one who transgresses the law of God in practice can hope to have eternal life.

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But then the man in great error and ignorance of his own sin said to Jesus all these things I've kept from my youth.

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And there it is. Now it's true that no one except the Lord Jesus ever could keep the law of God perfectly or sufficiently to merit eternal life.

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But this young man thought he had. And so he revealed himself ignorant of his sin, ignorant of the spiritual nature of God's law and was in error assuming, presuming he was a righteous man.

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He would have been much better off had he told Jesus all these things I've transgressed from my youth.

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He would have been like the tax collector in the temple that we considered not long ago. But rather he had the same kind of righteousness as a self -righteous

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Pharisee, didn't he? This man's words confirmed to Jesus he was a self -righteous legalist.

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And so we read when Jesus heard these things he purposed to reveal to him that he was not the law keeper he thought himself to be.

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And so Jesus said sell all that you have distribute to the poor and you'll have treasure in heaven.

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Come follow me. Jesus was calling this man to become one of his disciples. But the rich ruler immediately counted the cost of doing so.

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No, he would have as rich as now rather than eternal life later. When he heard this he became very sorrowful for he was very rich.

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Had this man pondered what Jesus had just brought to light regarding his soul perhaps he might have been more responsive.

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Again to cite Calvin who is so good and so pastoral.

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That's what I like about him. He's often denigrated as this high position intellectual who doesn't appeal to people in the pew.

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He was just the opposite as a pastor in Geneva. He was a warm hearted pastoral fella and all of his commentaries set him forth in that way.

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The law must have been dead to him this young man when he vainly imagined he was so righteous for if he had not flattered himself through hypocrisy.

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It was an excellent advice to him to learn humility to contemplate his spots and blemishes in the mirror of the law.

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But intoxicated with foolish confidence he fearlessly boasts that he has discharged his duty properly from his childhood.

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Paul acknowledges that the same thing happened to himself that so long as the power of the law was unknown to him he believed that he was alive.

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But that after he knew what the law could do a deadly wound was afflicted on him. I was alive once but then the law came and I died.

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It convinced Paul of his death and damnation. And so the reply of Christ which follows was suited to the man's disposition.

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And yet Christ does not demand anything beyond the commandments of the law. But as the bare recital had not affected him

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Christ employed other words for detecting the hidden disease of avarice. Now again nowhere does the law of God command someone he must sell everything that he has in order to be right with God.

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But through this word of instruction Jesus revealed this man had not kept the commandments of God from his youth up.

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For his wealth was his God which was revealed in his transgression of the first and second commandment.

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He did not love God with all his heart mind soul and strength. And his refusal to bestow his wealth upon the poor revealed his transgression of the second tablet of the

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Ten Commandments. He failed to love his neighbor as himself. The guy was a transgressor of the law.

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But he thought that he was a righteous man by keeping the law. He deceived himself.

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So clearly his life was like Paul's before his conversion. He was given wholly over to the sin of covetousness.

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A transgression of the Tenth Commandment which is idolatry. But further in his refusal and failure to do what

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Jesus had commanded him. The man revealed he had no faith or intention to submit and follow

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Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Luke does not tell us what the young man did.

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But both Matthew and Mark did. They relate when the young man heard that saying he went away sorrowful for he had great possessions.

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Lastly Jesus affirmed to his disciples that salvation is only possible for sinners by the grace and power of God.

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We read our Lord instructing his disciples of the impossibility of those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God.

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That is to inherit eternal life. When Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful.

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He said how hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God. It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

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Meaning it's impossible. It can't happen. So our

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Lord spoke of the impossibility of a rich man to become saved. By himself.

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The Jews thought rich people were the most blessed people of God. They had the ability to give alms and do good things all over the place.

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If Jesus says a rich man cannot be saved. Then who can be saved? And that's how the disciples responded.

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If this rich man who had everything who was religious in every good way could not enter the kingdom. Who could? Of course a frequently repeated spurious story is linked with this verse.

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It's commonly said that there was in one of the large gates of Jerusalem a little gate. Through which pedestrians could walk which was called the eye of the needle.

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And a camel could but with great difficulty get down and squeeze through. And in this way you can also get a few rich men to be

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Christians without selling everything they have. This story is apocryphal. There never was such a small gate called the eye of the needle.

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The point the Lord was making is that it is humanly impossible for a rich man. And therefore any man to get into heaven.

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And the disciples reaction made that clear. If he can't be saved who can be saved?

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And our Lord affirmed that salvation is solely through the grace of God. With man this is impossible but with God all things are possible.

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What man cannot do for himself all things are possible with God. God in his grace can so squeeze the love of money out of a rich man.

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That he can go as it were through the eye of a needle into heaven. And when we arrive to Luke 19 we'll see on display

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God's grace doing just that. Zacchaeus a rich man and the

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Lord saved him. It is a living demonstration of what he declares here.

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What's impossible for man is possible with God. So this episode presses on us the critical importance to abandon all foolish and errant thoughts.

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That we're saved by or on the grounds of our law keeping. Certainly that's foolishness.

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Rather we are to flee to Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. To do for us and in us which is impossible for us to do to achieve.

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We come to him as ones in spiritual poverty. Having seen acknowledge our spiritual poverty our hopelessness.

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Unless he delivers us by his sovereign grace. But through redeeming us he sits redeeming us.

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He sets us on course of life ordered by his law. Empowered by his grace to live as his disciples.

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Thank God that he sent Jesus Christ to save us from our sin. He alone can do so.

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Otherwise we would never live so as to inherit eternal life. Keeping the commandments of God in life is that narrow way.

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That difficult way that leads on to life. Matthew 7 14. May the

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Lord help us to take these matters to heart. And give us wisdom to help people that we know.

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Maybe even family members who are so self -deceived in this matter. They think as long as they believe.

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James 2 dispels that notion. True saving faith is shown forth in how you live your works.

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And we're going to be judged by the perfect law of liberty. Describes the law. If you're living according to God's law.

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You're going to experience liberty and freedom in life. The law cannot bring that to you.

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They can only enslave and condemn. But Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit.

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He can enable us. Giving us the desire and the grace to order our lives rightly.

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And this is the course we follow in faith. That will lead us to our heavenly inheritance.

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Even eternal life. Amen. Let's pray. Thank you Father for your word.

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And for accounts like this our God in the gospels. That set forth these matters so wonderfully and clearly.

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Help us our God to be true to you and your word. Forgive us of our ignorance and our error. Help us to see and understand things rightly.

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And be able to express your truth to others. Lord help us our

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God to be able to reveal to others. As you revealed to this young man. Is there need

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Lord to look to you alone through Jesus Christ. Alone for salvation.