Speaker 1: Amen. All right, well we’re there in Matthew chapter 19. Of course, we’ve been going through a series this summer called Encounters with Christ. We’ve been focusing in on the different encounters that the Lord Jesus Christ has had with different individuals. We’ve been listening in on his conversations. We haven’t been looking at parables unless they’re in the conversation. We haven’t been looking at miracles, but we’ve been looking at just these conversations, how Jesus dealt with people, how Jesus talked to people, how he answered their questions and how he helped them out. Today we find ourselves again in a very well-known passage. It is a story commonly referred to or usually referred to as The Rich Young Ruler. We see this encounter that Jesus has.
Speaker 1: I like this one because we’ve seen him, we’ve seen Jesus fellowship. Remember last week, he was in the house of Simon having a meal. We’ve also seen Jesus soul-winning. Today we’re going to see him soul-winning again. In this passage, he has this conversation, and we learned some great truths about sinners, about salvation and about soul-winning. So we’re just kind of walk through this, and I’ll give you the points as we go through. The first I’d like you to notice in this conversation is that we see the hang-ups of a self-righteous sinner. Here’s what you need to understand. Usually when we go out and we preach the gospel to people, we encounter self-righteous, religious people. They have some hang-ups in regards to the gospel. They have some presuppositions, and a presupposition is something that someone may supposed or assume beforehand. It’s a preconceived idea, something that they think to be true, they assume to be true, and it’s really not.
Speaker 1: We see that in this story that this rich young ruler comes to Jesus, and he’s got some hang-ups. He has some hang-ups because he is self-righteous and he’s religious. These are the hang-ups of a religious sinner. These are the hang-ups of someone who is very moral, who is very religious, who is very committed, but they are a sinner. I want you to notice the presuppositions that he comes to Jesus with. The first one is this, and you’ll notice, when we look at these, you’ll notice if you’ve been all soul-winning or you’ve tried to have preached the gospel to someone, you’ll notice that these are extremely common among religious people.
Speaker 1: The first one is this, that he thought that mere man could be good. He thought and he had this preconceived presupposition, this assumption that man in general could be good. Notice what it says there in Matthew 19 and verse number 16. The Bible says this, “And behold, one came,” and it’s of course the rich young ruler, “and said unto him,” I want you to notice what he says. He says, “Good Master.” He refers to Jesus as the Good Master, but here’s what you need to understand. I’m going to show it to you from the passage and I’ll show it to you from another passage that this individual that is coming to Jesus, he does not believe that Jesus is God. He believes that Jesus is just a mere person.
Speaker 1: So when he refers to Jesus as a Good Master, he is referring to him as an individual, as a person, as a human being, but he has this presupposition that tells him that mere man can be good, that you and I can be good people, that we can be good, religious people, that we can even be good enough to go to heaven simply by the way we live our lives. This is what he assumes of Jesus. He’s got some mistakes here just about man in general and then of course about Jesus. He comes to Jesus, he says, “Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?” Now I want you to notice that Jesus deals with the first presupposition. He deals with the fact that only God is good.
Speaker 1: Notice verse 17, “And he said unto him, ‘Why callest thou me good?'” Now again, Jesus knows that this guy does not believe that he is God. He simply sees him as a teacher or rabbi, a master. He said, “Why callest thou me good?” He says, “There is none good but one, that is, God. But if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” So notice he says, “Good Master,” and Jesus says, “I know you don’t think I’m God, but yet you still think I’m good. You think I’m a person just a regular human being. That’s good. Well, you’re wrong on that.” He says, “If you think I’m God, don’t call me good.” He said, “Why callest thou me good?” He says, “There is none good but one, that is, God.”
Speaker 1: Now keep your place there in Matthew 19. That’s out text for this morning. Go to the Book of Romans, Romans chapter number three. We’re there in Matthew. We’re going to go Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, Romans chapter three. If you’ve ever been on soul-winning, you’ll notice this is true that many religious people out there have this presupposition. They have this preconceived idea that mere man can be good. If you don’t believe me, go out soul-winning this afternoon. Knock on some doors of some very nice, good, religious, moral people and ask them the question, do you know for sure God today? Are you on your way to heaven? There are some religious people. There are some moral people.
Speaker 1: Usually when people tell you, “Oh, I don’t think I’m going to go to heaven,” is because they know that they’ve live a sinful life. They know that they are not religious. You get somebody out there who’s just a good Catholic, who’s just a good Lutheran, who’s just a good Mormon, who’s just a good Muslim, who’s just a good Hindi. You get somebody out there who’s just doing their best, following the commandments, following their religion and you ask them, “Hey, do you know for sure you’re on your way to heaven?” Oh, yeah, I think I’m on my way to heaven. Then you follow up and says, “Well, let me ask you this. What gives you that confidence that you’re on your way to heaven?” Well, I’m just doing my best. Well, I m just living a good life. Well, I’m just trying to be good to people. I’m trying to love people. I’m trying not to hurt others. I’m trying not to hurt everybody. I’m a pretty good person.
Speaker 1: People out there, religious people had this preconceived presupposition that mere man can be good. Here’s what you need to understand. According to the Bible, that is wrong. Sometimes it’s difficult to look at someone and say, “Hey look, I realized that you think you’re a good person. By human standards, you probably are a better good person but in regards to going to heaven, there is none good and you are not good enough.” Romans chapter three, look at verse 10, notice what the Bible says. Romans chapter three, verse 10 says this, “As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one.” The word righteous, if you see the first part of the word righteous there, it’s the word right. Someone who is righteous is someone who always does right or someone who’s without wrong. You and I would say the word perfect today, we’d say. Here he’s saying there’s none righteous. There’s none perfect, no, not one.
Speaker 1: Notice there is none that understand it. There is none that seek after God. They’re all gone out of the way. They’re all together become nonprofitable. I want you to notice these words. There is none that doeth good, no, not one. Today you’d say, “Oh, I can’t be. I’m a pretty good person.” No, understand this. There’s only one that’s good and that’s God. God is good and other than God there is none that doeth good. So look, even today, you might be sitting here and thinking to yourself we might have a guest here who’s one who’s saying, “Oh, I’m a pretty good person.” Here’s the thing, I’m sure you are by human standards but the standards of God. That’s why the Bible says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
Speaker 1: So this rich young ruler who comes to Jesus, he says, “I know you’re not God. I know you’re just a person, but you’re a good person.” He says, “Good Master.” Jesus says, “Wait a minute. If I’m good, I’m God. If I’m not God, then I’m not good.” He said, “Why callest thou me good? There is none good, but one, that is God.”
Speaker 1: Go to Mark chapter number 10, Mark chapter 10. Now let me show you why I believe that this rich young ruler does not believe that Jesus is God. You’ll say, “Well, what makes you think that he doesn’t believe that Jesus is God?” Now we’re going to be dealing with Matthew 19, that’s our text for this morning. In Mark chapter 10, we have a parallel passage to the story. It’s the same story being told by Mark. Sometimes we can compare these and get a little different insight or different things that were said. I want you to notice what Mark writes on for us in regards to the conversation, the encounter between Jesus and the rich young ruler. Mark chapter 10, look at verse 17. It’s very similar, but there’s a couple of differences I’d like to point out.
Speaker 1: Mark 10:17, “And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him,” all right, so here’s our rich young ruler, “‘Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?'” So notice he comes to Jesus again, says, “Good Master,” and Jesus said unto him, “Why callest thou me good? There is none good, but one, that is God.” Jesus says, “Hey, only God is good. If I’m good, I’m God. You don’t think I’m God. So if you don’t think I’m God, then don’t go around calling me your man good.” You say, “Why he’s still dealing with this? What’s the big deal?” We’re going to come back to it and it’s going to make sense here at the end.
Speaker 1: He says, “Look, there is one that is good, and that is God.” He said, “If you don’t think I’m God, then don’t call me good.” Verse 19, “Thou knowest the commandments. Do not commit adultery. Do not kill. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Defraud not, honor thy father and mother.” He answered and said unto him. I want you to notice this. When he shows up, he says, “Good Master.” Then Jesus says, “Only call someone who you believe to be God good, because only God is good. So if you’re going to call me good, then you need to acknowledge my deity as God.” So how does the young man respond?
Speaker 1: Verse 20, “And he answered and said unto him, ‘Okay, Master.'” Notice I drop his good. He comes saying, “Good Master.” Jesus, only call God good, so he said, “Okay, then I’ll just call you Master because I don’t think you’re God.” This young man was denying the deity of Christ. He did not believe that Jesus was more than just a mere man. He says, “Master, all these have I observed from my youth.” Now go back to Matthew 19, and let me just say this while you turn there. This story of The Rich Young Ruler is often used by the cult who denied the deity of Jesus Christ, and they’ll say, “See, here’s the passage.” The Jehovah’s Witnesses will say, “Here’s the passage that shows that Jesus is not God because Jesus said there’s only one good, and that’s God.”
Speaker 1: Here’s the problem with that, is that if you look at a Jehovah’s Witness, if you look at a Mormon, if you look at a Muslim, if you look at someone who denies the deity of Jesus Christ; and I realized that Mormons have a weird belief about deity and all those things, but if you look at someone who denies the doctrine of the deity of Jesus Christ and you said, “Hey, only God is good. Do you believe Jesus is God? No, Jesus isn’t God.” Is Jesus good? Are you going to say that Jesus is good? Oh no, Jesus was a good man. Oh no, Jesus was a good prophet. Oh no, Jesus was a good teacher.
Speaker 1: Here’s the thing. There is none that doeth good. If Jesus was good, and he was, then he was God. If Jesus was righteous, if Jesus was perfect, if Jesus was sinless, if Jesus was without sin, then he was God because there is none that doeth good, no, not one. So we see the presupposition this young man comes to Jesus way. What’s the first one? It’s this, that mere man can be good, that a normal man can be good. The idea is this. They can be good enough to go to heaven, and that leads us into our second presupposition, which is this. Not only that he have a preconceived idea that mere man could be good. He had a preconceived idea connected to that thought that salvation could be earned by your good works. So he thinks a normal can be good and a normal man can earn salvation by how good they are.
Speaker 1: Notice again Matthew 19 verse 16, “And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master,” now notice the question, “what,” don’t miss these two words, “good thing,” do you see that, “what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?” This young man comes to Jesus and he asked a very specific question. He says, “What good thing shall I do?” Now if you just read the story and you’re not really kind of paying attention or just kind of read through, you might think, “Well, this was similar question too.” There’s other questions in the Bible where people are asking in regards to salvation. I want you to notice, let’s compare and contrast this question to a very famous question in Acts chapter 16.
Speaker 1: Now notice there, keep your finger to Matthew 19. He says, “What good thing shall I do?” Go to Acts chapter 16 and verse 30. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts; Acts chapter 16 and verse 30. In Acts 16, we have a very famous story of the Philippian jailer asking about salvation. I want you to notice how he ask the question, Acts chapter 16 and verse 30. Acts chapter 16 and verse 30 says this, “And brought them out, and said,” this is the Philippian jailer. Here’s the question, “What must I do to be saved?” Of course, verse 31, “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,” by the way that’s how you get saved, believing on Lord Jesus Christ, “and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”
Speaker 1: I want you to notice, the Philippian jailer says, “What must I do to be saved? What is it that needs to be done in order for me to be saved?” They said, “Well, all you need to do is believe.” The rich young ruler says, “What good thing shall I do?” See, his emphasis is on good work. His emphasis is on what commandments do I have to keep, how many good things do I need to do in order to go to heaven. Go back to Matthew chapter 19, and here’s what I want you to understand. When we begin this passage, when we get dig into this conversation, the first thing we see is the hang ups of a religious sinner. If you go out knocking on doors, which you should, if you go out and preach the gospel to your friends and your loved ones, to your coworkers and your neighbors, which you should, you’re probably going to run into some pretty by-human-standards good people, some pretty by-religious-standards religious people.
Speaker 1: You’re going to run into somebody who thinks, and they’re going to have these same presuppositions. They’re going to think mere man can be good and mere man can be good enough to go to heaven. This is the conversation Jesus is having, so we see the hang ups. We see the hang ups of a religious sinner, but I’d like you to notice secondly we see how it’s handled by a responsible soul winner. So look, these are the presuppositions. These are hang ups religious people had. Mere man can be good and mere man can be good enough to go to heaven. You’ll say, “Well, what do we do with that? What do we do with that?” Well, we have the great privilege of listening in on one of Jesus soul-winning demonstrations. We get to be the silent partners with the Lord Jesus Christ as he deals with this individual’s hang-ups. So let’s notice secondly how it’s handled by a responsible soul winner, the most responsible soul winner that’s ever lived the Lord Jesus Christ.
Speaker 1: Notice what he does. Jesus uses the commandments to bring him to Christ. Notice verse 17. Remember the question was asked, what good things shall I do, right? Verse 17, “And he said unto him, ‘Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God.'” We dealt with that. Now notice the answer to the question, “But if thou wilt enter into life,” here’s the answer, “keep the commandments.” Keep the commandments. Now you’ll say, “Well, wait a minute. Why is it that Jesus is telling the rich young ruler to keep the commandments? That seems a little confusing.” You need to understand this. When we look at Jesus presenting the gospel and preaching the gospel… This is why it’s dangerous to say, “Well, I’m going to present the gospel exactly like Jesus presented.” Here’s the problem with that. You’re not God. Jesus is God. Jesus can read their thoughts. He knows their hearts. He knows exactly. You don’t understand the heart of the individual you’re talking to.
Speaker 1: So you know what you better do when you preach the gospel? You better just go through every step of the gospel presentation and make sure they understand everything because you don’t know what their hang-ups are. Jesus was God. We already talked about that. He’s already talked about, “Hey, I’m good. You’re right, that means I’m God.” Now he’s going to prove to this young man not only am I God and I’m good, but you’re not and you’re not. You’re not God and you’re not good. I’m going to deal with you based on the thoughts of your heart. So you’ll say, “why did Jesus tell him to keep the commandments?” Well, number one, he’s answering his question. That’s what he asked. Here’s what you need to understand. The answer is technically true. If someone were able top keep the commandments, then they would go to heaven. If someone was able to be born, never sinned, never break the commandments of God, never do anything wrong, if they were able to keep the commandments perfectly, then they would go to heaven.
Speaker 1: You’ll say, “Well, but nobody can do that.” Exactly. See, when people… You’ll say, “Why do we use the commandments as a tool at our gospel presentation?” Here’s why. Because when people realize that they cannot keep the commandments, then they realize, “I need somebody to save me. I can’t save myself.” The law becomes a schoolmaster that brings them to Christ. Go to Galatians chapter number three, Galatians three. There are Matthew, Mark, Luke, Acts, Romans, First and Second Corinthians, Galatians; Galatians chapter number three. Galatians chapter three and look at verse number 24.
Speaker 1: Galatians chapter three and verse number 24, notice what the Bible says, “Wherefore,” Galatians 3:24, “Wherefore the law,” notice what it says, “was our schoolmaster,” was our teacher, was our instructor, to what? To teach how to live a righteous life so that we could go to heaven? No, you can never do that. Here’s the thing. Technically, theoretically, you could do that but here’s the thing, practically you can do that. I can do that. We sin before we even figure out what sin is. We sin before we even understand what the law is. We’re born with a sin nature that causes us to sin. You’ll say, “Oh, am I a sinner because I sin?” No, you sin because you’re a sinner. You’re born with a sin nature, and you’re sinning before you understand the law. You’re sinning before you understand sin.
Speaker 1: The Bible defines sin as a transgression of the law. You’ll say, “Well, what’s the purpose of the law in regards to salvation?” Key word, in regard to salvation there’s many purposes to the law. What’s the purpose of the law with regards to salvation? Here’s what verse is, to bring us unto Christ that we might be justified by faith. You’ll say, “Why?” There in Galatians three, look at verse number 10. Galatians three and verse 10, it says, “For as many as are of the works of the law.” Because look, many religions out there say, “Live a good life, keep the commandments, do what you’re supposed to do, and you’ll all go to heaven.”
Speaker 1: Here’s the problem with that. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse. For it is written, cursed is every one that continueth not, don’t miss this, in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. You’ll say, “Rich young ruler.” He asks, “Can I keep the law in order to go to heaven? Can I keep the commandments?” Jesus says, “Yes, you can. You can keep all the commandments and go to heaven.” Here’s the problem. Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book. Here’s what he’s saying, “You better keep them all. You better do all of them. You better do everything.” So if you want to ask me, you want to ask me the question, can I keep the law in order to go to heaven, well, the answer is yeah. You put yourself under a curse because you have to keep every law in the Bible.
Speaker 1: Go back to Matthew chapter 19. Actually, no, go to Exodus, Exodus chapter 20. Old Testament second book, Exodus 20. You’ll say, “Why did Jesus tell the rich young ruler keep the commandments?” Well, first of all, because it’s technically true. If someone were able to keep the commandments, then they would be able to go to heaven. Please understand this. Jesus is not teaching a work of salvation here. He’s not teaching this young man, so go, go live a good life and that will get you to heaven. No, Jesus is bringing this up because he’s going to draw the net. Because you know what Jesus does in this conversation? He puts his finger right on the sin that this guy, the commandment that this guy is not keeping. Why? Because the law is our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. You’ll say, “Why did Jesus bring up the commandments?” Because when people realize that they cannot keep the commandments, then the law becomes their schoolmaster and instructor that instructs them that you’re not good enough, because there’s only one good and it’s God.
Speaker 1: Now let’s just take a break for a moment from the sermon. Let me kind of explain something to you about the commandments, because Jesus obviously is God. He has some understanding about the commandments. He wrote them, he gave them. In order for you to understand the sermon, you need to understand this context. If you don’t understand, it is fine. You’ll still get the truth. It will help you understand some things. So let’s just take a quick commercial break from the sermon, and let me just talk to you about the law real quickly or the commandments. Here’s what you need to understand. The commandments in the Bible are broken up into two sections or into two parts.
Speaker 1: Now you’re there in Exodus chapter 20. This is of course the famous passage with the 10 Commandments. There’s more than just 10 Commandments in the Bible, but this is the big 10. If you got to remember 10, this is the 10 you want to remember. You may have never noticed this before, but the 10 Commandments are divided into two parts. The first part is the commandments dealing with man and his relationship with God. The second part is the part dealing with man and his relationship with other man, all right? So the first part is man dealing with God. The second part is man dealing with man. Let me show it to you.
Speaker 1: You’re in Exodus chapter 20, look at verse three. Notice the first commandment. Thou shalt have no other gods before me, all right? So we have a command there in regards to our relationship with God. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Look at verse four. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven images. Look at verse five. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them. So there we have the second commandment, which is regards to making graven images and bowing down to them, and that is a command in regards to man and his relationship with God. First commandment, don’t have any other gods before me. Second commandment, don’t make any idols and worship them.
Speaker 1: Look at verse seven, here’s the third commandment. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, all right? So you shouldn’t be going around saying, “Oh my,” and using God’s name in vain. That is actually forbidden by scripture, thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. That’s the third commandment. Again, it’s in regards to man’s relationship with God. Notice verse eight. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Again, this was in the Old Testament when the sabbath day was enacted, but it was in regards to man and his relationship with God.
Speaker 1: Now in the fifth commandment, we have a transitional commandment where we’re going to now transition between the commandments that have to do with man and his relationship with God, and we’re going to transition into the commandments that have to do with man and his relationship with man. Notice verse 12. The fifth commandment could fall under both categories. The fifth commandment is this. Honor thy father and thy mother. Now you’ll say, “Why can this commandment fall into both categories?” Well, because God is our Father, so this could still apply to our relationship with God. Of course, he’s talking about your earthly father and mother, so now we’re talking about commandments that have to do with our relationship and man. So notice the first commandments were our relationship with God; thou shalt have no other gods before me; don’t make any idols; don’t take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; remember the sabbath day to keep it holy. Now he begins to give us commandments that deal with our relationship with other people. Honor thy father and thy mother, verse 12.
Speaker 1: Notice the sixth commandment, verse 13. Thou shalt not kill. Now that has nothing to do with God. You can’t kill God. He’s talking about don’t kill the people around you. Verse 14 is number seven. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Verse 15 is number eight. Thou shalt not steal. Verse 16 is number nine. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. Verse 17 is verse 10. Thou shalt not covet; and he tells you what not to covet, thy neighbor’s house, his ox, his wife, his servants. Notice that the 10 Commandments are divided into two parts. The first part deals with the commandments dealing with man and his relationship to God.
Speaker 1: Go to Matthew chapter 22, if you wouldn’t mind. Matthew chapter 22. The first part is dealing with man and his relationship with God. The second part is dealing with man and his relationship with other man, with other men, other humans, right? Now notice, I want to just show this to you even further. In Matthew 22, Jesus takes the big 10. Because look, there’s 600 somewhat commandments in the Bible. In Exodus, in the Old Testament, God brings those and he’s kind of funnels them down into the big 10, the 10 Commandments. Then in the New Testament, Jesus takes those 10 and he funnels them down into two commandments. Notice what he says. Matthew 22 verse 36, he’s asked the question, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him,” notice part one, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and the great commandment.”
Speaker 1: So he says what? If you want to just bring it all down into one commandment, here’s the commandment. Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind. You’ll say, “What?” Because if I love the Lord thy God with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my mind, if I give my entire life to God, then guess what, I’m not going to put other gods before him. I’m not going to worship other idols. Obviously, we don’t keep the sabbath day today as New Testament believers, but here’s the truth. I’m not going to skip out on church. If we want to apply as New Testament believers to a day that when we set aside for God, I’m not going to skip out on church on Sunday morning because the football game is on if I love the Lord my God with all my heart, my soul, my mind.
Speaker 1: If I love the Lord my God with all my heart, my soul, my mind, you know what I’ll do on Sunday night at 6:00 PM? I’ll ask myself this question, what would God want me to do right now? Would God want me to be in the house of God with the people of God under the preaching of the word of God on Sunday night, or would God want me just hanging out in my backyard doing whatever I do on Sunday night? It’s an easy question. Pastor [inaudible 00:27:30], I’ve been wondering coming to Wednesday night Bible study, but there’s a lot of traffic on Wednesday night. Okay, well, ask yourself this question, what would God want you to do on Wednesday night? Stay home and watch prime time TV? Stay home and just watch Facebook? Look, just ask yourself. If I put God first in everything, then guess what? God first in everything, it will change your life. It will revolutionize your life.
Speaker 1: You don’t need all the other commandments if you just follow this one commandment, to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind, with everything that I have and everything that I had. Hey look, if you lead your life like that, you know what people would say of you? They’d say you are a zealot. They’d say you are in a cult. They’d write back things about you in the LA Times. Change your life. Jesus says, “Hey, you want to bring all the commandments down to one commandment? Here it is, love the Lord thy God with thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind.”
Speaker 1: Then notice, here’s the second commandment, because that covers part one, right? Here’s part two. Verse 39, “And the second is like unto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” He says, “Look. The second…” Let me go ahead and give you the second of his commandment, to love thy neighbor as thyself. Because if you love your neighbor as yourself, you’re not going to kill him, you’re not going to commit adultery, you’re not going to covet after him, you’re not going to steal from him. Here’s what I’m showing you and notice what he says, verse 40, “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Here’s what Jesus say, “You keep these two commandments, love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind and you love your neighbor as yourself meaning you don’t do something to your neighbor that you wouldn’t want somebody doing to you is that if you can figure out how to keep those two commandments, you’ll keep all of them.”
Speaker 1: Here’s the only reason I’m bringing it up is I want you to understand. This is a consistent theme in the Bible that the commandments in the Bible whether it’s the 10 or the big two if they’re divided into these two sections, our relationship with God and our relationship with man. Now with that said and with that understanding, let’s jump back into our conversation with The Rich Young Ruler. Go back to Matthew chapter 19. You’re in Matthew 22, just flip back to Matthew 19.
Speaker 1: Because remember this young man says, “Hey, what good things shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? What works do I need to do?” Jesus says, “Okay, you want to ask me that question, I’ll answer it for you. Keep the commandments.” So notice what he says, verse 18, “He saith unto him, ‘Which?’ He says, “Well, which one do I need to keep, Jesus?” Really, he’s kind of saying to Jesus, “Test me. I’m so good. I’m so moral. I’m so religious. I’ve got this all put together. Tell me which ones I need to keep and let’s see if I’m missing any.”
Speaker 1: Jesus said… Now I want you to notice, remember the 10 commandments were divided into two parts, right, versus commandments one through four or maybe one through five, could be applied to man’s relationship with God. Commandments five through 10 could be put in a section that have to do with man’s relationship with man. Notice Jesus kind of cherry picks certain commandments for this young man, because this young man says, “Which? Which ones do I need to keep?” Jesus said, “Thou shalt do no murder.” That’s commandment number six. What part does that come from, part one or part two? Part two. Thou shalt not commit adultery; that’s commandment number seven. What part does that come from, part one or part two? Part two. Thou shalt not steal; that’s commandment number eight. What part does that come from? Does that come from part one or part two? Part two. Thou shalt not bear false witness; that’s commandment number nine. What part does that come from, part one or part two? Part two. Honor thy father and mother. What part does that come from, part one or part two? Part two, commandment number five.
Speaker 1: Then notice he says, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,” was this just a commandment that kind of covers that entire section. Notice that the commandments that Jesus mentions are all in part two. They are the commandments dealing with man’s relationship with man. You’ll say, “Why does Jesus do this?” Because look, this guy was pretty good at keeping the commandments that dealt with man’s relationship with man. When it came to him dealing and treating other people fairly and right, he had it all put together. So Jesus begins… Because remember Jesus was trying to bring… Because Jesus is using the law as a schoolmaster to draw into Christ. He’s kind of laying this net. This guy says, “Hey, I believe that mere man can be good and that mere man can be good enough to go to heaven. In fact, I believe that about myself.”
Speaker 1: This is what the rich young ruler say to Jesus, “I believe that I’m good and I’m good enough to go to heaven. I’m not really here because I want you to tell me that I’m wrong. I’m here for you to affirm that for me.” Jesus says, “Okay. Oh, you want me to affirm that for you? Sure, that’s true. If you keep the commandments, you can go to heaven.” Which ones? Well, and he gives them all part two. Then notice what he says, notice what he says in verse 20, “The young man saith unto him,” feeling really good about himself, “‘All these things have I kept from my youth up. What lack I yet?'” He says, “Well, I kept all. I’m good and I’m good enough.” He says, “What am I lacking? Tell me what I’m lacking.” I can imagine Jesus kind of having a small-eyes face thinking to himself, “Well, I’m glad you ask.”
Speaker 1: Because in verse 21, Jesus says this, “Jesus said unto him, ‘If thou wilt be perfect.'” The word perfect means complete. It means whole. He says, “Okay, you’re rocking it. You’re killing it. When it comes to part two, you got it. You know what? There’s more commandments. They’re just part two. There’s all other part called part one.” He says, “If you’re going to be perfect, if you’re going to be complete, if you’re going to be whole,” he says, “well, let me test you real quick.” He says, “Go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come and follow me.”
Speaker 1: You’ll say, “Is Jesus teaching a social gospel here? Are we just supposed to go feed the homeless and that will get us to heaven?” No, that’s work of salvation. Again, you’re not Jesus. Don’t try this at home, folks. You can’t read people’s minds. I foresee that you have a problem with gambling. So you start dealing with gambling like, “What are you talking about?” That’s why when we go soul winning, we just deal in generality. The Bible says there’s none righteous. The Bible says we’re all sinners. The Bible says that even one cent it’ll send you to hell. Jesus can do this. You know why Jesus can do this? Because Jesus is God, and he’s just putting his finger right where it hurts. He says, “Okay, you’re right. You’re so good. You’re so great. You’re so awesome. Then go and sell that thou has and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come and follow me.”
Speaker 1: Verse 22, “But when the young man heard that saying,” did he get saved? No, “he went away sorrowful,” why, “for he had great possessions.” See, this young man had a problem. You know what it was? He loved his money more than he loved God. Though he was rocking part two, loving thy neighbor as thyself, he had a major problem with loving the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. Because you know that if he loved God with everything, he’d had no problem giving up his money. What does Jesus do? Jesus letting this young man know not only are you not good, you’re not good enough. You might be good by human standards, but you’re failing. You can’t keep the law. The Bible says, “He went away sorrowful.” You’ll say, “Why?” Because he failed at the first part, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart.
Speaker 1: Notice this, and here’s the point that Jesus is trying to make. He’s trying to make the point, you’re not good enough to go to heaven. There’s one good and it’s God, and you’re not it. You’re not God, and you’re not good. That’s why we begin the conversation in verse 17 with, why callest thou me good? There is none good, but one, that is God. So Jesus, the responsible soul winner, takes the hang-ups of a religious center, and we watch him handle it properly as a responsible soul winner. Let me give you a third thing we in the story quickly. We’ll be done here soon.
Speaker 1: I said number one, we see the hang-ups of a religious center. I said number two, we see how it’s handled by a responsible soul winner. Number three, we see the humility required for salvation. Salvation requires humility. Notice verse 22, notice what Jesus said, “But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” Verse 23, “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, ‘Verily I say unto you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.'” So this young man not only is he religious, he’s also rich, right, the rich young ruler. He leaves because he has great possessions. Then Jesus turns around and looks at his disciples, and he uses as a teaching moment, and he says, “Look, verily I say unto you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
Speaker 1: You know what Jesus literally was saying? He’s saying, “There’s going to be just few rich people that go to heaven.” You’ll say, “What in the world? Is there something wrong with money?” You know what? There’s nothing in the world wrong with money. There’s something wrong with loving money. That’s what this young man, he loved his money. The love of money is the root of all evil. That’s what the Bible says. Nothing wrong with money. In fact, it’s interesting. In the Bible, if you say the Bible, God used many rich people to further the cause of Christ. He used all sorts of rich and wealthy and successful people to do great things. Jesus is just giving a statement of reality that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. You know what? This is true. Go with us soul winning into the ghettos and low-income neighborhood and see how receptive they are, and then go with us to the nice, rich, gallant neighborhood and see how receptive they are, and you’ll know that what Jesus is saying is true.
Audience: Amen.
Speaker 1: Rich people hardly will get saved. Verily I say unto you, that a rich man hardly will enter into the kingdom of heaven. Then verse 24, he says, “And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” You’ll say, “But does it have to do with them being rich?” It has nothing to do with them being rich. It the has everything to do with them being humble, because usually it comes down to. In order to be saved, you have to had enough humility to say, “I can’t do this on my own. I’m not good and I’m not good enough. If I’m going to go to heaven, I’m going to need somebody to save me.”
Speaker 1: You know the problem with very successful rich people is that they get this mindset that I’m self-reliant, I pulled myself up from my bootstraps, I got it done, I made it happen, I don’t need nobody. They get to the point where a lot of them even think they don’t need God. They’re self-sufficient and they’re self-reliant. Nothing wrong with money, but he says, “Look, in unfortunate byproduct of being wealthy and successful is that it sometimes brings you to the place where you can’t say I need help.” He says, “In order to be saved, in order…” See, salvation requires humility. Salvation requires the humility to say, “I can’t do this on my own.” By the way, if you look at the context of the passage, notice that right before our story begins with The Rich Young Ruler, notice what he says in verse 14, Matthew 19 verse 14.
Speaker 1: Now the story begins in verse 16 and verse 14… Actually, look at verse 13, “Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray, and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus says, ‘Suffer little children, and forbid them not to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.’ And he laid his hands on them, and departed. And, behold, one came and said unto him, ‘Good Master,'” and we begin our story. You realized that the context of the story leading up to the story was little children coming to Jesus, wanting to be held by him.
Speaker 1: Go to Matthew chapter 18, look at verse one. You’ll say, “What does have to do with anything? What does have to do with the connection?” Everything in the Bible is connected. This is why man could not write the Bible. I don’t have time to go into this. You may be can study this on your home. The passage about the children is connected to the story of The Rich Young Ruler and the story of The Rich Young Ruler is connected to the very next parable that Jesus gives in the next chapter. They’re all connected, man, couldn’t write this book. You’re not smart enough. Not only are you not good enough, you’re not smart enough.
Speaker 1: Matthew 18, look at verse one, “And at the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of him, and said, ‘Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted.'” Is that the term we used for salvation? There needs to be a conversion. You need to go from self-sufficient, self-reliant to I need help, I can’t lose on my own. He said it’s had to be converted and become his little children, don’t miss this, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. You’ll say, “Why did you say it’s going to be hard for rich people to enter the kingdom of heaven?” Because the way you enter the kingdom of heaven is become like a little child. If you don’t have children or you don’t have young children, you haven’t been around young children, let me explain to you I’ve got six little children. I’ve six children from ages 11 down to nine months or whatever.
Speaker 1: I will tell you the number one characteristic of little children is that they need you. They need help. They are not afraid to ask for it. They are not afraid to cry for it. They are not afraid to let you know, “Hey, you brought me into this world, mom. You need to feed me. You need to change me. You need to do for me because I can’t of for myself.” That the little children belief. That’s what they do. You’ll say, “Hey, except you’d be converted and become his little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall,” don’t miss this, “humble themself as this little child, The same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
Speaker 1: You’ll say, “What was wrong with the rich young ruler?” Here’s what was wrong with him. He thought he was good and he thought he was good but not. He was not willing to humble himself like a little child and say, “I need help.” So not only, not only do we see the hang-ups of a religious sinner, not only do we see how it was handled by a responsible soul winner, but we also see in the story the humility required for salvation. Here’s the thing [inaudible 00:43:15], but you need to understand this. There are going to be all sorts of nice, kind, moral, religious people who’ll die and go to hell, because they thought they were good and they thought they were good enough. They weren’t willing to humble themselves and say, “I need help.”
Speaker 1: Let me tell you something. You’re soul winners? You better get out there. I don’t real deal with the law. I kind of bypass that. You better deal with the law. Jesus dealt with the law. Jesus used the law as a schoolmaster to bring people to Christ. Because listen, no one is ready to get saved until they realize they need to be saved. It’s interesting to me. That does encourage some of you soul winners. It’s interesting to me. In this series, we’ve now been out soul winning with Jesus three times. We’ve seen him present the gospel three different times, Nicodemus, the woman at the well, the rich young ruler. Two of them did not get saved, only one got saved. Go soul winning and haven’t seen anybody saved in three weeks. I guess somebody is saved once every third week. Whoa, I mean, are you better than Jesus? Notice Jesus didn’t run out. He’s got, “Oh no, just say the prayer, just say the prayer.” Now Jesus let him walk away. You’ll say, “Why?” Because he wasn’t ready. Because he wasn’t ready. Because he thought he was good and he thought he was good enough.
Speaker 1: Let’s bow our heads and I’ll lead the prayer. Heavenly Father, thank you Lord for your word. Thank you for the Bible. Thank you for the stories, these encounters where we can watch you or we can see you talk to people, deal with people. Lord I pray that you would help us to learn of you and to emphasize what you emphasize, to spend time where you spend time. Lord I pray that you would help us to be thorough and responsible soul winners preaching the gospel. Lord I pray that you would help us to be able to find self-righteous, religious people who think they’re good and they’re good enough, and to explain to them the gospel that we’re all sinners. There is none good and that’s why Jesus came to die on the cross for our sins. We love you. Thank you for salvation. In the…
Speaker 1: I like this one because we’ve seen him, we’ve seen Jesus fellowship. Remember last week, he was in the house of Simon having a meal. We’ve also seen Jesus soul-winning. Today we’re going to see him soul-winning again. In this passage, he has this conversation, and we learned some great truths about sinners, about salvation and about soul-winning. So we’re just kind of walk through this, and I’ll give you the points as we go through. The first I’d like you to notice in this conversation is that we see the hang-ups of a self-righteous sinner. Here’s what you need to understand. Usually when we go out and we preach the gospel to people, we encounter self-righteous, religious people. They have some hang-ups in regards to the gospel. They have some presuppositions, and a presupposition is something that someone may supposed or assume beforehand. It’s a preconceived idea, something that they think to be true, they assume to be true, and it’s really not.
Speaker 1: We see that in this story that this rich young ruler comes to Jesus, and he’s got some hang-ups. He has some hang-ups because he is self-righteous and he’s religious. These are the hang-ups of a religious sinner. These are the hang-ups of someone who is very moral, who is very religious, who is very committed, but they are a sinner. I want you to notice the presuppositions that he comes to Jesus with. The first one is this, and you’ll notice, when we look at these, you’ll notice if you’ve been all soul-winning or you’ve tried to have preached the gospel to someone, you’ll notice that these are extremely common among religious people.
Speaker 1: The first one is this, that he thought that mere man could be good. He thought and he had this preconceived presupposition, this assumption that man in general could be good. Notice what it says there in Matthew 19 and verse number 16. The Bible says this, “And behold, one came,” and it’s of course the rich young ruler, “and said unto him,” I want you to notice what he says. He says, “Good Master.” He refers to Jesus as the Good Master, but here’s what you need to understand. I’m going to show it to you from the passage and I’ll show it to you from another passage that this individual that is coming to Jesus, he does not believe that Jesus is God. He believes that Jesus is just a mere person.
Speaker 1: So when he refers to Jesus as a Good Master, he is referring to him as an individual, as a person, as a human being, but he has this presupposition that tells him that mere man can be good, that you and I can be good people, that we can be good, religious people, that we can even be good enough to go to heaven simply by the way we live our lives. This is what he assumes of Jesus. He’s got some mistakes here just about man in general and then of course about Jesus. He comes to Jesus, he says, “Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?” Now I want you to notice that Jesus deals with the first presupposition. He deals with the fact that only God is good.
Speaker 1: Notice verse 17, “And he said unto him, ‘Why callest thou me good?'” Now again, Jesus knows that this guy does not believe that he is God. He simply sees him as a teacher or rabbi, a master. He said, “Why callest thou me good?” He says, “There is none good but one, that is, God. But if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” So notice he says, “Good Master,” and Jesus says, “I know you don’t think I’m God, but yet you still think I’m good. You think I’m a person just a regular human being. That’s good. Well, you’re wrong on that.” He says, “If you think I’m God, don’t call me good.” He said, “Why callest thou me good?” He says, “There is none good but one, that is, God.”
Speaker 1: Now keep your place there in Matthew 19. That’s out text for this morning. Go to the Book of Romans, Romans chapter number three. We’re there in Matthew. We’re going to go Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, Romans chapter three. If you’ve ever been on soul-winning, you’ll notice this is true that many religious people out there have this presupposition. They have this preconceived idea that mere man can be good. If you don’t believe me, go out soul-winning this afternoon. Knock on some doors of some very nice, good, religious, moral people and ask them the question, do you know for sure God today? Are you on your way to heaven? There are some religious people. There are some moral people.
Speaker 1: Usually when people tell you, “Oh, I don’t think I’m going to go to heaven,” is because they know that they’ve live a sinful life. They know that they are not religious. You get somebody out there who’s just a good Catholic, who’s just a good Lutheran, who’s just a good Mormon, who’s just a good Muslim, who’s just a good Hindi. You get somebody out there who’s just doing their best, following the commandments, following their religion and you ask them, “Hey, do you know for sure you’re on your way to heaven?” Oh, yeah, I think I’m on my way to heaven. Then you follow up and says, “Well, let me ask you this. What gives you that confidence that you’re on your way to heaven?” Well, I’m just doing my best. Well, I m just living a good life. Well, I’m just trying to be good to people. I’m trying to love people. I’m trying not to hurt others. I’m trying not to hurt everybody. I’m a pretty good person.
Speaker 1: People out there, religious people had this preconceived presupposition that mere man can be good. Here’s what you need to understand. According to the Bible, that is wrong. Sometimes it’s difficult to look at someone and say, “Hey look, I realized that you think you’re a good person. By human standards, you probably are a better good person but in regards to going to heaven, there is none good and you are not good enough.” Romans chapter three, look at verse 10, notice what the Bible says. Romans chapter three, verse 10 says this, “As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one.” The word righteous, if you see the first part of the word righteous there, it’s the word right. Someone who is righteous is someone who always does right or someone who’s without wrong. You and I would say the word perfect today, we’d say. Here he’s saying there’s none righteous. There’s none perfect, no, not one.
Speaker 1: Notice there is none that understand it. There is none that seek after God. They’re all gone out of the way. They’re all together become nonprofitable. I want you to notice these words. There is none that doeth good, no, not one. Today you’d say, “Oh, I can’t be. I’m a pretty good person.” No, understand this. There’s only one that’s good and that’s God. God is good and other than God there is none that doeth good. So look, even today, you might be sitting here and thinking to yourself we might have a guest here who’s one who’s saying, “Oh, I’m a pretty good person.” Here’s the thing, I’m sure you are by human standards but the standards of God. That’s why the Bible says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
Speaker 1: So this rich young ruler who comes to Jesus, he says, “I know you’re not God. I know you’re just a person, but you’re a good person.” He says, “Good Master.” Jesus says, “Wait a minute. If I’m good, I’m God. If I’m not God, then I’m not good.” He said, “Why callest thou me good? There is none good, but one, that is God.”
Speaker 1: Go to Mark chapter number 10, Mark chapter 10. Now let me show you why I believe that this rich young ruler does not believe that Jesus is God. You’ll say, “Well, what makes you think that he doesn’t believe that Jesus is God?” Now we’re going to be dealing with Matthew 19, that’s our text for this morning. In Mark chapter 10, we have a parallel passage to the story. It’s the same story being told by Mark. Sometimes we can compare these and get a little different insight or different things that were said. I want you to notice what Mark writes on for us in regards to the conversation, the encounter between Jesus and the rich young ruler. Mark chapter 10, look at verse 17. It’s very similar, but there’s a couple of differences I’d like to point out.
Speaker 1: Mark 10:17, “And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him,” all right, so here’s our rich young ruler, “‘Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?'” So notice he comes to Jesus again, says, “Good Master,” and Jesus said unto him, “Why callest thou me good? There is none good, but one, that is God.” Jesus says, “Hey, only God is good. If I’m good, I’m God. You don’t think I’m God. So if you don’t think I’m God, then don’t go around calling me your man good.” You say, “Why he’s still dealing with this? What’s the big deal?” We’re going to come back to it and it’s going to make sense here at the end.
Speaker 1: He says, “Look, there is one that is good, and that is God.” He said, “If you don’t think I’m God, then don’t call me good.” Verse 19, “Thou knowest the commandments. Do not commit adultery. Do not kill. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Defraud not, honor thy father and mother.” He answered and said unto him. I want you to notice this. When he shows up, he says, “Good Master.” Then Jesus says, “Only call someone who you believe to be God good, because only God is good. So if you’re going to call me good, then you need to acknowledge my deity as God.” So how does the young man respond?
Speaker 1: Verse 20, “And he answered and said unto him, ‘Okay, Master.'” Notice I drop his good. He comes saying, “Good Master.” Jesus, only call God good, so he said, “Okay, then I’ll just call you Master because I don’t think you’re God.” This young man was denying the deity of Christ. He did not believe that Jesus was more than just a mere man. He says, “Master, all these have I observed from my youth.” Now go back to Matthew 19, and let me just say this while you turn there. This story of The Rich Young Ruler is often used by the cult who denied the deity of Jesus Christ, and they’ll say, “See, here’s the passage.” The Jehovah’s Witnesses will say, “Here’s the passage that shows that Jesus is not God because Jesus said there’s only one good, and that’s God.”
Speaker 1: Here’s the problem with that, is that if you look at a Jehovah’s Witness, if you look at a Mormon, if you look at a Muslim, if you look at someone who denies the deity of Jesus Christ; and I realized that Mormons have a weird belief about deity and all those things, but if you look at someone who denies the doctrine of the deity of Jesus Christ and you said, “Hey, only God is good. Do you believe Jesus is God? No, Jesus isn’t God.” Is Jesus good? Are you going to say that Jesus is good? Oh no, Jesus was a good man. Oh no, Jesus was a good prophet. Oh no, Jesus was a good teacher.
Speaker 1: Here’s the thing. There is none that doeth good. If Jesus was good, and he was, then he was God. If Jesus was righteous, if Jesus was perfect, if Jesus was sinless, if Jesus was without sin, then he was God because there is none that doeth good, no, not one. So we see the presupposition this young man comes to Jesus way. What’s the first one? It’s this, that mere man can be good, that a normal man can be good. The idea is this. They can be good enough to go to heaven, and that leads us into our second presupposition, which is this. Not only that he have a preconceived idea that mere man could be good. He had a preconceived idea connected to that thought that salvation could be earned by your good works. So he thinks a normal can be good and a normal man can earn salvation by how good they are.
Speaker 1: Notice again Matthew 19 verse 16, “And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master,” now notice the question, “what,” don’t miss these two words, “good thing,” do you see that, “what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?” This young man comes to Jesus and he asked a very specific question. He says, “What good thing shall I do?” Now if you just read the story and you’re not really kind of paying attention or just kind of read through, you might think, “Well, this was similar question too.” There’s other questions in the Bible where people are asking in regards to salvation. I want you to notice, let’s compare and contrast this question to a very famous question in Acts chapter 16.
Speaker 1: Now notice there, keep your finger to Matthew 19. He says, “What good thing shall I do?” Go to Acts chapter 16 and verse 30. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts; Acts chapter 16 and verse 30. In Acts 16, we have a very famous story of the Philippian jailer asking about salvation. I want you to notice how he ask the question, Acts chapter 16 and verse 30. Acts chapter 16 and verse 30 says this, “And brought them out, and said,” this is the Philippian jailer. Here’s the question, “What must I do to be saved?” Of course, verse 31, “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,” by the way that’s how you get saved, believing on Lord Jesus Christ, “and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”
Speaker 1: I want you to notice, the Philippian jailer says, “What must I do to be saved? What is it that needs to be done in order for me to be saved?” They said, “Well, all you need to do is believe.” The rich young ruler says, “What good thing shall I do?” See, his emphasis is on good work. His emphasis is on what commandments do I have to keep, how many good things do I need to do in order to go to heaven. Go back to Matthew chapter 19, and here’s what I want you to understand. When we begin this passage, when we get dig into this conversation, the first thing we see is the hang ups of a religious sinner. If you go out knocking on doors, which you should, if you go out and preach the gospel to your friends and your loved ones, to your coworkers and your neighbors, which you should, you’re probably going to run into some pretty by-human-standards good people, some pretty by-religious-standards religious people.
Speaker 1: You’re going to run into somebody who thinks, and they’re going to have these same presuppositions. They’re going to think mere man can be good and mere man can be good enough to go to heaven. This is the conversation Jesus is having, so we see the hang ups. We see the hang ups of a religious sinner, but I’d like you to notice secondly we see how it’s handled by a responsible soul winner. So look, these are the presuppositions. These are hang ups religious people had. Mere man can be good and mere man can be good enough to go to heaven. You’ll say, “Well, what do we do with that? What do we do with that?” Well, we have the great privilege of listening in on one of Jesus soul-winning demonstrations. We get to be the silent partners with the Lord Jesus Christ as he deals with this individual’s hang-ups. So let’s notice secondly how it’s handled by a responsible soul winner, the most responsible soul winner that’s ever lived the Lord Jesus Christ.
Speaker 1: Notice what he does. Jesus uses the commandments to bring him to Christ. Notice verse 17. Remember the question was asked, what good things shall I do, right? Verse 17, “And he said unto him, ‘Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God.'” We dealt with that. Now notice the answer to the question, “But if thou wilt enter into life,” here’s the answer, “keep the commandments.” Keep the commandments. Now you’ll say, “Well, wait a minute. Why is it that Jesus is telling the rich young ruler to keep the commandments? That seems a little confusing.” You need to understand this. When we look at Jesus presenting the gospel and preaching the gospel… This is why it’s dangerous to say, “Well, I’m going to present the gospel exactly like Jesus presented.” Here’s the problem with that. You’re not God. Jesus is God. Jesus can read their thoughts. He knows their hearts. He knows exactly. You don’t understand the heart of the individual you’re talking to.
Speaker 1: So you know what you better do when you preach the gospel? You better just go through every step of the gospel presentation and make sure they understand everything because you don’t know what their hang-ups are. Jesus was God. We already talked about that. He’s already talked about, “Hey, I’m good. You’re right, that means I’m God.” Now he’s going to prove to this young man not only am I God and I’m good, but you’re not and you’re not. You’re not God and you’re not good. I’m going to deal with you based on the thoughts of your heart. So you’ll say, “why did Jesus tell him to keep the commandments?” Well, number one, he’s answering his question. That’s what he asked. Here’s what you need to understand. The answer is technically true. If someone were able top keep the commandments, then they would go to heaven. If someone was able to be born, never sinned, never break the commandments of God, never do anything wrong, if they were able to keep the commandments perfectly, then they would go to heaven.
Speaker 1: You’ll say, “Well, but nobody can do that.” Exactly. See, when people… You’ll say, “Why do we use the commandments as a tool at our gospel presentation?” Here’s why. Because when people realize that they cannot keep the commandments, then they realize, “I need somebody to save me. I can’t save myself.” The law becomes a schoolmaster that brings them to Christ. Go to Galatians chapter number three, Galatians three. There are Matthew, Mark, Luke, Acts, Romans, First and Second Corinthians, Galatians; Galatians chapter number three. Galatians chapter three and look at verse number 24.
Speaker 1: Galatians chapter three and verse number 24, notice what the Bible says, “Wherefore,” Galatians 3:24, “Wherefore the law,” notice what it says, “was our schoolmaster,” was our teacher, was our instructor, to what? To teach how to live a righteous life so that we could go to heaven? No, you can never do that. Here’s the thing. Technically, theoretically, you could do that but here’s the thing, practically you can do that. I can do that. We sin before we even figure out what sin is. We sin before we even understand what the law is. We’re born with a sin nature that causes us to sin. You’ll say, “Oh, am I a sinner because I sin?” No, you sin because you’re a sinner. You’re born with a sin nature, and you’re sinning before you understand the law. You’re sinning before you understand sin.
Speaker 1: The Bible defines sin as a transgression of the law. You’ll say, “Well, what’s the purpose of the law in regards to salvation?” Key word, in regard to salvation there’s many purposes to the law. What’s the purpose of the law with regards to salvation? Here’s what verse is, to bring us unto Christ that we might be justified by faith. You’ll say, “Why?” There in Galatians three, look at verse number 10. Galatians three and verse 10, it says, “For as many as are of the works of the law.” Because look, many religions out there say, “Live a good life, keep the commandments, do what you’re supposed to do, and you’ll all go to heaven.”
Speaker 1: Here’s the problem with that. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse. For it is written, cursed is every one that continueth not, don’t miss this, in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. You’ll say, “Rich young ruler.” He asks, “Can I keep the law in order to go to heaven? Can I keep the commandments?” Jesus says, “Yes, you can. You can keep all the commandments and go to heaven.” Here’s the problem. Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book. Here’s what he’s saying, “You better keep them all. You better do all of them. You better do everything.” So if you want to ask me, you want to ask me the question, can I keep the law in order to go to heaven, well, the answer is yeah. You put yourself under a curse because you have to keep every law in the Bible.
Speaker 1: Go back to Matthew chapter 19. Actually, no, go to Exodus, Exodus chapter 20. Old Testament second book, Exodus 20. You’ll say, “Why did Jesus tell the rich young ruler keep the commandments?” Well, first of all, because it’s technically true. If someone were able to keep the commandments, then they would be able to go to heaven. Please understand this. Jesus is not teaching a work of salvation here. He’s not teaching this young man, so go, go live a good life and that will get you to heaven. No, Jesus is bringing this up because he’s going to draw the net. Because you know what Jesus does in this conversation? He puts his finger right on the sin that this guy, the commandment that this guy is not keeping. Why? Because the law is our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. You’ll say, “Why did Jesus bring up the commandments?” Because when people realize that they cannot keep the commandments, then the law becomes their schoolmaster and instructor that instructs them that you’re not good enough, because there’s only one good and it’s God.
Speaker 1: Now let’s just take a break for a moment from the sermon. Let me kind of explain something to you about the commandments, because Jesus obviously is God. He has some understanding about the commandments. He wrote them, he gave them. In order for you to understand the sermon, you need to understand this context. If you don’t understand, it is fine. You’ll still get the truth. It will help you understand some things. So let’s just take a quick commercial break from the sermon, and let me just talk to you about the law real quickly or the commandments. Here’s what you need to understand. The commandments in the Bible are broken up into two sections or into two parts.
Speaker 1: Now you’re there in Exodus chapter 20. This is of course the famous passage with the 10 Commandments. There’s more than just 10 Commandments in the Bible, but this is the big 10. If you got to remember 10, this is the 10 you want to remember. You may have never noticed this before, but the 10 Commandments are divided into two parts. The first part is the commandments dealing with man and his relationship with God. The second part is the part dealing with man and his relationship with other man, all right? So the first part is man dealing with God. The second part is man dealing with man. Let me show it to you.
Speaker 1: You’re in Exodus chapter 20, look at verse three. Notice the first commandment. Thou shalt have no other gods before me, all right? So we have a command there in regards to our relationship with God. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Look at verse four. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven images. Look at verse five. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them. So there we have the second commandment, which is regards to making graven images and bowing down to them, and that is a command in regards to man and his relationship with God. First commandment, don’t have any other gods before me. Second commandment, don’t make any idols and worship them.
Speaker 1: Look at verse seven, here’s the third commandment. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, all right? So you shouldn’t be going around saying, “Oh my,” and using God’s name in vain. That is actually forbidden by scripture, thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. That’s the third commandment. Again, it’s in regards to man’s relationship with God. Notice verse eight. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Again, this was in the Old Testament when the sabbath day was enacted, but it was in regards to man and his relationship with God.
Speaker 1: Now in the fifth commandment, we have a transitional commandment where we’re going to now transition between the commandments that have to do with man and his relationship with God, and we’re going to transition into the commandments that have to do with man and his relationship with man. Notice verse 12. The fifth commandment could fall under both categories. The fifth commandment is this. Honor thy father and thy mother. Now you’ll say, “Why can this commandment fall into both categories?” Well, because God is our Father, so this could still apply to our relationship with God. Of course, he’s talking about your earthly father and mother, so now we’re talking about commandments that have to do with our relationship and man. So notice the first commandments were our relationship with God; thou shalt have no other gods before me; don’t make any idols; don’t take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; remember the sabbath day to keep it holy. Now he begins to give us commandments that deal with our relationship with other people. Honor thy father and thy mother, verse 12.
Speaker 1: Notice the sixth commandment, verse 13. Thou shalt not kill. Now that has nothing to do with God. You can’t kill God. He’s talking about don’t kill the people around you. Verse 14 is number seven. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Verse 15 is number eight. Thou shalt not steal. Verse 16 is number nine. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. Verse 17 is verse 10. Thou shalt not covet; and he tells you what not to covet, thy neighbor’s house, his ox, his wife, his servants. Notice that the 10 Commandments are divided into two parts. The first part deals with the commandments dealing with man and his relationship to God.
Speaker 1: Go to Matthew chapter 22, if you wouldn’t mind. Matthew chapter 22. The first part is dealing with man and his relationship with God. The second part is dealing with man and his relationship with other man, with other men, other humans, right? Now notice, I want to just show this to you even further. In Matthew 22, Jesus takes the big 10. Because look, there’s 600 somewhat commandments in the Bible. In Exodus, in the Old Testament, God brings those and he’s kind of funnels them down into the big 10, the 10 Commandments. Then in the New Testament, Jesus takes those 10 and he funnels them down into two commandments. Notice what he says. Matthew 22 verse 36, he’s asked the question, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him,” notice part one, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and the great commandment.”
Speaker 1: So he says what? If you want to just bring it all down into one commandment, here’s the commandment. Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind. You’ll say, “What?” Because if I love the Lord thy God with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my mind, if I give my entire life to God, then guess what, I’m not going to put other gods before him. I’m not going to worship other idols. Obviously, we don’t keep the sabbath day today as New Testament believers, but here’s the truth. I’m not going to skip out on church. If we want to apply as New Testament believers to a day that when we set aside for God, I’m not going to skip out on church on Sunday morning because the football game is on if I love the Lord my God with all my heart, my soul, my mind.
Speaker 1: If I love the Lord my God with all my heart, my soul, my mind, you know what I’ll do on Sunday night at 6:00 PM? I’ll ask myself this question, what would God want me to do right now? Would God want me to be in the house of God with the people of God under the preaching of the word of God on Sunday night, or would God want me just hanging out in my backyard doing whatever I do on Sunday night? It’s an easy question. Pastor [inaudible 00:27:30], I’ve been wondering coming to Wednesday night Bible study, but there’s a lot of traffic on Wednesday night. Okay, well, ask yourself this question, what would God want you to do on Wednesday night? Stay home and watch prime time TV? Stay home and just watch Facebook? Look, just ask yourself. If I put God first in everything, then guess what? God first in everything, it will change your life. It will revolutionize your life.
Speaker 1: You don’t need all the other commandments if you just follow this one commandment, to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind, with everything that I have and everything that I had. Hey look, if you lead your life like that, you know what people would say of you? They’d say you are a zealot. They’d say you are in a cult. They’d write back things about you in the LA Times. Change your life. Jesus says, “Hey, you want to bring all the commandments down to one commandment? Here it is, love the Lord thy God with thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind.”
Speaker 1: Then notice, here’s the second commandment, because that covers part one, right? Here’s part two. Verse 39, “And the second is like unto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” He says, “Look. The second…” Let me go ahead and give you the second of his commandment, to love thy neighbor as thyself. Because if you love your neighbor as yourself, you’re not going to kill him, you’re not going to commit adultery, you’re not going to covet after him, you’re not going to steal from him. Here’s what I’m showing you and notice what he says, verse 40, “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Here’s what Jesus say, “You keep these two commandments, love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind and you love your neighbor as yourself meaning you don’t do something to your neighbor that you wouldn’t want somebody doing to you is that if you can figure out how to keep those two commandments, you’ll keep all of them.”
Speaker 1: Here’s the only reason I’m bringing it up is I want you to understand. This is a consistent theme in the Bible that the commandments in the Bible whether it’s the 10 or the big two if they’re divided into these two sections, our relationship with God and our relationship with man. Now with that said and with that understanding, let’s jump back into our conversation with The Rich Young Ruler. Go back to Matthew chapter 19. You’re in Matthew 22, just flip back to Matthew 19.
Speaker 1: Because remember this young man says, “Hey, what good things shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? What works do I need to do?” Jesus says, “Okay, you want to ask me that question, I’ll answer it for you. Keep the commandments.” So notice what he says, verse 18, “He saith unto him, ‘Which?’ He says, “Well, which one do I need to keep, Jesus?” Really, he’s kind of saying to Jesus, “Test me. I’m so good. I’m so moral. I’m so religious. I’ve got this all put together. Tell me which ones I need to keep and let’s see if I’m missing any.”
Speaker 1: Jesus said… Now I want you to notice, remember the 10 commandments were divided into two parts, right, versus commandments one through four or maybe one through five, could be applied to man’s relationship with God. Commandments five through 10 could be put in a section that have to do with man’s relationship with man. Notice Jesus kind of cherry picks certain commandments for this young man, because this young man says, “Which? Which ones do I need to keep?” Jesus said, “Thou shalt do no murder.” That’s commandment number six. What part does that come from, part one or part two? Part two. Thou shalt not commit adultery; that’s commandment number seven. What part does that come from, part one or part two? Part two. Thou shalt not steal; that’s commandment number eight. What part does that come from? Does that come from part one or part two? Part two. Thou shalt not bear false witness; that’s commandment number nine. What part does that come from, part one or part two? Part two. Honor thy father and mother. What part does that come from, part one or part two? Part two, commandment number five.
Speaker 1: Then notice he says, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,” was this just a commandment that kind of covers that entire section. Notice that the commandments that Jesus mentions are all in part two. They are the commandments dealing with man’s relationship with man. You’ll say, “Why does Jesus do this?” Because look, this guy was pretty good at keeping the commandments that dealt with man’s relationship with man. When it came to him dealing and treating other people fairly and right, he had it all put together. So Jesus begins… Because remember Jesus was trying to bring… Because Jesus is using the law as a schoolmaster to draw into Christ. He’s kind of laying this net. This guy says, “Hey, I believe that mere man can be good and that mere man can be good enough to go to heaven. In fact, I believe that about myself.”
Speaker 1: This is what the rich young ruler say to Jesus, “I believe that I’m good and I’m good enough to go to heaven. I’m not really here because I want you to tell me that I’m wrong. I’m here for you to affirm that for me.” Jesus says, “Okay. Oh, you want me to affirm that for you? Sure, that’s true. If you keep the commandments, you can go to heaven.” Which ones? Well, and he gives them all part two. Then notice what he says, notice what he says in verse 20, “The young man saith unto him,” feeling really good about himself, “‘All these things have I kept from my youth up. What lack I yet?'” He says, “Well, I kept all. I’m good and I’m good enough.” He says, “What am I lacking? Tell me what I’m lacking.” I can imagine Jesus kind of having a small-eyes face thinking to himself, “Well, I’m glad you ask.”
Speaker 1: Because in verse 21, Jesus says this, “Jesus said unto him, ‘If thou wilt be perfect.'” The word perfect means complete. It means whole. He says, “Okay, you’re rocking it. You’re killing it. When it comes to part two, you got it. You know what? There’s more commandments. They’re just part two. There’s all other part called part one.” He says, “If you’re going to be perfect, if you’re going to be complete, if you’re going to be whole,” he says, “well, let me test you real quick.” He says, “Go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come and follow me.”
Speaker 1: You’ll say, “Is Jesus teaching a social gospel here? Are we just supposed to go feed the homeless and that will get us to heaven?” No, that’s work of salvation. Again, you’re not Jesus. Don’t try this at home, folks. You can’t read people’s minds. I foresee that you have a problem with gambling. So you start dealing with gambling like, “What are you talking about?” That’s why when we go soul winning, we just deal in generality. The Bible says there’s none righteous. The Bible says we’re all sinners. The Bible says that even one cent it’ll send you to hell. Jesus can do this. You know why Jesus can do this? Because Jesus is God, and he’s just putting his finger right where it hurts. He says, “Okay, you’re right. You’re so good. You’re so great. You’re so awesome. Then go and sell that thou has and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come and follow me.”
Speaker 1: Verse 22, “But when the young man heard that saying,” did he get saved? No, “he went away sorrowful,” why, “for he had great possessions.” See, this young man had a problem. You know what it was? He loved his money more than he loved God. Though he was rocking part two, loving thy neighbor as thyself, he had a major problem with loving the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. Because you know that if he loved God with everything, he’d had no problem giving up his money. What does Jesus do? Jesus letting this young man know not only are you not good, you’re not good enough. You might be good by human standards, but you’re failing. You can’t keep the law. The Bible says, “He went away sorrowful.” You’ll say, “Why?” Because he failed at the first part, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart.
Speaker 1: Notice this, and here’s the point that Jesus is trying to make. He’s trying to make the point, you’re not good enough to go to heaven. There’s one good and it’s God, and you’re not it. You’re not God, and you’re not good. That’s why we begin the conversation in verse 17 with, why callest thou me good? There is none good, but one, that is God. So Jesus, the responsible soul winner, takes the hang-ups of a religious center, and we watch him handle it properly as a responsible soul winner. Let me give you a third thing we in the story quickly. We’ll be done here soon.
Speaker 1: I said number one, we see the hang-ups of a religious center. I said number two, we see how it’s handled by a responsible soul winner. Number three, we see the humility required for salvation. Salvation requires humility. Notice verse 22, notice what Jesus said, “But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” Verse 23, “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, ‘Verily I say unto you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.'” So this young man not only is he religious, he’s also rich, right, the rich young ruler. He leaves because he has great possessions. Then Jesus turns around and looks at his disciples, and he uses as a teaching moment, and he says, “Look, verily I say unto you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
Speaker 1: You know what Jesus literally was saying? He’s saying, “There’s going to be just few rich people that go to heaven.” You’ll say, “What in the world? Is there something wrong with money?” You know what? There’s nothing in the world wrong with money. There’s something wrong with loving money. That’s what this young man, he loved his money. The love of money is the root of all evil. That’s what the Bible says. Nothing wrong with money. In fact, it’s interesting. In the Bible, if you say the Bible, God used many rich people to further the cause of Christ. He used all sorts of rich and wealthy and successful people to do great things. Jesus is just giving a statement of reality that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. You know what? This is true. Go with us soul winning into the ghettos and low-income neighborhood and see how receptive they are, and then go with us to the nice, rich, gallant neighborhood and see how receptive they are, and you’ll know that what Jesus is saying is true.
Audience: Amen.
Speaker 1: Rich people hardly will get saved. Verily I say unto you, that a rich man hardly will enter into the kingdom of heaven. Then verse 24, he says, “And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” You’ll say, “But does it have to do with them being rich?” It has nothing to do with them being rich. It the has everything to do with them being humble, because usually it comes down to. In order to be saved, you have to had enough humility to say, “I can’t do this on my own. I’m not good and I’m not good enough. If I’m going to go to heaven, I’m going to need somebody to save me.”
Speaker 1: You know the problem with very successful rich people is that they get this mindset that I’m self-reliant, I pulled myself up from my bootstraps, I got it done, I made it happen, I don’t need nobody. They get to the point where a lot of them even think they don’t need God. They’re self-sufficient and they’re self-reliant. Nothing wrong with money, but he says, “Look, in unfortunate byproduct of being wealthy and successful is that it sometimes brings you to the place where you can’t say I need help.” He says, “In order to be saved, in order…” See, salvation requires humility. Salvation requires the humility to say, “I can’t do this on my own.” By the way, if you look at the context of the passage, notice that right before our story begins with The Rich Young Ruler, notice what he says in verse 14, Matthew 19 verse 14.
Speaker 1: Now the story begins in verse 16 and verse 14… Actually, look at verse 13, “Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray, and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus says, ‘Suffer little children, and forbid them not to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.’ And he laid his hands on them, and departed. And, behold, one came and said unto him, ‘Good Master,'” and we begin our story. You realized that the context of the story leading up to the story was little children coming to Jesus, wanting to be held by him.
Speaker 1: Go to Matthew chapter 18, look at verse one. You’ll say, “What does have to do with anything? What does have to do with the connection?” Everything in the Bible is connected. This is why man could not write the Bible. I don’t have time to go into this. You may be can study this on your home. The passage about the children is connected to the story of The Rich Young Ruler and the story of The Rich Young Ruler is connected to the very next parable that Jesus gives in the next chapter. They’re all connected, man, couldn’t write this book. You’re not smart enough. Not only are you not good enough, you’re not smart enough.
Speaker 1: Matthew 18, look at verse one, “And at the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of him, and said, ‘Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted.'” Is that the term we used for salvation? There needs to be a conversion. You need to go from self-sufficient, self-reliant to I need help, I can’t lose on my own. He said it’s had to be converted and become his little children, don’t miss this, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. You’ll say, “Why did you say it’s going to be hard for rich people to enter the kingdom of heaven?” Because the way you enter the kingdom of heaven is become like a little child. If you don’t have children or you don’t have young children, you haven’t been around young children, let me explain to you I’ve got six little children. I’ve six children from ages 11 down to nine months or whatever.
Speaker 1: I will tell you the number one characteristic of little children is that they need you. They need help. They are not afraid to ask for it. They are not afraid to cry for it. They are not afraid to let you know, “Hey, you brought me into this world, mom. You need to feed me. You need to change me. You need to do for me because I can’t of for myself.” That the little children belief. That’s what they do. You’ll say, “Hey, except you’d be converted and become his little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall,” don’t miss this, “humble themself as this little child, The same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
Speaker 1: You’ll say, “What was wrong with the rich young ruler?” Here’s what was wrong with him. He thought he was good and he thought he was good but not. He was not willing to humble himself like a little child and say, “I need help.” So not only, not only do we see the hang-ups of a religious sinner, not only do we see how it was handled by a responsible soul winner, but we also see in the story the humility required for salvation. Here’s the thing [inaudible 00:43:15], but you need to understand this. There are going to be all sorts of nice, kind, moral, religious people who’ll die and go to hell, because they thought they were good and they thought they were good enough. They weren’t willing to humble themselves and say, “I need help.”
Speaker 1: Let me tell you something. You’re soul winners? You better get out there. I don’t real deal with the law. I kind of bypass that. You better deal with the law. Jesus dealt with the law. Jesus used the law as a schoolmaster to bring people to Christ. Because listen, no one is ready to get saved until they realize they need to be saved. It’s interesting to me. That does encourage some of you soul winners. It’s interesting to me. In this series, we’ve now been out soul winning with Jesus three times. We’ve seen him present the gospel three different times, Nicodemus, the woman at the well, the rich young ruler. Two of them did not get saved, only one got saved. Go soul winning and haven’t seen anybody saved in three weeks. I guess somebody is saved once every third week. Whoa, I mean, are you better than Jesus? Notice Jesus didn’t run out. He’s got, “Oh no, just say the prayer, just say the prayer.” Now Jesus let him walk away. You’ll say, “Why?” Because he wasn’t ready. Because he wasn’t ready. Because he thought he was good and he thought he was good enough.
Speaker 1: Let’s bow our heads and I’ll lead the prayer. Heavenly Father, thank you Lord for your word. Thank you for the Bible. Thank you for the stories, these encounters where we can watch you or we can see you talk to people, deal with people. Lord I pray that you would help us to learn of you and to emphasize what you emphasize, to spend time where you spend time. Lord I pray that you would help us to be thorough and responsible soul winners preaching the gospel. Lord I pray that you would help us to be able to find self-righteous, religious people who think they’re good and they’re good enough, and to explain to them the gospel that we’re all sinners. There is none good and that’s why Jesus came to die on the cross for our sins. We love you. Thank you for salvation. In the…