Title: What Good Thing Shall I Do?
Text: Matthew 19: 16-26
Date: August 15, 2010
Place: SGBC, New Jersey
Matthew 19: 16: And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
Is there any here this day who is interested in the answer to that question? There is one good thing you shall do. But most--all who are yet in their natural born condition--if they do ask this question, ask it with the same problem that this man had--with self-righteousness and spiritual ignorance.
Matthew 19: 17: And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. 18: He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, 19: Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 20: The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
Are you like this man?
1. He was earnest and sincere – Mark says that he came running to Christ.
2. He was orthodox in his creed – He was a ruler--meaning a religious leader, a teacher.
· He believed in God.
· He believed the Holy Scriptures.
· He believed there was such a thing as eternal life.
Note: Fact is, the Pharisee's--the straightest sect of which this man appears to have been--
· Believed the doctrine of God' sovereign election--they recognized that God made their nation, named their nation, delivered their fathers and passed by multitudes.
· Believed the doctrine of particular redemption--all could recognize the fact that the high priest and the lamb was given for Israel alone, and not for the whole world outside of Israel.
3. This young man was a devoutly moral man--since the days of his youth, he had outwardly kept the law of God.
The Lord begins by declaring two essential problems that this man had:
Matthew 19: 17: And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God:
This young man thought Jesus of Nazareth to be a man sent from God, and by calling him "good", this young man was declaring that he considered some men to be good--he thought this of himself by all that he had accomplished in his religious profession. But he also was showing he did not believe on Christ Jesus the Lord.
1) He did not know that he was absolutely ruined by the fall of Adam.
2) He did not believe on Jesus who is the believer's Righteous complete acceptance with God and eternal life.
This man was ignorant of all spiritual truth and he was full of self-righteousness.
Matthew 19: 17:…the Lord said to him "if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. 18: He saith unto him, Which?...20: The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?"
1. The law must be kept perfectly.
2. The law must be kept in all points.
3. The law must be kept at all times.
4. The law must be kept outwardly.
5. The law must be kept inwardly.
NOTE: God never intended the law to be a basis of salvation. Its design is to show man God’s Holy Character and His Own Condemnation and Guilt. (Read Romans 3) The Lord said to him if you want salvation by human merit then you have got to keep the law perfectly. This young man was like Paul, he answered, “as touching the law, blameless.” He said, "what lack I yet?"
Mark 10:21: Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest.
HE LACKED THE ONE THING NEEDFUL--FAITH IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST!
· He was rich in morality!
· He was rich in his natural doctrinal understanding!
· He was rich in religious duty!
· He was rich in sincerity!
· He was rich in zeal!
But he had never been spiritually broken in heart--he had never been made to know how utterly poor--how utterly bankrupt in sin he truly was so as to cast all his eternal care into the hands of Christ Jesus, the Righteousness of God, the Treasure of heaven! But this man was also rich in money! As much as all these other religious riches was his treasure so was his money. So the Lord uses that to show him the vanity of all his other riches.
Matthew 19: 21: Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
1. The Lord commanded this young man to Surrender To His Authority As Lord –
“Go and sell all that thou hast, and give to the poor.”
2. Our Lord commands the man to Trust Him.
He said, “Come.” Coming to Christ is an act of faith. Our treasure in heaven is Christ Jesus. Faith trusts Christ for all in this life and the life to come.
Hebrews 11:6: But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
3. Our Lord commanded the man to confess Him, leaving his former camp, bearing reproach for Christ's sake. We find it in Mark's gospel, the Lord said, “Take up thy cross.”
Matthew 10: 37: He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38: And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
Hebrews 13: 12: Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. 13: Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.
4. And he commanded this young man to Obey Him –
He said, “Follow me.”
These are the things, which our Lord requires of all his people – Submission, Faith, Confession, and Obedience.
Matthew 19: 22: But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
As much as his religious riches were his confidence, his security, his gods, so was his money. The Lord used this man's love of money to teach him just how far short of the glory of God he had come. Everything in man's religion is as much covetous idolatry as are his earthly riches until God interevenes in sovereign irresistible grace. Then thou shalt cast forth those idols as monstrous clothes--the ark of the covenant which is the means you turned into an idol shall no longer be an idol to you (the ark of the covenant was the means which typified Christ and yet worshipped as a gold idol by religious men just as men today make idols of their religious service--alms giving, praying, morality and so on.)
1. Like this man many bow outwardly, but in his heart he would not bow to Christ the King.
2. In all his religion, he appeared outwardly to be trusting God, but in his heart he would not trust Christ alone to save him.
3. In all his zeal, he appeared outwardly to be professing God, but he could not make himself forsake all for Christ alone.
4. He appeared outwardly to desire obedience to God, but in his heart he would not follow Christ.
Matthew 19: 23: Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. 24: 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. 25: When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? 26: But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
I. Salvation is not a work of man, but a work of God.
With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
Isaiah 59:16: And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.
John 4:34: Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
II. Salvation is the work of God whereby he declares his righteousness, not man's.
Romans 3: 21: But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 22: Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 23: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24: Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26: To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. 27: Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. 28: Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
III. Salvation is an inward work within the sinner whereby God creates a new man, gives a new heart, and makes his children willing in the day of his power, not man's power.
Romans 9:16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
Ephesians 2: 8: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9: Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10: For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
D. Salvation is an Effectual Work of God, not man.
Psalm 65: 4: Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.
With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
WHY THEN DO YOU TELL US THESE THINGS? If they are impossible with us why even declare the gospel to us?
The same reason the Lord told this young man. This rich, young, ruler was eventually saved through this gospel. How do you know? --“And Jesus, beholding him, loved him.” God's love can not be frustrated, his love is saving, effectual, everlasting, unchangeable, sovereign love--all whom God loves he saves irresistibly.
Jeremiah 31:3: The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
So I tell you this in hopes that you are one whom God has everlastingly loved in Christ, all of whom shall be drawn in lovingkindness through this gospel.
I tell you this truth because:
You must beware of the deceitfulness of the depraved heart. It will not be sin that keeps you from Christ it will be your own self-righteousness and the riches of this world. It is not your religion that saves, it is Christ Jesus the Lord of glory.
I tell you this gospel because:
1. You must bow to the claims of the sovereign Christ.
2. You must believe on the Son of God.
3. You must confess Christ as Lord and Savior.
4. You must follow him
You can not know him of whom you have not heard. This is the gospel through which God breaks the stony heart and gives a new heart to all those he has everlastingly loved, to all those whom his Son has fully redeemed.
If you will not believe on Christ it is not because Christ is not able, willing, and ready to save sinners, it is because, “Ye will not come to Christ, that ye might have life.”
And if you do believe on Christ, you will do so rejoicing that it is entirely by this sovereign, effectual grace! By his sovereign grace, trusting Christ will be the one good thing thou shall do! Doing that, you will have done all the will of God.
AMEN!