Luke 18:18-19

Luke chapter 18, beginning with verse 18. In a certain ruler, ask him, saying, good master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus said unto him, why callest thou me good? None is good, save one, that is God. thou knowest the commandments do not commit adultery do not kill do not steal do not bear false witness honor thy father and thy mother and he said all these have I kept from my youth up now when Jesus heard these things he said unto him yet lackest thou one thing. So all that thou hast and distribute unto the poor, and thou shall have treasure in heaven and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful, for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, he said, said, how hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God? Or it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. They that heard it said, who then can be saved? And he said, the things which are impossible with men? are possible with God. Let’s pray. Heavenly Father, we pray that you would be pleased to bless us this morning as we go over your word. Make it lively to us. Give it this strength, Father, to do the work that you’ve given me to do. In the name of Christ, we ask these things. Amen. There are many religious organizations in this country and abroad, which hold soul-winning conferences. And in these meetings, you know, Christians are instructed in how to win people to Christ. Supposedly, there is a foolproof method, and it’s matter to get people to come to the Savior, and if you use this method, it would be the best thing to do. One rather popular present-day technique is for you to ask an unconverted person a series of questions. If they answer yes to all the questions, then you lead them in a prayer, prescribed prayer, and pronounce them saved them saved. For the most part, these… Soul-winning methods are based upon results. These efforts turn out as many as 10,000 decisions for Christ in no time at all. Now, almost all these efforts that we see today are based upon the individual making a decision for Christ. In fact, inevitably, it produces a dangerous religious superficiality because what happens is we end up with a lot of false professions. There’s no evidence of regeneration. There’s no evidence of a change of life. And therefore, a new concept is a new concept is invented. It’s called the Carnal Christian theory. This is to cover up their shoddy evangelism and still pronounce the person saved, even though there’s no change in the lifestyle from that of a world. The obvious worldliness of the so-called convert, and they’re falling away from the truth, is rarely considered an absence of salvation in the first place. Friends, all isn’t well in the evangelical world and in evangelical churches. Never were there more evangelical campaigns, and yet look at the superficiality of the results. It’s time to return to the scriptures, I think, and consider what they have to say about soul winning. And of course, we have the prime example. here of Jesus Christ in our text. And I think it would behoove us to deal with this issue by looking at his work with the rich young ruler. I would like you to think about what you would do. If someone came to you with the question that this young man came to Christ, with. So I want to talk about Christ’s method of evangelism. Let me begin by saying this. You have an opportunity to speak to someone about salvation as we see in verse 17. Your inquirer here is a respected and moral person. Now this man, it’s called a young man in Matthew’s Gospel. He is called a ruler in Luke’s gospel. In Matthew Mark and Luke, he is described as a very rich person with great possessions. Thus, the name rich young ruler seems to be fitting as a name. He was successful in the eyes of the world, a noble man of influence and authority. No doubt, highly respected in the community. And you find in our text that he was very moral individual. As we go through this, we see that. His life was visibly pure. Without question, we would say he is a regular attender at the House of God. He’s very religious, having brought up in a home. where moral values were instilled in him. He was taught moral values from his youth up. And you can imagine he didn’t take the name of the Lord in vain. He didn’t break the Sabbath day and so forth. In fact, notice how respectful he is of Christ, calling him good master. He greets our Lord. abundant courtesy. And in fact, Mark’s gospel says he kneels down before Christ. And so he recognized Jesus as one who teaches the word of God and he comes to him for hands. Now, he has no open hostility toward Jesus Christ like the scribes and the Pharisees had. We seem, he seems to be very respectful. and he’s ready to listen. He’s eager to do so. Now, isn’t this a great candidate? Wouldn’t this be a great person to deal with regarding the soul? Wouldn’t you be delighted to have someone you know, confess Jesus like this and join the church and say, boy, this guy, you know, he’s dedicated. What a splash it would make in the community for this man to come. to know the Lord Jesus Christ, the wonderful trophy for the kingdom of God. So your inquirer here desires eternal life, he tells us here. Your inquirer asks this question, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? You know, there are many people who sit under the preaching of the Word of God and never ask that question. Some go to the house of God, only out of a sense. of duty, I think. They can’t wait for the Sabbath day to be over and get back to their possessions and their business. So their interest in religious matters is rather superficial. They’re more interested in appearances than they are in their eternal souls. You and John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, Mr. Christian, prior to his conversion, is eagerly seeking the narrow gate. And so he wants to get the find the way that leads to eternal life. And as he hastens along the narrow road, we find that he sees lying on a grassy bank three men who are fast asleep. They have fetters on their heels. They were. called, his only Bunyan could, simple sloth and presumption. Christian knew to be sleeping at a time like this on this particular row was like the sleep, sleeping and the rigging of a ship when a storm was brutal. So he cries out, wake up, and I’ll help you off with your irons. But they only opened one eye at him and yawned. Simple said, I see no danger. Slah said, I want to go on sleeping. Presumption said, every tub must stand on its own bottom. Then all three men rolled over and went back to sleep. So Mr. Christian, regarded, proceeded on his way, troubled to think that men in such danger, should show so little esteem for his efforts to awaken them and stir up their souls. But here, this rich young ruler, he’s eager to get some help. He’s, you know, he’s eager to obtain eternal life. And so he came running to Christ, according to Mark’s Gospel. enthusiastically, he comes to Christ. He’s anxious to hear what Jesus has to say in securing eternal life. He couldn’t wait for a private, you know, conversation. He wasn’t going to be like Nicodemus and come at night. He doesn’t care. He’s going to come during the day. If he has to come, he wants to come and talk with Christ immediately. So he doesn’t even wait. to be in a private setting. He just comes right to the point here. As we see, he’s not going to full around here. On the highway, he ignored the public attention to inquire after his soul’s welfare. He’s thinking about life beyond this world. So he greatly desires eternal life. Could you? you ask for anything better than this? Here is someone who rushes up to you and he asks without any effort on your part, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? So he desires eternal life. So he’s, you know, he’s not wasting any time going after. Now, your inquirer awaits your response. What’s your reaction? What would you have said to this rich young ruler? Here is an outstanding citizen of the community, a moral person, respectful of Christ, who’s concerned about his soul. He’s, you know, practically begging to know how to get to heaven. This is a soul winner’s dream, isn’t it? So what are you going to tell him? Are you going to read him? a list of religious questions and see if he answers yes to all of them and then lead him through some prescribed prayer and then say he’s saved why today’s experts would have him, you know, rung through a decision in no time and then a few minutes, and had him baptized and ready to join the church. He would be added, you know, to the statistic sheet of converts. Perhaps since he’s a person of reputation, he might even merit an article in Christianity today or something of that nature. Now, we have to admit, Jesus wasn’t too well versed, evidently, in today’s evangelical methods. Many would have run this man through the Roman road and ended with, you know, pray this prayer after me and so forth. Jesus, however, handles this eager soul who comes to him rather roughly, don’t you think? It’s surprising. As we shall see, Jesus starts with a rebuke. That’s a real no-no when your soul went. You don’t want to have any negatives. Jesus starts with a rebuke here. Then of all things, he drags out the law of God. Oh, that’s a no-no in today’s evangelical world. Doesn’t Jesus know that salvation is all about free grace? It’s not about works. He tells the man here that immense sacrifice is demanded if he desired eternal life. Doesn’t Jesus know that everyone, everything in your life, will we just be wonderful? after coming to salvation. This doesn’t sound like God loved you and has a wonderful plan for your life, does it? If anything, Jesus seems to be dampening the spirits of this man, doesn’t he? Are you surprised by this? Would you have responded the same way that Jesus did here? Doesn’t this seem contrary to, you know, getting the fish, how they’re biting? Jesus is a fisherman. Doesn’t he know how to lead a soul to himself? If you’re shocked by the approach, then you don’t really understand biblical evangelism. Isn’t it time as we as believers learn from the master’s soul in himself? You know, wouldn’t it be wise to pattern your evangelism? after Christ? So you have an opportunity here to speak to someone about their salvation. It seems like a golden opportunity because they’re asking you the right questions. Now you’re instructed how to speak to someone about salvation by Jesus Christ, your verse 18. Your inquire needs to realize the holy character of God. There was a kindergarten teacher and told everyone in class to draw a picture of something that was important to them. And she walked around her room and saw what everybody was doing. But Johnny seemed to be taken an awful long time. Johnny, what are you drawing? She said to him when everybody else was finished. But he kept drawing and then he looked up for a second and said, God. And the teacher, and the teacher, said, well, no one knows what God looks like, Johnny. And he answered, they will when I’m through. Now, it’s true that no one knows what God looks like. Sadly, you know, many people do not know a thing about the character of God, either. Most people have a made-up image of God. And imagine God of their own fancy like little Johnny. Jesus here addresses his first response, not to the rulers question, but to the greeting, which the man gave him, good master. This man was only aware of Jesus being a great teacher. He seems to be a great teacher. be ignorant of the fact that Jesus Christ is the son of God, that He is Christ, the Son of God, the living God, God manifested in the flesh. So Jesus takes this opportunity to say in effect here, do you realize that God alone deserves to be called good? Jesus is not saying that he himself isn’t good. or he’s unworthy to be called good. He’s just simply drawing attention to fact, unless you’re of divine a person, you shouldn’t be called good. In comparison to God, who is the fountain of all goodness, I’m afraid there’s no creature who is good. This man is called upon to consider whether or not Jesus is God. Does he deserve to be called good? Christ, I think, supreme motive in this whole conversation, of course, is to glorify his father. And he desires to stir up respect for God’s holy character here. And so he seizes on this greeting of this rich young ruler, points out a problem. and it shows the man has a lack of proper understanding of who God is. He says here, there is none good save one. Or as Mark has it, there is none good, but one that is God. God is originally, independently, and essentially good. The goodness of God is a rather broad concept, taking in many attributes of God. Now, the best way to understand this is to turn with me to the book of Exodus in chapter 33, if you would. Exodus chapter 33, let’s look at verses 18 to 20 to start with. Exodus 33, beginning with verse 18 to 20. and he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee. This is Moses he’s speaking to. I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. And he said, thou canst not see my face, but there is no man for no man there shall no man see me and live. So we have that to begin with. He’s going to show him his goodness. Now look at chapter 34 and beginning with verse 5. I can read through verse 8. And the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the Lord. and the Lord passed by before him and proclaimed the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, keeping the mercy for thousands forgiving, forgiving, iniquity and trespass, transgression, and sin, and will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the children’s children, until the third and the fourth generation. And Moses made haste, bowed his head to the earth, and worshipped. so here we have him proclaiming his goodness. Now, you’ll notice that when he proclaimed his goodness before Moses, that it wasn’t just one attribute. All his goodness passed before him. And we have the attributes of mercy and grace and long-suffering and truth and faithfulness and justice and holiness. which make up all God’s goodness. It’s interesting to note that the goodness of God is such that he will not tolerate evil, iniquity, transgression, and sin. He will by no means clear to guilty. And thus Jesus began his message of evangelism by solemnly fixing the man’s attention on God’s attributes of infinite holiness and goodness in particular. Now think about this a moment. Evangelism today should start with the attributes of God. Who is God? What is He like? And in particular, the holiness of God. There’s way too much focus on man. You know, man making his decision. you know, man’s unhappiness, man’s hardships, man’s peace, man’s broken relationships. There’s too little focus on God, what he is like, his attributes, and glory. So the message to begin with is this. It’s not God has a wonderful plan for your life. But look who God is. See his God is. goodness, the message should begin with, do you understand the character of the Lord? Without a knowledge of God, you as a sinner do not know whom you have offended. Who threatens you with destruction and why? Who’s able to save you? And how? Apart from a clear apprehension of the character of God, how, how can you, understand the need for salvation. It is a dreadful mistake to assume that a person knows who God is. We have to start with the character of God so that they can understand the need for salvation. It’s only when you are impressed by the fact that God, the judge, will by no means clear the guilty. You begin to realize what kind of deep trouble you were really in. Jesus didn’t begin to speak about God’s love. He began to talk about His holiness and his goodness. How shall they inherit eternal life? How shall they have eternal life? How shall they have eternal life? they believe on him whom they have not heard is still, I think, a pertinent question to ask. You don’t know who he is. How in the world are you going to trust in him? Now, I wrote a book on evangelism. You know, I call it the gospel of God. And I patterned my book on evangelism. on Paul’s example in Acts 17, if you want to turn there with me a minute, on Mars Hill, because I thought this was a good way to begin to teach people about salvation. Look at verse 22 of Acts 17. Then Paul stood in the midst of Marseille and said, You men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are too superstitious. For as I pass by, behold your devotions, he held your devotions, I found an altar with the inscription to the unknown God, whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him, declare I unto you. God that made the world, in all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands. Neither is worshiped with men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he giveeth to all life and breath in all things. It hath made of one blood, all nations of men, for to dwell. on all the face of the earth, and have determined the times before appointed and the bounds of their habitation, that they should seek the Lord, if happily they might feel after him and find him, though he is not far from every one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being, as certain also of your own poets have said, for we are his offspring. For as much then, as we are the offspring of the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the godhead is like unto gold or silver or stone graven by men, by art and men’s hands, or by men’s devices. In the times of this ignorance God weaked at, but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent, because he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that by that man whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, and that he hath raised him from the dead. Now notice here, several things. One, an unknown God needs to be declared, verse 323. God is the creator, verse 24. God is the sovereign lord of his creation, verse 24. God is the sovereign lord of his creation, God is independent. He needs nothing. Verse 25. He’s immense. He cannot be confined. Verse 24. God is the sustainer of all life. Verse 25 and 28. God is the determiner of man’s life. Verse 26. God is invisible and present. God is holy seven. God is holy holy. God is holy. and demands man’s repentance, verse 30, and God will judge all men. He’s going to demand an accounting, verse 31. So your inquire needs to realize the holy character of God. And I think this is what the scripture continually points out. Now, your inquire needs to realize the sinful character of man. Christ, in pointing out there is none good, no, not one, that is God, also emphasizes in that that men are evil. These words echo what the psalmist said. The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any that did understand and seek God. They are all gone out of the way. They all gone aside. They are all together become filthy. There is none that doeth good, no, not one. Being fallen in Adam, every individual, human being is corrupt and wicked before God. No one is like God. No one is like God. No one is like him. Holy, righteous, faithful. truthful, so forth. Thus, the rich young ruler who came running to Christ, had to realize that he didn’t understand. He wasn’t going to inherit eternal life by something he did. After the conversation here continues, it will become apparent that this young man was really asking, am I good enough to inherit eternal life? He doesn’t see himself as a sinner in the eyes of God. He thinks he has kept the law of God from his youth up. And that God should be pleased with him. You know, the Philippian jailer, what must I do to be saved is what he asked. Here, the ruler seems to be asking, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? So the jailer sees himself in life. a desperate condition and in need of salvation. Whereas the ruler here thinks in terms of, am I worthy enough? Have I done enough to be saved? When we deal with self-righteous people, we have to bring the law of God to bear. They need to know they’re lost. They need to know their sinners in the eyes of God. So people need to see what God. They need to know they’re lost. So people need to know their God has to say about them in scripture. You know, many years ago, there was a pastor who was walking out of the fields and he happened to have a little brown case with him. And some young people came up and asked if he would take their picture. And he looked at them and said, well, I already have your picture. Well, did you take a candid shot of us somewhere? No. He opened up his case and opened his Bible to Romans chapter 3 and read the passage there in 3. He said, see, I have everybody’s photograph. This is what God sees in you. And he pointed that out to him. So you are instructed how to speak to someone about salvation by Christ here. And I think this is unique. The popular, you know, day soul-winning techniques do not wish to emphasize doctrine. Jesus is very quick to emphasize doctrine. Very quick to talk about the holiness of God, about the law of God, about the attributes of God, about the attributes of God. This is biblical evangelism. It’s not a mere sales pitch and then you sell it and bring the person, you know, fish, bring the fish in on the line. Scripture demands a different approach. Oh, it’s not going to be very popular. But Christ’s method is the method. This example is what we should be following in our evangelism. And we’ll look at this. further in the future. Let’s close with a word of prayer. Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you, Lord, for your grace. We thank you, Lord, for the instruction of Christ. And I pray it would be of benefit to our souls to ponder carefully how he dealt with souls that we may do likewise. Remember us in varsity, Father, knowing our weakness, and our frailty. And that we have this grace and fragile vessels. Encourage us in the Christian walk of life. Let us be careful to follow a Christ example before us. In the name of Christ, I ask these things with Thanksgiving. Amen. Let’s stand for the benediction tonight this morning. of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the community of the Holy Ghost. Be with you all. Amen.