The Perils of Riches

Driving home: it was not so much that he had great possessions, but the great possessions had him.

Martin uses the metaphor 'the great possessions had him' to explain that the rich young ruler's problem was not merely owning wealth, but being enslaved by it, which prevented him from following Christ.

And then our Lord tells us why it was, or Mark tells us why it was he did this, for he was one that had great possessions. And we had occasion to note in our concluding of the exposition it was not so much that he had great possessions, but the great possessions had him. Now this morning we shall concentrate our attention upon the first of the issues that follows upon the incident expounded last Lord's Day. The first of those issues is

8:39 - 9:18 Read in full sermon

Driving home: the number and the measure of the difficulties of entering the kingdom of God are greatly increased in the case of a wealthy man.

He compares the rich man's difficulty entering the Kingdom to trying to squeeze through a narrow gate with an 'overload and an excess of baggage,' illustrating that wealth adds significant obstacles to repentance and faith.

A solemn affirmation. I have told you earlier in the Sermon on the Mount that the gate is narrow and the way is compressed that leads unto life and few there be that find it. And of the few that find it because of the tremendous difficulties of squeezing through that narrow gate, of unpacking all of the excess baggage that must be unpacked,

14:07 - 14:38 Read in full sermon

Driving home: There is absolutely no warrant linguistically, contextually, by comparing Scripture with Scripture to adapt either of those notions. It is sheer nonsense exegetically.

Martin recounts Jesus' analogy of the Pharisees straining out gnats from their wine but swallowing a camel, to illustrate their meticulous attention to minor details while overlooking major issues of God's demands and their own sin, paralleling the striking nature of the camel/needle illustration.

It is sheer nonsense. Our Lord is using a striking illustration, and it is not the first time He did it with a camel because, you see, the camel was the biggest beast that the average Palestinian would ever see in his lifetime. And when Jesus wanted to show up the nonsense of the Pharisees, He used similar, grotesque, striking analogies. He said, You know what you Pharisees are like?

27:28 - 27:56 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Jesus said, there is more hope that they will accomplish their task with a few more grunts and groans and pushes and persuasions than that a rich man will get into the kingdom.

Martin vividly describes a hypothetical scene of men trying to push a camel through a sewing needle's eye, emphasizing the utter human impossibility of the task to underscore Jesus' point about the rich man's salvation.

So what Jesus was saying here is, it is easy for a camel to go through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter the kingdom. He is saying it is humanly impossible. Can you imagine if you were in Palestine back in those days and you are out for a walk one day, and you come by a strange scene. Someone has his camel tied by a tree on a long rope, and three or four men are behind him pushing this poor beast of burden, pushing, shoving, grunting, working up a sweat, their turbans falling off their head, and someone is standing out in front of the camel with his hands clenched around something.

29:07 - 29:44 Read in full sermon

The point: Recognize this dialogue as a powerful warning against the itch to be rich.

Martin uses a grotesque analogy: if wearing a hat in summer guaranteed death before age 30, no one would wear one. This illustrates the folly of pursuing riches when Jesus warns they make salvation exceedingly difficult, likening wealth to an instrument of spiritual death.

This dialogue constitutes a powerful warning to every one of us against the itch to be rich. Constitutes a warning against the itch to be rich. And I'm going to use a grotesque illustration like our Lord. Suppose the highest.

38:59 - 39:33 Read in full sermon

The point: Understand that what you need for salvation is omnipotent grace, that which only God can give and provide through Christ.

He describes God's provision of salvation as a 'way of righteous peace' that 'cuts its swath' through Mary's womb, Christ's perfect life, His cross, empty tomb, and ascension, emphasizing that salvation is entirely bound up in the person and work of Jesus.

and not blink at His own justice. The way that cuts its swath through Mary's womb, in which God and man are joined in this glorious person called Jesus of Nazareth, cuts its way through His perfect life, cuts its way through the blood of Jesus of Nazareth, cuts its way through the blood of Jesus of Nazareth, cuts its way through the blood of Jesus of God, and gore of His cross, in which all the billows of divine wrath broke upon His head, and it cuts its way through Joseph's borrowed tomb that's empty, because He rose from the dead, and it cuts its way through the heavens, where He went back t...

49:26 - 50:09 Read in full sermon

The point: See this dialogue as a bright beacon of hope to the most wretched of sinners upon the face of the earth.

The conversion of Zacchaeus is used as an example of God's omnipotent grace enabling a wealthy man to enter the Kingdom, demonstrating that riches are not an absolute barrier when God works.

God is able to get any sinner through the narrow gate, even rich sinners, and destroy the idol of their attachment to their riches. That's what he did to Zacchaeus.

56:18 - 56:29 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Finally, Martin presents the dialogue as a bright beacon of hope, emphasizing that 'with God, all things are possible' for any sinner, even the rich (like Zacchaeus), and for…

Martin uses examples like the stock market, bonds, and real estate to illustrate the 'uncertainty of riches,' emphasizing that all material wealth is temporary and can turn to 'dust' in an instant, urging believers not to trust in them.

And he doesn't tell them to liquidate their wealth. He warns about the danger of pursuing it. But then he says, Charge them that are wealthy, not to get rid of their wealth, he says, but to not trust in the uncertainty of riches. Stock market.

57:36 - 57:48 Read in full sermon