The Perils of Riches

Introduction and Review of the Rich Young Ruler Incident

0:04 This sermon was preached on Sunday morning, May 24th, 1987, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey.

0:18 Now may I encourage you to turn with me in your own Bibles to the 10th chapter of Mark's Gospel, the Gospel of Mark, chapter 10, and follow as I read, beginning with verse 17, and complete the reading with verse 27. Mark 10 and verse 17, writing with reference to the activity of our Lord Jesus at this time as he makes his way down to Jerusalem, and ultimately to his own death, we read,

0:57 And as he was going forth into the way, there ran one to him, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why do you call me good? There is none good save one, even God.

1:25 You know the commandments. Do not kill. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal.

1:32 Do not bear false witness. Do not defraud. Honor your father and mother. And he said unto him, Teacher, all these things.

1:44 All these things have I observed from my youth. And Jesus, looking upon him, loved him, and said unto him, One thing you are lacking. Go, sell whatsoever you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven. And come, follow me.

2:09 But his countenance fell at the saying, and he went away sorrowful. For he was one that had great possessions.

2:23 And Jesus looked round about, and said unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God? And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus answers again, and says unto them, Children, how hard it is for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God. How hard it is for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God.

2:49 How hard it is for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God. 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. And they were astonished exceedingly, saying unto him, or the better rendering among themselves, Who then can be saved? Jesus, looking upon them, says, With men it is impossible.

3:20 But not with God. For all things are possible with God.

3:30 Now let us once again seek the face of God in prayer, and plead with him that his word will come to us, not in word only, but in power and in the Holy Spirit, and that it will find us with the disposition of the Bereans, prepared to receive with all readiness the word of God, and then to search, to search the scriptures to see if these things be so. Let us pray. Our Father, we bow again in your holy presence, having poured out the sacrifice of our praise, as we have acknowledged you to be our God,

4:14 having sought your face in intercession on behalf of others, and upon the success of the gospel in other places. Now we come again, because we say, stand at a point of great need. Will you not give to each one of us that sense, a felt awareness of our need for the Spirit's ministry to subdue our native pride and rebellion against you, our arrogance that would set up our puny little minds as the arbiter of truth. Give us that disposition to receive your word with readiness, with humility, with teachableness,

4:59 and by the Holy Spirit enable the one who seeks to open that word, that he may handle that word with integrity, and in the power and demonstration of the Spirit. Hear our cry as we plead for these mercies, believing that in our Lord Jesus Christ and his death on our behalf, you have secured even the blessings for which we seek, and we thank you. Amen.

5:33 Now the portion of the word of God read in your hearing just a few moments ago contains some of the most searching and important words of our Lord recorded in the gospel records. Last Lord's Day we began our examination of this section of Mark's gospel by concentrating our attention upon the narrative found in verses 17 through 22. And in those verses we considered first of all the crucial question raised in verse 17. The question was raised by one described as we bring the witness of Matthew, Mark, and Luke together

6:18 as a rich young ruler who raises that question of all questions, what must I do to inherit eternal life? And then we considered the...

6:33 The searching response given by our Lord in verses 18 to 21, a response in which our Lord essentially does three things. He first of all corrects this young man's mistaken notions about goodness in verse 18, and then he exposes this young man's shallow understanding of the law of God in verses 19 and 20. And then thirdly, he corrects this young man's shallow understanding of the law of God in verses 19 and 20, and then he calls him to repentance and faith in verse 21. When he says, One thing you lack, our Lord then gives the demands of repentance and faith

7:17 in the concreteness of that young man's circumstances and our Lord's knowledge of his heart. And in those imperatives, go, sell, and give. And then in the words, come and follow, there is a call to deep heart repentance and to faith which always has in its very essence attachment to Jesus Christ. Then having looked at the crucial question raised in verse 17, the searching response given as recorded in verses 18 to 21,

8:00 we then noted the tragic reaction, the reaction described in verse 22, a reaction in which Mark focuses upon a man's face, his feet and his heart. He tells us his countenance fell. He went away, and he went away sorrowful. So with a downcast face and feet that took him away from the only source of life and salvation, and with a head and feet that took him away from the only source of life and salvation, and with a head and feet that took him away from the only source of life and salvation, and with a heavy heart, he leaves.

8:39 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

The Substance of the Dialogue: Perils of Riches and Possibility of Salvation

9:18 that which addresses itself to the peril of riches and the possibility of salvation. The second, recorded in verses 28 to 31, is the reward of sacrifice and the surprises of grace. But now this morning we direct our attention to the perils of riches and the possibility of salvation contained in our Lord's observations and in the reactions of the disciples bounded by verses 23 through 27. In opening up this section we shall consider first of all the substance of the dialogue between Jesus

10:00 and his disciples, and then secondly the living message of this dialogue to us, sitting in this room, which is the coming of Christ. place this morning. First of all, then, the substance of the dialogue between Jesus and His disciples. There are six segments in this dialogue, and the first is the solemn affirmation of our Lord, verse 23. And Jesus looked round about and said unto His disciples, How hardly

10:33 shall they that have riches enter the kingdom of God? As Jesus and the disciples watched the young man with heavy feet and a heavier heart and downcast countenance walk away, there seems to be a brief pause, and then our Lord, to secure the attention of the disciples, to turn their minds away from that sad scene of the stupidity of the Lord, and to turn their minds away from the stoop-shouldered, sad-faced shuffle of a man who is walking away from eternal life. Mark tells us

11:13 that Jesus looked round about, with His eyes no doubt expressing grief, compassion, and perhaps a tinge of the fire of holy hatred against the intrusion of sin that makes an idol of God's gift to His disciples. Our Lord's eyes, one by one, catch the eyes of His disciples, until, by His glance securing their attention, He then gives a solemn affirmation in these words, How hardly shall they

11:54 that have riches enter into the kingdom of God. The disciples had seen that look of our Lord before, and the disciples had seen that look of our Lord before. There are several examples of it in the Gospel of Mark, and it most often preceded a very solemn, a very vital saying of our Lord, as in chapter 3 and verse 34, and having secured their attention and prepared them by His solemn look for that which was to come, our Lord directs His words to the disciples and says, How hardly, or with what difficulty, shall they enter into the kingdom of God?

12:36 How hardly, or with what difficulty, shall they that have riches enter the kingdom of God? Now, what did our Lord mean by this solemn affirmation? Well, you see, He is not here commenting on the sufficiency or the power of God's grace to get this or that kind of person into the kingdom of God. For later on, He does that and says, With God all things are possible.

13:05 When we think of the kingdom of God, we think of the kingdom of God as the kingdom of God. When we think of the issue of salvation from the standpoint of the power and grace of God, there are no limitations to that power and to that grace. But when we think from the standpoint of what man experiences in the personal felt realities of repentance and faith, apart from which he will never enter the kingdom, Jesus says in that setting,

13:36 And with that emphasis, that the number and the measure of the difficulties of entering the kingdom of God are greatly increased in the case of a wealthy man. That's what our Lord is saying. How with difficulty shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God? That is His saying.

14:07 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,

14:38 In every true expression of repentance and faith, when a rich man comes to the turnstile, he not only brings with him all of the baggage of all ordinary men, but he brings an overload and an excess of baggage that makes it even more difficult for him to enter the kingdom. And so this section begins with the solemn affirmation of our Lord. Our Lord Jesus Christ, how hardly shall they that possess riches enter the kingdom of God?

Disciples' Shocked Reaction and Jesus' Expanded Generalization

15:17 Now the second strand in this dialogue is the shocked reaction of the disciples. Verse 24a.

15:27 The shocked reaction of the disciples. Mark tells us, and the disciples were amazed at His word. Now that word amazed perhaps could better be translated astounded. It's the word Mark used in chapter 1 and verse 27 to describe the reaction that came to the multitudes when they saw Jesus with a word cast out a demon in the synagogue at Capernaum.

16:01 And Mark 1.27 reads, And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves. Saying, what is this, a new teaching? With authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.

16:18 So this is not some overstatement of the case. When Mark tells us that the solemn affirmation of our Lord produced a shocked reaction, he is giving us an accurate assessment of how the words of Jesus fell upon the ears of the disciples and the reaction they immediately produced. You see, this was not a case where we are told they did not understand His sayings, or they took Him aside and said, Lord, what do you mean? His words were clear.

16:55 They were unmistakable, but in their ears and in their minds they were nothing less than radical words. And the reason why they were radical is, basically, as disciples conditioned in their thinking about material possessions by the overarching teaching of the Old Testament, they had been brought up to believe, and rightfully so, that under the terms of the Old Covenant, covenant faithfulness was generally rewarded by material prosperity. That was one of the great recurring themes,

17:40 it was one of the recurring themes in the giving of the law, it was one of the recurring themes in the message of the prophets, it is one of the recurring themes in the book of Proverbs and in the wisdom literature, that as a general rule, now, when you try to apply it inflexibly, you get into the problem that Job's comforters got into. And the book of Job is there to remind us, not without exception, but as a general rule, under the Old Covenant, covenant faithfulness, and faithfulness resulted in material prosperity. Now, Jesus comes along and says, how hardly shall the prosperous,

18:20 which in their eyes was a sign that someone was living in covenant faithfulness, how hardly shall they enter the kingdom of God. But then there was a second reason as to why they were amazed, and that was the perverted teaching of the current religious leaders, namely, the scribes and the Pharisees. According to Matthew 6 and Luke 18, for the scribes and Pharisees, virtue was gained, to use Roman Catholic terminology, merit was gained in the activities of almsgiving, fasting, and prayer. You remember in Matthew 6, Jesus addresses those three activities and says,

19:04 you shall not be as the hypocrites in their fasting, in their praying, or in their almsgiving. And when Jesus records that Pharisee who went up to the temple to pray, what was the substance of his prayer? I thank thee I am not his other men. He's there praying, merit, and then he says, I fast, I tithe.

19:25 You see, he is spreading out before God his notions of what constitutes the fabric of his own righteousness, to change the imagery, the pillars on which he has right standing with God. And the disciples, as we have seen again and again in our studies in the Gospel of Mark, like so many in that day, had been greatly influenced by these blind leaders of the blind. And the Lord was patiently restructuring their thinking even prior to Pentecost. And then, of course, he carried that work on with unusual intensification subsequent to Pentecost, when the Spirit was given,

20:09 as the Spirit of the Ascended Christ. So put yourself in their place. You've thought all your life that material prosperity is a sign of covenant faithfulness, and if anyone's going to make it to heaven, it is the man who in covenant faithfulness is blessed with wealth, and who with that wealth is able to give abundantly in his alms in order to secure merit before God with that kind of faith. With that kind of thinking conditioning them all of their lives to have your master say, the least likely candidate for heaven is a wealthy man

20:51 could do nothing but cause astonishment and amazement upon their minds and in their hearts. Then the third strand of the dialogue is what I'm calling the expanded generalization of our Lord. He makes a solemn affirmation, to which there is a shocked reaction on the part of the disciples, and now the Lord answers, and I'm calling it an expanded generalization of our Lord, verse 24b. But Jesus answers again and says unto them, children, and here I stop,

21:32 there is a problem in seeking to ascertain precisely how much and what did Jesus say. It is a problem that goes back to the differing manuscripts from which our translations are made, or which go into composing a Greek text from which our Bibles are translated. And I'll not weary you with all of the particulars of this debate. For you Academy students, it's a sea reading in the UBS third edition of the Greek Testament, so you know textually it's a toss-up.

22:10 But it's not. But I have, for what I believe, or at least reasonable or rational reasons, chosen to accept the briefer reading, which follows the text of the UBS third edition, and I render the verse this way. Jesus said unto them, children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God. The disputed words are the words in the ASV, for them that trust in riches.

22:44 But the other words are undisputed. Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God. And what I believe our Lord is doing is giving to them an expanded generalization. Follow the train of thought.

23:09 Here our Lord has said, it is difficult for rich men to enter the kingdom of heaven. The disciples are amazed at this. And now using a term of endearment, children, to show the compassion of His heart, as well as their own present spiritual state. They are still children in understanding.

23:37 Children in His affections, but in the realism of spiritual practice. He sees them as children in understanding, and says in essence, look, are you shocked that I should say to you, how with much difficulty shall they that have riches enter the kingdom. Are you shocked at that? Children, children, how difficult it is for anyone under circumstances to enter the kingdom of God.

24:12 He extends words into this generalization from the standpoint of the sinner who must be stripped of all self-righteousness, all dependence upon his own virtue and his own merit and his own performance, his own religious deeds. From the standpoint of the sinner who must be humbled to acknowledge that if he is ever to find acceptance with God, that acceptance must be provided by God Himself, conferred by God Himself, and God must get all the glory. How hard it is. Sinner must kiss goodbye, take off his wedding ring by which he has been married to his sin,

24:56 the world and the devil, and toss it into the deepest sea in order to be married to Christ in the irrevocable embrace of faith. Children, why are you amazed if I tell you how hardly shall rich men enter? It is difficult enough for poor men to be humbled and stripped and brought to repentance and faith to enter the kingdom. It is difficult enough for ordinary men without the prestige that riches bring, without the deceitfulness of riches constantly causing them to play head games

25:39 about values and perspectives on life. If it is difficult for ordinary people of ordinary possessions in ordinary positions to enter, why are you shocked if I tell you with what difficulty shall they that have riches enter the kingdom of heaven? So our Lord, as it were, quiets their amazement with His expanded generalization, and then the fourth strand of the dialogue is the striking illustration of our Lord returning to the original concern of riches. Verse 25,

The Striking Illustration: Camel Through a Needle's Eye

26:23 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. Now I have chosen the words a striking illustration because the only proper rendering of the words is what I have read in your hearing. Now some of you may have been confronted with the idea, well, the word camel by changing one word is changed into cable, and what Jesus was saying is it is easier for a cable to go through the eye of a needle. Some have said no, a plague on all of your houses.

27:05 There was a gate outside Jerusalem called the needle's eye gate, and only when you took all the burdens off the camel could you squeeze him through. There is absolutely no warrant linguistically, contextually, by comparing Scripture with Scripture to adapt either of those notions. It is sheer nonsense exegetically. I am sorry to be so blunt, but there are times when bluntness is in order.

27:28 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?

27:56 You are like a man who is going to have a glass of wine. So he takes his muslin and he puts it over his cup. Then he opens up his wineskin, which held the wine, do you remember? And fearing that maybe some flies or some fleas might have dropped down in before it was closed over, what they did was they strained through their muslin or their cheesecloth into their cup.

28:19 They would strain their wine. He said, Now you know what you are like? You are like a man so concerned that he doesn't get a little flea in his wine cup that he strains out the gnats, and after he has got them all strained out and thrown away, just before he drinks his wine out of his cup, his camel steps into it. And with his camel sitting behind down in his cup, he swallows the whole thing down.

28:44 That is exactly what Jesus said. You strain out of it, and you swallow a camel. That is a figure of speech, striking, grotesque, yes, but you get the sense of it. The little meticulous details and the great issues you utterly overlook, both of God's demands and of your own sin.

29:07 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.

29:44 You cannot even see it from thirty yards away. And they are pushing and shoving, and you get up close, and you say, what in the world is this? The guy is actually holding a needle. A sewing needle.

29:54 And they are putting the mouth of that poor camel right there. And you say, what are you guys doing? They are trying to squeeze the camel through the needle's eye. You look at those guys and say, wouldn't you get crazy?

30:07 You can't do that. 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. Now you look at your Bible. That's what Jesus, the incarnate God, says.

30:28 It is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. And remember, it wasn't spoken in an isolated context. In their mind's eye, they could still see him with stooped shoulders and long confidence shuffling away, clinging to his riches while he abandoned his Savior. And as far as we know, he shuffled his way into hell.

Disciples' Astonished Reaction and Crucial Question

31:02 A striking illustration of our Lord to underscore utter impossibility by nature. Then we have as the fifth strand in this dialogue the astonished reaction and crucial question of the disciples. Verse 26. Verse 24 says, they were amazed.

31:27 Verse 26 says, after this, they were astonished. And what you have is the word exceedingly which underscores the measure and then a compound word which is very bold and vivid, literally means they were stricken out of their senses exceedingly. We would say in current 20th century Americanese, they were blown out of their minds. I mean, this was a rough time.

32:04 First of all, Jesus makes a statement that causes amazement and astonishment. Now he makes statements that cause them to be overwhelmed, to be blown out of their mind. If the previous statement registered 3.0 on the spiritual Richter shock scale, this one registered 7.0.

32:27 It was almost more than they could bear. That was their reaction, to be astonished exceedingly and that in turn precipitated a very crucial question. Look at it. This shows the state of their mind and wherein their sense of being blown out of their minds consisted.

32:51 They were astonished exceedingly saying among themselves, who then? First of all, he tells us, how hardly shall they be that have riches enter the kingdom? And he reminds us that it's hard for anyone to enter. And now we do remember, he talked about a narrow gate, a compressed way, few that find it.

33:21 And now he says, wealthy men are the least likely ever to find it. In fact, sooner find people pushing camels through the eyes of needles, than you'll find rich men entering the kingdom. And the cumulative effect of all of this is to shatter them and bring them to the place where you can just see them with distraught faces and eyes wide open, questioning among themselves, who then can? What hope is likely with the most ability to be saved?

34:00 Is the least likely then can be saved? That's their astonished reaction and their crucial question. Then the sixth strand is the climactic affirmation of our Lord, verse 27. The climactic affirmation of our Lord, Jesus looking upon them, said, with men it is impossible, but not with God, for all things are possible with God.

Jesus' Climactic Affirmation: With God All Things Are Possible

34:37 Now notice that this climactic affirmation, like the first affirmation, is not made until he secures it after he has seen it, but before he sees it, before he has seen it, until he has seen it, until he has seen it, before he has seen it, before he has seen it, what becomes of the understanding? And this is what we'll see in the next 24 words. wonder why as a preacher I'm so insistent that I have your eyes when I preach? This is why. It's

35:21 very likely if I don't have your eyes, I'll never have your ears. And if I don't have your ears, I'll never get to your hearts. Jesus looked upon them. And then he gives in his affirmation, notice, a negative, a qualification, and an explanation. What's the negative? He says,

35:40 with men, dash, impossible. No verb in the original. You fellows are saying, who then can be saved? He says, well, I'll tell you. First of all, if you're looking to men, for men to be saved

35:56 in the virtue of their own strength, and in the virtue of their own wealth, and in the virtue of their own attainments, in anything that has its origin in man, one word over every form of self- salvation. Impossible. You see, our Lord had no room for any form of Pelagianism. The doctrine that man has some inherent power to at least take the first word of God. No. As far as salvation is

36:28 concerned, if there is any aspect to have its origin in man, Jesus says, impossible. Impossible. A negation. But then he gives a qualification, but, but, not with God.

36:45 The impossibility stretches like a canopy over anything man can do in and of himself. But that negation is cancelled when we look to the living God. The God of might and power. The God of redemptive grace and mercy. The God who has sent me. The God who I am. But with God, all things

37:14 are possible. And there is his explanation. Why can I tell you? What is not possible with men is possible with God for all things are possible with God. And in the context, you see, it has to do with this matter of

37:36 whatever obstacle is there in God's dealings with man and in man's condition, whatever obstacle must be overcome. That man may be the recipient of salvation. Everything is possible with God. That must be done for men to be saved. And that is the climactic affirmation of our Lord.

Living Message: Warning Against the Itch to Be Rich

38:06 Now, I've sought to open up the passage. This fascinating dialogue between our Lord and the disciples subsequent to the departure of the rich young ruler. Now, in the second place. What is the living message of this dialogue?

38:24 What does Jesus Christ by his word say to us gathered here in this building this morning? What is the word of God to us as we draw near this morning and have drawn near and as we have listened in on this dialogue and sought to relive the exchange of words and emotions and even sights of this entire incident? Well, let me set before you. Four strands of the living message of this dialogue, first and foremost.

38:59 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.

39:33 Most. trusted, proven medical authorities, after ten years of careful investigation, after ten years of the most scrutinizing, the most careful scrutinizing of their tentative conclusions, came to the conclusion that if you wear a hat in the summer, you will most likely not live to be 30 years old. And from every single source imaginable and at the disposal of the UN, of individual governments, the word went out over the whole world, how hardly shall they that wear hats in summer live to be 30 years old.

40:19 Now, what would happen if such a statement could be made upon credible medical authority? Well, anyone who wanted to live to be more than 30 years old and took life seriously, and wasn't a nihilist, what would he do? He wouldn't wear a hat in the summertime.

40:37 Now, some joker wearing a hat, would he sit around envying his hat? The very instrument of death? Would he complain, I don't have a hat?

40:50 Funny to buy a hat would be neutralized by what hats do, they kill you.

41:01 Now, you look at the word of God, my friends. You look at it and you let that word come home into the deepest chambers of your heart. Here! Hear the word of the Son of God.

41:14 Shall they that have riches enter the kingdom of God?

41:29 And forgiveness and eternal life?

41:34 Don't be a fool.

41:37 This passage, if it is anything, is our Lord's classic warning against the itch to be rich. And as one commentator has observed, though it is true, that some who become Christians in their youth, of little or moderate means, become rich as Christians, very few who are rich ever become Christians.

42:10 And that's what Jesus is saying.

42:14 It's not utterly impossible. Luke 19 records the conversion of Zacchaeus, a very wealthy man. We read in Acts 17 today of these great women. And no doubt, part of that greatness was standing in the...

42:30 a community that involved influence and wealth. So it is not an absolute impossibility, but the scriptures tell us that there is a peculiar liability to riches in terms of ever becoming a Christian.

42:50 And what is true with respect to becoming a Christian is true with reference to growing as a Christian. And this is why the apostle gives that word in 1st, 1st Timothy 6, 9. They that are minded to be rich, they've set their heart and their ambitions and their goals to have something more than a comfortable subsistence life. They want accumulated wealth.

43:20 They that are minded to be rich fall into a temptation and a snare. And many foolish and hurtful lusts, such as drowned men in distress, ruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, which some reaching after have been led astray from the faith and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows. Oh, I speak especially to you who stand on the threshold of your careers, you young people who are exposed to the horrible lie that is woven into the texture of so much...

44:04 ...of the television and the popular magazines.

44:08 The rich and the wealthy have made it. No, all they've made is a barrier to Christ and salvation and heaven. And they've made a slick slide into hell.

Living Message: Salvation as a Miracle of Omnipotent Grace

44:36 With what excessive difficulties shall they that have riches enter the kingdom of heaven. But then secondly, the living message of this dialogue is this. It constitutes a call to recognize...

44:52 ...that the salvation of any sinner is a miracle of omnipotent grace.

44:59 The salvation of any sinner is a miracle of omnipotent grace. Where do we find that? Well, look at the words of Jesus. When he's just about brought the disciples to despair, after he finishes his personal work, and then interprets what lay behind both his demands and the man's response, ...and then interprets what lay behind both his demands and the man's response,

45:24 you notice they didn't jump up and say, Isn't that wonderful? We can go out and save the world! Just attended Jesus' course on six easy steps to soul winning. What a marvelous example!

45:34 Let's go out and get the... They're done.

45:37 They're found grabbing one another by the shirt and the shoulder and saying, I mean, what a... ...end to end to under any circumstances.

45:50 And any additional encumbrances such as wealth make it even more difficult, if that's what salvation means. To be brought to the place where we're utterly stripped, prepared to part with anybody or anything that Christ demands, that we may truly be attached to Him as our Savior, Lord, and King. The world can be saved. Jesus says with man, impossible.

46:17 Impossible! But not with God. For all things are possible with God. And listen.

46:26 When we talk of God's possibilities with regard to hell-deserving sinners, it is omnipotence joined to grace. Omnipotence! To unmerited faith. To unmerited favor.

46:39 You see, the unmerited favor of God would be powerless were it not hitched to omnipotence! Omnipotence would be threatening were it not hitched to grace. But in the case of the salvation of every sinner, our only hope is omnipotent. Ephesians 2, 1 to 4.

47:01 You hath He made alive who were dead in your trespasses and sins, wherein in time past ye walked according to the principle of the Lord. Gospels 16, 21-22. Jesus made the mother of Nineveh every son of God. Ephesians 1, 22-24.

47:23 The children of rather evil are like goat pack In the first three verses and then he says but God, but God. Who is rich for we loved His great love. Let's begin with Ephesians 1 to 58. I'll tell you how.

47:43 Excellent. seen before, and I want to make it as plain and simple as I know how. Listen to me. In this great question of what must you do to be prepared to die and go into life instead of into outer darkness, if you have any thought that there's anything you've brought into this world natively, anything you've accumulated in this world by your deeds or the deeds of another upon you that can in any way give you one gram of standing before God in the

48:18 issue of salvation, you are utterly deceived and deluded. With men, impossible! You say, but they were holy men who sprinkled water on my head. They were still men, and they could sprinkle water on your head till they wear a hole in it, but they can't put any grace in your heart, and they can't change the record against you in heaven. Ah, but

48:43 they were sincere! They led me to pray the sinner's prayer. Yes, they were very sincere, and they put words in your mouth, but they didn't change your heart. Ah, but you say, I'm very sincere.

48:55 Yes, but it's still your sincerity. With men, with men, anything that comes out of man, anything that is the product of man, it has no bearing in the salvation of your soul. What you need is omnipotent grace. You need that which only God can give you.

49:15 You need that which only God can give you. You need that which only God can give you. You need that which only God can provide, and blessed be His name, He has provided it. A way of righteous peace with Himself. A way in which He can show mercy to the sinner

49:26 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 to the right hand of God the Father Almighty. And my friend, listen to me. Your only hope for acceptance

50:09 with God is all bound up in that person. That person who's there by way of Mary's womb, a sinless life. The sinner's death, a triumphant resurrection, and a glorious ascension. And God has put him, not in you, not in the minister, not in the priest, not in the church, it's in him. With God, it's possible. God has made a way of righteous peace in the person and

50:39 work of His Son. But you see, you need something else. You not only need a way of righteous peace provided, something's got to be done to incline your heart. To turn away from the rags of your own self-righteousness. To turn away from the stupidity of wearing

50:56 hats in summer. Well, you know it's going to kill you. To turn away from trying to justify yourself, and pull yourself up by your own bootstraps, and cling to your lusts, and to your riches, and to your idols, and your gods, and forsake them all, and give yourself up to Christ, to be His and only His. And it's God who, by grace, will give you life. And

51:20 it's God who, by grace, will give you life. And it's God who, by grace, will give you life. And he's Самымrix. …takes natively self-righteous, self-centered, self-willed hearts and inclines them to turn in hatred from the things we once loved. And to turn in faith to those things we once considered

51:38 a fool's notion. And to throw ourselves upon His mercy, as revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what this passage tells us. But then thirdly, this passage — Sure enough, here's another.

Living Message: Indictment Against Slick Decisionism Evangelism

51:53 is a powerful warning against the itch to be rich. It is not only a call to recognize that the salvation of any sinner is a miracle of omnipotent grace, but this passage is a devastating indictment against all notions and practices of slick decisionism evangelism. It is a devastating indictment on all notions and practices of slick decisionism evangelism. And what do I mean by those words?

52:28 Simply this. The idea that you con a person into getting into a place alone with somebody in his own living room or in an inquiry room, and you get him by just selectively giving a minimum exposure to his own heart and to God and to truth. Get him to pray a little prayer and then pronounce him absolved and saved and on his way to heaven. Oh, how terrific!

52:53 Can that be called Christian evangelism? Look at Christ Himself. If ever there was a man who seemed to be ripe for the kingdom, it's a man who's willing to break out from his peers and all along, not in a crowd. The text begins by saying there came one, one individual, running, kneeling before the Lord Jesus, something people didn't do before their rabbis.

53:22 Surely he's all ready to be tapped on the shoulder, and say, pray your prayer and you're in, fella. But Jesus begins to unravel his mistaken notions about goodness, his shallow notions about the law of God. He begins to unravel the whole fabric of the fundamental issues involved in a soul's salvation. I as a sinner, who is God, is a holy God.

53:49 Where am I in relationship to His law? How undone am I in relationship to His holiness? And though Jesus loved him, He let him go. He didn't run down the road and grab him and say, sorry, fella, I was trying to get you all the way, saved, surrendered, sanctified, baptized in the Spirit.

54:10 I was trying to get the whole nine yards, but I'll settle for three yards.

54:16 Jesus loved him and let him go.

54:20 Jesus loved him too much to pat him on the back and tell him he was on his way to heaven while he was still on his way to hell.

54:28 My friends, if there's any passage, in the Gospels, recording Jesus dealing with a sinner that exposes and devastatingly brings to bear the indictment of God upon shallow decisionism, it is this passage.

54:48 When men are more concerned about their image as successful evangelists than about the true salvation of souls, I say this passage is a devastating indictment on all notions and practices of the gospel. It is a devastating indictment on all notions and practices of the gospel. It is a devastating indictment on all notions and practices of the gospel. It is a devastating indictment on all notions and practices of the gospel.

Living Message: Bright Beacon of Hope to Wretched Sinners

55:04 It is a devastating indictment on all notions and practices of slick decisionism evangelism. But then, thank God, there is a fourth note and I want to close on this that to me is in a sense the glory of a passage that otherwise has overtones of such sadness. Do you use your imagination? Maybe that's the problem why I get so excited in preaching because I see the pictures in my mind and I can see that stooped-shouldered sad face.

55:34 And if he doesn't repent, that body will be lit by the flames of hell.

55:41 That's not the kind of passage that gets you shouting happy.

55:45 But I tell you, there is a note in this whole dialogue that is enough to get us all shouting happy. And what is it? It's this. This dialogue constitutes a bright beacon of hope to the most wretched of sinners upon the face of the earth.

56:05 Beacon of hope? Yes. Where do you find it? In these words.

56:09 With men? Impossible. But not with God! With God, all things are possible.

56:18 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.

56:31 What was he doing when he said, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. If I've taken anything wrongfully, I restore it fourfold. That was a calculated guess as to just about how he'd liquidate all of his cash. Because he got wealthy like most publicans did.

56:52 By graft and overpayment. So when he figures it out and says, Half I outright give. If I've taken anything wrongfully, I restore it fourfold. He did some quick calculating.

57:03 He was saying, Lord, the riches don't have me anymore. You've got me. When you said, Zacchaeus, come down!

57:12 And in the revelation of grace, I saw you for who you were. And that if I had you, I had all things in my heart. I kissed my riches goodbye.

57:23 The Bible records that he got through the gate. He got through the gate. He got through the gate. And Paul clearly indicates further on in that passage in 1 Timothy 6 that there were some wealthy Christians at Ephesus.

57:36 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.

57:48 Boom, boom. One well-placed bond. Real estate. Solid investment.

57:53 Yeah? Dust. That's all. One bomb.

57:55 Dust. A big mushroom. That's all.

58:00 Trust not in the uncertainty of riches, whether you've got it in solid real estate or in questionable paper money or any other form of so-called assets. But he says, Tell them to be rich in good works. Let them use their wealth to lay up a store of the well-done of their Savior. Yes.

58:20 Yes, God can get any kind of sinner through the gate. And keep them upon the way. And when we read, With man impossible, but not with God, all things are possible with God. That's in the context of salvation.

58:36 And if I'm speaking today to someone who says, Well, Pastor Martin, all this talk about salvation's all right. If I was like that rich young ruler, if all I had to deal with was kissing goodbyes, some capital, and some possessions, and giving away a few stocks and bonds and titles, titles to real estate, that'd be easy. But you don't know me. I sit here this morning haunted with all of the things and the ways with which I have defied God and His law.

59:07 The lives that are twisted and warped and scarred because of me. The things I can never undo. They haunt me. They follow me to my bed.

59:17 They meet me in my dreams. They're there to greet me when I awake in the morning. You don't know me, and no, my friend, I don't know you. But my God does, and listen to what He says to you.

59:29 This is a faithful saying, worthy of all acceptance. Christ Jesus came into the world sinners to save. I have a warrant from God to say this word is for your acceptance. Christ Jesus came into the world sinners to save.

59:54 And in that category of sinners, you put the rich young ruler, who outwardly are moral and upright and earnest and all the rest. And you put the harlots and the whoremongers and the perverts and the greedy and the slanderers and the big mouths and the bullies and the self-righteous. And you put every kind of sinner imaginable. And God says, stretching over them all is this word.

60:21 Jesus saves such. Oh, what a beacon of hope. What a beacon of hope to any sinner. What a beacon of hope to any sinner.

60:28 What a beacon of hope to any sinner in this place today. May Christ come to you in His Word saying to you, up from your groveling discouragement and looking to yourself, if you could quit the sin you've committed and if you could go back and erase all the influence upon people, you'd still be as lost and on your way to hell, friend. So why bother to try? Come like you are.

60:54 Come right now. Come today.

60:59 And Jesus will forgive. And He will forgive. And He will pardon. And where restitution must be made, He'll give you grace to make it.

61:07 And where it can't be, He'll give you peace in the knowledge that the blood of Jesus has cleansed and none can accuse you in the last day. Oh, what a beacon of hope with God. All things are possible. And my dear friend, if you sit here this morning saved, surely you've gotten the message.

61:30 There's only one reason you didn't walk away from God. You didn't walk away sorrowful when the claims of Christ were brought close to your heart. Omnipotent grace worked in you. That's the only reason.

61:43 Or you'd be like that foolish young ruler, cling to your riches and forfeit a savior.

61:51 And oh, how much we should feel ourselves as we considered in the Sunday school hour debtors to mercy alone. Of covenant mercy we should sing as we recognize that it's grace that taught our hearts to fear and grace our fears relieved. How precious has that grace appeared the hour we first believed. Through many dangers, toils and snares, we have already come.

62:24 His grace has brought us safe thus far. And grace will, will,

62:36 for we shall be among all of the perfected saints and holy angels who never sinned, eternal monuments of omnipotent grace. Singing before the throne of God and of the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb that was slain. Worthy is the Lamb that is praised. Oh God, our Father, what thanks can we give to you this morning for that great beacon of hope that shines over the centuries,

Closing Prayer and Benediction

63:19 that comes out of the very words of Jesus, that with you, all things are possible in reference to man's salvation. Oh, may you enable some sinner this morning, young, old, outwardly moral and religious, or perhaps coming in here this morning, as it were, reeking with the very smell of the debauchery of last night. Father, whatever the state, will you not make Christ attractive and winsome? Make him to appear to them that which he is in himself mighty, willing, and able to save.

64:00 And oh, that they may close with him this morning, trusting only in him for life and salvation. We pray, Lord, for any who are even now toying with that horrible itch to be rich. May your word blast that bubble. And may they see the folly of flirting with their damnation.

64:23 And may they be given an insatiable hunger to know only that wealth that is laid up in Christ. Have mercy, our Father, and seal the word to our hearts. And may the great and final day reveal that you answered the prayer offered at the beginning of our study together, that that word would come into teachable hearts and come not in word only, but in power and in the Holy Spirit. Hear our cry and to your name and your name alone, be the praise, the honor, and the glory.

64:59 Amen.