Sermon Tone Analysis

Reading:

“As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him.

“Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered.

“No one is good—except God alone.

You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’”

“Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”

Jesus looked at him and loved him.

“One thing you lack,” he said.

“Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.

Then come, follow me.”

At this the man’s face fell.

He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” The disciples were amazed at his words.

But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”

Peter said to him, “We have left everything to follow you!” “I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life.

But many who are first will be last, and the last first.””

(, NIV84)

Introduction

Last week we considered that striking encounter between Jesus and the rich young ruler.

The rich young man approached Jesus, preventing him from leaving town until he had answers to his question.

And the question that he posed was: What must I do to inherit eternal life.

Here was a man with a burden to become a part of God’s kingdom.

He wanted to inherit eternal life.

And after some discussion, Jesus posed the challenge to him: If you want to inherit eternal life, then go, sell all you have and give your money to the poor, and you will have treasures in heaven, and then come, follow me.

What a mind-blowing encounter!!

And if you’re anything like the typical person in life, you shifted in your chair, and asked the question to yourself: does that mean I should get rid of all my possessions in order to become a disciple of Jesus?

Now many pastors have preached from this text, and the typical way that they do this (or present this account) goes something along the lines of what I did last week, where I emphasised the fact that we need to be destroying the various idols that we may have in our own lives when coming to Christ.

And at that point, everyone kind of breathes a sigh of relief.

Relief that they don’t need to sell all their possessions.

And that kind of says something on its own, doesn’t it?

We tend to put money and possessions right up there at the top of our list of priorities in life.

And to let go is anything but easy.

But if there is one thing that we certainly must learn from this encounter with the rich young ruler, and what Christ goes on to teach his disciples, it is the fact that…

…wealth and possessions are a very real stumbling block and obstacle to entering the kingdom of heaven.

[repeat]

The danger of wealth, or the stumbling block that wealth is to entering the Kingdom of God is not something that is unique to this account in the Gospels.

Rather, it is teaching that is found throughout the Scriptures.

Warnings about wealth and possessions are to be found from cover to cover.

Randy Alcorn has written a book entitled “Money, Possessions and Eternity,” and in this book, he begins with this paragraph:

Were we the Bible’s editors, we might be tempted to cut out much of what it says about money and possessions.

Anyone can see it devotes a disproportionate amount of space to the subject, right?

When it comes to money and possessions, the Bible is sometimes redundant, often extreme, and occasionally shocking.

It turns many readers away, making it a hard sell in today’s market-place.

It interferes with our lives and commits the unpardonable sin – it makes us feel guilty.

If we want to avoid guilt feelings, it forces us to invent fancy interpretations to get around its plain meaning.[1]

He goes on to state that according to his research, the Bible devotes twice as many verses to money (about 2,350 of them) than to faith and prayer combined; that Jesus spoke more about money than about both heaven and hell; and that about 15% of all of Christ’s recorded words concern this one subject.

Clearly, this is a subject of immense importance and significance.

Clearly this is a subject that each person, including every disciple of Jesus Christ needs to be fully taught on and challenged on.

Indeed, every disciple of Jesus must test and evaluate their hearts in light of the teaching of Scripture on this important issue.

1.

The Assertion (v.23-24)

So, let us consider together what it is that Christ teaches his disciples following this encounter with the rich young ruler.

As the rich young man walks away from Christ grieving at the instructions that he’s just received, we read in verse 23 that:

“Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”

Here is the summary statement of Christ’s teaching through these verses – the focus point.

It is exceedingly hard, it is with great difficulty, that a rich person will enter the kingdom of heaven.

For wealthy people to enter God’s kingdom is exceedingly difficult.

Wealth provides a very real stumbling block to coming to God with the right attitude and spirit.

Christ doesn’t go into all the details or the specifics of why this is so.

What is it about wealth that makes it so difficult for the wealthy person to enter into the kingdom of God?

Primarily and at the root of the issue, is that the person with wealth, or means in this world, is so prone to place his trust in that wealth, rather than in God.

In other words the sense of security of the person gets shifted from a deep trust in the power and providence and provision of God, and instead is placed on the earthly riches that are accumulated.

Listen to how the Scriptures put this in various places.

In the book of Revelation, God gave warnings to the various churches.

To the church in Laodicea, He warned them that they were trusting in their riches.

These are the words that He quotes them as saying:

“I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” (, NASB)

But He goes on to explain to them:

you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked (, NASB)

This church, these people who had come to know Christ, and had placed their trust in Christ for their salvation, were now focused so much on their wealth and possessions, that they were forsaking the one who had bought them with a great price.

They failed to recognize their own neediness.

In this context, it is clear that they get not only their sense of security, but their sense of worth in their possession.

This leads them to be completely blinded to their deep spiritual need.

Although they saw themselves as wealthy and content and in need of nothing, the fact was that they were wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked.

Strong words!

Listen to how the following Proverbs speak of such a man:.

“The rich man’s wealth is his fortress, The ruin of the poor is their poverty.”

(, NASB95)

There is the security that a rich man gets when he has wealth.

He begins to feel that he’s untouchable – his riches are his fortress.

Similar words are found in …

“A rich man’s wealth is his strong city, And like a high wall in his own imagination.”

(, NASB95)

It’s important to realise that this sense of security in wealth really is only a high wall in his own imagination!!!

The rich person only imagines that they are secure and without need, because they are deceived in the imaginations of their mind.

In the book of Deuteronomy, God speaks through Moses, and tells of how the Israelites received much physical blessing from God in the way of provisions, but because of this abundance, forsook God.

The words in …

““But Jeshurun [Israel] grew fat and kicked— You are grown fat, thick, and sleek— Then he forsook God who made him, And scorned the Rock of his salvation.”

(, NASB95)

These verses are just some warnings and examples of how wealth deceives people into a sense of self-sufficiency.

But the real danger is that the person with riches and wealth is so blind to their own self-sufficiency.

The Israelites would never have said that they were trusting in their riches.

They would simply have said that these blessings from God that he had promised them, and they would have continued in their usual ceremonial obedience.

But their hearts were far from Him!!! What a danger!!

The reality however is that they failed to recognise that God is not only the great provider of all things, but that He has the power to take everything away in an instant!

says…

“Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint.

Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.”