Sermon Tone Analysis

! commitment to new TESTAMENT discipleship

!!!Mark 10:17  And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?

18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good?

there is none good but one, that is, God.

19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.

20 And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.

21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.

22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.

!!!!As we contemplate this portion of the passage we -- find some principles that we can all understand and apply today.

!!!!!

Here Jesus interacts with a man who runs up to Him and kneels at His feet…….. called a rich young man in Matthews gospel, a ruler in Luke….he is often referred to as the “rich young ruler”.

He asks …verse 17….. what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?……….and

Jesus replies…….vs18,

19

            18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good?

there is none good but one, that is, God.

19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.

Ø      Full of pride and self confidence he boasts  /vs 20… all these have I observed from my youth/   (all the commandments)….. (I have done all the things that are required to )……….

“inherit eternal life”.

Because this rich young man had the typical slant of the pharisaical teaching of his day………….(that

you could actually fulfill the law and be completely qualified for eternal life)…..

……. he was convinced in his own mind that he had kept all of God’s law…..that salvation was merited on his behavior……..

Ø      *A point of interest* about this narrative is what the parallel passage in Matt 19 says.

Mat 19:20  The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: *what lack I yet?*

Ø      That is probably the question of the ages!  (what lack I yet?)………especially as the disciples listened to see what Jesus would say!

And that is important for us to place in the back of our minds…….Jesus disciples were listening in on this conversation………

Ø      Then Jesus places some tension on his prideful answer…...and pushes a little bit vs 21

21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, *One thing thou lackest*: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, *take up the cross, and follow me.*

Jesus was calling him to true biblical discipleship……..as Matt 28:19, 20 states in the great commission…..we are to make disciples……..

Ø      Remember ….that the young man wanted to know how to inherit eternal life……….the

equivalent of asking how he could be sure to get to heaven.

But Jesus did not actually give Him the gospel as we would think of it……..in other words Jesus did not say believe on me……….

the work that I will do as the Messiah……if you know the law as well as you say you do you must know that you must believe on the Messiah……

You must repent of your sin and you must believe with all your heart………and you must pray or ask me………..

APPLICATION…..lets make a simple application here……..

Ø      If it were us answering the same kind of question this young man posed…..if someone came to us and asked how can I get to heaven…….

*we would not say*……….. sell all you have and follow Christ.

And perhaps that’s the problem…..we have reduced true salvation to a prayer…instead of a commitment to God's requirements in salvation…that is…..*to be a true disciple*…….

We have reduced true salvation to a prayer…instead of a commitment to God's requirements of “making disciples”…(according to)….Mathew 28:19 and 20….

*            Matthew 28:19* Go ye therefore, and teach (Gk literally – to make a disciple) all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: *20* Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.

Amen.

Ø      Jesus said………in answer to his desire for eternal life…….

21 ……….

go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.

Ø      Verse 21.. incorporates what Jesus spoke many times in many ways to those who would seek Him for salvation………and would eventually become His followers….TURN TO MARK CHAPTER 8

*            Mark 8:34-37* And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

35For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.

36For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

37Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Ø      ……..the verse that is sometimes called…….(the

call to discipleship).

Please take notice of this verse.

*Luke 9:23* And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross *daily*, and follow me.

AND THEN IN LUKE CHAPTER 14………..

*Luke 14:25* And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, 26If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

27And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

………..33So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

YOU REALLY CANT GET ANY MORE EMPHATIC THAN THESE VERSES WHEN IT COMES TO UNDERSTANDING WHAT IT REALLY TAKES TO BE A DISCIPLE OF JESUS CHRIST……

Ø      There is a duel train of thought running through these various passages on Jesus appeal to total abandonment…….

…...that is….one is the* call to discipleship*…….one

who comes to know Christ as Savior…..

……And the other is the* commitment to discipleship*……one who already knows Christ as Savior.

First: the call to true new TESTAMENT discipleship

A. Remember Jesus says to the young man………/vs 21……..

One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, *take up the cross*, and follow me.

…../

1. Jesus already knew what this young man needed to hear and He knew how he was going to respond……

…….the point I want you to see is that….….Jesus was going to confront this young man *at the heart level*…….

…….to expose the *heart* issues regarding this rich young mans thinking…..Jesus was going to speak to him at the heart level before offering Himself as the Saviour……….

THE HEART NEEDED TO BE DEALT WITH………

2. Jesus was laying down the criteria for anyone who would come to Him for saving grace……this was a sampling for all that would hear his response…….that to gain eternal life you have to loose your temporal life.

You have to *repent, believe and forsake* all to inherit eternal life….to

be saved….

Repentance is seeing your sin as God sees it…..agreeing with God….and being so repulsed by your sin that you turn from in to God never to return to it again!

Why don’t we see that true biblical salvation is a clarion call to TRUE discipleship…….

*            Matthew 28:19* Go ye therefore, and teach (Greek to make a disciple) all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: *20* Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.

Amen.

VS 19….WIN THEM OR MAKE DISCIPLES……..VS 20…..TEACH THEM TO OBSERVE….OR TEACH THEM TO COMMIT TO DISCIPLESHIP…..

B. A palatable gospel presentation that does not call a person to commit to God's requirements to become a disciple….. actually absolves the unbeliever from his personal obligation…..

1.

What does that mean….”personal

obligation”…..it means when someone comes to know Christ they do not come on their own terms………they come on God's terms…

…..and God's terms are complete and total surrender…….WOULD YOU AGREE TO THAT STATEMENT?

NOW IF YOU AGREED TO THAT……YOU ARE IN TROUBLE…….ILL EXPLAIN LATER…..

2. Now notice…..again…..vs 21/……..

One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, *take up the cross*, and follow me.

…../

What does that mean……..to take up the cross, and follow me………

No one in the Roman Empire in New Testament times……….

and certainly no one in Palestine……….

could have missed Jesus’ point when He said,        take up his cross and follow Me…..Jesus was *calling this man to total abandonment*………..

Illustrate:

Ø      During the Roman occupation of Palestine the delicate balance of keeping Palestine under subjection to Rome was sometimes met with Jewish resistance…………  Although Rome’s unique way of governing the land included incorporating some toleration of Jewish manners and customs total rule belonged to the Roman occupiers.

In one instance…….only

a few years before Jesus spoke those words………, a zealot named Judas had gathered together a band of rebels to fight the Roman occupation forces.

The insurrection was easily quelled, and in order to teach the Jews a lesson, the Roman general Varus ordered the crucifixion of over 2,000 Jews.

It is said that their crosses lined the roads of Galilee from one end to the other.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

Yes……..the Jews knew rather emphatically what the cross represented…….

The cross symbolized the extremes of both excruciating pain and heartless cruelty; but above all it symbolized death.

3. What is Jesus saying here?

That if you are going to come to Christ and ask Him to be your Savior you must abandon everything……..you must repent……see yourself like God sees you and give your life to Him!

PRINCIPLE:

Ø      We could say in the onset of this lesson that the criteria for *entering* into NT discipleship is…*SALVATION*……..*Total Abandonment……OF SELF TO GOD!*

Ø      This young man was confronted with the reality of NT discipleship…..TOTAL ABANDONMENT OF SELF…….YOU CANNOT COME TO CHRIST FOR SALVATION AND HOLD BACK ANYTHING!

Ø      NOTICE I DIDN’T SAY RECKLESS ABANDONMENT……..I SAID TOTAL ABANDONMENT…….the difference is that reckless abandonment is thoughtless, careless and irresponsible.