I was reading through Matthew 19 last Saturday and re-read the story of the rich, young ruler for the umpteenth time.
But this time.....God decided to show me something that I hadn't noticed before.
He asks Jesus what "good" things he can do to have eternal life. Jesus tells that there is none good, but one and that is God. But if he wants eternal life, then he should keep the commandments.
Then the young guy very foolishly asks, "Which ones?" - as if obeying God was some sort of cafeteria plan.
Then Jesus does something unusual....He gives the man what he wants - a list. I have always wondered why Jesus only listed a few of the 10 commands and not all of them. It's actually bugged me on a couple of occasions.
But on Saturday, God impressed upon me a silly little song that I use in children's choir to teach the 10 commandments, so I started singing it while reading Jesus' words and noticed that he left off commandments 1-4 and listed commandments 5-9 and includes one extra one..
He told the guy, "Don't murder (6), don't commit adultery (7), don't steal (8), don't bear false witness (9), honor thy father and mother (5), and love thy neighbor as thy self (extra).
The rich young ruler claimed that he has no problem with any of these commands.
I got to thinking.......a person could keep commandments 5-10 and even love thy neighbor as thyself - and NOT be saved. Commandments 5-10 and this extra one are all about our relationships with other people - or our good behavior in human relationships. This young man was convinced that he was "good" enough and wanted to be "better".
There are plenty of lost people out there who believe in marital fidelity, the sanctity of human life, telling the truth, showing respect to parents, and showing respect towards their neighbors by generally doing good deeds for those they come in contact with.
But being good doesn't save you. There are some genuinely GOOD people who will burn in hell for eternity.
Commandments 5-10 and "love thy neighbor as thyself" are completely meaningless without commandments 1-4. Commandments 1-4 are dealing with our relationship with a Supernatural and Holy God.
Jesus didn't discuss commandments 1-4. The man didn't ask him how to be saved. He just asked how to be good.
I believe that the Holy Spirit was convicting the young man because he next said to Jesus, "I'm obeying all of those commandments, but something is missing." Jesus now introduces the real crux of the matter. He tells him that he must forsake all that is important to him and that he holds as valuable and that he must follow Him.
The young man can't do it. I don't think that it's the money. I think that Jesus explains that further down in verse 29. Charity - that's an act of kindness - giving to the poor. The young man was wanting to be "good." I think if Jesus had simply said, "Give some of your possessions to help the poor" that he could have done that. He just couldn't let go of what the money represented. He apparently had a love of money that would not make room for a love of God or a love of Christ.
He couldn't keep commandments 1-4.
But this time.....God decided to show me something that I hadn't noticed before.
He asks Jesus what "good" things he can do to have eternal life. Jesus tells that there is none good, but one and that is God. But if he wants eternal life, then he should keep the commandments.
Then the young guy very foolishly asks, "Which ones?" - as if obeying God was some sort of cafeteria plan.
Then Jesus does something unusual....He gives the man what he wants - a list. I have always wondered why Jesus only listed a few of the 10 commands and not all of them. It's actually bugged me on a couple of occasions.
But on Saturday, God impressed upon me a silly little song that I use in children's choir to teach the 10 commandments, so I started singing it while reading Jesus' words and noticed that he left off commandments 1-4 and listed commandments 5-9 and includes one extra one..
He told the guy, "Don't murder (6), don't commit adultery (7), don't steal (8), don't bear false witness (9), honor thy father and mother (5), and love thy neighbor as thy self (extra).
The rich young ruler claimed that he has no problem with any of these commands.
I got to thinking.......a person could keep commandments 5-10 and even love thy neighbor as thyself - and NOT be saved. Commandments 5-10 and this extra one are all about our relationships with other people - or our good behavior in human relationships. This young man was convinced that he was "good" enough and wanted to be "better".
There are plenty of lost people out there who believe in marital fidelity, the sanctity of human life, telling the truth, showing respect to parents, and showing respect towards their neighbors by generally doing good deeds for those they come in contact with.
But being good doesn't save you. There are some genuinely GOOD people who will burn in hell for eternity.
Commandments 5-10 and "love thy neighbor as thyself" are completely meaningless without commandments 1-4. Commandments 1-4 are dealing with our relationship with a Supernatural and Holy God.
Jesus didn't discuss commandments 1-4. The man didn't ask him how to be saved. He just asked how to be good.
I believe that the Holy Spirit was convicting the young man because he next said to Jesus, "I'm obeying all of those commandments, but something is missing." Jesus now introduces the real crux of the matter. He tells him that he must forsake all that is important to him and that he holds as valuable and that he must follow Him.
The young man can't do it. I don't think that it's the money. I think that Jesus explains that further down in verse 29. Charity - that's an act of kindness - giving to the poor. The young man was wanting to be "good." I think if Jesus had simply said, "Give some of your possessions to help the poor" that he could have done that. He just couldn't let go of what the money represented. He apparently had a love of money that would not make room for a love of God or a love of Christ.
He couldn't keep commandments 1-4.
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