We’re in our series, The Gospel of Mark, where we’re studying verse by verse the book of Mark. In this message, Pastor Scott Worthington teaches… Read More
The Gospel of Mark Mark 10:17-31 // The Rich Young Ruler
Becoming the kind of people who abide in Christ, connect in community, and share in the mission will result in certain things that mark our lives.
Abide – Loving and Living in God’s Word Connect – Serving Your Church
Share – Sharing Your Story
“And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: “Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.” And he said to him, ‘Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.’ And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, ‘You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.’ Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, ‘How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!’ And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, ‘Children, how difficult 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 person to enter the kingdom of God.’ And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, ‘Then who can be saved?’ Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.’ Peter began to say to him, ‘See, we have left everything and followed you.’ Jesus said, ‘Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.’” Mark 10:17-31
If you had an opportunity to ask Jesus a question, what would your question be?
External Conformity Cannot Produce Internal Transformation
“And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ Mark 10:17
The law was never meant to change our hearts. It was meant to show us that our hearts need changing.
“For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” Romans 3:20
“And he said to him, ‘Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.’” Mark 10:20
“And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, ‘You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.’” Mark 10:21
Jesus loves us too much to leave us where we are.
“Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” Mark 10:22
The heart of the matter is what had his heart.
“And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.’” Mark 8:34
Jesus describes what following him looks like: Total self-denial, complete submission, and exclusive allegiance to Him.
“One sentence was enough to teach this young man the truth about himself that had been hidden all these years. There was a god in his life which he prized more than the true God.” Sinclair Ferguson
What is it in your life that would make you walk away sorrowful?
“Anything in the world that successfully competes with our love for God is an idol.” John Piper
External Wealth Can Hinder Eternal Life
“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” Mark 10:25
“Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.’” Mark 10:27
Salvation is not a human achievement! With man, it is impossible. It is God-ordained and God-sustained miracle.
We can start looking at money as a functional savior that becomes the very thing that keeps us from the true Savior.
“For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.” 1 Timothy 6:10 (NLT)
How to fight the love of money: 1. Gratitude – Thanking God for giving me what I don’t deserve.
2. Generosity – Giving to God to remind myself that everything I have comes from Him.
“…remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” Acts 20:35b
“God comes right out and tells us why he gives us more money than we need (2 Corinthians 8 and 9). It’s not so we can find more ways to spend it. It’s not so we can insulate ourselves from needing God’s provision. It’s so we can give and give generously.” Randy Alcorn
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"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." Acts 1:8
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