Grace Baptist Church, Nokomis, IL.

Text:

Luke 18:18-30
Why Do You Call Me Good?

Read Luke 18:18-30

The passage I selected for this morning begins with a question, but not from Jesus (v. 18). It was asked by someone only identified as a ruler. Matthew also notes that this was a young man. Despite his young age, he had authority of some kind, whether passed down to him or by his own ambition. But despite his wealth and position, he realized that he did not have it all. He did not have eternal life. So he asked Jesus what he must do to inherit that which he lacked.

If someone were to ask me the question that was first asked of Jesus in this passage, I’d be rejoicing! I’d explain the gospel, maybe lead them through the Roman’s Road, or ask them questions to feel out where they are in their understanding of the gospel, and invite them to know Christ. But that’s not what Jesus does (v. 20).

What are you doing Jesus? No one can live up to that! That’s not the plan of salvation! Why does Jesus tell this man that the road to heaven is through obedience to the Law? This person wasn’t yet broken over his sin. Many people in our society aren’t ready to hear the good news because they haven’t accepted the bad news: we’re all sinners and we have no hope of eternal life by our efforts. So when we hear the question this man asked, we might hear, “opportunity!” But when Jesus heard this man ask the question, He heard, “works!” And this came out even in the way the man addressed Jesus.

He called Jesus, “Good Teacher.” Now, this may have simply been his respectful way to address a Rabbi. He recognized that Jesus was good in his lifestyle. He recognized that what Jesus taught was good. But Jesus understood the underlying message behind this title. The man didn’t think of Jesus as Savior. The man thought he was simply a good teacher. And the man thought of himself as good, as well.

So Jesus responded, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.” No one is perfect like God. The man should have repented right then and there, because he saw himself as good, and only God is good.

But before someone can be saved, he needs to realize how impossible it is for him to be saved. We can’t trust in ourselves. We can’t think that we’re even close to being good enough. The man who asked Jesus about eternal life seemed to think that he had almost earned it. He likely had just heard Jesus tell a parable about trusting in one’s self (Luke 18:9-14). But he didn’t get it. He knew he lacked something, but he couldn’t put his finger on what it was. I wonder how often we think of ourselves the same way this man thought of himself. I don’t wonder if we ever think of ourselves this way. I know we do. I wonder how often we do. We tend to think that we’re pretty good people. But the Bible is clear that we’re all sinners.

I think we often misunderstand what comes next in this passage (v. 22-25). We often focus on the wealth aspect of what’s going on here. Certainly we need to take this message to heart. We are blessed with so much in America, and wealth often does get in the way of following Jesus. But I think sacrificing wealth is only one example of what Jesus is calling for. It was the example Jesus used here because that’s what the man he was talking to needed to hear. But for others who don’t have the problem of wealth, the passage might be read in other ways. How difficult it is for those who have intelligence to enter the kingdom of heaven! How difficult it is for those who have beauty to enter the kingdom of heaven! How difficult it is for those who have pride to enter the kingdom of heaven! It’s actually impossible for anyone who has anything to enter the kingdom of heaven!

I think the disciples understood that Jesus was saying this, because look how they responded (v. 26). They mostly weren’t wealthy people. If they thought Jesus was only talking about wealth, they would have said to themselves, “We’re safe, then.” No, They understood Jesus to mean, “The wealthy need to give up their wealth, the intelligent needs to give up his intelligence, the righteous need to give up on their righteousness, and anyone who has anything needs to give up on it in order to inherit eternal life.” They realized that Jesus was saying it is impossible for anyone to do anything that will earn salvation for themselves. So they asked, “Then who can be saved?”

Then Jesus for a moment makes sense to us (v. 27). We think, “Now we’re getting somewhere!” Even though we can’t save ourselves, God can save us. This makes sense to us! This is the kind of stuff we tell to new believers, and it’s the kind of stuff we embrace when we feel hopeless.

Too bad Jesus doesn’t linger on this thought for very long.

After Jesus made this statement, Peter opens his mouth (v. 28). We might expect Jesus to rebuke Peter. “Didn’t you just hear what I said, Peter? Salvation isn’t about what you do! It’s about what God does for you! It doesn’t matter what you do, it matters that you follow Me!” But that’s not how Jesus responds (v. 29-30). Jesus responds that we do have rewards when we abandon everything for Him! There’s a relationship between works and salvation. We’re not saved by work. We’re saved to work.

Faith is not idle. Faith is active. I heard an illustration by Francis Chan this week, and I’d like to share it with you. I have in this pulpit a balloon and a gun. How many of you think that I could shoot this balloon from across the stage? How many of you believe it so much that you’d be willing to hold the balloon up for me to shoot it? How many of you believe it so much that you’d hold the balloon in your teeth while I shoot it? Faith is not idle. Faith is active. When the Bible tells us to have faith, it doesn’t mean we should simply raise our hand, walk an aisle or say a prayer. It means we need to trust Jesus.

What we do is important and displays whether or not we have faith. The climax of the message that Jesus gave to the young ruler was not that he would give up all his wealth, but that he would simply come and follow Jesus! Those last four words are crucial to the message Jesus was giving this young man. Jesus wasn’t saying that giving up all his wealth was something the young ruler needed to do to earn salvation, he was calling the man to follow Him, and for the ruler, following Jesus meant leaving his wealth. When we follow Jesus, all of our greatest assets seem so disposable. When we follow Jesus, we’re willing to give up anything and everything for Him. When we follow Jesus, we care more about eternity than this life, and we build up treasures not on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in or steal.

Our challenge this morning is simply this: don’t trust in your goodness, but trust in Christ. But don’t stop with a halfhearted trust. Give yourself completely to Christ, and allow Him to do whatever He wants with you.