Well, as we give our attention to God's Word this morning, we direct it specifically to Matthew chapter 19. Matthew 19 and the encounter that Jesus has with the rich young ruler. Matthew 19 verses 16 to 26. And I've entitled this morning's message directly with the question that is asked in the text. A rich young ruler comes to Jesus in verse 16 and says, What good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life? And that's really the question we want to ask this morning in the title of today's message. What must I do to get eternal life? And there is frankly no more eternally significant or relevant question today or any day than this very question. What must I do to gain eternal life? What does it take for me to have a right relationship with God, to me to be forgiven of all of my sins, for me to have a place in heaven and eternity? What must I do to gain eternal life? Now, there are plenty of people today, as there have been throughout history, who do not have eternal life and do not care. There are plenty of people who are filled with anger toward God because of the circumstances in their life, in their heart, and sometimes even with their fists, they shake them angrily at God and refuse to acknowledge Him and live for themselves. and live purposefully and deliberately estranged from Him with full knowledge. Others, and this is probably the majority, others live estranged from Him and are indifferent toward Him because they're completely consumed with getting what they want out of this life. Whether it's their earthly pursuits, their hobbies, their sins, their careers, their passions, whatever it might be. And they do not give thought or much thought at all to eternity. They are enamored with this life and living this life for themselves. Others are simply committed to their own autonomy and do not want to submit to God and want to maintain the presumed measure of authority over themselves. And the idea they will ultimately be accountable to God is a truth they constantly suppress. If you are one of those people, today's message is not for you. Today's message is a message you will have no interest in whatsoever. But if you genuinely want to know the answer to what does it take to have eternal life, to obtain eternal life, then this message is for you because Jesus is going to talk to somebody that comes to him with exactly that question and he is going to answer it directly. Now, there are various grounds upon which people hope to gain eternal life for themselves. I've been a Christian for 25 years. And really, almost from the time I came to Saving Faith in Jesus Christ, I began to share the gospel with other people. And I'm here to tell you that when you broach the subject of if you were to die tonight, do you know for sure if you'd go to heaven or not? Most people will say, well, I don't know for sure, but I believe I will. And when you ask them, OK, on what basis do you believe? that you will gain access to heaven. If you were to die tonight and you were to stand before God and he were to say to you, why should I let you into my heaven? What are you going to say? I'm here to tell you, in my experience, most people give the answer that is directly tied to them being a good person or to them doing good works. Frankly, before God saved me, I would have given the same types of answers. If you were to die tonight and stand before God and he were to say to you, why should I let you into my heaven? What would you say? Because I'm a good person. I don't know for sure God will let me in, but I would think that he would. And I believe that he will because because I'm not a terrorist. Because I'm not Hitler. Because I'm because I'm not evil, because I'm not as bad as so-and-so or these kinds of people. Because I've never done anything really bad. You know, I've never committed adultery. I've never committed murder. I've never told any really big lies. I'm not a thief, etc. I'm a good person. Or they will base their confidence or hope in being granted access into eternal life on some works-based system of righteousness. Every religion except for biblical Christianity is a works-based religion. This includes Catholicism, Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Islam, and the rest that that there's an understanding of good and evil, of right and wrong, and the awareness that we have done things that are wrong and deserve to be punished by God, and how you take care of those evil things that you have done is variously taught on how to go about the process. Frankly, you can even go back to first century Judaism and the Pharisaic religion, that it is a matter of keeping the law and offering the sacrifices that make up for the things that I've done that are wrong and me having jumped through all those hoops and me having done all those things either merits me a right standing before God or makes up for the sins that I have committed. You pray through the rosary, you say the Our Fathers and the Hail Marys and whatever else and these atone for, they make up for sin or There's a whole new idea that you make up for as much as you can and then you go to an invented place called purgatory and the rest of it gets taken care of there before you get into heaven. All of these man-made ideas and man-made ways to get right with God are lies and they are lies that people buy into willingly because the alternative is accepting the truth that we're sinners and there's nothing we can do to make ourselves right with God. That's the whole reason Jesus came. Now, as we take a look at an encounter Jesus has here with a rich young ruler and he's and he's called the rich young ruler, because as you go through this text, as well as the parallel texts in Mark 10 and Luke 18, You will see that he is a young man, and the term young here refers to somebody between the ages of 20 and 40. And he is a ruler, probably, almost certainly, a ruler in the synagogue, which is significant because that means, and so he's probably in his 30s. He is wealthy, he's prominent, he's economically successful, he's respected within the community because of his business dealings. He is not a scribe nor a Pharisee. but he is nonetheless a ruler in the synagogue and it is very uncommon for somebody under the age of forty to be elevated to the position of an elder in a synagogue just like being elevated to the position of an elder in a church because when you're still in your twenties and thirties the product of your household is not apparent and your seasoning in your experience in your maturity is not present so for this guy to be high called, identified as a young man. And later on in the text, you'll see that he has much said that he has much wealth, that he's not willing to give up. And he is a ruler, meaning a ruler of the people, one that's recognized as a ruler in the synagogue. He's recognized as somebody that's spiritually successful as well as practically and financially successful. And yet he comes to Jesus with the most important question anybody could ever ask. What must I do to obtain eternal life? And the answer that Jesus gives as he works with this man tells us the answer today as well. There are three essential requirements in order to obtain eternal life. And it might surprise you to find that they all have to do not with your actions, but with your heart. And that's what I want you to see this morning. I know there are some of you that in your hearts, just like this rich young ruler, you want to have eternal life too. And you want to know how to do it. And you want to know what you need to do in order to truly have eternal life. And there's a part of you that has tried to do it, and yet deep down you know you don't have it. Today's message is for you. For others of you, you know people who think they have eternal life. but they really don't. I want you to see how Jesus shares how to have eternal life with people just like this rich young ruler and people like people you know. You want to have eternal life? There are three essential requirements. The first one is you've got to have a humble heart. Requirement number one, you must have a humble heart. Take a look at Matthew 19 starting at verse 16. Someone came to Jesus and said, Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal or have obtained eternal life? What do I need to do so that I can get eternal life? Now, the definition of eternal life is generally recognized as gaining access to God's kingdom, living forever, a reconciled relationship with God. In John chapter 17, Jesus defines eternal life as an eternally right relationship on an intimate level with God. Eternal life, for most of us, would be defined as having a place in God's kingdom or having access to heaven. Regardless of how you title it, eternal life is about a reconciled relationship with God, not just living forever, because the Bible teaches everybody's going to live forever. Most will live forever in the lake of fire together with the devil and his angels. A few, a remnant, will live forever in right relationship with God, first in heaven and then in the new creation. What this man comes and asks is a good question. It's the right question and he has come to the right person, to the right source for the answer, has he not? Who would know better than Jesus himself? And he even acknowledges Jesus as a teacher who would have the answer. He says to him, Teacher, What good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life? And I am convinced as we follow through this narrative, this is not like the questions that we have encountered that the Pharisees and the religious leaders have brought to Jesus. Remember, in Matthew 19 and verse three, Pharisees come to Jesus and they ask him, is it is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all? But if you look in the middle of the verse, it says they came to Jesus testing him and asking. They didn't come looking for an answer. They're trying to find fault with him. This guy isn't trying to find fault with Jesus. He genuinely wants to know. And he's acknowledging Jesus as a teacher, as one who would be able to give him the answer. Now, just as a side note here, if he comes to Jesus and he asks, teacher, what good thing must I do to obtain eternal life? What is he already ultimately confessing? The deep down in his heart, he knows There's still something missing. He doesn't have it yet. You know, the one thing I don't question is whether or not I have eternal life. Why? Because I know the truth. I know I'm basing my eternity not on me or what I've done or what I continue to do, but on what Christ has done for me. And I see evidences constantly of the work of the Holy Spirit in me. I know what the Bible says, and I know of my relationship with God, and I know that I have a right standing before Him, not because I'm perfect and not because I haven't sinned or that I don't sin even now, but because of what He's done. I wouldn't ask the question, what must I do to get eternal life, because I have an assurance based on what Jesus did for me on the cross that I have it. When this guy comes and asks Jesus, what must I do to get it, what is he essentially already admitting? He knows He doesn't have it. At least a part of him knows he doesn't have it. And I dare say there are some of you here this morning, no doubt, who have convinced yourself you have it or want to believe you have it. But there's a part of you deep down that knows you don't. Well, today's message is for you, because you're going to see Jesus and how he walks through and helps this guy to see whether or not he has it and what he needs to do to get it. And the first requirement is you've got to have a humble heart. Verse 17. Jesus said to him, why are you asking me about what is good? There's only one who is good. But if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments. And it's interesting when you look at this. When the man asks, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life? The word for good there is not callous, which is the the normal word for good or for beautiful or attractive, etc. Something pleasing, something beneficial. This is the word Agathos. It refers to something that is intrinsically good, morally good, good on the highest level, the highest order. Teacher, what? intrinsically good thing must I do so that I may obtain eternal life? And notice Jesus's question. He says, why are you asking me about what is intrinsically good? There is only one who is good. And who's that? God, there is only one who is good. You want to know what intrinsically good thing you can do to gain eternal life for you? You know what the answer basically is? You can't you can't make yourself good. You're all our sinners. It's in other words, he's already saying it's impossible. It's impossible. There's only one who's good and that's God. All have sin, Isaiah says, and fallen short of the glory of God. And Paul in Romans three quotes Isaiah and pointing that out. It is David in Psalm 51. who acknowledges in the context of his confession of sin from when he took Bathsheba and conspired to murder her husband so he could have her for himself and cover up his sin. It's David in his Psalm 51 confession that says, in sin my mother conceived me. That literally means that David is acknowledging that he was sinful not from birth, and not from the time he committed his first sin. He was sinful at the point that he came into existence as a person to begin with, the point of conception. In sin my mother conceived me. Before I was even truly beginning to be formed in my mother's womb, I already had an inherent sin nature. When I came forth from my mother's womb, I was already, already corrupted. by sin, by selfishness and self-centeredness. When Jesus says, why are you asking me about what is good? There's only one who is good. What is he saying? First thing you need to do if you want to know how to have a gain eternal life, you're going to have to recognize you're a sinner. You're going to have to recognize you're not good. And you're not just missing one or two little things that you got to do to fix things or to straighten things out. OK, you're not just efficient a little bit. You really are selfish, you really are sinful by nature and you really have offended God by your actions. Now, in order to illustrate this point, notice what Jesus does. He says, now, if you wish to enter into life, if you really want to know what it would take to be intrinsically good and merit that place in God's kingdom, Well, keep the commandments. Keep the commandments. Well, what commandments is he talking about? Well, to begin with, he's talking about the Ten Commandments, obviously, but beyond that, you're going to see it's in essence the whole of what God expects of us. Verse 18. The man says to Jesus, which ones? Middle of verse 18, Jesus says, you shall not commit murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness. Honor your father and mother. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus pulls out from the Ten Commandments a list. All right. You want to know what it takes? You want to know what it takes to measure up to God's standard? What it really takes to be a good person? to be good intrinsically in a way that God will truly accept you. This is what you need to do. Do not commit murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Now, on the surface, it may look like, OK, that's a good list. I understand that. And I still do this day. It always tickles me. I remember when Harry and I were in somebody's house. Actually, we were outside the house with somebody else. But I remember when Harry and I went door to door many years ago, and I asked this lady, have you ever sinned? And she said, no. Well, maybe once or twice. Remember that? Maybe once or twice. You know, maybe you can compare yourself to this list and and I could ask you, so have you ever committed murder? And you might say, what? No. No, I've never committed murder. Have you ever committed murder? No show of hands, but in your own heart, have you ever committed murder? Yes or no? Right. How about this one? Have you ever committed adultery? Yes or no? Right. How about this one? Have you ever stolen? Are you a thief? Are you a murderer? Are you an adulterer? Are you a thief? Are you a liar? Have you ever borne false witness? No, no. There are people, good people in this world, if you're comparing people to people, there are good people in this world that would, from a general perspective, say, yes, I've never done any of those. But I remind you of what Jesus has been teaching from the beginning. If you keep your finger on Matthew 19, and I know this is familiar to most of us, but turn back to Matthew 5. From the same gospel, from the same teacher, from Jesus' own lips. Listen to what he says, verse 21. He says, You have heard that the ancients were told, You shall not commit murder, and that whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court. What is Jesus quoting from there? From the Bible, from the Ten Commandments, from the law of God, from Exodus 20 or from Deuteronomy 5 and following. You have heard the ancients were told, Back in the days of Moses, you know the commandments that came down from Mount Sinai and what they were. You shall not commit murder. And if somebody commits murder, you have a trial. And if he's found guilty, you stone him, right? But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court. And whoever says to his brother, you good for nothing, shall be guilty before the Supreme Court. What's the Supreme Court? We think about the Supreme Court in the United States, in Washington, D.C., right? Did you get to see the Supreme Court, by the way, Chuck? Yeah, pretty fabulous, exciting, and awesome judicial building, right? You kind of feel like, wow, there's some important decisions that happen here. Our nation's capital has monuments that go all the way back to the beginning of our founding of our nation, and there's a lot of references to Scripture in those buildings. It's a foundation for justice and truth. And that's where decisions are supposed to be made that bring about just decisions, guilty, innocent, etc. That's not the Supreme Court that Jesus is talking about, though. Jesus isn't even talking about the Supreme Court with regard to the Sanhedrin or the ruling council in Jerusalem. What Supreme Court is Jesus talking about? God's. Well, how do you know that? Look at the rest of it. Whoever says to his brother, you good for nothing shall be guilty before the Supreme Court. And whoever says you fool shall be guilty enough to go into the what? Fiery hell. You see, and and being guilty of you shall not commit murder isn't just when you take somebody's life. And I don't care whether it's first degree, second degree, you know, the Old Testament got into the details with regard to capital punishment. versus other levels of punishment associated with whether it was first degree murder, second degree murder, manslaughter, or whether it was negligent homicide, or two people that were fighting and you wound up killing the guy that you were fighting with because the two of you just got angry with each other. There were degrees of temporal consequences. But what is Jesus expressing very clearly here? When God says you shall not commit murder, it isn't just whether you take a person's life, it's whether you do harm to a person. And it's not just physical harm. It's even with your words. You're accountable, not just for what you do, but for what you say. And you're accountable to God eternally for it. Now, let me ask you if you're a murderer. Have you ever fired off a hateful word? Have you ever have you ever lost your temper and and shot off an insult at somebody? According to God. That's a that's a violation of the commandment, you shall not commit murder and you're eternally accountable for it and condemnable for it, even for just saying something mean. You know something, when Jesus gets the next one here. Let's talk about adultery, shall we? We'll see it's not just what you do and not just what you say. You're even accountable to God for what you think. Look at verse 27. Jesus says, you have heard that it has been said you shall not commit adultery. OK, committing the act of of adultery is a sin and it's a sin that's eternally condemnable. It's also a sin that is It is to be punished with stoning in the Old Testament. There was to be capital punishment for committing the sin of adultery. But I want you to notice what Jesus says in explaining what God's real standard is on the basis of the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are just a picture of what God's ultimate standard of righteousness is. It's meant to help us see just how far short of perfection we fall. Jesus said, you've heard that it's been said you shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her where? In his heart. You ever looked at a woman with lust, ever looked at a man with lust, ever played with immoral thoughts? Ever looked at pornography, ever, ever played with those kinds of of things? You're eternally accountable for that immorality. That's the whole point behind this commandment is to help you see God's standards, absolute perfection. And he's going to hold us accountable, not just for what we do, but also for what we say and ultimately even for what we what? Think. So when you go back to Matthew 19. And you look at verse 18, you want to know what it takes? which commandments to focus on just to help you see whether you're good or not. One, do not commit murder. Two, do not commit adultery. Three, do not steal. Well, at least I'm not a thief. You know, I've never held up a bank. I've never stolen a car. Let me ask you a question. You ever taken anything that isn't yours without asking? I don't care how small it is. Ever liberated a pen from work? Ever come home with a pen or a tablet, ever, ever, ever use the copier at work for personal things? You know, I'm not talking about when you ask permission, you know, a couple of you come in and you've asked permission. Hey, listen, I've got some homeschool things I want to do. Can I make a few copies for for use at home or what? Yeah, go for it. but that you asked and permission was granted when you just take it. What's that called? Stealing, stealing. And by the way, coveting is is kind of the mental and the desiring side of stealing. If you wish it was yours. Now, let me ask you a question, have you ever stolen anything? What about when you're a kid? You ever take one of your brother's toys or your sister's toys? I see the moms and dads looking at the kids, hoping they're looking at their own hearts. Yeah. You're a thief. All you have to do is do it once and you're a thief. All you have to do is lose your temper once and express anger and you're a murderer. You're not a good person anymore. You're a murderer. You're a thief. You're an adulterer. Or what about this one? You shall not bear false witness. Ever told a lie, however small, Ever deny doing something when you really did it? Ever blame somebody else instead of assuming responsibility? Ever point the finger at somebody else? Ever say something untrue about somebody else? You know what you are? You're a liar. And so am I. I violated every one of these commands, and I don't know anybody that hasn't, except for Jesus. And that's the point. That's the whole reason that Jesus brings just these forward, because they're the easiest ones to help us to see. We are not good people. We are sinners in need of a savior. And if you want to know how to have eternal life, this is the first thing. This is the first light bulb that has to go on in your heart. You're going to have to recognize you're a sinner and you deserve God's wrath. It's all got to start there. If you don't start there, then you'll have no interest in submitting to God. You'll have no interest in giving your life to God and you'll have no interest in doing what is required in order to be reconciled to God, because you'll still be convinced you deserve. To be with God. In fact, you may well think that he's blessed and privileged to have you. Which commandments do I need to keep? And you can understand why you would ask the question. In my Bible, there are 969 pages in the Old Testament, and there are over 300 in the New Testament. In those days, it was just the Old Testament so far, nearly 1,000 pages. You could understand why somebody would ask, out of 1,000 pages, can you narrow it down for me? Okay, how about I narrow it down to four simple commands on the one hand and two on the other? Four things you need to not do Two things you need to do. How about that? That's simplified enough for you. Don't commit murder. Don't commit adultery. Don't steal and don't lie. Oh, don't really measure up to any of those, do you? How about the other side? Honor your father and mother and love your neighbor as yourself. And by the way, both of those are continuous ideas in in the commandments and in the way that Jesus quotes them here. Keep honoring your father and mother and keep loving your neighbor as yourself. You know something, it's not just that God has this list of things that we need to not do. He also has this list of things that we need to be doing and honoring your parents. You know, when you're younger, honoring begins with respecting their authority, not not arguing with them, not fighting with them and obeying them. Right. Isn't it Paul in Ephesians who says, Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is what is right. And do this because this is the first commandment with a blessing so that it may go well for you. So it's to your advantage to obey your parents. How many kids? How many of you are kids or have ever been kids? Everybody but Denver. Okay. So for everybody but Denver, While your kids now or when you were kids, was there ever a time you disobeyed your parents? Yes, yes, probably more than one, right, except for Denver. Well, he's exempt since he's not it ever was a kid, but. You know, it's that standard is perfection, isn't it? What's the point? If you expect to be right with God on the basis of you not having done anything that deserves to be punished and you having done everything you're supposed to do as well and not be punished, you're not qualified. There's none good but God. That's the whole point of Jesus referring to these commandments. Frankly, When he says, you shall love your neighbor as yourself, he's jumped out of the Ten Commandments. He's jumped into Leviticus 19. And he's given the the instruction that essentially sums up God's expectation of people as they live their life in his creation, that you love your neighbor as you already love yourself. That is so contrary to human nature, we by default think about and live for whom? Ourselves. Now, some of us do some really good deeds. Some of us have given money to the people that have suffered as a result of the storms that went through the southern United States, right? Some of us care for them. Some of us pray for them. Some of us even know some of them. Some of us think it's a really good idea to rally around that. Yeah. Some of us sacrifice to do good things for others. But is that the way we are all day, every day with everybody? Because see, that's what God's standard is. That's what God's expectation is. Say, well, why would Jesus go down this road with this man when he's just asking about eternal life? I'll tell you why. Because the first requirement to being able to obtain eternal life is you're going to have to have a humble heart and a humble heart doesn't just come to Jesus, which is the right person to ask. and ask him for eternal life, you're going to have to come recognizing you are a sinner in need of a Savior. You don't just need to add one or two more things so that you can get in. You're going to have to recognize that if you got what you deserve, you'd be going to hell right now. And lest you think, like the one lady Harry and I talked to one time, lest you think, I'm not as bad as others, and I'm really only having trouble with one of those commands. It's James who tells us, in James 2.10, he says, whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. Why? Because the law is a full tablet. I've used this illustration before, but I just think it works so well. Okay, the blinds are drawn, but if I were to raise that blind, there's a window behind there, right? Nice, clean, full, beautiful picture window there. And it's all intact. It's all together. Now, let's say you'd never committed murder and never committed adultery and never stolen anything. And you'd never disobeyed your parents. You always treated them with honor and respect and dignity and submitted to their authority. And you always loved others. But you one time you told a lie. OK. That's like shooting a baby up into the top left corner of the window. And putting a tiny little hole in it. And tell me something. If there's a tiny little hole in the top left corner of that window, even if I have the blinds down, you can't see it. What is the window? It's broken. It's broken. Now, alternatively, You could be Denver, right? And come out here with five shells and a shotgun and go... Right? Now tell me, when Denver's done with the shotgun, what is the window? It's broken. Gone. Right? It's broken into a million pieces. There might be a couple of shards hanging here and there, right? Is that breaking it worse? Yes. But in both cases, the window is broken. I don't care if you've committed one sin, or 100 million to the 100 millionth power sins. In either case, the law is broken, and you're accountable before God eternally for your sin. Romans 3, there was no one righteous, not even one. In order, first and foremost, to be one who gains access to the Kingdom of Heaven, One, who receives the gift of eternal life. You're going to have to have a humble heart that recognizes you're a sinner in need of a Savior. Number two, you're going to have to have a repentant heart. You're going to have to have a heart that is ready and willing and committed to turning from sin and living for God. Verse 20, you'll notice this man, this rich young ruler, He still doesn't get it. This young man says to Jesus, all these things I have kept, what am I still lacking? That reveals a lot about this man. First of all, he's admitting that he still lacks something, right? Deep down within his heart, he still knows that he doesn't have it. There's a part of him that still knows deep down he's not right with God. My friend, if that's you, if that's you, I push you right back to the text we just finished. The reason that, you know, there's still something missing is because you fully haven't recognized yet your sin and your need of a savior. When this young man says all these things I have kept, what am I still lacking when he says all these things I have kept? Well, he clearly doesn't understand that he hasn't yet. You follow me? If you really appreciate God's standard is perfection, then you know that you don't measure up. Verse 21, this guy says, all these things I've kept, what am I still lacking? Jesus says, if you wish to be complete, you want to know what you're lacking and you want to And you want to come to completion in this understanding, then go sell your possessions, give it to the poor. You will have treasure in heaven and come and follow me. Now, some people want to say, see, this means that you can't have any possessions if you're going to be a Christian. You want to know why Jesus goes there with this guy? Because he has a ton of possessions, because this is the best and easiest way to illustrate for this guy what is really important to him in his life and what is essentially keeping him out of the kingdom of heaven. What is his God? What is it that he lives for? What is it that he wants more than a right relationship with God? In his case, it's his possessions. That's why he says, if you want to be complete, if you really want to know what's standing between you and eternal life right now. It is your possessions. So if you want to come all the way to saving faith and you want to come all the way to eternal life, this is what you need to do. You know, he didn't give the same instruction to to others. He didn't tell everybody that came to him to sell everything. He didn't tell Lazarus, who had quite a bit of property, he didn't tell him to sell everything. Right. Why does he say it to this guy? Because Jesus is able to tell in this man what's most important to him. That's why he says point blank, if you want to be complete, go sell your possessions, give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven and come and follow me." And the way it's stated in the Greek, it's come now, urgent, summary, immediate action, and then keep following me. You've got an heiress followed by a present imperative. Right now, go sell all that you have. Give it to the poor. Why give it to the poor? Well, because that would be loving your neighbor as you love yourself. And that would divest you of all of your wealth and you give it all to the poor. You're not getting it back, right? Because a commitment to follow Jesus Christ has to be you put your hand to the plow and you don't look back. You go sell everything you have, give it to the poor. And you turn from living for you and you follow me. And you will have treasure not here anymore. You will have treasure where? In heaven. You got to have a repentant heart. A repentant heart is one that's willing to turn from sin. A repentant heart is one that is willing to turn from living for yourself and living for this life and instead living for God. A repentant heart is one that is looking for a heavenly reward and looking for eternal life and living for God and for his kingdom, not living for the here and now. If you really want to be, you want to know what's what's still lacking. If you want to be complete, go sell your possessions, give it to the poor. You'll have treasure in heaven and come and follow me. And Jesus has repeatedly called people to follow him, right? In Matthew 16 and verse 24, what does he say? If you want to come after me, you've got to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me. Come unto me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. You want eternal life? I'll tell you what's involved. You're going to have to have a humble heart that recognizes that you are a sinner deserving of God's wrath. And then secondly, you're going to have to have a repentant heart that is willing to turn from living for you and living for your sin and living for whatever you most value in this life. and start living for God. Notice in verse 22, at this point, the man is beginning to get it. But you'll notice the decision he makes, it's the same decision most people make. When the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving, literally distressed, sorrowing. He went away grieving. Why? Because he was one who owned much property. He had a lot of wealth. It was going to cost him a lot to follow Jesus. It was going to cost him everything. And at the end of the day, that's the way it is for anyone who would come to Christ. You know, today Jesus might well have said, well, go and sell all your video games. And come and follow me or go and sell all of your music collection and come and follow me. Or go or go and sell all your collectibles or all your clothes. Give up your job, give up your sports, give up your hobbies. See, God has to be the most important relationship to you, period. or you don't have access to eternal life and you don't have access to His kingdom. In Matthew chapter 10, and again, I know we've gone here in the past, but this is the same message Jesus preaches throughout for three years. It's the same message He preaches in every context. In Matthew chapter 10 in verse 37, Jesus says, He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. He who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. He who does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me." You've got to be willing to truly turn from living for you, living for your earth. For some, Jesus might say, are you willing to give up your friends? Are you willing to give up your buddies? Are you willing to give up your kids? Are you willing to give up your parents? Are you willing to give up your boyfriend or your girlfriend? Are you willing to give up your life? That's what a repentant heart is. It comes to the point where there is nothing that you won't give up in order to have a right relationship with God. That, that is what is required to have salvation. Jesus in Matthew 10 and verse 39 says the same thing he said at the end of Matthew 16. He who has found his life will lose it and he who has lost his life for my sake will find it. Listen, if you want this life, You're allowed to have it. If you want to live for here and now and today and this world and what this world has to offer, you're allowed to do that. Go right ahead. But in the end. In the end, you will stand before God. And you will answer for all of your sins. Eternally. Now, if. You would like a right relationship with God and forgiveness of all of your sins because you know how worthy of God's wrath you are. And there's nothing you want more than to be reconciled to God. Then there won't be anything that you'll hold on to and won't be willing to give up to come and follow Him. That's why He promises and says, He who has lost his life for My sake will find it. You know, salvation is it comes as a free gift. It just costs you everything. And that may seem like a conundrum, that may seem hard to understand, but the reality is. On the salvation side of the equation, when you get there and you're in a right relationship with God and you look back, you'll realize you didn't give up anything except stuff that's temporary. And what God did for you, there's no way anyone could have ever given that for you or done that for you except for him. It is something of infinite value and priceless in comparison to temporal trash. Matthew 19, verse 22, when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving, he went away sad, he went away distressed. Lupeo is the Greek word and it's a participle. It means he kept on grieving. Because what Jesus told him was in order to have eternal life, he's going to have to give up what he treasured and valued most. And he was sad. There's a third requirement. And Jesus points it out, starting in verse 23. You not only need a humble heart and a repentant heart, the fact that this guy went away shows that you also need, number three, a new heart. You need a new heart. You need a heart change that only God can do for you. Verse 23, the rich young ruler goes away sad because he had much wealth and he wasn't willing to give it up. And Jesus turns and speaks to his disciples and he says, truly I say to you, It is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Hard. Daskalos, excuse me, Daskalos. It's a word that means difficult. It is difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Verse 24, he he builds on this explanation. He says, again, I say to you, 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. Now, it tickles me sometimes when I read the commentators and some of their ways to try to resolve some of these difficult sayings. I read some who suggested the idea of a camel going through the eye of a needle is Jesus referring to something called the needle gate. So in Jerusalem and some other big cities, there would be the main gate, and then there would be this small little gateway called the needle gate, and a person could slip through there, right? But you couldn't get through there with a camel, because a camel couldn't get there. It was just made just so one person could slip through. So if the enemy army is coming, then a person could slip through. But guess what? You're going to have to leave your camel, which has all your possessions on it, outside. And the enemy army comes in, and you escape. But the enemy army gets all your possessions and your camel and the whole bit. Listen, great illustration. That'll preach well. But there is archaeologically no evidence to suggest there's ever been a needle gate in Jerusalem or otherwise. In fact, I believe the illustration is explained by Jesus and the context, especially when the disciples, when they hear this in verse 25, they were very astonished and asked the right question. When Jesus says, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, I want you to picture that for a minute. I wish I'd have brought a needle and a camel. But I just didn't think the elders would be very happy with me if I brought a camel in. So anyhow, so picture a needle. Even one of the large ones, right, that you sew leather with, you know, those are one of those big needles. So you can, you know, put your fingernail in the hole, right? and then a camel. Now, do you see the imagery? Tell me something. Can you get a camel through the eye of a needle? Maybe if you melt it down and poured it, right? But the answer is no. And that's Jesus' point. That's exactly why the disciples, when they hear this, they're astonished. Astonished means overwhelmed, astounded, amazed. That's why they say, well, then who can be saved? If if it's easier to put a camel through a needle, I mean, I just I do the mental imagery. That's what that's why Jesus says it this way. He is the greatest preacher ever. His word pictures are powerful. Picture trying to get a hold of a camel. I got a hundred pound German shepherd. Camels are bigger. I just tried to think about, you know, taking a needle and trying to fit Misha through there. You know what I'm saying? I mean, maybe a couple of strands of hair from her tail, but even if I get to that and pull, it's impossible. That's why the disciples go, then who can be saved? Look at Jesus's answer. Looking at them, Jesus said, with people, this is impossible. That's the point. That's the point. You can't get into heaven on your own. You can't do it. There isn't enough good you can do to make up for the wrong that you've done. There isn't enough good you can do that can merit favor from God and justify Him bringing you into His kingdom. There isn't anything you can do to save yourself. God has to do it for you. And when you come to Him with a humble heart, recognizing you're a sinner deserving of God's eternal wrath, and you fall down before Him, and you're willing to commit yourself to following Him no matter what it costs you, and you ask Him to save you, you're still dependent upon Him to grant you repentance and faith, and to grant you a place in His kingdom. But that's what He'll do. Because you can't do it. You need a new heart. You need a heart that only God can give you. With people this is impossible, but with God all things are what? Possible. The only way you can obtain eternal life is if God does it for you. That's the whole reason Jesus came. Because we couldn't do it. That's the reason that John 3.16 is probably the most well-known verse in the Bible. God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but might gain what? eternal life. Because if Jesus doesn't come and die for you, there is no forgiveness of sins because his death on the cross is the death of the perfect life in our place. God poured out the fullness of the wrath due to me for my sins on his son as he hung there on the cross. When I stand justified before God, today and in glory. It will not be because of anything that I have done as a Christian or anything that I merited before I became a Christian or the accumulation of all the good things that I might ever do in all eternity for God. It will be singularly because Jesus died and paid for my sins. And he opened my eyes to the truth. I know I've mentioned this before, but it was Ephesians five was the verse the truth that finally woke me up to God's ultimate standard being perfection. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. That was the very first time I heard God's standard and it sunk in. When Jesus takes the law and presents it to this man, when you look at the scripture and it is presented to you, that's what you're supposed to do. You're supposed to compare yourself to God's standard of perfection and realize you don't measure up and you can't measure up. You know what? Maybe you are better than everybody else. Maybe you've sinned less than everybody else on the planet by miles. Maybe you're more loving and gracious and kind and intelligent and successful and everything else than everybody else on the planet. But you are not perfect. And you have offended the almighty perfect creator God who has given you life and breath and a place in his creation. And you are accountable for every thought, every word and every deed. And if you want to be forgiven. You're going to have to recognize you are accountable. And you're going to have to be willing to give up living for you and follow him. And you're going to have to come to him and ask him to give you a new heart. That's what it takes to be saved. That's what it takes to gain eternal life. And it's something only God can do. Jesus, in talking to Nicodemus, said, you must be what? Born again. And just like you had no control over the first time you were born physically, so, too, you're dependent upon God to grant you a new heart. And that's what you got to ask him for. Paul says it this way in Ephesians 2. We were all by nature children of wrath, children deserving God's wrath because we were sinful and because we had sinned. But God made us alive. It's by grace, God's unmerited favor you're saved. That's what it takes to be reconciled to God. Paul says in Titus 3, starting in verse 5, God saved us not on the basis of the deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to his mercy, by the washing of regeneration and by the renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ, our Savior, so that being justified by his grace, we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. You know what it takes to obtain eternal life? Christ to die for you and you to come to him in repentance and faith and give your life to him. Father, thank you so very much. For sending your son to die for us. May we who know you in a saving way indeed live our lives as an expression of worship and praise to you. May we avoid the traps of both liberalism or excuse me, legalism and libertinism, trying to earn our salvation after you've given it to us. Or believing that you've forgiven everything, so it doesn't matter how we live, and instead, may we as your people, indeed, as Paul instructs in Romans 12, may we live our lives as an expression of worship to you. because of the great way in which you've demonstrated your love to us in Jesus Christ. And for those among us who do not know you, Lord, I beg you. Please, God. Open. Open our eyes so that we might see great things in your law. And that we might see the absolute standard of righteousness that you rightly require. and that we might see ourselves rightly in view of the truth of your word, so that it might bring us to our knees in repentance and faith, and cause us to call out to you, a loving God, to save us. To God be the glory, in Jesus' name, amen.