3.] Why money is spiritually dangerous
Now thirdly why has money got this kind of power?
• Why can it be so addictive?
• Why can it blind us?
• Why can it puff us up?
• Why can it corrupt us?
• Why can it do these things? [18:04]
And the answer we will find as we see how JESUS
actually interacts with this rich young man:
[1] the first thing is it we're told that basically JESUS
was at a theological Q&A, & a certain ruler asked
“Good teacher what must I do to inherit eternal
life?” Now JESUS was a Rabbi, and so this guy is
basically trying out HIS theology.
He wants to say “Okay what do YOU think I have
to do to inherit eternal life?” This “how can I be
saved?' it's a perfectly good question to ask any
religious professor because it's a way of getting
to the heart of what their system of salvation is
[their system of theology is]
So he asked JESUS, now almost everything JESUS
says after this question, it's very surprising. [18:56]
If you've been reading the NT, you've been reading
Luke 18, you get to this place — almost everything
JESUS says for the next several verses it's just kind
of like what your first impression is: “huh?!”
So he says what must I do to inherit eternal life?
Look v.20, “You know the commandments, do not
commit adultery/murder/steal/false testimony,
honor your parents.
In other words, obey the Ten Commandments & you'll
be saved. Now is that surprising that JESUS said that?!
Yeah especially if you've been reading Luke 18 because
—just before this, I can in Luke 9 to 14—just before this
JESUS has told a parable.
3.1] Parable of Self-Righteousness
It's called the parable of Pharisee & the tax collector
—it's a parable of two men, a Pharisee & tax collector
who go in to pray.
And the Pharisee says “Oh LORD, I thank YOU that I'm
not like other men, I thank YOU I have not committed
adultery & I'm not like the adulterers; and I I give my
money away, & I obey the commandments..”
And JESUS said
“Here's a person who's confident in his own
righteousness, but then the tax collector &
all he did was look to Heaven, and saying he
couldn't even look to Heaven for all he did
was call and say, “LORD be merciful to me a
sinner!”
And what does JESUS say is the lesson of the parable?
HE says: If you think that you are good, that you have
obeyed the commandments—if you're confident your
own righteousness, you will be lost
because nobody's good enough to be saved
no one can be saved by their works but only
if you ask for GOD's grace.
Only if you ask for GOD's mercy will you be saved, and
therefore there's those two men: one is confident in
his obedience to the Law.
The other one says “Just be merciful to me a sinner.”
And JESUS as I say unto you, it's that second man, it's
the tax collector who went home justified.” So JESUS
just said
You can't be saved by obeying the Ten
Commandments & here's the guy said
“What must I do to be saved?” he says
Oh obey the 10 commandments okay
This is the joy of reading the NT, you're going along &
JESUS says one thing—and almost in the next moment
HE says something that just totally seems to be wrong
It's actually one of the ways that JESUS gets us to think
• “Why is HE doing this?”
• “Why does HE say that huh?”
Well here's why HE said that!
Why didn't HE say: “Oh you need to be saved through
grace—and so receive ME as your personal LORD and
SAVIOUR because I'm going to the to the cross; and if
you believe in ME, then you'll get GOD's forgiveness
3.2] Why Agree He Obeyed the
10 Commandments?
Why did HE say that isn't the right answer?
Yeah it's right, so why didn't HE say that?! Because the
guy would have said, “I don't need grace.” You see he
has got the confidence—that successful people often
have.
Because you notice what he says in v.21?
“Oh I've kept all these since I was a boy! I'm
completely obedient, I obey that sure I obey
all the commandments.
Okay see JESUS knew that if HE actually told him:
“You need to be saved by grace, the guy would have
just laughed—because he says no I don't!
He has no need for grace—so what JESUS is trying
to show him is that he does, & actually HE signals
“you might say you know.”
HIS purpose, you know where HE's going here in
v.19—the first thing JESUS says is:
Why do you call ME good? No one is good
except GOD alone. Now again at first sight
that looks surprising, but if you watch very
carefully, JESUS is extremely careful
HE doesn't say “I'm not good.”
What HE's actually saying is:
Why are you going up to a human being at least, as
far as you're concerned—just a plain human Rabbi
& calling them good?
When only GOD in Heaven is good, and say JESUS is
actually doing nothing but invoking a very important
strand in OT theology.
Psalm 130:3-4 | If YOU, O LORD, kept track of
iniquities, then who, O LORD, could stand?
⁴ But with YOU there is forgiveness, so that
YOU may be feared.
See even the OT said nobody can be saved if GOD really
starts looking at everybody's list of sins, nobody keeps
the commandments!
Nobody keeps the commandments perfectly!! So JESUS
is trying to get there, but HE starts by saying well obey
all the commandments; & by the way theological there
is nothing wrong with saying that.
Sure if you live a completely righteous life, if you obey
all the Laws absolutely & fully—if you give GOD the life
that HE asked from a human being perfectly..
well of course there should be no barrier
between you & GOD.
Well JESUS is saying:
It's not actually wrong, but then HE makes
HIS move & here is what HE does in v.22-3
HE says—when JESUS heard this, HE said to
him “Now what is HE saying here?”
It's really kind of surprising:
You still lack one thing: Go sell everything
you have & give to the poor & you will have
treasure in Heaven.
Then come follow ME.
Say I told you almost everything, JESUS says:
Here you go, what is HE saying that the only
way for anyone to be saved & go to Heaven
is to give away all your money to the poor?
****************************************************************
WARNING: Take this with a grain of salt, Keller is not
only fond of status & what money can buy, but he's
said on numerous accounts how he esteems what
others think of him [fear of man].
This dangerous mindset has close links to keeping up
with the Joneses—mentality of never enough.
****************************************************************
Well the reason HE's probably, so we can be certain
that HE's not saying that is because HE's often been
confronting people.
I mean Nicodemus & the woman at the well—we'll
get back to her in a second, and other people have
come & asked a similar question:
What must they do to be saved?
HE's never ever before said give away your money to
the poor—& therefore the real question is why is HE
doing it for this guy?
Obviously it's not a requirement for salvation—but
why is he doing it for this guy? I think here's what's
going on.. HE's actually saying
Oh you obey the commandments? Do you?
Well then, let us just take a look at one of
those Commandments: 1st commandment
Thou shalt have no other gods before ME!
You should love nothing more than GOD, so let's just
see how you're doing on that one. And the reason HE
brings up money, it's because it's this guy's issue.
See let's go for a moment to the woman at the well,
the reason HE goes after this guy like this is because
they already sang about it here
HE's the wonderful counselor, HE's a skillful
surgeon, HE knows what the tumors are in
your soul—that are destroying you and
squeezing GOD out of your life
Now the reason why HE goes after money is because
that's the tumor in this man's soul, just to explain this
or help you see this.
You remember JESUS CHRIST in John 4, HIS encounter
with a woman at the well? When HE meets a woman
at the well in Samaria..
How lovely is it that JESUS always contextualizes HIS
Message? HE does not have a little little formula that
HE always hits people with.
Never! Here HE's talking about basically salvation HIS
spiritual treasure, because that's the guy's issue; with
the one at the well, she's drawing water & HE says oh
I have a living water. I have a water that if you drink,
you'll never be thirsty again.
It's the water of eternal life, & the woman says:
“Oh give me that water sir, & HE says okay go get your
husband—bring me your husband.” And she says “I do
not have a husband.”
HE says: I know you've had five husbands & the man
you're living with right now is not your husband.”
What is JESUS doing?
I think that's just as strange as this one, where
is he going & the answer is this: The reason HE
doesn't talk about money to her is that is not
her issue. What is her issue?
Romance, love men,
Because you see everybody's heart has to look to some
thing for hope—something for its meaning—something
for significance & security.
And everybody has a heart/faith in which the
entire weight of your soul, your hopes & your
dreams—your need for value and significance
insecurity, it's all resting on this
In her case it was romance & love — and what
JESUS was saying is this: If JESUS had just said
to her or this guy oh you need to have faith in
ME as your LORD & SAVIOUR, then you will get
eternal life
And if they said “YOU know for all I know maybe both
of them might say, “Okay,” but they don't know what
that means & JESUS is telling them what that means
JESUS is saying look I don't want you just
mentally assenting I am the MESSIAH.
Do you not see that right now it's romance & love,
that's your living water! That's your self-salvation
—that's your hope & your meaning in life.
• That is your significance.
• That's your security
And if you want MY living water, you have to transfer
that heart trust from these things to ME, you must
not look to anything to give you what only I can give you.
And JESUS is saying the same thing now to this guy.
The Grace of Generosity P1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 | Timothy J. Keller [Luke 18:18-30]
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