6 Minute Read

Prepare Your Heart

To the best of your ability, get rid of all distractions. Take a few minutes to breathe deeply and quiet yourself in the Lord’s presence. Then, ask the Lord to speak to you in this time. Let Him know that you will listen and make whatever adjustments He will reveal to you.

Read God’s Word

1 Samuel 12:1-14:14
Luke 18:24-43

A Verse for Today

Slowly and reflectively read the following verse(s) and listen to what God will say to you through His written Word. Consider writing down any insights He reveals to you.

Luke 18:24-25 (CSB): “Seeing that he became sad, Jesus said, ‘How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! For 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.'”

Reflecting on God’s Word

When we look to Jesus in the Gospels and observe how He called people away from the world into a relationship with Him, we can’t help but notice how different His approach was from our own. In far too many Christian circles, salvation has been reduced to a “say-these-words-after-me” prayer. Conviction and repentance have all too often fallen by the wayside. This should lead us to seriously question whether the “gospel” that is being peddled by so many contemporary Christians and churches can actually save a lost soul.

When we look at Jesus in Luke 18 and see Him call a rich young ruler to follow Him, we observe that He didn’t rush into talking about faith or get him to say a prayer. Instead, He pointed the man to God’s law, particularly the Ten Commandments. Why? Because God’s law, rightly understood, will lead us to conviction. It will reveal our sinful heart and our need for a Savior.

When I share the Gospel publicly or privately, I generally take the listener(s) to the law within the first few minutes. They have generally told me that they are a “pretty good person.” But when I ask them if they have ever told a lie and broken the ninth commandment (Exodus 20:16), they almost always acknowledge that they have broken that command. I usually take them through at least one or two more commandments and allow the law to be a mirror and show them that they really aren’t that good. They have broken God’s laws. That’s why they need a Savior. Jesus isn’t intended to merely enhance their life. They are guilty in God’s sight and desperately need Jesus to forgive them and declare them righteous.

That’s why we see Jesus take the rich young ruler to the law (Luke 18:18-20). However, the young man’s heart was so hardened that he continued to insist that he was righteous according to the law.

Luke 18:21 (CSB): “‘I have kept all these from my youth,’ he said.”

Since conviction hadn’t yet become present in the rich young ruler’s heart, Jesus took him to the first tablet of the law, the first four commandments. Specifically, Jesus had the first law in mind, which states, “Do not have other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3). But instead of quoting the law, Jesus gave another command that would illustrate that the man was serving another god.

Luke 18:22-23 (CSB): “When Jesus heard this, he told him, ‘You still lack one thing: Sell all you have and distribute it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’ After he heard this, he became extremely sad, because he was very rich.”

Jesus wasn’t saying that everyone must give up their wealth to be saved. Instead, he was saying that we need to enter salvation with the clear knowledge that God is our master. Telling the rich young ruler to get rid of his wealth was a very powerful way of showing him just how much control his wealth had over him. He had made his wealth his god and had no plans of changing things.

It is at the point that the rich younger ruler walked away sad that Jesus uttered the words in the verse I have chosen for today. Jesus said that wealth can be an incredibly powerful god in someone’s life. It can have such a stranglehold on someone that they cannot and will not remove it from the throne of their heart in order to serve King Jesus.

Money isn’t evil. It is “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10).

Having plenty of wealth isn’t necessarily a sin. It is when our wealth has us that it becomes a sin.

Jesus’ words make it abundantly clear that money can be such a powerful force in our lives that it can become our god. The love of money can rob us of enjoying our God and even of the ability to be born again.

Matthew 6:24 (CSB): “No one can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

If we are truly saved, we can only serve one master. So, enjoy the wealth that God has entrusted to you and enabled you to gain. Be a good steward of His recourses in your bank account. But refuse with all your might to allow it to ever become your “god.” You only have one God, and His name is Jesus!

Spend Time in Prayer

  • Ask God to expose your heart to you and reveal if anything has risen to the level of becoming a “god” in your life.
  • Ask God to help you do what you must to root out that sin and put Jesus back on the throne of your heart.

Going Deeper

If you want to dig a little deeper into the loyalty we must have to Jesus, and Jesus alone, consider reading the following GotQuestions article:

“What does it mean that you cannot serve two masters in Matthew 6:24?”

Sharing

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Matt Ellis is the pastor of First Baptist Church in Polk City, Florida (fbcpolkcity.com)