The American Trap - Mark 10:17-31

You're listening to the Christ Our Cornerstone

podcast, a ministry of Christ Our Cornerstone

Church in O 'Neill, Nebraska. I'm Pastor Logan

Merrick, and it's our prayer that this message

strengthens your faith and draws you closer to

Christ. Let's dive in. Mark chapter 10. I don't

Mark 10 · chapter mention

necessarily love the, once I finished my sermon,

writing my sermon, I realized that I didn't really

love my title. I have the American Trap. why

money is a terrible God, but I would say this

entire thing is just why idols make a terrible

God. But money is the thing we're going to focus

on because that's what the focus of the text

is. And then the big idea, if you're taking notes,

you can write this down. The more we trust our

wealth, the harder it becomes to trust Jesus.

And so let me let me see how well you guys know

your geography and early church history. Here's

a quiz. You ready? Are you ready? Okay, all right.

So Islam started where? You can just say the

Middle East, like we don't have to give, but

yes, Saudi Arabia. Hinduism started where? India,

all right, good. Buddhism started where? Asia?

All three of those religions still at the center

of their religion. Yes, you will find Hindus

and Buddhists and Muslims scattered throughout

the world, but their prominent center is still

in those regions. Yes. If you're Muslim, you

are working to get to the Middle East to get

to Mecca. If you're Buddhist, you're trying to

get to the Far East to visit monks. If you are

Hindu, it's the same thing. There's this historian,

he's a world historian of Christianity. His name

is Andrew Walls. And he made a fascinating observation

when he noticed that wherever the other major

world religions began, they're still that center

today. So we talked about Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism,

but Christianity, where did it start? Israel,

Jerusalem, right? Can you think of the center

of Christianity today? Nope. Wanna know why?

Because it's spread all over the world and we're

gonna talk a little bit more about that in just

a second. But the center of Christianity has

never stayed in one place. Started in Jerusalem

and then began to work out from there. It's always

been moving and it's almost as if Christianity

has always been on a pilgrimage. So as the gospel

spread to the Gentiles, i .e. us, the center

shifted into the Greeks and the Roman world.

And then from there, it moved to North Africa

and to Europe. And later it spread to barbarians,

also known as the Franks and the Anglo -Saxons

and the Celts. Eventually the center of Christianity

crossed the Atlantic and firmly rooted itself

here. But Andrew Wallace predicted that Christianity

being rooted in North America would not last

forever. He said in the next 50 to 70 years.

So today Christianity is growing at an astonishing

rate in Latin America, Asian, and especially

Africa. More than half of the country's Christians

live in those nations. And so. Many historians

believe that within the next several decades,

the center of Christianity will complete its

shift away from Europe and the United States

and into the rest of the world. So here is the

obvious question. Why would that happen? Why

does Christianity's center move? Yep. But there's

also something more. So if you didn't hear Jane,

he said, God gave us a command to go out and

preach the gospel, right? Spread it to all and

make disciples, right? That is true, but there's

something about Christianity moves when it becomes

a power. Read your church history and you'll

see that. But Wallace gave an answer that I thought

was really astounding. He said this. He said,

there is a certain vulnerability at the heart

of Christianity, the vulnerability of the cross.

So if you think about that, here's what he's

saying. The cross is about laying down power,

not grasping for it. It's pouring yourself out,

not accumulating more. It's about sacrifice,

not comfort. It's about following a crucified

savior. And so Walt suggested that when Christianity

enjoys wealth, influence, and cultural power

for a long period of time, something subtle begins

to happen. What do you think that subtlety is?

Yeah, forget God. Even if we say we are a Christian

nation, right? The radical message of sin, grace,

repentance, and the cross all of a sudden become

muted. And Christianity slowly transforms into

a safe, respectable religion for decent people

trying to live good lives. And eventually Christianity

loses its power. Why? Because it's not Christianity

anymore. And so when that happens, the center

of Christianity moves somewhere else to people

who are desperate enough to realize they have

nothing apart from Christ. So when you hear that

the majority of Christians today live in the

southern hemisphere, it makes a lot of sense.

And so I can't help but wonder, could that be

happening here in our church, in our state? Not

because wealth is evil, not because success is

sinful, but because prosperity has a way of quietly

convincing us that we don't really need God.

So this morning, we're going to meet a young

man who had everything our culture admires and

wealth, power, influence. He had a lot of it.

He was very successful, very respected, and he

was very religious. So if anyone had it figured

out, it was definitely this young guy. And yet

despite having everything, he had something that

was missing. And what we'll discover is that

the young man didn't merely have great wealth.

I want you to write this down. His wealth had

him. I think I have that back there, Bob. I don't.

Are you sure? Okay. So if we're honest, the same

strap, the same trap is waiting for every one

of us. I have fallen into this trap before myself.

So before I get to point number one, let's go

ahead and read. Starting in verse 17, and we're

going to go through verse 31, and I'm taking

this off. I want I just want credit for having

worn a jacket and trying to look nice. But I

forgot. Thank you. I forgot how hot it gets.

So just give me points for wearing it for a little

while. All right. Starting in verse 17, you guys

ready? Let's do it. And 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 and sell all that you have

and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure

in heaven. And come, follow me. Disheartened

by the saying, he went away sorrowful. I want

you to, if you're taking notes, I want you to

write next to that word, grief. because there's

only one other place where that word is actually

used. And I'm gonna tell you that about that

in just a minute. 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 is it 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? And Jesus looked

at them and said, with man it is impossible,

but with God all things are possible. And Peter

began to say, see, we have left everything and

followed you. And 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 and 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 will be first." So,

Lot going on here, but there's There's only two

points to my sermon today because I had so much

and Even with those two points I still had a

lot and so I just like I want to I really want

to get with just One simple idea across to you.

So point number one if you're taking notes is

this Religion can hide an idol AW tozer This

is a quote from him. You can write this down

Of all forms of deception, self -deception is

the most deadly. And of all deceived persons,

the self -deceived are the least likely to discover

the fraud. So as I, you guys should know at this

point that I like to write and I think of goofy

stories and I was trying to think of how I could

drive home this idea of self -deception and how

ridiculous it can be. And so I wrote just a story

that I'm gonna share with you very briefly. But

the most dangerous person isn't the one who knows

they're lost. It's the person who is absolutely

convinced that everything is fine. And so self

-deception is so dangerous because it feels like

confidence. The person who is deceived doesn't

know they're deceived. In fact, they're often

so certain that they're right. I have been that

person usually every time I'm arguing with my

wife. So I want to illustrate that point with

this story. So I want you to meet this guy, Frank.

Frank is just an ordinary blue collar guy who's

been invited to a fancy banquet where he is the

guest of honor. He's never been anywhere more

upscale than an Olive Garden. So you can understand

why he's probably a bit nervous. Before walking

into the ballroom, Frank ducks into the restroom

to make sure everything looks just right. He

leans in close to the mirror to check for anything

out of place. He smiles real big in the mirror,

checks to see if there's any food in his teeth,

gets up and checks for any stray nose hairs.

And then he straightens his tie one last time.

He slicks back his hair, smiles at himself in

the mirror, and he says, Frank, you handsome

devil. You make this suit look so good. Now get

out there and show everyone who Frank Smith is.

Feeling confident, Frank pushes open the restroom

door, walks proudly towards the banquet. As the

door closes behind him, the restroom attendant

quietly shakes his head and says to himself,

poor guy doesn't even realize he's not wearing

pants. Everyone else can see the problem. Everyone

else knows something is terribly wrong, but Frank

is completely unaware. That is self -deception.

This is the rich young ruler. Pastor Logan, I

didn't see anything about rich young ruler in

there. Well, you can read about it in Matthew

as well as well as Luke. They all three have

the story. So this is known as the rich young

ruler. And so only this man's problem wasn't

that he forgot his pants, thank the Lord. It

was that he couldn't see the condition of his

own heart. So let's look at verse 17. And as

he was setting out on his journey, it says a

man ran up and knelt before him and asked him,

good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal

life? Notice how impressive this man appears.

He runs to Jesus. He's wealthy. We know this.

He's an influential man in that culture. And

influential men and wealthy men did not run because

running was considered beneath their dignity.

So he kneels before Jesus and he's respectful

and he calls him good teacher. So he's very,

very moral, very religious. He sees Jesus as

a teacher, as a rabbi. And so he asked about

eternal life instead of earthly success. By every

outward measure, this is exactly the kind of

man every church would love to have. He's sincere,

he's moral, he's religious, and he's successful.

If he walked into most churches today, we'd probably

have him teaching Sunday school and make him

an elder before too long. But before Jesus ever

gets into the commandments, I want you to notice

what Jesus asked him. What's the first thing

that Jesus asked him? Why do you call me good?

Does that sound weird for Jesus to ask that question?

Why does that feel weird? Yes, because of all

people. You're like, but you are good, Jesus.

And so isn't Jesus good? Absolutely, he is. So

then what is it that, what is Jesus trying to

get to? So Jesus, of course, being the truly

the only good man who ever lived. So why does

he ever ask this question? Because Jesus is forcing

this young man to think carefully about the words

that just came out of his mouth. The rich young

ruler calls him good teacher, but he uses it

as a little more than a polite title. Jesus essentially

is saying this. Do you understand what you're

saying? If only God is good, that are you recognizing

me that I'm God? Are you recognizing that I am

the Messiah? But what do we see? The answer is

clearly no, right? Because it says that he goes

away grieved. When Jesus says sell everything

and follow me, he goes away grieved. He sees

Jesus as a respected rabbi or a wise teacher

and someone who could tell him the final things

he needs to do. but he doesn't see him as the

Lord who deserves his complete true worship.

And that's why his very first question reveals

the heart of the problem. He's asking, what must

I do to inherit what? Eternal life, right? He's

thinking in items of performance, but would that

be off from what they already know? Not necessarily.

But more than likely, this man has heard the

prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel and Jeremiah who

talk about a new covenant and being born again.

But it's still not there. He's conceived or he's

convinced eternal life is another achievement

to unlock, another box to check, another commandment

to keep. He has no category yet for the fact

that eternal life is not earned by human effort,

but received by trusting the one standing in

front of him. And so now this misunderstanding

is going to be exposed because then Jesus begins

listing the commandments, right? He says, do

not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal,

do not bear false witness, do not defraud, honor

your father and mother, and then notice something

interesting. Jesus lists the commandments that

are primarily deal with how we treat other people.

And how does the man respond? What does he say?

What does the rich young ruler, what's his response

when Jesus lists these? I've done these, I've

kept them. Okay, I've kept all of these from

my youth. He doesn't hesitate, he doesn't stumble,

he doesn't even say, I really tried, but I mess

up sometimes. He confidently says, I have kept

all these, I've kept them from my youth. Here's

a question, do you think he's lying? I don't

think that he is. I don't think that he is. But

let's just keep going. I think he genuinely believed

that he was keeping all of the commandments.

but that's what makes self -deception so frightening.

He's essentially not wearing pants, right? He

wasn't pretending to be righteous. He actually

believed that he was, but Jesus isn't impressed

by external morality because Jesus can see what

nobody else can see. He doesn't simply examine

our external behavior. He examines our worship.

He doesn't just go, what have you done? He asked,

what do you love? What do you trust and what

sits on the throne of your heart? I want you

to write this down. It should be up there because

it is entirely possible to obey many of God's

commandments while breaking the very first one.

Is it there? Okay, good. What's the very first

one? We shall have no other gods before me. You

guys pass the Sunday school quiz today. Good

job. The rich young ruler believed his greatest

strength was his morality. And Jesus was about

to reveal that his greatest problem was his idolatry.

And church, this is where we need to slow down

because this is not just his story, this is also

ours. Self -deception rarely looks like open

rebellion. More often, it looks very respectable.

It's a husband who says, I'm a good man. I provide

for my family. But somewhere along the way, his

career becomes his God. It's the church member

who says, I've been in church every Sunday for

30 years, yet bitterness has quietly become the

thing that rules their heart. It's the parent

who says, my children are my whole world. Without

realizing, they've made their family their identity

instead of Christ. It's the American who says,

I've worked hard for everything I have. And over

time, their confidence slowly shifts from God's

provision to their portfolio. The frightening

thing about idols is that we almost never call

them idols. Here's what we typically call them,

wisdom, responsibility, success, security. But

Jesus calls them competitors. And that's why

this passage is super unsettling because the

rich young ruler thought he was coming to Jesus

with one problem and Jesus was about to expose

the problem he didn't even know he had. So before

we move any further in the story, I want you

to wrestle with two questions, right? These two

questions down because I sincerely am asking

these two to think about this week. So. Write

down these two questions and meditate on them.

What would Jesus lovingly put his finger on in

your life? What would he kind of nudge to be

like, this thing is really whom you serve. What

if the thing you're most proud of is actually

the thing keeping you from wholehearted devotion

to Christ? Because in the next few verses, that's

exactly what Jesus is going to reveal. And so

I'll let you write those two questions down.

So point number two is this, the need for an

intervention. If you know that you've been told

that you've got gangrene in your foot, what's

the best thing for them to do for you? Cut it

off. Right, gotta get it out. So if you know

that you've got an idol, you need an intervention

and cut that thing out. So as soon as Jesus exposes

the idol, the rich young ruler has a decision

to make. Will he cling to Christ or will he cling

to his wealth? And what does it say? What did

he choose? He chose his wealth, right? It says

he went away sorrowful. for he had great possessions."

And that word sorrowful, as I said, is the better

translation for that would be grief. And so here's

the thing about it. I said that there's only

one other time that that word is used in the

New Testament. Do you wanna know when that one

time was? Being deeply grieved? It was when Jesus

is on the cross and he is crying out to God.

and that he's grieved because he's separated

from God. That should hit you like a ton of bricks

that the two times it's used is one when Christ

feels separated from the Trinity and when this

man goes away grieved in his heart in the same

manner he feels sorrow, why? Because he's also

disconnected. So it carries this idea of being

deeply, deeply grieved because Jesus wasn't merely

asking him to give away his money. Jesus was

asking him to surrender to the very thing that

gave him his identity. To us, this can sound

extreme. Why couldn't we just keep our money

and follow Jesus? Because money wasn't simply

something he owned. It was something that he

worshiped. It was... where he found his security.

It's where he found his significance. It's his

worth. It's his identity. And Tim Keller makes

a profound observation when he says that for

this young man, you can write this down. Money

was what the father was to Jesus. When I read

that. Man. This man was trying to find, I'm sorry.

I want you to think about that. Everything Jesus

found in his relationship with the father, this

man was trying to find in his wealth. Pastor

Logan, are you against wealthy people and having

money? Not at all. And if you would like to give

away your money, I will give you my full name,

my social security number, whatever you need

to write the biggest check of your life. I got

kids that need fit and they're not cheap. So

no, I'm not against wealth at all, but wealth,

there's a reason why that Paul talks about it.

There's a reason why, did you know that every

time Jesus mentions sex and other immoral acts,

sex is not an immoral act, but when he speaks

on immoral acts and on sex, I should say it like

that, he speaks on money three times more than

this. Why, why would that be? Because money is

the thing that we tend to gravitate to and hold

onto. And so. So when Jesus called him to let

it go, he simply didn't simply lose his savings.

He felt like he was losing himself. And that's

why he walks away grieving. He's now being disconnected

from God. because he's like, I can't lose who

I am. I don't know who I am apart from this.

And not because Jesus has taken something from

him, but because he couldn't imagine living without

his idol. And church, that's what idols do. They

convince us that we cannot live without them.

And the moment someone threatens them, we panic.

This is not in my notes, but I got a, I got a

phone call. I was on the phone for over an hour

with the man. My wife was like, who are you talking

to? And I'm having a mouth to her. I don't know.

She's like, what do you mean you don't know?

You've been on the phone for an hour. And I'm

like, I don't know his name. I literally asked

it whenever we were getting off the phone. But

if you guys have seen the emails, I started.

a podcast for the men in our church. And it has

been shared, which is really cool by a lot of

people. And so this guy got my phone number from

another guy that shared it with him. And he was

thanking me for the podcast. And then he starts

telling me his life story and like literally

his life story. And as he's talking, he's just

talking about how he's he's single, he's not

married. And he is, I mean, just obsessed with

this one woman. And he's like praying that God

would open her eyes to him. And I finally just

had to ask him, what would you do if God just

said no? What do you mean? If God said no, you're

just to be single your whole life, what would

you do? Well, I'd be fine. And I said, are you

sure? Because we just spent 45 minutes talking

about a woman I've never met, and I know her

literal life story. I'd be totally fine. I don't

think that you will because I think what you,

in your mind, you think you're serving Jesus,

but you're self -deceived and what you really

want is you think that this is going to complete

you. And the Lord's not going to grant that wish

if he feels like it's going to drag you to hell.

That's what self -deception does. This is what

idols do. It builds up in our minds, and we're

thinking that we are serving God. This is a good

thing, because marriage is a good thing. It's

good to want a wife. It's good to want to help

me. It's not a bad thing to pray for. But when

that thing becomes the ultimate thing, you're

no longer serving Jesus. You're serving that

thing. And your identity becomes that thing.

So the disciples now are panicking. If we keep

going in the story, he's asking them who can

earn eternal life. You read in Matthew, Peter's

the one that asked the question. Well, then who

can, if he can't earn eternal life, then who

can? Because in the Jewish customs, wealth equaled

divine blessing. God is good with you. It's very

a word of faith, right? Jesus turns to his disciples

and he says, how difficult it will be for those

who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God.

And the disciples are like, what? Because like

I said, in their minds, wealth was evidence of

God's blessing. And if anyone should be entering

the kingdom, surely it's the dude that's very

moral and who is very wealthy and has got it

all together. Surely that guy is the one going

into the kingdom. And if he can't, who can? And

that's, I think that's a great question. So that's

what they ask. And Peter says, then who can be

saved? And so now we're getting to the right

questions. That's why I love, Jesus asked really

hard questions. And ultimately everyone gets

more and more confused with more questions that

he asked. And then they start asking the right

question. He's a really good professor that way.

So the rich young ruler had asked, what must

I do? But what did they? What did the disciples

ask? Who can be saved? Now what must I do? Who

can be saved? There are two very different questions.

One assumes salvation is earned. The other realizes

salvation is impossible. And Jesus says, with

it, or with man, it is impossible, but not with

God. For all things are possible with God. And

so don't miss what Jesus is saying. He's not

saying rich people have harder times because

they're busier. He's saying idols blind us so

completely that we cannot free ourselves from

them. And so money has a unique ability to convince

us we're okay. It whispers things like, hey,

you're secure. You're independent. You're in

control. Everything's fine. You don't need God.

And it blinds us so thoroughly that Only a miracle

of God's grace can open our eyes. And that's

why Jesus says salvation is impossible with man.

No one argues themselves out of idolatry. No

one simply wakes up one morning and decides,

I think I'll worship Jesus instead. God has to

intervene. God has to expose our idols and God

has to open blind eyes and God has to change

our hearts. That's why salvation is always a

miracle of grace. So now I want to circle back

to the beginning when I was talking about the

different countries and the center of them and

all that with Andrew Walls. So that observation

that the center of Christianity is always moving,

right? Why does it move? Because the gospel was

never designed to be comfortable. It was born

beneath a cross. It spread through persecution.

It flourished among people who knew they were

desperate for God. But when Christianity becomes

respectable, when it becomes safe, when it becomes

comfortable, when something then begins to happen,

the radical call of Jesus gets softened and it

begins to slow down and the cross becomes an

ornament instead of a way of life. Discipleship

becomes something we fit into our schedules rather

than something that cost us everything. That's

why Jesus immediately has a conversation with

Peter after the rich young ruler rocks away.

And Peter says, in essence, Lord, we have done

the things that you have asked us to do. We have

left our homes, our businesses, our families

to follow you. Please tell me this is going to

be worth it. And Jesus answers him immediately

with yes. Yes, it will cost you, but yes, it

will be worth it. Notice that Jesus does not

promise comfort. He promises himself, but he

never promises safety. He promises eternal life,

but he never says that the Christian life will

be easy, but he says it will be worth it. Amen.

And so write this down if you're taking notes.

We cannot allow comfort to become our greatest

pursuit because comfort has a way of slowly convincing

us that we no longer need the cross. The gospel

is dangerous. It calls people to die before they

truly live. It thrives among people who know

they are spiritually bankrupt and it flourishes

whenever men and women are desperate enough to

say, Jesus is all I have. Do you know where the

fastest growing church in the world is? Iran.

Amongst women. They gather secretly, they face

crazy persecution and death, and yet they go,

Jesus is all I have and Jesus is all I need.

It spreads where there is severe persecution.

So when you see, when you see persecution, when

you see just like, when I say persecution, just

street preachers, like it's gone viral. There's

a street preacher that was preaching repentance.

He wasn't being vulgar. He wasn't being angry.

He was just preaching repentance at a pride parade

in Dallas and he was arrested for it. and he

was on a public sidewalk. And we can go, look,

there's persecution. Guess what? We gotta fight

that. Well, I don't know because I read the scriptures

and I read church history and it says that my

faith, this thing that I live for only sets fire

when we're persecuted. And so go ahead and light

a fire to a brush that is dry. And let's see

what happens. Now, do I want that to, yes, I

want the gospel to go forward. Do I want to go

to jail for the gospel? Not necessarily, but

I'm willing to. So that's why this passage isn't

ultimately about money. Money is simply the symptom

of the real issue in the heart. Money just happened

to be the rich young ruler's idol. And if it

hadn't been money, Jesus would have exposed whatever

else had occupied the throne that belonged to

God alone. So before we finish this morning,

don't ask, do I have a problem with money? I

want you to ask, what am I trusting to give?

What am I trusting to give me only what only

Jesus can give? I could have worded that better.

Because whatever that thing is, that's your idol.

And until God opens your eyes to it, you'll never

know it's there. So here's the application and

here's the closing. Maybe this morning, your

idol isn't money. Maybe it's your reputation,

your career, your family, your comfort, your

political identity, your success. Whatever it

is, if the thought of losing it feels like losing

yourself, Jesus has probably just revealed where

your true identity lies. And the good news is

this, the same God who exposed the rich young

ruler's idol is the God who can free you from

yours. Because what is impossible for you is

never impossible with Him. Well, Pastor Logan,

how do I know? How do I know what would be my

idol? I'm still unsure. If I have an idol in

my life, it's what I always say is this, wherever

your time, wherever your money, wherever your

affection goes, so goes your God. Let's pray.