And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.
On the way a young ruler of great possessions runs to Jesus, kneels at His feet and asks what he must do to inherit eternal life, and when directed to keep the commandments for eternal life he answers with confident profession that he has kept the named commandments showing duty to others since his youth. He sincerely believed his claim and held a high estimate of his own righteousness, yet he was not fully satisfied and felt he still lacked something. His outward keeping did not mean whole faithfulness to God, for his heart remained close and covetous, loving his name and possessions more than the Lord and lacking the love for God and neighbor that is the spirit and life of the law. The claim was tested by the call to make the real sacrifice essential to the life he sought, to sell what he had, give to the poor, secure treasure in heaven and follow. He went away sorrowful and chose the world and earthly wealth instead, showing how dangerous riches are to the avaricious until diminishing wealth feels like parting with life.
Setting and Confident Claim
The saying belongs on the way when a young ruler of great possessions and responsible position runs after Jesus, kneels at His feet, and asks what he must do to inherit eternal life. He asks with sincerity and earnestness, his heart kindled with love for Jesus and with desire to be His disciple after seeing how tenderly He received little children brought to Him and took them up in His arms. His question is important to his own soul and to the soul of every human being.
It is his answer after being told that keeping the commandments is the way to have eternal life, a confident profession that he has kept the named commandments from his youth up. Those named commandments are the ones that show duty to other people. Keeping them means letting their principles guide every action, for they express God's character.
He sincerely believed his claim and held a high estimate of his own righteousness. Yet he was not fully satisfied but felt he still lacked something, and so he asked what he still lacked. What he lacked was discernment of his need for wholehearted devotion to God and Christian goodness. He needed a humble, contrite heart that recognizes God's supreme claim and trusts Christ's perfection to cover what is lacking. He had notable qualifications that, placed under Christ's guidance in self-surrender to Him, could have been developed into a force for good and co-working service in God's cause.
Outward Obedience and Heart
His confident profession of having kept the listed commandments since youth did not mean he was wholly faithful to God, for his heart remained close and covetous while he was exact in small matters like tithing mint and rue and neglected the weightier matters. He loved his own name and his possessions more than the Lord and his fellow people, and would not give from his wealth to relieve their needs. His going away sorrowful because he had great possessions shows he did not possess the true spirit of sacrifice acceptable to God, with right economy stretched into meanness. True obedience is more than outward legal rule-keeping, for it must enter the life and be shown in the character. His refusal to give Christ all he had and become His follower revealed that his claimed obedience did not meet God's standard of wholehearted service and surrender, and he chose the world instead.
His understanding of obedience was outward and incomplete, concealing selfishness and revealing a heart out of harmony with heaven. He lacked the love for God and other people that is the spirit and life of the law, and his attachment to wealth proved the defect. His claim did not reveal the condition of his heart, for he had failed to keep the commandments in his heart and therefore his profession did not overcome selfishness or prepare him to follow. He loved earthly riches more than his fellow human beings, his neighbor, God, and the eternal and heavenly inheritance. He would not give up his earthly treasure to relieve needs, help others, become rich in good works, and glorify God, though sincerely made his claim was false in heart because he did not love his neighbor as himself, and that selfish love of riches if not removed will shut him out of heaven.
The very greatness of his possessions showed the defect, for had he truly kept the commandments his worldly possessions would not have grown so great. Plotting and striving for self cannot love God with all heart, mind, and strength and neighbor as self, and giving to the poor as their wants demanded would have made him happier, with greater heavenly treasure and less earth on which to set affections. His possessions and high position nevertheless exerted an evil influence on his character, for cherished worldly things can take God's place in the affections and become all-absorbing. Keeping anything back from God would weaken his moral strength and efficiency.
Tested Surrender and Discipleship
The confident profession of having kept all from youth was put to the test by a call to real sacrifice that belonged to the very life sought, to sell what was possessed, give to the poor and suffering, secure treasure in heaven, and follow Christ. Willingness to keep the commandments did not mean readiness to surrender all, for attachment to possessions proved stronger than desire for the heavenly treasure, and what was loved more than eternal life was not yielded. Those demanding terms were the only hope of salvation and the way to perfect Christian character, since keeping anything back from God weakens moral strength and efficiency when cherished worldly things take God's place in the affections and become all-absorbing. Self-surrender is essential to discipleship, and anything that would corrupt the whole person must be given up, so further obedience in surrendering what stood in the way was still required.
In love Christ faithfully showed the ruler his true character and lack, proving it by the command to sell all, give to the poor, secure treasure in heaven, and follow. He required nothing more than He Himself had experienced when He left riches and glory and became poor, that humanity through His poverty might be made rich. The ruler went away sorrowful and chose the world and earthly wealth instead, for outward rule-keeping had not shaped life and character into obedience that would surrender what he had and become Christ's follower. His great possessions meant honor and power and seemed impossible to dispose of, so when assured of treasure in heaven upon obedience to the requirements he sorrowfully renounced immortal life for love of money and power, a miserable exchange.
Riches are dangerous to the avaricious, for the more is gained the harder generosity becomes until diminishing wealth feels like parting with life, and the immortal reward is renounced to retain and increase earthly possessions. Many who profess to keep all God's commandments are doing the same, wanting heaven while desiring to retain wealth, in danger of choosing earthly wealth over heaven and poorly returning God's love. The encounter shows how a person comes to estimate the soul's value aright and turn from worldly attractions to fix the eyes on heaven, only by studying and striving to understand the great plan of redemption. Realizing something of the cost of Christ's sacrifice to uplift and ennoble the human race leads to laying at His feet all one is and all one possesses, counting no sacrifice too great to fulfill His loving purpose that people should not perish but have eternal life, and making the highest aim to be doers of His Word. The claim belongs to the encounter in which the condition of discipleship was presented to the rich young ruler.
On the way a young ruler of great possessions runs to Jesus, kneels at His feet and asks what he must do to inherit eternal life, and when directed to keep the commandments for eternal life he answers with confident profession that he has kept the named commandments showing duty to others since his youth. He sincerely believed his claim and held a high estimate of his own righteousness, yet he was not fully satisfied and felt he still lacked something. His outward keeping did not mean whole faithfulness to God, for his heart remained close and covetous, loving his name and possessions more than the Lord and lacking the love for God and neighbor that is the spirit and life of the law. The claim was tested by the call to make the real sacrifice essential to the life he sought, to sell what he had, give to the poor, secure treasure in heaven and follow. He went away sorrowful and chose the world and earthly wealth instead, showing how dangerous riches are to the avaricious until diminishing wealth feels like parting with life.
Setting and Confident Claim
The saying belongs on the way when a young ruler of great possessions and responsible position runs after Jesus, kneels at His feet, and asks what he must do to inherit eternal life. He asks with sincerity and earnestness, his heart kindled with love for Jesus and with desire to be His disciple after seeing how tenderly He received little children brought to Him and took them up in His arms. His question is important to his own soul and to the soul of every human being.
It is his answer after being told that keeping the commandments is the way to have eternal life, a confident profession that he has kept the named commandments from his youth up. Those named commandments are the ones that show duty to other people. Keeping them means letting their principles guide every action, for they express God's character.
He sincerely believed his claim and held a high estimate of his own righteousness. Yet he was not fully satisfied but felt he still lacked something, and so he asked what he still lacked. What he lacked was discernment of his need for wholehearted devotion to God and Christian goodness. He needed a humble, contrite heart that recognizes God's supreme claim and trusts Christ's perfection to cover what is lacking. He had notable qualifications that, placed under Christ's guidance in self-surrender to Him, could have been developed into a force for good and co-working service in God's cause.
Outward Obedience and Heart
His confident profession of having kept the listed commandments since youth did not mean he was wholly faithful to God, for his heart remained close and covetous while he was exact in small matters like tithing mint and rue and neglected the weightier matters. He loved his own name and his possessions more than the Lord and his fellow people, and would not give from his wealth to relieve their needs. His going away sorrowful because he had great possessions shows he did not possess the true spirit of sacrifice acceptable to God, with right economy stretched into meanness. True obedience is more than outward legal rule-keeping, for it must enter the life and be shown in the character. His refusal to give Christ all he had and become His follower revealed that his claimed obedience did not meet God's standard of wholehearted service and surrender, and he chose the world instead.
His understanding of obedience was outward and incomplete, concealing selfishness and revealing a heart out of harmony with heaven. He lacked the love for God and other people that is the spirit and life of the law, and his attachment to wealth proved the defect. His claim did not reveal the condition of his heart, for he had failed to keep the commandments in his heart and therefore his profession did not overcome selfishness or prepare him to follow. He loved earthly riches more than his fellow human beings, his neighbor, God, and the eternal and heavenly inheritance. He would not give up his earthly treasure to relieve needs, help others, become rich in good works, and glorify God, though sincerely made his claim was false in heart because he did not love his neighbor as himself, and that selfish love of riches if not removed will shut him out of heaven.
The very greatness of his possessions showed the defect, for had he truly kept the commandments his worldly possessions would not have grown so great. Plotting and striving for self cannot love God with all heart, mind, and strength and neighbor as self, and giving to the poor as their wants demanded would have made him happier, with greater heavenly treasure and less earth on which to set affections. His possessions and high position nevertheless exerted an evil influence on his character, for cherished worldly things can take God's place in the affections and become all-absorbing. Keeping anything back from God would weaken his moral strength and efficiency.
Tested Surrender and Discipleship
The confident profession of having kept all from youth was put to the test by a call to real sacrifice that belonged to the very life sought, to sell what was possessed, give to the poor and suffering, secure treasure in heaven, and follow Christ. Willingness to keep the commandments did not mean readiness to surrender all, for attachment to possessions proved stronger than desire for the heavenly treasure, and what was loved more than eternal life was not yielded. Those demanding terms were the only hope of salvation and the way to perfect Christian character, since keeping anything back from God weakens moral strength and efficiency when cherished worldly things take God's place in the affections and become all-absorbing. Self-surrender is essential to discipleship, and anything that would corrupt the whole person must be given up, so further obedience in surrendering what stood in the way was still required.
In love Christ faithfully showed the ruler his true character and lack, proving it by the command to sell all, give to the poor, secure treasure in heaven, and follow. He required nothing more than He Himself had experienced when He left riches and glory and became poor, that humanity through His poverty might be made rich. The ruler went away sorrowful and chose the world and earthly wealth instead, for outward rule-keeping had not shaped life and character into obedience that would surrender what he had and become Christ's follower. His great possessions meant honor and power and seemed impossible to dispose of, so when assured of treasure in heaven upon obedience to the requirements he sorrowfully renounced immortal life for love of money and power, a miserable exchange.
Riches are dangerous to the avaricious, for the more is gained the harder generosity becomes until diminishing wealth feels like parting with life, and the immortal reward is renounced to retain and increase earthly possessions. Many who profess to keep all God's commandments are doing the same, wanting heaven while desiring to retain wealth, in danger of choosing earthly wealth over heaven and poorly returning God's love. The encounter shows how a person comes to estimate the soul's value aright and turn from worldly attractions to fix the eyes on heaven, only by studying and striving to understand the great plan of redemption. Realizing something of the cost of Christ's sacrifice to uplift and ennoble the human race leads to laying at His feet all one is and all one possesses, counting no sacrifice too great to fulfill His loving purpose that people should not perish but have eternal life, and making the highest aim to be doers of His Word. The claim belongs to the encounter in which the condition of discipleship was presented to the rich young ruler.