Helps for the Children A Rich Man Who Was Poor Matt 19:16-22
Pointers on the Lesson H om er A. K e n t , T h .D.
Memory Selection: “ By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35). Have you ever wished that your par ents were wealthy so that you might have everything that you desired? Some people believe that if they had all of the money that they wanted they would be entirely happy. God’s Word tells us about a rich young man who was not satisfied with his wealth. His heart knew that there was something lacking in his life. One day the rich young ruler heard that God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, was near-by. Eagerly the young man ran to the Saviour, and kneeling at His feet asked, “ Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?” You will notice that the ruler believed that there was something that he could do to be saved. When the Lord Jesus reminded him of the Old Testament commandments, the young man said that he had kept these since he was a child. As God’s Son looked into the ruler’s heart, He saw that the young man loved his riches more than he loved God. His riches were an idol in his life, for they were more precious to him than anything else in the world. When the Saviour told the ruler to go and sell that which he had and come and follow Him, the young man “went away sorrowful,” for he could not give up his love for his riches. What a wonderful story we might have read in the Bible about this rich young ruler if he had chosen God rather than his riches! How different the rest of his life would have been had he chosen to put God first! Many who have little of worldly wealth are the happiest people in the world today because they have the joy of knowing the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour. If they had to choose between their love for Him and love of money, they would quickly choose Him and His plan for their life. They have learned that there is nothing people can do to have eternal life. The only necessary thing was done when the Lord Jesus died upon the cross for their sins. Their faith in Him has made them a child of God. Nothing can take their salvation away from them. Their lives are happy and satisfied. Which choice have you made? Have you chosen to love money or fame or friends more than God? If so, you are a rich child or a famous child who is truly poor and unhappy. By choosing the Lord Jesus as your Saviour, even though you may not have worldly riches or worldly fame, you will be wonderfully happy because you are a child of the King of kings! T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
Helps for the Children A l l iso n A rrowood
Lesson material is based' upon outlines of the International Sunday School Les sons copyrighted by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.
Feh. 1. 1953 POSSESSIONS: HELP OR HINDRANCE? Matt. 19: 16-26
Pointers on the Lesson Possessions in themselves are not evil. There is nothing wrong in the mere own ing of things. What one needs to be careful of is that things or possessions do not own the individual. Too often it 'is true that'possessions are allowed to possess the soul and thus blind it to the more important things of life. Posses sions may be a great blessing if used aright. They can become a curse if used wrongly. It is possible to be so enamored with riches that they become man’s god. It seems that we have an illustration in the lesson of today of this sort of thing. The rich young ruler turned away from Christ for he had great possessions (v. 22). The Ruler’s Mistakes vv. 16,17 Outwardly this man had much to com mend him. He was young (v. 22). He was rich (v. 22). He had position (Luke 18:18). He was earnest (Mark 10:17). He was reverent (Mark 10:17). Evi dently he was morally clean-cut. But in spite of these facts, he was a man with grossly mistaken ideas. He was wrong in his conception of salvation (v. 16). He thought it came by doing something. The word do loomed large in his thought. Being the son of a rich man, he should have known that inheritance does not depend on doing. It depends on relation ship. This young man was also incor rect in his viewpoint of Christ. He called Him Good Teacher (Mark 10:17 A.R.V.). Surely He was a good teacher but He was far more. The young man failed to see the fullness that there is in Christ. Moreover, he was wrong in his view point of the law. He wanted to know which of the commandments was nec essary, as though he might choose that which suited him the best and irked him the least. Then, too, the young man was wrong in thinking he was willing to Page Twenty-eight
keep all the commandments. He was unwilling to part with his possessions. Thus he showed his unwillingness to obey the tenth commandment, “ Thou shalt not covet.” The Lord’s Instruction vv. 18-22 The Lord did not tell the ruler to keep the commandments as the way of salva tion, but in this way He appealed to the man to draw him out, so that he would see that he really had not kept the com mandments at all. Getting down to the heaVt of things, it was evident that he had given only a surface obedience. When our Lord challenged him to “ go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor” (v. 21) he “went away sorrowing: for he had great possessions” (v. 22). The great est of all the mistakes this man made was when he turned from Christ in order to cling to his own things. The Lord invited him to “ come and follow me” (v. 21). At this juncture it became clearly evident that the god in his life was riches. Thus he showed that he was not even keeping the first commandment which says that a man “ shalt have no other gods before me” (Ex 20:3). The Application vv. 23-26 Turning to His disciples, Jesus used this experience to point out the peril of both material wealth and human good ness. Riches are subtle in their appeal. They fascinate the rich man so that he bends every effort to get more. They blind his eyes to spiritual attainment. Riches often allure the poor to the end that they think that every craving will be satisfied with their attaining. Oh, the deceitfulness of riches! (Mark 4:19). “ But with God all things are possible” (v. 26). By the gospel He can save the rich as well as the poor.
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