What God Will Not Do
Introduction
Jesus said “for with God all things are possible.” Although God can do all things, there are certain things He will not do. God will not save a sinner who refuses to repent and place his trust in Jesus Christ. The sinner has broken the laws of God and stands condemned. His sin is against his Creator. Jesus said, “Repent ye, and believe the gospel.” Some people, like Judas, grieve over their sin, but never repent. Some people seem willing to do anything to become a Christian except give up their sins.
I. Longing for God
A. Request of The Young Man. v. 17
1. Humble in request. v. 17 “kneeled to Him”
2. Honest in request. v. 17 “What shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”
B. Reply to Young Man.
1. Word of clarification. v. 18 “Only God is good.” Ps. 100:5; 145:9
2. Word of examination. v. 19 “Thou knowest the commandments”
a. Spiritually deceived. v. 20 “all these have I observed from my youth.”
“The heart is deceitful above all things; and desperately wicked.” (Jer. 17:9)
“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags.” (Isa. 64:6)
“For there is not a man upon earth, that doeth good and sinneth not. (Eccles. 7:20)
“For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 6:23)
b. Savior’s diagnosis. “One thing thou lackest”
II. Law of God
A. Law Convicts. (Rom. 3:20b; 7:7)
“. . . for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” Rom. 3:20b
“I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.” Rom. 7:7
Jonathan Edwards: “The only way we can know whether we are sinning is by knowing His moral Law.”
Charles Spurgeon: “I do not believe that any man can preach the gospel who does not preach the Law. Lower the Law and you dim the light by which man perceives his guilt; this is a very serious loss to the sinner rather than a gain; for it lessens the likelihood of his conviction and conversion. They will never accept grace till they tremble before a just and holy Law.”
John MacArthur: “God’s grace cannot be faithfully preached to unbelievers until the Law is preached and man’s corrupt nature exposed.”
John Wesley on the uses of the Law: “And the first use of it, without question, is to convince the world of sin . . . By this is the sinner discovered to himself. All his fig leaves are torn away, and he sees that he is ‘wretched and poor and miserable, blind and naked.’”
B. Law Condemns.
“Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3:4
“. . . if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.” James 2:8-11
“Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.” Gal. 3:10
“For the wages of sin is death.” Rom. 6:23
III. Love of God
A. Compassion of the Savior. v. 21
B. Call of The Savior. v. 21
1. Call to a decision. “sell whatsoever thou hast”
“And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt.” Mark 9:43-49
2. Call to discipleship. “take up the cross” Luke 14:25-34
“And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.”
3. Call to devotion. “follow me”
“And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.” Luke 9:23-24
IV. Lost from God
A. Choice of The Sinner. v. 22
A person does not have to be rich to be covetous. A person can lust after many things in this world.
B. Consequence for the Sinner. Rev. 20:11-15
Lessons for Life:
1. God will not save a person who will not repent. Luke 13:3, 5
2. Jesus said, “No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Luke 16:13-14 Money was this man’s master. This young man wanted heaven and his money. Are you holding on to things?
3. “True repentance, as J. R. Miller wrote, ‘amounts to nothing whatever if it produces only a few tears, a spasm of regret, a little fright. We must leave the sins we repent of and walk in the new, clean ways of holiness.’” Are you willing to turn from your sins and trust Christ today?