Exposing Our Spiritual Blindness

By Hazel Holland

Recently the story of the rich young ruler was brought to my attention by a friend who was questioning why Jesus appeared to give this rich young man a message of "works" in order to be saved. At first glance it would seem that this story offers a seemingly endless supply of ammo for those seeking to defend the keeping of the Ten Commandments as a necessary work for salvation.

Although this familiar story may seem to convey a message of “salvation by works”, after a more careful reading of the passage, Jesus words suddenly become laser beams of truth that affirm the goodness God’s grace. They expose the deeper issues, not only of this rich young man’s heart, but our hearts, too.

Jesus had just told the rich young man that he lacked one thing. If he wanted to inherit eternal life and have treasure in heaven he must sell all his possessions, give to the poor, and then follow Jesus. The rich young man’s face fell. He sadly walked away from Jesus because he had great wealth.

The Bible tells us that the disciples were amazed by Jesus’ words to the rich young ruler. “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God?” (Mark 10: 23-24). Why were the disciples so taken aback by Jesus’ words? Why are we?

Why didn’t Jesus tell the rich young ruler to simply believe in Him in order to be saved? After all, Jesus told many others to believe in the One God had sent. Why were Jesus’ words to the rich young ruler so different, so puzzling? Why did Jesus seem to suggest that a “work” needed to be performed in order for him to be saved? Why did Jesus say, “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” (Mark 10:21)?

Material Blessings—a Reward for Obedience

While recently reading a book[1] that challenges us to seriously consider how we have manipulated the gospel to fit our own cultural preferences, I received further insight into our bewilderment over the mixed messages in this story. I believe the answer can be found in the way God established the nation of Israel under the Old Covenant.

From the very beginning God promised to pour out material blessings on Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their descendants (the children of Israel) as they chose to obey Him and keep His law. We also know that these material blessings were withheld when Israel failed to obey God’s law. The Bible teaches us that God was forming a nation for Himself through whom He wanted to demonstrate His greatness to all other nations.

In the process of forming this nation of Israel God also established a physical place for His people to worship, and a physical place for His glory to dwell. Remember how Solomon and David amassed great amounts of wealth as they established this kingdom, and part of that wealth was used to build Solomon’s temple? After the temple was built Solomon dedicated it to God and asked God to make his glory known through His people at that place (1 Kings 8:56-66).

The prophet Isaiah puts it most eloquently when he says; “I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6).

God wanted to make His glory known to the Gentile nations. As a result of the sacrificial system that God instituted through Israel God wanted to bring hope to all people of all nations that a Deliverer was coming! But when the Deliverer came He wasn’t recognized by His own people. They had been expecting deliverance from Rome, not from sin. They had been expecting a physical kingdom, but Jesus’ kingdom was not of this world.

A New Phase of Redemptive History

Having briefly established the Old Covenant background of Israel’s material prosperity, perhaps we can better understand why the disciples were so astounded by Jesus words to the rich young ruler. Throughout Israel’s history God had been showering material blessings upon them as they obeyed His law. So why would obedience to Christ’s command to “Follow Me” lead this rich young man to lose his material possessions when Israel’s history was steeped in God doing just the opposite? Was the God of the Old Covenant different from the God of the New Covenant? What was going on?

I believe the answer lies in the radical shift that was taking place in redemptive history as Jesus spoke these difficult words to the rich young ruler. God’s eternal plan to redeem and deliver His people from sin was further unfolding as Jesus ushered in this new phase of redemptive history—a phase that would forever affect the relationship between faith and material blessings.[2]

We see this new phase of redemptive ministry clearly expressed in the way the early church loved one another and used their material possessions to bless one another—including taking care of the poor among them. We see the Father’s heart revealed in the way their actions were motivated by the law of love rather than the works of the law!

Manipulating the Gospel

Even though material blessings were promised as a reward for obedience under the Old Covenant there are no such teachings in the ministry of Jesus or the ministry of the apostles. Furthermore, since there are no explicit or implicit teachings in the New Testament that promote material blessings as a reward for obedience, the “prosperity gospel” taught in many American churches, must be “imported” from the Old Testament.

But how can we in good conscience import Old Covenant teachings that Jesus and the New Testament writers never taught because the Law of Moses became obsolete after the resurrection? Have we no sense of how we are wounding our brothers and sisters, and bringing terrible confusion to the body of Christ by our take on the health and wealth gospel? Even believers in America who struggle financially to make ends meet are apt to be told by those who have plenty that a “poverty” mentality is the root cause for their lack of material prosperity.

Where is God’s heart of compassion in all of this? How have we drifted so far from Him? By manipulating the gospel of God’s agape love to fit our own cultural preferences, many of us in the Western church have totally lost sight of the true gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel that bids us to die to self, take up our cross daily and follow Him will never be popular in our churches, our culture, or our world.

Let’s expose more of our spiritual blindness. Unlike the Old Testament there are no verses in the New Testament where God’s children are commanded to build luxurious churches or magnificent temples for worship. That’s because the veil of the temple that represented Jesus body was torn from top to bottom the moment that Jesus died. When Jesus gave His life once and for all as the Sacrificial Lamb for the sins of the world, no more sacrifice for sin was needed.

Instead, the Shekinah glory that was once veiled behind the temple curtain in the Most Holy Place is now revealed in earthen vessels. God’s presence has been transferred to the church—not a building, but people that make up the body of Christ. We have become God’s temple in which He now chooses to dwell by His Spirit. This temple is made up of precious living stones—Jesus being the Chief Cornerstone.

What’s more, we, as God’s temple of living stones, have been commissioned by Jesus to carry this gospel of the Kingdom to the ends of the earth. We have been chosen to become the carriers of God’s goodness to the world. But unless we know God and have His heart of agape love for others, including our enemies, He cannot use our brokenness to carry the Light that will dispel the darkness. If we don't have His heart, we will misinterpret and continue to manipulate the simple gospel that He has commissioned us to take to the world. For without His agape love we are nothing more than resounding gongs and clanging cymbals (1 Corinthians 13:1).

Relationship and Intimacy

As I write these words the imagery of the disciple John leaning his head upon Jesus’ chest at the last supper comes to mind along with these two words—relationship and intimacy. I believe that God wants us to understand the urgency of the hour. Unless we press into Him and have our ears tuned to hear the heartbeat of the Father that compelled Jesus to go to the cross because of the agape love that He has for all people, we will misunderstand His heart. We will not be able to identify with the things that break God’s heart becomes our hearts will eventually become cold and hardened to the love of God.

Although the rich young ruler had been schooled to believe that he would be saved by keeping the law, his great riches did not give him the assurance of eternal life that he desired. That is why he asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Although he had kept the Ten Commandments from childhood, he knew something was lacking in his heart. Do we sense that perhaps something is lacking in our hearts, too?

Just as Jesus met the rich young ruler where he was at, He will meet us where we are at. Although Jesus knew that the rich young ruler had kept the commandments from His youth up, Jesus never told him to keep the commandments in order to be saved. Instead he exposed the young man’s heart issues that were motivated by the works of the law—rather than the law of love.

But wasn’t the rich young ruler’s great wealth a sign that he had been blessed by God because of his obedience to the law? That’s how people interpreted material blessings under the old order of things, but the old order of things has passed away. The new order of things has come.

God’s Goodness Changes Hearts

A radical shift has taken place as Jesus directs us to look at the only One who is good—God! A radical shift has taken place as Jesus reveals that His kingdom is spiritual, not material. A radical shift has taken place as Jesus tells us plainly that His kingdom is not of this world. His kingdom is ruled by the law of love—not by the works of the law!

Suddenly the rich young ruler’s world began to crumble when Jesus confronted him with his deeper heart issues. We’re not told if he ever had a change of heart and accepted Jesus as His Lord and Master, but we are told that it is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance. It is God’s goodness revealed in Jesus Christ that will bring us to the end of ourselves so that the agape love of God might live in us.

For this reason, I believe Christians, especially in America, are being called to repent of the way we have been exporting a false gospel that equates faith in Christ with material prosperity. Understanding that Jesus died the death that we deserve so that we can live the life that He alone deserves ought to radically affect, not only our love relationship with Him, but also the way we express love to one another.

The Bible tells us that Jesus is our very great reward—a reward that we cannot earn, and that we don’t deserve, but is freely given to us because of the agape love of God. Since all our needs are met in Him, shouldn’t this alter the relationship between our faith and our material possessions? A faith that works by love does not guarantee us material blessings, but faith in Him does open the door of our hearts to the agape love of God so that we can know His heart and be a blessing to others.

That’s what Jesus wanted for the rich young ruler. He wanted that rich young man to begin to experience the hidden treasures that are stored up for us when we bless others for their sake instead of our own. When the rich young ruler saw that he would have to let go of his material kingdom before he could experience the riches of God’s spiritual kingdom, he walked away. He couldn’t do it. God’s goodness must first change His heart.

Radical Repentance

I want to believe that the seeds of truth that Jesus sowed into the rich young ruler’s heart that day took root and accomplished what Jesus desired for them to accomplish—a revelation of the goodness of God that eventually changed his heart, and caused him to embrace the risen Lord. I want to believe that it will be the same for us in the church. Only when God’s goodness changes our hearts will we hear His call to repent. Only when God’s goodness changes our hearts will we be able to identify with God’s kingdom and reveal His love to the world.

Just for the record, Jesus was not condemning the rich young ruler for his riches or us for our acquisition of material things. Material things in and of themselves are not evil. Rather, Jesus is seeking to radically change our perspective on our possessions, as we open our hearts to the needs of the world around us. As we allow Him to change the desires of our hearts we will be led by the Spirit to give of ourselves, our resources, and our time for the glory of God’s kingdom.

Let’s remember that in God we have a King who guarantees for us a kingdom. His kingdom of agape love will last forever. It cannot be shaken because it is not of this world (Hebrews 12:28). We are heirs to this spiritual kingdom, and co-heirs with our older brother, Jesus Christ. Everything in God’s Kingdom has already been given to us, and everything we have and are already belongs to Him.

“Father, in view of this truth we choose to allow Your goodness to expose the blindness in our hearts so that we can radically repent of the things that we have done in Your name, but not with Your heart. Lord, when everything is shaken that can be shaken, and you have removed the last vestiges of dross from our lives, may the one thing that cannot be shaken remain—our faith in Your goodness towards us that continues to expresses itself in works of agape love.”

Notes:

[1] David Platt, “Radical”, p. 116.

[2] Ibid. 117.