Mark10: 17 ... “what must I do to inherit eternal life?. 19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’[a]” 20 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” 21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said...
The young rich man that asked Jesus about what he must do to inherit eternal life is a Jew who knew the law and kept it just like every other Jew. The rule book of every Jew is the Torah. They know all the"thou shall not" and they strive to keep it. This made most Jew to have a sense of self righteousness because they believe they are custodians of the laws that came directly from God through Moses. For this young man, he told Jesus emphatically that he had kept all of the laws right from when he was young. He was proud about his good morals and state of self righteousness, then Jesus looked at him and said, "one thing you lack".
There are men in our world today that do not lie, cheat, smoke, drink alcohol, neither do they hold grudges or have feelings of bitterness towards their neighbours yet the lack one thing- Jesus. Have you seen such people before? In fact, it is always very hard to distinguish these people from true believers because they are better than some believers in terms of character and morals. They are good but not saved. Sometimes, when you preach to people in this category, they see no reason why they should accept Jesus because they believe that good works is equivalent to salvation. We are not saved by good works but by grace( Eph2:8-9).
No matter how good a man is, if he has not accepted Jesus to be the Lord of his life, he would go to hell. John3:3 "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" John 3:3 KJV. Do not join them to say, 'it is our works that will take us to heaven. When salvation of the soul is absent from good works, hell is inevitable". Good works cannot earn salvation neither can goid morals make one acceptable before God. Having good morals is not enough. If you know people in this category, preach Jesus to them. Let them know that they lack "one thing". The mere action of rejecting Jesus is a sin and it shows that you are the one ruling on the throne of your heart where Jesus should be the Lord.
INVITATION TO SALVATION
Father, I believe in Jesus and what he did for me on the cross. Jesus, wash my sins and write my name in the book of life. I confess you as my Lord and personal saviour. Accept me, In Jesus name.
Kindly use this message as an evangelistic tool by forwarding to many on your contact list that are not saved.