What the Gospel Is and Isn’t
Matthew 19:16-30
The gospel that Jesus announced to the rich young ruler in Matthew 19 differs quite significantly from many popular versions of the gospel found in today’s churches. However, these differences are not always readily apparent and easy to identify. Charles Spurgeon aptly commented that discernment ‘is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right’.
Jesus’ interaction with the rich young ruler in Matthew 19 is an important text for us to consider because it provides a wonderful tapestry of gospel truth. In Matthew 19 the gospel is articulated with power and clarity to a man that desperately needs to hear the truth. We today are no different. We also need to hear the unfettered truth of the gospel.
In this article, we’ll explore Matthew 19 in an effort to better understand the gospel Jesus preached. We will then contrast this gospel with modern preachers. We will limit ourselves to ten essential elements of the gospel found in Matthew 19:16-30. You’d benefit from reading that text before continuing with this article.
1. The gospel is exclusive
In Matthew 19:22 the rich young ruler walks away from Jesus because he cannot stand to part with his wealth. The man leaves because if a choice must be made between money and Jesus, money wins. For when challenged, he cannot not bring himself to make the commitment of faith that Jesus requires of all of us. Here we see that not everyone will enter the kingdom of heaven. The gospel is not effective for every human because it demands unrivalled commitment and faith in Jesus. At the beginning of the twentieth century Karl Barth proposed that ‘in Christ there has appeared an end, but also a beginning, a passing to corruption, but also becoming new; and both are for the whole world and for all men’.[1] However, it is clear that the example of the rich young ruler and his failure to enter the kingdom of heaven negates such a proposal. It is blindingly obvious in Matthew 19 that not all humans will be saved and that the gospel is indeed exclusive.
2. The gospel assumes we are sinful
After the rich young ruler has approached Jesus and asked ‘Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?’, Jesus replies ‘why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good’. In this response, along with the Lucan parallel, we discover that only God is good. Consequently, humankind cannot do what is good in order to please God. Catholicism holds that humankind fell not on their face, as Protestants believe, but rather on their knees. Moreover they believe that through natural revelation, humankind can discover God and can even please him with their obedience. In contrast, Jesus declares that ‘there is only one who is good’. In this phrase Jesus is undoubtedly referring to God who exists as one being and three persons.
TD Jakes, who has been accused of modalism, not only misunderstands God but also human depravity. In his book Identity he discusses the importance of discovering our particular purpose in life and he even muses that we need to be in a ‘state of readiness and expectation’ for the moments ‘when God’s power collides with our potential’.[2] This last phrase ‘when God’s power collides with our potential’ is skirting very close to a rejection of the total depravity being enunciated by Jesus in Matthew 19:17. (Total depravity is the understanding that every part of a human has been ruined in some way by sin)
On a similar note Joel Osteen is happy to broadcast that ‘God is keeping a record of every good deed you’ve ever done’ and that ‘there is treasure on the inside of every one of you’.[3] Osteen suggests that it is possible for us to please God with our good deeds because there is treasure on the inside of every one of us. Yet in Matthew 19 Jesus tells us that ‘there is only one who is good’. Admittedly, Jesus does talk about obedience immediately after this statement, however he is referring to Deuteronomy 6:4-6 which is set within the context of redemption where love of God is an appropriate response to God’s grace and mercy. The words also contain an implicit declaration of faith and dependence. In summary, the gospel assumes that all humanity is sinful and that the ability to save themselves is out of reach.
3. The gospel may engender financial loss and familial trouble
Gloria Copeland infamously claimed in her book God’s Will is Prosperity ‘Give $10 and receive $1,000; give $1,000 and receive $100,000 … in short, Mark 10:30 is a very good deal’.[4] Mark 10 is a parallel account of Matthew 19 but Copeland has clearly misunderstood Jesus. For in Matthew 19 Jesus calls the rich young ruler to sell all his possessions and to follow after him. Likewise Jesus himself was poor and had ‘nowhere to lay his head’ (Matthew 8:20). He also instructed his disciples to give financially without expecting anything financial in return (Luke 6:35). In essence Jesus’ promise is not to be taken in a strictly literal sense, instead it points to uncountable blessings. Those who follow Jesus, even at the cost of all their current worldly blessings, will enter into a community where there is plenty. Even in the here and now.
In a similar vein to Copeland, Taffi L Dollar states,
‘I used to think that it took money to do everything. It doesn’t take money. A day of God’s favour will put you light years ahead of what it takes others a lifetime of struggle to obtain.
When we put God first we will keep ourselves from idols, and everything else will be in order. Our family will be in order and we won’t have to neglect them and compromise our beliefs to be successful.’[5]
Dollar appears to be at odds with the gospel presented in Matthew 19. To claim that if we ‘put God first’ then ‘everything else will be in order’ is to miss what Jesus had to say in Matthew 19. For in verse 29 we read that ‘everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life’. Clearly latent in these words is the possibility of family trials and separations. The gospel does not promise family harmony and order. The gospel rather promises that if familial disharmony or even breakups occur, believers will still receive a hundredfold as they enter into a new community, which is a worldwide family.
In unashamed contrast to the gospels presented by Copeland and Dollar, the true gospel does not promise financial prosperity or family security. Instead it calls us to be willing to forsake all our riches without looking for anything in return and to be willing to leave our families behind in order to follow Jesus. The gospel message is thus nothing short of radical.
4. The gospel reorients focus away from ourselves and toward God
The longer that the young man converses with Jesus the more obvious it becomes that he is utterly focussed on himself. He asks ‘what good deed must I do?’, he claims that he has kept the law, he then wonders what he still lacks to enter eternal life, and finally goes away in sorrow because he loves his own wealth. Interestingly, not once does he mention God. He seems to have no appetite to know God or to give him glory. He appears to want eternal life so that he can continue being completely, totally and utterly self-obsessed.
Jesus graciously ministers to this man by redirecting his focus towards God. He then points him to other people before finally calling him to renounce himself and his worldly wealth and to ‘come, follow me’. In this passage one of the essential elements of the gospel is that it reorients our focus away from ourselves and back towards God.
Unhelpfully, in his book Identity, TD Jakes militates against this essential element of the gospel. Early in his book, without any real reference to Jesus, he states that ‘if you die without accomplishing your purpose, you are a failure, a reject, and a fool’. He then reminds us again and again that God is the ‘God of Purpose’ and that we all ‘are an integral piece to God’s glorious puzzle’.[6] Throughout his book he castigates those who have not found their purpose in life and he continually directs our focus back towards ourselves. For Jakes, God simply helps us to find our purpose. In the mind of Jakes God certainly made us, but now he simply exists to help us find our purpose so that we can then set about trying to achieve it. This is summed up at the end of his book where he fittingly closes with his overt man centred approach. He says,
‘I want things to be different for you. Page after page of Identity has been crafted with one purpose: to remind you of who you are.
You are the only you that there will ever be. Ever. Throughout history, you are unique.’[7]
While much of this is true it is presented from an angle that is dangerous. God certainly shaped each of us individually, and we are all important to God, but that does not mean that he wants us to focus on ourselves. Jakes neglects to tell us who we are with reference to God and that seems to be the rich young ruler’s problem in Matthew 19. He was neurotically preoccupied with himself and it ultimately ruined him. This self-centeredness was ruinous for himself, it was damaging for those around him whom he ignored, but primarily, it was sinful against God whom he rejected.
The rich young ruler was painfully self-absorbed which is set in contrast to the gospel which reorients focus away from ourselves. The gospel sets us free to follow Jesus, to love God and to love those around us. The gospel is an act of God (v.26) which sets us free to live for God. It is clearly not supposed to encourage us to put ourselves first for ‘many who are first will be last, and the last first’ (v.30).
5. The gospel is nothing short of a miracle
Open theists hold that because God loves us, and because he desires us to freely love him back God does not force us to trust him or love him. According to open theists God desires us to reciprocate his love and that cannot truly happen if he interjects. Moreover, God not only abstains from interfering but he actually does not know whether or not we will choose to love him back. John Sanders elaborates,
It is God’s desire that we enter into a give-and-take relationship of love, and this is not accomplished by God’s forcing his blueprint on us. Rather, God wants us to go through life together with him, making decisions together. Together we decide the actual course of my life. God’s will for my life does not reside in a list of specific activities but in a personal relationship. As lover and friend, God works with us wherever we go and whatever we do. To a large extent our future is open and we are to determine what it will be in dialogue with God.[8]
While Sanders’ language of ‘give-and-take relationship’ and ‘making decisions together’ sounds appealing to our humanistic ears, Matthew 19 teaches the exact opposite. In verse 24 Jesus describes a provocative image of impossibility when he claims that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. Undeniably, from this passage it requires a miracle for a rich person to be saved, and that is quite the point of this statement. ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible’ (v.26). Rich people, like all people, cannot save themselves. They cannot even reach out and lay a hold of the salvation that is presented to them.
This rich ruler is indicative of all people. No one can or will reach out to God unless God first reaches out to them. Only with God is salvation possible. In light of this the gospel is not about what we as humans do but it is in fact a miracle from God.
6. The gospel has both immediate and end time dimensions
The gospel presented in Matthew 19 is not solely about the here and now. In verse 28 Jesus talks about the ‘new world’ and in verse 29 he talks about ‘inheriting eternal life’. He, Jesus, also comforts his disciples with the incredible promise that they will sit on twelve thrones of Israel when the Son of Man comes. Such a role in the future Messianic age will involve a repayment abundantly beyond whatever sacrifice has been made and will include eternal life as an inheritance. Clearly the gospel has an explicit end time focus with explicit end time implications.
In contrast, many current presentations of the gospel lack this emphasis on the end time. Joyce Meyer in her book How to Hear from God discusses the abundant life promised to believers yet continually ignores the end time stress we encounter in the New Testament. She says that if ‘we keep our eyes on Jesus, and obey His voice, we will enjoy the outrageous blessings of the abundant life He has promised’. Nevertheless, Meyer, having said this, then fails to say anything about the eternal hope that is always connected to ‘abundant life’ in the New Testament.
It seems that she is not looking for the eternal city that is to come but has rather settled for what she can now have. In the chapter referenced earlier, ‘Enjoy the Spirit-Led Life’, not once does Meyer even hint at the world to come. Jesus said that the Spirit would remind the disciples of all that he had said. Meyer, however, is out of sync with the clear end time affirmations found in Matthew 19. Meyer, while writing about the Spirit, blatantly ignores the end time emphasis and end time implications of the gospel articulated by Jesus and the rest of the New Testament.
7. The gospel is about a King
Ever since Billy Graham it has been common practice for people to preach the gospel and then suggest that all we need to do is to make a ‘decision’ for Jesus. In the 21st century we like the idea of Jesus as Saviour but we all too regularly spurn him as Lord. However, the gospel as found in Matthew 19, involves the Son of Man sitting on his throne. Connoted in this reality is the need for us to cast the crowns of our own independence before his eternal throne. Implicit in entering the kingdom is not simply making a ‘decision’ and offering intellectual assent but actually submitting to the King.
Submitting to the King rules out antinomianism (claiming to believe in Jesus but failing to live his way) and so called ‘easy believism’. The gospel involves Jesus as the King and a positive response to the gospel demands submission to that King. We cannot profess to believe and then refuse to obey. In the Bible faith and obedience are two sides of the same coin - they cannot be separated. Simply put, to believe in Jesus leads to salvation, but it also means to give up control of our life.
8. The gospel is about forsaking idols and following Jesus
Charles M Sheldon wrote a famous book called In His Steps[9]. In this book Sheldon encouraged Christians to ask ‘what would Jesus do?’ in any and every situation. The main burden of Sheldon’s book is for believers to imitate Christ. Now no one would deny that this is a vital aspect of the gospel. But at the same time it can never stand alone.
The gospel calls for faith before it calls for imitation. In his book Sheldon never confronts people with their sin as Jesus does (v 17) and he never calls for faith as Jesus does (v 21). In verse 17 Jesus confronts the rich young ruler with his sin by stating that only God is good. Afterwards he challenges the man to follow him if he would be perfect. The invitation to follow Jesus isn’t simply a call to imitation but it involves faith.
We must remember that Jesus’ invitation comes straight after his declaration ‘let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven’. The kingdom of heaven belongs to those who receive it with simple, humble faith like children. When a child is given something they bring nothing to the equation and nor do they attempt to do so. The gospel in Matthew 19 is not about what humans do but about what God gives.
The injunction ‘come, follow me’ will certainly involve imitation but it is primarily a call to faith. The rich young ruler must renounce his worldly wealth and trust in Jesus if he would be perfect. Imitation then follows as a natural consequence of faith. With this in mind, Sheldon was wrong to give the impression that imitation is all that is needed.
9. The gospel arises from the Old Testament
Interestingly, in Matthew 19, Jesus again claims to be the fulfilment of the Old Testament. In the gospel according to Matthew the overarching theme is ‘fulfilment’, and in verse 21 Jesus suggests that the Old Testament culminates in following him. Having taken the rich young ruler to Deuteronomy 6 and into the book of Leviticus, he then enjoins the man to follow him. Certainly Jesus’ demand goes beyond the Old Testament yet it clearly isn’t in opposition to it. Jesus can quite easily move from Deuteronomy to Leviticus to himself. Evidently, the Old Testament must be understood to culminate in the coming, person and work of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, many modern presentations of the gospel ignore this fact. It is all too common to hear the Old Testament taught as if Jesus had never come at all. These cases usually involve some kind of moralism where law is preached without grace. This kind of teaching usually results in pride or dismay, or an oscillation between the two. Pride when people feel they are obeying, and dismay when they realise they are not.
10. The gospel does not favour the rich
Only rarely would someone admit to thinking that God favours the rich. Yet on a deeper level we might be tempted to think that rich people are more loved and blessed by God. However, Jesus’ interaction with the rich young ruler reveals that we are all in the same boat. God shows no partiality. With this in mind we should take a leaf out of Jesus’ book and endeavour to present the gospel to the poor and downcast as well as the rich. Sometimes it can be tempting to think that rich people have all they need, but in reality they are as poor as everyone else. Jesus, in contrast to many today, shows no partiality towards the rich or the poor. And neither should we. The gospel is for all people because all people are equally needy and unworthy.
Conclusion
In conclusion, many of the popular versions of the gospel found in today’s churches differ greatly from the gospel announced by Jesus in Matthew 19:16-30. The differences are sometimes immediately apparent but they usually take more time to rightly identify and understand. The task required from us today is to spend lots of time reading the Bible and using our powers of discernment in order to distinguish and differentiate between right and almost right. Thank God for the Bible which is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.
[1] Barth, The Epistle to the Romans, Oxford University Press, 1933. 69
[2] TD Jakes, Identity: Discover who you are and life a life of purpose, Destiny Images Publishers, 2015. 35
[3] Joel Osteen, Your Best Life NOW, Faith Words, 2004 reprinted 2014. 262, 314
[4] Gloria Copeland, God’s Will is Prosperity, Harrison House 1978 reprinted 1992.
[5] Taffi L Dollar, Your Spiritual Makeover: Experience the Beauty of a Balanced Life, Harrison House Publishes, 2007. 36-37
[6] TD Jakes, Identity …, 16, 51, 63
[7] TD Jakes, Identity …, 137
[8] John Sanders, The God Who Risks, Intervarsity Press, 1998. 277
[9] Charles M Sheldon, In His Steps, Spire Books, 1984