Here in Matthew is a man that knew two things. He did his best to gain eternal life. However, his best efforts were not good enough. For him, something still seemed missing. Other verses in this chapter further explained his good intentions and the extent of his efforts. But the reply of Jesus was not really about money. The answer was not that something was missing but that something was in the way. Our text illustrates the problem for all of us until we finally give ourselves completely to the Savior. This is an illustration to consider.
Consider the question of sin. The simple definition is anything that comes between us and God. The man asked what must I do that I have not already done to be good enough?
The concept of sin is described in several ways in Scripture. It is missing the mark as an arrow shot toward a target. It is a spiritual, moral failing. The idea of sin is that of wandering astray like a sheep who left the shepherd. More boldly defined, sin is a revolt, rebellion, transgression, a state of lawlessness, and the debt that cannot be paid. To behave simply is to act treacherously, wrongly which places guilt on man against God. Then, sin is the cause of all trouble and sorrow. It is good to confess our sins to others; it is required that we confess our sins directly to God.
When we talk about sin, we must talk about our corrupted nature as described in Romans 3:23. It is a challenge to God for what he expects.(Genesis 3:11) Frankly put, when we sin, it is our choice not to do right and avoid righteousness.(James 4:17)
The man in our text experienced conviction but not a conversion. He was loyal to a set of principles but not the principal Creator of the universe. All of us are at the same starting point at birth. We have within our nature a state of corruption, some of which include self-deception. (Ephesians 2:3; 1 John 1:8) No doubt, there are many people and churches who live under the umbrella of conviction that they have confused with conversion. Conviction is only the starting point. The intention is for it to lead to conversion to become a child of God. (Proverbs 14:12) The goal for everyone is to experience a spiritual rebirth as mentioned in John 3:18.
Unfortunately, for all men, there is an eternal consequences to sin. The man in our text chose to embrace that consequence other than the words of Christ. (Matthew 19:21-23) When Jesus said to follow him, he meant to follow him daily without question. The result of living in a state of sin is too serious not to surrender to our Lord and Master. Every one of us will bear the responsibility to give account for our lives before God. Anyone of us can reverse the end result of eternal damnation by giving account to God in this life rather than to give account to ourselves for ourselves in this life. (Romans 14:12) In the same way that we grip to sin in this life, we have the option to grip onto the offers from our Savior. It is our choice. It is our consequence.
Christian Writer 