John Charles Ryle (10 May 1816 – 10 June 1900) was an English evangelical Anglican bishop. For the next several days, His Word Today reprints Ryle’s essay of The Rich Young Man. Today is the final installment. May the Lord edify you.
“You see, in the last place, from this young man’s case, that one idol cherished in the heart may ruin a soul forever. Our Lord, who knew what was in man, at last shows His inquirer his besetting sin. The same searching voice which said to the Samaritan woman, “Go, call thy husband” (John iv. 16), said to the young man, “Go, sell that thou hast, and give to the poor.”
“At once the weak point in his character was detected. It turned out that, with all his wishes and desires after eternal life, there was one thing he loved better than his soul, and that was his money. He could not stand the test. He was weighed in the balance and found wanting. And the history ends with the melancholy words, “He went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”
“You have in this history one more proof of the truth, “The love of money is the root of all evil.” (1 Tim. VI. 10.) You must place this young man in your memory by the side of Judas, Ananias, and Sapphira, and learn to beware of covetousness. Alas, it is a rock on which thousands are continually making shipwreck!”
“There is hardly a minister of the Gospel who could not point too many in his congregation, who, humanly speaking, are “not far from the kingdom of God.” But they never seem to make progress. They wish, they feel, they mean, they hope: but there they stick fast! And why? Because they are fond of money. Reader, prove your own self, as you leave the passage. See how it touches your own soul. Are you honest and sincere in your professed desire to be a true Christian? Have you given up your idols? Is there no secret sin that you are silently clinging to, and refusing to give up? Is there no thing or person that you are privately loving more than Christ and your soul? These are questions that ought to be answered.”
“The true explanation of the unsatisfactory state of many hearers of the Gospel, is spiritual idolatry. St. John might well say, “Keep yourselves from idols.” (1 John V. 21.) Reader, if you want to be saved, seek first and foremost to be rich in grace. Ask the Lord Jesus Christ to give you “gold tried in the fire, that you may be rich.” (Rev. III. 18.) “Lay up for yourself treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through and steal” (Matt. VI. 20.).”
“This is the only treasure that endures forever. The gold and silver of this world cannot be carried beyond the grave. The grace of God and the peace which Christ gives, are the only lasting possessions. He who has them will be rich for evermore; he who dies without them will be a pauper to all eternity.”
Soli deo Gloria!
His Word Today 