The Path to Life: Keeping the Commandments

The Commandments and Eternal Life

1. The Gospel lesson we just heard, brothers, requires an attentive listener and doer rather than an interpreter. What could be clearer than this light: "If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments" (Matthew 19:17)? What can I say but, "If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments"? Who doesn't wish for life? And yet who actually wants to keep the commandments? If you don't wish to keep the commandments, why do you seek life? If you're slow to do the work, why do you rush toward the reward?

The rich young man in the Gospel said he had kept the commandments. Then he heard the greater requirements: "If you want to be perfect, one thing is lacking: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor." You won't lose these things, but "you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me" (Matthew 19:21). What good will it be if you do everything else but don't follow Me? But as you've heard, "he went away sad" and "sorrowful, for he had great possessions" (Matthew 19:22).

What he heard, we have also heard. The Gospel is Christ's voice. He sits in heaven, but He hasn't stopped speaking on earth. Let's not be deaf, for He is calling out. Let's not be dead, for He is thundering. If you won't do the greater things, at least do the lesser ones. If the burden of the greater commands is too much for you, at least take up the lesser ones. Why are you slow to do both? Why do you set yourself against both?

The greater commands are: "Sell all that you have, give to the poor, and follow Me." The lesser ones are: "You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, honor your father and mother, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 19:18-19). Do these at least. Why do I call on you to sell your possessions when I can't even get you to stop stealing what belongs to others? You've heard, "You shall not steal," yet you rob others. Before the eyes of such a great Judge, I find you not just a thief but a plunderer.

Spare yourself, have pity on yourself. This life still allows you time; don't refuse correction. Yesterday you were a thief; don't be one today too. Or if perhaps you've already been one today, don't be one tomorrow. Put a stop to your wrongdoing sometime, and then seek good as your reward. You want good things, but you don't want to be good. Your life contradicts your desires. If having a good piece of property is a great good, how great an evil must it be to have an evil soul!

2. The rich man "went away sorrowful," and the Lord said, "How hard it is for someone with riches to enter the kingdom of heaven!" (Matthew 19:23). By using a comparison, He showed the difficulty to be so great that it was absolutely impossible. Every impossible thing is difficult, but not every difficult thing is impossible. Consider how difficult it is: "Truly I tell you, 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" (Matthew 19:24). A camel through the eye of a needle! If He had said a gnat, it would still be impossible.

When His disciples heard this, they were troubled and asked, "If this is so, who then can be saved?" (Matthew 19:25). What rich person? Listen then to Christ, you who are poor. I'm speaking to the people of God. More of you are poor than rich. At least receive what I say, but pay attention. Whoever among you boasts of your poverty, beware of pride, lest the humble rich surpass you. Beware of ungodliness, lest the godly rich surpass you. Beware of drunkenness, lest the sober rich surpass you. Don't glory in your poverty if they shouldn't glory in their riches.

3. And let the rich listen, if indeed they are rich. Let them hear the Apostle: "Command those who are rich in this present world" (1 Timothy 6:17). For there are those who are rich in another world. The poor are the rich of another world. The Apostles are the rich of another world, who said, "As having nothing, yet possessing all things" (2 Corinthians 6:10). To make clear which poor he's talking about, he added "of this world."

Let the "rich of this world" listen to the Apostle: "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant in their thinking" (1 Timothy 6:17). The first worm of riches is pride—a consuming moth that eats away everything and reduces it even to dust. "Command them, therefore, not to be arrogant in their thinking, nor to put their hope in uncertain riches" (these are the Apostle's words), "but in the living God." A thief may take away your gold, but who can take away your God? What does the rich person have if they don't have God? What does the poor person lack if they have God? Therefore Paul says, "Not to put their hope in riches, but in the living God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment" (1 Timothy 6:17)—and with all these things, He gives Himself as well.

4. If then they shouldn't "trust in riches," not rely on them, "but in the living God," what should they do with their riches? Listen: "Let them be rich in good works" (1 Timothy 6:18). What does this mean? Explain, O Apostle. Many are reluctant to understand what they're reluctant to practice. Explain, O Apostle. Don't give any occasion for evil deeds through obscure words. Tell us what you mean by "let them be rich in good works." Let them hear and understand. Don't let them make excuses but rather begin to accuse themselves and say what we just heard in the Psalm, "For I acknowledge my sin" (Psalm 51:3).

Tell us what "let them be rich in good works" means. "Let them give freely" (1 Timothy 6:18). And what does "let them give freely" mean? Isn't this also clear? "Let them give freely, let them share." You have, another doesn't. Share, so that God may share with you. Share here, and you will share there. Share your bread here, and you will receive Bread there. What bread here? The bread you gather with sweat and toil, according to the curse on the first human. What Bread there? The One who said, "I am the living Bread that came down from heaven" (John 6:51).

Here you are rich, but there you are poor. You have gold, but you don't yet have Christ's presence. Use what you have so you may receive what you don't have. "Let them be rich in good works, let them give freely, let them share."

5. Must they then lose all they have? Paul said, "Let them share," not "Let them give everything away." Let them keep enough for themselves, let them keep more than enough. Let's give a certain portion of it. What portion? A tenth? The scribes and Pharisees gave tithes, for whom Christ had not yet shed His blood. The scribes and Pharisees gave tithes. Don't think you're doing some great thing by sharing your bread with the poor—this is barely a thousandth part of your means. Yet I'm not criticizing even this; do at least this much. I'm so hungry and thirsty that I'm grateful even for these crumbs.

But I can't hold back what He who died for us said while He was alive: "Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:20). He doesn't treat us gently; He's a physician who cuts to the core. "Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven." The scribes and Pharisees gave a tenth. How about you?

Ask yourselves. Consider what you do and with what resources. How much do you give? How much do you keep for yourselves? What do you spend on mercy, and what do you keep for luxury? So then, "Let them give freely, let them share, let them store up for themselves a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life" (1 Timothy 6:18-19).

6. I've instructed the rich; now hear, you poor. You rich, give away your money; you poor, refrain from stealing. You rich, distribute your resources; you poor, control your desires. Listen, you poor, to the same Apostle: "Godliness with contentment is great gain" (1 Timothy 6:6). Gain is the acquiring of profit. The world is yours in common with the rich; you don't have a house in common with the rich, but you have the sky in common, the light in common.

Seek only what's sufficient; seek what's enough, and don't desire more. Everything beyond this is a burden rather than a help, a weight rather than an honor. "Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world" (1 Timothy 6:6-7). Did you bring anything here? Not even you rich people brought anything. You found everything here; you were born as naked as the poor. Both share the same bodily weakness; both have the same infant crying, the witness of our misery.

"For we brought nothing into this world" (he's speaking to the poor), "and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these" (1 Timothy 6:7-8). "But those who want to be rich..." (1 Timothy 6:9). "Who want to be," not who already are. Those who are already rich have heard their lesson: to "be rich in good works, to give freely, to share." They've already heard. Now you who aren't yet rich, hear: "Those who want to be rich fall into temptation and a trap, and into many foolish and harmful desires" (1 Timothy 6:9).

Aren't you afraid? Listen to what follows: "which plunge people into ruin and destruction" (1 Timothy 6:9). Aren't you afraid now? "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil" (1 Timothy 6:10). Greed is the desire to be rich, not the state of already being rich. This is greed. Aren't you afraid of being "plunged into ruin and destruction" ? Aren't you afraid of "the love of money, which is a root of all kinds of evil" ?

You pull up the thorns from your field; won't you pull up the root of evil desires from your heart? You clean the field that produces food for your body; won't you clean the heart where your God dwells? "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains" (1 Timothy 6:10).

7. You've now heard what you must do; you've heard what you must fear; you've heard how the kingdom of heaven may be purchased; you've heard what may prevent you from entering the kingdom of heaven. Be united in obeying God's word. God made both the rich and poor. Scripture says, "The rich and the poor have this in common: the Lord is the maker of them all" (Proverbs 22:2). The rich and the poor have this in common—in what way, except in this present life? The rich and poor are born alike. You meet each other as you walk the same road. Don't oppress or defraud. One has need, the other has plenty. But "the Lord is the maker of them all."

Through the one who has, He helps the one in need; through the one who doesn't have, He tests the one who does. We have heard, we have spoken; let us fear, let us take care, let us pray, let us attain.