Lost in Niceness
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Lost in Niceness

 (ID: 0169)

When a man came to Jesus seeking assurance of eternal life, Jesus instead revealed his inordinate love for worldly goods. Placing our hope in money or our ability to obey the rules won’t secure us a place in the kingdom of God, teaches Alistair Begg. In fact, when it comes to salvation, wealth and external goodness can be barriers, not benefits. We will be set free from idolatry and false hope in our niceness when the kindness of Jesus draws us to Himself.


The Rich Young Man

17uAnd as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and vknelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to winherit eternal life?” 18And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19You know the commandments: x‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 20And he said to him, “Teacher, yall these I have kept from my youth.” 21And Jesus, zlooking at him, aloved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, bsell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have ctreasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22dDisheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

23And Jesus elooked around and said to his disciples, f“How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter gthe kingdom of God!” 24And the disciples hwere amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, i“Children, jhow difficult it is2 to enter gthe kingdom of God! 25It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter gthe kingdom of God.” 26And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him,3 “Then who can be saved?” 27Jesus klooked at them and said, l“With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” 28Peter began to say to him, “See, mwe have left everything and followed you.” 29Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, nthere is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and ofor the gospel, 30who will not receive a hundredfold pnow in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, qwith persecutions, and in rthe age to come eternal life. 31But smany who are first will be last, and the last first.”

Copyright © 2025, Alistair Begg. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.

Alistair Begg
Alistair Begg is Senior Pastor at Parkside Church in Cleveland, Ohio, and the Bible teacher on Truth For Life, which is heard on the radio and online around the world.