Seeing Your Sin, Seeing Your Need
And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'" And he said to him, "Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth." And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Mark 10:17–22 (ESV)
Why the Church Won't Stop Talking About Sin
Why do biblical churches insist on the doctrine of sin as a central teaching? Critics both outside the church and within its liberal wings point to this as a problem. Why not spend more time on God's goodness and love, they ask, and less on sin and wrath? Why not put the spotlight on the beauty of love rather than the ugliness of sin?
The answer is right here in these six verses. Jesus is speaking to a man who earnestly comes to Him looking for an answer but does not see his own need. Ask people why they think they're going to heaven, and many will answer, "I try to be a good person." That is the wrong answer, and it's essentially the young ruler's answer. He can claim to have kept the commandments because he is measuring himself by outward obedience rather than by the deeper demands God's law makes upon the heart.
This is exactly why the doctrine of sin matters. Rightly understood, it forces our eyes off our own works. We are not graded on the curve of human goodness; we are measured against the perfect standard of God's holiness. Once that standard is clear, our need for the gospel becomes clear too.
The cross, apart from a real understanding of sin, judgment, and hell, doesn't fully make sense—it remains fuzzy, sentimental, and incomplete. We have to reckon with the seriousness of our sin before we can understand why we so desperately need a Savior. The law drives us to the gospel. It shows us not only our sin but our inability to save ourselves: “With man it is impossible, but not with God” (Mark 10:27). When we see our sin and helplessness, we begin to understand our desperate need for Christ.
Exposed in Love
Notice what Mark tells us: Jesus loved this man. That love is precisely why Jesus tells him the one thing he lacks: he needs to sell everything, give it to the poor, and follow Him. Jesus isn't laying down a universal command for every Christian to liquidate their possessions. He is aiming at this man's heart, exposing a sin the man cannot see in himself.
By every outward measure, the young man was good. But Jesus goes beyond the outward and touches the real problem: he loved the things of this world more than he loved God. Commentators rightly connect this to the First Commandment—"You shall have no other gods before me"—and to the Greatest Commandment, to love the Lord with all your heart. That was his sin.
And it's worth pausing here, because this isn't only a first-century problem. Even good and permissible things become sinful when we place them above the Lord in our hearts. Your spouse, your children, your career, your possessions—none of these is sinful in itself, but any of them can become an idol if it outranks Christ.
The young man loved the world more than Jesus. Possessions were never the sin; making them an idol was. And in love, Jesus exposed that idol so the man would not remain blind to it.
He admired Jesus—but admiration was not obedience. That's the trap: admiring Jesus is not enough. Seeing your sin and your need drives you to receive Him not merely as a teacher, guide, or friend, but as your Savior and Lord.
Sorrow Is Not the Same as Repentance
The man walked away sorrowful, but sorrow is not the same as repentance. True repentance is more than feeling badly about our sin. By God's grace, it turns us away from sin and our idols and toward Christ in faith. A changed life follows as the fruit of that repentance.
The rich young ruler had sorrow without that turning. He felt the weight of what Jesus asked, but he was unwilling to let go of the idol Jesus had exposed.
And yet, Jesus identifying his sin was itself an act of grace. When God shows us our sin clearly, He shows us why we need Jesus and His gospel so desperately. That's true for the young ruler, and it's true for us.
Examine Your Heart
So take an honest look at your own heart and life. Is there something you have placed ahead of God—something that, if Jesus asked you to release it, would send you away sorrowful rather than following Him?
If so, it has become an idol, and it needs to be put back in its proper place. Jesus alone should have first place in your heart.
Do you see yourself as a sinner saved by grace? Do you confess your sin regularly and honestly in prayer? Ask the Holy Spirit to use God's Word to expose what you cannot see in yourself. The more clearly we see the reality of our sin, the more clearly we understand our desperate need for the salvation found only in Jesus and freely offered to us in the gospel.
May the Lord show us the things we have put ahead of Him. Help us to put them back in their proper place, and help us to put Jesus first above all. May He open our eyes to see our sin and to see the grace that covers it. Give us true repentance, not merely worldly sorrow. Show us our sin, that by Your grace we may turn from it and rest in Christ alone. Amen.
