A Light House Sunday Message | Luke 18:18–23
What if the Christian life is simpler than we’ve made it?
That was the question we explored during our Sunday Light House session as we continued studying the rich young ruler in Luke 18.
Last week, we began looking at this interesting man. He was rich, young, and a ruler. He had things many people spend their lives trying to obtain.
Yet he approached Jesus with an important question:
“Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” — Luke 18:18 KJV
This week, we looked more closely at Jesus’ response.
And one particular word kept standing out.
ONE.
1. None Is Good but God
Jesus began by asking the ruler:
“And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.” — Luke 18:19 KJV
That’s an important place to begin.
We often measure goodness by comparing ourselves with other people.
We might say, “I’m a pretty good person. I don’t do the things some people do.”
But the standard isn’t other people.
It’s God.
Romans 3:23 reminds us that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
During our discussion, I shared how this truth can be uncomfortable to hear.
Nobody enjoys being told they’re not good enough.
But there’s something wonderful about recognizing our condition before God.
God knew everything about us, including our sins, and still loved us enough to send Jesus Christ.
That should fill us with gratitude rather than hopelessness.
2. Good Works Are Not the Same as Salvation
Jesus reminded the ruler of several commandments.
Don’t commit adultery. Don’t kill. Don’t steal. Don’t bear false witness. Honor your father and mother.
The ruler responded that he had kept these commandments from his youth.
But Jesus still said something was missing.
Think about that.
He had been doing the things he believed were right, yet those things had not given him the assurance of eternal life.
And that raises a question for us.
If keeping the commandments could earn eternal life, why would we need Jesus?
Good works matter. How we live matters. Obedience matters.
But we must understand the difference between the evidence of our faith and the source of our salvation.
We don’t earn salvation by doing enough good things.
We receive salvation through Jesus Christ.
During the session, we were reminded of the thief on the cross. He had no opportunity to build a long record of good works, yet Jesus assured him that he would be with Him in paradise.
Our confidence must be in Christ.
3. Yet Lackest Thou ONE Thing
Now we come to the statement that shaped our message.
“Yet lackest thou one thing.” — Luke 18:22
One thing.
I kept coming back to those words.
Because when we look at everything we believe we’re supposed to do as Christians, the list can become overwhelming.
We think about all the things we should stop doing.
All the things we should start doing.
All the ways we need to improve.
But Jesus told this man he lacked one thing.
Could it really be that simple?
4. Sell Everything and Follow Me?
Jesus continued:
“Sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.” — Luke 18:22 KJV
Now, wait a minute!
Jesus said one thing, but this sounds like several things.
Sell your possessions.
Give to the poor.
Have treasure in heaven.
Follow Jesus.
During our discussion, I asked everyone to think about what Jesus was really getting at.
Was the missing thing simply another good deed to add to the ruler’s list?
If that were the case, he might have sold everything and then placed his confidence in that sacrifice.
But that would still leave him trusting in something he had done.
Our discussion led us to a deeper question:
What was this man trusting?
Was his confidence in God?
Or was it in his wealth, position, accomplishments, and ability to provide for himself?
5. The One Thing: Trust Jesus
As we continued discussing the passage, we came back to two simple words:
TRUST JESUS.
Not merely believe that Jesus exists.
Trust Him.
Trust what He says.
Trust what He has done.
Trust Him enough to follow His direction, even when it challenges the things we’ve become comfortable depending on.
For the rich young ruler, his possessions presented a serious challenge.
If he truly trusted Jesus, could he release what he had been holding onto?
And that question applies to us, too.
Maybe it isn’t money.
Maybe it’s our reputation.
Maybe it’s our plans.
Maybe it’s our understanding of how things should work.
Or maybe it’s our belief that we can earn God’s acceptance through religious activity.
Whatever it may be, the question remains:
Do I trust Jesus enough to follow Him?
6. When We Trust Him, Obedience Follows
One of the important distinctions we discussed was that trusting Jesus doesn’t mean obedience is unnecessary.
Rather, obedience flows from our relationship with Him.
We don’t obey to purchase eternal life.
We obey because we trust the One who gives us life.
John 3:16 tells us that God loved the world and gave His only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
That belief is more than simply acknowledging that Jesus exists.
It’s placing our confidence in Him.
And when we trust Him, we learn to listen to His voice above the many other voices competing for our attention.
Our own understanding.
The opinions of others.
Our finances.
Our fears.
Our circumstances.
The question isn’t simply whether we’ve heard what Jesus said. It’s whether we trust Him enough to follow.
7. Have We Made It More Complicated Than It Needs to Be?
Toward the end of our session, we reflected on how easy it is to complicate our walk with God.
We create expectations and burdens that sometimes distract us from the simplicity of trusting Christ.
Jesus reminds us in Matthew 11:30:
“For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
That doesn’t mean following Jesus will never involve sacrifice or difficult decisions.
But it does mean we don’t have to carry the impossible burden of trying to save ourselves.
Christ has done what we could never do.
And we can trust Him.
A Question for This Week
As I reflect on this passage, I don’t want to look only at what the rich young ruler needed to learn.
I want to examine myself.
Where am I still depending on my own understanding?
Where am I trusting in what I’ve accomplished?
Is there something I’m holding onto that makes it difficult for me to follow Christ?
And most importantly:
Am I trusting Jesus Christ for my salvation, or am I still trying to earn what only He can give?
We’ll continue exploring this powerful passage because there’s still more to discover in the encounter between Jesus and the rich young ruler.
But for now, I want to leave you with the question that shaped our Sunday message.
Can it really be that simple?
Trust Jesus.
And follow Him.
Continue Growing With Us
We invite you to join Samuel and Karen Stewart for our Light House Bible Studies and Sunday sessions as we continue learning the truth of the Gospel and discovering how to live it each day.
Visit https://www.iamlighthouse.com to connect with us.
The Light of the Lord shines on me, lives in me, and passes through me to others.
Samuel & Karen Stewart
Light House Ministries
