Greed: The Case of the Rich Young Ruler

Timothy Keller Sermons Podcast by Gospel in Life

Tim Keller

Religion & Spirituality, Religion, Religion & Spirituality:christianity, Christianity, Spirituality

4.8 • 15K Ratings

🗓️ 15 October 2025

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The rich young ruler looked like he had it made. He’s characterized by moral excellence and he’s financially wealthy. He’s got it so together that he even admits he doesn’t have it all together—that there’s still something he lacks. He isn’t sure what it is. He’s gotten to the top and realized, “I’ve almost made it.” So he comes to Jesus and says, “I just need that one more step.” And Jesus gives him an outrageous, strong answer. Jesus tells him he’s on a completely wrong road—that he’s totally outside the kingdom of God. Unless we understand why the rich young ruler went away from Jesus grieved, we might be in danger of also being sent away. The rich young ruler went away grieving because 1) he talked to the real Jesus, 2) Jesus smashed two of his basic assumptions about how religion works, 3) Jesus got personal, and 4) he didn’t understand treasure in heaven. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on March 19, 1995. Series: The Seven Deadly Sins. Scripture: Matthew 19:16-25. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Welcome to Gospel in Life. Some people say the fundamental problem of the world is poverty.
0:09.0	Others say it's bad systems, poor education, or biology. But what if none of these can fully explain the brokenness we see,
0:17.0	both in the headlines and in our own hearts? In today's teaching, Tim Keller looks at how the Bible's teaching on sin gives us a deeply
0:25.1	honest and yet incredibly hopeful view of the world.
0:35.3	Father, I want to congratulate you for how well you sang Amazing Grace.
0:38.7	We didn't have a choir, we didn't have a trumpet, you know, and you did a great job.
0:44.1	And I think it's because after the number of years, the one of the ways you know you're a Christian and you've been a Christian for a while is that your whole life flashes before you when you sing that.
0:54.3	You know, this incredible film of your entire life,
0:57.8	this sort of biography, A&E biography, but it's you. It's going by.
1:02.7	And I know enough of you, and I know enough of your biography is to watch you sing,
1:06.2	and I know it's happening to you too.
1:08.2	And it's a good mark of a church that's living up to its name when people
1:12.8	sing it that well. Let's look at this passage to which our thoughts have to be focused. And
1:21.3	we're going to see Matthew 19, 16 to 25. It's printed in your bulletin. We're going to read that and base our
1:28.9	teaching on it. Matthew 19, 16 to 25. Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, teacher, what good thing
1:38.6	must I do to get eternal life? Why do you ask me about what is good? Jesus replied, there is only one who is good.
1:46.6	If you want to enter life, obey the commandments. Which ones? The man inquired. Jesus replied,
1:53.7	do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your
1:59.7	father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.
2:01.8	All these I have kept, the young man said. What do I still lack? Jesus answered, if you want to be
2:10.0	perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.
2:15.9	Then come follow me.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Tim Keller, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Tim Keller and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.