Today's readings are Numbers 14.1-25 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Num.+14.1-25 ) and Luke 18.18-34 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Luke+18.18-34 ).
Very often we are confronted by people who confuse Law and Gospel. I cannot begin to count the number of sermons I have heard which promise to be centered on the Gospel and instead consist of what I must do in order to be saved. These sermons are not the Gospel at all. They are not good news, they are bad news. They crush and kill. When my hopes rest on what I must do to be saved, I see myself as I am outside of Christ - a sinner with no hope in this world. No matter what I do, I cannot keep those commands.
When Jesus talks with the rich ruler, he confronts him with the Law. He ascertains that the ruler does think he has kept the "second table" - the commandments which deal with loving your neighbor. Then in his demand that the ruler should sell everything he has, give it to the poor, and follow Jesus, he is laying down a demand of the "first table - the commandments which deal with loving God with all your heart, mind, strength, soul, and bank account. This is precisely where the rich ruler balks, though in a sorrowful manner.
When Jesus commands us to follow him, leaving ourselves to be put to death with him, he also promises us new life, provision, eternal blessing. That promised life is the Gospel. Jesus is the one who does it. By following him, still sinners, we are not meriting anything. We are not keeping the demands of the Law. There's no question of that. We can't, and even if we could, we are twisted in Adam's curse and would not do it. When we follow Christ, we remain sinners, but we are sinners saved by grace. By God's grace, and not by any merit of our own, we receive the blessings Jesus talks about - all the provision we need for this life and for eternity. There's the Gospel.
Let us walk in the Gospel today. Time to rest from the Law.
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