KJV - Luke 18:18-25 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? (19) And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. (20) Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. (21) And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up. (22) Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. (23) And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich. (24) And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! (25) For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
NIV - Luke 18:18-25 A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (19) “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. (20) You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’’ (21) “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said. (22) When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (23) When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. (24) Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! (25) Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
Salvation is NOT of our doing!
One thing that the world must realize is that we are unable to save ourselves! We cannot refrain from sin enough to deserve salvation. We cannot do enough good to earn salvation. We cannot have enough money for God to feel inclined to save us. We cannot be born into the right kind of family that will cause God to feel compelled to let be saved on our own.
So is the situation with this Rich Young Ruler. This young man comes to Jesus inquiring about how to obtain eternal life. I cannot help but wonder, by his ultimate reaction, if he didn’t come to Jesus with the expectation of being validated for his self-perceived stellar life.
As we continue this discussion, we must make this clarification. Jesus of course, has not died as of yet and so both Jesus and this Rich Young Ruler is living under the Old Law of Moses. Jesus was asked a specific question about a specific individual’s circumstances and so Jesus gives his answer based upon those circumstances at that time. We must not assume that the answer he gave in this rich young ruler’s context specifically applies to us as we are now under the Law of Christ. With that said some real principles apply.
When asking what must I do to inherit eternal life, Jesus gives him an answer that would apply to a Jew under the Law of Moses: Keep the Commandments. I feel certain that at this point the young man feels pretty good about himself. The young man tells Jesus that he has kept all of them from his youth. At this point, Jesus throws him a curveball. While the young man is ready to be given his stamped ticket into heaven, Jesus simply sees him as a candidate for being a follower.
The young man wasn’t done because he had kept the law of Moses, instead, he had just begun. Jesus tells him to do 4 additional things. Things that he was unwilling to do.
1. Sell All that he has.
2. Distribute those monies to the Poor.
3. Come to Jesus.
4. Follow Jesus.
The first two items throws off a lot of people. Some tend to think that everyone has to do this in order to be a Christian. But those two things are not told to anyone else anywhere else in the Bible. Remember, Jesus had the ability to read the hearts and minds of people and so I think it is clear that Jesus taking a principle that he tells to everyone and specifying it to this particular individual.
Matthew 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Jesus knew that this man’s riches was the most important thing in his life, so instead of generalizing the command of deny thyself, he made it very specific to him. However, this principle still applies to us. We must deny ourselves of whatever will get in the way of us serving our savior with our all.
One of the things that we must see in Jesus’ instruction is that when asked: What must I do? Jesus did not chastise him because there was nothing to do. Jesus requires the PROPER response to his sacrifice and ultimate gift. We cannot save ourselves by our own actions...good or bad. But we must not think that it eliminates our responsibility to serve him in whatever manner he requests from us
Matthew 7:21-23 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. (22) Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? (23) And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Every person that desires to come to Jesus MUST come to him. So what does it mean to “Come to Jesus”? That is a long detailed series of lessons so I will generalize. By its very nature, to “Come” to Jesus, we must first leave where you are and go to where he is. We CANNOT become followers by remaining in the sinful life that we have previously lived. We must be willing to forsake that old life. In short, in order to come to Jesus, we MUST:
1. Believe (John 3:16)
2. Repent (Luke 13:3)
3. Confess Jesus (Matt 10:32-33)
4. Be Baptized (Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38, Acts 22:16)
Lastly, we must FOLLOW Jesus. When I read this, I cannot help but think of the children’s game “Follow the Leader”. In that game, the followers are to mimic EVERY movement, gesture, direction and destination of the Leader. Jesus is our leader and we must be willing to conform our lives to match EVERY characteristics of our Savior.
The Rich young ruler was unwilling to be the follower of Jesus. Let us not fall into that same trap!
Reflecting His SON,
Dennis Hogan
Minister, North Hardin Church of Christ
1804 Sam Stewart Dr.
Radcliff, KY 40160
If you have friends, family, or acquaintances that you feel could benefit from RTS, please forward
their e-mail address to me and I will add them to my mail list.
