Salvation Summaries

What is the most important question you’ve ever asked, and who was it to?  Was it to your girlfriend when you asked, “Will you marry me?”  Or to your boyfriend, with “Do you love me?”

In this fourth blog entry on How to be Saved, I will comment on a question that a rich young ruler asked Jesus.

Rich Young Ruler

The short story of the Rich Young Ruler is found in the gospel books of Matthew (19:16-30), Mark (10:17-31) and Luke (18:18-30).  I’ve copied below the version told by Mark.  I will summarize this story for you, and then provide you with some of my observations based upon a review of this story from all three of the books.

Mark 10:17-31 17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good– except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’” 20 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” 21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. 23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 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.” 26 The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” 28 Peter said to him, “We have left everything to follow you!” 29 “I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields– and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

Summary of Story

A rich young ruler asked Jesus what he should do to inherit eternal life. Jesus told him to obey certain commandments. He replied that he had done so since he was a boy. Jesus then told him to sell everything he owned, give the money to the poor, and follow Him. The rich young ruler was unwilling to do this, and sadly walked away. The disciples who heard the conversation asked Jesus, “who then can be saved” (for in that time, rich people were thought to be closer to gaining salvation than poor people)?  Jesus said that it’s impossible to save yourself; this is something only God can do.

Observations

• The rich young ruler really wanted to know Jesus’ answer to this question. He ran up to Him, knelt before Him, and asked in a straightforward way. If you were to ask Christ the same question, how would you do it?

• The ruler didn’t understand Jesus’ reply about no one being good except God, and many people today may misunderstand this too. The Bible is clear that no one on this earth is righteous, or good enough to receive eternal life.  Why? Because no one is perfect. According to the Bible’s definition of good (within the context of a person’s relationship to God), good means perfectly obeying God, and no one can or has done this (except Jesus while on earth).  We sin because we have a sinful nature, and this was inherited from Adam and Eve.  Jesus is God in the flesh, so when He said that only God is good, He was referring to Himself too. Had the ruler understood Jesus’ reply, Jesus would not have had to tell him about keeping the commandments.  However, to help the ruler understand his sinfulness, Jesus raised the issue of obeying these.  They serve the same purpose for us too.

• The ruler said he had obeyed the commandments since his youth, but this shows that the ruler either didn’t fully understand what it meant to obey them, or he was being untruthful in his response. I would guess that he thought he had obeyed most of them, such as not murdering anyone, not committing adultery, etc.  However, the commandment on adultery includes looking at a woman lustfully, and the commandment on murdering includes having hatred in your heart.  Surely he had done this one or more times in his life. With regard to honoring his parents, I’m sure he had been disrespectful to them a time or two as well.  In addition, the list Jesus provided was not meant to be all inclusive; they were examples of commandments.  There are a number of commandments and hundreds of Jewish laws that Jews needed to obey. The ruler could not have obeyed them all.  As a result, the ruler was unwilling to acknowledge his own sinfulness, and as we will see from reading other entries on salvation, this is one of the first steps towards becoming a believer.

• Jesus’ reply to the ruler that he should sell everything, give the money to the poor and follow Him was really a test rather than a command. Was the ruler willing to make Jesus the most important thing in his life…even more important than his wealth?  Sadly, no. And unfortunately, many people today act like this ruler.  “I’ll give the cash in my pocket when the offering plate is passed by”, or “I’ll give a  a very small percentage of my income, but that’s all the sacrifice I’m willing to make.”  Others might tithe a little, and do some work projects too, or serve in the church in some capacity, and believe that that should earn them the right to receive eternal life.  After all, it’s more than what most people are willing to do.

• Jesus’ response to His disciples though, in verse 27, clearly shows that our wealth, and our efforts, to earn our salvation don’t get us anywhere.  Why? We simply can’t save ourselves.  This is something God does.  It is a spiritual transaction He performs. “But wait a second” you say, “surely I must do something!”  Well, yes, there is something a person must do, but this “something” is not a “work” or a deed. So what is it?  I’ll tell you in the next paragraph.

Jesus’ requirement for salvation in this story is similar to what we learned in How to be Saved #1 and #2.  In these blog entries, we learned that a person must lose his/her life to follow Christ, and that he/she must “come and follow” Him.  In both cases, you surrender control of your life to Christ, and agree to follow Him completely.  That’s what Jesus wanted the rich young ruler to do, according to verse 22.  A person does not do this, however, without understanding who Jesus is, and what He did for you. He is the only one who can save you; you can’t save yourself.  He saves you by forgiving you of your sins; He accomplished this by dying on the cross for you. You receive this salvation by faith, or complete trust in and dependence upon Him.  You lose your life for Him, and become willing to follow Him.  The rich young ruler was unwilling to do this. Are you?