"And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore? And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first."
In the above quote, the young man asked Jesus, straight out, "what good THING shall I do, that I may have eternal life?" Remember, the Jews, including the "rich young ruler", were still bound by the Law of Moses, and salvation by grace through faith could not be understood, much the less taught, until Jesus had fulfilled His divine purpose (His death, burial, resurrection and ascension.)
Jesus told the young man that he must obey all the articles of the Law and went on to tell the man that in order to be perfect, he must go and sell everything he owned and distribute the money amongst the poor. Jesus, knowing, that to perfectly fulfill the law as a mortal man, was impossible. He obviously knew the young man would never do all that was required of him under the Law and therefore presented the young man with an impossible situation.
Jesus went even further to say that (under the law) it would be impossible for a rich man to receive eternal salvation.
There are many today who propose that in order to attain and/or keep eternal salvation, we are still bound to obey the letter of the Law by living a perfect life, without sin. That contention is totally unfounded and causes millions of lost souls to remain lost because they don't understand that, unless a lost soul takes on the perfection of Jesus Christ crucified, through absolute faith in Him, there is not now, nor will there EVER be, such thing as perfection in the flesh of mankind.
This lesson will be expanded tomorrow.~
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