Based on Luke 18:18-30 (New King James Version)
“Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, ‘Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ So Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’’ And he said, ‘All these things I have kept from my youth.’ So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, ‘You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.’ But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, ‘How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! For 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.’ And those who heard it said, ‘Who then can be saved?’ But He said, ‘The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.’ Then Peter said, ‘See, we have left all and followed You.’ So He said to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life.’”
One of the greatest misunderstandings that is in Christianity today is salvation, and I believe that it is misunderstood by many people because they have a fundamental problem with the most important part. Many preach and teach that salvation consists of only having faith in God. Others that beyond that teach that you need to have faith in Jesus and doing good works like keeping the commandments and doing good to your neighbor. And those that get even closer to what is necessary preach that repentance from sins and believing in Christ as savior is the way to salvation. But the issue is that if we understand this passage well, salvation or inheriting eternal life consists of something much deeper, something that does not make the issue so easy. In other words, it’s simple to understand, so easy that a child can understand, but being able to make the decision to inherit eternal life—that is the hard part, so difficult that the Lord Himself said: “…it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle…”
To be able to understand more clearly the topic, it is necessary to see its compliment in other Scriptures. This is what it says: “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9. The great detail that is missing in what is taught or even practiced is that Jesus has to be Lord. In other words, when a person accepts Jesus as the Lord of their life, that goes beyond acknowledging Him as Savior. Of course, God did for us the greatest service anyone could ever do for all of humanity, of providing us a savior, but simply accepting such a service from God does not produce what is necessary for a person to come to the salvation they so much need. The word “Lord” implies many things, like owner, master, the one that gets the priority in everything, and that we don’t belong to ourselves. That is the implication involved with making Jesus the Lord of our lives. The Bible goes even further: “For he who is called in the Lord while a slave is the Lord’s freedman. Likewise he who is called while free is Christ’s slave. You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.” 1 Corinthians 7:22-23. By submitting ourselves to someone or something else other than Christ, that means that that person or thing comes to be our lord, and in that is also involved our own person, when a person insists on being their own lord. The majority want to continue fulfilling their will, and they think that God exists to help them accomplish that.
The issue gets deeper when things are done that come close to the truth, but what is necessary is still not done. This is what the Word says, the very thing many believers misunderstand: “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:1-3. What love is being spoken of here? Of a nice feeling, something that makes you feel like you are floating on air, or feel butterflies in your stomach, that can be felt for someone else? Emphatically no and I say “emphatically” because God’s things are humanized and turned into inferior things that follow the deviation that Satan himself wishes to foster. This is the love that is being spoken of in this passage: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.” Deuteronomy 6:4-6. Many things could be done that look genuine, but they could be done for all the wrong reasons, starting with the simple fact that a person does them based on their will and not because they love the Lord.
This is the principal point, just as the Lord said it, that we need to follow Him, and in a very practical and literal way. The disciples did just as the Lord affirmed, that they left everything to follow Him, but even they had not yet arrived at the goal until they finally understood and did what was necessary, of even losing their life for Him. We need to remember that the disciples did abandon the Lord, and at His worst moment. We do know that what had been said needed to be fulfilled, but also, this event revealed the condition of their heart, that they were still not ready to give it all up for the Lord. They did leave their belongings, their families, etc. and they followed Him while here on earth, but they ran away when it came to giving their lives for Him. This is what the Word says: “Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Matthew 16:24-26. The matter is that we need to follow the Lord, wherever He takes us. We need to follow His direction and not our direction, and even far less, the direction of the world and its delights, or our loved ones, our friends, or careers or jobs, etc. This is the example we see in the Scriptures: “And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.” Exodus 13:21-22. And it also says: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23:1-4. He may guide us through the valley of the shadow of death, and to even give up our life for Him, but that’s what it’s about, about following the Lord wherever He takes us, no matter what happens. That is what loving Him consists of. It doesn’t mean that you cannot love anyone or anything else, but rather, that we need to Him above all things, and that whatever we do, we do for Him. So then, are you following the Lord because you love Him, to be able to inherit eternal life? Lord bless! John