“As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? ”

Why did this man wait till Jesus was packing up for a trip? Was this man watching Jesus and wondered if this was the last time he would see Jesus? Or did He have a burning question the whole time Jesus was in town and thought he better ask it before Jesus leaves town? Thank God He asked his question without it we would never know that it is hard for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God.

But what about his question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Is that the question we should be asking? 

Jesus did not correct him on doing works to inherit eternal life! So are there works to guarantee us eternal life while salvation is not of works? There is a big division between the churches because of works. Some churches hold on to a false hope that if they do all these extra things they will find salvation. And then there are the churches that teach that works are useless and you can live like the world Monday through Saturday and on Sunday you can get salvation and you are good for a week. 

But the truth lies somewhere in the middle of these two extremes.  

We need to remember that salvation is not of works so that who we are and what we have done amounts to anything to lift us higher. The ground at the cross is level and all of us are sinners born into a sinful nature No one can stand justified before God before they have humbled themselves at the work of Jesus on the cross. But after that, I do believe there are works we must do to follow Jesus. We will be talking about them in the coming verses.

Back to the rich young ruler’s question - What must I do to inherit eternal life? Back about one or two generations this question would have been asked by the world to the church for the church was doing a good job of being an ambassador of Jesus. But does the unsaved world around us still ask us, “what must I do to be saved?” Or do they go home and ask google and come up with crazy answers. 

Why is the church not being asked these things anymore? I believe the world looks at the church and says they act nothing like their savior and therefore I don’t what what they have. But if we were to begin to act like Jesus then the world would flock around us like they did and we would see signs and wonders performed in and through us and them to draw them in. 

When was the last time we asked this of Jesus and obeyed what he said?

“Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things I say? I will show you what someone is like who comes to Me, hears My words, and acts on them: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. When the flood came, the river crashed against that house and couldn’t shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The river crashed against it, and immediately it collapsed. And the destruction of that house was great! ”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭6:46-49‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

https://www.bible.com/72/luk.6.46-49.hcsb

 What have we based our eternal life upon? The shifting morals of the world? Or the rock-solid