WHAT SHALL I DO TO INHERIT ETERNAL LIVE
Luke 18:18-30
Prayer
Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem.
He stopped at Perea.
A crowd gathered.
He talked about the end of the age, His Second Coming and the Kingdom of God.
Daniel wrote about these things.
Daniel said, ìAnd at that time [the end of the age] thy people [Israel] shall be
delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book [the Book of ÝLife].î
ìAnd many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake [the resurrection],
some to everlasting life [eternal life], and some to shame and everlasting Ýcontemptî
(Dan. 12:1-2).
I want you to know that the end of the age, the Book of Life, the resurrection and ÝÝ
eternal life are Old Testament teachings.
Jesus was talking about this when the rich young ruler showed up.
Mark says he RAN to Jesus.
He knelt before Jesus.
I like this picture.
I sometimes close a sermon saying, ìEternal life is like a great treasure.î
ìOne soul is worth more than the whole world.î
ìNo one should have to beg us to come forward.î
ìWe should run to Jesus, fall on our face, and beg Him to give us eternal life.î
If all the people we know, gave us all the money they have,
Our pile of money wouldnít be worth as much as eternal life is to just one person.
The rich young ruler RAN to Jesus.
He knelt before Jesus.
ìGood Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?î
I want to say, ìGood question!î
But it might not be a good question because it reveals at least six mistakes.
The 1st mistake is that the rich young ruler didnít know who Jesus is.
He said, ìGood Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?î
Some translations say ìTeacherî or ìRabbi.î
Jesus was both.
But if we want to receive eternal life, we need to know Jesus as Lord.
Too many Church members donít know Jesus as Lord.
Too many people think they can walk the isle, say a few words, get baptized, join ÝÝ
the Church, and receive eternal life.
They say the words and go through the rituals without accepting Jesus as Lord.
Words and rituals are not enough.
Peter said, ìGod hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and ÝÝÝÝÝÝ
Christî (Acts 2:36).
Eternal life involves repentance;
Obedience;
Becoming a new creature.
This is a big problem for the Church today.
Many people have walked the isle, said the words, gone through the rituals.
But theyíre not letting Jesus rule over their life.
Jesus asked the Jews, ìWhy do you call me Lord, Lord and do not the things I sayî ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ
(Luke 6:46)?
Why do you respect Jesus by calling Him ìLord,î
And disrespect Him by doing your own thing?
The 2nd mistake is that the rich young ruler thought he could earn eternal life.
He asked, ìWhat shall I DO to inherit eternal life?î
He wanted to DO something that would earn eternal life;
This is another big problem for the Church today.
Many people think they can do good deeds;
Live a good life.
And wind up in heaven.
ìBy grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of ÝÝÝÝÝÝ
God: Not of works, lest any man should boastî (Eph. 2:8-9).
Itís not our DOING that earns eternal life.
Itís what Jesus did that makes eternal life possible.
A husband and wife were riding in a car.
A bee got inside.
The wife was allergic to bee stings.
A bee sting could kill her.
She was terrified.
Her husband grabbed the bee in the palm of his hand.
The bee stung him.
But he crushed the bee.
The wife was saved.
But itís not what the wife did that saved her.
Itís what the husband did.
Itís not what we do that saves us.
Itís what Jesus did.
The 3rd mistake is that the rich young ruler called Jesus good without realizing ÝÝÝÝ
what that means.
He said, ìGood Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?î
He was polite, but Jesus wasnít impressed.
ìWhy callest thou me good?î
ìNone is good, save one, that is, Godî (Luke 18:19).
Goodness is a characteristics of God.
So Jesus was saying, ìThe only One who is good is God.î
ìIf you believe Iím good, you believe Iím God.î
ìAnd if you believe Iím God, you should do what I say.î
If we really believe what weíre saying when we accept Jesus as Lord and Christ, it Ý
should make a difference in our life.
If we really know who Jesus is, we should change.
Living for Jesus doesnít mean that we can live like those who donít attend Church,
donít give, donít pray, etc.
The 4th mistake is that the rich young ruler didnít know that he was a sinner.
Jesus called his attention to the Ten Commandments.
ìThou knowest the commandments,î
ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ ìDo not commit adultery,î
ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ ìDo not kill,î
ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ ìDo not steal,î
ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ ìDo not bear false witness,î
ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ ìHonour thy father and thy mother.î
But the rich young ruler interrupted Him, ìAll these have I kept from my youth up.î
The Bible says God gave the Ten Commandments to reveal what sin is (Rom. 7:7).
But the rich young ruler thought the Ten Commandments revealed how good he ÝÝÝÝ
was.
Iíve heard people say, ìI donít sin.î
Get real.
If we say ìI donít sin,î weíre on dangerous ground.
John said, ìIf we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ
in usî (I Jn. 1:8).
The person who says, ìI donít sinî is doing two things:
Heís deceiving himself.
And heís lying.
If we say we donít sin, we canít confess our sins.
And we canít repent of our sins.
But confession and repentance are the basis of forgiveness and mercy.
Instead of saying, ìI donít sinî leave that fantasy world;
Face facts;
And deal with the sin in your life.
ìAll have sinned and come short of the glory of God.î
And weíre in deep trouble, if we donít believe that.
The 5th mistake is that the rich young ruler loved money.
He didnít know it.
So Jesus asked him to do something that would reveal the sin in his life.
He said, ìYet lackest thou one thing:î
ìSell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor,î
ìAnd thou shalt have treasure in heaven:î
ìAnd come, follow me.î
Letís give this young man some credit.
Letís give him a pat on the back.
He said he was keeping several of the Commandments.
And Jesus didnít dispute it.
In fact, Jesus said, ìlackest thou one thing.î
The rich young ruler was a good person.But being a good person wasnít good enough.
Just one thing would prevent him from receiving eternal life.
We have to pay close attention.
Jesus didnít say, ìGive all you have to the poor and you will receive eternal life.î
He said, ìGive all you have to the poor and you will receive treasure in heaven.î
On another occasion He said, ìlay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where ÝÝÝÝÝ
neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through ÝÝ
nor stealî (Matt. 6:20).
Sacrificial giving earns us rewards in heaven.
But sacrificial giving doesnít purchase eternal life.
ìGood Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?î
Jesus said, ìCome, follow me.î
This fell like a nuclear bomb on the rich young rulerís heart.
Luke said, ìHe was very sorrowful:î
Why?
ìHe was very richî (Verse 23).
Weíve been talking about the Ten Commandments.
Notice, the First Commandment.
ìThou shalt have no other gods before meî (Exodus 20:3).
If we want to earn eternal life, we canít love anything more than we love God.
If we want to earn eternal life, we canít break any of the Commandments ever.
An elderly woman passed out in the isle of her church.
She fell and struck her head on the end of a pew.
An ambulance was called.
Some Church members thought she was dead.
But she opened her eyes while they were loading her into the ambulance.
And motioned for her daughter to come close to her.
Some Church members assumed she was giving her daughter some final ÝÝÝÝÝÝ
instructions.
But she said, ìMy offeringís in my purse.î
Giving was in her heart.
Jesus said, ìWhere your treasure is, there will your heart be also.î
Giving is a good indicator of our spirituality.
But it doesnít buy eternal life.
The 6th mistake is that the rich young rulerís actions said, ìI canít.î
Giving everything he had to the poor and following Jesus was too much.
He wanted to do something to inherit eternal life.
But he didnít want to do that much.
He dropped his head.
And walked away.
Many people want eternal life today.
But not enough;
Not enough to make a confession of faith in Christ;
Not enough to give up their priorities for Christ.
Theyíre like the rich young ruler who said, ìI canít.î
Hereís another point.
We sometimes think that we would be happy, if we had just a little more money.
The rich young ruler had a lot of money.
But he wasnít happy.
Happiness is learning to trust Jesus no matter what.
ìAnd when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they ÝÝÝ
that have riches enter into the kingdom of Godî (Verse 24)?
He didnít say that itís wrong to be rich.
He said itís difficult for the rich to receive eternal life.
The rich often let their full wallet hinder their relationship with God.
Instead of controlling their money, their money controls them.
Jesus said, ìit is easier for a camel to go through a needleís eye, than for a rich man ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ
to enter into the kingdom of Godî (Verse 25).
Most ancient cities were walled cities.
The walls were built to protect against enemies.
The walls always had a large wide gate for animals, wagons and crowds to enter.
But they also a small narrow gate to force people to enter in single file.
This small narrow gate was often called the needleís eye.
A loaded animal couldnít pass through the small narrow gate.
Sometimes, a man would unload his camel.
And let it crawl through on itís knees.
It wasnít impossible for the camel to get through.
But it was difficult.
Itís not impossible for the rich to receive eternal life.
But itís difficult.
Itís not a sin to be rich.
But itís dangerous.
Itís hard to give away a lot of what we have;
Hard to put God above our material possessions.
This shocked the disciples.
They grew up believing that riches are a blessing from God.
Let me tell you something, ìRiches are a blessing from God.î
God is the source of every good thing in our life including our money.
But Jesus was saying riches can prevent people from receiving eternal life.
Your boat, your crop, your job is a blessing from God.
But your boat, your crop and your job can come between you and God.
The disciples asked, ìWho then can be savedî (Verse 28)?
ìIf itís difficult for those who have been blessed by God to be saved,î
ìWho can be saved?î
Jesus replied, ìThe things which are impossible with men are possible with Godî ÝÝ
(Verse 27).
Itís impossible for us to save ourselves.
But God can save us.
It was the World Series.
Babe Ruth was at bat.
He took a pitch.
He thought it was low.
The umpire said, ìStrike one.î
Babe Ruth protested.
His fans booed.
He looked at the umpire and said, ìMe and forty thousand people think that was a Ý
ball.î
The umpire replied, ìMy opinion is the only one that counts.î
If you want to inherit eternal life, you had better do this Godís way.
His opinion is the only one that counts.
Peter jumped in at this point.
ìWe have left all and followed theeî (Verse 28).
ìYou told the rich young ruler to give away everything and follow you.î
ìWe left everything and followed you.î
ìWhat about us?î
Jesus said, ìThere is no man that hath left house, or parents, or bretheren, or wife, Ý
or children, for the kingdom of Godís sake,î
ìWho shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ
life everlastingî (Verses 29-30).
If we will put God first, and follow Him,
Everything we do for Him will come back to us many times in this life,
And we will receive eternal life in the world to come.
It may not be money.
It might be our health.
We might live longer.
But it will come back to us.
Construction workers were digging near the ancient city of Pompeii.
They unearthed a womanís body.
Investigators were called in.
The woman was encased in lava.
The investigators concluded she died trying to escape the eruption of Mt.
Vesuvius.
She died clutching a handful of priceless jewels.
She couldíve given them to God.
And had treasure in heaven.
But she took them to her fiery grave.
ìGood Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?î
I will close with three quick points.
1st---Itís not what we do.
Eternal life is a gift for trusting in Jesus.
Accepting this is the only way to receive eternal life.
2nd---Eternal life involves our making a commitment to Jesus.
And Jesus making a commitment to us.
In 1966, Joe Paterno became the head coach at Penn State.
He started out by losing several games.
He said some of his players lacked commitment.
Some were just going through the motions.
The next year, he focused on recruiting committed players.
Just before the big game with the Miami Hurricanes he decided to bench the Ý
sluggards and to play the committed.
Miami was highly favored.
But Penn State won.
In fact, Penn State went on to win thirty-one straight games.
Today, Joe Paterno is the winningest coach in NCAA Division I Football.
His players not only receive a commitment FROM Penn State,
They also make a commitment TO Penn State.
ìGood Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?î
If we want to receive a commitment FROM God,
We have to make a commitment TO God.
3rd---Our commitment to God means God comes first.
Oseola McCarty is a black lady from Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
She washed clothes for fifty cents a load.
She deposited a little of what she earned in the bank each week.
She retired at the age of eighty-seven.
She asked the banker, ìHow much do I have?î
He said, ìYour savings have grown to more than a quarter of a million dollars.î
ìI canít carry all of that with me to heaven.î
So she gave $150,000 to the University of Southern Mississippi to help educate ÝÝÝÝÝ
young black people.
At an interview she said, ìItís more blessed to give than to receive.î
ìIíve tried it.î
Understand this.
Iím not saying that we have to give away everything we have.
But I am saying that a true commitment to God affects our priorities.
A true commitment to God affects what we do about Church, praying, giving, the ÝÝ
way we live, the way we treat others, etc.
Those who have received eternal life are new creatures.