Request your free, three-month trial to Tabletalk magazine. You’ll receive the print issue monthly and gain immediate digital access to decades of archives. This trial is risk-free. No credit card required.
Try Tabletalk NowAlready receive Tabletalk magazine every month?
Verify your email address to gain unlimited access.
Luke 18:20–23
“When [the rich ruler] heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich” (v. 23).
Once Jesus responded to the rich young ruler in such a way that he would be forced to consider what he was really saying in calling Jesus “good” (Luke 18:18–19), 0ur Lord proceeded to answer the man’s question regarding what he had to do to inherit eternal life. The path that Jesus laid out for salvation consisted in obedience to the commands of God (v. 20).
Since we are familiar with the Bible’s teaching that salvation is by grace through faith and not based on our works (Eph. 2:8–10), Jesus’ answer may seem strange at first. Remember, however, Scripture’s teaching that perfect obedience to God’s law will lead to eternal life (e.g., Lev. 18:5; Gal. 3:11–12, 21). In fact, perfect obedience to the law is still required for salvation; it is just that sinners cannot flawlessly comply with the commandments. Thus, Jesus came to keep the law perfectly in our behalf and fulfill all righteousness so that His works can be credited to us when we place our faith in Him (Matt. 3:13–15; 5:17; 2 Cor. 5:21). The reason that our obedience to the law cannot save us is not the fault of the law but the fault of our sin and fallenness (Gal. 3:10–14, 21–22). After the fall, the law shows us how far we fall short of its standards and drives us to hope only in the promises of God through Christ (vv. 15–29).
No doubt, Jesus listed the commandments as the way of salvation to remind the rich young ruler of the high standards of God and to press him to see that he had not kept the law and needed divine grace. Yet the man did not understand, for he stated that he had obeyed all of the Lord’s commands (Luke 18:21). So to make it clear how far short the man fell, Jesus took him to the first commandment: “You shall have no other gods before me” (Ex. 20:3). Jesus did this by telling the rich man that he had to sell everything he had and follow Jesus (Luke 18:22), for Jesus is God Himself and thus has the right to demand absolute allegiance. The rich young ruler did not submit to Jesus’ demand but walked away in sadness, choosing his possessions over God and eternal life (v. 23). His claim to have kept the commandments perfectly was proved false, for he could not even keep the foundational command of having no other gods before the Lord God Almighty.
As we will explain in more detail in our next study, it is not inherently wrong for Christians to have personal possessions, but whatever we love more than God must be set aside lest it become an idol that leads us away from eternal life.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
God must be first in our affections because He is the source and foundation of all that is good and is the sovereign King worthy of our singular devotion and obedience. When we come to Christ, we make God first decisively in our hearts and minds, yet sin distracts us and we need to be regularly reminded of His central place in our lives. Let us set aside all idols and strive to keep the Lord God first in all things.
for further study
- Deuteronomy 12:29–32
- Proverbs 11:4, 28
- Matthew 19:16–22
- 1 John 5:21
the bible in a year
- Proverbs 11–12
- 1 Corinthians 15:35–58