Who Then Can Be Saved?

And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up. Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved? And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God. Luke 18:18-27 (KJV)

This ruler asked what he needed to do to inherit eternal life, or to be saved. He thought his good works could save him. Nothing we can do will ever be good enough for a perfect God. Nothing we can do will save us. Keeping the Old Testament law could never save anyone. They never measured up. Only Jesus kept the entire Old Testament law and obtained our salvation.

God alone is good. Only He can make us good- when we rely on His goodness rather than our own. We must trust in God to save us and not ourselves.

The ruler said he had kept the law, which no one could really ever do. He was trying to justify himself. He was a rule keeper, but Jesu said he still was lacking. He knew the man’s heart and therefore pointed to the one thing that he loved more than God- his wealth. Jesus told him, “Sell all you have.” In other words, do not rely on what you have. Sell it and give to help others. Then Jesus told him the true way to inherit eternal life: “Come, follow me.” Jesus was telling him to separate himself from his god, money, and follow the Son of God instead.

Don’t follow in your ways. Don’t rely on yourself to save you. Follow Jesus and rely on Him for salvation.

The young ruler was sorrowful. He chose wealth over Jesus. We must lose ourselves and our ways to gain Christ. Don’t allow the temporary things of this world to have more value to you than the Lord. We must be willing to lose our stuff. We should be wiling to sow earthly riches to gain heaven’s riches.

When you trust only in riches for security, it is nearly impossible to be saved. A camel can pass through the eye of a needle easier than a rich man can enter into God’s kingdom. The problem is not with having wealth, but it is when wealth has your heart. The ruler trusted in himself and his riches, and not in God.

This begs the question, “Who then can be saved?” Anyone who is willing to surrender everything to God can be saved. Only God can save us. No amount of our good works can save us. Only the finished work of Christ at the cross provides salvation and eternal life. Believe and receive Jesus and all He did for you. Trust in His Works and not in your own.

Who then can be saved? Those who trust in Christ for salvation, and not in themselves.