“And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.” (Matt. 19:16-26)

As Jesus and His disciples were traveling on an open road through Perea, a young man came up to Him with an important question that weighted heavily on his mind. It was a very important question. It was his life’s greatest question because it concerned the way of salvation. The young man who approached Jesus that day was an impressive individual.  He was rich, prominent in society, morally clean, insightful, and respectful.

Because this young man was rich, he was able to accumulate many possessions. He probably had the best clothes for his generation, jewelry, a nice home, servants, and a stately means of transportation. What the young man did not realize is that while he thought he had great possessions, all of his possessions really had him.

The story is told of a modern-day Quaker watching his neighbor move all of his belongings into his new home. There was so much being pulled out of the large truck. In a kind way, the Quaker made an offer to his new neighbor.

“Friend,” he said, “If you ever want to enjoy life without so much, I can help you.”

Quakers believe in living a simple life.

It is easy to be thrilled with acquiring a new possession, until the bills are due, or the item breaks, and there is no way to make reasonable repairs. Then, the emotional magic is gone and a financial burden is felt. In reality, the greatest danger in acquiring many possessions is spiritual. While prosperity can be a sign of God’s blessings, without proper detachment, the items we cling to in time, can destroy the soul in eternity. Dottie Rambo realized this when she became famous as a musician and wrote this song.

“The things that I love
and hold dear to my heart
are just borrowed
they’re not mine at all,

Jesus only let me use them
to brighten my life,
so remind me,
remind me dear Lord.

Roll back the curtain
of memory now and then,
show me where You brought me from
and where I could have been,
oh remember I’m human
and humans forget,
so remind me
remind me dear Lord.”

Francis Shaeffer, the theologian and founder of the Christian community and study center in Switzerland, L’Abri, (“the Shelter”), said that he visited a landfill once a year to remind himself how all the treasures of this world decay and vanish.

Job said, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.”

As Job gave up his right to his possessions, so did Jesus. The Lord did not allow the riches and glory of heaven to keep Him from coming to earth. The Bible says, that Jesus, “made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Himself the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of man. And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross” (Phil. 2:6-8).

The day will come when all our possessions will be left behind at death.

But where will our soul go?

That is what the Rich Young Ruler wanted to discuss with Jesus because, to some degree his conscience had been touched.

Despite his social status, personal wealth, and good home life, the Young Ruler sensed something was still missing. He had discovered there is more to life than material items. When his thoughts turned from time to eternity, the young man was wondering if he had eternal life. He wondered if he would go and be with God when he died. If his life needed to be better to merit eternal life, what did he need to do? That was his question to Jesus.

Jesus gave the Rich Young Ruler an astonishing answer. Simply put, the man had to embrace Jesus as the Lord of his life. “Young Ruler, come, and follow me” (Matt. 19:20b).

O, the Young Ruler was so close to finding that which his heart desired, what he had to do to have eternal life. The Young Ruler had found the incarnate Christ who is The Way to eternal life. As a soul in search of salvation, he had the Saviour of soul in his sight. But there was a problem.

The Young Ruler did not know Jesus as Lord, despite his public display of respect. On bended knees the Young Ruler showed Jesus honor by calling Him “Good Master,” or “Good Teacher.”What the Young Ruler did not do was to call Jesus, Lord. In this, the Young Ruler is not alone.

Many people will call Jesus, Good. They will call Jesus, Rabbi, or, Teacher.  But the person that will be saved must call Jesus, Lord.  An affirmation of the Lordship of Christ is something that must be acknowledge or there will be no forgiveness of sin, and no gift of eternal life. There will be no salvation.

So what is meant by the Lordship of Christ?

The Lordship of Christ means a person recognizes Jesus is the Son of the Living God and the Savior of the world, as Saul of Tarsus did on the Damascus Road, as Peter did while fishing one day, and as Thomas did in the Upper Room.

The Lordship of Christ involves an inner desire to be like Christ.

As His life is studied, and His example is followed, the heart will be changed, as James and John, the Sons of Thunder were changed.

The Lordship of Christ involves a conscious submission of life’s decisions for His approval.

In the act of prayer, the Lord is asked what He desires.

The Lordship of Christ means the Bible is studied, and searched on a daily basis, as the Bereans did.

The Lordship of Christ, means every known sin will be confessed as holy habits are cultivated.

The Rich Young Ruler wanted to know what he had to do to have eternal life.

Part of the answer is that Jesus must be acknowledged as Lord.

In addition to calling Jesus Lord, the Young Ruler had to place his trust, not in his own good works, but in Christ.

Trusting in Jesus means believing in Him for salvation. In John 11:25-26, Jesus said, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?”

No one will believe Jesus is the only way of salvation until they see how helpless their own lives are to earn or deserve eternal life.  It is one thing to realize the heart has not yet found eternal life.

It is quite another to see sin in self, and forsake it for the Lordship of Christ, and salvation. The problem with the Rich Young Ruler was that he believed in his own goodness. He was a virtuous and righteous man, in his own eyes. But in the eyes of God, the Rich Young Ruler was not good.

He had broken the Moral Law.

Jesus was about to reveal that fact to all, including the Rich Young Ruler. Jesus said unto him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all that you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven: and come and follow Me.”

Suddenly, there was a dramatic pause in the conversation. The Word of God was piercing the inner part of the Rich Young Ruler. The truth was dawning. He was breaking the Tenth Commandment, for he was a covetous man.

The Bible says, “But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions” (Matt. 19:22).

By walking away, the Rich Young Ruler was walking away from the love of God, for the Bible tells us in Mark 10:21, that Jesus loved him. What a tragic decision the young man made in that moment.

By walking away, the Rich Young Ruler was leaving behind eternal life, which is the most important possession of all.

Jesus asked, “What shall it profit a man if he should gain the whole world and yet lose his soul?”

It is far better to have eternal life, than to have all the possessions of this world.

But what is eternal life?

Does it just mean to live forever in heaven?

That is partly true, but eternal life is defined in a specific way in the Bible.

In John 17:3 we read, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”

Eternal life does not focus on duration of time, but upon a relationship between man and God. The Young Ruler had a relationship with many people, but he had no relationship with God.

He had a good relationship with his parents, for he gave them respect.

He had a good relationship with religion, for he kept the Law.

He had a good relationship with people, for he was rich and socially promoted.

But he had no relationship with the Living Lord. The Rich Young Ruler got up from his knees, having initially fallen before Jesus, and walked away. The Young Ruler left in sorrow, but he did leave because he was not willing to do what Jesus said had to be done. In sorrow, Jesus let the young man leave.

In the end, the Rich Young Ruler proved he was just one in a long line of people who have turned from Christ, once they discovered the high and holy demands of what it means to be a disciple.

So what does it mean to be a Christian?

First, to be a Christian means to confess from the heart that Jesus is Lord.

Second, to be a Christian means to believe in Jesus as one’s personal Savior.

Third, to be a Christian means a person has been to Calvary, where Jesus can be found at Calvary.

“I’ve been to Calvary
I can say I’ve seen the Lord
I’ve been to Calvary
Thru the witness of His Word.

Each day at Calvary
What a thrill of Love divine
Just to know, Just to know
That the Savior is mine.”

~Bill Gaither

Fourth, to be a Christian, means the heart has repented of the essence of sin. The essence of sin is not the legal outward form, but the inner spiritual disposition of rebellion. When Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, they broke not only the legal letter of the Divine prohibition, but they violated the spiritual aspect of God’s command. God wanted Adam and Eve to obey because they loved Him, and because He was worthy of obedience. But they rebelled in their heart. It is that spirit of rebellion that must be renounced.

Fifth, to be a Christian, means to be a Christ-Follower.  The heart says,

“I have decided
To follow Jesus.
I have decided
To follow Jesus.

I have decided.
To follow Jesus.
No turning back,
No turning back.”

By the grace of God, we can be a Christian. We can realize the Lordship of Jesus, repent of sin, and engage in a lifestyle of following Christ. In as far as we do these things, we will not walk away from eternal life. This is the teaching of the Lord.