Bible Studies
A certain rich ruler asked Him, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?"
"Why do you call Me good? Jesus answered." No one is good - except God alone. You know the commandements; 'Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother (Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16-20)
"All these I have kept since I was a boy" he said. When Jesus heard this, He said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me."
When he heard this, he became very sad because he was a man of great wealth. Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." (Luke 18:18-26)
This is an amazing story that is widely misunderstood by many. People think that rich cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven. However, I find it very wonderful story and I have learnt many things from it too.
Why did the rich ruler ask Jesus this question? Did he believe that Jesus was God? The passage says that Jesus said that God is alone good and yet the rich ruler continued his conversation with Jesus. This shows that he believed Jesus to be a God and that is why he continued.
The rich ruler asked the right question, "What must I do to inherit the Kingdom of God?"
The rich ruler claimed to Jesus that he had kept all the commandments since his childhood. However, he may have claimed that self-righteousness but it is not for us but God who approves of our actions.
The rich ruler although claiming to keep all the commandments but broke the First Commandment when Jesus asked him to sell everything he had and follow him.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with your soul and with all your strength. (Deut 6:5)
If the rich ruler kept all the commandement as he claimed then why did he refuse to sell everything and follow Jesus? The answer is simple - He loved his wealth and his possessions more than God.
Jesus do not want us to give away our riches, He simply wants us to put God first in everything we do. When we read the story of Abraham, God asked him to sacrfice the thing he loved the most to Him. In Abraham's case it was Isaac more precious to him than his wealth and possessions. He obeyed God and put Him first in his relationships.
The story does not talk of rich over here, actually it talks of everyone who wants to follow Jesus. We must denounce our desires, our passions and our relationships and put God first in everything we do, "I tell you the truth,"Jesus said to them. "No one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the Kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and in the age to come, eternal life" (Luke 18:29-30)
Why we need to do so? It is so because it is written [color=blue]"...I the LORD your God am a jealous God" (Deut 5:9)
Therefore, it is necessary for a believer to denounce everything before God and put God first in everything. This is exactly what Heavenly Father did for you and me. He sacrificed the most precious thing, His Son, Jesus Christ to save us from eternal death and to bring us back into His presence.
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