The God who Saves - Our Certain Hope

Scripture Reading

Luke 18:18–30 NIV84

18 A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’” 21 “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said. 22 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, follow me.” 23 When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. 24 Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! 25 Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?” 27 Jesus replied, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.” 28 Peter said to him, “We have left all we had to follow you!” 29 “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 30 will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life.”

Introduction

As Christ continues his journey towards Jerusalem, he continues to teach his disciples and followers what it means, and what is required, in order to participate in, or become partakers of the kingdom of heaven. In Luke 18:9-14, the subject matter was “True Righteousness” and justification before God, as Christ compared the Tax Collector and the Pharisee in their approach to God in prayer. In Luke 18:15-17, the focus was on humility in entering the kingdom of heaven, and that in order to receive the kingdom of heaven, one needs to “become like a child”, and receive as a child – in other words in utter dependence upon God, in order to obtain the kingdom.

In the present passage, we are again directed to what it means, or what is required in order to participate in the kingdom of God, but the focus in our present passage is a death to self, along with an utter dependence upon God through Christ.

We find an emphasis in our passage today on the importance of denying oneself, denying of selfish desires, denying of pride of the heart, and humbling oneself before God in order to obtain salvation. But we also find an emphasis on the extent of God’s grace, and the emphasis on the fact that our salvation is only by the grace of God.

Notice firstly…

1. A Good Desire (v.18)

In verse eighteen, Luke relays for us an account of a man who had a very sincere desire for a very noble outcome to his own life. We read in that verse,

Luke 18:18

18 A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

The desire of this man who approaches Jesus is to inherit eternal life. Luke tells us that this man was a ruler. Matthew’s Gospel tells us that this man was young. All three of the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) tell us that he was very wealthy.

As this man comes to Jesus, he comes with an extremely noble desire. Here is a man who, as we will see, has sought to live his life to the glory of God, by obeying the commands of God. He clearly had a very high regard for the law of God that was taught to him probably from a young age. This was a man who had been taught about God, and about the fact of eternal life. This idea of life eternal was part of the Jewish thinking, from passages such as Daniel 12:2…

"Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.” (Daniel 12:2)

Here was a man that had a sincere desire to inherit this eternal life.

There are many such people alive in our world today that have such commendable and noble desires in their hearts. This is not true perhaps of the atheists and agnostics in our world. Nonetheless, it is very much true of those who will acknowledge God in any form.

In fact, according to Solomon in Ecclesiastes 3:11, God has set eternity in the hearts of men. There is this natural understanding of and perception of, perhaps even longing for, eternity.

People today, like this young ruler, have these noble desires to inherit eternal life. People have these noble desires to be with God and to see him. The big question is, am I on the right path to inheriting this eternal life?

We must note as we come to this passage, however, that it is not the desire itself for eternity that leads us to inherit this eternal life.

It is not even the amount of effort that we may put in to obtaining eternal life that will assure us of this eternal life.

Sincerity of Desire, and efforts (if they are misdirected) will not necessarily grant us this eternal life that we long for.

What is important is, are we submitting ourselves to the will and the ways that God has laid out for this eternal life to be inherited? Are we humbling ourselves before Him as God, and submitting to His ways, and His decrees?

As this man approaches Jesus with this question about inheriting eternal life, he is obviously approaching Jesus with a very high regard for who Jesus was as a teacher. He sees Jesus as a Rabbi, as one who is to be looked up to, and even perhaps is the one who can give them an answer of finality in this quest that he has to obtain eternal life. In other words, here is a man who had a great deal of respect for Jesus.

Notice then, secondly…

2. A Guiding Standard (vv.19-21)

As Jesus is approached by this young ruler with this question, he begins by speaking to this young man’s own preconceived notions. Jesus knew this man and where he was coming from. The context of the narrative over here shows to us that those who were observing were very much aware of the fact that here was a rich young man. Perhaps it arrived with an entourage of people. Perhaps it arrived with his flashy clothes and clearly demonstrating that he was extremely successful in life. Perhaps it was just well-known that this man was very wealthy. I simply say this in order to convey the fact that I am quite certain that Jesus discerned right from the outset what this man was about.

As he begins to engage with the man, notice his approach. The first thing that he does is not to address the actual question asked. Rather, Jesus addresses the manner in which this man addressed him.

Luke 18:19

19 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.

​As soon as we hear these words, we might be tempted to go down a path of understanding that doesn’t tie in with the rest of Scripture, particularly in terms of the teaching of who Jesus is. Some people will use this verse in order to emphasize that Jesus is not God, and He’s not equal with God. He said it so clearly himself.

That’s not the emphasis of what he is saying.

I think beyond that, we need to see that Jesus was not saying that you can never refer to man as good in any way. Context is important!

If we look elsewhere in Scripture, we find various places where man is referred to just in a general sense as “good”. For example, in Proverbs 14:14 we read…

"The backslider in heart will have his fill of his own ways, But a good man will be satisfied with his.” (Proverbs 14:14)

A very pertinent passage that brings out the use of “good” vs. “evil” is Ecclesiastes 9:2…

"It is the same for all. There is one fate for the righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean and for the unclean; for the man who offers a sacrifice and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good man is, so is the sinner; as the swearer is, so is the one who is afraid to swear.” (Ecclesiastes 9:2)

The context there, of course, is that all men ultimately face the same final destiny in this world – whether a good person or a bad person. And very obviously, the manner in which the term “good” is used is going to be important. Even Jesus himself used the term “good” in referring to people in a general sense…

"“The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.” (Luke 6:45)

I don’t believe that Jesus was saying that everyone is always evil all the time. I do believe that he was distinguishing between those who in a general sense, to some measure, were good, or at least better than others in terms of their hearts.

You can think of this in terms of King Josiah in the Old Testament, who walked in the ways of God… He was certainly a good king in comparison to his father King Amon, who did evil in the sight of the Lord.

With that in mind, and given that Jesus himself has no issue with calling someone good within the proper context, we need to understand then that Jesus was actually reading this man and seeking to address something of the heart of this man, even in this interaction, and His statement that God alone is good.

In all likelihood, Jesus was rejecting the simplistic view of “goodness” implied in the ruler’s statement. In other words, he was using the word “good” in a very reductionistic sense. Clearly there was a very simplistic view of this man’s words. He was attempting to flatter Jesus by addressing him in this manner. As we go on, we will find that this man uses the law, obedience to the law, as His standard for good. He would have seen himself as good. This man would have viewed the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law as good.

And so, Jesus directs the man’s attention to the true standard of good… that is God!

Now, the fact is that Jesus himself was good. He was the very Son of God, and He was the one that ought to have been listened to, obeyed. He was truly the good teacher. The question is, would this man listen to the good teacher for who He truly was.

As Jesus continues to address the man, notice that he turns his attention to a series of commandments. Again, note that Jesus is, in a certain sense, speaking to the place where he knew this man’s heart was, to ultimately show him in a powerful way that his heart really was not in a good place.

Luke 18:20

20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’”

Jesus list here 5 of the 10 commandments, all of them related to one’s treatment of their fellow man.

Christ does not point to what’s usually referred to as the first table – man’s responsibilities towards God. A possible reason for that is simply that love for God is evidenced through one’s love for fellow man (as 1 John 4:12 teaches us) and so he was really focusing here on what could visibly be seen.

What is so striking about the commands that Jesus lists is that he leaves out the one commandment that probably was most appropriate and applicable to the heart of this man that he was confronting – that of covetousness.

But that’s an aside, really. The fact is, Jesus addresses this man in terms of obedience to God, but with a view to point out to this man, in heightened fashion, that his condition was far worse that he believed it to be…

The man’s response is quite something. ​It was in line with what many of the religious leaders would have answered.

Luke 18:21

21 “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said.

As this young ruler is confronted by Jesus regarding the life that is lived, seems to hold himself in high regard. He honestly believes to himself, or he is trying to convince himself, that he is keeping the law and has kept the law his entire life.

In his quest to obtain eternal life, this man is quite convinced in his own mind that he has kept the law of God. Obviously this was something that had been taught to him from a young age, and from a young age, he had taken it very seriously to obey God.

However, I want us to consider the very fact that this man came to Jesus with his concerns. It is evident, just from him asking the question, that he is not settled in his own mind that he is on the path to attaining to eternal life. He clearly has concerns in his mind. He is filled with doubt and anxiety to know whether he truly has this eternal life or not. He’s looking for assurance that he will inherit eternal life.

Is this not what we see in many religions of our own day? Many people will live seeking to obey God in order to please him. They want eternal life, but they have no assurance of their salvation. There are sincerely hoping and desiring that their good works and their efforts are sufficient in order to win the favour of God, and so bring them into eternal glory. However, this obedience to the Lord never brings a state of settled joy that one is going to actually be with God one day.

Very clearly, this is the situation of this young ruler. He’s been trying to keep the law and obey it for his whole life. But still he is not happy with his present condition, at least not sufficiently so to grant him an assurance of his eternal life.

I must just state at this point that seeking to obtain assurance of salvation through obedience to the law will inevitably lead to such uncertainty. We will not have that assurance of faith that we so long for if we are trusting in our own works in order to attain to our salvation. It simply cannot be.

With that said, I just want to point out how deceived this rich young ruler was in terms of his own self-evaluation. While he believed himself to be righteous and living in accordance with the law of God, he really was not nearly as obedient to God as he believed himself to be. In fact, he was an extremely dangerous place.

Keep in mind the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus taught that one needed to go well beyond a surface level obedience to commands in determining a person’s righteousness. He said that if anyone is angry with his brother, they are guilty of murder. We recall that he spoke about anyone lusting after a woman has committed adultery in his heart. We cannot think for a moment that this young ruler had kept the law of God in that manner. He certainly did not; it is impossible.

So, this man was utterly deceived in his current state.

With that said, and with that in mind, however, it’s interesting that Jesus doesn’t argue or dispute the extent to which this man is or is not living in obedience to the law of God. He moved straight to the place where he knows this man holds an idol within his heart. That leads us to our third main point:

3. A Gripping Idol (vv.22-25)

In Verse twenty-two of our text we read,​

Luke 18:22

22 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, follow me.”

Jesus says to this rich young ruler that he still lacks one thing. It’s almost as if Jesus says, okay, you’re quite a good guy… just one more little adjustment to your life…

Now, I’m quite certain that this young ruler lacked many more things than just this one thing.

Nonetheless, Jesus is concerned to go straight to that area of the heart of this man that is gripped by an idol in his life. Jesus knows where this man’s idolatry lies. He knows that this man has not placed God first in his life above all else. He knows that this man, although he is lived a relatively good life, is very far from God in his heart, and has relegated God to second place.

The real king of this man’s life is himself, and his own desire for something in this life, rather than for the honour and glory of God.

Notice what Jesus says to him. He tells this man that if he would inherit this eternal life that he longs for, he is to sell everything that he owns, give all of that away to the poor, and then to come and follow Jesus.

Now, let us just appreciate the exceedingly demanding course that Jesus presents to this man in order to inherit eternal life. But he does this in order to drive home the fact that this man’s heart is actually far from God.

He knows that this rich young ruler will not let go of his funds his finances. He will not let that go and allow himself to give everything away to the poor and come and follow Jesus.

Beyond this, Jesus says to this man that if he does this, if he sells all that he owns and gives away the proceeds to the poor, and he comes and follows Jesus, that he will obtain for himself treasure in heaven. In a sense, Jesus says to this man, that if you want treasure, you must decide where you want it… do you want your treasure here in this world… or do you really want that eternal life, and the treasures of the next life.

Jesus is saying here to this rich young ruler that the eternal life that he desires requires the giving up of self-centred desires in this life. Jesus had already taught this, and what was unfolding here was a practical illustration of what he had already taught. In Luke 16:13 we read Jesus’ words…

"“No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”” (Luke 16:13)

Jesus is here, in a very practical way, demonstrating that anyone who would truly serve God must be prepared to sacrifice all other self-centred desires, all those idolatrous desires of the heart.

The call of Jesus here, as it was previously, is that if anyone would come after him is to deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Jesus Christ. There is no choice or option given here by Jesus. This is the deciding factor this is the determining point. Are you prepared to forsake all else in this world in order to follow Jesus Christ?

​In one sense, we might think that Jesus was being extremely unreasonable here. We may think that Jesus was being unkind in his treatment of this young man who really wanted a good thing and had come to asked advice and how to get that good thing.

Why would Jesus tell this man to give away everything that he has, perhaps everything that he’d worked to gain and to obtain in this world, maybe even through wise manners and even maybe through extreme honesty and integrity, and then have Jesus come and tell him to throw it all away in order to follow? Isn’t this just unreasonable by Jesus?

The answer to that is “not at all.”

We need to understand that Jesus Christ is the creator God of the universe. He is the one worthy of praise and honor and glory. He is the one that bountifully provides for his children. He is the one that enables men to do the work that they do in each day, to bring home an income, to raise children in the fear of the Lord, to worship him, etc. God, through Christ, was the very one enabling this man to obtain all that he had.

God is God. Jesus Christ is the very Son of God, and obedience to Him is the most fundamental and critical element of life in this world. Everything else is of secondary importance.

There is nothing that Christ would ask us that should be disobeyed, or that we should demonstrate hesitation in obeying, if he truly is King of kings, and Lord of lords, and if he truly is sovereign and in control of all things, and has power over all things.

But beyond this, if he is the one that brings satisfaction and joy in life, then not only is it the right thing for us to obey, but it is a wonderful blessing and honor and joy to obey!

The truth is that if we follow Jesus in obedience, we may find life in this world a little bit more difficult, it may require sacrifice on our part, we may even face persecution and suffering of all kinds, or we might find face hostility from those who are offended by what we hold to a belief. Yes, there are certainly hardships to be found in this life for those who profess faith in Christ. But because of who He is, if our hearts are captivated by that, it would be our joy and delight to follow Him, to obey Him.

Now, the question is, did this rich ruler truly see Jesus for who He was? Did He truly want to follow God because God was worthy of His all… of His praise?

Would he truly trust Jesus for all?

The response of the man as recorded in verse 23 tells us…

Luke 18:23

23 When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth.

Clearly, this man was not pleased with the response. He became “very sad!” His heart sank!

The reason he was sad was because he was a man of great wealth. He was not at all prepared to sell everything that belonged to him. After all, he hadn’t robbed anyone to obtain it. He’d probably worked hard for it. He’d probably used much insight and wisdom to grow and increase his wealth. Was he not entitled to it?

The sad reality was that this money that he possessed had taken possession of his heart. It had captivated his heart and desire. It had captivated his affections to the point that he was not prepared to let it go, not even if God commanded it of him. His heart was taken captive.

Was the money in itself evil? Of course not!

But he was captivated by his wealth to the point that he would not let it go.

What would he have thought? Well, none of the other rabbi’s have told me that I should give away my money? Why would God require of me to give away my money when Abraham was wealthy; David was wealthy; Solomon was wealthy; Job was wealthy – and God even doubled his wealth after it was taken away; all these men that God blessed abundantly… Why is this man Jesus telling me to give away all my money?!

Isn’t that the way we would respond when faced with such an instruction from Jesus? Isn’t that exactly the way we’d be tempted to think? And I really don’t want to move off this too quickly… or try to water down what is being said over here, or how this man is responding. It’s exactly how most of us would respond. We’d hardly be willing to let go of these things… at least not very easily… at least not for the most part.

The sad reality for this man was that he was so captivated by the things of this world that he would never be able to truly enjoy true riches with God.

Jesus had put a challenge before him. He could enjoy his riches and treasures in this world. Or he could sell those, follow Jesus, and enjoy treasures in the kingdom that he claimed he was looking forward to. But unless there was a radical change of heart for this man, he would forfeit that eternal treasure in the kingdom.

​Notice then what Christ says to him in response.

Luke 18:24

24 Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!

What Christ says here in response is once again striking. It is not that He is in any way speaking in condescension or nastiness. He simply states the fact that for a wealthy person to enter the kingdom of God is extremely hard. It is difficult. Why? Because this wealth so powerfully captivates the heart of a man.

Paul speaks of this in 1 Timothy 6:9-10…

"People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (1 Timothy 6:9–10)

And the writer to the Hebrews writes…

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”” (Hebrews 13:5)

The love of money certainly is a pervasive evil, and a gripping idol of the heart. Certainly it was to this rich young ruler.

​Notice what Jesus says further…

Luke 18:25

25 Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

On first reading, I think every one of us would say something along the lines of… then it’s impossible for anyone to be saved. Because how on earth is a camel going to go through the eye of a needle?

Some commentators have suggested on this point that there was a particular hole in the city wall, a kind of small gate. If you had been out, and arrived at the city once the city gates had closed, then you would have to unburden the camel of its load, and the camel would need to get down on their knees and essentially crawl through this small hole in the wall in order to get in… They refer to that as a camel going through the eye of a needle.

That’s not what Jesus is saying. I don’t agree with that position at all. In fact, the very clear picture from Christ in these verses is that this is essentially impossible. The picture that Christ had in his own mind (based on the rest of the discussions with his disciples that we will see in a moment) is that of a true camel, and a pretty standard needle that would have been used to thread cotton.

The point that Jesus is making here is that unless the power of God is radically worked in the hearts of men, they would most certainly not be saved!

Salvation is impossible apart from the saving grace of God!

4. A Grand Salvation (vv.26-27)

The shocking nature of Jesus words, and the fact that he wasn’t simply speaking about some camel struggling through a hole that was a little tight, but rather was talking about a massive mammal passing through the eye of an actual needle, is seen in the response of the people listening… ​

Luke 18:26

26 Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?”

This is precisely the appropriate question if Jesus actually meant what it seems he meant. Jesus achieved the actual effect that he desired when he mouthed these words!

His intention was very clearly to stun his listeners into understanding the human impossibility of such a wealthy man entering into the kingdom of heaven.

The Lord means that for a rich man in his own power to try to work or worm his way into the kingdom of God is impossible. So powerful is the hold which wealth has on the heart of the natural man! He is held fast by its bewitching charm, and is thereby prevented from obtaining the attitude of heart and mind necessary for entrance into God’s kingdom.[1]

That’s what Jesus was essentially showing through this illustration.

However, there are some important things that we must keep in mind here.

The first is that Jesus never intended to leave people without any hope. It was not to tell this rich young ruler that he had no hope whatsoever. It was also not to tell every single wealthy person today to go and sell all their possessions and give to the poor in order to prove your devotion to Christ. And it was not Christ telling us that it’s impossible for any rich person to be saved.

The point of Jesus is that He shows that without the power of God, such a person would never enter into glory. Notice how Christ puts this in verse 27…

Luke 18:27

27 Jesus replied, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”

This just confirms the fact that Christ truly was telling his disciples that it is impossible for man, apart from the grace of God, to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Now, the context is certainly wealthy man. And the reason that Jesus uses wealth as an example of this is because attachment to wealth is so pervasive…

Nonetheless, with God, all things are possible.

In other words, it will take a miraculous work of God to so transform the hearts of people to be prepared to forsake everything in order to follow Christ. It is a work that God must work in the heart of each person.

The Pharisees and religious leaders were hardly prepared to let go of their works-based righteousness. They were also lovers of money – Luke’s Gospel has already made that clear. But even for them, if would work salvation in them, it would lead them to a transformed life, and even a life of sacrificing everything for the sake of Christ.

This is the work of grace that Paul outlines in his letter to the Ephesians…

"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” (Ephesians 2:1–5)

Friends, the natural heart of man is dead, and would rather have the things of this world than to have God. If faced with a choice, the natural man would rather choose self, if the stakes were too high, than to choose God.

But God transforms hearts… That’s exactly what he did in the disciples lives…

5. A Great Reward (vv.28-30)

​Notice how the disciples respond, through Peter as their spokesman…

Luke 18:28

28 Peter said to him, “We have left all we had to follow you!”

​I think we do need to see and appreciate the fact that these disciples had left everything to follow Jesus. Peter and Andrew, along with James and John, had fishing business that probably brought them a descent income. Matthew / Levi was a tax collector – that certainly would have brought him a good income.

They had indeed left everything to follow Jesus. And dear friends, here is the work of the grace of God in the hearts and lives of people. God can so transform hearts that they are prepared and willing to live fully and freely for Jesus Christ. They are prepared to give up everything for the sake of obedience to Christ.

Notice how Jesus responds to this remark by Peter…

Luke 18:29

29 “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 30 will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life.”

The reward truly is there. Those who would deny themselves, and are prepared to joyfully sacrifice all for the sake of Christ and the Gospel will not be short-changed. In fact, they will abundantly provided for and blessed, and that particularly in the life to come as they enter into the eternal life that this man sought.

Christ here speaks to those who would forsake everything, even family, homes, finances etc for the sake of the kingdom. He says that they will receive abundance, not only in this life, but also in the life to come.

In this life there are abundant blessings for those in the Lord…

In terms of these blessings, there will be peace and joy in the Lord Jesus Christ. There will be a contentment in life that cannot be matched by the obtaining of things in this world. We have a hope that anchors the soul, so that when trials and difficulties come, we are not moved to despair and hopelessness by them.

In terms of family, we have a new family in Christ. We have brothers and sisters in the Lord that we delight to share life with, because we have this common salvation, and a common Father in heaven.

But for those in Christ, there is also future glory. An eternal inheritance. Eternal, true riches in the Lord Jesus Christ in the life to come…

Application / Conclusion

[1] Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953–2001). Exposition of the Gospel According to Luke(Vol. 11, pp. 835–836). Baker Book House.