Who Can be Saved?, Part 1

Let's pray together. Father, we are grateful for today, all that you do, and the opportunity we have to celebrate your greatness. Our prayer, Father, is that as we open your word together, you'd once again enlighten us as to your path for our lives, that we might live in the light of your great and glorious kingdom. In Jesus' name, amen. If you have your Bible, turn with me to Luke chapter 18.

Luke chapter 18, and we're going to discuss this morning a very important path to Scripture that deals with eternal life, a passage that deals with who can be saved. It's a text of Scripture that should be covered in every church across America, because it's something that needs to be discussed to help people understand the essence of eternal life and how to know whether or not they have it. I'm convinced that the majority of people in America today are going to go to church, or those who go to church, will leave church thinking they have eternal life.

This man, after talking to Jesus, knew he didn't have eternal life. I would rather you leave today not knowing you had eternal life than to leave thinking you did have eternal life. Does that make sense? You need to understand what the Bible says concerning eternity.

The Bible says in the book of Ecclesiastes that eternity has been set in the heart of man. In other words, as man goes through life, there is this gnawing sense that there is something that happens after death. There's something about eternity. There's something about living forever that gnaws at him. And if he doesn't answer it, he will spend eternity without God. So he must come to grips with what the Bible says concerning eternity.

In our story we have a man who comes and asks that particular question. Let me read to you verses 18 down to verse number 30.

And a certain ruder questioned him, saying, Good teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said to him, Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments, do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor your father and mother. And he said, All these things I have kept from my youth. And when Jesus heard this, he said to him, One thing you still lack, sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven, and come follow me.

But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. And Jesus looked at him and said, How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God. For 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. And they who heard it said, Then who can be saved? But he said, The things impossible with men are possible with God. And Peter said, Behold, we have left our homes and followed you. And he said to them, Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God, who should not receive many times as much at this time and in the age to come eternal life.

The passage begins with a question about eternal life. The passage ends with Christ making a statement about eternal life. And the question is, Who can be saved? Christ says, With man it's impossible, but with God all things are possible.

The question comes for us today is, How do we obtain eternal life? This man coming to Christ asks a very unique question. What would you do if someone came up to you and said, What can I do to obtain eternal life? What would you say? If someone came to you as ripe and as ready as this individual, how would you respond? What Jesus is going to do is absolutely obliterate every marketing technique taught in the church today. What Jesus is going to do is to destroy evangelism 101 taught in most churches today.

What Jesus is going to do is take your evangelistic efforts, turn them upside down and get you to rethink how it is you present the gospel and at the same time rethink whether or you have truly received the gospel. Jesus is a master teacher. He's absolutely amazing in how he presents to us the truth of eternal life. Jesus, because he is God in the flesh, knows whether or not someone comes to him and is superficially seeking him or truly seeking him. We don't necessarily know that, but Jesus does, because the Bible says these words in John's gospel, John chapter two, verse number 23.

Now, when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover during the feast, many believed in his name, beholding his signs, which he was doing. But Jesus on his part was not entrusting himself to them, for he knew all men. And because he did not need anyone to bear witness concerning man, for he himself knew what was in man. So at the onset of Jesus's ministry, there were many people believing in him, but Jesus wasn't committing himself to him because he knew what was in their hearts. He knew whether or not they were superficial, shallow.

He knew that. How do you know that? One, he's God. Two, simply because Luke said, or Simeon said, Luke records it, these words, as Simeon would take the young Jesus eight days old in his arms, said, behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel and for a sign to be opposed. The sword will pierce even your own soul to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed. In other words, man's heart is going to be revealed because of this child. God is light and light exposes evil.

Light exposes that which is false, shows that which is true. That's who Jesus is. And so when you, when you come to Christ, he knows for certain whether or not you come because you are there superficially or they're there because you truly want to seek the true and living God. And what Jesus does is, is totally contrary to everything that we are taught in seminary, everything that we are taught in our Bible colleges, our Christian colleges, and mostly everything that we are taught in our churches.

Jesus erects barriers when people come to him. We are taught to tear down barriers so people can easily come. Jesus raises barriers to make it difficult for people to come to eternal life. That goes against everything that we're taught. That goes against every crusade we've ever attended. That goes against almost every book we've ever written, read, excuse me, except for this one. And so we have to rethink what it is we're doing and how it is we approach people or how we respond to people who approach us about eternal life, about the kingdom of God.

So important. Jesus was acutely aware of how people respond to the truth. Remember these words spoken by our Lord in Matthew's gospel, Matthew chapter 13. He says, hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. And this is the one on whom the seed was sown beside the road. And the one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately he sees it with joy, yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary.

And when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word and it becomes unfruitful. And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and brings forth some a hundredfold, some 60 and some 30. Jesus gives us a parable about the kingdom of God and how the word of God is received throughout the kingdom age.

He says, sometimes the word will be given and Satan will come and snatch it out of the heart because that's a hard soil, that's a hard heart, that's a calloused heart. But there are others who when they hear the word, they're going to jump on that Jesus bandwagon. They're going to receive the word with joy. They're going to be excited about coming to Jesus. Yet when affliction comes, when persecution comes because of the word, they fall away and demonstrate that what they did was only temporary, not truly eternal.

There will be others who will jump again on that Jesus bandwagon because of all the good things that they have heard. And yet because of the deceitfulness of riches, because of the cares of this world, they'll be drawn away and they'll fall by the wayside because they love the world more than they love the Lord God. Then there will be some who when they receive the word will bring forth fruit. Look how he says it. Some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, and some thirtyfold. You would think he'd be different.

You would think he would say in some thirty and some sixty and some a hundred. But why does he begin with the hundred? Because when you're a Christian, there is no question. There is no question. How many times have we told you? If you think someone's saved, they're not. Either they are or they're not. If you think they are, well I think they're saved. Really? What's that mean? I think you're saved. Either you are saved or you're not. But Jesus says he may bring forth fruit a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

Now a bumper crop was tenfold. If you brought forth a bumper crop in Israel, you brought forth so much fruit, it was overwhelming. Christ says it's a hundred, sixty, and thirty.

So it's more than just overwhelming. It's more than just overabundant. It's more than just absolutely incredible. There is no question of all about what kind of fruit you bring forth because you're born again. But today, we have all kinds of different definitions about how someone is saved and what they look like when they are saved. But in the Bible, there's no mistake. We're the ones who make the mistake. Jesus knows that. He tells the disciples at the onset of his ministry, when it comes to the kingdom age, this is how people are going to receive the gospel.

It doesn't mean that because of the four soils he gives, only one truly is born again. It doesn't mean that three out of four people you share Christ with, they're not going to be saved. It doesn't mean that one fourth of the world is going to be saved either. It just means that the majority of people are not going to be saved. But the majority of those who are not saved are going to look like they're saved because they're going to jump on the Jesus bandwagon. But, but when affliction comes, when persecution comes, they have no route to dig down deep and to grab hold of Christ and they fall by the wayside and they defrock the faith.

Or when push comes to shove, they just can't get out of the world. They love the world so much. It just encompasses everything about their lives and the deceitfulness of riches just choke out the word and they go the way of the world as Demas did in 2 Timothy 4. But those who are truly born again, those who receive the word, takes up root. Guess what? Bumper crop, you know, you know. And so Jesus comes in this context of Luke chapter 18. And here comes this man running up to him, as we will see in a moment, and asks the most crucial of all questions.

What shall I do to obtain eternal life? And you would think, well, put it this way. If Jesus lived today, He'd probably say, pray after me. He'd probably say, repeat after me. He'd probably say, come during this verse of the song. No, Jesus wouldn't say anything like that. That's what we do. What must I do to obtain eternal life? Pray after me. Walk the proverbial aisle before there ever was an aisle. That's how we would respond. Jesus never responds that way. Listen folks, if Jesus never responded that way, why do we do that?

How come we do that? This man, for all practical purposes, is a seeker, right? He's a seeker, but he is a superficial seeker. He's not a true seeker because we know the Bible says that no man seeks after God, right?

So no man seeks after God. The only one who could truly seek God is if God draws him to himself, that man will seek, that man will find. But there are many called seekers that at the heart of that are superficial seekers. They come to Jesus for all kinds of reasons. And how do you know he's superficial? Simply because of how he responds to what Christ says.

And so we come to this man, Luke chapter 18, who comes and asks the question, what must I do to obtain eternal life? You know, Jesus never talks to him about faith. He never talks to him about just believe in me. He doesn't do that. I find that rather interesting. You must have faith. You must believe in who I am because the issue at hand is not about faith and belief. The issue at hand is about repentance and submission. And by the way, that's always the issue at hand, repentance and submission.

And this man, as you will see as the story goes on, does neither. Salvation only comes to those who understand their sinful condition. In fact, let me say to you this way, salvation is not so much about what you believe about Jesus, as much as it is about what you believe concerning your sinful condition.

Did you get that? Salvation is not so much about what you believe about God, but what you believe about your sinful condition. Because if you don't believe that you're a sinner and that you're separated from God and on your way to hell, you'll never seek for a savior. And Jesus must get him to understand that he truly is a sinner. Because down deep he does not think he is. Or if he is, he's just not that bad. Jesus, what he does here is give us a story that fleshes out verses that we've already covered in Luke's gospel.

Now remember, what Jesus does here is not anything different than he's ever done before, or that he ever does from this point forward. It's always the same with Jesus. And so way back when we told you, this is what Jesus said in Luke chapter 9, verse number 23. If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. Remember, the command in Christianity always stems around following me. That's the essence of Christianity. A Christian follows the Christ. Well, unless you are willing to deny yourself, take up your cross daily and follow him.

Unless you are willing to surrender and submit, surrender yourself and submit to him and be willing to die for him, you can't be saved. He would go on to say these words, for whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake, he is the one who will save it. For what is a man profit if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? That was this man in Luke 18. Would he be willing to give his life away that he might obtain Christ's life, or will he hang on to his life and lose the Christ's life?

Christ would later go on to say in Luke chapter 14 these words. Again, very familiar words, but this is the message. Now a great multitudes were going along with him and he turned and said to them, if anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. And he goes on and gives this whole account of a man wanting to build a tower and to go to battle and how he must count the cost before he engages in battle and before he engages in the building of that tower.

And he says in verse 33, so therefore no one of you can be my disciple who does not give up all his own possessions. And so what happens in Luke chapter 18 is a story that fleshes out Luke 9 and Luke 14 to help you understand how Christ deals with a man who superficially comes to him as a seeker asking this question, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Great question. He had to choose like everybody has to between God and himself. If you choose God, you die to self. If you choose yourself, you forfeit God and his kingdom.

And this man had to make that choice. Interesting that there are no points of doctrine discussed, nothing about faith, grace, mercy, justification, sanctification, nothing about eschatology. None of the points of doctrine were discussed. He just comes and asks question, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Because all those points of doctrine are irrelevant because he needs to see himself with a sinful heart. He doesn't see that. In fact, Jesus never explains to him his deity. Does this man believe that Jesus is God?

Probably not. Does he think he's from God? Probably so. He calls him good teacher. Does he think he knows the way to God? Probably so. Does he think he knows the way to eternal life? Probably so. That's why he comes to Jesus. But does he believe that Jesus is God in the flesh? Probably not. But isn't it interesting that Jesus never goes to talk about his deity? Well, you know, if you want to inherit eternal life, you must believe that I am the Messiah. Let me take you to the Old Testament and point to you all the passages of scripture that predict the arrival of the Messiah, because that's who I am.

And we know that the Messiah is God in the flesh. That means I am God in the flesh. That must mean you must believe that I am God, that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. Do you believe that? You can have eternal life. Jesus never does that. You would think he would, but he doesn't. He does it totally different than we would do it. Does he make a mistake? Does he miss an opportunity? Did Jesus actually miss an opportunity to get another convert into the kingdom of God? That's how we look at, wow, this guy is so ripe.

He is so ready. He's come to the Redeemer. Wow, he must get saved. This guy's got to be in the kingdom. I mean, after all, he asked the right question. He comes to Jesus, the Messiah, who has all the right answers. Therefore, he must, he must embrace the opportunity. Jesus must take hold of this opportunity and embrace him as one of his own. But instead, Jesus puts up that spiritual stiff arm. He says, hold on a second.

Hold on one second here. Us, our response will be totally different. But for Jesus, who knows the heart of man, he wants us to reevaluate, rethink how it is we present the gospel to lost people. Very important passage of scripture for us to come to grips with. He comes and he asked a question about eternal life. What does that mean? Now, Jews knew about eternal life. John 3.16, for God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

The Jews understood eternal life. It wasn't, it wasn't about duration, because everybody lives forever, right? It's not about duration. Everybody lives forever. Once born, you live forever, either with God or without God. That's why eternity has been set in the heart of man. That's why from a biblical, biblical perspective, there can be, there could never be an atheist. It's biblically incorrect, because eternity has been set in the heart of man. So either as an atheist, you're right, or God's word is right, I'm going to choose God's word.

Because in your heart, there is a belief about something eternal that lasts forever. And will I be with God or without God? What will happen when I die? This man had that question. So when he comes and he asks, what must I do to inherit eternal life? He comes because he wants not just to live forever. Nobody just wants to live forever. You want to live forever God's life. That's eternal life. It's God's life. He is the eternal God. And this man, totally sold out on his religious system, realized he missed the God life.

Although his whole life was about God, he missed God's life. There was no peace, there was no joy, there was no sense of forgiveness. Although his whole religious system was based on works, that somehow he might earn heaven, that he might earn God's grace and earn God's favor, he didn't have any of that. And he knew it. He knew it. He knew that he was missing something. He missed the life that was characteristic of God. That is eternal life. It's God's life. This man came to him with a unique need.

Most people who come today to church, to Christ, come with what was commonly called a felt need. This man knew and felt in his heart he didn't have that eternal life. Most people who come to church have this felt need. You see, the problem in the story is not that the man had a felt need. The problem is that he didn't have a fallen need. That's the problem. You can come to Christ with all your felt needs, but you'll never be saved. Never. You can come to Christ with a bad marriage. Lord, I need a better marriage.

Lord, I need a better income. Lord, I need help physically. Lord, I got all these problems. Lord, take care of my problems. You come to Christ with felt needs, they'll never save you unless you come to him with a fallen need. I'm a sinner. I'm separated from God. I need a savior. And the whole context of Luke is the kingdom of God. Remember, it all began in Luke chapter 17, verse number 20. Where's the kingdom? You're the king. Where's the kingdom? He talks to them about the principles of the kingdom, both spiritual, both physical, both literal, both earthly and eternal.

He talks to them about the principles of the kingdom. Then he talks to them about the perils before the kingdom, all the destruction that's going to take place before the kingdom of God comes to earth. Then he talks to them about the prayer of those for the kingdom. Luke 18, verse number one.

Men ought always to pray and not to faint. Then he talks about the people in the kingdom. And the Pharisee, the most religious guy, is not one of those guys. But the publican, the tax gatherer, he is one of those guys. He was the one who went justified. And the children, they are a part of his kingdom. And then he addresses the problem as to why people don't enter the kingdom. And that's with this guy, the rich guy, in Luke chapter 18, verses 18 and following. All three synoptic gospels record this story.

Matthew chapter 19, Mark chapter 10, Luke chapter 18. Each of them adds a different flair to the story to help you understand it, that you might come to grips with it. It all begins with what we'll call the request of the ruler. The request of the ruler. A certain ruler questioned him, verse number 18, saying, good teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? Matthew 19 says that he was a young ruler. Luke says he was a ruler. A ruler of what? Probably a synagogue. He was influential. He was young.

Verse 23 says he was rich. But to be a ruler in a synagogue, you had to be spiritual. You had to be moral. You had to be an example. You had to be blessed by God. So here comes this young man, very influential, very rich. He's a ruler in the synagogue, meaning that he is spiritual. He's moral. He's been blessed by God. He has everything going for him. And yet in the midst of all of his richness, in the midst of all of his youngness, in the midst of all of his influence, he is empty. He's got a hole the size of the Grand Canyon in his heart.

He's empty. Because eternity has been set in the heart of man. And none of those earthly things will fill that void. It can't. It's a spiritual need that can only be met by spiritual means. And so as rich as he was, as young as he was, as spiritual as he was, as moral as he was, as good as he was, as popular as he was, none of that would fill the void that was there because he comes to Jesus saying, what must I do to inherit eternal life? In fact, Matthew says, behold, stand amazed. Can you believe this?

Can you believe one in this category comes to Jesus? Because you see, we would think that this guy would not be one who would come to Jesus because he has all of his, quote, temporary needs met. Everything is good for this guy. He got a good job. He's a moral guy. He's got a lot of money. He's very popular. He's young, not old. What more could he ask for? Everything is good. So Matthew says, behold, stand amazed because this man had everything, but none of it produced hope. None of it produced peace.

None of it produced joy. There was no calm in his soul. There was no confidence in his soul. He was unfulfilled. He was anxious. He was restless. So he comes to Jesus. Remember in John chapter 17, verse number three, Christ says, and this is eternal life that they may know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.

Jesus Christ is eternal life. He is eternal life. And so he is lacking that one thing that he needs, God, Christ, the Savior, the life of God, so pure, so true, because he has a relationship with the God of the universe. This man, because of his question, emphasizes once again, the legality of his life. He was a legalist. So he lived his life. He was born in a Judaistic system, all based on works. But you see, it goes to show you that no matter how good you are, how great you are, how popular you are, how influential you are, how rich you are, how young you may be, if you're in that kind of system, you are never satisfied.

You can't be. Because the need of your soul is a need met only through the eternal God of the universe, Christ himself. And although this man had everything on the surface, he looked like he was amazing. He went to bed at night and wondered, will I ever inherit eternal life? Will I ever have God's life? Will I ever have a life that's characteristic of the great God Jehovah? Why is it I am so empty inside? Why is it I don't have my deepest need met? So he goes to Jesus. He doesn't ask a theological question.

Isn't that interesting? It's not a theological question. It's a personal question. What must I do to inherit eternal life? This is a cry of a man who was completely unfulfilled in life. Now listen to this. In Mark's gospel, the 10th chapter, this is what is said of this man. Mark chapter 10, verse number 17. And as he was sitting out on a journey, a man ran up to him and knelt before him. See, this is amazing. That's why Matthew's account says, behold, stand amazed. This was a rich man. This was an influential man.

This was a ruler in the synagogue. This was a good man for all practical standards. This was a man that was a moral man. And he doesn't kind of nonchalantly come up to Jesus, kind of, you know, swagging up there and saying, Jesus, let me ask you a question.

Come over here. I got something I need to ask you. Because, you know, of his pride, he just doesn't want to, you know, embarrass himself. Instead, he comes running up to Jesus. He comes running to Jesus and set out on a journey, probably from where he was with the children in Luke's gospel, Mark's gospel, Matthew's gospel. He sets out on a journey. He's got all these people around him, and this man has absolutely no inhibitions. And he just comes running up to Jesus, kneels before Him, and asks the question, what must I do to inherit eternal life?

You can imagine the crowd. It's like, dude, are you kidding me? If you don't have it, who does have it? How can you not have it? How do you not know what it is? You're a ruler. You're rich. You got everything you need. You don't have eternal life. Are you kidding me? But he comes running up, not worried about what people think, what they're going to say. I mean, this guy is so incredibly ripe for salvation. We would think if we were sitting here preaching today and somebody came busting through those doors, fell on their knees, said, oh, pastor, what must I do to inherit eternal life?

Oh, I got to be saved. What do we do? Give him that spiritual stiff arm and say, hold on a second. What are you asking? Do you know what you're asking? On top of that, he says, he's this good teacher, good teacher. Now, never has a rabbi ever called good because only God is good. Only God is good. And because only God is good, Christ responds, the response of the Redeemer based on the request of the ruler, that's point number two, helps you understand where Jesus is going.

Jesus answers a question with a question. That's always a good way to answer a question. I like to do that with my children. Hey, daddy, can I have some money? Why do you ask? Because I want to go buy something. What do you need? And if I ask enough questions, they'll forget all that they asked and what they need. And so Jesus responds by asking a question. He says, why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. That is just marvelous. Because you say, look, you call me good? You must recognize I'm God.

Do you recognize I'm God? That must be it. Because if you're calling me good and only God is good, you must see me as God. And if you see me as God, listen carefully, if you see me as God, then you will do everything I tell you without question. Everything. And that's what leads him into what he says. And instead of presenting grace, Jesus presents the law. This is so, Jesus fails evangelism 101. He just does. We don't do it this way. Listen to Matthew's account. Matthew chapter 19. These words. He says, why are you asking me about what is good?

There was only one who was good. But if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments. Listen, if I said that from this pulpit today, I'd be fired. You want to get saved? Keep the commandments. That's how Jesus answers the question. You call me good? There's none good but God. But if you want to enter the kingdom, you must keep the commandments. Now, what Jesus does is he answers him in a way that the ruler will understand because his whole system is based on what? Keeping the commandments. And Jesus in this shocking, staggering, unbelievable kind of encounter says to him, you want to be saved?

Keep the commandments. And Christ is going to lead him to a place where he must come to grips with his sinfulness. And until he does, he can't get saved. He just can't. See, we're so quick to throw out the grace thing, throw out the faith thing, throw out the believe in Jesus thing, that people who have never recognized the fact that they are sinners, separated from a holy God, jump on the Jesus bandwagon, go to church leaving, thinking they have eternal life. And Jesus did not want anybody to think they had eternal life.

He wanted them to know whether or not they had it. And he wanted them to know whether or not they didn't have it. But he never wanted them to think that they did have it. To think that you have it is a very damning place to be. Today, I don't want you to think that you have eternal life. I want you to know ironclad assurance that you have eternal life with Jesus Christ, our Lord. That you know for certain that Jesus Christ is the ruler of your life. And how do you know? Whatever he asks, you will do.

Because you are submitting without any qualification, submitting completely and totally to the lordship and sovereignty of the king of the kingdom of God. Let me pray with you.

Father, we thank you for today and just the opportunity we have to study your word. You are the master evangelist. We have taken everything and muddied the waters so badly that we have become guilty of leading people into a false sense of eternity. Forgive us of that, Lord. And we know, Lord, that those who are truly chosen by you in eternity past will be saved. We know that. We believe in that. And yet, Father, we need to make sure that we accurately present the gospel so people will see themselves as sinners separated from a holy God and cry out to God, be merciful unto me, a sinner.

They might experience salvation by grace through faith. In Jesus' name, amen.