"Who then can be saved?"

This is a question that the disciples asked Christ but which many churchgoers who depend on their ability to keep the law and their fasting and good works to get God's blessings and inherit eternal life have not asked. We see why the disciples asked Jesus this question in the story of the rich, young ruler's encounter with Christ in Luke 18. This rich young ruler thought he could inherit eternal life by doing what the law commands, hence his cocky question to Christ in Luke 18:18- "...Good Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”

See the rest of this encounter in verses 19-23:

“19 Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “Only God is truly good. 20 But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. Honor your father and mother.

21 The man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.”

22 When Jesus heard his answer, He said, “There is still one thing you haven’t done. Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

23 But when the man heard this he became very sad, for he was very rich.”

Why would the rich, young ruler be sad? At least he tried in many other parts of the Law. Believer, he understood Deuteronomy 28:15-

"But if you disobey the Lord your God and do not faithfully keep all His commands and laws that I am giving you today, all these evil things will happen to you:"

This verse is followed by a host of curses. Notice "all"? Under Law, one has to "keep all His commands" to inherit eternal life.

This Jewish ruler was under Law and not under Grace. He believed that inheriting eternal life depended on his own effort at keeping the law and doing good, which he thought he was great at. He even boasted about keeping the law from his youth. So Christ gave him the Law when he asked "what must I do..., "(you must not murder, you must not steal, etc,) to bring him to the end of his tether.

No matter how well one tries to obey the Law, always, “There is still one thing you haven’t done.” This is the purpose of the law according to God's word - to show everyone up as guilty before God. See this in Romans 3:19-20:

"19 Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. 20 For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are."

Galatians 3:19 says: "Why, then, the Law [what was its purpose]? It was added [after the promise to Abraham, to reveal to people their guilt] because of transgressions [that is, to make people conscious of the sinfulness of sin], ..."

Come to God as one who can keep the Law and showing off the laws you have kept as proof that you deserve eternal life and be judged by the Law that condemns all. But come to Him with no righteousness of your own, depending wholly on Christ and God the Righteous Judge Himself will be your righteousness.

Of course the rich young ruler went away sorrowful! He could not keep the very first commandment - “You shall have no other gods before Me.” He put his many possessions before God. See verses 24-27:

"When Jesus saw this, He said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God! 25 In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”"

26 Those who heard this said, “Then who in the world can be saved?”

27 He replied, “What is impossible for people is possible with God.”

What our best efforts at obeying the Law cannot achieve (give us perfect righteousness in God's sight) “one Man's obedience,” Christ's, has done. Romans 5:9 tells us:

"And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God."

Now consider the question that the disciples asked Christ in verse 26:

“Then who in the world can be saved?”

No one can be saved by human effort at obeying the law. But many people are still trying to inherit eternal life through their works and obedience to the Ten Commandments, something that Christ said is impossible for man to do! Wonderful as these things (law-keeping) are, they cannot save anybody. Absolute righteousness is a pre-requisite for inheriting eternal life and it cannot be obtained "by doing what the law commands." Romans 3:20.

Remember Christ's words in Luke 18:25 above:

"In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”

"Rich" here is not limited to the situation of the rich young ruler where it connotes possessions. It can be in the form of any capital or "good opinion from God" that a person who professes Christ but is still trying to be righteous through the law (neither cold nor hot) thinks he has generated in heaven from his obedience to the law and "doing good things" aka self-righteousnesses, just like the church in Laodicea who thought they were rich in works of the law and righteousnesses that proceed from their obedience to the law. See Christ’s counsel to the church (Revelation 3):

“16 So because you are lukewarm (spiritually useless), and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of My mouth [rejecting you with disgust]. 17 Because you say, “I am rich, and have prospered and grown wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked [without hope and in great need], 18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold that has been heated red hot and refined by fire so that you may become truly rich; and white clothes [representing righteousness] to clothe yourself so that the shame of your nakedness will not be seen; and healing salve to put on your eyes so that you may see.”

Check out the words of Paul, a former Pharisee of Pharisees who "obeyed the Law without fault" in Philippians 3. He counted all of his efforts at law-keeping aka his riches of (self) righteousness from the law as DUNG (King James Version) so that He could gain Christ! See verse 9:

"9 and become one with Him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with Himself depends on faith.”

Isaiah 64:6 has a name for righteousnesses that proceed from keeping the law: filthy rags; "a menstrual rag" in Hebrew.

"But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;"

All the law-keeping and good works (our righteousnesses) done to inherit eternal life or make God have a good opinion of one are like filthy rags. But many see these things as capital (riches) that will get them somewhere with God.

Someone once told me this horrid lie and perversion that the "eye of a needle" is a term for a kind of narrow passageway in Israel and that if a camel struggles really hard, it will pass through! So a rich man that tries hard enough can succeed. This after Christ said “What is impossible for people is possible with God.” The action is impossible for man according to Christ. Only with God is it possible.

The eye of a needle is what it is: the eye of a needle! Anyone who feels that he is rich in terms of capital from good works and law-keeping that he has struggled to achieve by his own power and so deserves to inherit eternal life is doomed.

Only the righteousness that proceeds from the "obedience of Christ" (Romans 5:19,) with no additives of human effort, will suffice for our salvation. This is the crux of the gospel: Righteousness by faith.

You see, the book of Luke is one of divine order. See Luke 18-19. Right after the rich young ruler went away sorrowful (obedience to the Law cannot save,) we see our Lord Jesus predicting His own death and resurrection; and then we see the blind man at the gate of Jericho, a place cursed by Joshua, receiving his sight through faith (with Christ's death and resurrection, our eyes our opened to His salvation) and next the story of Zacchaeus where we see Salvation by Grace in action, something that the law could not do for the rich young ruler:

Zacchaeus, was a tax collector, one of the worst things a Jew could be in those days when Judea was under Roman occupation. His job was akin to that of a very close family member inviting armed robbers into your home and forcefully removing your valuables from your hiding places for his benefit and that of the robbers, but he still gets to live in your house. He knew that he was scum! He dared not ask Jesus that cocky question that the rich, young ruler did because he knew he had failed already. He was the perfect candidate for salvation.

After his encounter with Jesus, he did what the law-abiding rich young ruler could not do. Luke 19:8: "Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.”

Four times as much as had been unjustly taken is the amount that is required in the Jewish law when a sheep has been stolen, and a man was convicted of the theft by trial at law (Exodus 22:1.) But Christ's visit to Zacchaeus caused him to do this and more - give half of his possessions to the poor!

This is grace- undeserved, unmerited favour. We don't get "good" to get Christ. We get Christ to get good! We are in Christ first and then He makes us righteous and we GET TO bear fruit to righteousness. With Christ, we don't live right to get saved; we get saved to live right and "produce a harvest of good deeds for God." See Romans 7:4.

With Christ we don't give to get; we get to give. The law is fulfilled in us but not by us. In Him, we get to live a life that is in line with and even exceeds the moral excellence that the law demands, yet not us but Christ in us.

Seek first the kingdom of God (righteousnesses, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit) and His righteousness (not yours from law-keeping!) and all these things (including the grace to stop sinning, live right and every benefit of Christ) will be added unto you.

Right believing always produces right living.