And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, even God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor thy father and mother. And he said, All these things have I observed from my youth up. And when Jesus heard it, he said unto him, One thing thou lackest yet: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. But when he heard these things, he became exceeding sorrowful; for he was very rich. And Jesus seeing him said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to enter in through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they that heard it said, Then who can be saved? But he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God. And Peter said, Lo, we have left our own, and followed thee. And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or wife, or brethren, or parents, or children, for the kingdom of God’s sake, who shall not receive manifold more in this time, and in the world to come eternal life.
Luke 18:18-30
The Prerequisite
To help young believers walk in this path of selling all, the church herself needs to be living in such a state. It would be most difficult for young ones to be told to walk one way and yet to be shown another way. If the church is not a consecrated church, she has no right to speak of consecration. If she is not separated from the world, she is not entitled to mention baptism or separation. If the brethren do not sell all and follow the Lord, what good is it to instruct young believers to sell all? God’s children need to live in the way wherewith they wish to help others. This does not rule out the possibility that some of God’s specially chosen souls may yet walk in this way even though the church does not take such a position, but it does mean it will be impossible for the most to go along. Should most of the brethren be wholly abandoned to God, it will be easier for newcomers to do likewise. But if we do not give all, how can we expect beginners to lay their all on the altar? For this path of selling all to be carried through, the local assembly itself must be strong in this respect.
The Lesson of the Young Ruler
Let us start with the example of the young ruler in Luke 18. He was a man of good conduct, not a bad person before God. He had kept all the commandments and had shown due respect to the Lord Jesus by calling Him a good teacher. And the Lord Jesus considered him quite precious, for to meet such a person was rare. Looking upon him, Jesus loved him.
However, the Lord set down one requirement. If anyone desires to serve Him, he must be perfect. Notice what the Lord said: "If thou wouldst be perfect. . . . One thing thou lackest yet" (Matt. 19:21; Lk. 18:22). In other words, the Lord wants those who follow Him to follow Him perfectly, not lacking in anything. People cannot follow God if they have solved ninety and nine of their problems but have yet one problem unsolved. To follow God demands the whole being. It must be all or not at all.
Indeed, this young ruler had kept the commandments from his youth up. He habitually feared God. Yet he lacked one thing. He needed to sell all his property and distribute the proceeds to the poor; then the way would be clear for him to come and follow the Lord.
1. TO FOLLOW THE LORD MEANS TO SELL ALL
Have you seen that no one can possibly follow the Lord if he does not sell all that he has? This exacting demand must be clearly understood. According to the record of the Bible, when the young man heard the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he was one who had great possessions. Having come so near to the Lord and having seen so clearly too, he yet kept his sorrow even as he determined to keep his wealth. "For the love of money . . . have pierced themselves through with many sorrows" (I Tim. 6:10). Men may hoard wealth but they cannot hoard happiness. As they accumulate wealth, they also accumulate trouble. In gathering wealth, they gather sorrows and problems. Here was a young man who kept his wealth but was unable to follow the Lord. If wealth is what you want, then you need not think of following the Lord. To keep wealth is also to keep your sorrow, for wealth and sorrow always go together.
He who gives up his wealth is a happy man, whereas he who is reluctant to part with it is a sad person. This statement is always true. Those who are greedy of material things dwell in sorrows. May the newly saved Christian seek happiness by laying aside all and following the Lord.
Having watched the young ruler depart sorrowfully, the Lord added a comment: "How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!" The question at first was: "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" Now it is related to the matter of entering into the kingdom of God. In connection with this, Peter then asks who can be saved? To be saved, to have eternal life, and to enter into the kingdom of God are all three put together. If you wish to have eternal life, you must forsake all that you have or else you will be hindered. Remember, a rich man (that is, one who trusts in riches) has no way to enter into the kingdom of God. Indeed, the Lord would save such a one if he asked for it. But being saved, he would resign all. This does not mean that he was saved by forsaking his wealth. It simply affirms that once saved he will naturally abandon all.
As it is absolutely impossible for a camel to enter through a needle’s eye, so is it equally impossible for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. We Christians are all like camels, big or small camels, but nevertheless camels. Thus when Peter heard those words, he was frightened and therefore remonstrated, "Then who can be saved?" Peter after all was a Bible teacher. He combined the statement our Lord said to the young ruler with His latter comment and concluded that the rich cannot enter into the kingdom of God and that only those who have sold all can have eternal life. Peter did not feel easy with this teaching. If eternal life is to be obtained by works and not by faith, if the rich must sell all before he can enter into the kingdom of God, who then can be saved? Who is able to sell first and then obtain eternal life? Who is able to make himself poor before he is saved?
2. THE REAL ISSUE
The Lord Jesus answered with one sentence, and in this one sentence is the crux of the whole problem. Let us too hold onto this word: "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God." It is quite clear that such a thing as abandoning all to enter into the kingdom of God is unheard of in this world. The Lord acknowledges this as humanly impossible. What was wrong with the young ruler was not his inability to sell all, but rather his sorrowful departure. God knows it is impossible for men to sell and distribute all to the poor. But when the young man sadly left, he seemed to conclude that this was also impossible with God. Of course it is wrong for me not to forsake my all, but does not the Lord know all about it? Therefore the Lord declares: what is impossible with men is possible with God. How can anyone get a camel through a needle’s eye? Impossible. Similarly, people on this earth all love wealth and to ask them to sell all is to ask for the impossible. But if I go away with sorrow, then I am really wrong, for I have limited the power of God.
The young ruler could not abandon all, but God can do it. In other words, the Lord was prepared to give grace to the young man if he had only cried, "O Lord, I cannot abandon my wealth, but give me grace. What is impossible with me is possible with You. Enable me to do what I am unable to do. Lord, I just am too attached to my wealth to give it up and distribute it to the poor and then come and follow You, but You can make me to be what You want me to be." The mistake he made was to not pray, ask, and believe. He ought not to have sorrowfully departed. Man’s failure is not due to his weakness, but to his not accepting God’s strength. It is not in his inability but in not allowing God to enable him. He cannot do it, but why not let God deliver him? This is what the Lord stresses here. The things which are impossible with men are possible with God. Our Lord wanted to prove to the young ruler what God can do, but he, instead, went away with the conclusion that the thing was impossible to him.
Let us therefore see that there is always a way for us. If we can gladly forsake all, as Peter did, then we should thank God for that. But if we feel hesitant, as the young ruler did, then there is yet a way open to us. We merely need to bow our heads and say to the Lord, "I cannot," and He will undertake for us.
3. A CHRISTIAN MUST BE ABSOLUTE
Peter, after hearing what the Lord said, asked: "Lo, we have left our own, and followed thee," as if to say, "What then will happen to us?" The Lord’s answer shows it is well to leave all, for He said: anyone who has left house or wife or brethren or parents or children for My sake and for the sake of the gospel shall receive manifold more in this time, and in the world to come, eternal life. He does desire us to follow Him and to forsake all for His sake and the gospel’s sake. This clearly indicates the absolute necessity for a Christian to forsake all and follow the Lord.
Young believers need to know that unless they forsake all they cannot follow the Lord. We have a good example of this in the twelve apostles. When they were called by the Lord, they gladly and promptly left their boats, nets, and all and followed Him. They forsook without hesitancy. How we thank God for new believers like them. Nevertheless, even if some, like the young ruler, feel hesitant to sell all, they still are shown a way to follow the Lord. With men it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
Let us remember: of the thirteen who were called, eleven followed eagerly, one pretended to follow, and one hesitated. The one who pretended was Judas and the one who hesitated was the young ruler. When the word of the Lord is proclaimed, do not imagine that of those who respond, there will be only one who truly follows the Lord. No, the Bible tells us there was only one who was afraid to follow. If the whole church walks in this way, there need be no fear of having too many young rulers. Such people do exist, but they are only occasionally encountered. Of the thirteen, eleven were quite absolute.
