A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, 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 commandments..."“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, follow me.” When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy... Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
-Luke 18: 18-27
"Be a good person!" "Love and accept everyone!" These are the overwhelming messages of our current society. What is really meant by these platitudes is "do what the culture says is moral" and "embrace every lifestyle" When we, as believers, speak out or stand against what the world deems to be good we are met with an onslaught of criticism like "That's not very kind. I thought Christians were supposed to love everyone." (John 15:18-19) While it may be tempting to bend under the pressure of opposition, we must remain faithful to what our Lord and Savior actually says is good(Matthew 10:22.) But how does this relate to Jesus' encounter with the rich young ruler?
When the ruler approaches Jesus, he greets Him by saying "Good teacher, what must I do..." Before addressing the man's question, Jesus first addresses his use of the word good by asking "Why do you call me good?" He then adds "No one except God is good." Jesus is not denying his own divinity, but instead causing the man to consider the implications of that claim. He is also drawing a distinction between man’s standard of good and God’s standard of good. You probably know the rest of the story. The man followed all the “rules” and led a virtuous life, but he failed to do the one thing that would actually assure him salvation: surrender his heart to God. (Luke 18:23) He trusted in his own good deeds and Earthly possessions for salvation rather than trusting in the One who truly is good. It must have come as a shock when Jesus told the man there was something he still lacked, He probably expected Jesus to be impressed with his virtuous lifestyle and good character by the world's standard.
The idea that we can save ourselves by being "good people" is nothing new. Contrary to what the world would have you believe Jesus’ message was not about encouraging us to, as Bill and Ted would say, "Be excellent to each other." and He didn't come to this Earth to teach us all how to get along either (Matthew 10:34-39, John 3:14-18.) Jesus came to this Earth to provide us with the salvation we desperately need, but cannot earn or secure by ourselves. We are all sinful broken people and as a result it is impossible for us to be righteous by our own merits and good deeds (Ecclesiastes 7:20 and all of Romans 3.) However, through God and the sacrifice made on our behalf by his Son Jesus we can!
All this in a nutshell? Nothing apart from God and His standard is good. Just because the world labels something good does not make it so. Yes, kindness and compassion are a part of a life devoted to Christ, but once again what that actually means and what the world says it means are not the same thing. We are called to love the Lord with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. That means loving God so much that we are willing to forsake our own approval and good standing with the world to follow and obey Him (Philippians 3:8.)
Thank you for reading! I hope revisiting this short devotion from the Fall 2022 Newsletter encouraged you today. I pray you stand firm in the truth and wisdom of our Lord, Jesus Christ upholding God's standard of good rather than the world's.