Just How Good is “Good Enough?”

There once was a man who came to Jesus asking the question of all questions. The man was young, wealthy, spiritual and yet aware that he lacked something of great spiritual importance; this was his question:

“Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”” (Luke 18:18)

Now, it is assumed that this man presided over a synagogue nearby and that he had heard Jesus speak certain parables about faith (Luke 18:1-8) and humility (Luke 18:9-14) and who had seen Him bless the children (Luke 18:15-17). Unlike the Pharisees and Scribes who always came at Jesus with the intent of discrediting Him or catching Him in some heresy or religious error, this man with apparently good intentions came to ask Jesus a question that of vital importance to him.

But Jesus knew this man perfectly, just as he knows each of us perfectly. He knew the religious background of this man and after correcting the man to understand that (v.19) “NO ONE is good but God,” Jesus zeroed in on the little verb “do” in the man’s question and said:

“You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’” (Luke 18:20)

The mans reply is a familiar one,

“…he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.”” (Luke 18:21)

Recognize the answer? I can’t tell you how many times I have spoken to someone about the Lord and about sin when they replied, “I haven’t killed anyone. I haven’t stolen anything or committed adultery;” among other things. But if God is the only one who is good, does the doing or not doing of any of those good things make one fit for the kingdom of God – a person who God MUST accept? A. W. Tozer put it like this: If doing good is the way to obtain eternal life, “just how good would that good have to be?”

The religious and moral man saw himself as a good man but, if his question was an honest one, he seemed to think that he still lacked something to make him acceptable and in fact he DID lack something but as to what, he was unsure.

Jesus, using the man’s logic took him a little further saying,

“You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”” (Luke 18:22)

Jesus was NOT giving credence to the mans notion that DOING good would gain for him eternal life (despite what some dispensationalists might suggest) but rather pointing to the one thing which stood between the man and Almighty God – wealth. The last verse in the section makes clear that the man was “rich” or “had great possessions” (Matthew 19:22); he in fact had an idol which (v.23) indicates he loved more than God. In reality, this man neither “loved the Lord his God with all his heart soul mind and strength” nor “his neighbor as himself” – he loved his possessions.

To be fair, love for God does NOT save you – His love for YOU does! The Bible says in (1 John 4:19) “we love Him because He first loved us.” Jesus Himself declared in (John 3:16), “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” We are saved by grace through faith, Paul wrote in (Ephesians 2:8-10) and from His cross, by His blood, Jesus exchanged His righteousness for every believer’s sin (Isaiah 53:6, 2 Corinthians 5:21). As someone once said, “Jesus Christ will NEVER stand at the right side of a plus sign!” It is not faith in Jesus plus good works that saves you and gains for you an eternal inheritance in heaven – it is faith in Jesus Christ alone!

When his idol was revealed to the man, the “rich young ruler” walked away from Jesus unwilling to part with the one thing that kept him from eternal life with God. He didn’t need to DO one more thing – He needed to BELIEVE in Jesus Christ! Is there something in YOUR life that is keeping you from eternal life as well; something you just can’t let go of? If you do but can’t turn loose of it, pray, call on the Lord to help you – to take it from you. To the religious and the irreligious the message is the same – turn from your idols and trust in the living God; eternal life is gained in only one way – only through faith in Jesus Christ alone.