“And behold, one came to him and
said, Teacher, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal
life? And he said unto him, Why askest thou me concerning that which
is good? One there is who is good: but if thou wouldest enter into life, keep
the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? And Jesus said, Thou
shalt not kill, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou
shalt not bear false witness Honor thy father and thy mother; and, Thou
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. The young man saith unto him, All
these things have I observed: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If
thou wouldest be PERFECT, go, sell that which thou hast, and give to the poor,
and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.” – Matthew 19:16-21 (ASV)
PERFECT is one of those words often misunderstood by people
(even Christians) as meaning a state of sinlessness. The grave consequences of
this misunderstanding is that it justifies the very life that God has commanded
man to turn from: serving his fleshly lusts. Both Peter and Paul, in describing
the past life of Christians, stated this:
~ Galatians 5:19-21 – the works of the flesh are
manifest, which are these: fornication, uncleanness,
lasciviousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths,
factions, divisions, parties, envyings, drunkenness, revellings, and
such like; of which I forewarn you, even as I did forewarn you, that
they who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
~ Ephesians 4:17-19 – This I say therefore, and testify
in the Lord, that ye no longer walk as the Gentiles also walk, in the vanity of
their mind, being darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of
God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of
their heart; who being past feeling gave themselves up to
lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
~ 1 Peter 4:3
– For the time past may suffice to have wrought the desire of the Gentiles,
and to have walked in lasciviousness, lusts, winebibbings, revellings,
carousings, and abominable idolatries:
Repentance is most difficult. While it involves
making a choice to serve a new master, it calls upon man to make a
self-sacrifice: die to his own sins. “What then? shall we sin, because we
are not under law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye
not, that to whom ye present yourselves as]servants unto
obedience, his servants ye are whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or
of obedience unto righteousness? But thanks be to
God, that, whereas ye were servants of sin, ye became obedient from
the heart to that form of teaching whereunto ye were delivered; and
being made free from sin, ye became servants of righteousness.” (Romans
6:15-18).
What possible motivation could strong enough to strengthen a
person to give up pursuing happiness and enjoyment as he deems best for himself
and others? Nothing save the promise of a greater life from a being who has the
power to both create and sustain life.
(cf. Psalm 18:15; 33:6; Acts 17:25). What is powerful enough to cause a person to
acknowledge the failings of his own way of thinking (Proverbs 14:12;
Jeremiah 10:23)? Nothing save the wisdom of a being who displayed His
everlasting power and divinity in the Creation in such a way that they are
without excuse (Romans 1:20).
The answer to these questions is, of course, God. God declared through the prophet
Isaiah, “I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me; declaring the
end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done;
saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure” (Isaiah
46:9-10). The apostle Paul declared that God, “giveth life to the dead,
and calleth the things that are not, as though they were.” (Romans 4:17). All
this power resides in God’s word. What He declares will come to pass (cf.
Isaiah 55:10-11). So, when Jesus spoke to the young ruler in Matthew
19:21 about achieving perfection, it would happen, because God’s word was
declaring it.
Let
us briefly note some facts about this perfection of which Jesus spoke.
~
It was to obtain eternal life – He asked Jesus, “Teacher, what good thing shall
I do that I may obtain eternal life?” (v. 16).
~ It (eternal life)
needed to be desired above all his other desires (his possessions—v. 22)
– Jesus told him, “If thou wouldest
be perfect…” (v. 21).
~ It involved
respect for Jesus’ authority. Jesus told him, “…go, sell that which thou
hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come,
follow me.” (v. 21).
Eternal
life is the equivalent of perfection in this text. Jesus told him how it is
possible. It requires self-denial and discipleship in this life. This is seen from
v. 22, “But when the
young man heard the saying, he went away sorrowful; for he was one that had
great possessions.” This
perfection (eternal life) will be revealed at Judgment. It is reserved for all
who exercise faith in Jesus’ words (1 Peter 1:4-5).
