THE GOSPEL OF LUKE: - Vital Christianity

186A FALSE CREEDAccustomed to paying the necessary price to achieve his goals, he assumed that he coulddo the same in the area of religion. He thought eternal life is attained or purchased, that it issomething that one earns or merits by what he does.This young man shows the first peril of riches: a false creed, that is, to see life was anachievement, a prize to win, a commodity to be bought. That is a familiar affirmation of faith.It is the rich man’s creed. It is our society’s dominant creed. If we ask the average man orwoman in our community the same question they will probably come up with a similar answer.We go to heaven if we’re good and we’ll go to hell if we are bad . . . really bad. This makeseternal life a reward for what we do on earth.Yet the Bible is clear that "all our righteous acts are like filthy rags" (Isa 64:6).Salvation is spoken of in various terms and figures:"eternal life" (vv. 18,30)"treasure in heaven" (v. 22),"entering the Kingdom of God" (v. 24,29)"being saved" (v. 26).NO ONE IS GOOD—EXCEPT GOD ALONE (18:19)The young man then addresses Jesus as "good teacher," an unusual way to address aRabbi. Jesus rebukes this young ruler with the retort,"Why do you call me good? No one is good—except God alone" (v. 19).Rather than denying His divinity, Jesus was telling the young man to reflect on what hesaid. Jesus is trying to prompt him to reflect on who He is. As Jesus said to the woman at thewell of Sychar:"If you knew . . . who it is that asks you for a drink. . . ." (Jn 4:10).After pointing out the young man's inadequate understanding of "goodness," Jesus says: