NO SALVATION APART FROM PERFECTION

In Scripture there is no salvation without perfection, that is, we cannot hope to be saved without being perfect in heart. This is seen in the account of the rich young ruler in Matthew 19:16-26, a passage that is crucial for understanding the Lord’s teaching on salvation. Let us read this account, paying particular attention to the word “perfect” in the middle of the passage (v.21), and to the many references to salvation:

V: 16: Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”

V: 17: “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.”

Vs: 18-19: “Which ones?” the man inquired. Jesus replied, “‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’”

V: 20: “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”

V: 21: Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

V: 22: When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

V: 23-24: Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

V. 25: When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”

V. 26: Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (NIV)

Seven References to Salvation

Let us examine this passage. What is the main issue here?

The whole discussion is started by a simple but crucial question, “What must I do to have eternal life?” Hence the whole account is centered on the question of obtaining eternal life, as confirmed by the many words shown in boldface. The evidence for this is so abundant that it can be presented in seven brief points:

First, there is the question which starts the whole discussion, the one asked by the rich young ruler: “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” (v.16)

Second, Jesus refers to eternal life when he replies, “If you want to enter life, obey the commandments” (v.17).

Third, Jesus refers to eternal life when he speaks of “treasure in heaven” (v.21), with its inseparable link with perfection: “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.”

The “if you want to” clause that is used here and in the second point shows the parallel between “if you want to enter life” and “if you want to be perfect”. These are not two alternatives from which we choose one and not the other. “To enter life” and “to be perfect” are inseparably linked. We cannot have God’s life (eternal life) without having His perfection (His character or image).

Fourth, Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven” (v.23).

Elsewhere he says, “No one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit” (John 3:5).

To be born of the Spirit (born anew) and enter the Kingdom is to “enter life”.

Fifth, Jesus again refers to the Kingdom when he says, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (v.24).

The word “enter” in points 2, 4, 5 highlights the parallel between three phrases: “enter life”, “enter the kingdom of heaven”, and “enter the kingdom of God”.

Sixth, the astonished disciples exclaim, “Who then can be saved?” (v.25), demonstrating that the whole discussion is about salvation.

Seventh, Jesus concludes the discussion with a striking statement on inheriting eternal life that returns to the initial question of eternal life: “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life” (v.29).

The overwhelming evidence in the whole passage shows that this passage, from the beginning to end, focuses on the question of inheriting eternal life.

Moreover, this question is intertwined with the matter of perfection (v.21). Without perfection of heart, you cannot enter into life, or inherit eternal life, or be saved, or enter the kingdom, or have treasure in heaven.

Is the Lord’s teaching distasteful to us?

Today we are so used to the preaching of a cheap gospel that we can read this passage and miss its plain meaning. Jesus’ teaching on salvation is so distasteful to us that we tell ourselves that he cannot mean what he says. But if that were so, could someone tell us what he really means? And why does he speak of being perfect?

When Jesus talks about perfection, how does he present it? Does he say to the rich young man, “My friend, you’re a nice person and are moving on the right track? So why don’t we add a cherry on top of the icing, and supplement your spirituality with a touch of perfection?”

That is not how the Lord depicts perfection. Perfection is not a spiritual luxury or a higher-level Christianity, but something fundamental to salvation. It is crucial to the whole question of eternal life.

When the rich young ruler turned away sorrowful, rejecting the call to be perfect, Jesus did not say, “He is a good man, but he could have been better by aiming for perfection”. On the contrary, what Jesus said was, “It is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven” (v.23).

It is not an issue of spiritual improvement, but of salvation. Perfection is not about reaching a higher spiritual state after having entered the kingdom of heaven. It is about entering the kingdom, period.

The disciples caught his point, so they asked him:

Who then can be saved if not this rich man? He is moral and religious, noble and upright, and if he is not saved, who stands a chance?

Jesus acknowledged their point, saying: “With men this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible” (v.26).

With men this is impossible. Jesus teaches a salvation that is impossible for the natural man to attain or even accept. Yet many churches preach a sugar-coated gospel that is almost impossible for man to refuse.

Jesus makes perfection a condition for entering the kingdom of heaven (v.21), so you may think that he is making salvation impossibly difficult. And you’re right! Jesus wants us to understand that salvation is unacceptable and impossible to the natural man. That is how he himself proclaimed the gospel.

Many churches today preach salvation by grace, the free gift of God. But they also say that faith is the hand that reaches out to take it. Salvation, as it is presented today, makes it impossible for you to refuse it, unless you are a fool. What level-headed person would refuse a free gift with no strings attached? Here we see the wide gulf; the infinite chasm; between the gospel that Jesus preached, and the gospel that we often hear today.

But how did they arrive at that definition of faith in the first place? Where does Scripture say that faith is the hand that reaches out to accept the free gift?

It would be more biblical to portray faith not in terms of hands, but in terms of knees (and heart) bowed humbly and gratefully before God who bestows His mercies. Paul says, “I bow my knees before the Father” (Ephesians 3:14), a statement that is sandwiched between two references to faith: “We have boldness and confident access through faith in him” (v.12), and “So that the Messiah may dwell in your hearts through faith” (v.17).

Contrary to what is often preached today, Jesus gives a different answer to the question of eternal life: Be perfect.

Fortunately, he doesn’t leave us in the dark about the meaning of “perfect”. As he explains to the rich young ruler: To be perfect, you must give up all your possessions; this will be the outward expression of offering up yourself to God, who had given you all that you have in the first place (1Corinthians 4:7). Then you will have treasure in heaven which you cannot see with your eyes now, but which you will receive in the future (a vital ingredient of faith, Hebrews 11:1; Galatians 5:5; Romans 8:24). Then come, follow me.

Being perfect is here defined in terms of forsaking all to follow the Messiah, which shows its connection to Messiah-likeness. For what will be the outcome of following the Messiah daily but to become like him, who was the only perfect man who ever lived?

As for Jesus’ call to follow him, we can imagine the young man getting worried: “Lord, just now you were talking about keeping the commandments. If I may say so, I have kept them to the best of my ability.”

As for Jesus’ call to follow him, we can imagine the young man getting worried: “Lord, just now you were talking about keeping the commandments. If I may say so, I have kept them to the best of my ability.”

Nobody, not even the Lord Jesus, doubts his sincerity. He has genuinely kept the commandments to the best of his ability. Surely a decent person like him, after trying his best, deserves to inherit eternal life without necessarily following Jesus, doesn’t he?

But the Lord’s response is: “No, you must sever your attachment to the world, which is represented by your possessions. Then, free from all hindrances, come and follow me.”

Many Christians have reacted negatively to this story: “There must be a mistake here. Salvation isn’t so difficult. The rich young man has kept the commandments to the best of his ability, and has never done a wicked deed. Tell him to give up some of his possessions, but not all. Given his wealth, that’s already a big sacrifice. If he keeps some of his possessions, he can be a good Christian by helping out the church financially.”

But Jesus takes it to the absolute limit: “No one of you can be my disciple who does not give up all his own possessions” (Luke 14:33).

The words “no one” allow for no exception. The word “all” rules out keeping anything in the world. It doesn’t take a genius to see the stark contrast between the gospel that Jesus preached and the gospel we hear today.

Today ministers dare not preach the true gospel for fear of getting few converts. If you want to pack your church with people, you need to avoid preaching the gospel of Jesus the Messiah because it is impossible for the natural man to accept it. It sticks like a fishbone in his throat. Jesus knows it is impossible, and he has decreed it that way.

The rich young ruler: as perfect as a man can be in the world

The rich young ruler is an elegant and attractive man who must have caught the eye of many a girl. He is not just rich, but “extremely rich” (Luke 18:23). In modern terms, you might picture him driving up to the Lord Jesus in a Mercedes sports coupe. Yet the admirable thing about him is that he is not arrogant. In this man, we see the rare combination of wealth and humility. We marvel at his unassuming dignity and noble demeanor, the very qualities that are so rare in rich people.

He kneels before Jesus (Mark 10:17), humbling himself before a teacher of lowly status in Israel. At this point Jesus is just a newcomer and an upstart teacher, having been in his ministry for one or two years. Yet the rich man gets out of his Mercedes sports coupe and kneels on the dusty ground.

His self-effacing humility is different from the way rich people might swagger up to Jesus, saying, “Hey, I want eternal life. What’s the deal?” If the rich young man had talked like that, the Lord would have ignored him.

To add courtesy to humility, he addresses Jesus as “Good Teacher” (Luke 18:18). But Jesus questions him on that point: Are you just being polite?

Do you know what “good” or “goodness” really means?

The young man is free of hypocrisy or superficiality. Jesus looks at him and loves him (Mark 10:21) for the genuineness of his attitude.

More than that, the young man is learned and capable by the fact that he is a ruler (Luke 18:18). The word “ruler” may refer to a synagogue leader, or it may refer to a member of the Sanhedrin, the highest legal and religious body in Israel, the rough equivalent of the Supreme Court.

The Bible does not say whether he is a synagogue leader or a member of the Sanhedrin, or both. Whatever is the case, he must have been reasonably learned and capable to hold either position. In Israel, a position of this type is not obtained by wealth or status, but by one’s ability and knowledge, especially of the law. That is the more impressive given the fact that he is a young man (v.20).

What more do you want in a man? He is young, he is learned, he is a ruler, and he is extremely rich. Yet he is humble, polite, moral and religious. Possessing all these qualities, he is a worthy representative of all that is the best in the human race.

He is perfect as far as the world is concerned. If you are looking for the perfect man, he is an obvious candidate. He has every quality that you could seek in a man. And he has everything that one could wish for in the world: wealth, influence, status, learning, youth. Given that he is moral and sincere, doesn’t he deserve to inherit eternal life?

But the Lord Jesus, despite his love for the rich young ruler, refuses to lower the standard for the sake of admitting him into the kingdom.

This whole account brings out the fact that you can have everything in the world yet have nothing in the kingdom of God. You can have worldly (even moral) perfection, yet lack spiritual perfection.

Jesus makes it clear that to obtain the spiritual we must give up all that is worldly. We cannot have both because they are incompatible. Hence Jesus could not admit the young ruler into the kingdom until he has forsaken his worldly attachments. No one who clings to the world can take hold of the kingdom.

This is a vital spiritual truth, and we ignore it to our eternal cost.

The Lord Jesus says to the church in Laodicea:

“You say, ‘I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,’ and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.” (Revelation 3:17)

These Christians in Laodicea think that they have everything (“have need of nothing”) when in fact they have nothing. Their true spiritual condition is described as being “wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked” (five dire adjectives!), yet they were not even aware of it!

What captivates your heart?

Jesus is saying to the rich young man, “As far as the world is concerned, you are as perfect as you could be. But you lack one thing, the most important: perfect obedience to God. My friend, you cannot inherit eternal life because your heart is still tied to the world.”

Before we congratulate ourselves for not being attached to riches, let us search our hearts because there could well be something in the world that still appeals to us. If it is not money, it could be status, recognition or academic degrees. Whatever it is in the world that captures your heart that is what will stop you from following the Lord wholeheartedly. More than that, the thing that is gripping your heart will stop you from entering into life, as in the case of the rich young man who was captive to his wealth.

The wealthy seldom think of themselves as being slaves of their riches, but rather as masters of their possessions, for they can dispose of their assets as they wish. But our possessions often control us by taking up our time, energy, and attention to manage our assets (house, car, bank account, business). Do we control our possessions or do they control us? The one who is confident that he has control over his riches has not understood “the deceitfulness of riches” (Matthew 13:22).

We may congratulate ourselves for not being rich. We own nothing of great value that we need to give up. If we take our belongings to a pawn shop, they may be rejected as worthless. So we say, “The rich young ruler cannot enter the kingdom but, hallelujah, we can!”

Not so fast. The Lord Jesus is never superficial. Riches hindered this young man, but something else may be hindering us. We can be sure that everyone is attracted to something in the world in one way or another. It may be a respected position in society, the pride of academic achievement, or the applause of men. To a performing artist, praise is better than diamonds. I knew this only after listening to comments made by several artists. Applause might not mean much to you, but it is everything to an artist. It is music to his ears and the thing he lives for because it is the indicator of his success.

One way or another, everybody is attracted to something in the world, and that thing is specific to each person. It is amazing what people are attracted to.

Some are so obsessed with traveling that they work for years to save up for a trip around the world.

Some work like slaves to get a job promotion that comes with perks such as a swivel chair and an office cubicle. The cubicle may be small and suffocating, but for many, it represents all of paradise. That swivel chair and the executive desk represent the sum total of his aspirations. He dreams of sitting behind the desk presently occupied by his manager, hoping that one day he will be able to put his feet on it and twiddle his thumbs. To gain that cubicle, he toils like a slave for many years.

Something in the world is captivating your heart.

For some, it is food. Hong Kong people are familiar with this, and they don’t need me to explain it to them. Food is the joy and contentment of life for which one is willing to work hard. Not just the Chinese but also the French. When we were in France, I was shocked by the menu prices, yet the restaurants were full of people. Either the people are fabulously rich, or food is for them an enjoyment that is worthy of financial sacrifice. They toil all day at the office in order to dine in the evening.

It doesn’t mean that we Christians are not permitted to enjoy a good meal. We can and we do. But we must not let this or anything else become our obsessive desire that drives our lives.

The apostle Paul puts it like this:

What I mean, brothers is that the time is short. From now on … those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For the world in its present form is passing away. I would like you to be free from concern. (1Corinthians 7:29-32)

Whatever enslaves the heart must be removed by painful surgery. In fact, it is impossible for the natural man to sign the consent form for that surgery. If he cries out to the Lord, “I can’t do it. I can’t give it up!” then he is absolutely correct. It is impossible with man.

To summarize our first point:

Without perfection of heart, no one can inherit eternal life. The word that Jesus uses, teleios (τέλειος), is the common Greek word for perfect or complete. In this context, it means perfect obedience to God. It is the readiness to give up everything in the world, especially the things that captivate our hearts. We must turn our backs on them, deny ourselves, and follow the Lord. The gospel that Jesus preaches is not a crowd-pleaser but is for those who pursue the truth.

Perfection calls for a faith that believes in the impossible

We are talking about faith because we are talking about the impossible. That is the first and basic character of faith in Scripture. If our definition of faith does not include the impossible, we are not talking about Biblical faith. New Testament faith always has to do with the humanly impossible. Faith is not needed for anything that is possible to man. If we could gain eternal life by human wisdom or effort, we would not need faith.

Let us consider the popular cliché, Salvation is a free gift, and faith is accepting that free gift. The first question that comes to mind is this: Is there anything impossible about this definition? Is it beyond human ability to accept a free gift? If someone offers you a free movie ticket, a free car, or even eternal life with no strings attached, what is so impossible about accepting it? The offer is too good to refuse.

There are many today who, by taking a few verses (Romans 5:15,16; 6:23) out of context, tell us that all we have to do to be saved is to receive eternal life as a free gift, as simple as that. When we compare Jesus’ teaching with these statements by Paul, we may be wondering whether we are listening to the same gospel, or whether there is a glaring contradiction between Jesus and Paul.

Jesus compares eternal life to a priceless pearl (Matthew 13:46) which is utterly beyond our means to gain. If we are ever to obtain it, there is no way to receive it except as a gift from God. But He does not give it indiscriminately or unconditionally.

What is the condition? In the parable, the man had to sell all that he had in order to acquire the pearl. That is not to say that the pearl of eternal life is worth only what we possess (which may be nothing), but that unless we are prepared to part with all that we have, the pearl will never be given to us.

Does Paul teach differently? We hear preachers say that Paul’s only condition for receiving the gift of salvation is to have a faith that, like outstretched hands, receives it. But this is a misrepresentation of Paul’s teaching, indeed a falsification of it, even if it is unintentional.

The fact is that Paul teaches the same truth as Jesus. By “all things” in Phil.3:8 (“I have suffered the loss of all things”), Paul does not only mean material things or possessions but our very lives. This can be seen from the statements, “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live” (Galatians 2:20), and “the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (6:14). These are radical statements that apply to all true believers. “For we have become united with him in the likeness of his death … our old self was crucified with him” (Romans 6:5-6).

Where does the New Testament portray faith as the hand that reaches out to accept the free gift of salvation? Have we become so bold as to invent our own gospel, and reduce God’s costly grace to a cheap grace that many would gladly clutch at?

To the contrary, New Testament faith has to do with what is impossible for man to accomplish. This comes out clearly in Matthew 17:20 where the disciples ask Jesus why they could not cast out a demon. Jesus replies, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it shall move; and nothing shall be impossible to you.”

If you have faith, nothing will be impossible to you, because God will act when you have faith. Mark 9:22-23 tells of a man who begs Jesus to save his demon-possessed son: “If you can do anything, have pity on us and help us.” Jesus replies, “‘If you can!’ All things are possible to him who believes.”

Salvation is impossible to man. In answer to the question, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus says, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (vv.25-26).

All things, even the impossible, are possible to him who believes. Because salvation is utterly impossible to man, it depends utterly on God through faith.

If being saved is as easy as reaching out for a free cake, what do we need faith for? Do you need faith to accept a free gift? When we get Christmas gifts, do we need faith to accept them?

What is difficult about receiving a free gift from God? I haven’t met anyone who refused salvation as a free gift because he thought that God had some hidden motives! What God requires of us is never concealed in “fine print” but is plainly stated in His word.

Abrahamic faith as a model of biblical faith

Romans 4; is an important chapter that defines faith in terms of the impossible. When Paul speaks of justification by faith, he never cheapens faith into something that is humanly possible or obtainable without God’s help. Paul is too well versed in God’s word to make this elementary error. In Romans 4, Paul talks about the faith — Abrahamic faith — that constitutes saving faith:

And without becoming weak in faith he [Abraham] contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God. (Romans 4:19-20)

When God promised Abraham that his descendants will be as the stars of the heavens and the sands of the sea, why did Abraham have to exercise faith? Because this was humanly impossible! He was already a hundred years old, but that was not the most daunting impossibility. The main obstacle was that Sarah was already ninety years old, and had been barren all her life. If she could not bear a child at the age of twenty, how could she at ninety? She had long lived past the age of child-bearing. It was in the face of these impossibilities that Abraham believed God; and this, as Romans 4 tells us repeatedly, was accounted to him as righteousness.

Abrahamic faith exemplifies saving faith, a faith that believes that God can do the impossible, and must indeed do the impossible to fulfill His word in us. Paul applies Abrahamic faith to us, in the affirmation that Abraham is the father of all who believe (v.11), and in the following:

But the words, “It was counted to him,” were written not for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. (vs. 23-25, ESV; see also the appended note at the end of the present chapter)

Written by Chang, Eric H. H. - Becoming a New Person - Volume 2: What the Bible Teaches About Regeneration, Renewal, and Christ-Likeness. Christian Disciples Church Publishers.

I have edited what Eric Chang has written in a few places. I highly recommend that you purchase Volumes 1, and 2, of “Becoming a New Person”. You can get the hard copies or Kindle editions on Amazon. Also if you do get these books you can continue reading on what I have copied from Volume 2, Chapter 26, about the faith of Abraham! I know that if you read these books written by Eric Chang they will be spiritually life-changing if you will accept what Eric Chang shows the scriptures reveal about how to obtain eternal life!