Eternal Life
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What Must I Do to Have Eternal Life? Lessons from Matthew 19
One of the most universal questions people ask is whether they have done enough to be right with God. This question is not new. It was asked directly to Jesus in Matthew 19, and His answer challenges everything we think we know about earning our way into God's favor.
Who Was Asking Jesus About Eternal Life?
A wealthy, educated man approached Jesus with a sincere question: "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?" This was not a trick. He genuinely wanted to know where Jesus stood on one of the most debated topics of the day.
In first-century Jewish culture, two major schools of thought dominated the conversation. The House of Hillel taught that eternal life could be attained by meticulously following the Mosaic Law. The House of Shammai did not even believe in the afterlife or resurrection. This man was essentially asking Jesus which camp He agreed with.
He was not trying to trap Jesus. He respected Him as an authoritative teacher and wanted His honest interpretation.
Why Do We All Want "The One Thing" That Guarantees Salvation?
There is something deeply human about wanting a single, clear action that secures our standing with God. This man wanted one defining commandment. Many people today carry the same desire, whether they realize it or not.
Some people spend their lives doing good things for others and still quietly wonder, "Have I done enough?" That restless searching is legalism at work, and it is not unique to any one religion or denomination. It is a human problem.
Legalism is what happens when our obedience stops pointing to God and starts pointing to ourselves.
How Did Jesus Respond to the Question About Eternal Life?
Jesus answered the man by listing commandments from the second set of tablets given at Sinai. These were the commandments that governed how people treated one another, particularly the poor, the vulnerable, and the marginalized. He finished with a command rooted in Leviticus 19:18.
"'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" - Leviticus 19:18
But before listing the commandments, Jesus said something that reframed the entire conversation. When the man called Him "good teacher," Jesus replied:
"'Why ask me about what is good? There is only One who is good.'" - Matthew 19:17
In that single response, Jesus shifted the entire framework. He moved the conversation away from what a person can do and pointed it toward who God is. There is no deed that equals the goodness of God Himself.
What Does "Love Your Neighbor" Actually Mean?
The man told Jesus He had kept all of these commandments. And Jesus did not argue with Him directly. Instead, He let the man's own words expose the gap.
Loving your neighbor is not just about the people you like who live nearby. Your neighbor is the person on the street corner who has not eaten. The person struggling with addiction. The person dealing with mental health challenges rooted in trauma. The person who works hard but cannot get ahead. The person who has less than you.
Jesus consistently brought every conversation back to the same group of people: the poor, the vulnerable, the children, and those with less. What are you doing for them?
Is Checking Off Religious Boxes the Same as Following God?
The rich man believed he had checked every box. He had not murdered, committed adultery, stolen, or testified falsely. He honored his parents. He loved his neighbors. And yet he still felt like something was missing.
That feeling of lack, even after doing everything right, is a signal. It reveals that no checklist can fill the space that only a genuine relationship with God can fill.
The Sabbath is a good example of this. The original intention of the Sabbath was not a list of rules. It was God wanting to walk with His people in the cool of the day. Rules were added later because of human behavior, not because God's original desire changed. The rules were always meant to point people back toward God, not replace Him.
You can know everything about the Torah and completely miss the Spirit of what it is pointing to. That has been happening for centuries, across every tradition and denomination.
What Is the Danger of Legalism in the Christian Life?
Legalism causes us to walk in insecurity about the finished work of Jesus Christ. It makes us believe we have checked boxes we actually have not. It distances us from God while making us feel closer to Him.
One of the most human tendencies is to receive a gift from God and then try to separate it from the One who gave it. The covenants, the law, the Holy Spirit. These are gifts. But we cannot take those gifts, walk away from God, and then claim we are keeping the covenant on our own.
Scripture tells us that God did our part too. He put Abraham to sleep and walked through the covenant pieces Himself. At the cross, Jesus was the culmination of everything God had been doing since the beginning. None of us are qualified to stand before the King with a resume of good deeds.
"'Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven.'" - Matthew 7:21
What Does God Actually Want From Us?
God never needed our performance. He does not become more righteous because we perform better. What He wanted from the beginning was a relationship. He wanted to walk with us. He wanted our hearts, our time, our thoughts.
The Torah was given so that people would walk toward God, not back toward the world. When we use it as a measuring stick for our own righteousness apart from the One who gave it, we have missed the point entirely.
Our deeds were never meant to magnify ourselves. They were given so that we would magnify the One who saved us.
What Will Actually Matter in the End?
There will come a day when the only question that matters is whether you are covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. Not which interpretation of the law you followed. Not which denomination you belonged to. Not how many good deeds you performed or how many religious boxes you checked.
"'For it is written: As I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow to me, and every tongue will give praise to God.'" - Romans 14:11
Every knee will bow. That includes knees that never bowed before. In that moment, no one will be presenting a checklist. The only thing that will matter is whose blood covers you.
Life Application
This week, instead of asking what more you need to do to please God, shift your focus outward. Identify one specific person in your life or community who is vulnerable, struggling, or overlooked, and do something tangible to love them well. Not to earn anything. Not to check a box. But because loving your neighbor is the overflow of a heart that is genuinely connected to God.
Ask yourself these questions as you go through your week:
Am I doing good things to point others toward God, or to prove something about myself?
Who is my neighbor that I have been overlooking or dismissing?
Am I resting in the finished work of Jesus, or am I still trying to earn what He has already given me?
Is my faith built on a relationship with God, or on a list of things I have or have not done?
The rich man walked away from Jesus still searching. He had done so much, and yet the one thing he lacked was the willingness to let go of what he was holding onto and trust fully in the One who is the only good. Do not walk away still searching. Rest in Him, and love your neighbor.
