“Just then someone came up and asked him, “Teacher, what good must I do to have eternal life?” “Why do you ask me about what is good?” he said to him. “There is only one who is good. If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”……“If you want to be perfect,” Jesus said to him, “go, sell your belongings and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Matthew 19:16-17, 21 CSB https://bible.com/bible/1713/mat.19.16-21.CSB

When asked how to receive eternal life, Jesus said to obey the commandments. None of the evangelicals I know would ever say such a thing. Believe, have faith in Jesus’ work on the cross, and repent. These are the things we must do to be saved. Indeed, much Scripture supports such a view. But Jesus said to obey the commandments to the rich young man. Ah, but He had a more significant point to make, my evangelical friends will say. What was the more substantial point? The rich man had to give everything away and follow Jesus to be perfect. This man obviously loved money more than God, as evidenced by his unwillingness to do what Jesus said. We say everyone doesn’t need to give away their money and that the real point is for us to love Jesus more than money. How do we know if we love Jesus more than money if we don’t give it all away? Apparently, that is how Jesus knew. And what does it mean to follow Him? Does it not mean obeying the commandments and giving away everything we possess to do that very thing? We must wrestle more with God’s requirements for living forever with Him. Easy believeism is nothing Jesus taught for gaining eternal life. We must love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. What does that mean? We better figure that out before we meet Him face to face.