2. READ: LUKE 18:18-30
a. What did the ruler ask Jesus?
Answer: The ruler asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life, (verse 18).
The rich man was thinking in terms of earning righteousness so that he might merit eternal life, but Jesus taught that it was a gift to be received.
Mark 10:15: [Jesus said,] "I tell you the Truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."
Jesus uses "a little child" as a comparison of the one who will receive the kingdom of God because little children are usually very open and receptive, have a total dependence, are full of trust and are completely sincere.
The kingdom of God must be received as a gift; it cannot be gained, or grasped or bought by human effort. It may be entered only by those who know they are helpless in their sins.
No one can claim to be righteous enough to deserve the kingdom of God, and no one can earn his way into it. A person must surrender his own will completely to the Will of God, and then the gift is his through the Son.
That is why Jesus said in Matthew 5:3: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
The poor in spirit KNOW that they cannot save themselves. They KNOW that they must rely on God's grace for their salvation. They do not depend upon the riches of this world, nor do they depend upon their ability to EARN or MERIT eternal life. They KNOW that they are sinners, and they humbly seek the only path to eternal life--and that is through Jesus Christ.