Is there a more important question to ask Jesus than this: “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” How would you answer this question? Jesus gives a shocking answer: “He said to him, ‘What is written in the Law? How do you read it?’ And he [the lawyer] answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.’ And he [Jesus] said to him, ‘You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.’” (Luke 10:25-28). Are you surprised by his answer? Jesus’s answer is nothing new: this is what we can do to earn eternal life. This was the principle that was given to Adam in the Garden, eventually summarized in the Ten Commandments, and it has been the rule for humanity ever since: love God, love others, and enjoy the world full of work, rest, and pleasure as created by a good and loving God. It sure sounds like earning eternal life is pretty easy, that is, until we realize that perfection is the only passing grade for a Good and Holy God who can stand no hint of evil in His presence. After the Fall, Adam made us all incapable of life by that route. Thanks be to God that God made another way “wherein he freely offereth unto sinners life and salvation by Jesus Christ; requiring of them faith in him, that they may be saved” (WCF 7.3).
