Jesus is Lord, Follow Him – Mark 10:17-30

“Easy-believism” is rampant in American Christianity, and it falsely advertises a wide path to salvation as opposed to the biblical narrow gate of salvation. It imagines God as the Uber of life – only called upon when needed, but otherwise largely forgotten. It is a false belief that God serves the sinners. In truth, Jesus is the Lord, and all men are the sinners. Man should be more concerned about God accepting him. It is only by God’s condescending mercy that are saved by the gospel of Jesus. He is the One in power, not his creatures.

For our soul to be saved, God must be understood as our Lord (Rom 10:9). Confession of Jesus as Lord and belief in the resurrection are cornerstones of saving faith. However, in many churches today, only Jesus’ role as Savior is emphasized, while Jesus’ role as Lord is mentioned as a mere footnote. This is a sad truth because true salvation is only in lordship salvation. Jesus’ role as Lord must be at the forefront of the salvific process. The evidence of true salvation, therefore, is obedience and holiness. Although it is sometimes mislabeled as legalistic, lordship salvation is, in fact, true salvation.

Lordship in the lives of Christians is essential to their faith and lives because Jesus is the Lord of all as stated in the Scriptures. In Acts 2:32-39, we see Jesus as Lord, raised up, exalted, victorious, sitting forever on the throne, full of power and majesty. Therefore, if Jesus is not the Lord of our lives, we have usurped this role for ourselves and must examine our hearts to repent. We must remember that in true salvation, there is a death of self and a commitment to live in Christ.

In the passage in Mark, we see a rich young ruler who has security, money, strength, youth, time, success, and an elite status. He is perceived as being blessed by God due to the plethora of wealth that belonged to him. He runs up to Jesus, kneels before Him, and asks, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (v.17). This rich young ruler is erred in thinking that he can gain eternal life by his own power. But Jesus answers Him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone” (v.18). Herein lies the starting point of the gospel—only God is good. He is holy. We are sinners that are incapable of keeping the law. Righteousness is not graded on a curve but measured against a holy God.

Jesus felt love for this man, who could not see his own doom because he did not perceive his own sin and wickedness. The ruler, not unlike Adam, boldly lies about His sin to God’s face. He claims he is an upstanding citizen that has kept every letter of the Jewish law from youth.

Despite the rich young ruler’s lie, Jesus kindly answers, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me” (v.21). Jesus is commanding the rich young ruler to get rid of his idols – which is his wealth, youth, and status – and submit to His Lordship by first selling all his possessions then following Jesus wherever He goes. If the young man was to follow Jesus’ command, he would lose his money, tarnish his good standing with the community, and spend his youth traveling with a Lord who does not have a place to lay his head.

Lordship salvation comes at a cost. Salvation cannot be earned, because the cost of satisfying the wrath of God is too high for man. Our sin is our debt, and the price of sin is impossible for us to pay back. Only Jesus can pay the full price of our sin, and He paid it all. We contribute nothing. We are helpless. The divine exchange of our life for the life of Christ, therefore, demands that we give up everything and submit to the Lord Jesus Christ.

All men must count the cost of following Jesus first (Lk 14:25-33), so that they are not found disillusioned like the young rich ruler. Consider Jesus’ question, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the world and forfeits his soul?” (Mt 16:25-26) In light of this challenge, we must choose to forfeit the world and gain our souls.

Submission to the Lord is summed up by our obedience. We are called to love God with all our hearts. Man cannot serve two masters. The rich young ruler practiced unbelief and could not serve Jesus as Lord.

Jesus is the good Lord. He laid down His life for His sheep. He offers peace, joy, and keeps His promises. He leads and guides us. He causes all things to work for His glory and for our good. He is a sovereign and might God who loves His followers. Because of this, we can serve Him without reservation. We can trust Him because we know that He is good. We must obey and follow Him. Obedience is critical if God is to lead us to eternal life. Salvation without obedience won’t lead you to heaven’s gates. We must obey with love. We can do this because Jesus loved us first (Jn 15:13).