Luke 18:18-23 18 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 19 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, `even' God. 20 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor thy father and mother. 21 And he said, All these things have I observed from my youth up. 22 And when Jesus heard it, he said unto him, One thing thou lackest yet: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. 23 But when he heard these things, he became exceeding sorrowful; for he was very rich.

Three of the four gospels contain an account of the young man who asked Jesus a very important question: “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” ( Luke 18:18 18 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? ). A ruler with great wealth, he considered himself a moral man because he had kept the Lord’s commandments.

However, he was operating under the false assumption that good works bring salvation. He seemed to be asking Jesus what else he had to do to secure his place in heaven—besides all the good things that he had already accomplished.

This is what I refer to as the “great deception”—the false belief that eternal life can be earned through our own efforts. If we give credence to this lie, then we do not understand the problem of our sin and how it separates us from God. Scripture tells us that we have inherited a sinful nature from the first man (Rom. 5:12). Ever since that time, humanity has been in rebellion against the Lord and under His judgment. There is nothing we can do to pay for our sins.

If this were the end of the story, we would be a people without hope for today or the future. But the good news is that the heavenly Father recognized our plight and mercifully provided the way to heaven ( John 14:6 6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one cometh unto the Father, but by me. ).

When God made us in His image, He created us to live forever. So, though our earthly bodies will perish, our spirits will never die. The question about eternal life is important, as we’ll spend eternity either with God in heaven or in an insufferable state, separated permanently from Him (Matt. 25:34, 41).

Bible in a Year: Song of Solomon 5-8 Chapter 5 1 I am come into my garden, my sister, `my' bride: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, O friends; Drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved. 2 I was asleep, but my heart waked: It is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, `saying', Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled; For my head is filled with dew, My locks with the drops of the night. 3 I have put off my garment; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them? 4 My beloved put in his hand by the hole `of the door', And my heart was moved for him. 5 I rose up to open to my beloved; And my hands droppeth with myrrh, And my fingers with liquid myrrh, Upon the handles of the bolt. 6 I opened to my beloved; But my beloved had withdrawn himself, `and' was gone. My soul had failed me when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer. 7 The watchmen that go about the city found me, They smote me, they wounded me; The keepers of the walls took away my mantle from me. 8 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, If ye find my beloved, That ye tell him, that I am sick from love. 9 What is thy beloved more than `another' beloved, O thou fairest among women? What is thy beloved more than `another' beloved, That thou dost so adjure us? 10 My beloved is white and ruddy, The chiefest among ten thousand. 11 His head is `as' the most fine gold; His locks are bushy, `and' black as a raven. 12 His eyes are like doves beside the water-brooks, Washed with milk, `and' fitly set. 13 His cheeks are as a bed of spices, `As' banks of sweet herbs: His lips are `as' lilies, dropping liquid myrrh. 14 His hands are `as' rings of gold set with beryl: His body is `as' ivory work overlaid `with' sapphires. 15 His legs are `as' pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: His aspect is like Lebanon, excellent as the cedars. 16 His mouth is most sweet; Yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem. Chapter 6 1 Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? Whither hath thy beloved turned him, That we may seek him with thee? 2 My beloved is gone down to his garden, To the beds of spices, To feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies. 3 I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine; He feedeth `his flock' among the lilies, 4 Thou art fair, O my love, as Tirzah, Comely as Jerusalem, Terrible as an army with banners. 5 Turn away thine eyes from me, For they have overcome me. Thy hair is as a flock of goats, That lie along the side of Gilead. 6 Thy teeth are like a flock of ewes, Which are come up from the washing; Whereof every one hath twins, And none is bereaved among them. 7 Thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate Behind thy veil. 8 There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, And virgins without number. 9 My dove, my undefiled, is `but' one; She is the only one of her mother; She is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and called her blessed; `Yea', the queens and the concubines, and they praised her. 10 Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, Fair as the moon, Clear as the sun, Terrible as an army with banners? 11 I went down into the garden of nuts, To see the green plants of the valley, To see whether the vine budded, `And' the pomegranates were in flower. 12 Before I was aware, my soul set me `Among' the chariots of my princely people. 13 Return, return, O Shulammite; Return, return, that we may look upon thee. Why will ye look upon the Shulammite, As upon the dance of Mahanaim? Chapter 7 1 How beautiful are thy feet in sandals, O prince's daughter! Thy rounded thighs are like jewels, The work of the hands of a skilful workman. 2 Thy body is `like' a round goblet, `Wherein' no mingled wine is wanting: Thy waist is `like' a heap of wheat Set about with lilies. 3 Thy two breasts are like two fawns That are twins of a roe. 4 Thy neck is like the tower of ivory; Thine eyes `as' the pools in Heshbon, By the gate of Bath-rabbim; Thy nose is like the tower of Lebanon Which looketh toward Damascus. 5 Thy head upon thee is like Carmel, And the hair of thy head like purple; The king is held captive in the tresses `thereof'. 6 How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights! 7 This thy stature is like to a palm-tree, And thy breasts to its clusters. 8 I said, I will climb up into the palm-tree, I will take hold of the branches thereof: Let thy breasts be as clusters of the vine, And the smell of thy breath like apples, 9 And thy mouth like the best wine, That goeth down smoothly for my beloved, Gliding through the lips of those that are asleep. 10 I am my beloved's; And his desire is toward me. 11 Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; Let us lodge in the villages. 12 Let us get up early to the vineyards; Let us see whether the vine hath budded, `And' its blossom is open, `And' the pomegranates are in flower: There will I give thee my love. 13 The mandrakes give forth fragrance; And at our doors are all manner of precious fruits, new and old, Which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved. Chapter 8 1 Oh that thou wert as my brother, That sucked the breasts of my mother! `When' I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; Yea, and none would despise me. 2 I would lead thee, `and' bring thee into my mother's house, Who would instruct me; I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine, Of the juice of my pomegranate. 3 His left hand `should be' under my head, And his right hand should embrace me. 4 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, That ye stir not up, nor awake `my' love, Until he please. 5 Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, Leaning upon her beloved? Under the apple-tree I awakened thee: There thy mother was in travail with thee, There was she in travail that brought thee forth. 6 Set me as a seal upon thy heart, As a seal upon thine arm: For love is strong as death; Jealousy is cruel as Sheol; The flashes thereof are flashes of fire, A very flame of Jehovah. 7 Many waters cannot quench love, Neither can floods drown it: If a man would give all the substance of his house for love, He would utterly be contemned. 8 We have a little sister, And she hath no breasts: What shall we do for our sister In the day when she shall be spoken for? 9 If she be a wall, We will build upon her a turret of silver: And if she be a door, We will inclose her with boards of cedar. 10 I am a wall, and my breasts like the towers `thereof' Then was I in his eyes as one that found peace. 11 Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon; He let out the vineyard unto keepers; Every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand `pieces' of silver. 12 My vineyard, which is mine, is before me: Thou, O Solomon, shalt have the thousand, And those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred. 13 Thou that dwellest in the gardens, The companions hearken for thy voice: Cause me to hear it. 14 Make haste, my beloved, And be thou like to a roe or to a young hart Upon the mountains of spices.