How to Be Saved: Rich Young Ruler Bible Study

A Biblical look at sin, debt, and the only Savior who can pay it in full

There is no more important question in life than this:

“What must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30)

Eternity hangs on the answer. The Bible does not leave us guessing, and one of the clearest illustrations comes from a man who asked Jesus almost the same question—the rich young ruler.

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The Rich Young Ruler: A Sincere Question, a Tragic Answer

Text: Matthew 19:16–26; Mark 10:17–27; Luke 18:18–27

A wealthy, moral, religious young man runs to Jesus, kneels before Him, and asks:

“Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”
— Mark 10:17

He is earnest. He is respectful. He is religious. Many today would say he is a “good person.” Yet something inside him knows he is not right with God.

Jesus Starts Where the Young Man Is

Jesus answers by pointing him to the commandments:

“You know the commandments…” (Mark 10:19)

The rich young ruler replies:

“Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.”
— Mark 10:20

On the surface, he sees himself as basically righteous. He does not see his true spiritual poverty.

Jesus Puts His Finger on the Real Issue

“Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, ‘One thing you lack:
Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.’”
— Mark 10:21

Jesus is not teaching that we can buy heaven by giving away money. He is exposing the man’s heart. The first commandment is:

“You shall have no other gods before Me.”
— Exodus 20:3

For this young man, money was his god. His wealth held the place that belongs only to God.

“But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”
— Mark 10:22

He came asking about eternal life, but left still dead in his sins—because he loved his riches more than Christ.

“You can have Christ and lose your money and be rich for eternity;
or you can keep your money and lose Christ and be poor forever.”
— Adapted from Charles Spurgeon

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The Heart of the Problem: Our Sin Debt

If we’re honest, we are not very different from the rich young ruler. We may not be rich, but we all cling to something—self, sin, comfort, pride, respectability, pleasure—that we are tempted to value above Christ.

What Is Sin?

The Bible defines sin as:

• Breaking God’s law “Sin is lawlessness.” — 1 John 3:4
• Falling short of God’s perfect standard “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
  — Romans 3:23

We sin not only by what we do, but by what we fail to do, by what we say, think, desire, and love:

• Wrong actions (lying, lust, hatred, greed, idolatry)
• Wrong words (gossip, slander, blasphemy)
• Wrong motives (pride, selfish ambition, hypocrisy)
• Even the “good” we do to be seen by others (Matthew 6:1)

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked;
Who can know it?”
— Jeremiah 17:9

How Is a “Sin Debt” Created?

Jesus uses the language of debt to talk about sin:

“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”
— Matthew 6:12

Every time we break God’s law in thought, word, or deed, we incur a debt to His perfect justice. Like charges piling up on an account, our sins accumulate before a holy God.

• One sin creates real guilt.
• A lifetime of sins creates an immeasurable, unpayable debt.

“For the wages of sin is death…”
— Romans 6:23

The wage (what we have earned) is death—not just physical death, but spiritual death and eternal separation from God.

“Sin is not a mistake to be excused;
it is a debt to be paid or forgiven.”
— John Piper

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Why We Cannot Pay Our Own Debt

Many people, like the rich young ruler, try to answer the question, “What must I do to be saved?” with some version of:

• “Be a good person”
• “Keep the commandments”
• “Do more good than bad”
• “Be religious, moral, and sincere”

But the Bible is clear:

“There is none righteous, no, not one.”
— Romans 3:10

“By the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight.”
— Romans 3:20

Even our best works are tainted by sin and cannot erase our guilt:

“But we are all like an unclean thing,
And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags…”
— Isaiah 64:6

If we could pay our own sin debt by being good, Jesus would not have needed to die.

“If righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”
— Galatians 2:21

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The Only Way Our Sin Debt Can Be Removed

Here is the wonder of the gospel: what we could never pay, Jesus paid in full.

Christ the Substitute

God is perfectly holy and perfectly just. He will not ignore sin; He must punish it. But God is also rich in mercy and love.

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
— Romans 5:8

On the cross:

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
— 2 Corinthians 5:21

• Jesus never sinned.
• Yet God treated Him as if He had committed all the sins of all who would ever believe.
• So that God could treat believers as if they had lived the perfect life of Christ.

This is the great exchange.

Paid in Full

When Jesus died, He cried out:

“It is finished!”
— John 19:30

The Greek word is tetelestai—a term used on receipts that meant “Paid in full.”

“He canceled the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This He set aside, nailing it to the cross.”
— Colossians 2:14, ESV

If your hope is in Christ alone, your sin debt—past, present, and future—has been paid in full by His blood.

“Upon a life I have not lived,
Upon a death I did not die,
Another’s life, another’s death,
I stake my whole eternity.”
— Horatius Bonar

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How Then Is This Salvation Received?

The Bible’s answer to “What must I do to be saved?” is clear and consistent:

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved…”
— Acts 16:31

Jesus Himself proclaimed:

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
— Mark 1:15

1. Repent

To repent is to turn:

• From sin to God
• From self-trust to Christ-trust
• From loving darkness to loving the Light

“Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
Let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him;
And to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.”
— Isaiah 55:7

Repentance is not cleaning yourself up so that God will accept you; it is coming to God knowing you cannot clean yourself.

2. Believe

To believe in Jesus is more than agreeing that He exists or that He died on a cross. It is:

• Trusting Him alone to save you
• Resting your whole hope of forgiveness and eternal life on Him
• Receiving Him as Lord and Savior

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
— John 3:16

“We are saved by faith alone,
but the faith that saves is never alone.”
— Martin Luther

Saving faith inevitably leads to a changed life—but the changed life is the fruit, not the root, of salvation.

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God Exalts the Humble, But Destroys the Proud

The rich young ruler is a warning for all who trust in themselves—whether in morality, religion, good works, or wealth.

“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”
— James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5

The Broken and Contrite Heart

God is not looking for those who boast in their goodness, but for those who come broken over their sin:

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart—
These, O God, You will not despise.”
— Psalm 51:17

“For thus says the High and Lofty One
Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
‘I dwell in the high and holy place,
With him who has a contrite and humble spirit,
To revive the spirit of the humble,
And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.’”
— Isaiah 57:15

The way up in God’s kingdom is down.

“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.”
— James 4:10

The Certain End of Those Who Trust in Themselves

Those who refuse to bow, who cling to their own righteousness, will face judgment:

“There is a way that seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of death.”
— Proverbs 14:12

“He who, being often rebuked, hardens his neck,
Will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.”
— Proverbs 29:1

Jesus told of a Pharisee who trusted in his own righteousness and a tax collector who would not even lift his eyes to heaven but cried, “God, be merciful to me a sinner!” (Luke 18:9–14). Jesus concludes:

“I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other;
for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,
and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
— Luke 18:14

“Christ will be everything or He will be nothing.
He will not share the throne of your heart with your good works, your reputation, or your pride.”
— Adapted from A.W. Tozer

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Bringing It Home: Your Question, Your Soul

So, what must you do to be saved?

Not what the rich young ruler tried—not:

• Trust in your goodness
• Rest in your religion
• Lean on your efforts
• Cling to your idols

Rather:

“Repent, and believe in the gospel.” — Mark 1:15
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.” — Acts 16:31

A Personal Appeal

• Acknowledge your sin and helplessness before a holy God.
• Turn from trusting yourself, your works, and your righteousness.
• Come to Christ with a broken and contrite heart.
• Trust Him alone—His life, His death, His resurrection—as your only hope.

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
— Matthew 11:28

“No one ever came to Christ for mercy
who was sent away empty.”
— Charles Spurgeon

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A Prayer of Response (If Your Heart Is Stirred)

The prayer itself does not save; Christ saves. But if God is working in your heart, you might pray with sincerity something like this:

“Lord God, I confess that I am a sinner and that I have broken Your holy law.
I cannot pay my sin debt. My good works cannot save me.
I believe that Jesus Christ is Your Son,
that He lived a sinless life,
died on the cross for my sins,
and rose again from the dead.
I turn from my sin and my self-righteousness,
and I trust in Jesus Christ alone as my Lord and Savior.
Have mercy on me, a sinner.
Give me a new heart, a new life, and the strength to follow You.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

If you truly repent and believe, God’s promise is sure:

“Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
— Romans 10:13

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