Jesus said unto him, “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow Me.”
But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.  Then said Jesus unto His disciples,
“Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.  And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”
When His disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, “Who then can be saved?”  But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them,
“With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”
Matthew 19:21-26

Jesus has just given to the rich young man words of great instruction, and He does not give himself to the word and will of the Lord.  The man had asked Jesus, “What thing might I do that I might receive eternal life?”   Jesus’s answer is basically telling him to obey the law.  Jesus only uses the last six of the 10 Commandments, sums it all up by saying, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  The young man said that he had been obedient to live by them since his youth until this day, then he asked, “What do I lack?”

Jesus gives him an answer that is quite hard to conceive, and is very difficult for someone who has many things materially, yet that is not   this man’s main problem.  He does not need to be perfect, he needs Jesus.  He only sees Jesus as a good man.  He sees his wealth as being more important than repentance, and faith in God or His Son.

Remember the young man was asking what he had to do to have or to earn eternal life.  The Law says, “Obey every commandment, and you will be saved, or right with God.”  James, the brother of our Lord teaches that if we break one law we are guilty of breaking the whole law (James 2:10).

All of Adam kind (mankind) are condemned, and headed toward eternal torment except they are perfectly keeping every law of God which is impossible.  Only one Man has been faithful to the obedience to the Law of God, and that was God’s only begotten Son Jesus Christ.

You cannot earn eternal life.  It is a gift given by God the Father, and the Son to come to earth to die in our place, be laid in a grave, and to be raised by the Spirit of God, never to die again.  Doing so secures our eternal life when we ourselves to Him, and eternal salvation.

The hardest thing for mankind to do is to stop working for their salvation.  We cannot save ourselves from our set path, since we were born into sin, and all its darkness, and condemnation.  Some of you reading this may think that God will see all my good works and deeds, and they will outweigh the bad I have done.  Not so.  If you flaunt your good works before God, He will declare unto you, “O do not know you,”  and you will be cast out into eternal torment.

Jesus is the only was to heaven and to eternal life.  He paid our sin debt which was death, an eternal death which separates from God.

Believe Him.  Call on His name, and be saved by grace through faith in Him alone.  With God all things are possible.

The hardest thing for you to do is to give up trying to earn your salvation from death.  If you will do so though you will find yourself eternally blessed through Christ Jesus.