ARE YOU TALKIN' TO ME?

I find it strange that a passage of Scripture would remind me of a line from an "R" rated movie, but in a scene from Taxi Driver, which i do not recommend, Travis Bickle (played by Robert De Niro) is looking into a mirror, imagining a chance to draw his gun. He says, "You talkin' to me?" I can almost hear Jesus saying the same thing to the "rich young ruler" who wanted to know what he could do to be saved.

Matthew wrote: "And, behold, one came and said unto Him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And He said unto him, Why callest thou Me good? There is none good but one, that is, God..." (Matt. 19:16-17).

I believe Jesus was saying to him, "Are you talkin' to Me? You do not recognize me as God, and yet you call Me good." He obviously did not know his Bible (the Old Testament). In the Scriptures, only God is recognized as good (Ps. 34:8; 100:5; 135:3; Nah. 1:7). The Word clearly tells us that mere human beings are incapable of being good (Ps. 14:1, 3; 53:1, 3; Eccl. 7:20).

The man also erred in thinking he could somehow "save himself" by good deeds, for if that were true, then man would have no need of a Savior. Had he known his Bible, he would have known that works are insufficient to save; only God can save a man (Ps. 106:21; Isa. 43:3, 11; 45:15, 21; 49:26; 60:16; Hos. 13:4).

The young man's response to the Lord's encouragement to sell all he had and follow Him, shows that he did not understand what it means to have eternal life. He needed to recognize Jesus as his Lord and Savior, and had he done that, he would have been willing to forsake all and follow Him. Jesus taught that eternal life was God's promise to those who believed in Him. In another incident where men wanted to know what works they could do to for God, John wrote, "Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him (Jesus) whom He (the Father) hath sent. (Jn. 6:29).

The truths of the Old Testament concerning God alone being good, man's need of a Savior, and man's inability to earn, merit, or work for his salvation, are repeated again and again in the New Testament.

God is good: Romans 11:22; 2 Thessalonians 1:11; Hebrews 6:5; 1 Peter 2:3.

Man is not: Matthew 15:19; Romans 3:10, 12; 7:18; James 3:2; 1 John 1:8, 10.

Works cannot save: Acts 13:39; Galatians 2:16; 3:11; Ephesians 2:9; Titus 3:5.

It is not by works we do that saves us, but by believing in the finished work He has done that provides us with eternal life (Jn. 19:30; Titus 3:5; Heb. 4:3)!