Jesus and the rich young ruler

Important Note

This section on selective salvation is 66 chapters long. If you arrived at this page via an Internet search engine, you might want to start with the first chapter. This will provide you a complete presentation of this subject.

Click Here to go to the first chapter
Click Here for a quick summary
Click Here to view all 66 chapters
Click Here to download a book version of this study

Chapter: 14.53
(Section 14: Selective Salvation)
Copyright © Michael Bronson 1998 - 2005
BibleHelp.org

Another story in the Bible that leads me to believe selective salvation is not true is the story of the rich young ruler. In this story a rich young ruler asked Jesus about what he must do to inherit eternal life. After Jesus tells him, the rich young ruler leaves in sorrow; the price was too great.

According to selective salvation, God hates all of those who are not part of the elect. Yet, we find just the opposite in this situation. Mark 10:21 says Jesus "loved" this rich young ruler. Here we have a situation where Jesus loved a person who was going to Hell. If selective salvation is true, why did Jesus love one of the non-elect? Listed below are some comments concerning God hating the non-elect.

• "Pharaoh was sovereignly hated from eternity, even as was Esau." (Hoeksema, Good Pleasure, p. 46)

• God "… hated the non-elect before their birth." (Owen, The Death of Christ, p. 227)

• "It has been customary to say God loves the sinner, though He hates His sin. But that is a meaningless distinction. What is there in a sinner but sin?" (Pink, Sovereignty, p. 200)

• "We conclude, therefore, that the predestination of Jacob and Esau is a personal election and reprobation unto salvation and eternal desolation respectively. (Haldane, Commentary of Romans, p. 462)

Listed below are the passages talking about the rich young ruler

• Luke 18:18-27

• Mark 10:17-25

• Matthew 19:16-30

Other Chapters in this Section

Home
Up
PART 1: What is Selective Salvation?
PART 2: What Does the Bible say about Selective Salvation?
PART 3: Problems with Selective Salvation
PART 4: “Choice” –The Achilles’ Heel of Selective Salvation

Choice 1: The Contradictions of Selective Salvation
Choice 2: Can You Force Someone to Love You?
Choice 3: Is Choice Really a Choice Without a Choice?
Choice 4: Do We Really have a Free Will?
Choice 5: Can Prayer Change Things?
Choice 6: Can God be Grieved by Our Sins or Moved by Our Repentance?
Choice 7: The Choice to Sin
Choice 8: Are We Incapable of Choosing God?
Choice 9: Choice and the Moral Standard
Choice 10: The Purpose of Choice
Choice 11: The Suffering of Job
Choice 12: Why is God Pleased with our Obedience?
Choice 13: The Rich Young Ruler
Choice 14: Why was God so Excited when the Lost Sheep was Found?
Choice 15: A Man After God's Own Heart
Choice 16: Choose You this Day whom You will Serve
Choice 17: Appointed as a Ruler over many Cities

PART 5: Difficult Questions Answered
Appendix: Foundational Documents used by Selective Salvationists

Tell a Friend about this page

-Top of Page-