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Intimacy with God  /  Chapter 18: Examining Jesus' Words to the Rich Man  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 8
The chapter says if Moses’ law had been sufficient for eternal life, “there wouldn’t have been any reason for the Savior to come and suffer for us,” and it points to the rich man’s kneeling plea as evidence that law-keeping didn’t give him “real life.” Where do you see Christians today relying on a “Moses-like” approach (rules, moral achievement, respectable living) while still being “destitute of real life,” and what exposes that emptiness?
Another way to ask: Where do you see Christians relying on rules, moral success, or “respectable living,” but still feeling empty inside? What things reveal that emptiness?

Direct Answer The transcript’s main point is that a person can be outwardly obedient and “lack nothing in regard of righteousness” yet still be “destitute of real life,” which is exposed when the soul still has to beg for immortality and cannot rest in knowing God. Today, the “emptiness” is exposed when rule-keeping does not produce the knowledge of God, love for Him, or likeness to Him described as “true life.”

Support from Transcript:

  • He argues that if the Mosaic law were enough, “there wouldn’t have been any reason for the Savior to come and suffer for us.”
  • He highlights the rich man’s posture: he “fell on his knees and beg[ged] for immortality,” despite lifelong law-keeping.
  • The rich man had followed the commandments “from the time he was a very young boy,” and was “confident of his standing under the law.”
  • Yet he “knew that he was entirely destitute of real life, even though he lacked nothing in regard of righteousness.”
  • The transcript defines the missing reality: “the only true life is… to know him… to love him and to become like him.”
Discussion Follow-ups What modern “respectability” patterns can mask spiritual emptiness? What moments (suffering, fear of death, attachment to possessions) reveal whether someone has “true life” or only moral achievement?

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