Matthew 19:16

And behold one came to him and said, Teacher what good thing shall I do, that I may inherit eternal life? And he said unto him, Why askest thou me concerning that which is good? One there is who is good: but if thou wouldest enter into life, keep the commandments.

THE RICH YOUNG RULER

The model character of this rich young man, his high social position, the love which he inspired in the Master, and the supremely important question upon his lips, all arouse special interest in this incident. Mark's account of Jesus' words sheds light upon their true meaning. He asked, "Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, even God" (Mark 10:18). This, to be sure, is one of the passages seized upon by Arians in an effort to show that Christ did not claim to be God in the flesh. Their argument, however, is false. "The Good was one of the many Judaic titles of God. The point of our Lord's remark is that a word with such hallowed association should not be used in a merely conventional manner."[3] (See Psalms 145:9). In fact, it is easy to detect in this conversation a definite leading on the part of Christ to elicit an acknowledgment from that young man that Christ is God. It is as though the Lord had said, "I see you recognize me as Good; since only God is Good, do you thus receive me?" This thought appears plausible in the light of what immediately ensued when Jesus would have enlisted him as a disciple, perhaps even as an apostle.

Christ's declaration, "If thou wouldest enter into life, keep the commandments," shows that salvation is conditional upon respect and obedience of God's word.