Christ was asked this question only twice that we have any record of, although the incident involving the rich young ruler was recorded by more than one writer. Both the ruler and the lawyer who put this question to Jesus exposed their ignorance as to how sinners come into possession of eternal life. They, like the vast majority of religionists today, or any other day, thought eternal life could be obtained by something they could do. The lawyer appeared to ask simply because he thought he might entangle Christ in an inconsistency, while the rich ruler seemed confident he could easily measure up to any requirement Christ might set before him. Both were wrong. Without the light of the Holy Spirit men are always wrong about anything religious. 

    It has been interesting to me over the years to observe that when you ask arminians what they think a person must do in order to have eternal life, the number of answers you get will be just about the same as the number of people you ask. But none of them will give you the answer that Christ gave the only two people we read of who asked Him this question. 

    Christ told the ruler that if he would "enter into life," he must keep the commandments of the law, and if he would "be perfect" and "have treasure in heaven" he would have to go and sell what he possessed, and give to the poor, and also he would have to follow Him. He also told the lawyer to keep the law, and said, "This do, and thou shalt live." We are told that the young ruler "went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions." But it is my opinion that the lawyer had no real interest in the subject of eternal life one way or the other. He was only "tempting" or testing Christ. But arminianism, or popular religion, did neither of them any good,----just as it does no one else any good so far as their obtaining life by it. 

    The apostle Paul made it very clear that "no flesh shall be justified by the works of the law" (See Gal. 2:16 & 3:11). Therefore it is very obvious that Christ was not telling the ruler and the lawyer that they could "have" or "inherit" eternal life by keeping the law. But if they had done what He told them to do they would have entered into a "life" that would have brought them much more joy and satisfaction than they had ever known before. Very few find the "narrow" way that leads to this kind of life (See Matt. 7:14).