Matthew 19:16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? 21 Jesus said unto him, If you will be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. 22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
The rich young ruler tried to fix certain things before coming to Christ, and the results are before us, for he ended up never coming to Christ, and because of this very reason, he won’t be going to heaven. Let’s observe the nature, and implication of his question in the passages above, for they reek of self righteousness that depends solely on the merits of the individual in question, and not upon Christ.
This leads us to third question we asked earlier: Question [3]: Why is the phrase “Should not perish” used, instead of “Will not perish”? Should not perish refers to the conditions set forth, which when adopted, would produce the desired results. But, as was stated before, it is left up to the choices that a person makes.
If anyone were to follow the script as is laid out by Christ in His word, the term “Should not perish” will move to “Absolutely will not perish” for when folks give their life to Christ, those persons can, and will be sustained throughout their entire life by the God of heaven. And if they choose to remain faithful, if they choose to stay the course with God, they will go to heaven when Christ comes, without any ifs, ands, buts, or maybes. This is what Christ says unequivocally, and we must let the scripture be its own interpreter.
John 10: 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. 30 I and my Father are one.
May The Lord add His blessing to the study of His word. God bless!