A Soul Examined: The Rich Young Ruler’s Diagnosis and Prognosis
Nowhere in the Gospels does Jesus probe a soul as thoroughly as He does the rich young ruler. What begins as a noble inquiry for eternal life becomes a diagnostic moment, a prescription offered for spiritual misalignment, only to be sorrowfully declined by the patient. This encounter illustrates that what is said, especially in the presence of the Soul Doctor, often reveals more than intended. Before Christ, all inner dissonance is laid bare.
The man arrived seeking the secret to life eternal: “What good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?” (Matthew 19:16). But Jesus’ response unveiled a deeper issue, but a misaligned spirit: “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor... and come and follow me” (Matthew 19:21). What he sought was eternal life; what he needed was to be made perfect, realigned in soul, stripped of self-dependence, and tethered to Christ.
However, this encounter also illustrated a sobering truth: the things people ask of God are not always the things they most need. As Paul wrote, “For we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us” (Romans 8:26, KJV). The ruler’s question was sincere, but misguided; his answer arrived not in the form he expected, but as a Spirit-led redirection toward the very thing he longed for: eternal life.
Thus, this scenario can be summed up in three parts: a diagnosis, a prescription, and a potential prognosis for the young man’s dyspeptic soul. Until now, the previous articles have largely dealt with diagnosing his spiritual condition. In this installment, the focus shifts to the instrument of that diagnosis, the law. The law served as God’s diagnostic tool. In this case, it exposed a moral infraction, one that revealed both guilt and shame. We will also consider the solemn prognosis should the rich young ruler reject the spiritual care plan prescribed by Christ.
With this foundation laid, we now turn our attention more directly to the function of the law as the divine diagnostic tool. What does it reveal? How does it operate? And why must it precede the gospel in the healing of the soul? These are the questions that guide our next section.
The Law as a Diagnostic Tool
As a diagnostic tool, the law is a mirror, reflecting the true condition of the soul. Yet it demands a dual response: it must be both heard and obeyed. James writes, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was” (James 1:22–24). This is precisely what the rich young ruler did, he looked into the mirror of the law, saw his true condition, and walked away unchanged. His story vividly illustrates the danger of hearing without doing. In fact, the rich young ruler is the very epitome of the man in the mirror, confronted with truth, yet unchanged by it.
Paul reinforces this diagnostic function of the law when he says, “I had not known sin, but by the law” (Romans 7:7). The law does not create sin, it reveals it. It brings what is hidden into the light. Just as a mirror exposes dirt on the face, the law exposes the stains on the soul. This is what makes it indispensable to the process of conviction and, ultimately, transformation.
Yet James continues: “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed” (James 1:25). To fulfill the perfect law of liberty is not merely to glance at the truth, but to remain before it, to let it shape our actions. Obedience is the required response to what the law reveals. This is where the rich young ruler faltered. He was shown what he lacked, given the pathway to be perfect, and invited into the liberty of discipleship. Yet, he turned away. In that moment, the law had done its work: it had revealed the condition of his soul.
This is how the law operates as a diagnostic tool, it shows us who we truly are, what we are bound to, and what must change if we are to be free. It calls for a response. And in refusing to respond, the young ruler stood as a living example of one who beheld his natural face, only to walk away and forget.
Liberty, then, is not the absence of law, but the fruit of obedience. The “perfect law of liberty” does not free us from responsibility, it frees us to walk in alignment with God's will. It is a liberty anchored in truth and governed by love. Obedience is not bondage but the evidence of a soul that has been set free. The young ruler saw the way to freedom but rejected the terms. His story warns us that liberty apart from obedience is an illusion. True freedom is found not in doing what we want, but in doing what we were made for: hearing and doing the will of God.
Prognosis: Honest and Willful Deception
At first glance, the rich young ruler appeared sincerely misled, deceived by the kind of confidence that comes from being raised in a white-knuckled religious system. He had zeal, but not according to knowledge. He truly believed that his outward performance had brought him closer to the kingdom. His quest for eternal life was genuine, and he desired harmony with God. Yet, deep down, he sensed that something was amiss. His encounter with Jesus, the Soul Doctor, brought that unease into sharp relief. The clinical assessment? His soul was burdened with guilt and shame.
But there was also a second layer: willful deception. Though his initial question was sincere, his response to Jesus' answer was not. He chose to walk away and continue living a pretentious spiritual life, fooling others, and perhaps even himself, into thinking he was right with God. This is the self-deception James warns about: “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). It’s the kind of deception that ensnares many, a refusal to respond to truth, masked by religious appearance.
When Scripture warns, “Let no man deceive you by any means…” (2 Thessalonians 2:3), it implies that deception often begins not with others, but with the lies we silently tell ourselves. Self-deception is subtle, persuasive, and deeply rooted in a desire to appear righteous without surrendering to righteousness. The rich young ruler said, “All these things have I kept from my youth up…” (Matthew 19:20), genuinely believing his moral record was intact. Yet, it was precisely in those very areas, his wealth, his unwillingness to let go, his lack of practical love, that he had failed. His sins were not those of open rebellion, but of quiet omission.
This is the treachery of the human heart. As Jeremiah testifies, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). We can convince ourselves we are right with God, while resisting the very surrender that He requires. But thankfully, we are not left to our own blindness. The Word of God, unlike the human heart, does not flatter or obscure, it searches, it pierces, it exposes: “a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12) Before it, all pretense is stripped away. It is only when we allow that Word to speak and stay that we find clarity, and ultimately, healing.
Thus, the final assessment is this: the ruler suffered from insubordination, compounded by unresolved guilt and shame. He stood diagnosed, prescribed, and warned, yet rejected the cure.
The Descent into Delusion
Tragically, the prognosis does not end with mere self-deception. If left unchecked, deception hardens into delusion, a condition far more perilous. This is the stage where the individual becomes blind to what is plainly visible to everyone else. It is a spiritual mental breakdown of sorts, where the conscience becomes seared and no longer sensitive to truth. If the rich young ruler does not repent, his trajectory leads toward delusion.
This form of deception is echoed in the Laodicean church, which believed itself to be rich and in need of nothing, while in reality it was "wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked" (Revelation 3:17). It is possible to be in the presence of truth and yet resist its power, to be near the cure and yet reject it altogether.
The Bible warns of this frightening development: “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.” (2 Thessalonians 2:11) At this stage, truth no longer pierces the heart. The deluded person no longer seeks instruction but becomes their own source of counsel. Proverbs cautions, “Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction: but he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured” (Proverbs 13:18, KJV). This is not just material poverty, it is spiritual destitution.
The clinical diagnosis here is grim: heresy. The deluded soul not only rejects the truth but begins to redefine it. Such individuals craft their own version of the gospel, one tailored specifically to support their deluded beliefs, twisting Scripture and doctrine to affirm rather than challenge their spiritual state. They construct a god in their own image, a deity that does not confront their sins but rather condones their chosen paths. In doing so, they lose the capacity to recognize true godliness, trapped in a cycle of self-affirmation that becomes increasingly resistant to correction. The Apostle Paul offers a sobering and explicit warning about this dangerous trajectory in his letter to Timothy.
“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.” (2 Timothy 3:1–9)
Delusion is the terminal stage of spiritual death. And unless interrupted by divine mercy and repentance, it ends not in life, but in damnation. The Bible offers a final and sobering word for such a case: “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy” (Proverbs 29:1). This is the final prognosis, destruction without remedy. Not because God is unwilling to heal, but because the heart has persistently rejected reproof. It is the end of the road for a soul that once stood in the presence of the Great Physician, yet refused to be healed. And unless interrupted by divine mercy and repentance, it ends not in life, but in judgment.
The Alternate Outcome: Heeding Instruction
On the contrary, had the rich young ruler chosen to heed instruction, the outcome would have been radically different. So, Jesus, the Soul Doctor that He is, having examined the ruler's heart, saw in him a soul plagued by imbalance, guilt and shame. Thus, He pronounced the divine prescription: “If thou wilt be perfect…” (Matthew 19:21). To be Perfect here is not sinlessness but wholeness of soul, a spiritual equilibrium. As explored in prior articles, it is the opposite of soul-sickness. It is balance restored, a harmony between what is heard and what is done. James describes such a man: “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed” (James 1:25, KJV). This is the path of the teachable, the one who embraces correction and walks in wisdom. As Proverbs says, “Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish.” (Proverbs 12:1) It is this posture of humility and receptiveness that distinguishes the blessed man of Psalm 1.
The truth is, many love the benefits of knowledge, but few are willing to live lives ordered by it. The truly wise not only hear instruction, they align their lives with it. They shun bad company in order to keep the good company of truth and correction. As it is written, “The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among the wise.” (Proverbs 15:31) Had the rich young ruler submitted to this kind of reproof, his soul would have found healing, his walk would have found direction, and his legacy would have been one of righteousness.
Instead, the grim trajectory for those who resist reproof is to find affirmation among those who scorn it. He would likely join a community that comforts the conscience without correcting the heart, a company of mockers who profess to love God while rejecting godliness. This is the counsel of the ungodly, the path of sinners, and the seat of the scornful. (Psalm 1:1) This is how enemies of God are formed, not merely through rebellion, but through the repeated rejection of truth.
The rich young ruler stood at a crossroads. One way led to the blessed man of Psalm 1; the other to a gold-card membership among the mockers. Sadly, he chose the latter.
Conclusion: A Call to Reflection
Ultimately, to be perfect as defined by Jesus in this encounter is not about flawlessness, but about spiritual wholeness, a balanced alignment of hearing and doing, truth recognized and truth lived. The rich young ruler stood before Christ, the Soul Doctor, and was offered this exact equilibrium, freedom from guilt, release from shame, and a path to true obedience. Yet, tragically, he chose to walk away.
We, too, stand in that place today. The law exposes. The gospel invites. What we do next reveals not only our condition, but our destiny. Let us not be content with a form of godliness while denying its power. Let us not merely glance at the truth, but continue in it. Let us not wait for a stronger delusion or a final hardening of the heart. Hear the Word. Do the Word. Let the law diagnose, and let grace restore. For blessed is the one who not only sees the truth, but walks in it.