#86 Lu. 10:25-37  HOW TO INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE

Introduction:

    In our text today a man comes to Jesus with a question about
eternal life.  It is question that is of great importance to each
one of us here today.  It is important to those who know that they
not saved and are on the road to hell.  It is important to them
because they need to know the right way to get saved.  It is
important to those of us who claim to be saved  because we need to
know if we have tried in the right way to get saved.

I.  The man who asked the question

    V. 25, "And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted
him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"
Luke tells us several things about this man.  He tells us first
that this man is a lawyer.  The word, lawyer, in Scripture does
not carry quite the same meaning as it caries today.  It means one
who is an expert in dealing with questions about the Law of Moses.
He may be a scribe whose daily occupation was to copy the
scriptures by hand.  Thus he would become an expert in what the
law of Moses said and he would be looked upon as an expert in what
the law of Moses means.
    Now if the Ten Commandments were the only commandments in the
law of Moses, almost anyone could become an expert, but the ten
commandments is only a small beginning.  There are several hundred
commandments in the law of Moses.
    Because the lawyers became skilled in their knowledge of the
law of Moses they were often used as public speakers to explain
what the law is all about.  Also, since the many laws which Moses
gave involved civil affairs lawyers were often used to argue civil
cases before the court.  But the lawyer, himself, was more of a
religious leader than a court lawyer.  This is the kind of man who
came to Jesus with a question.  He was a leader, a religious
leader, an expert, an authority on the Law of Moses.
    Luke tells us also that this man came with a loaded question.
He was not trying to learn from Jesus.  He was tempting Jesus.  He
was trying to trap Jesus.  He was asking a question which related
to the Law of Moses hoping he would be able to use the answer of
Jesus against Him.  He was hoping that Jesus would say something
contrary to the Law of Moses.  He was hoping that at least Jesus
would say something that, in his own expertise in the law,  he
could twist and make it to appear to be against the Law of Moses.
This man was no humble inquirer who wanted to be saved.  He was a
bitter enemy of Jesus who was attempting to bring about the death
of Jesus.
    The question itself was a perfectly legitimate question.  It
is a vital question that we all need to know the answer to.  That
is what made his approach to Jesus so deadly.  He was appeared as
a friend, but he was a vicious enemy out after the blood of Jesus
Christ.

II.  The question that Jesus asked the lawyer in return

    V. 26, "He said unto him, What is written in the law?  how
readest thou?"  This is another way of asking, "What does the
Scripture say about the matter?"  If you want to know what the
Scriptural answer is to a question you have to go to the
Scriptures to find out what the Scriptures say.  Then whatever the
Scriptures say, that is the answer to your question.  So Jesus
asked him, "What do the Scriptures say?  What is written in the
law?  What is written in Scriptures?"
    V. 27, "And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy
strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself."
Surprisingly the man gave the very best possible answer.  Instead
of quoting from the numerous commands of the law, he quoted from
the two Scriptures which give the basis for the whole law.  He
quoted from Deuteronomy 6:5.  This verse commands one to love the
Lord his God with all his heart, with all his soul and with all
his might.  He also quoted from Leviticus 19:18 which commands
that one should love his neighbor as himself.  These are the very
Scriptures that Jesus Himself would later use to answer another
lawyer who also comes with a trick question.
    What this lawyer did not understand is that it is impossible
to keep these laws 100% in our depraved sinful nature.  The law
was never given as a means of salvation.  It was given to show us
that we are sinners in the sight of God so that we will then
repent of our sin and trust God for mercy and for salvation.  It
is only after one has repented and trusted the Lord for His mercy
and is thus born again that he can begin to have the love of God
that he should have.  It is after he has repented and is saved
that he can begin to have the love for his neighbor that he should
have.  Even then---even after he is saved--- he cannot in the
flesh love God 100% nor can he love his neighbor as much as he
loves himself.  It is only in the inward spirit nature that has
been born again that he can do so.
    But the lawyer did give the right Scriptural answer to the
question Jesus asked and so Jesus tells him so.  Jesus had asked,
"What does the law have to say on the matter?" and the man gave
the right answer.  V. 28, "And he said unto him, Thou hast
answered right: this do, and thou shalt live."
    Now we might wonder, "Why would Jesus tell this man to do this
and he would live?"  That is, Jesus said, "Do as these two
commandments say and you will have the kind of life that you are
seeking.  You will have everlasting life." Why would Jesus tell
him such a thing?  Does not the Apostle Paul write in Galatians
3:11 that no man is justified by the law?  Does not Paul say in
Ephesians 2:9 that salvation is not of works?  Does he not say in
Titus 3:5 that salvation is not by works of righteousness which
man can do?  He does.  Then why would Jesus tell this man that if
he would keep these laws he would have everlasting life?
    You are right.  Salvation is not by works of righteousness
on the part of man.  No man---absolutely no man is justified in
the sight of God by keeping the law.  That is just the point that
Jesus was trying to make to this man.  Jesus was trying to show
this man that he had not and could not keep the law.
    In Matthew 22:35-40 Jesus said that all of the law hangs on
these two commandments.  If a man keeps these two commandments
100% then he would also keep whole the law 100% and no man keeps
the law 100%.  He that breaks the law in the least way is guilty
of breaking the whole law.  If you break one link of a chain that
chain is broken.  If you break a dish in any given spot that dish
is broken.  You do not have to be as wicked and mean as you
could possibly be to break the law of God.  If you break the law
in any way whatsoever you have broken that law.
    Now this man, this lawyer had not kept either of these laws
100%.  He most certainly had not kept the first one.  He would not
be there asking trick questions of the Son of God.  If he loved
God at all he would not be out after the blood of Jesus Christ the
Son of God.  For some reason or other this man never responded to
Jesus regarding this commandment.
    He did respond regarding the command to love his neighbor as
himself.  Now keep in mind that he is the one who quoted this
Scripture to Jesus and thereby acknowledged that this command is
right.  But merely knowing the command does not make one right
with God.  Neither does acknowledging that this command is good
make one right with God.  Likewise, neither does trying to obey
this command make one right with God.  One would have to keep this
command 100%.  In fact he would have to keep both these
commandments 100% in order to right with God by his own works of
righteousness.

III.  Another question by the lawyer and the Lord's answer

    That is were the rub comes.  That is what hit a raw nerve with
this lawyer.  He knew that he had not kept this second command.
He knew that he had not loved his neighbor as much as he loved
himself.  V. 29, "But he, willing to justify himself, said unto
Jesus, And who is my neighbour?"  He knew that he had not kept
this law but he wanted to appear to others that he had kept it.
Therefore he tried to justify himself in the eyes of those present
by asking a question which dodged the issue.  He asked, "Who is my
neighbor?"
    Jesus then told that man a story about a man on the Jericho
road.  This story would give him the answer to his question about
eternal life and should convince him that he had not kept the law
of Moses.


    Listen.  V. 30-35, "And Jesus answering said, A certain man
went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which
stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed,
leaving him half dead.  And by chance there came down a certain
priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other
side.  And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and
looked on him, and passed by on the other side.  But a certain
Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw
him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his
wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and
brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  And on the morrow
when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the
host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever
thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee."
    The story was about a man, a Jew, a fellow Jew with whom this
lawyer could relate.  This man, this fellow Jew, started to
Jericho from Jerusalem.  The highway led through a rough rugged
rocky country which made it easy for robbers to ambush their
unsuspecting victims.  This man, this Jew was attacked, beaten and
robbed.  He was left at the point of death and without help very
soon would die.  Jesus said that while this man lay on the ground
wounded and dying a priest came along.  He could not help but see
this helpless man lying there on the ground.  It appeared to the
man that help had arrived.  But this priest crossed over to the
other side of the road and went around him and went on his way
down the road.  That priest did not attempt to help that man.
    Then along came a Levite.  The Levites were helpers to the
priests in the temple at Jerusalem.  Surely this Levite will help
this man.  But he didn't.  He, too, just passed right on by and
left that man to die.
    But finally, there came along a Samaritan.  The Jews hated the
Samaritans and, to be fair, I might add, the Samaritans usually
hated the Jews.  But this Samaritan saw this wounded man lying
there in the road and he totally ignored the fact that he was a
Jew.  He dressed this man's wounds and carried him to an inn that
was on this road.  He left money with the innkeeper to cover the
man's expenses and said, "If that is not enough I will pay you the
rest the next time I come along."

IV.  A final question from Jesus

    Jesus then asked that lawyer a very important question.  V.
36, "Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto
him that fell among the thieves?"  The lawyer once again gave a
right answer.  V. 37, "And he said, He that showed mercy on him.
Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise."
    Now listen.  There are many valuable lessons that we can see
in this story, but for the moment let us not get so busy looking
for those lessons that we miss the point that Jesus was making to
this lawyer.  Let me put it into my own words.  Jesus was saying
to this man, "If you are going to be accepted in the eyes of God
by the Law of Moses then you have got to be 100% perfect.  You
have got to love the Lord your God with ALL your heart, with ALL
your soul, and with ALL your strength.  That is 100%.
    Then this means you have got to love your fellow man with as
much as you love yourself.  This lawyer knew that he had not loved
that much.  In his mind's eye he could identify with the priest
and the Levite who passed the wounded man by because he knew that
this is what he would have done.  He would have been too afraid to
tarry long enough to help the wounded man for fear of being
attacked also.  He would look out for number one and go right on
by.  The truth of the matter is that he could not love that
wounded man as much as he loved himself.
    If this lawyer would just be honest with himself and honest
with God he would have to admit that he had not loved his fellow
man as much as he loved himself.  Neither could he love them that
much.  Let me put it this way.  If this lawyer would just be
honest with himself and with God he would have to admit that he
could not be saved by keeping the Law of Moses.  He could not be
saved by his own works of righteousness.  He could not get to
heaven by his own goodness.  He could not get to heaven by his
works.
    In other words, if he was going to get to heaven at all, he
was going to have to cast himself on the mercy of God and ask God
to forgive him of his sin.  He was going to have to trust in the
Christ, the Redeemer, whom God had promised to send.  If he were
going to get to heaven it would be entirely by the totally
undeserved grace and mercy of God through the Christ.

V.  The point concerning the salvation of your soul

    Now listen again.  You will be honest with me, won't you?  You
will be honest with yourself and with God, won't you?  Won't you
admit that you have not kept the Law of God 100%?  Won't you admit
that you have not really loved God with all your heart, soul and
strength?  Won't you admit that you have failed to keep this
commandment by a mile?  And won't you admit that you have also
failed to love your fellow man as much as you love yourself?  I
strongly suspect that you could name a few that you have outright
despised.  Haven't you?
    The point is that no man, absolutely not man, is justified in
the sight of God by the keeping of the law.  No man is saved by
his own works of righteousness.  If you are going to get to heaven
you are going to have to turn to God for forgiveness of your sins.
You are going to have to trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior.  If
you are going to stay out of hell you are going to have to call on
Jesus and ask Him to be merciful to you and save your soul.

Conclusion:

    How about it?  Are you ready?