3-9-97

Luke #89

Luke 10:25-37

"What Must I DO To Inherit Eternal Life?"

(Luke 10:25-37 NASB) And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, "Teacher, WHAT SHALL I DO TO INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE?" {26} And He said to him, "What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?" {27} And he answered and said, "YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." {28} And He said to him, "You have answered correctly; DO THIS, AND YOU WILL LIVE."

This is not the kind of lawyer we would hire to defend us in court. His expertise was not in civil law, but in the Law of God. He was an interpreter of the scriptures and a teacher of the Jews. He was a deeply religious man but he was an evil man as well. We find that he has listened quietly to Christ's teaching and now rises to tempt or trick our Savior into saying something contrary to the scriptures. He asks a good question with a bad motive. "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?"

This is a good question. It is one that ought to be on every man's mind. What about eternity? How shall my sins be forgiven? How will I stand before God, guilty or innocent? What must I do to escape the torments of Hell? What must I do to be saved? "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?

The questions that occupy most are of a material and temporal nature. What will I eat? What will I wear? What can I do to get money? What kinds of entertainment can I be involved in? Men occupy themselves with things like this for a lifetime even though eternity is what really matters. That things eternal ought to be our primary concern is made clear by the words found in Matthew's Gospel.

(Matthew 6:24-33 NASB) "No one can serve two masters; (God and things or money.) for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. {25} "For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, as to what you shall put on. Is not life MORE than food, and the body than clothing? {26} "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? {27} "And which of you by being anxious can add a single cubit to his life's span? {28} "And why are you anxious about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, {29} yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these. {30} "But if God so arrays the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more do so for you, O MEN OF LITTLE FAITH? {31} "Do not be anxious then, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'With what shall we clothe ourselves?' {32} "For all these things the Gentiles (The term refers to unbelievers.) eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. {33} "BUT SEEK FIRST HIS KINGDOM AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS; AND ALL THESE THINGS SHALL BE ADDED TO YOU."

Here the Holy Spirit tells Christians that they should not be like the unbeliever who is concerned exclusively with earthly and temporal things. Rather, they should seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness while trusting Him to give them what material things they need. This seeking is to be the FIRST order of business for the Believer.

There is a lesson here for the unbeliever as well. Seek first the kingdom of God and the righteousness He provides through faith in Jesus. Let the rest of the world worry about things that perish, YOU SEEK GOD! In other words, the best thing you can do for yourself is to find the answer to the lawyer's question. "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" The wise person will not rest until he has found the answer to this question and has satisfied himself that he does indeed have eternal life. Christ's response to the lawyer takes us closer to the answer we need.

(Luke 10:25-28 NASB) And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" {26} And He said to him, "What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?" (In essence Jesus said, "You're the expert, you tell me what God's word says one must do to inherit eternal life.") {27} And he answered and said, "YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." {28} And He said to him, "You have answered correctly; DO THIS, AND YOU WILL LIVE." (That is, do this and you will have eternal life.)

First, take note that Christ turned the lawyer to the BIBLE for the answer to this eternal question. He does not ask, "What do the Pharisees or the Priests say about this?" Rather, He sends the man to the scriptures. "What is written in the law," He asks? Let us learn from Jesus a lesson we have heard before. The Bible must be the Christian's only rule of faith and practice. The questions of eternity are answered nowhere else. Leave the Bible behind as you search for truth and you will meander, without end, through a wilderness of a thousand differing opinions. It doesn't matter who says what about God or religion, if it is not found in the Bible it must be rejected. All religious statements and propositions are worthless and worse if they cannot be proven from the Bible and that alone. You and I must put God's word on the highest of pedestals. We must give it the highest place of honor and authority in our lives and in the Church. We must stand on the word of God remembering what the Prophet Isaiah had to say in Isaiah 8:19-22 NASB. And when they say to you, "Consult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter," SHOULD NOT A PEOPLE CONSULT THEIR GOD? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living? {20} TO THE LAW AND TO THE TESTIMONY! IF THEY DO NOT SPEAK ACCORDING TO THIS WORD, IT IS BECAUSE THEY HAVE NO DAWN. (The Sun of Righteousness has not risen in their hearts. They live in darkness and cannot comprehend the light.) {21} And they will pass through the land hard-pressed and famished, and it will turn out that when they are hungry, they will be enraged and curse their king and their God as they face upward. {22} Then they will look to the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be driven away into darkness.

All who turn to anything but the Scriptures (The Bible) for answers to eternal questions will perish in their sin.

In answer to his own question the Lawyer said this, . . . "YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." {28} And He (Jesus) said to him, "You have answered correctly; DO THIS, AND YOU WILL LIVE." (Luke 10:27-28 NASB)

With these words the man answers the questions we posed earlier. What must I do to escape the torments of hell? What must I do to be saved from the wrath to come? What must I do to be forgiven my sins? The Lawyer quotes Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18.

First, I want you to notice that a person may have a good and accurate knowledge of God's word and still be lost. Here we find a leader of the Jews, an expert in the scriptures. He talks of loving God while trying to do Christ harm. There is something wrong with this picture. The Bible declares that you cannot know God in a soul saving way if you do not trust in Christ as your Lord and Savior! The Jews have always stumbled over this truth as many do today.

Now consider the answer that Christ said was correct. It was in essence this, "If you love God and Man perfectly you will have eternal life." But what does this love of God and of Man entail? How does one know when he has accomplished the requirement? We get a clue in a similar statement made by our Lord in Matthew's Gospel.

(Matthew 22:37-40 NASB) And He said to him, "'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' {38} "This is the great and foremost commandment. {39} "The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' {40} "ON THESE TWO COMMANDMENTS DEPEND THE WHOLE LAW AND THE PROPHETS."

The last statement is the key. It tells us that everything God requires of Man is summarized in these two Love Commandments. The whole of God's will for your life is contained in these few words. Love God and Man perfectly and you will be saved from the wrath to come! But what does it mean to "Love God?" To love God, says First John, is to keep His commandments. These commandments are found throughout the Bible and spell out in detail how we are to live and think toward God and Man. But there is a problem we must overcome. That problem is with the extent of the requirement. We must love God with ALL our heart, soul, mind and strength and we must do this from the cradle to the grave or perish.

Immediately we are alarmed, for we know we can not keep the law of Love or the Ten Commandments perfectly. What does that mean? It means we are all together damned. Even those who get 99% on the test are damned! Remember what James says in his letter about keeping God's laws.

(James 2:10 NASB) For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in ONE POINT, he has become guilty of ALL.

In other words if for one moment in your life you fail to Love God with all your heart soul, mind, strength and your neighbor as yourself you become guilty of breaking every one of God's laws. Are there any humans who have not broken God's laws? Some people believe that a certain portion of one's childhood is lived without sin and guilt. Children, it is said, are innocent until they reach. "The age of accountability." This however, is a concept for which no Biblical support can be found. There are no innocents, regardless of age.

No one becomes a sinner at some point in their lives. Rather, we are sinners from birth. We are born rebelling against God and that on two counts. One, we are rebel sinners by virtue of our ancestry. We are all decedents of the first sinner, Adam, and according to the Bible we inherit his sin nature. (Romans 5:12 NASB) Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to ALL MEN, BECAUSE ALL SINNED. (Romans 5:19 NASB) For as through the one man's disobedience (Adam) the many were MADE (Or became.) SINNERS, (He speaks of the whole human race. These, without exception, were "made sinners.") even so through the obedience of the One (Jesus Christ) the many (The Elect of God) will be made righteous.

This text speaks of two representative heads. The first is Adam. He represented the whole human race. In fact, he and his wife were the whole human race at the time of the fall. The seed of every human ever to be born was in their reproductive systems. Therefore, we were present in them when they sinned. All men sinned in Adam. From that moment on all humans have been born sinners. Our father, Adam, was a sinner. The offspring of a sinner are, and can be nothing but, sinners. King David, speaking by the Holy Spirit, spoke the truth when he said; (Psalms 51:5 NIV) Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Not a very popular statement but true nonetheless.

So, the first reason we will not gain eternal life by keeping the law of Love is that we are sinners from the get-go! We have bad hearts filled with selfishness, lust and bitterness. We do not love God or our neighbor as commanded. Therefore, we have broken the law of God and are damned.

Second, we will not inherit eternal life by keeping the Law of Love because our inherent sinfulness works itself out in the literal practice of sin. That is, not only do we sin in our minds and hearts but with our hands, mouth and feet as well. All humans break God's laws as soon as they are able to do so. Hear the words of the Psalmist;

(Psalms 58:3 NKJV) The wicked are estranged from the womb; (Meaning they are separate from God the moment they are born. In the previous text David points to conception as the time when we become sinners! The moment human life begins sin is present because we have all been "made sinners.") They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies. Which is to say, the young begin their sinful carreers as soon as they are able to express the sin that lives in their fallen hearts. If you have ever dealt with children you know that this is true even if it makes you uncomfortable to admit it. They inherited this sinful nature from their father Adam. So we see that the words of Romans 3:10-28 must be spoken with no qualification, they apply to all humans.. . . . it is written, "There is NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; {11} there is none who understands, there is NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; {12} ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, together they have become USELESS; there is none who does good, there is NOT EVEN ONE." {13} "Their throat is an open grave, with their tongues they keep deceiving," "the poison of asps is under their lips"; {14} "whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness"; {15} "their feet are swift to shed blood, {16} destruction and misery are in their paths, {17} and the path of peace have they not known." {18} "There is NO FEAR OF GOD before their eyes." This is the condition of every child of Adam. We have all fallen and we can't get up! Therefore, we cannot, "Love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and our neighbor as we love ourselves."

Therefore, a man cannot be saved by keeping the law whether you speak of the Ten Commandments or the Law of Love. Fact is, God never intended to save anyone by the Law. Rather, it was intended to shut the proud mouths of sinners. The law was intended to reveal our sin and our need of being saved by someone other than ourselves. That someone is Jesus. Let's continue to read the Romans three passage. {19} Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, (This is every person ever born. All men are bound to keep the law of God perfectly.) that EVERY MOUTH MAY BE CLOSED, and all the world may become ACCOUNTABLE TO GOD; {20} because by the works of the Law (Whether the Ten Commandments or the Law of Love according to Christ.) no flesh will be justified (Acceptable) in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. (Not salvation!)

When you understand the requirement of the Law of Love you will put your hand over your mouth. Immediately you will know that you have never loved God or Man perfectly and you will not inherit eternal life. If you, like the lawyer, are looking for SOMETHING YOU CAN DO to be saved. you will perish in your sin. For you will never be able to do enough and what you do will always be stained with sin. Further, the best of your deeds today cannot erase the sins of the past. In other words, there is nothing you or anyone else can DO to save yourself. There is nothing you can DO to make God happy with you. Rather, YOU MUST ABANDON ALL THOUGHT OF DOING ANYTHING FOR SALVATION IN ORDER TO REST IN WHAT CHRIST HAS DONE FOR THOSE HE CAME TO SAVE.

Consider His qualifications as a Savior. Christ was born without a sinful nature. He did not go astray from the womb speaking lies. Rather, He came forth from the womb loving and obeying God on behalf of those He came to save. He kept the law perfectly from the cradle to the grave for those given to Him by the Father. The Law demanded that we die for our sin. Jesus paid that penalty for us. He who knew no sin became sin on our behalf and was put to death as a sinner. He did this so that we might obtain the very righteousness of God through faith in Him. He satisfied His Father's requirement of perfection for us. He made us acceptable to God by being perfect in our place. This is why I said a moment ago that YOU MUST ABANDON ALL THOUGHT OF DOING ANYTHING FOR SALVATION IN ORDER TO REST IN WHAT CHRIST HAS DONE FOR THOSE HE CAME TO SAVE.

As long as you keep trying to do something to earn salvation you will remain separate from God, a slave of Satan and of the lusts of your own flesh. I pray that God will make you understand that all the doing has been done by Jesus. Salvation consists of resting in the work and righteousness of Christ the only begotten Son of God. Only Jesus has the righteousness God requires for salvation. Only Jesus can impute that righteousness to you. Hear the word of the Lord; Romans 3:21 But now apart from the Law the RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, {22} even the righteousness of God THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST FOR ALL THOSE WHO BELIEVE; . . . {23} for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, {24} being JUSTIFIED AS A GIFT BY HIS GRACE through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;. . . {28} For we maintain that a man is justified (Declared righteous and acceptable to God.) by faith apart from (Completely without the . . ) works of the Law.

When Jesus was asked, . . . "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?" (Meaning, "How can we earn salvation?") {29} Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent." In other words, THERE IS NO WORK TO DO!

Those who are saved bear this testimony;

"Upon a life I did not live;

Upon a death I did not die;

Another's life; Another's death;

I trust my whole Eternity!

The promise of God is that all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved! Turn in any other direction and you will be lost forever.

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