WHAT IS THE LEAST I CAN DO AND STILL BE SAVED?
Luke 10:25-37 (Focus Verses: 10:25, 29)
I. THE ONE ASKING THE QUESTION
1. An expert in the Mosaic law
2. By the NT period the OT law had been codified into legalistic interpretations of the law
3. The Scribes had developed detailed interpretations of what exactly constituted sins and how to avoid sinning
4. Scribes had reduced one¡¦s relationship to God to ¡§the letter of the law¡¨ and spelled out specifically what each law meant
5. A classic example of this process is related to the interpretation of Exodus 20:7 ¡V ¡§Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain¡¨
6. The letter of this law can be obeyed simply by not saying the ¡§name¡¨ of God at all
7. The ¡§Name¡¨ in this verse is taken by the scribes to refer to the personal name of God revealed to Moses at the burning bush (YHWH)
8. This interpretation reduces the meaning of this prohibition to simply saying God¡¦s name in a vain, empty, profane way (the name + a four letter word)
9. But name refers to much more than a word
10. NAME represents the person
11. The meaning of the third commandment is much greater than how you say the NAME
12. It is about living in relationship to the NAME
13. We take the NAME in vain when we claim it but dishonor it by the way we conduct life
14. If you say you love God, but hate your neighbor, you take the NAME of God in vain
15. The lawyer was living up to the letter of the law, but not up to the spirit of the law
16. He had interpreted the law in the narrowest sense
17. This is how much I have to do to be obedient
II. WHEN A QUESTION IS NOT A QUESTION
1. ¡§What must I do to inherit eternal life?¡¨
2. The question was asked by one who was an expert on the scripture
3. He didn¡¦t need anyone telling him how to be saved
4. Jesus knew that the expert in the law already knew the answer
5. He threw the conversation right back at the scribe, the lawyer, the expert and asked him, ¡§What do you think? ¡§What is written in the Law? How do you read?¡¨
6. A devout Jew wore little box called a phylactery on their forehead or on their wrist
7. This practice is described in Deut 6:6-9
6Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. 7Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. 8Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem„T on your forehead, 9and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
8. In these little boxes or receptacles were portions of scripture which served as a constant reminder of the presence of God
9. Jesus accused the scribes and Pharisees of showboating (Matt 23:5 RSV)
5They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad (BIG) and their fringes long.
10. When Jesus asked the lawyer his opinion, He may well have pointed to the man¡¦s oversized phylactery and asked, ¡§How do you read?¡¨
11. The lawyer answered, Luke 10:27 (KJV)
27Thou 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.
12. Jesus responded by saying praising the lawyer answer - ¡§You have answered correctly.¡¨
13. The lawyer knew the right anwer and he knew that he knew
14. He should have known the answer, it was written on his forehead! (Deut 6:5 ¡V he added Lev 19:18 which refers to ¡§neighbor¡¨)
15. Jesus went on to tell him that knowing the right answer was not enough!
16. Jesus said, ¡§Do this and you shall live.¡¨
17. James, the brother of Jesus, said, ¡§Faith without works is dead.¡¨
18. The litmus test of salvation is not what you know, or say, but what you do
19. James 2:19 ¡V ¡§The devils also believe and tremble¡¨
20. Matt 7:21
21¡§Not everyone who says to me, ¡¥Lord, Lord,¡¦ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
21. It was not enough for the expert in the law to simply know right answer or to even say ¡§I know that I am supposed to love God and my neighbor.¡¨
22. The lawyer was looking for the least, the minimum requirement
23. But the minimalist plan of salvation wasn¡¦t enough
24. It is one thing to profess; it¡¦s another thing to possess
25. The expert in the law knew the right stuff, but he didn¡¦t have the right stuff
III. WANTING TO JUSTIFY HIMSELF (Luke 11:29)
1. ¡§But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ¡§Who is my neighbor?¡¨
2. This is the major problem that all of us have
3. We want to justify ourselves
4. We¡¦re not that bad ¡V we¡¦re really good ¡V we measure up ¡V better than most ¡V etc, etc, etc
5. The lawyer argued that he did care for his neighbor ¡V rightly defined and qualified ¡V the right kind of ¡§Jew¡¨
6. Gentiles were unclean, Samaritans were half-breeds, even some Jews were not worthy of being called neighbor
7. Jesus did not understand the commandment that way
8. He applied the command as a universal
9. The parable of the Good Samaritan was told to explain what the law really meant
10. Jesus said, ¡§You are not doing the law if you can¡¦t stand Samaritans!¡¨
11. In answer to the response of the lawyer, Jesus had said, ¡§Do this and you shall live.¡¨
12. At the end of the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus says, ¡§Go and do likewise¡¨
13. If you want to be saved, then follow the example of the Samaritan
14. Jesus was focusing on ACTION ¡V the result or evidence of commitment to the scripture and truth
15. Many people believe that there is a god ¡V many will say that they ¡§believe in¡¨ Jesus
16. Jesus said, ¡§DO THIS and you will live¡¨ AND ¡§GO AND DO likewise¡¨
17. Eternal life is not just knowing ¡V it is doing
18. Doing is the evidence of really knowing, really understanding, really believing
19. ¡§Faith without works is dead¡¨
IV. CONCLUSION
1. Eternal life is about more than just going to heaven when you die
2. It is about new life in the here and now
3. Salvation is not about the least we can do
4. It is about responding to God who did the most He could do (Rom 5:8)
