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Not good enough… vs. 25-37 (4 things)
- 1st – What must I do to get to heaven… vs. 25
- A certain lawyer stood up and tested Jesus…
- This is not a lawyer in the sense we think of today – he studied the Law of God…
- Lawyers were the Bible scholars of their day – they were well educated in the Word…
- This man was not asking Jesus to find an answer – he was looking to trap Jesus…
- He wanted Jesus to say something that he could then find fault with
- Teacher what must I do to inherit eternal life…
- Perhaps offended by reports Jesus spent His time with sinners…
- The Lawyer may have wondered if Jesus would contradict the Law of God…
- Because according to the Law – salvation was based on keeping the commands of God…
- Speaking of the 613 commands of God given by Moses in the first 5 books of the Bible…
- Deuteronomy 8:1 – “Be careful to obey all the commands… Then you will live…”
- Times have not changed much – most still think you have to earn you way to heaven…
- It is commonly believed – if our good works out weigh our bad – we will be saved!
- Ask the average person why God should let them into heaven – ‘I’m a good person’…
- A certain lawyer stood up and tested Jesus…
- 2nd – Looking to the Law… vs. 26-28
- The Lawyer was trusting in the Law to save – so Jesus asked him – ‘what does the Law say’…
- The Lawyer knew His Bible very well – he quoted the two most important commands…
- Deuteronomy 6:5 – “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”
- Leviticus 19:18 – “You shall love your neighbor as yourself…”
- Thought there are 613 commands in the Law of God – they are all fulfilled in these two…
- Matthew 22:40 – “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
- If you love God – you are not going to use His name in vain / worship other gods…
- If you love you neighbor – you are not going to murder / lie / steal / or covet…
- If you constantly DO this (Present/Active/Imperative) – you will live…
- The lawyer had the right answer – but the question was could he live up to his words…
- No doubt the Lawyer thought he was a Godly man – because he knew God’s Law…
- But the Lawyers assumptions about salvation were flawed…
- It is not enough to know the commands of God – you must also always obey them…
- Most of us assume we are good people – not many if any of us would say we are Bad…
- We think because they go to church / because they own a Bible – we are OK…
- But salvation has nothing to do with how many times we go to church in a week…
- How many Bibles we own – or how many verses we have memorized…
- The standard of the Law is perfection – never sinning once – Matthew 5:48
- If the lawyer had a bad day – broke the law even once – he would fail to get to heaven…
- James 2:10 – “Whoever keeps the whole law, yet stumble in one point, is guilty of all.”
- How many sins does it take to keep us out of heaven – just one…
- Even if it’s just a little sin – a white lie – taking a little rice (our neighbor has extra…)
- Any sin – just one – makes us a sinner – and keeps us out of heaven!
- To God there is no difference between the worst sinner and the ‘holiest saint’…
- No one is good enough to get into heaven – all are sinners – Romans 3:23
- The Law is like a mirror or a measuring tape…
- The commandments of God were never meant to get us to heaven…
- They were given so to teach us we were not able to live up to God’s perfect standard!
- Galatians 3:24 – “Therefore the law was our teacher to bring us to Christ…”
- Like a mirror that can show you how you look – but cannot change your appearance
- Like a measuring tape – that tells how tall you are – but not help you grow
- The Law shows us we are sinners – but cannot help make us saints…
- Realizing that is the key to Heaven – because now we know we need help…
- It shows us our need for Jesus – only through Him can we be saved!
- The lawyer had the right answer – but the question was could he live up to his words…
- The Lawyer was trusting in the Law to save – so Jesus asked him – ‘what does the Law say’…
- 3rd – Explaining the law… vs. 29-37
- The lawyer wanted to justify himself…
- Looking for a ‘loophole’ he attempted to argue – ‘who is my neighbor’…
- According to Jewish tradition – not everyone was considered your neighbor…
- For instance anyone who was not a Jew – was not your neighbor / including Samaritans…
- Perhaps by that standard the Lawyer could have bragged he had lived up to the Law…
- Whenever we seek to ‘justify’ ourselves – we end up having to lower God’s standards…
- Since we cannot live up to God requirements – we change them to fit our lives…
- We look for people who are worse sinners than we are – so we look better!
- Then we assume because we are more ‘Godly’ than there are – we are a good person…
- But God does not grade on a curve – He has only one standard – His Word…
- And compared to God’s standard – all of us are in desperate need of Jesus!
- To answer the question – Jesus told the lawyer a story – ‘the Good Samaritan’…
- A certain man went from Jerusalem to Jericho….
- The suggestion is this man was a Jew (from Jerusalem) perhaps on a business trip…
- The road down to the Jericho runs through steep canyons – deserted dessert…
- About this time – 40,000 men who had worked on the 2nd temple – were out of work…
- Most had became robbers and thieves – many of whom prowled this pass…
- It became known as the ‘way of blood’ because of how many died there…
- The man was robbed of his money – stripped of his clothes – and beaten half to death…
- As he lay there dying – 3 men happened to come by and see him…
- 1st – The Priest…
- A spiritual leader of Israel – a representative of God to the nation of Israel…
- Jericho was the home to no less than 12,000 of the Priest and Levites…
- They would have to take regular trips to Jerusalem to serve in the Temple….
- The priest was likely returning from his duties at the Temple when he saw the man
- One would assume he would have rushed to the aid of his fellow Jewish brother…
- Instead he crossed over to the other side of the road to completely avoid the man!
- Leviticus 21:1 – “Tell the priests to avoid making themselves ceremonially unclean by touching a dead [body]…”
- The man was ‘half-dead’ – if he became all dead while the priest helped – unclean…
- The Priest was unwilling to get dirty in an effort to help someone in need…
- I have met many ‘Christians’ who choose to stay as far as they can from sinners…
- To them church should be a ‘social gathering’ for Godly people just like them…
- But the church is not for social club for saints – it is a hospital for sinners…
- We cannot be afraid to go and get our hand dirty – sinners need our help!
- Not that we join in with them – we need to be careful not to fall back into the world
- But we reach out to them – showing them the Love of Jesus!
- A spiritual leader of Israel – a representative of God to the nation of Israel…
- 2nd – The Levite…
- After the Priest passed by – a Levite came and saw the man lying on the road…
- The Levites were the assistants of the Priests in the Temple of God…
- As a servant of God – you would assume he would be willing to help…
- He looked longer than the priest – but in the end he also passed by…
- Perhaps he thought – maybe the men who attacked are still around…
- If I stay to help – I might become a victim as well – let someone else take the risk!
- * I John 3:17 – “Whoever… sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?”
- Too often in Christianity we leave the work of the Gospel to others…
- We know there are sinners out there who do not know the Lord…
- We know there are people who are sick / in prison / have nothing to eat…
- But we think to ourselves – if we help what will happen to us…
- If I go to the hospital – maybe I’ll get sick / if I go to a prison – maybe I’ll be hurt…
- If I give to those who are in need – maybe I’ll not have enough for myself…
- So we leave the work for someone else to do – let them carry the burden…
- Selfishly thinking only about ourselves – and ignoring the needs of others!
- After the Priest passed by – a Levite came and saw the man lying on the road…
- 3rd – The Samaritan…
- After the reign of King Solomon – Israel divided into 2 nations – Northern & Southern
- The Northern Kingdom was conquered by Assyria in 722 B.C – II Kings 17:23
- Assyrians took the Israelites and scattered them to other conquered countries…
- Then took captives from other countries and placed them in Israel…
- Wild animals began to kill the foreigners in the Land – II Kings 17:26-27
- So Assyria allowed some of the Priest to return to teach the people about God…
- This mixed people/religion – became the ‘Samaritans’ of the New Testament…
- They became the bitter rivals of the Jews – each hated the other – John 4:9…
- The Samaritans even once defiled the Temple with human bones at Passover…
- An enemy of the Jewish people – saw this Jew and had compassion on him…
- He bound his wounds (oil/wine) – carried him to an inn – and paid for his stay…
- When he left he told the owner he would pay all expenses for the man’s recovery!
- All because the Samaritan did not see an enemy – in love he saw a neighbor…
- If the world would hear and understand this truth it would be a much nicer place…
- To realize that color / race / creed make no difference – everyone is our neighbor!
- And just as God loved us – we are called to love each other!
- John 13:34 – “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.”
- After the reign of King Solomon – Israel divided into 2 nations – Northern & Southern
- A certain man went from Jerusalem to Jericho….
- Jesus asked – which of these 3 men was a neighbor to the wounded man…
- Jesus story forced the Lawyer to become his own judge…
- The Lawyer had to answer – ‘the one’ who showed mercy…
- Still showing his ‘hate’ for the Samaritans – not willing to even mentioning their name
- So Jesus showed that the Lawyer he did not love his neighbor…
- In fact the lawyer broke both of the ‘key’ laws – he also did not love God…
- * I John 4:20 – “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?”
- Therefore he was not a good enough to get to heaven – he had not lived up to the Law…
- When we really understand what God’s standard – we see just how sinful we are…
- Go and do the same…
- The question was what would the Lawyer do next – did he see his need for Jesus…
- * James 1:23 -“For if you just listen and don’t obey, it is like looking at your face in a mirror but doing nothing to improve your appearance.”
- Often we listen to God’s word – we attend Bible studies and are ‘convicted’…
- We agree with what we hear – we see our need to change – but then we go home…
- And we go right back to the way we used to be – forgetting what we saw…
- But we are not good enough – so the question becomes – what can we do to be good…
- Jesus story forced the Lawyer to become his own judge…
- The lawyer wanted to justify himself…
- 4th – How to be good enough… vs. 38-42
So take the time – make the time – to be good enough – sit at Jesus feet!
Jesus came to the house of Mary and Martha…
Martha was busy doing many things – Mary her sister sat at Jesus feet and listened to Him…
Martha – feeling like she was doing ‘all the work’ – demanded Jesus tell Mary to help
Jesus answered – Martha you are worried and troubled about many things…
But Mary has chosen the good part – and it will not be taken away…
Mary knew that more important than anything else – was to sit at Jesus’ feet!
Being good enough is not about what we do – it is about knowing Jesus!
We all want to be good enough – we want to live godly lives…
So we run off to work / then to church / back to spend time with the family…
Rushing around – so busy – with no time to spare –no time to sit at Jesus feet…
But God is not looking for us to be busy – He is looking to spend time with us…
Righteousness does not come from our busy lives – it comes from knowing Jesus!
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