Saved to Love part 1

Let's take our Bibles. Let's turn to Luke chapter 10. Luke chapter 10. I know that when we were in the Kingdom parables in Matthew 13 you knew right where we were. You could study ahead, but I know with these parables that we're studying you really can anticipate where I am going. And so tonight we're gonna be in Luke chapter 10 and we're going to be in verses 25 to 36. But tonight I think most every one of you know that we are continuing in our study of certain parables. And these are parables that Jesus taught and these parables are concerning the Christian life.

Everything that we're studying pertains to the true Christian life, the Christian life in their day, a day of the disciples and in our day. Now I have said several times that these parables that we're studying we will see themes, we're gonna see lessons, we're gonna see examples. And some of these themes and lessons examples all pertain to true Christian living and then some of them pertain to false Christian living. In the first parable that we studied that would have been the parable of the two sons. We saw the true and the false. Some of you will remember how that was broken down. So this will be a review for you.

The first son illustrated to us the truly converted Christ. The true Christian. They were saved and they were saved to serve in the kingdom. It was really easy to see. But then the second son illustrated to us the false Christian. Of course we saw that in the religious leaders. There's the false example. Those who say that they love God and they say that they're gonna serve in the kingdom, they do not. So we saw the true and we saw the false. Well last week in our second parable that would be the parable of the lamp. We did not see the false. We did not see a false example.

Using the example of a common lamp Jesus illustrated that his followers had a great great responsibility. What does he say in verse 18? He said be careful. Listen you have a great responsibility. And that great responsibility was to shine the light of the gospel and salvation into the dark world. He called them to really think and to be sober and to be serious because they were to be seen as light in the dark world. Their lives would be reflections of Christ and salvation. And then they were to shine the gospel into the dark world. So we see the true and we don't see the false.

And the reason I bring that to your attention is as you're studying you can look for the true and you can look for the false. And I did say this one time before. Sometimes we learn when we look at the false. Sometimes the false help us helps us more than we know. So we have seen the parable of the two sons. We've seen the parable of the lamp. And we have seen in those two parables that we are saved to serve and we're saved to shine. It's really easy for you to see. This is really basic. This all relates to where we are in our everyday Christian life. And look these things, this teaching is really not hard to understand.

We may have to struggle and wrangle with the kingdom parables and their meaning. I know that. Oh that was some deep waters that we got into when we spent so much time in Matthew 13. We may even debate the meaning of those parables and we may even have different interpretations. I was honest with you and I pointed out sometimes the debates in some of those parables. Even pointed out some respected theologians and pastors how they differed and that's okay there. But the meaning of these two parables that we have already studied they're simple, they're clear and listen the point of these two parables they are not hard to understand.

It's easy to get. Again it's everyday life. The problem is not in the interpretation. The problem can be are we living what's taught there. So we are saved to serve and we are saved to shine. Isn't it amazing how those two really go together? And you're gonna see how amazing it is how this next parable it goes together with what we've studied already as well. Not a night. In Luke 10 we have one of the most famous of the parables the parable of the Good Samaritan. John MacArthur says that in this parable we have and I'm quoting this dramatic tale that is widely used to teach the importance of helping those in need.

He goes on to quote "The term Good Samaritan has become an idiom" that would be an expression or a phrase "for those who demonstrate unusual sacrificial kindness towards others." We see that. It's become this expression even in our culture. But not only is this one of the most famous parables it is also one of the most clear and straightforward of all of the parables. The Bible commentator James Montgomery Boy says and I'm quoting "The story of the Good Samaritan who showed mercy to the victim of a beating and robbery and who thus acted as a neighbor toward him it shows us that we are to do likewise." It's real simple. We are to do likewise.

But there's something else with this parable that we need to see. This might surprise some of you. Its ultimate purpose and meaning can be difficult to see. There is a clear surface meaning to the parable. The obvious surface meaning of the parable of the Good Samaritan is loving our neighbor even in the most dire of circumstances. The clear lesson from the parable is doing and living what we see in the parable. And if we only get the clear surface meaning of the parable we are not in error. We are certainly, we certainly will be better Christians. We will be more obedient Christians if that is all we get.

But if that is all we get we only get a portion of the lesson. So we need to see that there is this clear very good surface meaning to the parable that we need to get. But there is a very important greater lesson that we need to see and grasp as well. Now if you think back and you've been with us through the study of these parables, the parables have produced some good conversation. The parables have produced some good discussion. I mean lots of times that discussion ends up right here. Lots of times it ends up down the hall and that's good. It's been thought provoking. Matter of fact some of you have texted and we've had some phone calls.

As a matter of fact there's been some times I've gone back and studied some more and called a brother and just said look look at this point look at this verse. It's been good discussion. It's been good conversation and that is healthy. Now here I want to give you an assignment. I want to give you an assignment. I want you to look for the surface meaning. The clear lesson. I've already given it to you. If you miss that you're asleep. But I want you to see and note and maybe write out, maybe just ponder over with words the clear meaning or the lesson there in the parable. But I want you to be looking for the ultimate greater lesson.

And I will help you along the way. Now go ahead and tell you that this is going to be a part one and a part two. It's going to be a part one and a part two. So let's move towards the parable. Now out of the parable, this parable of the Good Samaritan, I want us to see that we are dealing with two questions. We're dealing with two issues. We're dealing with two subjects. First, what does it mean to love your neighbor? That's plain. That's clear. That is obvious. But there is a second question here. What does it mean to love God? Really they should be in reverse order. They should be in reverse order, those questions.

First, what does it mean to really love God? And second, what does it mean to really love your neighbor, our neighbor? And the reason that we are dealing with two questions instead of one is because this famous well-known parable was taught in connection to Jesus' encounter with a certain lawyer that would be a religious leader. You might say, "Pastor, you've been showing us that all of these parables are connected to other teaching." They always are. There was this religious leader, a lawyer, and he approached Jesus with a question. This was a serious question. This was a good question.

And this question, this is a question that needs to be asked. And out of this question, out of this encounter, out of this conversation, Jesus told the parable. He just didn't teach the parable out of the blue. So if we want to move past the surface meaning of the parable and get to the greater lesson here, we must study this encounter that Jesus had with the Jewish leader, the lawyer, and then move into the parable from there. So with that said, I want to read verses 25 on down to verse 37. And I'll go ahead and tell you this is a part one and we will not get into the parable. We will not. So let's read all of it together though.

Verse 25, "And behold, a certain lawyer," that would be a religious leader, "he stood up and he put him," that's Jesus to the test, saying, "Teacher, rabbi, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" And he said to him, "What is written in the law? How does it read to you?" And he answered and he said, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself." And he said to him, "You have answered correctly.

Do this and you will live." But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, "Who is my neighbor?" Now let's read this parable and you'll see how it's all connected. Jesus replied and said, "A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and he fell among robbers, thieves, and they stripped him and they beat him and went off leaving him half dead. And by chance a certain priest was going down that road and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. Likewise the Levite also, when he came to that place and he saw him, he passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, a certain Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him.

And when he saw him he felt compassion and he came to him and he bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them and he put him on his own beast and he brought him to an inn to care for him. And on the next day he took out to Daenerys and he gave them to the innkeeper and he said, "Take care of him and whatever more you spend when I return I will repay you." And then notice, "Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands?" And he said, "The one who showed mercy toward him." And Jesus said to him, "Go and do the same." So, I want us to start, and I want to start off with the encounter.

This encounter starting in verse 25. We read it. We read it. It's in your mind. It should be in your mind. Now at the heart of this encounter, it's obvious there are two people. You have first the lawyer who came to Jesus and then second we have Jesus. That's obvious. And after we quickly examine the two, I want to make a comment or two on the context here. So first the lawyer, I look today in my study the English Standard, the New American, the King James, used this term lawyer. But who was this lawyer? What was this lawyer? When it says that he was a lawyer, it was not referring to the legal system maybe as we know it.

He would have been an expert in the law, but the Old Testament law, it can be called the law of Moses, the Old Testament, the Old Testament Scriptures. He would have been highly educated in the Old Testament in all of the ways of Judaism. This man was a leader in the Jewish religious establishment. He would have been very prominent. He would have been very influential with all of the Jewish people. He was very well respected. He was very powerful. He would have been very prominent. He was influential. He was extremely capable with the Old Testament and Judaism. So he was a Jewish religious leader. And then second Jesus.

Now I don't have to tell you who Jesus is, but we do need to ask what was going on here. And I want us to see what's happening here in his ministry. At the time of this event, Jesus was nearing the final months of his earthly ministry. And at this time in his earthly ministry, he was moving towards Jerusalem. He was moving towards the cross and he was preaching along the way the message of eternal life. And despite his powerful preaching and despite his powerful miracles, at this time in his ministry, there were only a few people who were actually following him.

And if we study this time in his ministry, we will see that Jesus was preaching to and he was ministering to great crowds, but then at times he would preach to and minister to individual people. And notice what's happening. Jesus had been ministering to the crowds and as he was moving towards Jerusalem, he's going towards the cross. This individual stepped forward. And this wasn't just any person. It wasn't. He was very knowledgeable. He was a very capable religious leader. He was very well respected and he would have been very well known.

He stepped forward to question Jesus personally about the most important subject in the world, eternal life. Look back at verse 25. "Behold a certain lawyer, a scribe, an expert in the Old Testament scriptures. He stood up and he put him to the test saying, teacher," and that was a very, very respected term, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" So that's the scene. That's the scene. Jesus was nearing the end of his ministry. He was preaching to crowds as he was going towards the cross. This lawyer, this religious leader approaches Jesus and he asked him a direct question.

He asked him the most important question that one could ever ask, "What can I do to inherit eternal life?" Now note this. He wasn't questioning the possibility or the reality of eternal life, maybe like a an agnostic would. He wasn't. Being astute of and a believer of the Old Testament scriptures, he believed that there was life after death. So his question was it, does eternal life exist? His question was, how do I get eternal life in heaven with God? Simply he was saying, "How do I go to heaven?" Teacher, how do I go to heaven? And there's no doubt that he heard Jesus teaching and he heard Jesus preaching.

No doubt he had heard Jesus deal with these subjects, this subject. Now I want to simply examine what is happening here. Now in examining the parable we're going to have some individual lessons that don't necessarily pertain to the Good Samaritan. So I think it's important sometimes to pause and make application because we don't want to just use the teaching, this encounter. We don't want to just use that to get to the parable. So first the lawyer and his question. This is in verse 25. I'm not going to read it again. Now I call this the magic question. I call this the magic question.

Now what I mean is that this is the most important question a person could ever ask. Let me pause and say it like this. As a pastor and a minister and someone who wants to see people come to faith in Christ, if someone comes up to me and says, "I want to know how I can go to heaven," that's the magic question. Because I'll say, "Let's sit down and let me explain." But notice what he says, "What do I have to do to gain eternal life?" It is obvious he was wanting to know about how he could go to heaven. Now I've already covered the fact that this religious leader was not asking if it exists eternal life.

He's saying, "How do I get to heaven?" And right here we must ask, "Why?" Why? Why was he asking this question? In examining why he was asking the question, this leads us to some much-needed application today. I ran across this in studying some John MacArthur material this week. And, "Oh, this helped me understand the why." And immediately I saw how valuable this is for us today. But let me read this. It may seem strange that a member of the religious establishment would ask this question. After all, the Jewish people were convinced that as Abraham's children, they were guaranteed entrance into God's eternal kingdom.

But their religious heritage would not save those whose religion was shallow and superficial and hypocritical and external. The question about inheriting eternal life kept coming up. It kept coming up because of the doubts and fears caused by a nagging conscience and a discontent heart. Like this lawyer, many of the Jews knew that they were not right with God, that they're veneer. That would be the shallow covering. That their veneer of religious activities merely served as a whitewash covering a tomb full of dead men's bones and uncleanness.

The question asked reflected their fear that they might miss out on eternal life despite all of their outward show of religious zeal. So my question for you is this, is that you? Is that anyone here? Do you have a nagging conscience? Do you have a nagging conscience and a discontent heart because you know that deep down you are not right with God? Do you have a veneer? Does anybody know what a veneer is? With furniture, you have cheap wood and on the surface you have an expensive wood. It's a veneer, it's a covering.

And when that veneer comes off, you realize, wait a minute, that piece of furniture that I thought was expensive walnut is only particle board. A veneer. Do you have this nagging conscience and a discontent heart because you know that deep down you're not right with God? Do you have a veneer of religious activity that really serves to whitewash the tomb of your life that contains a dead body? Do you truly fear that you will miss out on eternal life in heaven despite your outward religious show and zeal? That was what was nagging all of these religious people. At this point I have to share with you a testimony. That was my wife's testimony.

Very religious. Made a couple of decisions in the life of the church coming from a background in a church environment where it was about decisions, decisions. She would tell you that she made a decision as a child because she was pressured and then she made a decision when she was a teenager because everybody else was making a decision. And she put on a show, she put on a veneer for a while. Now look, when I met my wife, I met her in church. I didn't meet her in a bar room. And look, she was living the part. She was a great Christian.

And as God called me into the ministry, we were married and she served and she worked hard and she taught Sunday school. She was a great minister's wife, but she got saved later as God began to peel back that veneer and God began to show her what was really in the tomb of her heart. You see? And just like this religious leader and so many of these Jews, that nagging question had to be answered. And I'm so thankful that she did deal with that nagging question. So this lawyer's question, and so my question for you is this, are you like the lawyer? Are you like so many of those Jews?

You have a nagging conscience and a discontented heart because you're really not right with God. And if you are, listen, come, we'll help you. But ultimately, you have to deal with God. I can't lead you in some magic prayer. So number one, the lawyer's question. Number two, Jesus' response or Jesus' question. Jesus' response here or Jesus' question. Verse 26, "And he said to him, 'What is written in the law? How does it read to you?'" Really, he asked two questions. Now, I call this the masterful response. See, number one, I call the question from the religious leader a magic question, the magic question.

And then see right here with Jesus, I call this the masterful response. He was masterful in his response to this magic question. This response was not masterful just because of what Jesus said, but also how he said it. I want us to see that Jesus did two things. First, he took this man to the scriptures. This shows us that Jesus had a high view of the scriptures, the Old Testament, the New Testament, all of it. Of course, it was going to be written. We know that. But what I'm showing you is this.

Jesus had a high view of the scriptures, but more, Jesus showed this man, and he shows us that the answer to this question of eternal life is found in the scriptures. The answer to this question is not found in man's opinion or religion, but the Bible. He did not go to the man's opinion or to his religion. He took him to the scriptures. And the second thing Jesus did was this. He called on the man to answer his own question. Jesus went to the scriptures in his response, but the way he responded was making the man answer his own question according to the scripture. This was a masterful response.

Now, an application for us, we must see that all of life's problems, all of life's crossroads, every opportunity in life, no matter what we face in life, the answer is found in the scriptures. They are. All of the answers are found in the scripture. But more specifically, the question of how men are made right with God, that question must be asked from the scriptures. And look, we should call into question any and every response and answer to that question, how can a man go to heaven? We should call those questions and those responses into question in light of the scripture.

I've used this example before, but I have vivid memories of my mother baking when I was a child. I remember she would always take flour and sift it. She had this old sifter. It had to have come from three or four great grandmothers back, by the way it looked. It was old and it was beat up. And she would take that sifter, it had a handle on the bottom, and she would pour the flour in the sifter, and she would shake the sifter and not hold it by the handle. And she would sift the flour, looking for any impurity. I always wondered, if you bought the flour, I mean, did it have impurities in it? I don't know.

But what I'm trying to show you is this. That's a great visual. And we should sift the question in any answer or response to that question through the sifter of God's word. I've been faithful to purge us out of all of these man-centered methods, all of these hoops, and all of these boxes. I've been faithful to purge all of that out of our church. I repented of that stuff years ago. But you know, there's some churches they think that just walking down that aisle is going to save somebody. They think if they will pray that sinner's prayer, it's magic in somehow, some way, it's going to save them.

They think that if they can make that decision, it's somehow going to save them. They think that if they can get baptized, it's somehow going to save them. Listen, you ask people-- I've asked people, are you really born again and right with God? They say, well, I got baptized. Well, they think that that saves. Well, they may say, I made a decision for Christ. Well, they think that that saves. And sometimes people say, oh, I walked down the aisle at a revival meeting. And they think that that saves. Now, can someone get saved walking down the aisle? Sure, I did. But it wasn't the aisle. Can someone get saved if they repeat a prayer?

Sure, but it's not the prayer that saves. What I'm trying to show you is this. We sift these things through the scriptures. And if it's not found in the scripture, we have to ask, why are we doing them? And what are we doing when we use these types of things? Now, I'm pointing towards methods, obviously. So notice the lawyer's question. I call it the magic question. Oh, this is the question we should ask. And then I call Jesus' response a masterful response. And then number three, I want us to see the lawyer's response to Jesus' question. Look at verse 27.

And he answered and he said, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind. And you should love your neighbor as your self. Now, I call this the deceptive answer. The deceptive answer. Now, notice something. The lawyer answers Jesus' question with scripture. Now, some of your Bibles are italicized or noted or footnoted. You will know that he is quoting from the Old Testament, Deuteronomy and Leviticus. So he didn't invent the answer. All he's doing is quoting scripture that he knew. But notice, this is a deceptive answer. Now, why would I call this a deceptive answer?

Jesus asked him a question. He answered with the scriptures. Jesus even said in verse 28 that he had answered correctly. So why do I call this deceptive? His deception was not in his answer, but with his motives. Notice verse 25. I've already read it. He asked Jesus these things so as to test him. You see that? Even though he asked the magic question, even though he called him teacher, which was a respected term, the text says he did these things to test him. It seems that he was trying to trap or trick Jesus in some way. Maybe he was trying to entice Jesus into contradicting the scripture.

How many times did the text say that the religious leaders were trying to get Jesus to contradict the scripture? And notice that in verse 29, Luke says that this man was seeking to justify himself. He wasn't truly seeking the answer to eternal life, but in some way, he was trying to justify himself before Jesus. So he was trying to trap Jesus or trick Jesus, and he was trying to justify himself. Simply his motives were deceptive. His heart was wrong. The reason or reasons why he is asking the most important question a man can ever ask, those reasons were sinful. And even when he gave the correct answer to the question, it was sinful.

So his question from the beginning was very good, but it was deceptive. And the answer he gave was correct, but it was deceptive. Everything on the surface seemed good, but his heart and his motives were all, all wrong. Now the lesson here, when it comes to the question of salvation and eternal life, we must see that there are some people who give the right answer, but they're deceptive. They are covering over sin. They're covering over selfish and sinful and impure motives. Oh, they're giving the right answers. They're giving the right experiences. They're quoting scripture, but what's behind is impure motives in sin.

A couple of probing questions I want you to think about. How many people profess Christ in our church culture and even give great testimonies of conversion, but then they turn out to leave the faith? First John says that those who leave us never were of us. How many people are baptized? After they profess Christ. Yet they turn out to be fakes and frauds. Many times people will say, well, I don't want to go to church down there. It's full of fakes and frauds and hypocrites. See, the lesson here is this. People can give the right answers when it comes to salvation, and they can hide the truth that they're fakes all along.

They have sinful motives. They're deceived, and they deceive others. They have prideful motives. The layers can be way deep. See, there's a brutal reality here. There's a brutal reality that we need to accept. And this can be bitter medicine for some. And notice, the brutal reality is in the lesson. When you teach like this, sometimes people are pushed back. They don't want that. They don't want this. This is a brutal reality that we must accept. And listen, you'll either accept the brutal reality that it's teaching, or one day you'll accept the brutal reality when you see it lived out. You'll see somebody that professes Christ.

They're a member of this church. They get off into sin. They cause problems in the church. They go under church discipline, and then they go the way of the world. And you realize, wait a minute, all of those words, those professions, their testimony, all that they did for the Lord behind it was a lot of self and sin. They were deceptive. So the lawyer's response to Jesus' question, it was a deceptive answer. And then number four, Jesus' commandment in verse 28. Jesus' commandment in verse 28. Now, I'll call the command here, I call this the command to be saved. I call this the command to be saved.

Now, you might say, Pastor, I do not see that in that verse. Hold on a minute. Now, we see Jesus' commandment here in verse 28, but I want to go back and I want to read it all. I'm going to get to the verse, OK? So follow me. You're going to see what I'm talking about. And behold, verse 25, certain lawyer stood up, and he put him to the test, saying, teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And he said to him, what is written in the law? How does it read to you?

And he answered, and he said to him, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself. And he said to him, you have answered correctly, do this, and you will live. Do this, and you will live. Now, look at what Jesus says. He says, your answer is correct. He then says, go. Go and do it. Go and obey it. But the question we need to ask here is this. Can someone obey these commandments? No. You see the law of God, specifically the law that he quoted, what he quoted, it demands that man love God supremely and perfectly.

And the law of God demands that man love his neighbor as himself perfectly. Jesus told him that if he did those things, he would live. Isn't that what he said? Now, it can seem that Jesus is teaching some kind of a work salvation, that somehow he could gain eternal life, but that's not the case. Jesus wasn't saying that at all. Jesus was showing this expert in the law now that the purpose of the law was not to save him from sin, but to reveal his sin. He was showing this expert in the law that the purpose of the law was to show that all men are guilty.

Jesus was seeking to show this expert in the law that he was guilty and in need of salvation. So this command was ultimately a command to be saved. You see? It was a command to reveal his need for faith and salvation. Well, what was the response of the religious leader? Instead of humbly submitting to Jesus for salvation, he stayed in his religion. He stayed in his pride. He stayed in his arrogance, and his blindness became more blindness. Now, an application-- I want us to see two things here. First of all, we cannot do anything to somehow earn our salvation. We cannot.

We can't inherit our salvation, nor can anyone do anything to somehow earn salvation for us. But you know, I'm going to tell you something. You would not believe how some people believe that somehow they can inherit it, somehow they can earn it, and somehow they can get it from others. Two verses you need to know. I'm going to read them. I quote them from time to time. And you need these in your understanding so that you can deal with your children properly. John chapter 1, verse 12 and 13.

"But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name, who were born not of blood." That's heredity. Listen, you can be raised in the church. Your parents can be the finest Christians there ever were. But you never will inherit their godliness. And what happens is, a lot of times in the church, we raise our children to be Christians. We teach them the scripture. We should. We have them in Sunday school and Bible classes, and we should. And somehow what we're teaching them is that they can just kind of inherit what we've got.

"But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh." That speaks to what we can do. We can try to earn it all day long. See, that was Nicodemus' problem. That was this Jewish religious leader's problem. Somehow he thought if he could do what he saw in the Old Testament, they could earn it. Hey, I'm a son of Abraham, and I'm keeping all these laws. No, you're not. And so what I'm showing you here is this. We can never earn it. We can't teach Sunday school enough to earn it. We can't be a deacon long enough to earn it.

We can't preach long enough to earn it. I know men in the ministry now who got saved when they were in the ministry. And then he goes on to say, "Nor of the will of man." In other words, the will of someone else. We can want someone to come to faith in Christ, but we cannot make that happen for them. What does the text say? "But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name, who were born not of heredity, nor of their works, nor of the will of another man, but they're born of God." So first, we can't do anything to somehow earn our salvation. We can't inherit it.

We can't get it, and we can't get it from someone else. Second, we must see that the perfect law of God shows us our ultimate sinfulness. Our need, isn't that what Jesus is saying? Just listen to the first commandment here, because he gives the first and the second greatest commandment. And he answered, and he said, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all of your soul, with all your strength, and with all of your mind." Can anybody say that? With all of your mind? Think about how much we have sinned in our minds today. With all of our strength, think about all of the things we give our strength to.

Sometimes they're good, and sometimes they're wicked. So we must see that the perfect law of God shows us our ultimate and our total sinfulness. Now let me stop here. Sometimes we'll talk about the total sinfulness of man or the total depravity of man. We have to be careful there, because a man can do a lot of good things. I remember when my father-in-law had open heart surgery, a triple bypass. Those were not Christian men who performed that procedure. But oh, what goodness gave him life. We can do good things, even when we don't know Christ. But our ultimate sinfulness is this. We can never get to God on our own. You see?

And so we must see that the perfect law of God shows us our ultimate sinfulness. And here we see that God's standards can't be kept. We can never love God with all our heart. We can never love God with all of our soul, our being, our strength, and our mind. We can't. And we sure can't love our neighbor as our selves. Now at this point, I want to ask a question or two. I want us to ask a question or two. What was Jesus teaching this religious leader? What was the point of this encounter and his teaching? Now we've seen the religious leader's point. We've seen what's going on in his heart. He's trying to trick Jesus.

He's somehow trying to justify himself. Now think about this. If we didn't have the scripture reveal that, we would think he was a great guy. But what was Jesus' point? He was all about salvation. He was teaching men's need for salvation. God's standard is perfection. Man can't keep it and man needs salvation. And all of the law, all of the law of God, hang on these two commandments that the religious leader quoted. No man can keep these two commandments. And the scripture say, if you've broken one, you've broken them all. So this religious leader was guilty of breaking all of God's law, every bit of it. And so are we. All men need salvation.

And here is where we can get to this greater lesson, as well as get the clear lesson found in the parable of the Good Samaritan. And we do that by examining both this encounter between the religious leader and Jesus and the parable. We get the greater lesson by examining the parable in light of what was taught in this encounter. Now here's where I want to close. You might say, Pastor, you've been talking about the parable of the Good Samaritan. We haven't even got there. Here's where I want to close. I want to give you an assignment. You study and you find the clear lesson. You should have that by now.

The clear, obvious lesson there in the parable of the Good Samaritan. And then see if you can find and see if you can discover and grasp this greater lesson, which comes from both. And then next week, we'll finish it off. And we'll take a test and see who gets it right. No, I'm kidding. Now why do I do this sometimes? You don't need me to just stand up here and always teach it to you. Sometimes you need to go dig it up on your own. Now what have we learned? Save to serve, save to shine, save to love. That's the title of the message tonight. But I'm going to add to that title when we wrap things up next week.

So some of us have to write a title there. Just write, save to love. We'll add to that next week.