Jesus came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10) and just before ascending into heaven, He told the disciples to go and preach the gospel (good news) and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-16). Jesus and the apostles had the challenging task of explaining the need for a redeemer (savior, deliverer) and the necessity of accepting the gift of life through Jesus Christ. The biggest problem in that day and now is that just about everyone thinks they are okay with God, they have done enough good deeds to go to heaven, they have followed their religious system, they are born into the right family, and performed better than the majority. In fact, most believe that just about everybody will be saved anyway.
The fallacy with their reasoning and conclusion ignores the fact that God is completely holy holy, pure, sinless, undefiled and perfect in every way and cannot have a relationship, fellowship, association or friendship with anything unclean, evil, defiled, tainted or sinful by action, word, thought or motive. Heaven cannot accept, welcome nor allow entrance to anyone who is unrighteous or stained with and corrupted by the guilt of sin.
This is clearly seen in one of the most quoted verses in John 3:16. The Father’s great love for humanity is revealed in the greatest gift ever given, His only Son. Jesus died on the cross to ransom us because we were all destined to perish (to be condemned, eternally disfellowshipped and damned to hell). We can be forgiven and saved by believing in Jesus and thereby will be granted everlasting life in heaven.
Perhaps you can feel the weight of trying to be right with God based on our own goodness, religious customs or personal performance. All of this comes out in conversation that Jesus had and in a parable that He told. In Luke 10, an expert in the law tested Jesus by asking, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (10:25) While his motive for asking was not entirely sincere, it is still the most important question ever. He already knew the answer and when Jesus turned the question back to him, he responded: “‘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, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’” (10:27)
So, if that was my answer, I might pat yourself on the back and think, “I passed with an A+ and surely I am right with God.” However, Jesus did not say, “Believe this and you will live” or “have a small group Bible class discussion on this and you will live” or “try a little harder to act like this and you will live” or “read an article in the Gospel Herald and you will live”. Jesus said, “Do this and you will live!” (10:28)
It was obvious to everyone in the room, that neither they nor this lawyer had loved the Lord with all their heart and their neighbour as themselves. None of them had fully carried out this command. The ‘expert’ could not simply confess his past sins and from that day forward love God and his neighbour as the law required. That would not deal with past sins. And it seems that he was not willing to ask Jesus what a true love for the Lord would look like.
So instead, trying to justify himself, the lawyer asked, “Who is my neighbour?” (10:29) It seems that he is attempting to deflect the discomfort of his own guilt by putting Jesus in a difficult position. If Jesus extended the “neighbour circle” too much, many would be angry and if Jesus made the circle too narrow, it would offend others. I’m sure his comrades were impressed with the lawyers’ immediate retort.
Most of us a familiar with the parable of the “Good Samaritan”. It is found in Luke 10:30-35. Interpreters sometimes get lost in the minutia of the story – like the road, the beaten and bloody man, the robbers, the priest and Levite, the care of the Samaritan, the donkey and the inn and the money…only to miss the main point.
This parable is not teaching us to be a better neighbor, nor overcoming religious hypocrisy like the priest or Levite (and by extension, the lawyer who asked the question). It’s not imploring us to try a little harder or to do a little better in our service to others so that God will be happy and we can work our way into the kingdom. Not at all.
The question is, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” (10:25). It is not, how can I make the world a better place to live in for all of mankind. An inheritance is a gift, not a paycheck.
The first command is love God, the second is to love people. What we hope that the lawyer understood and was convicted of in his heart, it that he has failed. He does not love God unreservedly nor others as himself. He is guilty of sin, judged by God and condemned for his selfishness and pride. He is dead in transgression. He has no legitimate excuses, no plausible defense, no justification or avenue for appealing God’s divine sentence. (Romans 3:23; 5:12; 1 John 1:8, 10)
Both he and we, have only one hope. We need a Savior. Someone who can redeem us from our sin. We cannot save ourselves by trying harder, praying longer, crying more deeply or giving more freely. There is only one way that we can be “made right” before God. Paul wrote, “For our sake He (God, the Father) made Him (Jesus) to be a sin offering, who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) That is the best news ever!
I am confident that we understand our critical need for Jesus to save us, but how do we share that with those who don’t know God? Do our conversations and invitations come across as, “You should join our church” or “This might help your life” or “This makes me feel better” or “Why don’t you get baptized? I know we don’t say these words, but is it what people hear?
Unless a person realizes that they have sinned against a holy God and will be judged accordingly, they might not be interested in our “club” (as they see it). But, if they understand that God is holy and feel the weight of their sin and unrighteousness, and accept the inevitability of final judgment, they will be eager to ask, “What must I do to have eternal life?”
And when they hear about God’s awesome love, his divine sacrifice and the gift of salvation in Christ, it will be good news and only good news. Then John 3:16 will be more than a t-shirt, a Facebook post or piece of art hanging on a wall. It will be God’s invitation to eternal life.
P.S. Christians are also commanded to love their neighbor. (John 13:34-35, Romans 13:8-10; Galatians 6:10; Ephesians 4:32; Philippians 2:3; 1 Peter 4:8; 1 John 4:7-8)
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