Do This and You Will Live:

Luke 10:25-28 “...And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he answered, “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.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live...”

What was the lawyer’s interest?

• Outwardly he appeared to have questions about eternal life.
• Inwardly he was putting Jesus to the test.

Is it wise to put God to the test?

• Numbers 14:21-23 “...But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD, none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it...”

• Deuteronomy 6:16 “...You shall not put the LORD your God to the test...”

• Malachi 3:10 “...Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need...”

• It is unwise to put God to the test (Father, Son, or Holy Spirit) - unless He specifically authorizes it.

How did Jesus steer the conversation?

• He had the lawyer give the answer.
• He agreed with the Law that the lawyer cited.
• He validated what was written.

Is it enough to know what is written?

• “...do this, and you will live...”

• Romans 2:13 “...For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified...”

Luke 10:29 “...But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?...”

How did the lawyer respond to the direct answer of Jesus?

• The lawyer was supposedly asking about how to inherit eternal life.
• The lawyer knew what was written in the Law.
• Jesus told him to do what was written and he would have life.
• The lawyer was convicted by an answer that implied he wasn’t doing something he should be doing.
• The lawyer tried to justify his lack of lack of doing what was written.

Have you ever found yourself justifying your lack of doing what is written?

Why do people try to justify their lack of doing what is written?

How can people do what is written?

•  Isaiah 40:28-29 “...Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength...”

• Ephesians 1:18-19 “...you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might...”

• Colossians 1:9-14 “...And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins...”

• Ezekiel 36:27 “...And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules...”

• Galatians 5:16 “...But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh...”

• It can only be done "by the Spirit", not "by the flesh"