Luke 10:28 "And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”
The lawyer answered the question very well. But why does Jesus respond the way He does? Why doesn’t He say something specific about believing in Him?
The fact is that what Jesus tells this lawyer is a good lesson for us even today. Salvation occurs when a person responds in obedience to the message of the gospel. Now, if a person loves someone, they will want to please that person. And, in order to please God, we obey His commands. So if we love Him, we listen to Him.
What Jesus is doing here is building a bridge from the law to the gospel. Those who truly loved Yahweh among the Jews of His time recognized Christ and embraced Him.
In our day, the second commandment, the golden rule, has been taken as an equivalent for all that Jesus and the Scriptures teach. Though loving one’s neighbor is vital, leaving out the first and greatest commandment is catastrophic. Loving our neighbors without loving the Lord our God will not make us good people. It will just deceive us into thinking we are ok. And we will die in our sins.
Heavenly Father, thank You for this country we call America! It is still free. We may still sing Your praises in public. Thank You for that privilege! Thank You for all those that You helped to give their lives to keep us free. Thank You for working good in the lives of our forebears to begin this nation. All praises to You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.