25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” 27 He answered, “‘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 neighbor as yourself.’” 28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” ~ Luke 10:25-28
Of all the questions that could ever be asked or answered, none is more important than this one in v.25. "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" This question is a question that appears in all four Gospels. This expert in the Law of Moses asked this question because he knew of God's promise that He would send Messiah who would establish an eternal kingdom where righteousness and peace would prevail.
In v.26 the Lord Jesus responded, "What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?" The religious leaders had added to the Law 613 separate laws that had to be kept. This is why the Lord Jesus asked this Lawyer, "How do you read it?" They had come up with 613 because there are 613 letters in the Ten Commandments. They had made the Law into that which God did not intend.
In v.27 the Lawyer cited the Shema which is found in Deuteronomy 6:4-5. It reads, "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 neighbor as yourself." This was the right answer, but the problem was he knew he couldn't do it. That's why he stood up. Sure, he was trying to put the Lord Jesus to the test, to see if He would violate the law or if He would agree with the law.
"With all your" is repeated four times in the Shema. The repetition emphasizes the extremity, the perfection, the completeness of this kind of love. The Lawyer was presenting the idea that entrance into heaven depends on our perfect love for God. We must love Him with our all, but no human is capable of this.
In v.28, the Lord Jesus agrees with the Lawyer, perfect love is required. But, nobody can do this. Perfection is required if we're going to save ourselves by means of the law. The Law exposes our sinfulness, and we know from experience the Law has the power to transform us or liberate us from the power of sin. So, the Law is like a teacher who shows us God’s holiness, our sinfulness, and our need for salvation. And the needed divine intervention ultimately comes through the Lord Jesus. This is the good news of the gospel.
Grace, for many Christians, is the reduction of God’s expectations and/or requirements of us. Because of grace, we think, we just need to try harder. Grace becomes this Law-cheapening agent, attempting to make the Law easier to follow. But, a low view of the Law always produces legalism; a high view of the Law makes a person need and seek God's grace because it is a mountain that is unscalable by us.
Most people think that those who talk a lot about grace have a low view of God’s law. Others think that those with a high view of the Law are legalists. But, it is a low view of the Law that produces legalism because a low view of the Law causes us to conclude that the bar is low enough for us to jump over.
A low view of the Law makes us think that the standards are attainable by us to attain and/or maintain God's favor. The biggest problem is not "cheap grace" but "cheap law," the idea that God accepts anything less than the perfect righteousness of the Lord Jesus for our acceptance into His presence.
It is only when we see that God's law is absolutely inflexible that we will see that God's grace is absolutely indispensable. We have got to have it. A high view of the Law reminds us that God accepts us on the basis of Christ's perfection, not our good behavior or goodness. Grace, properly understood, is the movement of a holy God toward an unholy people. He doesn’t cheapen the Law or lower its requirements. He fulfills them. He fulfilled them in His Son, who then gives His righteousness to us.
