Psalm of the Day: Psalm 130:1-8
Wisdom of the Day: Proverbs 6:25-35
Scripture Reading: Luke 10:25-28
We should notice the solemn question which was addressed to our Lord Jesus Christ. We are told that a certain lawyer asked Him, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" The motive of this man was evidently not right. He only asked this question to "test" our Lord, and to provoke Him to say something on which His enemies might lay hold of. Yet the question he propounded was undoubtedly one of the deepest importance.
It is a question which deserves the principal attention of every man, woman, and child on earth. We are all sinners, and sinners going to be judged after death. "How shall our sins be pardoned? With what shall we come before God? How shall we escape the damnation of Hell? Where shall we flee from the wrath to come? What must we do to be saved?" These are inquiries which people of every rank ought to put to themselves, and never rest until they find an answer.
It is a question which unhappily few care to consider. Thousands are constantly inquiring, "What shall we eat? What shall we drink? With what shall we be clothed? How can we get money? How can we enjoy ourselves? How can we prosper in the world?" Few, very few, will ever give a moment's thought to the salvation of their souls. They hate the subject. It makes them uncomfortable. They turn from it and put it away. Faithful and true is that saying of our Lord's, "Wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads unto destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it" (Matthew 7:13-14).
Let us not be ashamed of putting the lawyer's question to our own souls. Let us rather ponder it, and never be content until it fills the first place in our minds. Let us seek to have the witness of the Spirit within us, that we repent truly of sin, that we have a living faith in God's mercy through Christ, and that we are really walking with God. This is the character of the heirs of eternal life. These are those who shall one day receive the kingdom prepared for the children of God.
Prayer for the Day: Dear Lord, do I have the right answer to this man's question?
Action Plan: What is the right answer to the man's question? When was the last time the Holy Spirit communicated with you though the Scriptures?
This devotional was taken from The Gospel of Luke by J.C. Ryle published in 1858
and adapted by Pastor Tim Lewis of New England Shores Baptist Church.
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