Obedience Is the Price, July 26

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. Luke 10:27.UL 221.1

The question which the lawyer put to Christ was one of vital consequence. The Pharisees who had prompted the lawyer to ask this question were expecting the Lord Jesus to answer it in such a way that they could find something against Him whereby they might accuse and condemn Him before the people. The self-possession of Christ, the wisdom and authority by which He spake, was something they could not interpret.UL 221.2

When this question was asked by the lawyer, Christ knew that the suggestion came from His bitterest enemies, who were setting a trap to catch Him in His words. The Lord Jesus responded to the question by placing the burden upon the lawyer to answer his own question before that crowd. “What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live” (Luke 10:26-28). Obedience to the commandments of God is the price of eternal life.UL 221.3

There is a very broad and deep work to be accomplished in fallen humanity. This is the true interpretation of genuine conversion. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The answer to this question, as given by the lawyer, comprehends the entire duty of man, who is seeking eternal life. The lawyer was unable to evade the question so directly and pointedly expressed as to the conditions of eternal life. He understood its bearings, and the necessity of answering the demands of the law in loving God supremely, and his neighbor as himself. He knew he had not done either of these, and the conviction of his neglect to obey the first four commandments and the last six commandments plainly specified in the words of the holy oracles of God was impressed by the Holy Spirit upon his heart. He saw himself weighed in the balances of the sanctuary and found wanting. He did not serve God supremely, because he had not loved Him supremely, with his whole heart, with all his soul, and all his strength, and with all his mind. Lacking decidedly in this requirement of Jehovah's law, he failed decidedly to love his neighbor as himself.UL 221.4

Thus, before the multitude he himself had given in concise words the gospel conditions of eternal life for every member of the human family, who are standing before God today.—Manuscript 45, July 26, 1900, “What Is the Chaff to Wheat?”UL 221.5