The Dangers of Religiosity
by Rev. Kirby Williams
Learning how desperately we need Jesus from the parable of the "Good Samaritan".
Text: Luke 10:25-37
Date: 06/11/2023, the Combined service.
Series: "Luke: Thy Kingdom Come" Part 108
Description:
In His dealings with the religious elite of Israel, Jesus was constantly confronted by those who thought they were "right with God" because of their self-defined piety. We will identify this behavior as "religiosity"-- a religion that is only "skin-deep" and does not emanate from the heart. When a lawyer asks Jesus how to inherit eternal life, Jesus delivers one of His best known parables-- the so-called parable of the "Good Samaritan". In it, He not only describes the kind of Christ-like compassion that is a model for the church to follow, but also reveals how impossible His standards are for any kind of self-realized salvation. In other words, Jesus underscores the desperate need we all have of a Savior when we inevitably fall short of God's exalted definition of righteousness. Ultimately we will learn to avoid one of satan's most subtle, devious and successful traps, by recognizing the mortal dangers of "religiosity".
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I. Introduction
II. Exposition of the text, Luke 10:25-37.
A. Context, Luke 10:9.
B. Jesus' discourse with a lawyer, vs. 25-29.
1. The lawyer asks a question, vs. 25.
a. Setting the scene.
i. Maintaining our focus, Luke 10:21.
ii. Intensifying our focus.
iii. Assuming the location, Luke 10:1, Mark 12:34.
b. The confrontation.
c. The question, Matt. 22:36.
d. The teaching on "eternal life", John 6:47, 68.
2. Answering a question with a question, vs. 26.
3. The Great Commandments, vs. 27, Deut. 6:4-9, Lev. 19:17-18, Matt. 22:40.
4. The impossible implication, vs. 28, Matt. 5:48.
5. The deflection, vs. 29.
a. Moving the mark, Luke 16:15.
b. Avoiding the truth.
i. Apparently "right with God", Luke 18:11-12.
ii. Wanting to argue his position, John 7:49.
iii. Pure deflection, John 4:18-20.
C. The parable of the "Good Samaritan", vs, 30-37.
1. The desperate state of a man, vs. 30.
2. The Temple representatives, vs. 31-32.
a. The priest, vs. 31, Lev. 19:34, Ex. 23:4-5.
b. The Levite, vs. 32.
c. The Temple perspective, Mark 7:6.
3. The Samaritan, vs. 33-35.
a. A most unusual occurrence, vs. 33a.
b. Christ-like compassion, vs. 33b, Luke 6:35-36.
c. Tender care, vs. 34a, Lev. 23:13, Amos, 5:21-24.
d. Extended care, vs, 34b-35.
4. The moral of the story, vs. 36-37.
a. Backed into a corner.
b. The indictment.
III. Application
A. Living and teaching Christ-like compassion.
B. Recognizing the dangers of "religiosity", Matt. 5:20, Luke 19:10.
IV. Conclusion
