In this sermon, the speaker focuses on a passage from Luke's Gospel chapter 10, where a lawyer asks Jesus how to inherit eternal life. Jesus responds by quoting the law, which states that one should love God with all their heart, soul, strength, and mind, and love their neighbor as themselves. The speaker emphasizes that no one can save themselves through keeping the law because all humans are born with a sinful nature. The speaker also highlights the importance of recognizing our inability to perfectly love God and the need for Christ's sacrifice for salvation.

Now, it's very hard for me to say goodbye to you folks. I hope you feel it the same way about me. We've had a wonderful time together, and you have warmed my heart, and I trust I have yours. And I hope we'll meet again just as soon as possible. But how would you like if I came right into your house and delivered to you about twelve messages on the second coming of Christ? How would you like that? I mean, right into your house, where you live, and had about twelve messages on the second coming of the Lord. Put your hand up if you really would like that. Very nice. Any more? Is that all? Let me see it. I mean, right into your house, where my wife, and give you twelve messages on the second coming. Let me see it. Very nice. Well, you can do that by having my books. Thank you very much. Did you see all those hands, Mr. ... You saw those hands, didn't you? And you heard these people say that they would really like that. Well, when you have my books, you can sit in the quietness of your home, and I'll be there. And you'll read my twelve messages on the second coming of Christ. And then, having done so, you'll reach for your second book, which you shall also purchase tonight, and read all about the resurrection of Christ, that you'll come with, and so on, in the sanctuary of your home. I think it's wonderful. So I'll have my pen in my pocket, and I'll be very glad you autograph your books. Thank you very much. Now, I want to ask you to turn to the verse in the Psalms, because we know it already. It is our basic psalm, from which we have been preaching every evening. The children of Ephraim, what's the rest of it? Being armed and carrying bows, turn back in the day of battle. We have been asking all week how well we are armed to meet our foes. We saw that we are armed with the word of God. That was our subject on Monday. We are armed with the Holy Spirit of God. We have an Advocate and High Priest in the presence of God, and in consequence, a throne of grace, to which we are invited to come in time of need. Last night we saw that we are endowed with talents, and each of us has received a gift, the pound. The ministry of reconciliation, to use and to multiply for the Lord. Tonight we want to look at the seventh of those things, and see how well we are equipped in the gifts that Christ has given for the Church. And an illustration of this, please, in Luke's Gospel, chapter 10. The tenth chapter of the Gospel by Luke. Verse 25, Luke 10. And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, 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 thou shalt live. But he willing to justify himself said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. By chance there came down a certain priest that way, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion on him, went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow, when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him. And whatsoever thou spendest more when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three thinkest thou was neighbour? Unto him that fell among the thieves. And he said, He that showed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go and do thou likewise. May the Lord greatly bless dear friends, reading off this story. Now this is one of the most far-reaching parables that our Lord Jesus Christ spoke. This is a parable, I believe, that properly understood, has its roots in the book of Genesis, and its topmost bow in the book of Revelation. And all the way through, it touches upon the main points in that revelation of God to humanity. Now notice the occasion of this. It was a lawyer who stood up and tempted him. It wasn't a man falling on his face, crying, What must I do to be saved? And who received a very different answer from this. But it was a lawyer, one trained in the law of Israel, not falling down, but standing up. And standing up, tempting him, the lawgiver, and saying, Good teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? Now what you inherit is yours by right. You have it coming to you. And this young man was confident that if he could know the terms, he could meet them. Tell me whereby I may have the right to eternal life. Now no man has any right to eternal life. He has forfeited his right to eternal life by reason of his sins, if he ever had any right. And so when this man stood up, not inquiring thoughtfully or in conviction, but tempting him. And saying, What shall I do to inherit eternal life? The Lord Jesus took him up on his own ground. And said, Well now, you're trained in the law. What does the law say? And he answered liberally enough. He says, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy strength, with all thy might, and thy neighbour as thyself. Of course that sums up the ten commandments. The first four commandments are summed up in perfect love to God, with heart and soul and strength and mind. And the other six commandments, thy neighbour as thyself. So he answered liberally enough. So the Lord said, Well you've answered it, do it, and you'll live. And so, to further his argument, he says, And who is my neighbour? To a Jew, a neighbour was only a fellow Jew, certainly not a Gentile. And who is my neighbour? As if he would involve the Lord into some argument. And the Lord gave us this parable. Now lest there be somebody, friends here tonight, who has been thinking up until tonight that they were doing very well in keeping God's laws and thereby have a right to eternal life at the close of your life. Let me tell you that you're making a big mistake. For the word of God says, If there had been a law which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But if righteousness come by the law, then Christ has died in vain. It says, Moreover, that by the deeds of the law there shall be no flesh, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. Have you ever loved God perfectly? Every day that you've ever lived with all your heart and soul and strength and mind? You know you haven't. There are 168 hours in the week. How many would you say you give to God? Wholly to God? Would you say you give a hundred? I say, of course not. Would you say you gave fifty? You say, of course not. Would you say that you gave twenty? You say, of course not. Would you say you gave ten? No. Five? No. To be honest, no. Four? No, I don't believe I give God even four. Three? No, not three even. Well, how about two? Well, I don't know that I could say that I give wholly to God two hours. How about one? And you talk about loving God with all your heart and soul and strength and mind, and your neighbor as yourself. Do you love your neighbor as yourself? Of course you don't. You know that. It would be very easy to test you if you said you did. Because if you had a thousand dollars in the bank, as you all have, and I would bring you a poor man, and you would give him five hundred, and be so happy to do it, because you loved him as yourself. That would leave you five hundred. And then I would bring you another poor man, you would give him two hundred and fifty. That would leave you two hundred and fifty. Because you loved him as yourself. And then I should bring you another one, you'd give him a hundred and twenty-five. And another, you'd give him sixty-two fifty. And another thirty-one twenty-five. And another sixteen sixty-three, because you would give him the extra penny. And so on down until you didn't have any more. But I wouldn't be through with you. I'd bring you yet another poor man. Or you would say, ah, but I haven't got any money. Well, I say, you've got a car, haven't you? Let's sell it. And you'd be so happy to do it. Because you loved him as yourself. Can you do it? No. Have you ever done it? No. Are you as anxious about the health of your children? Or shall I say, are you as anxious about the health of your neighbor's children as you are about the health of your own children? You say, of course not. Then you don't love him as yourself. Are you as anxious about the depletion of your neighbor's bank account as you are about the depletion of your own? You say, of course not. Dr. W.T.P. Woolston of Edinburgh, in one of his books, tells us that years ago, he was attending a case in Edinburgh, Scotland, and somebody came in and said, Doctor, your house is on fire. And he got out of there as quickly as he could and he began running up the hill. And when he got nearly to the top of the hill, breathless, somebody said, Doctor, what's the hurry? He says, my house is on fire. He says, it's not your house. It's your neighbor's. And he says, thank God. And he discovered he didn't love his neighbor as himself. Now, the Lord Jesus Christ took this lawyer up on his own ground. Whenever you talk, friends, about earning salvation, you're faced with the demands of law. The law doesn't say, do your best. The law of God says, come up to me or I'll curse you. The law says, curse it as every one that continueth not, in all things written in the book of the law to do them. It's not a matter of doing your best. You don't get saved by doing your best. Just suppose I go for a new suit. And I go into a store and I ask the man to let me see his new suit. He says, what size? I say, 40, short. So he shows me 40 shorts. And I pick out one. I say, you know, I think this is just what I want. I say, how much is it? He says, $60, sale. I say, I'll take it. Wrap it up. So he wraps it up. I take out my pocketbook. I take out a bunch of money. I give it to him. And I proceed to walk out. He says, wait a minute, wait just a minute. There's only 35 here. It's 50. And I say, but if a person does the best he can, you can't expect him to do any more. Goodbye. And he says, mister, I'm not selling my goods on the do the best you can basis. And I speak reverently, friends. When I say, God is not dispensing his salvation on the basis of your doing the best you can. Amen. The fact is this, friends. That we're all cursed by a broken law. And if we're looking for salvation through on the do the best you can basis, we're doomed to eternal disappointment. God isn't giving it that way. Now that's why the Lord Jesus spoke this parable. Let's look at it. It says here, a certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. Now if you were to look at the map, you'd find that Jericho was up from Jerusalem and not down. But Jesus said a man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. Why? Because Jerusalem was higher up topographically. Higher up in sea level than Jericho was. So he was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. But more than that, it was a, there is indicated here, the moral step down. For Jerusalem means the city of peace. And Jericho is the city of the curse. Jericho actually means the city of palm trees. But in the days of Joshua, it was curse. Joshua said, curse be the man that buildeth Jericho. He'll lay the foundation in the death of his firstborn. And he'll finish it in the death of his younger son. And for several hundred years, nobody arose to build Jericho. And finally somebody did by the name of Hiel. Hiel actually means God lives. He wasn't an atheist. But he thought that old curse, you know, it doesn't, it doesn't obtain anymore. This is a beautiful situation. Some people said in Elijah's day, behold this, the city of Jericho. It's pleasant, but its water is bad. And its ground is barren. So this man, Hiel, said I'll build it. And he arose and built Jericho and the curse fell upon his family. It was a city of the curse. So in the Lord's graphic picture, he begins away in the fall of man. Away in Genesis. And he portrays the fall of the first man. When turning his back upon the command of God and upon the abode of peace, he went down towards the curse. You'll notice this man fell among thieves. The thieves are in the plural, thieves. Now the first man, Adam, fell among thieves. He fell a victim to the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eye and the pride of life. And John tells us that that's all that's in the world. Lust, lust to have pride after you've got it. And John says that's all that's in the world. And the devil came along and we read that when the woman saw, it was good for food. The lust of the flesh. Unpleasant to the eyes. The lust of the eyes. And the three to make one wise. The pride of life. She partook and gave to her husband, he did it. And centuries later when the last Adam, Jesus Christ our Lord, came on the scene, the devil who had been successfully tempting men in those three avenues from the beginning, came to the Lord and said, command these stones to be made bread. You're hungry. Nothing wrong with that, surely. God has just said, this is my beloved son. Now if you are indeed the son of God, command the stones to be made bread. And then we read that he said, he showed him all the kingdoms of the world, showed him the lust of the eye and said, I'll give you all this for a moment of your worship. And then he took him to a high place in the temple and said, cast yourself down from here. You won't be killed. The angels will bear you up. The scripture says that. And if you appear suddenly in the temple, they'll think you're fulfilling that scripture about the Lord shall suddenly appear in his temple. And they'll believe you. Why don't you do it? The pride of life. That's all that's in the world. Man fell among things that stripped him. He lost his innocence. Wounded him and left him half dead. Alive physically and dead to God. And that's the state of the human race, dear friends. You and I cannot save ourselves. Because we're inoculated with the poison of Eden. We are born in sin. We have a nature that loves sin. Loves uncleanness. You have to teach a baby to be truthful. You don't have to teach him to tell lies. You have to teach him obedience. You don't have to teach him disobedience. You have to teach him to be honest. You don't have to teach him to be dishonest. These things are innate in everybody. Now you notice the jump that the Lord takes in human history here when he says, And by chance there came down a certain priest that way. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise, also by chance. Likewise, a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him and passed by on the other side. Now who was the priest and who was the Levite? These were the men that stood for Jewish religion. These were the men that stood for the law. The priest stood for the law. The Levite stood for the service of the tabernacle or the temple, as the case may be. One stood for sacrifice. The other stood for service. And each of those representatives of the Jewish economy passed by on the other side and never rescued the dying man. The words, by chance, ruled them out as divinely ordained saviors. I want to say that again. The words, by chance, ruled those men out as divinely appointed saviors. And that was the Lord's way of telling us. That the law cannot save. That service cannot save. That sacrifice can't save. You can sacrifice all you've got, but it won't save you. You can serve all you like, but it doesn't save you. Neither sacrifice nor service. Oh, to learn that, dear friends. But notice the next line. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed. It doesn't say he was going down. It doesn't say he was coming by chance. A certain Samaritan. And Jesus was talking to a Jew, a Jewish lawyer, who hated Samaritans. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed. Who was Jesus talking about? He was talking about himself. For they said to him on more than one occasion, you are a Samaritan. Jesus was telling us that the Savior was someone rejected by the Jews. A certain Samaritan, as he journeyed. Did you ever spend, try to meditate on the sevenfold ministry of the good Samaritan? As applied to Christ? Let me point it out. A certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. Say, did Jesus come where we were? He did. John begins his gospel by saying, in the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God, and the Word was God. That was a way back there in eternity in heaven. But in the same chapter he says, he was in the world. And the world was made by him. And the world knew him not. He was in the world. Came where we were. It says, when he saw him, he had compassion, and went to him. Compassion on him, and went to him. This covers, dear friend, the life of Jesus. The compassionate life of Jesus. Compassion doesn't mean simply that you're sorry for people. Some people think they're compassionate when they feel sorry for people. That's not compassion. Compassion means literally, the outstretched hand. When you're compassionate, you're doing something. Besides being sorry for somebody. You're doing something about it. I knew a Christian woman. I know a Christian woman, shall I say. She's got a nephew who's crippled for life in an accident. And she kept saying to me, you know that nephew of mine, I'm sorry for him. I'm so sorry for him. I said to her one day, why don't you send him a hundred dollars? I knew she could well afford it. She could have sent him ten thousand. So why don't you send him a hundred dollars? Or send it to his mother. And let her go for a little holiday. And have somebody else come in and look after him for a week or two. Why don't you do that? She was utterly surprised that I would suggest such a thing. You're not doing a thing if you're sorry for people simply. Especially if you've got it in your power to lift their burden. Amen? You're not so sure. Compassion is the outstretched hand. And Jesus had an outstretched hand. And he went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil. And when he was healing everybody, Matthew says, Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet himself, Took our infirmities and bore our sorrows. Some people say, you know healing is in the atonement. For Isaiah said, Jesus bore our sicknesses and our sorrows. So healing is in the atonement. So if you really believe that Jesus Christ died for your sicknesses, You needn't be sick at all. Now that's erroneous. For Isaiah said that, Matthew says, That scripture was fulfilled in the life of Jesus. Amen? You're not so sure. But you're wrong. If you don't agree with me. Read it for yourself. Matthew chapter 8. Jesus in his ministry of healing, Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by the prophet himself, Bore our sicknesses. It was fulfilled in his ministry of healing, And not in his atoning death. That's just by the way. I'm giving all the extras on my last night. And being it's the last night, You're not in a hurry to get home, are you? I mean to say if Brother Fraser continued his speech till midnight, As another great preacher did, You wouldn't mind, would you? I wouldn't want you to fall asleep. Be taken up dead. Anyway, I'll hurry. Ah, where was I? Compassion on him. And went to him. And notice what it says. And bound up his wounds, Pouring in oil. The oil of the Holy Spirit of God. The wine of his own joy. And when Jesus was here, He was ever pouring in, The oil of the Spirit of God. He promised the Spirit of God. That he would come in great effusion at Pentecost. And he did. And he promised that their joy would be full. And it was in the days to come. Pouring in oil and wine. And notice what else. And set him on his own beast. You know friends, I think this is perhaps the loveliest line of all. He set him on his own beast. He gave him his own place of favor. Can you see that Samaritan? And it didn't happen in the streets of Jerusalem. Where people might say, isn't that Samaritan kind? No. It happened when no human eyes saw it. It's easy to do things in the limelight. It's not so easy to do them in secret. Can you see him though? As he walks with his arm around a half-dead man. Who's sitting on his own beast. And he's holding him up. And the beast is carrying him all the way to the inn. He gave him his own place of favor. And the Lord Jesus Christ did that, dear friends. He has given us his own place of favor. Is he a son of God? Now are we the sons of God. Is he an heir of God? We are heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. Is he the image of the invisible God? He is. Then we are destined to be conformed to the image of his Son. And I say, Hallelujah. Gave him his own place. And what else? And brought him to an inn and to care. You know, when you get saved, Jesus doesn't take you to heaven right away. He brings you to an inn. He makes you a pilgrim and a stranger for a while. Before he takes you home to heaven. This is the inn now. We are strangers and pilgrims. When Cain killed his brother, he said, I'll be a fugitive and a vagabond. There's all the difference between a fugitive and a vagabond and a pilgrim and a stranger. A fugitive is running away from home. A vagabond hasn't got a home. But a pilgrim and a stranger is different. A pilgrim is away from home. On his way to another one. The stranger has no part in his present environment. Because he's pressing on to somewhere else. God doesn't take you to heaven right away. He leaves you in the inn for a while. And then what else? And took care of him. He took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pens and gave them to the host and said unto him, take care of him. Notice that. He took care of him, the good Samaritan. And now he says to the host, I'm going away. I want you to take care of him. And he says, here are gifts for you to take care of this man until I return. These gifts are for his care. And Ephesians chapter 4 tells us that when Jesus ascended up on high, he gave gifts to the church. And he says those gifts are for the perfecting of the saints. Or rather they're for the work of the ministry. For the perfecting of the saints. For the edifying of the body of Christ. You and I, friends, are well taken care of. You and I have the care of the church. Do you know that there are men who are pledged for your care when you come into the family of God? Do you know that? They watch over you as those that must give account. That they may do it with joy and not with grief. They have been gifted by the Lord for the work of the ministry. For the perfecting of the saints. And for the edifying of the body of Christ. They are watchmen. They are shepherds. They are pastors. You're invited to bring your problems to them. When we were looking after work in Eugene, Oregon, we were always keenly disappointed. When we discovered that some of God's people in our midst were carrying burdens they never told us anything about. They never asked for prayer. The prayer of the church. They never gave the elders an opportunity to take care of them. They were trying to do it by themselves. And the first thing you knew they had miserably failed. The care of the church. Now notice what it says here. He took out two pens. What does that mean? He took out two pens and gave them to the host and says you take care of them against my return. I used to preach on this and say well, God has left, the Lord has left us two things here. He's gone but he's given us the word of God and he's given us the spirit of God. That's the two pens. But I was preaching on this on one occasion in Portland, Oregon and a Dutch brother, a painter, came up to me and he says, Brother Fraser, he says I don't get that out of two pens. I says I'm pretty sure I was wrong but that's all I know. What do you think? He says well here's what I think. He says you know the Lord Jesus told another parable about men that worked for a penny a day and when the good Samaritan took out two pennies it represented two days' pay. And notice he says now if you spend any more, I don't expect you will, but if you do spend any more when I come back, I will repay you. Now you see a day as was the Lord, said he, as a thousand years. And a thousand years as a day. The Lord was indicating that he would be gone about two thousand years and then he would return and take us home to heaven. Now when he said that, this Dutchman, I remembered that the prophet Hosea had written I will return unto my place until, he's speaking to Israel, I will return to my place until they acknowledge their transgression. And then in the next chapter, chapter six and five and one, Israel say come and let us return unto the Lord for he hath torn and he will heal us. He hath broken, he will bind us up. As for two days, he will return. And in the third day, he will raise us up. So I said to my friend, thank you very much for reminding me that my Lord will be gone about two days and come back again. Amen? That's not setting dates for the return of Christ. It's just making yourself aware of the proximity, the very possible proximity of the return of Christ. And whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, don't you like those words? When I come again, and if I won't prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself. Now where I am, there you may be also. You know, there was a missionary one time in China wanted to have a calendar made. And he wanted a picture on the front of the calendar. And he summoned a Chinese artist. And he says, now I want you to draw me a picture of the Good Samaritan for the front of my calendar. And he told them the story. Now you see, you've got the idea, you've got the story. I want a picture of the Good Samaritan for my calendar. And the artist said, right. It will be ready in a week. So in a week, he brought the picture. And when he brought the picture, the missionary said, I wanted a picture of the Samaritan getting off his donkey. The traditional picture, you know. And bending down beside the wounded man by the side of the road and binding up his wounds. While the donkey was grazing quietly by the side of the road. He says, this picture you've got, what has this got to do with the Good Samaritan? For as he looked at the picture, he saw a man, a fat man, a real fat man sitting on a chair, the very picture of ease and comfort. Right in the background. Not really back, but in the middle. Whereas off to the side, there was a very, very thin man with his hand up like this, gazing anxiously, apparently, up the road. He says, what's that got to do with the Good Samaritan? For instance, who's that fat man in the middle of the picture? He says, that's the man who was saved. That's the man who was brought to the inn. Well, he says, why is he so fat? He says, because the innkeeper took good care of him. Well, he says, who's that thin man gazing up anxiously? He says, that's the innkeeper. Hoping that the Good Samaritan will come back before he gets thin, isn't it? Dear friends, that's the church of God. Do you ever get thin for the kingdom of God's sake? You? Me? Do you ever suffer for the sake of the flock? Read the 119th Psalm, and you'll read about a real pastor. Rivers of water run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law. I beheld the transgressor, and was grieved. And so on. And John wrote to his children, and he said, And now, little children, abide in him, that when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his appearing. It wasn't a matter of their being ashamed. It was a matter of them, the pastors, being ashamed at the coming, because of the poor condition of the flock of God. So Jesus has made abundant provision for us, dear friends. God has. And what do we have? The Word of God. The Spirit of God. The Advocate, if we sin. Our great High Priest, who never fails to bear us upon his breast. The talents, the pound, the care of the church. The children of God, in part of the pound, being armed so well, turned back in the day of battle. God forbid. May he send us all away, dear friends, better for having been here this week. Amen? The better for having been here this week. More thoughtful. More kind. More easy to live with. More thankful to God. More desirous of extending his kingdom. More sacrificial in our giving to him. May the Lord bless you. Let's sing that song together. Three hundred and fifty-one. God be with you until we meet again. After this I'm asking my brother, Mr. Willie, to close this in prayer, with any remarks he may desire to make. Five hundred and forty, dear friends. God be with you until we meet again. Let us stand while we sing, and our brother will give us the closing benediction. Let's sing verses one and two and four. Five forty-one. God be with you until we meet again. And you have discovered that up to now, you have been on the basis of your human effort, your human works, your prayers, your straightforward living, but you have discovered that by those deeds shall no flesh be justified, but you have discovered that Jesus is a good Samaritan who came to where we were into the world to save sinners, and you have trusted him as your Savior. Will you tell me about it as you go out, that we may rejoice together. Or if you have some difficulty that you've never had solved yet, and you think that I might be able to help you, or Brother Mr. Willie, or others, feel free to let us know about it and stay behind. The Lord bless and keep you until we meet again.