A lawyer had come to Jesus and tested Him with a question.  Jesus had answered with a question, and the lawyer answered correctly.  (Luke 10:25-28)
Then the lawyer wanted to make himself look realllllly good…so he asked Jesus another question concerning the subject of “love your neighbor as yourself.”  (Luke 10:27)
(NASB) Luke 10:29 “But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus ‘And who is my neighbor?’”

Have you ever worked to “justify” yourself?  Justifying ourselves is a defense mechanism for we want to be “right”!  Being “right” is very important to our well-being and how we view ourselves.
What a shock when we are involved in an unpleasant incident of some kind and we were the cause!
When the incident happened, most of the time, it will clearly be some person who is at fault.  Witnesses will plainly point their sharp tongues and fingers.
Misery!  Depression!  Despair!  We cannot justify ourselves, because of the evidence that is clearly against us.

Justifying Myself? Impossible

With an unpleasant occurrence which is clearly our fault, we cannot justify ourselves.  Using this as an example, how can anyone justify themselves before the God of the Bible?

When we are “caught” we realize that we are in need of a Savior because we are guilty!
Guilty of lying, guilty of committing sexual sins, guilty of gossiping, guilty of perversion, guilty of stealing (even stealing another’s reputation or good name), guilty of killing (even an unborn baby), guilty of wanting something which is not ours, guilty, guilty, guilty!

How can anyone “justify” themselves before God?  For clearly guilt is evident.  God’s laws have been broken, laws which He has established and told us of in His words, the Holy Bible.  (Exodus 20:3-17 The Ten Commandments)

The living God, in His mercy and love, has provided a way for anyone to be cleared of guilt – true guilt.  And that is through faith in God’s only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus.
(NASB) Galatians 2:16 “…knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.”

God’s word proves that we need Jesus and His righteousness:
(NIV) Romans 3:22-24 “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.  There is no difference, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

Justifying Myself?  Impossible!

This is why everyone needs Jesus!