A Lesson on ‘Who Is My Neighbor?’

A neighbor sees a need and extends his help.

 

1John 3:17 states,

“But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?”

 “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great command-ment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”  (Mt22:37-39) 

 Jesus was asked “And who is my neighbour?”  (Lk10:29) In answering the question Jesus told  the story of the Good Samaritan who came to aid of a traveler who was robbed, stripped of his clothing, wounded and left half dead.

Sadly, it seems that many who say they “love God and go to church“,  don’t know who their neighbor is.  Here is a recent incident that my husband, Drgold experienced that illustrates this truth. 

We live in a high-rise condo where off-street parking is very limited.  In preparation for repaving our parking lot and driveway, our condo association needed to find a lot not used much doing the weekdays.  We need temporary parking only for a few days for about 25 cars.  Any place that could accommodate any number of cars in different lots would be okay, too.  

As it so happens, there are 3 churches within our block where we live.  The first church he inquired right around the corner from us told him “No”, even though their lot was not being used during the week.  He thought they were sort of like ‘passing the buck’ by suggesting that my husband check with another nearby church.  Here we are their neighbors and had a pressing need for only 4 days,  but that church did not see it that way.  

 Jesus said if you love God,  you must also love your neighbors as yourself. This is a lesson for all of  us to examine ourselves– who are our neighbors and does the love of God really dwell our hearts toward those who are in need or are less fortunate. 
 
This is the story of the Good Samaritan from Luke 10:30-37: 

“Who Is My Neighbor?”

A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 

31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 

32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. 

33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, 

34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

35 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. 

36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? 

37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

Do you really love God?  Do you know who your neighbor is?  Are you a good Samaritan or like the priest and Levite in the Luke 10 account?   Are you a believer or make-believer?

Parable of the Sower- Shofar eBook, Chap. 6 (con’t)

We are on Chapter 6 where the hearers of the Word of God had the Word stolen away by Satan.  They are the Way Side Christians which comprise the majority of Christians today; they are also considered ‘nominal’ Christians by some, but by the conclusion of this study, they will be seen to be ‘marginal’ Christians as well.  For now we will continue with-

STONY GROUND CHRISTIANS
This second group has the seed of the Word of God sown into stony ground and,

“.. when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away” (Luke 8:13).

There is no soil to grow in, thus no roots. That’s why the prophet Hosea said, “break up your fallow ground” (Hosea 10:12) It is impossible for anything good to come from stony ground. In the parable of the fig tree, Jesus described men as being like trees needing the soil turned, fertilized, branches pruned, etc. Time was given for it to have healthy growth, but if after all that was done and still a tree bore no fruit, then it would be cut down (Luke 13:6-9).

Simply stated, Stony Ground Christians are shallow Christians. The Bible says that those in this group of Christians initially receive the Word of God with joy, but then because of trouble or persecution that arises over the Word, they allow doubt and confusion, fear and intimidation to cause them to distrust and reject the Word (Mt 13:21 paraphrased). How could they receive the Word with joy, then reject it? In Jesus’ day, thousands of people followed Him when they liked what they heard and saw. They liked seeing and being a part of the miracles He performed, but when they found some of His teachings too difficult to accept, they stopped following Him.

John 6:66 states,

“From that time many of his disciples went back and walked no more with Him.”

In the Bible, hard or stony hearts are also related to rebellion, stubbornness, disobedience, and spiritual blindness (Eph 4:18; Job 41:24; Isaiah 30:9). Samuel, the prophet/judge told King Saul,

“rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry” (1 Sam 15:23).

Stony ground Christians include ‘religious’ people who hold on stubbornly to only what they want to believe, or what they have been taught to believe. They are self-righteous and hypocritical in that they believe they know everything they think they should know, and there’s nothing more you can tell them, i.e. they’re right and you’re wrong. They are proud and have unteachable spirits. Their hearts are hardened.

They often follow customs, church traditions, rituals, etc. and are legalistic in their doctrines. Many Stony Ground Christians have also remade God and the Bible palatable to what they feel is acceptable to them. Many churches have compromised the Word of God with unscriptural teachings that God is a God of Love and not of Judgment, and have caused schisms in their own denominations, e.g. with some stubbornly rejecting the idea that homosexuality is a sin and an abomination to God. They are spiritually blind, and are resistant to truth even to the point of provocation and violence.

It was the religious people of Jesus’ day, the scribes and Pharisees, who thought they knew everything and did everything properly, who resisted the teachings of Jesus vehemently and did not acknowledge Him as the Son of God, and finally put Him to death. Today, Stony Ground Christians are some church leaders, who can be compared with the Pharisees of Jesus’ days, who did not enter into the kingdom of God; neither did they let others to enter in also! They lead the pack in this rebellious generation today in rejecting God and His Word! They are not open to the guidance and teachings of the Holy Spirit and divide the body of Christ, bringing reproach to God and His Word, and are a major stumbling block to the unsaved (Mt 23:13).

(next- Thorny Ground Christians)