Scripture: Luke 10:25-37
News coverage and Social Media have a had a firestorm the past couple weeks concerning racism. Those who fly under the banner of white supremisist, neo-Nazis or the Ku Klux Klan and who also call themselves Christian are biblically misinformed.
1 John 4:20-21 If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.
Ashland’s 2017 Theme is “God’s Social Network – the Bible” Nearly every page of the Bible (which is God’s written form of Social Media – how he communicates with us) speaks about our relationship with God exhibited through our relationship with others. How we speak and act toward others is a reflection of how we love – or fail to love God.
Luke 10:25-37
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 26 "What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" 27 He answered: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" 28 "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
30 In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'
36 "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" 37 The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
Who is my neighbor? The one who needs my help.
Interesting that this teacher combined the same two laws that Jesus did when Jesus said, Matt 22:37-40 "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
James 2:8-9
If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.
Rom 12:3-4
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
Phil 2:3-4
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
What does loving your neighbor look like in scripture?
Lev 19:9-18
"'When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the Lord your God.
"'Do not steal.
"'Do not lie.
"'Do not deceive one another.
"'Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.
"'Do not defraud your neighbor or rob him.
"'Do not hold back the wages of a hired man overnight.
"'Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the Lord.
"'Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.
"'Do not go about spreading slander among your people.
"'Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor's life. I am the Lord.
"'Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt.
18 "'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.
Lev 19:34
The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.
During my last two years of college I pastored the Emmanuel Baptist Church in Penelope Texas. It was there that I first encountered "colored town." My wife Julie and I were driving around one Sunday afternoon visiting people to invite them to come to our church. We drove down a dirt road we’d never been on before, crested a hill we’d never noticed before, and spread out before us was Penelope’s "colored town."
I was shocked. I didn’t know Penelope had a "colored town!" We were delighted-a whole new set of prospects for our little congregation! We had a wonderful time playing with the children, petting the dogs, talking with people and drinking cokes in the kitchen.
Several hours later it was time to depart. We had an evening church service to lead. Mr. Green, our deacon (we only had one) was standing on the church steps waiting for us. “We hear you’ve been to colored town,” he said. “Those people aren’t welcome here.”
“OK,” I said.
I suppose that there are two ways to handle racism. One is to climb on a “high horse” and angrily judge and condemn those obviously racist. The other is to take time to work on their hearts.
I chose the latter. In fact, I set a goal. Every year our church sponsored “Vacation Bible School”. For two weeks each summer children came every morning for fun, games, crafts and Bible lessons. Bible School for this year had just ended. I decided that next year the colored children would be welcomed.
So, I preached compassion and love and acceptance—and worked on our hearts. One year later eleven African-American children attended our Bible school. Mrs. Beard was one of our Vacation Bible School teachers. The next Sunday two African-American families came to worship with us in or church. No one turned them away. In fact, the fellowship we had was sweet.
What about you? Does your heart beat with the heartbeat of God who loves ALL people? DO you know people who hate others and need a heart adjustment? Do you love yourself? Most hatred toward others comes from a hatred of ourselves which we turn outward to mistakenly protect ourselves. God expects us to love ourselves, and love our neighbors in the same way.
Always remember – God had every right to be prejudiced toward us – we rejected his ways and put ourselves on the throne where only he belongs. Rom 5:8 God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
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