The
following are guidelines for living as redeemed people in a fallen
world. We are to:
-
Give
Ourselves To God As Living Sacrifices (Part 1);
-
Obey
The Government (Part 2);
-
Love
Our Neighbors (Part 3); And
-
Take
Special Care Of Those Who Are Weak In The Faith (Part 4).
LOVE
YOUR NEIGHBORS
In
Matthew 22:39, Jesus said “Love
your neighbor as yourself.”
Matthew
5:43-45 says “You
have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your
enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who
persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He
causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on
the righteous and the unrighteous.”
In
John 15:17, Jesus said
“This
is my command: Love each other.”
WHAT
IS LOVE?
Romans
12:9-21 says
“9
Love
must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10
Be
devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.
11
Never
be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
12
Be
joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13
Share
with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. 14
Bless
those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15
Rejoice
with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16
Live
in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to
associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
17
Do
not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in
the eyes of everyone. 18
If
it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with
everyone. 19
Do
not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath,
for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the
Lord. On the contrary: 'If
your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something
to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.'
21
Do
not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
WHO
IS MY NEIGHBOR?
Luke
10:27-37 says
“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 was attacked by 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, brought him to an inn and took care of
him.
35
The
next day he took out two Denari 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.'”
LOVE,
FOR THE DAY IS NEAR
Romans
13:8-14 says “8
Let
no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one
another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9
The
commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not
murder,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not covet,' and whatever
other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: 'Love
your neighbor as yourself.'
10
Love
does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the
law. 11
And
do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come
for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer
now than when we first believed. 12
The
night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside
the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
13
Let
us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and
drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in
dissension and jealousy. 14
Rather,
clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about
how to gratify the desires of the flesh.”
WHY
IS LOVE FOR OTHERS CALLED A DEBT?
We
are permanently in debt to Jesus Christ for the lavish love He has
poured out on us. The only way we can even begin to repay this debt
is by loving others in turn.
Because
Christ's love will always be infinitely greater than ours, we will
always have the obligation to love our neighbors.
SELF-LOVE
IS NOT WRONG
Somehow,
many of us have gotten the idea that self-love is wrong. But if this
were the case, it would be pointless to love our neighbors as
ourselves.
Even
if you have low self-esteem, you probably don't willingly let
yourself go hungry. You clothe yourself reasonably well. You make
sure there's a roof over your head if you can. You try not to let
yourself be cheated or injured. And you get angry if someone tries
to ruin your marriage or relationships.
This
is the kind of love we need to have for our neighbors. Do we see
that others are fed, clothed, and housed as well as they can be? Are
we concerned about issues of social justice?
Loving
others as ourselves means to be actively working to see that their
needs are met. People who truly love themselves and who focus on
others rather than themselves rarely suffer from low self-esteem!
Finally,
In John 13:34, Jesus said
“A
new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so
you must love one another.”
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