Bible Questions Answered:
“A girl I casually met over a year
ago, we're not close friends, her folks lost their house recently
because of a fire. What I want to know as a Christian, what is my
part here, is this my neighbor, that Jesus spoke of? As I said, I
don't know her very well....”
Sheri/ Northampton, England United
Kingdom
Bible Answer:
Bible Texts:
Luke 10:25-37 KJV
25 And, behold, a certain lawyer
stood up, and tempted Him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit
eternal life?
26 He said unto him, What is written
in the law? how readest thou?
27 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 neighbor as
thyself.
28 And He said unto him, Thou hast
answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
29 But he, willing to justify
himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbor?
30 And Jesus answering said, 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 neighbor 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.
God's love knows no boundary of race, social standing, intellect,
etc. etc.
The bum living on the street, is to be loved, …...as much as your
sister or brother, father or mother.
Is that right?
Yes! Yet this is “not,” a common teaching of the church of Jesus
Christ?
Romans 12:9 KJV
Let love be
without dissimulation..."
Romans 12:9 NLT
Don’t just
pretend to love others. Really love them..."
Romans 12:9 ASV
Let love be
without hypocrisy..."
Romans 12:9 AMP
Love is to be
sincere and active [the real thing—without guile* and
hypocrisy]..."
*Guile:
Insidious cunning in attaining a goal; crafty or artful deception;
duplicity.
(Dictionary.Com)
Romans 12:9
Phillips
Let us have no
imitation Christian love..."
Jesus went further on to say....
Matthew 5:43-48
KJV
43 Ye have
heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate
thine enemy.
44 But I say
unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to
them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and
persecute you;
45 That ye may
be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for He maketh His
sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just
and on the unjust.
46 For if ye
love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the
publicans the same?
47 And if ye
salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even
the publicans so?
48 Be ye
therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Yes the Christian, is to love without guile.
Should we have love for everyone, and that without dissimulation?
Yes!
Should you be a neighbor to someone in need, whether you know them or
not? Yes!
The Love Of
God's People:
Job 2:11-13 NLT (Job and his friends.)
11 When three
of Job’s friends heard of the tragedy he had suffered, they got
together and traveled from their homes to comfort and console him.
Their names were Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar
the Naamathite.
12 When they
saw Job from a distance, they scarcely recognized him. Wailing
loudly, they tore their robes and threw dust into the air over their
heads to show their grief.
13 Then they
sat on the ground with him for seven days and nights. No one said a
word to Job, for they saw that his suffering was too great for words.
Psalm 35:11-14
NLT
11 Malicious
witnesses testify against me. They accuse me of crimes I know nothing
about.
12 They repay
me evil for good. I am sick with despair.
13 Yet when
they were ill, I grieved for them. I denied myself by fasting for
them, but my prayers returned unanswered.
14 I was sad,
as though they were my friends or family, as if I were grieving for
my own mother.
Isaiah 58:5-7
NLT
5 You humble
yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads
like reeds bending in the wind. You dress in burlap and cover
yourselves with ashes. Is this what you call fasting? Do you really
think this will please The Lord?
6 “No, this
is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned;
lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go
free, and remove the chains that bind people.
7 Share your
food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes
to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your
help.
Matthew 25:32-45
KJV
31 When The Son
Of Man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him,
then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory:
32 And before
Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall separate them one
from another, as a Shepherd divideth His sheep from the goats:
33 And He shall
set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall
The King say unto them on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of My
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world:
35 For I was an
hungered, and ye gave Me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink: I
was a stranger, and ye took Me in:
36 Naked, and
ye clothed Me: I was sick, and ye visited Me: I was in prison, and ye
came unto Me.
37 Then shall
the righteous answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered,
and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we
thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw
we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And The King
shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye
have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done
it unto Me.
41 Then shall
He say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from Me, ye cursed,
into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an
hungered, and ye gave Me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me no
drink:
43 I was a
stranger, and ye took Me not in: naked, and ye clothed Me not: sick,
and in prison, and ye visited Me not.
44 Then shall
they also answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or
athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not
minister unto thee?
45 Then shall
He answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it
not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to Me.
Hebrew 13:3 KJV
Remember those
in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being
mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.
