Do We Know God.... Or Really Just Know About God?

There is a song in our songbook at the church building entitled “Do You Know My Jesus?” As I was reading through the words of the song, I thought about another related question, “Do we know God?” I think these are incredibly important questions. God is the creator of the universe and will have ultimate say over where we spend eternity, so it makes perfect sense to feel a motivation to know Him. But do we? My guess is that if asked, our friends and neighbors would say “yes” to that question. We SHOULD be able to say yes to that question; however, I wonder if many times people know about God instead of actually knowing Him. There is a huge difference. One time I met the former governor of Texas, exchanged pleasantries and shook his hand… but I can’t say I know him. Likewise, plenty of people know about God, but how many really know Him? 

The ancient Hebrew nation thought they knew God. They were God’s chosen people, they were promised and given the land of Canaan where they lived (Joshua 11:23). God gave the Hebrew people His Holy word (the oracles of God, Romans 3:1-2), as well as prophets, priests, judges, and kings to lead them. They were given many prophecies about the Messiah coming to save them. God personally interfaced with Israel like no other nation. Despite these advantages, they ended up not knowing Him. During His ministry Jesus told the Pharisees that, “You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also.” (John 8:19) Those people thought they knew God, but it turns out they didn’t, they just knew some things about Him. It can be the same for us today if we are not careful. According to the Apostle Peter, Christians make up the nation of chosen people today (1 Peter 2:9-10), and as such it is imperative that we know God and Jesus Christ, not just know some information about them. 

One time I picked up Moby Dick, and although I love adventure and whales, I quickly saw that Melville’s book was very wordy and not an easy read.  At this point the temptation was to look around for CliffsNotes, SparkNotes, ChatGPT, or some other way to get a quick synopsis. I wonder if sometimes people treat Christianity like this and miss key information in the effort to take a shortcut. Do you rely on what your ‘religious friend’ has to say? How about your minister, preacher, elder or pastor? Do you listen to a 20 minute sermon, read a blog, or listen to a podcast and think you come away knowing God? Knowing Jesus? The problem with relying upon these trusted experts is that they are humans. Jeremiah 10:23 records, “that a man’s way is not in himself, nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps.” Jeremiah’s point is that without divine direction, people choose the wrong path. God is perfect, people aren’t, so if we end up following what people say, it may end up going against God.

Consider the following. God has created everything. God has given us our very lives, makes sure that those who put Him first have food/clothing/shelter (Matthew 6:25-34), and even more…God has provided eternally for us as well. God had a plan from the beginning to save man (2 Timothy 1:9; Acts 2:22-23), to answer what to do because of our sin. God also directed prophets, Apostles, and inspired writers to record His will. If we truly want to know God… not just a little about Him, we should open that word which He gave and preserved for us and see what He has to say. When we are seekers and look in all the wrong places, we can get in our own way and not find the truth. If you want to really know God, go to the source, His own words, to seek answers about Him.

Let’s put this in practice. Do you love God? To properly love God we must know Him and then understand what He says about love. Many like the idea of loving God or want to love God in their own way, but we can’t understand what God-approved love actually means until we have read what God says on the subject. God defines love in a way which is often far different than mankind’s idea of it. God shows us how to love by His own actions: He sent us His Son, so that those who believed on Him wouldn’t perish (John 3:16). This is what true love is. Further, Jesus taught that loving Him means that a person will keep His commandments (John 14:15; 16:8-11). This is what it means to love. There is so much more to learn about love from God, but you get the point. Recently a visitor to our community outreach was questioning why we do or don’t do certain things in our worship services. We tried to share with her that it was out of love for God, out of deference and respect to God, that we simply followed closely what He had directed us to do without adding or taking away. If we know God, the God who teaches us about Himself in the Bible, we will understand that He doesn’t change His character (Malachi 3:6; James 1:17; Hebrews 13:8). We will know that He disapproves when humans go beyond what is written (scripture) and add or subtract (Deuteronomy 4:2; 1 Corinthians 4:6). We can’t say we love God, and then turn around and do our own thing. If we know the God of the Bible, then we understand that we must love God by doing His thing.

Let us dedicate ourselves to really knowing God as He revealed Himself instead of trying to make Him fit into our notion of who He should be.

Modern Day Idolatry

In times past I’ve heard multiple sermons on the dangers of idolatry.  The preachers would explain how TV or any number of things were idols in our lives. I have to admit, I honestly thought they had gone too far. The idea of worshipping and idol was so foreign to me, that when they tried to tie it to watching too much TV, their message was lost on me. Fast forward a few decades, and now I find myself being a preacher of the gospel in a small Hill Country town in Texas, trying my best to serve God and this community. Recently we were manning “The Bible Tent” at a Blanco Market Day, and a nice couple stopped in, decked out in campaign attire for their candidate of choice. The husband pulled me aside and made some very strong remarks regarding politics and even brought up some scripture along the way. I questioned how this delivery would affect others for Christ, and how many people he thought would be convinced by his methods.  We then talked about goals and what God would want, and I could see that it was a big challenge for him to set aside his strong convictions for a moment and think about doing what was best for people, and to do it in service to God. This event got me to thinking about the subject of idolatry again……maybe those preachers from my childhood were on to something.

It turns out that the Old and New Testaments both are very clear about the sinful nature of idolatry and what God thought of it. There are a great number of verses on idolatry, but for brevity we’ll just examine a few. Exodus 20 records God giving the 10 Commandments to the ancient Israelites, and it is no mistake that He starts from the beginning with prohibitions of putting other gods before Him, for making idols, for worshipping or serving them. God was absolutely serious about idolatry and even commanded capital punishment for it (Deuteronomy 13:1-18). Today we live under the New Covenant, found in in the New Testament, but we find that God’s attitude hasn’t changed on the subject; He is deadly serious (Revelation 21:8). When we look up the definition of idolatry in various dictionaries, we read that it includes worshipping a physical object, god, or goddess, but also in a broader sense idolatry is putting anything ahead of service to God. We can find this plainly in scripture by observing Colossians 3:5, where it says that greed (covetousness or greedy desire) “amounts to idolatry” (NASB). I wonder what else in our lives amounts to idolatry?

What things come between humans and service to God? I think if we are honest, the list of idols could be a lot longer than we expect.  Many of you who have sat through sermons on a Sunday have probably heard about the dangers of materialism, or consumerism, and putting wealth ahead of God. This can even be translated into putting work ahead of worship, ahead of service to God and our fellow man. Is wealth, money, work, or the pursuit of material things an idol in your life? When is the last time you went without your phone for even a few hours? Some of us can’t be away from our phones for even a few minutes. Has devotion to any of these things taken the place of or removed our focus from God?  It’s worth at least asking the question.

What about family? Do we emphasize family to the exclusion of God, who gave us our families in the first place? Jesus laid it down clearly in Matthew 10:37, if we love family more than Him, we are not worthy of Him.

How about entertainment? Think of all the time, money, and effort we expend to entertain ourselves….from the multiple streaming services on our TVs and devices, to all the events we want to attend, places we want to see, experiences we want to have, sports, hobbies, etc. Entertainment isn’t wrong of itself, but devoting too much of ourselves to it definitely is.  

Are we consumed with self? How about self-serving interests? Sports and sports activities? Maintaining a perfect schedule? Working out? A career? How about politics and winning arguments? Let us be very clear, many of these things are not inherently sinful….what makes them sinful is putting them ahead of God and interfering in our dedication to Him.

Ok, so how do I know if something is an ‘idol’ in my life? Conduct a personal evaluation and ask yourself some questions:   How much time do I spend with it (be honest!)? How does the time I spend with this activity stack up against what I do for God? Can I say my life is a service to God with this in my life? Can I do without this thing (like a phone)? If so, for how long? Is it preventing me from doing what God has commanded? Does it cause me to be closer to God or further away? Does it cause me to love more, or less? You might even consider asking someone you trust to give you their honest opinion as well. Sometimes the view we have of ourselves doesn’t gel with reality.

The Bible cautions about being overconfident and thinking everything is ok when it really isn’t (1 Corinthians 10:12, Matthew 7:21-23). The Apostle Paul warned about people exchanging the creature for the Creator, for exchanging the truth of God for a lie (Romans 1: 25). Let’s heed the warnings of the Bible and take a hard look at all parts of our lives, making sure we’ve purged all those ‘idols’ so that we can work in God’s kingdom effectively.

Your questions or comments are welcome!

Jeff Mullen

Blanco Hills Church of Christ 

830-554-0701

blancohillschurch.com

blachohillschurch@gmail.com

The Christian and Contention

I’ve been reading some US political history lately (not really my thing to be honest), trying to expand my mind and see what I might be missing. I followed some advice from a trusted family member and it turned out to be interesting after all.  I had been thinking we were in a unique situation in our country lately, with all of the different and very strong opinions out there, everyone insisting they are right and have data on their side, that it’s not really opinion but “fact” that supports their point. Well, it’s probably no shocker to many of you that this situation isn’t new at all, and my reading of history showed as much. People have had deep convictions, strong assertions, and serious disagreements before, and of course will again. That reminds me of a wise man who once said there was really “nothing new under the sun” when you get right down to it (King Solomon, Ecclesiastes 1:9).  The question in my mind as a minister of the gospel is how the Christian is to handle these things.

I’ve been working with myself and my congregation for a while on how to approach religious differences with humility, love, and respect, but also emphasizing the need to treat God as holy and defer to His authority. I’ve given some sermons on the topic and wrote a blog a year or so ago, where I focused on what the Bible says about how to handle religious differences (for more info see https://www.blancohillschurch.com/new-blog-1/2023/3/13/truth-with-love). But what about non-religious differences as mentioned above? Ever heard (or said), “I had to tell them,” “I couldn’t let that pass”, “ignorance can’t be ignored”, “I had to set things straight”, or things like this?  The behavior that follows these statements is likely suspect; is it something Christ would point to and say, “I’m proud of you for doing that”? I wonder if sometimes we sort of turn on our Christianity when it comes to religion, and forget that we are to be this way all the time, even when dealing with non-religious matters. Let’s see what God has to say on the subject.

I’ve always read Colossians 4:6 (“Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt,…”) as pertaining to spiritual matters because of the context, but now that I look at it again, it does say “always”, so doesn’t that mean I need to control my speech all the time? Jesus Christ helps us with this as well in Matthew 12:34-37. Jesus teaches that what comes out of our mouth is a reflection of what is on the inside, in our hearts. Ouch. Maybe we need to take another look at our hearts. Do we really NEED to say the things we say or post? Or do we just want to? In our daily walk, do we have some innate need to be right, to win, to change others to conform to what we believe is the right way to think? Recall also the warning in Matthew 12:36-37 that even idle words will have to be accounted for. The Greek word ‘argos’ translated as ‘idle’ in this passage is defined as that which is inactive, unfruitful, and metaphorically used in the sense of ineffective or worthless (Vine, 1940). This means we need to be careful about the usefulness of what we are saying, that it is from the heart, and we will give an account to God for it.

The Apostle Paul through inspiration by God said that those who had been baptized into Christ were buried with Him and baptized into His death, and then like Him raised to walk a new life (Romans 6:4). This wasn’t a condition just reserved for religious conversations or events, like a garment to be worn on special occasions, but rather refers to an entirely new and total existence…after all, the Christian is a completely new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17), so we need to act like it…all the time.

Think about our end goal. Yes, it is to get to Heaven, but also to influence others to get to the same place and experience the wonderful gifts God has for His people (Hebrews 5:12).  In our political conversations, in any conversation for that matter, or even in the little things we do on a daily basis…how are we doing in achieving those goals? Bringing more people to God or pushing them away?

In Galatians 5:16-24 the Apostle Paul shows the stark contrast between living a life according to the Spirit and living one according to the flesh (a worldly non-spiritual way). Don’t skim over these lists of actions which accompany each way of life too quickly because they are there for a reason. Right alongside some of the more heinous seeming ones like murder and hatred, are others that apply to our subject matter today. Are we being contentious? Are we causing dissention? These things are deeds of the flesh and have no place our lives as Christians. Think about our interactions with people and consider whether we are showing the produce (fruit) of having the Spirit in our lives. After our conversation do they think, “wow, now that person is showing love” (v.22)?  How about joy? Peace? Patience? Do they think about us and what we represent and immediately think of goodness? Faithfulness? How about self-control and gentleness (v.23)?  It is critical that we show these traits in our daily lives…in all facets of our lives, not just about religious subjects. After all, those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires (v.24).  That language makes this a pretty serious matter.

Finally, consider 2 Timothy 2:24, “The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged,”

Let us humbly approach our God and sacrifice all parts of our lives to and for Him, all glory, praise, and honor belong to His holy name.

Questions or comments? All are welcome! 

Jeff Mullen

Blanco Hills Church of Christ

830-554-0701

blancohillschurch@gmail.com

blancohillschurch.com

God's Plan From The Beginning

There is a belief in the Christian world today that Jesus Christ originally came to establish a kingdom on this earth, but that because mankind wasn’t ready for it, He was rejected and crucified. Many believe Jesus will come again at some future point to establish this kingdom, and this time He will be successful and rule here on earth. The problem with these concepts is that they contradict with multiple scriptures in the Bible which plainly show us that what happened in the first century was actually God’s intent from the very beginning, and that things played out exactly according to His plan when Jesus was crucified.

The Bible provides every proof we need to understand God’s design was from the beginning, and there are many. For instance, we know from the Bible record that Joseph and Mary were the parents of Jesus. The Apostle Matthew starts his gospel with a genealogy of Jesus coming from the line of Abraham, going through the tribe of Judah to King David and down to Joseph (Matthew 1:1-16). He specifically points out Jesus being the son of David and this would help Jewish people understand that their prophecies concerning a future and eternal king from David’s lineage (2 Samuel 7:16) were fulfilled by Jesus. The Apostle Peter makes this connection plain in Acts 2:29-36. Matthew further explains that Mary was actually a virgin at the time of Jesus’ birth because she was with child from the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18). This is why it is so important that in Luke 3 we have the record of Jesus’ genealogy through Mary’s side of the family as well. Mary’s lineage goes through King David, but Luke significantly then traces it all the way back to Adam. Recall that when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, God promised Eve’s seed would bruise the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15).  We can see fulfillment of this prophecy with Jesus Christ’s great victory over Satan on the cross (Hebrews 2:14), thousands of years later. God had carefully planned it all from the very start.

The erroneous belief in an earthly reigning messiah which is prevalent in our society today is not new.

The ancient Israelites of Jesus’ day were waiting for the Messiah (Savior), but they expected and wanted a physical earthly messiah to literally sit on a throne like King David did, as evidenced by them trying to make Jesus their earthly king (John 6:15). They did not expect a messiah who would save others by sacrificing Himself and then rule a spiritual kingdom from Heaven. When on trial before Pontius Pilate, Jesus personally settled the matter by stating His kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36).

In Acts 2, the Apostle Peter states that Jesus was killed according to God’s definite plan and with His foreknowledge (v.23). God didn’t make anyone sin, but He knew it would happen and provided mankind an escape from our own wrong choices. The Apostle Paul records that God sent His Son in the “fullness of time,” or just at the proper time in human history (Galatians 4:4), not at an inappropriate time when man wasn’t ready. Would a perfect God choose the wrong time? We know He chose the perfect time for Jesus to come. The Apostle Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:18-19 that Christians are redeemed by Jesus’ blood. If Jesus had not come and died on the cross, we would not be redeemed; this was all according to plan. 

So what is the point? The point is that all these verses, and many more, lead us to the unavoidable fact that God has had a plan to save man since before the world was created. This plan included sending Jesus to earth on purpose to die for the sins of mankind (Ephesians 1:4-6, 1 Peter 1:18-21). A sacrifice has always been required for our sins, and Jesus dying, innocent of any crime and living a perfect life, makes this sacrifice a complete and perfect offering to God for us. This means when Jesus came to this earth and voluntarily submitted to an illegal execution, it was all according to God’s plan. The cross looked like a defeat to those not understanding that we aren’t waiting for an earthly reigning messiah, (note the mocking of Jesus in Matthew 27:39-43), rather we know it was and is the power of God to save (1 Corinthians 1:18). Jesus’ death on the cross was a certain and complete victory.  We are not waiting for a future victory from Jesus because He has already accomplished God’s will on this earth (John 17:1-5) and is currently reigning over His kingdom, His church (Matthew 16:18-19). We aren’t waiting for a future kingdom to enter, we are in it now. Note what the Apostle Paul says God has already done for Christians, “Who rescued us from the authority of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son of His love…” (Colossians 1:13). This kingdom to which Christians already belong will be delivered to God (1 Corinthians 15:20-26) by Christ at the end of time. 

Jesus didn’t fail in an attempt to set up an earthly kingdom, rather He succeeded with His sacrifice and God has exalted Him to reign as the head of His kingdom, the church (Ephesians 1:22-23, Matthew 16:18-19). After this life, we won’t have more chances to be obedient (Hebrews 9:27), so let’s get busy living the life of faithful servants in that kingdom right now.

Jeff S. Mullen

Minister, Blanco Hills Church of Christ

blancohillschurch.com

blancohillschurch@gmail.com

830-554-0701

Should We "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy?"

This article comes by way of request from a young Christian, wishing to see what the Bible says about the Sabbath day and if it should be observed by Christians today.

God created the heavens and the earth in 6 days and rested (ceased from work) on the 7th day. God later told the ancient Israelites that they too should cease from their labors on the 7th day of the week, calling it the Sabbath day (Exodus 20:11). This day, the 7th day of the week, is Saturday.

The command to “remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” is part of The Ten Commandments we find in Exodus 20:8. We often hear we must keep and follow the Ten Commandments but as Christians, we need to understand the Ten Commandments are part of the (Old Testament) Law of Moses, which was a system of laws specified for a single nation, the Hebrews of ancient Israel. God gave this law specifically to them at Mt. Sinai (Mt. Horeb) after they were rescued from Egypt (Deuteronomy 5:1-5).

Christians today are God’s chosen people (1 Peter 2:9), the new Israel (Romans 2:28-29, Galatians 6:16). Why wouldn’t they be subject to the laws we find in the Old Testament, like keeping the Sabbath? The Bible clearly states that as Christians we belong to a new covenant and are not subject to the Law of Moses in any way. It is not only wise but necessary to learn and understand as much as we can from the Old Testament teachings to help us learn about God’s character, sin, justice, punishment, forgiveness, fulfillment of prophecies, etc. These things validate and factualize our faith in God and His promises, however, the laws given to the ancient Hebrews are not for us today. In Jeremiah 31:31-35, from the Old Testament, we read that God planned for a new covenant to come. In Hebrews 7:12, in the New Testament, we read that in this new covenant we have new laws. One of the great things Jesus Christ did with His sacrifice was abolish the old covenant with all its laws and ordinances, and enable Gentiles and Jewish people together to be fellow citizens in God’s house (Ephesians 2:11-22). We are those Gentiles, and with the Old Law completed Jesus gifts us an opening to be the chosen of God and the hope that comes with that.

In the first century A.D., one big problem the church at large was dealing with was Christians of Jewish background expecting Gentiles who obeyed the Gospel to continue observing the discontinued laws from the old covenant. The Apostle Paul wrote extensively denouncing these practices. In Colossians 2:13-16 he clearly points out the Sabbath day observances (part of the Law of Moses) were not applicable to Christians. Jesus had effectively nailed these laws to the cross, cancelling the debt that stood against everyone. We might think of this as a “PAID IN FULL” stamp placed across an invoice. The point here is that Christ’s sacrifice gave us a new covenant, established by the blood He spilled on the cross (1 Corinthians 11:25), and the old covenant (including the Ten Commandments within it) has been fulfilled and has passed away.  

Further, we can read in the New Testament (which contains our new covenant with God through Jesus) of many laws for Christians concerning worship, daily living, how to treat God and our fellow man, etc. None of those laws include examples or direction to revere the Sabbath day in any way, just like we don’t have to offer animal sacrifices or comply with the myriad of other old law requirements. These have been replaced with a new set of laws meant for the Christian. This change was predicted throughout the Old Testament and gives us a glimpse of our all-knowing God.  

So, under this new covenant we are directed to assemble and worship God on Sunday, the first day of the week (Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 16:1-2), not on Saturday as practiced under the old covenant.
Ok, but should the first day of the week then become the “Christian Sabbath” with no work being done? For a number of reasons, the answer is no. We have already covered the fact that the Ten Commandments and the Law of Moses were given to a different nation, and that Law was abolished by Jesus Christ. Further, the first day of the week was a normal workday for everyone in the 1st century and continued as such until Emperor Constantine’s edict in 321 A.D., where he declared it a day of no labor. While the sentiment behind the edict may have been honorable, it didn’t come from God and isn’t found anywhere in the Bible, so for hundreds of years faithful Christians worked and worshipped on Sundays. Also, early writings about Christians from the 2nd - 4th centuries (Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Justin Martyr, Eusebius, etc.) show that Christians worshipped on Sundays, and Eusebius specifically points out that Christians didn’t observe the Sabbath day (Church History 1:4:8). Of course this information comes from secular history, but it is still important as these people where very close in the timeline to the writers of the New Testament.

We must be extremely careful not to create edicts or doctrines made from man’s traditions and not approved of by God (Matthew 15:9). He specifies how and when to worship Him and teaches us through His word. Approaching God in worship on Sunday is approved and required by Him. All other days are yours to use as you will in walking in His light and sharing the Gospel with others.

Jeff Mullen

Minister, Blanco Hills Church of Christ
blancohillschurch@gmail.com

www.blancohillschurch.com

830-554-0701

Are We Getting The Point?

Have you ever been sure you knew something, knew you were right, but it ended up that you were mistaken and had missed the point? I think we all have. We can read about this type of correction throughout the Bible. There were those whose entire jobs centered around being experts in the scriptures (Scribes, Pharisees, lawyers, priests, etc.) who would challenge Jesus since His teaching was very different from theirs, and they were convinced they knew better. Jesus’ answers left them speechless and unable to argue their original point (Matthew 22:46, Mark 12:34, Luke 20:40). These people put themselves forward as experts, but were not. We can certainly see application for us today. 

In one such incident recorded in Luke 10:25-37, we read where Jesus is asked a very important question, “...what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” This question is profound and one we should all ask. Unfortunately, this ‘expert’ wasn’t genuinely seeking an answer…he was well versed in the law (God’s Old Covenant with Israel) and was testing Jesus (v.25) to undermine or invalidate His ministry. The lawyer’s attitude of self-justification (v.29) also speaks to his motive.  Jesus let the lawyer answer his own question about inheriting eternal life. The man was technically right, in answering we must love God with our whole being and love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves (v.28). Shortly after this the lawyer, seeking a loophole in the law, asked Jesus who his ‘neighbor’ was, and Jesus responded with the famous parable of the Good Samaritan (vv.30-37) which we all can learn lessons from. It is easy to look harshly at the lawyer, but instead a self-examination might be warranted to keep us from this type of attitude. How is our service to God and our fellow man? Are we really on the right track?

Commonly, the parable of the Good Samaritan is preached about on Sundays as a tool to help people see that we shouldn’t be selfish and need to help people. This teaching isn’t wrong of course, but there is much more to this parable to help us in our walk of faith. As background to the story, it may be helpful to note that the ancient Israelites despised the Samaritans. They were considered half-breeds, unclean, and unrighteous in their worship since they did not worship God in the temple in Jerusalem. Jewish people traveling north would often avoid Samaria and cross the Jordan River twice, adding significant time to a journey due to their disdain. Also of note is that the Jewish city of Jericho was the home of a great number of Levites (the tribe of ancient Israel which took care of all that went with temple worship), so there was much travel on the road between Jericho and Jerusalem. This road was relatively short (~17 miles) but famous for being dangerous because of robbers. 

In the parable, a traveler on the road is mugged and left half dead on the road. The first two people to come near are a priest and then a Levite, who pass by without helping. These men are both from the tribe dedicated to serving God in worship, yet they don’t stop and even make an  effort to distance themselves. A Samaritan man comes by next and does stop though. He provides first aid, takes the victim to a place where he can recover, and pays for his care. Notice carefully that this isn’t just a moment where someone says to themselves, “well, the right thing to do is help”, it is much more than that. Verse 33 reveals that the Samaritan had compassion, which here literally means to be moved in the inward parts. Are we moved in our ‘inward parts’ when we help others? The Samaritan had real feelings that moved him to action. Verse 37 records what he did was ‘mercy’, that his help was heartfelt and true.

Recall that the parable from Jesus is in response to the question of “who is my neighbor?”, which the lawyer rightly understood was someone to which God expected him to have agape love for (v.27). Agape love is unselfish, ready to serve, values and esteems the person in question (W.E. Vine, vol. 3, p.22). The lawyer may have understood ‘neighbor’ to be someone who he had affinity with, someone in his chosen nation, who may have lived next door, worshipped like him, someone he might have had tender affection for. However, Jesus taught by this parable that our ‘neighbors’ include people who may not be worshipping according to God’s law, might not belong to ‘our people’, may have mistreated us, and may even be classified as enemies. Agape love is not only an obligation we need to complete, it is heartfelt and involves esteem, true compassion, and real mercy. We all know what it’s like to be helped from obligation, to feel like you are a burden to someone, to be on the receiving end of this type of ‘help’. This is not agape love. How is that “moved in our inward parts”? If we help people just because we must, an attitude change is needed. 

We learn from the parable that being an expert in the law of God or being from God’s chosen people (like the lawyer, priest, and Levite were), doesn’t mean that we are being righteous.  This still applies today. Christians are now designated as God’s chosen people and a nation of priests (1 Peter 2:9). God has blessed us with all the knowledge needed to be faithful Christians, but are we missing the point of who we are to be? Are we just collecting the knowledge and missing  the point? How to achieve eternal life was the original question in Luke 10:25, and it’s still pertinent today. God teaches us that the pathway to eternal life involves complete and total dedication to Him, as well as heartfelt love, involving an inward deep compassion and mercy to our fellow man.

Jeff Mullen

Minister

Blanco Hills Church of Christ

830-554-0701

blancohillschurch@gmail.com

blancohillschurch.com