Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. No the point is this. that we who have received God's love We who have received God's mercy must now reach out. In love, And mercy to our neighbours. This is the verdict with Pastor John Monroe.
Jesus taught that the greatest commandment is for you to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And the second most important is to love your neighbor as yourself. But you might ask, who's my neighbor? Today, we're exploring this call to love others as we navigate next steps in following Jesus.
So let's join Pastor John Monroe as he begins a new message titled, Love People. Are you a loving person? In our series, Next Steps in Following Jesus, we come today to the subject of loving others. Love is central to the Christian faith. We are to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
and to love our neighbour as ourselves. But you may ask, who is my neighbour? Does this command apply only to people who qualify in some way? I begin this message today with a Scottish legal case that posed this very question. A question which comes from the Bible.
Who is my neighbor? And when Jesus is asked the question, he tells a magnificent and memorable parable.
So, Let's think this through. As we consider carefully this next step. in following Jesus. Loving others. It was 26 August 1928.
and a woman called Mrs. Donahue. went into a Scottish cafe. and uh consumed Some ice cream and ginger beer, ginger ale, I think you call it here, some ginger ale, which had been purchased. for her by a friend.
After consuming some of the ice cream and ginger beer, her friend poured some more of the ginger beer from the bottle into the glass containing the ice cream, and to their utter shock, From the ginger beer bottle came a decomposed snail. which floated out of the bottle into The glass. The ginger beer bottle was of dark opaque glass, so the condition of its contents couldn't be ascertained by an outside inspection.
Sometime later, Mrs Donahue brought an action of damages in the Scottish courts against the manufacturer of the ginger beer bottle, alleging that she had contracted a serious illness From consuming the ginger beer, which had contained the decomposed snail. It became in Scotland the famous case of the snail in the bottle. And uh this was nineteen twenty eight. And the question to be decided by the Scottish courts was whether a man called Mr Stevenson, who was the manufacturer of the ginger beer, owed a duty of care to Mrs. Donishue.
After all, there was no contract between Mrs. Donahue. and the manufacturer of the ginger beer.
Furthermore, there was no contract between Mrs. Donahue and the owner of the cafe because the ginger beer and the ice cream had been bought for Mrs. Donahue by A friend.
So it came to the courts. And it was a fascinating case. And although the case was raised in Scotland, it was agreed that the principles had great implications for the laws of Scotland and England. And it was eventually decided by the House of Lords, which was then the Supreme Court in civil cases in the United Kingdom, on may twenty-sixth, nineteen thirty two. And in this case, the question was.
Who in law is my neighbour. That was the question. Was Mr. Stevenson, the manufacturer of the ginger beer, in which there was this decomposed snail? Was he, in a legal sense, Mrs.
Donny Shues? Neighbor. Did he owe her a duty of care? And had Mrs Donahue suffered damages in consequence of his breach of that duty of care? After great deliberation, the Scottish courts said yes.
And it was held that in-law Mrs. Donigue was mister Stevenson's. Neighbor. One of the lords, Lord Atkins, said this. The rule that you are to love your neighbor becomes in law, you must not injure your neighbor.
And the lawyer's question, who is my neighbour? receives a restricted reply. You must take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions which you can reasonably foresee would be likely to injure your neighbour. Who, then, in law is my neighbor? The question seems to be persons who are so closely and directly affected by my act that I ought reasonably to have them in contemplation as being so affected when I'm directing my mind to the acts or omissions which are called in question.
This was a famous decision. It really changed What is called in Scotland the law of delict, what is called in England and here in the United States the law of tort. and the implications have impact for you as you sue people who give you hot coffee and all kinds of things. But this case is intriguing for me, not just because of its legal ramifications, but because the original question was asked by a lawyer, not a lawyer in the House of Lords. But a lawyer who asked Jesus the same question Question.
Who is My Never. Who do I owe a a duty of care to? Who am I to help? Who is? My neighbor.
And that question. is brilliantly answered by Jesus. And let me ask you to open your Bibles to Luke chapter 10. as we look at this amazing story and the brilliant reply Of our Lord Jesus. We are continuing the series.
Next steps in following. Jesus. Last week we thought of Our great call to love God, to love God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and our neighbor and ourselves. After all, we have been greatly loved by God as we thought of the story of the prodigal son and of how lost people matter to God and how there is joy in the presence of the angel over one sinner that repents. And now, our focus is this: having received the love of God in our hearts.
We are to love. Others. And a lawyer. Ask a question. Here in verse twenty-five of Luke chapter ten.
Let's first of all read his question. And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, Teacher. What shall I do to inherit? Eternal Life.
Now, the lawyer not only asks a good question, as lawyers should ask. He not only asks a good question, he asks the right person. What was he to do to inherit eternal life? How does someone Get into the kingdom of God. How can someone be assured that when they die they have eternal life?
It's difficult, isn't it, to think of a more compelling question. What shall I do? to inherit Eternal life. I must say I don't hear that question asked of me as much as I would like. I hear a lot of questions about how can I have a more comfortable life.
John What must I do to have a better marriage? How can I care for my kids? When am I going to get a job? What are these kinds of questions? And I suppose they're all good questions, but not like this one.
Have you ever asked that question? What must I do to inherit eternal life? What would be your answer? Do you believe in eternal life? And if you do, how are you going to inherit that eternal life?
How can you have the assurance that when you die, you're going to be with God in heaven forever? Because after all, the Bible very clearly states that there is a heaven and there is a hell. And if that is true, and it is. This question is a good one. Yes, he's maybe trying to put Jesus in a bit of a corner.
He's putting Jesus to the test. But nonetheless, the question is one that we must all answer and grapple with. What must I do to inherit eternal life? We are so absorbed by our own little lives. And even though We know that we're not going to be on this planet forever, and at any moment we could be ushered into eternity, it seems to me.
that we're not asking this question as much. as we should. That's the question. And it's a very good one. Here is the answer.
Verse twenty six. He, our Lord, said to him, What is written in the law? He's a lawyer. He should know it. How do you read it?
And he answered, You shall 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 your neighbor as yourself. This lawyer is a good lawyer. He's giving a perfect answer to the question according to the law. The law says that I'm to love God, Deuteronomy 6. I'm to love God, and I'm to love Him with all of my heart, with all of my soul, and with all of my strength.
And I also know from the law. That I'm to love my neighbor as Myself. And he Verse 28, he, Jesus, said to him, You have answered correctly. Do this. And you will live.
But he he's a lawyer. desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, And who is my neighbor? The lawyer answers correctly. Loving the Lord our God. and loving our neighbor as ourselves leads to eternal life.
If you perfectly love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, if you do that all of the time, and if you truly love your neighbor as yourself, When it comes to eternal life, you're going to do very, very well. You'll get in to heaven. The lawyer gives a correct and a very precise summary of the law. If he can fulfil the law, He will live. Abba does.
Let's stop. There's a lawyer. Really think? He can. Love the Lord his God with all of his heart.
Soul, mind, and strength. Does he really think that he's loving his neighbor as himself? Does this lawyer does he recognize his inability to keep the law, the law that he knows in his head, but does it really worked out in his life perfectly so that he loves God and he also loves his neighbor as himself? Did he understand? He was in need.
of the mercy of God. and of the grace of God. And in answer to the question Who is my neighbor? Verse 29. Jesus tells this story.
It's a beautiful story, isn't it? We saw last week that Jesus is the master storyteller. As we looked at Luke chapter 15. Here's another. of the stories that we have recorded in Luke and which is unique to Luke's Gospel.
Verse thirty, Jesus replied. Here's the story. A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers who stripped him. and beat him and departed. leaving him half dead.
By chance. A priest was going down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by On the other side, So likewise a Levite. When he came to the place and saw him, pass by. On the other side.
But a Samaritan as he journeyed came to where he was, And when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back. That's the story.
Now Jesus is going to ask the lawyer a question. Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers? He said the one who showed him. Mercy. And Jesus said to him, You go.
And do Likewise. It's not a brilliant story. Here is a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho, a journey of about 17 miles. A journey downhill involving a descent of about 3,400 feet down a rocky and a very desolate road. And as he journeys, He's robbed.
He's beaten and is left half dead.
So this man is on a terrible road. It's rocky, it's desolate. He's robbed. He's left half dead. And others.
He is totally unable to do anything. for himself. And then two religious men happen to be on the same road. One is a priest and the other is a Levite. And they should have known better.
They see the man in his need. But they give him absolutely no help. In fact, it appears they go out of their way. to avoid this wretched man. They knew the law as well.
And they knew the law said under the Mosaic law: you are to love your neighbor as yourself. They knew the law, they knew what they should do. But they showed no compassion. No Merse. They simply don't want to get involved.
The text says, verse 31 again, Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, Pass by on the other side. side. Jesus is emphasizing that although they see the man and they see his need, it's obvious the man is half dead, he's wounded, he's bleeding, he's possibly unconscious. And they just Keep on. Going.
They are aware of a need, but practice a policy of non-involvement. You ever do that? You see someone in need. And you know you can help them. and you just keep going.
You pretend, as it were, you don't see them. If you're with someone else, you don't even talk about it, you just keep going. A non-involvement policy. The problem is not theirs.
Someone else can handle it. They've got religion. They know the law, they know what they should do, but they don't have love. They have no compassion. They have no mercy for their fellow.
Mad. They have the law in their hands. But love and mercy are not in their hearts, not in their hands. They do not love. their neighbour.
as themselves.
Now what do we learn from this story? Don't forget the original question, who is my neighbor? What do we learn?
Well, we learn first of all something that this lawyer didn't get. We trust, as a result of hearing the story, he did get the point that in love. Jesus reaches out and down to you. And me. This man left half dead on the Jerusalem-Jericho Road is a picture of all of us, isn't it?
It's not a very flattering picture, but it's a very accurate one. This man. Who is assaulted, who's robbed, who's left half dead, can do nothing to save himself. He cannot improve his condition. Left to himself, he's going to die.
Just as the lawyer Is totally unable to love the Lord his God with all of his heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love his neighbor as himself by himself. Is there anyone here? Who would say that you always have loved your neighbor as yourself? The reality is, we're very selfish people. We're very self-absorbed.
We would like to think in general that we're kind people, that we reach out to others. But we too, don't we, often practice a policy of non-involvement. It's someone else's problem. And if this man that we call the Good Samaritan, If this man had not come, The victim would have died. Do you understand in the eyes of God that all of us cannot save ourselves.
That's the gospel that we have all sinned. We've all broken the law. Not one of us loves the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. We love ourselves. And yes, if we can help our neighbor, we like to do that.
It makes us feel good and we can boast about it. But none of us do that. All of the the time. But God in His love As we thought of last week, and His grace and His mercy has reached down in Jesus Christ and has provided for us. Eternal Salvation.
Do you remember what the angel of the Lord said to Joseph, You shall call his name Jesus For it is he who will save his people from their sins. And every time Mary and Joseph Call Jesus' name. Jesus. The message was being proclaimed: Savior. Rescuer, deliverer, that Jesus comes to save us.
This is the good news of the gospel. That sin has devastated us, that sin leaves us down, it makes us half dead. And unless there is divine intervention, we will die. That is, by ourselves, we will never ever inherit eternal life.
However, good we are, we will not by ourselves receive eternal life. We can't make it to heaven on our own. We need help. We need divine help. We need a savior.
We need someone to give us eternal life. And this is what God. And his great love is done. Do you understand that? That you like this man?
on the Jerusalem Jericho Road. And God in His grace sends Jesus on a rescue mission. Paul says, For a while we were still weak, While we were still helpless, While we were still powerless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. That we're unable to remedy ourselves. We can't get up, as it were, and brush ourselves off and make it down this road by ourselves.
No, we're too sinful. And so Paul says. That God sees us, He sees us weak. He sees us helpless. He sees us powerless to remedy our situation.
And so he sends Jesus at the right time. to die for thee. ungodly. That's why it's so sad. That today there's this great emphasis on self-help.
inner motivation, self-actualization. All of these will fail. All of these are false. Not one of them will take you to heaven. They will never give you eternal life by yourself.
You will never reach God on your own. Jesus Christ is the only answer. In Jesus, God's love and grace reaches down, down, down. to us. He's given this beautiful name, Emmanuel.
God with us. And this help comes not in some dogma, a ritual, or religion, or a church, but in the living person of Jesus, the Savior of the world, who dies for our sins and rises again for our salvation and offers us freely eternal life and forgiveness of sins when we receive Him into our hearts, into our lives. The Saviour. He is my Savior. That means I need to be saved.
That means left to myself, I will not inherit eternal life. Left to myself, I'm on the broad road which leads to destruction. But Christ comes to save me, to forgive me, and to transform me as I receive Him as my Savior and Lord.
Now do you understand that?
Now the point is this. that we who have received God's love We who have received God's mercy must now reach out. In love, And mercy To our neighbors. This is the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. There's still more to hear when John returns in just a moment, so stay with us.
From matters of truth and identity, to the subjects of love and grace, our world seems more confused than ever. but to find truth and certainty about who we are and find peace, we must turn our attention away from the world and look to the Word of God. To help you do that, John wrote a booklet titled Eternal Security, Finding Certainty in a Chaotic World. Through this special resource, John shares his personal testimony, along with a careful examination of Scripture, to offer us clarity on matters of eternity. Get your copy today by visiting our website at theverdict.org.
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Now, here's Pastor John Monroe.
Well, what's your verdict? What did you learn from this magnificent story Jesus told about the Good Samaritan? Who is your neighbor? If you don't love others and find this difficult to understand, the problem may be. because you have not yet received the love of God.
When we receive Christ, the love of God is poured out into our hearts. Through the Holy Spirit who is given to us. and then we are able to share that love with others. Don't miss next time as we continue. on this very important subject of loving others.
Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
