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INTENTIONAL CHRISTIANITY
LOVING OTHERS

Luke 10:25-28 Monday
“On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" 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.' " "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live.” (NIV)
1) These scriptures tell us that an “expert” in the law came to test Jesus. The entire Jewish law included the 10 commandments given by God, the coordinating requirements laid out by Moses, as well as hundreds of unnecessary oral or unwritten laws that were arbitrarily added by the religious leaders over a period of time. These additional requirements were referred to as the “traditions of the elders.” What does Romans 3:20, Romans 4:15 and Romans 7:14 reveal about the law and our ability to fulfill it’s requirements?
2) On his own, was this “expert” able to live up to the requirements of the law, even when they were broken down to their simplest yet ultimate interpretation, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.” And, “Love your neighbor as yourself.’” See Romans 8:1-4 and Galatians 5:16.
3) In the two above verses we find love being introduced as the theme of the entire Bible. What was necessary for this “expert” to do as Christ commanded, “Do this and you will live!” See John 3:3-6.
4) “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Do you love yourself? What are some of the ways your express this love to yourself?
5) The seeming paradox in showing this same kind of love to others is that we must “die to self.” See Romans 6:6-12, 2 Corinthians 4:10-11 and Galatians 2:20.
6) Everyone who came upon the wounded traveler “saw” him. Yet, the Samaritan man saw him and felt deep pity! The word pity is the same word used as compassion in the King James Version. The word compassion is literally translated, “to be moved with sympathy from the deepest part of your bowels.” Like the religious leaders who passed by this man, how often do we as Christians pass by others, “see” their needs, yet are never moved to this gut level of compassion?
7) What are some of the daily circumstances that influence us and cause us to “pass over to the other side” when confronted with the needs of others?
8) Let’s read the command of Jesus in Matthew 5:40-44. How did the Samaritan “go the extra mile?”
9) The Samaritan man was of mixed Jewish descent (Jewish and Assyrian) and therefore was looked upon as being inferior to those with “pure” Jewish breeding. Samaritans were often referred to as “dogs.” Flash forward to modern times. Can you think of any instance(s) when prejudice is used as an excuse to overlook someone’s need?
10) Is serving God always convenient? Safe?
1 John 3:14-20
“We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him. This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.” (NIV)
1) Ouch! Not loving your Christian brothers and sisters is murder? Explain.
2) Verse 17 again stresses our responsibility to “see” the needs of others—and seeing, to take action! Read James 2:15-17.
3) There are so many people hurting and in need. We can’t possibly meet every need. Yet, there is one thing we can always do. What is that? Read Acts 12 to see just how powerful our prayers can be!

1 John 4:7-12
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”
1) Real love acts first! (1 John 4:19). Back to Luke--there is a little bit of Jesus in that good Samaritan! Jesus “saw” our need. Romans 5:8 shows to what extent Jesus was willing to go to bring us back to the Father. How did he respond to our need? Would you say Jesus went the “extra mile”?