Titus 3:4-8 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. 8 This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone. NIV
THE LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR LOOPHOLE
First lets all make sure we understand it’s the kindness of the Lord that leads us to repentance.
Titus 3 points to this but Romans 2:4 makes it unquestionably clear. Even lost people see kindness as a weapon against hate. “Kill them w kindness”
What if the solution to our society’s biggest issues has been right under our noses for the past 2k years? When Jesus was asked to reduce everything in the Bible into one command he said: Love God with everything you have and love your neighbor as yourself. What if he meant that we should love our actual neighbors?
The problem is that we’ve turned this simple idea into a nice saying. We put it on bumper stickers and T-shirts and go on with our lives without actually putting it into practice. But the fact is, Jesus has given us a practical plan that we can put into practice, a plan that has the potential to change the world! The reality is, though, the majority of Christians don’t even know the names of most of their neighbors.
Matthew 22:37-40 speaks of that which is repeated in the Bible for the purpose of reminding us how important it is. In Gal 5:14 the apostle Paul says it most succinctly: “The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Love your neighbor as yourself. Could it be that simple? Jesus is a genius! He is asked to pick the one commandment that is more important than all the others. He shares something that would change the world, if only every person who believes in Jesus would actually do it.
The solutions to the problems in our neighborhoods aren’t ultimately found in the government, police or schools or in getting more people to go to church. The solutions lie with us. It’s within our power to become good neighbors, to care for the people around us and to be cared for by the people around us. There really is a different way to live, and we are finding that it is actually the best way to live.
Jesus said the most important thing we can do is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. We are discovering that Jesus was actually really smart. You could even say that he was and is a genius. When Jesus was asked to reduce everything important into one command, he gave us a simple and powerful plan that, if acted on, would literally change the world.
This simple plan also offers us a different kind of life. It’s a way of living that makes sense and brings peace to people’s souls. Whenever we center our lives around the Great Commandment and take very literally the idea of practice of loving our neighbor, there’s great freedom, peace, and depth of relationship that come to our lives. By becoming good neighbors, we become who we’re supposed to be. As a result, our communities become the places that God intended them to be.
We all need to get back to the basics of what Jesus commanded: Love God and love others. Everything else is secondary.
“Love your neighbor” – I’ve had some funny conversations with people about this. The world we live in now has redefined neighbor so really people who live next to me aren’t true neighbors. I could be wrong but I’ve perceived this to be a way of saying I’m redefining “neighbor” to fit my relationally disconnected lifestyle.
In our fast-paced society that has grown so relationally distracted, an invitation to Biblical hospitality is one of the most compelling and irresistible aspects of Christianity.
Luke 10:25-37 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” 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?” NIV
“Great,” Jesus said. “Do this and you will live.” But the text goes on to give us great insight into this man’s motives. It says, “But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?”
The man wanted to define “neighbor” in such a way that he could not be found blameworthy. If his neighbor was someone he could choose, then he’d be okay. By asking Jesus to define the word, “neighbor”, this man was looking for a loophole.
The Bible describes our carnal attitudes as hostile to God unable to submit to him (Rom 8:7). Do you have any carnal attitudes quietly at work in the background of your mind?
Many times, we are looking for our own loophole in what Jesus says is the most important thing for us to live out. Making excuses, pointing out inconsistencies and rationalizing away the clear teaching of Jesus all comes so naturally we don’t even realize we’re doing it. The loophole question to justify disconnection is, “Who is my neighbor?”
To answer the question Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan. Two religious leaders passed by on the road after a man had been robbed and beaten. Religious people should have known better. They were both people who prided themselves in doing the right thing. These were good religious people who should have known better. But these people had other things to do, schedules to keep, agendas that couldn’t be flexible. And so they kept going and failed the test.
Finally, a Samaritan stopped and helped the injured man. The Samaritan was from a culture known for hating Israelites, and the feeling was mutual. In the ears of Jesus’s listeners, it was the modern day equivalent of a terrorist stopping to offer help.
If we’re not careful, we can become numb to the power of the Great Commandment. If we say, “Everyone is my neighbor, “ it can become an excuse for avoiding the implications of following the Great Commandment. Our “neighbors” become defined in the broadest terms. They’re the people across town, the people who are helped by the organizations that receive our donations, the people whom the government helps. We don’t have to feel guilty, we tell ourselves. After all, we can’t be expected to really love everybody, can we? Like the lawyer we look for a loophole to justify the absence of our love for others personally.
DO FOR SOMEBODY WHAT YOU WISH YOU COULD DO FOR EVERYBODY!
Christians – we have a call from God to connect the public places of work and worship with the private space of home.
The apostle Paul wrote to the church at Rome:
Romans 12:13 Get into the practice of inviting guests home for dinner. NLT
The Bible speaks of this curious term called “lovingkindness”. Love coupled with expressions of kindness will capture the attention of our relationally anemic society.
God knows this and that’s why his kindness is what captured our attention to draw us into salvation.
Titus 3:4-8 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. 8 This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone. NIV
We Bring GP2RL Action Point:
Do something kind and loving, that is inconvenient, for a neighbor this week as your ministry to the Lord.
THE TABLE: THE LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR LOOPHOLE
DISCUSSION GUIDE
Click here for a downloadable pdf file of this guide.
UNDERSTANDING THE SEASON: A shared meal could be the activity most closely tied to the reality of God’s kingdom, just as it is the most basic expression of hospitality. It comes as no surprise that many significant
stories of Jesus are centered around a dinner table.
When Jesus wanted to explain to his disciples what his death was all about, he didn’t give them an informative lecture. He gave them a relational meal.
In a society that has grown so relationally disconnected, an invitation to Biblical hospitality might be one of the most compelling and irresistible aspects of Christianity. The heart of hospitality is about creating space for someone to feel seen and heard and loved. It’s about declaring your table a safe zone, a place of warmth and nourishment.
God’s plan is for us to hear his voice together as a family. This is why we start each group with the first question:
DISCUSSION QUESTION:
1. Where are you reading in your Bible and what are you sensing from God?
Ask each person in your group to answer the discussion questions below after reading the verses. Don’t move on to the next question until everybody who is willing to share has had the opportunity to give their perspective.
TITUS 3:4-8 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. 8 This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone. ESV
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
2. Have each person give a 60 second summary of what these verses are saying, in their own words.
3. What do these verses teach us about God?
4. What do these verses teach us about people?
5. What should you do this week in response to what we are reading and what God is revealing?
We Bring GP2RL Action Point:
Do something kind and loving, that is inconvenient, for a neighbor this week as your ministry to the Lord.