How to Be a Good Samaritan - William Blackburn — From the Pulpit & Classic Sermons

Welcome to From the Pulpit and Classic Sermons. Each week we bring you a different message from some of history's greatest speakers in the Christian faith, and powerful sermons from modern preachers too.

This week we have William Blackburn with his message, How to Be a Good Samaritan.

The Parable’s Deeper Spiritual Message

The Lord Jesus Christ was answering a question one day, and He was trying to tell a man what is the most important thing you can do with your life. And so He shared a story with this man to give instruction so the man would not miss the message of the Bible.

Jesus Christ always taught in parables. He always told stories that were symbolic of a deeper spiritual message because as He knew and as I have learned, there's something about telling a story that opens the window of the mind that a person can really grasp the spiritual truth.

Jesus Christ said, I want to tell you a story about life and what's really important. He said, well, there was a man. We don't know what kind of man he was, whether he was a businessman or not, but Jesus Christ said, here was a man who was traveling on a dusty road from Jerusalem to Jericho.

We don't know why he's traveling, perhaps it was a business meeting. But the Bible says along this road of traveling, he encounters trouble. He comes upon a band of thieves. And the Bible says these band of thieves, they robbed him of his raiment.

That is, they strip his clothing off his body. They beat him and the Bible says they leave him half dead. Now, sir, get the picture. Here's a man lying beside the ditch. He's been beaten. He's been robbed.

He's been left for dead. Hey, he's not just bumped on the head. You just can't come and put a bandage on his head or a little salve on the bruise. This is a serious matter. Here's a man who is lying beside the ditch.

He is going to die unless somebody comes to his aid. Now, listen, a parable is a story that is there to teach us a deeper spiritual message. Everyone in this story is symbolic of somebody that Jesus is trying to get us to take a look at.

The Lost Sinner in the Ditch

Now, who does a man in the ditch represent? Now, dear friend, this story has been told a million times and has been always preached from this way. This man is here. He's a man in need. Maybe he's hungry.

Maybe he's not clothed. And we're to go and minister simply to his needs. But, sir, I believe it is a much deeper message than that. You see, Jesus Christ came for one reason to planet Earth. He did not come to planet Earth simply to teach us to be good to less fortunate people.

He did not simply come to teach us to give our money to the poor. He did not simply come to teach us how to fellowship at church. Jesus Christ, in Luke 19, verse 10, said, The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.

Jesus Christ came for one reason, sir, that is to save your soul from hell. And I believe with all my heart, this story of what we call the Good Samaritan is simply a story about winning men to Jesus Christ.

You see, I believe this man lying in the ditch over here represents every lost man, every lost woman in the world who doesn't have Christ as Lord and Savior. You see, a man without Jesus is not just unchurched or unsolicited or uninvolved, but a man without Jesus is doomed and damned to a place called hell.

A man without Jesus is hopelessly lost. He's bleeding to death. The very life of his body is going out through the blood. A man without Christ is hopeless and helpless. He has no way to Jesus unless somebody comes to his aid.

There's a man dying in the ditch. Jesus said, he's over there. He's been beaten so bad. He's been robbed of everything he owns. He's dying and three men come by. The first man that comes by, the Bible says, was a priest.

The Priest’s Indifference to the Lost

Take your Bibles and look with me, if you will, please. It says in verse 31, it says, and by chance there came down a certain priest that way, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Now, who were the priests?

Now, listen to me. The priests were the most religious man of their day. They were the big shots in the church. They were the big cog in the synagogue. I mean, the priests, they were the biggest men in church.

They were respected. They were admired. They wore beautiful robes. They prayed long prayers. The priest was the highest ranking man in church, and he too was traveling on that dusty road from Jerusalem to Jericho.

Now, we don't know why he's traveling, but I want to tell you, it was very important business because those roads were so dangerous that no man would get on that dusty road from Jerusalem to Jericho unless it was very serious business.

So we have the priest. He's traveling on that road from Jerusalem to Jericho, but he sees the man lying in the ditch, and what he does is he does absolutely nothing. Perhaps he sees the man over there bleeding.

He thinks to himself, you know, that man has trouble, but you know, I don't have time to get involved. I've got an important meeting down the road. I bought this big expensive suit. I might get blood on it.

I mean, this man is in, he's in need, but they've got me on the preaching program, so I've got to get down there. It's much more important for me to go preach to those preachers than to help this dying man.

So the Bible says the priest, he passes by on the other side. Now, remember, a parable is a story that is given to teach you a deeper spiritual message. If the man in the ditch represents every lost sinner without Christ, who does a priest represent?

He represents those of us in church who are indifferent to lost souls. Friend, I will tell you, our churches today are filled up with preachers and deacons and Sunday school teachers who are totally indifferent to a lost and dying world.

I'm telling you, sir, every program we have, every dollar we spend, every activity we take upon ourselves should have as the end result to win somebody to Jesus Christ. And the sad fact is that most Christians have never won anybody to Jesus.

The sad fact is that the majority of preachers who are in our pulpits today have never won somebody personally to Jesus their own self. I'm telling you, we are filled up today with people in our churches who really could care less that people die and go to hell.

The priest passed by on the other side, just simply indifferent to a lost and dying world. Are you indifferent? Do you care if your daddy goes to hell? Do you care if your mama goes to hell? Are you concerned that your son goes to hell?

Does it burden you that men without Christ go to a place called hell? Are you like the priest, you're just simply indifferent to a lost and dying world? Well, the second man comes by. The Bible says he was a Levite.

The Levite’s Religious Busyness

Look at verse 32. It says, and likewise the Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him and passed by on the other side. Now remember a parable is a story that is given to teach us a deeper spiritual message.

The man in the ditch, he represents every lost sinner without Christ. The priest represents those who are indifferent. Well, what about the Levite? Well, the Levites were these. The priest was the highest ranking man in church.

And right below the priest, there were the Levites. They were the second highest ranking men in the church. The Levites were the ones that went to the service and they were responsible for setting up all the worship furniture so that everybody could have church.

They were very important. And the Levite is also traveling on that dusty road from Jerusalem to Jericho. We don't know why he's traveling either, but he at least does more than the priest does. The Bible says he at least stops and looks on the man's condition.

Perhaps he said something like this. You know, this man's in trouble. This man's bleeding to death. Somebody needs to help this man, but I can't get involved. I mean, they can't have church down at the convention until I get there.

All those preachers, they can't have service until I get down the road and take care of their needs. I mean, I'd like to help this man, but it's more important that I get down to the convention. So what I'll do is I'll just say a little prayer for him that somebody will come by and help him.

And he too passes by on the other side. Who does the Levite represent? Listen to me, sir. The Levite represents those people in church who are too busy doing church things that they can't do God things.

It is possible to be so wrapped up in religious activities and religious programs that we fail to do the main work and that is to win men to Christ. It is possible to be so wrapped up in Sunday school and vacation Bible school and fellowships and deacons meeting and all kinds of activities doing this religious stuff that may look good on the outside and fail to do the main thing and that is to win men to Jesus Christ.

You see the Levite, he was just too busy to win this man to Jesus. Well, a third man comes by and he's the hero of the story. He was a Samaritan. Now, who were the Samaritans? Well, let me tell you who the Samaritans were.

The Samaritan’s Five Acts of Compassion

The Samaritans were the lowest of the low. They were the outcast of society. Why the Samaritans were those folks that lived on the other side of the track. They were the folks that had the, on the welfare programs, got the food stamps.

Hey man, nobody liked the Samaritans. They hated the Samaritans. Man, if you could live in those days, sir, and you could choose who you wanted to be, you would never choose to be a Samaritan. Nobody liked the Samaritans.

And yet Jesus said it was the Samaritan that did the right thing. What did he do? He did five things I want to share with you tonight. Number one, he went to the dying man. Look what it says in verse 33.

It says, but a certain Samaritan as he journeyed came where he was, verse 34, and went to him. Now the priest and the Levite, they passed by on the other side, but here the Samaritan is, he's traveling also on that dusty road from Jerusalem to Jericho.

He come upon the man, he stops his journey and he looks at the man's condition. He comes to where the man is. Now listen, sir, that's the story of the Bible about Jesus. Jesus Christ left the glory of heaven and he came to planet earth where we are to save our soul.

Going Where the Lost Are

And if we're gonna be like Jesus, if we're gonna win a lost and dying world, we too must go where the lost and dying are. We must get up out of our comfortable pews, out of our comfortable churches, out of our comfortable routines.

And we've got to go into the highways and the hedges and the byways, the hospitals, the housing complexes, go into the jails and the prisons, go to where people are to tell them about Jesus. Because remember, ma 'am, a man without Christ is doomed and damned, hopeless and helpless, lying by the ditch, bleeding to death.

And if we're gonna serve Christ, we've got to stop playing church. We've got to stop pretending. We've got to put on the whole armor of God and we've got to go out and we've got to go to where they are and tell them about Christ.

And I've had men tell me, well, William, I don't believe in that. You know, I don't believe in going out there and bothering people and knocking on doors and witnessing to people about Christ. I mean, everybody in Laurel, Mississippi knows where this church is.

And if they want to come to church, they know they can come at any time. Sir, that's the devil talking through you. My friend, the Bible never tells a lost man to go to church, but the Bible tells saved men to leave the church and to go out into the fields.

They are white unto harvest, but we don't have enough livers. We've got to go to where the dying men are. But number two, not only did he go where he was, but he had compassion on him. Verse 33 said he had compassion.

Having Compassion on Those in Need

He loved him. Now listen very carefully, friends. He did not love this man because he knew him. He did not love him because he was a relative. He did not love him because there was some kind of involvement relationship wise.

He loved him because he was a man in need. He loved him because he was a man who was dying. He was a man who had, he needed help. And I want to tell you, friends, if we're going to serve God, we've got to learn to have compassion.

And I'm not saying love those that love you back. I'm not saying love those that are nice and clean and respectable. I'm talking about love those that hate you. Love those that persecute you. Love those that don't look right.

Love those that don't smell right. Love those that don't run in the same circles with you. Love every single person. Have compassion because every soul is loved by Christ. Every soul is eternal. Every soul goes to a place called heaven or a place called hell.

And if we're going to be real born again believers, we've got to have compassion on a lost and dying world that every man without Christ could be saved and one day spend an eternity in a place called heaven.

Taking Personal Action

So the good Samaritan, he went to where the dying man was, number one. Number two, he had compassion on him. But number three, he did something for the man himself. Look what it says in verse 34. It says, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine.

Now, friend, listen to me very carefully. The good Samaritan did not simply see the man over here and go to his knee. He did not simply say, well, this man's hurt and I've got to have some compassion for him.

I feel very sorry for him. He took action. Now, man, listen to me very carefully. He did not run back to the pastor and say, pastor, there's a man dying over here in the ditch and you've got to go check him out.

They didn't go to a deacons meeting and say, hey, we've got to take a special offering for this man. They didn't go to a Wednesday night prayer meeting and say, you know, we need to add this old boy to our prayer list.

They took action themselves. You see, friends, if you're going to serve God, you've got to be in God's army. You've got, you have responsibilities to serve God yourself. You cannot delegate to your pastor or your staff the responsibility that God has given to you.

Your pastor, your staff is no more obligated to God to win people to Christ than every born again believer. My friend, the Bible commands us to go out and win the lost and dying world. You say, well, I don't have the gift of soul winning, sir.

Soul winning is not a gift. It is a commandment of God. God commands you. If you've truly received the spirit of God, you are commanded to go out into the fields. They're white and to harvest, they're there ready to be taken.

But the laborers are few, the Bible says. If you really want to serve God, you've got to get off your blessed assurance and get out there and serve God. I want to tell you, man, having faith is not something you sit down and dream up in your mind.

Man, faith has sweat to it. Faith has energy to it. Faith has feet to it. If you really believe God, if you really believe that men are going to hell, that already gets you up off your seats. It already gets you out there in the highways to win men to Christ.

Don't wait for your pastor to do it. Don't wait for the staff to do it. Don't wait for me to do it. Every born again believer has a responsibility to tell the world that Jesus saves, Jesus saves. He took action himself.

Now, man, I love you, but hear me tonight. If you are a deacon and you cannot win somebody to Christ, you either need to learn how to do it and get busy doing it, or you ought to quit being a deacon. You have no business being a leader in this church if you will not or cannot win somebody to Christ.

I will tell you, friends, that is the first call of a Christian is to go out and share the gospel with a lost and dying world. Don't tell me how important you are in town. Don't tell me how many board of directors you sit on.

Don't tell me how influential you are. Don't tell me the offices you hold in the church. If you cannot win a man to Christ, you have absolutely no, you have no reason to be in a leadership capacity in a New Testament church.

Self-Denial in Following Christ

The man took action himself, the good Samaritan. He did something for the man, but then number four, he was selfless. He denied himself. Look at verse 34, it says, he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn and took care of him.

Now, friends, I want us to listen very carefully. Here was the Samaritan. He was traveling on that dusty road from Jerusalem to Jericho. Now, remember, a man did not get on that dusty road from Jerusalem to Jericho unless it was very important business.

So here was the Samaritan. He wanted to get to Jericho. He needed to get to Jericho. He had to get to Jericho. But when he saw the man dying in the ditch, he stopped his trip to Jericho. He denied himself.

And that's the story of Jesus. The Bible says that he denied himself to save your soul, sir. Jesus Christ, who is God himself, left the glory of heaven and he came to planet earth. He took on the form of a man.

He gave up his power from heaven simply to save your soul. He died on a cross to pay your sin debt. He was buried and raised from the dead. He denied himself simply so you could be forgiven and go through the gates of glory.

And if we're gonna serve God, we must learn to deny ourselves. But here's what I've learned about a lot of church people. A lot of men, a lot of women who claim to know Jesus, they will serve God if it doesn't put them out too much.

They'll serve God if they can work it in their schedule. They'll do something for God if they got some leftover time. After they have done what they wanna do with their time, after they have spent their money like they wanna spend it, after they've gone the places they wanna go and live like they wanna live, if there's any time left, if there's any money left, if there's any energy left, they throw it to God like a bone to an old dog.

And I'm telling you, that's a sin. Because my friend, the Bible commands us to give God not the leftovers of our life, but the best of our life. Not the back 10%, but the top 10%. We're to give God the best of our time, the best of our energy, the top of our money.

We're to give God the best because he has saved our soul. And we must make up our mind if we're gonna serve the living and true God, we must deny ourself, put our lust and our wants back and give God our very best.

Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me, Jesus said. Oh, the Samaritan, he denied himself. He took care of this man. He put him on his own base. He took him to an inn and he took care of him. But the final thing he did was he paid a price to help this man.

Counting the Cost of Serving Christ

In Luke 10, 35, it says, and whatsoever thou spendest more when I come again, I will repay you. It cost the good Samaritan to help this man. And I wanna tell you it cost Jesus Christ his blood to save your soul.

And I will tell you friends, if you're gonna serve Jesus, it's gonna cost you something. And I'll be quite blunt with you. If you really serve Christ with all of your heart, it's gonna cost you some friends.

It's gonna cost you some popularity. It's gonna cost you some position in this world. You cannot serve the living and true God with a hot heart and please the world at the same time. You cannot serve two masters.

You will love one and hate the other. The Bible says, love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If a man loves the world, the love of the father is not in him. And David said, I wouldn't give God anything that didn't cost me something.

You gotta pay a price to serve Jesus. The Bible says, count the cost. You see the reason most men are not saved is because they count the cost and it's too high a price. They have to give up some friends, give up some sin, give up something they wanna do and give their life to Christ.

What they don't know is there's more to be gained than there is to be given up. Because my friends, you're here tonight, I wanna tell you to serve God with all of your heart is the greatest thing that a man can do.

There's no greater thing a man can do than to give God all of his life, to have a passion for God. There's no greater thing is to go out and win people to Christ. There's no greater thing to tell somebody how to be saved.

Seizing the Opportunity to Reach the Lost

Friend, this is a cold, cruel world and people are dying and going to hell all around us. We've gotta wake up, we've gotta get excited. We've gotta have a passion for the things of God. We've got 14 more services.

If you're gonna win Laurel, Mississippi, you've gotta get to work. You've gotta get to work. You've gotta deny yourself. You've gotta pay a price. We've got to seize the opportunity to tell these folks that Christ can really make a difference in their life.

I'm telling you, I have traveled for the last 12 years. I have traveled 40 weeks of the year preaching revival. Out of that 12 years, I figured up one time that out of that 12 years, I have spent eight years of that on the road away from home.

And I'm telling you, son, many times I get discouraged. Friend, I'll tell you what, I'm not in this for the money. Now don't you kid yourself, buddy. There's a lot of things I can do with my life to make a lot more money than I'm making now.

With a lot less aggravation that I'm putting up with. And I'm telling you, many times I'm out there and I'm beating my head against the wall and I'm thinking to myself, is it worth it? Does anybody care what I'm doing?

Does it really make a difference in somebody's life? And many times I'll be discouraged and the money will be tight. And I'm thinking, why don't I just quit it all and go home and get a job and take care of my family.

And I'll be out sometime in a little small town, maybe walking through a store, feeling sorry for myself. And somebody will call my name and I'll turn around and some little teenager will run up and hug my neck and say, don't you remember, William?

You were here two years ago when I got saved and my life's never been the same. Oh, hallelujah, does it pay to serve Christ? You better believe it, but it's gonna cost you. You cannot be a friend of the world and a friend of God at the same time.

The Responsibility to Act on the Spirit’s Prompting

You must make a choice tonight. You must choose the God of your life, sir. You must choose to give your life to God or give your life to sin. And you cannot serve both of them. And there are many of you here tonight, you have been given your life to the devil.

You've given your life to sin and lust. You've done what you wanna do when you wanna do it. You have ignored God with your life and tonight you're lost. You're that man lying in the ditch. At this very moment, you're lying in that ditch.

Your blood is flowing out of your body. You are doomed and damned, you are hopeless. And I've come to point you to Jesus. And tonight you've got a chance to get out of that ditch. You've got a chance to go and have some help.

You have a chance tonight to be born again by the Holy Spirit. It is the opportunity of a lifetime. You need to run to Christ tonight and be saved before it's too late. Oh, several years ago in Atlanta, Georgia, a newspaper article came out and it told the story of a teenage girl by the name of Wanda Williams.

Wanda Williams was a typical teenager and it was New Year's Eve. So Wanda went out to a New Year's Eve party. Her parents went out to their party. The parents came in early and they thought Wanda was still out partying.

So they went to bed. The next morning they woke up and mother was in the kitchen. She was preparing breakfast and breakfast got ready. They called Wanda to breakfast, but Wanda didn't come. So her dad went to the bedroom to check on Wanda, but the bed had not been slept in.

There was a note on the dresser and the note said, you'll find me in the garage. And her dad ran to the garage and there she was, his beautiful teenage daughter hanging by a rope from by her neck. There was a second note on the floor and the second note said this, it said, all last year I was alone and I was miserable.

And so I prayed to God, I said, God, I can't live like this anymore. You've got to change my life. You've got to point me in a new direction. And she said, God, if my life doesn't change, if something doesn't happen in my heart, she said, God, if a year goes by and something doesn't change my life, God, I don't want to go on living.

And she said, another year has gone by, nothing's happened. And so she hanged herself. Now, did God, didn't God love Wanda Williams? Sure he did. Didn't God hear the prayers of Wanda Williams? Sure he did.

But my dear friends, the way God operates on planet earth is this, God works through us who are his children. We are his ambassadors. God speaks to our heart and he lays people on our hearts and we're to go and share with them the good news of Jesus Christ.

And I believe in Atlanta, Georgia, there was somebody that was touched about Wanda, but whoever God spoke to in Atlanta, Georgia, they didn't have the time. They were too wrapped up in their activities.

They didn't have time to go and tell a little girl how her life could be changed. And I believe if they'd gone and told her about Jesus, she'd be alive tonight. But nobody had the time to worry about Wanda.

Hey, have you ever had a feeling in your heart that you wanted to tell somebody about Jesus or invite somebody to the revival, but you just kind of pushed it back and didn't do it? That was the Holy Spirit.

That was the Holy Spirit of God trying to reach that person through you. And my friends, I want to tell you, there are people all around us in Laurel, in Jones County, in Mississippi. There are people all around us that God is wanting to get to, and He's laying them on our heart.

And our responsibility is to go to where they are and to have compassion on them and to do something for them, to tell them about Christ, to be selfish, deny ourselves, to pay whatever price it takes to win them to a lost and dying world.

Blackburn’s Testimony of Being Found

You see, I was lost for a long time. I was that man in a ditch for a long time. And I'm telling you, it breaks my heart. As a teenage boy in college with 50 Baptist churches within a five-mile radius, nobody ever told me about Jesus.

Nobody ever invited me to church. No man cared for my soul. And I lay in the ditch for a long time, bleeding to death. But praise God, there was a man who came to my aid, a man who sat me down and took a Bible and told me about Jesus.

And my life was saved, and my soul was saved because somebody cared. There are some of you here tonight just like I was. You're in that ditch. And right now you don't have Jesus, and your heart is empty, and you're alone, and you're wondering what life's all about.

And I'm here to tell you that in that ditch, you can lay there, and you can die, and you can bleed to death, and you can go straight to hell. But tonight, there's a Samaritan here that wants to help you, that wants to love you, that wants to point you to Jesus, that wants to save your life and save your soul.

Repentance and the Call to Salvation

But you've gotta want help. You see, the problem is you've sinned against God. You've rebelled against God. You've broken God's law, you've broken God's heart, you've lived a selfish and self-centered life.

You have ignored God. And even though God loves you, God hates the way you've been living, sir. He hates your sin. And God has given his word, the wages of sin is death because you have sinned against the most high God.

At this very moment, you are doomed and damned. There's no hope for you. But the Bible says, God loves you so much, he sent a Samaritan. He sent Jesus, his son. And Jesus came and Jesus took all of your sins and he went to a cross and he took your place.

He paid your sin debt for you. He suffered hell so that you could enjoy heaven. He died so that you could live. Then he was buried in a tomb. After three days of being dead, God the Father raised him from the dead.

He's alive tonight, and one day he's coming back. You say, William, I've heard the story about Jesus. Sir, listen to me. It's not enough to hear the story about Jesus. You've got to admit that you're a sinner.

You've got to admit you're a rebel. You've got to get honest with God. You've got to say, God, I'm a sinner and I'm sorry. And then you must repent of that sin, turn away from it. You cannot come to Jesus with sin in your life and sin in your heart.

You've got to let go of that fornication. You've got to let go of that adultery. You've got to let go of those lies and that backbiting and that drinking. You've got to let go of that rebellion against God.

You've got to let go of that pride and that self-centeredness and you've got to turn away from it. You've got to give your life to Jesus, holding nothing back. But if you'll do that, the good Samaritan will put you on his own beast.

He'll take you to an end and take care of you. You know why? Because he has compassion on you. He'll save your soul if you'll give your life to him. If you were to die tonight, what would happen to you?

If you were to die tonight, what would happen to you? You say, William, I believe I'd go to heaven. Why do you believe that? What makes you think you're going to heaven when you die? You say, well, when I was a little boy, I walked down that aisle, I made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, got baptized, sir.

That doesn't mean you're saved. That just means you say you're saved. You know why? Jesus said, there are a whole bunch of folks that say they are saved, but with their heart, they're denying me. They're a long way from me.

See, a profession of faith in Jesus means nothing unless you let go of sin and your heart was changed by Jesus. You say, well, I believe in Jesus. The Bible says, you'll believe in Jesus, you'll be saved.

But the Bible also says the devil believes in Jesus, sir. You can believe in Jesus and go straight to hell. You see, it's not a matter of believing in your head. You've got to commit your life to him, surrender your will to him, become one with him.

You see, you're lying by the ditch and you're dying at this very moment. And tonight, God wants to save you. But what you must do right now is you must get honest with God. You must repent of your sin.

You must leave your religion behind. Leave that profession of faith behind. Leave all that church stuff behind. And you've got to turn your life over to the living and true God. Take him as Lord, Savior, God, boss, master, owner of your life.

And when God sees you serious, he'll get serious. And he'll forgive you of every sin you've ever committed. He'll put his spirit in your heart to guide you and direct you. He'll write your name down in heaven in the Lamb's book of life, simply for one reason now, because he loves you.

Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

What a Savior. Let's bow our heads. You have been listening to the From the Pulpit and Classic Sermon series. This week, you heard William Blackburn with his message, How to Be a Good Samaritan. Tune in next week for another powerful message from God's word on From the Pulpit and Classic Sermons.