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Sunday school from November 12th, 2017
All right, grab a Bible something to write with. We're going to be in the book of Exodus. We're gonna be taking a close look at the fifth commandment today. You shall not murder and Let's begin with prayer.
Lord Jesus again, we come to open up your word. We ask that you would send your spirit your your word is so clear that we cannot understand your word apart from the working of The Spirit so send your spirit so that we may rightly understand it.
Properly understand what we are to believe confess and to do. We ask in Jesus name. Amen. So we're in Exodus. Exodus chapter 20. Remember we did a little bit of an excursion into first Samuel in the opening part of second Samuel and this was all that was all predicated by our in-depth study of the fourth commandment and the doctrine of the kingdom and we've properly understood then that in relation to the in relation to the fourth commandment that God has ordered society in a particular way and that Obeying the fourth commandment involves.
Well, it involves paying attention to your employers and put your fathers your mothers and things of that nature. The fifth commandment as we continue to look at what God has revealed to the children of Israel as they are Camped at the base of Mount Sinai the fifth commandment is.
You shall not.
Murder.
Now a little bit of a note here and That is the text is very clear that we shall not murder and it doesn't say you shall not kill in general if your translation says you shall not kill that's Not exactly a proper understanding of what this text is forbidding for instance.
Let me ask you a question. Did David? Not Pave the bridal price for McCall with 200 Forskins of the Philistines and we noted that Philistines do not give those things up willingly. Okay, that's just kind of how that works and so that meant 200 dead Philistines.
Did David not kill. He did. Okay, so it's important for us to understand that the prohibition in the fifth commandment is you shall not murder. When a soldier goes to war and a soldier kills Other soldiers the enemy soldiers.
Is that soldier sinning in doing soldiering work? No, I'm gonna have to say it this way not necessarily and you'll note that our US military is under the Department of Defense it is not under the Department of Land acquisition.
Right if the United States decided that it was going to declare war against, Canadia. Those are where the Canadians are from. And and decided that for whatever reason we really wanted Quebec and Manitoba and British Columbia and that we're just dying to have more snow in our nation.
That would be a war for the purpose of Land acquisition, and that would be a war of aggression and in a situation like that I do not personally believe that we could participate in such a war and That to obey the government in such a thing would be not something conducive to Christian sanctification.
And I am saying this as a fellow who has several great uncles who Whose gravesites are somewhere in Russia because they fought for Nazi Germany and My great Grandmother I think she had what 18 children 10 of them boys.
Six of them died on the Russian front Fighting for Nazi Germany and. And the reality of the situation is I cannot come up with a single biblical justifiable reason why anybody Should as a Christian fight for such a deplorable Cause as Nazism right so we have to make a decision.
You know and we Christians we talk about the difference between Just war an unjust war a war of aggression as opposed to a war of defense. Now in relation to the United States of America did we start World War two.
No, how did we get involved? For Harvard we were attacked in fact the United States went out of its way to stay out of that Conflict as much as possible in fact at the time there were a lot of outspoken people.
You think of Charles Lindbergh? You know this is the fellow who flew across the Atlantic and the spirit of st. Louis. This is a fellow who dedicated much of his time prior to the war. Arguing that we should not be involved in that war and there was you know it getting.
Getting the people in the United States on board to be a part of that war was a very tricky thing. Until we were attacked and you think well the Japanese attacked us. How come we fought the Nazis. Answer because as soon as we declared war against Japan?
The Nazis and the Italian fascist government of Mussolini at the declared war in the United States and. So now we were in a defensive war and it's weird for us to think of it in these terms but when somebody is soldiering and Defending our freedoms and they are killing in order to fulfill their duty as a soldier.
They are not doing. They're not sinning. They're doing a good work.
It's.
Strange to think in these terms, but such is the weird Problems that we find ourselves in caused by our own sin and the curse that we are under. So when we pray for our soldiers each and every Sunday, you know You'll notice that I don't have any qualms praying for our soldiers nor do I if you find.
You know if I were to see some fellow in in uniform, I would never tell him you are a Christian. You need to get out of the military. Now, I understand that the the movie hacksaw Ridge was about a fellow who had you know We believe that the Bible forbade him from from killing and so he was a conscientious objector.
And it's a very fascinating story that even in the midst of the horrors of war This guy could not go against his conscience now granted. He had misread the scriptures. He really had but in in that particular case his conscience not rightly understanding the scriptures did not permit him to hold a weapon and to kill the Japanese and God and his providence Used this fellow to save a bunch of soldiers.
So it's an interesting historical story in that sense. But there clearly is no biblical prohibition against being in the military. Conversely, also the scriptures do not forbid us from defending ourselves and Even defending ourselves with lethal force if necessary and you think back a few weeks.
What happened a few weeks ago a few weeks ago that church in Texas that fellow came in. Who should not have had a firearm? He had a firearm and he gunned down all those people in church and I can tell you in talking with other pastors from around the country and Participating in some online discussions that there are a lot of people that live in states that now They you know, I talked with one gal in Oklahoma that in their church they have somebody who is the designated gunman and this is somebody whose job is to conceal carry a Loaded firearm and sit at a place strategically within the church that they have an eye on the back door.
You know and so the question then is is that you know if we find ourselves in a situation where we have an active shooter at Kongsvinger would would a member of Kongsvinger be sinning To pull a firearm and defend us from being murdered.
Answer no.
Yes.
Okay.
Do you see the irony here. Because what's your boat designed to do?
You know.
Yeah, and in the people who are conscientious objectors, they have to kind of sort that out themselves and Although I'll point out that they're not rightly understanding Scripture, they're they're they're improperly understanding this commandment.
When somebody does that you don't Ramrod the truth down their throat and water boredom with them. You have to let the Word of God work in them for them to sit there and go. Oh, whoa. Whoa, I totally misunderstood that.
And we get this from the epistles specifically in regard to eating meat the sacrifice to an idol and. And also is in regards to what we drink. The Apostle Paul is very clear that although we have the freedom to do such things that we do not exercise our freedom in a way that would destroy the conscience or the faith of a fellow believer and.
So in a situation like that If you have a friend who is a conscientious objector the idea is you you work with that person to help them understand God's Word. But you don't push them to go against their conscience until God's Word Opens their eyes to the truth that they've misunderstood it.
So.
Yeah, exactly exactly. And so that what was funny is is he didn't even see the irony of the whole situation. He was and he was willing to guard the boat, but the boat itself is one ginormous weapon. It's designed for one purpose and it is not deep-sea exploration.
Yeah, now the Los Angeles class sub yeah. Okay, yeah, yeah, those subs are designed to do one thing kill think destroy. No, they're not. You guys were not playing shuffleboard on the Lido deck, so. All right.
Yeah, so you'll notice in that, you know, there's there's clearly he doesn't see the issue. So scripture then tells us you shall not.
Murder. Yes. Yeah I think it was, you know, the regular army the Wehrmacht. Necessarily Nazis, right? They weren't they weren't. SS. At what point would you? You know you find yourself over there. Say well, I don't think we're doing the right thing here, you know for a lot of them.
What was just the fatherland take care of? You know serving in the military. I mean. But I don't think there was any wholesale. You know mutiny amongst anybody except maybe towards the end of the war were whole Battalions and stuff.
Just said yeah, right. Yeah, you know, where do you where do you draw the line? Where was that? Maybe a lot of the soldiers didn't even know all of the Atrocities that were being performed.
Yeah, so this this gets into a thorny bit of history. Where do you draw the line? I'm gonna be blunt The German people knew what they were getting into with Adolf Hitler if you read Mein Kampf, he made it very clear what his goals were and With his ascendancy to power.
There was nobody in Germany that could Legitimately say I had no idea. It's a lie in Mein Kampf, he makes it very clear what his grand vision is for the Aryan race and for the German people and How he wanted, you know, basically Elbow room, you know room for you know for the German people in the Aryan race and his hatred of the Jews was Was put on display for all the world to see now granted.
There were some Germans who thought this guy's a crazy guy. No one would ever elect him and It's fascinating that if you study the history of Germany at the time how many intellectuals? With seeing the handwriting on the wall and where Germany was heading and How the Nazi Party was gaining more and more power and influence within Germany.
What did they do? They left? Albert Einstein was among them they left. The reality of the situation is is that the German people knew what they were getting into they knew what they were electing. They knew what his plan was because this was not something said in secret.
It was written in a best-selling book all right, and So where they should have put their foot down was at long before he came into power now. The average German citizen doesn't have the money and things like that to leave at this point.
But they should have fought against him and many of them if you talk to them They would have said if we had spoken out. We would have been arrested and shot. To which I say then let them arrest you and shoot you you are to obey God not man and Believe me when I tell you the worst thing that can happen to you is not that somebody shoots you.
Or that you end up in a concentration camp and die. That's not the worst thing that can happen to you. The worst thing that can happen to you is that the King of Glory says to you depart Into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and all of his angels.
I Fear Jesus far more than I would fear any Adolf Hitler or anybody like him.
We.
Yeah, but they were sheep and so sheep doing what sheep do it think in coming up with some ways of justifying it. Then that's what they did. They end up justifying it and you look at what happens to the German people after World War two.
I yeah, I would recommend right reading the writings of a fellow by the name of vague line V o e g li ne and vague line. This is a fellow who really understood what the German people were doing. Their excuse was this guy was a madman.
We had no idea to which vague line says that's garbage. Yeah, they're basically saying they're the victims of a madman. No. They elected that madman because that madman reflected what they wanted and desired for themselves and The desires were evil and They got swept up in a whole movement of evil and they are culpable for their sins and the sins of their leaders.
Yeah.
Right.
Yeah, and there were pastors Herman Sasse being most notable Lutheran pastor Herman Sasse. He was he fought against and resisted what the what the Germans were doing because it crept into the church. And if you um, if you read about what was called the Deutsche Christian movement or the Deutsche Kirche movement in at the time of the Nazis.
Literally, they would replace the altar crosses with swastikas. Could you imagine getting rid of our cross off that altar and putting a swastika up instead and They not suffide. Christianity indeed judaized Christianity and We're teaching that they had their own Aryan version of the gospel in their own Aryan version of Christianity for their community such rank idolatry you cannot as a Christian participate in such things and Over and again, you'll see this that Oftentimes all it takes for evil to take over a society is for people who know the truth to stay tight-lipped.
To sit there and say if I speak up I will die. You probably will but God requires you to speak up. He absolutely does so where they should have drawn. The line is long before Hitler came to power. Because what the Nazis were was not hidden.
They were quite vocal about what they wanted what their goals were what their plans were. Again, if you're not sure read Mein Kampf. None of this was in for the for the German people to say we had no idea and there's a concentration camp, you know.
Half a mile outside of their village. We had no idea hog wash. They knew exactly what was going on. No and We're way off topic but while we're on it, let's talk about it. Okay. In our day there is a rise of white supremacists and and anti-semites.
You can find them online. They are part of a group that is known as the alt-right the alt-right and They are the opposite and equal heretical reaction to Liberal social justice warrior types and you kind of have to kind of kind of think of this this way.
They are the flip side of a bad coin. Both of them are wrong. They are you know, they're there one is the yin to the others yang and so in the in the liberal world. You have the liberal social justice warrior types and you can hear this and read this in their rhetoric.
Where they say that white people are the scourge of humanity. That's the alt-left on the flip side of it is the alt-right and the alt-right Says no why you know, it's okay to be white and they are literally mimicking and Reciting the same rhetoric that was occurring in the in the 20th century.
Saying that the Jews have all this power over our monetary system and over the world and that they're there. They're a scourge of humanity and that we have to be our own people. We it's we are white. We've got to remain white and that we're the pure race and all this kind of stuff.
Both of them are complete evil and Unfortunately, I hate to say this that the rise of this really Va you know, it's like overtly evil on both sides left and right it is growing by leaps and bounds dangerously, so.
And it's funny do the parallel work in history. It was this exact rhetoric that led to the rise of the Nazis and so we're seeing it there's a resurgence of it in our day and it is wicked beyond all belief and There's no way I mean seriously if there's somebody here Who claims to be a good penitent believer in Jesus Christ and a good and a member in good standing and they are harboring these?
Beliefs that you know that the whites are the pure race and that Jews are evil and all this kind of stuff. We would move against that person in church discipline and if they didn't repent they would find themselves out of here.
There's no way on earth That as a Christian pastor, I could tolerate somebody who's harboring that kind of murderous hatred in their heart towards their brothers and neighbors. Oh, yeah, they do so denying the Holocaust is a big part of this and so when it comes to this alt politics Alt left and alt right one of the big things they have is these conspiracy theories, okay?
The alt-right denies that not only the Holocaust they deny That um that the United States actually put men on the moon. I'm not making this up. No, they they believe that Stanley Kubrick that Stanley Kubrick actually You he's the director behind all of the footage of men on the moon and That this was all some elaborate ruse on the part of the government and that's a vital part of their narrative.
Because the Holocaust didn't really happen. That was a fictitious. That was fiction. The moon shots didn't really happen. That's a fiction the the attack against New York City on 9-eleven that was a false flag event and so the a big part of this has to do with this big conspiracy of the Illuminati and these you know and this this Jewish cabal who's got control of the world and they're the ones who are controlling the media and the narrative and that.
What we we think is actually going on is all just a deception. That what's really going on? We don't see and so this the design then is to create this suspicion towards all of the current Western governments believe that they're actually there's puppet masters behind them that are Jewish and That in order to be a good patriot you need to be a white supremacist and fight against the Jewish influence behind what's going on because they are they are Manufacturing the news in history and what's really going on?
They're keeping from you. That's this that's a big part of their narrative. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So, I mean seriously, I don't have anybody who would buy into this couldn't sleep at night. Yeah. Yeah.
Right, have you have you have you ever been in a part of the United States where there is a large cattle ranch? Yeah, how many miles out of Sioux City? Do you begin to smell that? Yeah. Yeah, yeah, you don't have to be.
Yeah, you can smell momaha, right. So yeah. The Germans who say we had no idea are not telling the truth. The stench from the concentration camps was over powering and. One thing I know about wind is that sometime the wind comes from the north?
Sometimes it comes from the south sometimes it comes from the east and other times it blows from the west and. Whatever is happens to be in the wind you can kind of smell it and I've if I've even noticed this in town.
This is only what my fourth year here. You know, I've been here for three years now. I've ended my fourth that there's a smell in the in the fall that kind of tells you that the harvest is right around the Corner.
You can smell it if the winds are coming from this area into town. It's like I can say oh that smells like it's about time to harvest these crops.
So I Refuse to believe that somebody with just one or two miles outside of their town a concentration camp Which is a factory of death that they had they couldn't smell it. They had no idea that nobody was out wander on a walk in the and saw the fences and this is just nonsense.
This is what people tell themselves in order to somehow give themselves an absolution. Rather than say, yep, I knew and I did nothing about it. That's the thing. They couldn't bring themselves to saying.
Yeah. Yeah, and and and the people who are survived to this day. They were very young when they were swept up into this. They will talk about those days, you know before the the horrors of the war really kind of set in at.
That's like the pinnacle moment in their life. They were happy. They had a vision they had they knew where they fit in the community in the in the Volkermeinschaft and and for them that these were glory days and.
And some of them actually wanted to figure out how to kind of bring them back which is frightening and scary all in and of itself.
To understand the two kingdoms.
Yeah Yeah.
Yeah, so if Message to the pastors out there you preach the truth, even if preaching the truth will cost you your life. Period. You know, there's nothing that this world can offer me. Nothing that this world can offer me.
Not comforts not luxuries houses or cars or whatever. That compares with what's coming when Christ returns. All of this is going away. I mean seriously you think I'm gonna sit there and keep my mouth shut so that I could enjoy ten years of living in Luxury, you've got to be kidding me, right?
That's right. Yeah, that's right. Yeah, and I confess that Being put in a concentration camp and being starved to death or being shot or that's going to be uncomfortable and painful.
Be it. All right. Let's take a look at our text then. All of that was preface that maybe not.
Mm-hmm.
Yes, you have to protect your neighbor and this will talk about this but this does not this does not include. Like say you're working on a construction site, you know. And you and your buddy are putting up a wall and or you may be working on the roof or whatever.
And your buddy says hey, could you toss a hammer down to me? Sure hair catch and he misses it and it bonks him on the head and he dies. All right, that's that's that's just manslaughter and then and scripture actually makes a difference.
Between an accidental death as opposed to a death that is caused where it's premeditated murder or it's negligence on your part. And for instance, you can be stoned to death if you know that you have you own a bull and your bull is ornery on.
You know uncontrollable and is known to goring people and yet you didn't fence it in properly and your bull gets out. And it kills somebody you're guilty of murder in that sense scripture makes that clear.
Yeah, I remember them. Yes, yeah and That's those are tough decisions to make. I remember the LA riots I was in college at the time and one of the stories that kind of came out at that time was. There was parts of Koreatown Where things were so volatile that that was one of the places where the police had pulled back and they had decided that they would Not be involved and the store owners in Koreatown.
Their stores were not looted. Why. Because those guys got on their roofs and they had firearms and anybody who would come their way. They would fire a warning shot at him and then shoot to kill if it was necessary they they used deadly force to protect their the property in their in their bodies and.
That was kind of a pocket of that. But yeah, this it's. I mean a riot is a. That's that's a living and dangerous thing volatile to say the least.
All right. Let's take a look. You shall not murder. You shall not murder. I'm gonna use this the catechism or the helps in the catechism to help us out here in the small catechism. Luther Writes, what does this mean?
And I love what Luther writes because you're gonna note that with the negative Commandments. There's also a positive expectation and you when you flesh it out in Scripture. You can see this we should fear and love God.
Luther writes so that we do not hurt Or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need. So it's not enough that I haven't plunged a knife into Don Matheson's chest today.
And I know he's happy that I chose not to do that. And there's always tomorrow. Yeah, so mark and I will be working against you Don moving forward. You have not fulfilled this commandment. Unless you have also said of your neighbor and this is not neighbor just reserved for Christians.
You're gonna see that this revolve this involves everybody who is created by God. Who is a son of Adam or a daughter of Eve whether they are your brother in Christ or they are your mortal enemy? That does not matter.
That not murdering Includes then looking out for their physical well-being especially in times of trouble and need. Especially in times of trouble and need and so that's the idea we have to physically care for each other so if Don loses his job and Don is at the brink of Not being able to pay his bills not able to feed his wife not able to meet his own needs.
Not murdering means us saying Don We're gonna raise a collection to help you so that you or your physical needs are taken care of. That's the idea. The fifth commandment requires this of us so a Good example of this and You're gonna know this.
This is a complicated text. We're gonna take a look at Luke chapter 10. Luke chapter 10 and A parable that is often really really Misunderstood, but it's also quite instructive in several different ways.
It's the parable of the Good Samaritan. And I would like to remind you of the context of that Jesus tells this parable in and the context is this is that in first century Judea although they were under the Roman occupation at the time.
They were part of the Roman Empire by conquest. The Jews did not get along with Samaritans, it's kind of one of the subtext of the Gospels, you know, let's just say The Samaritans were the remnants of what was left of the northern kingdom they had Intermingled with unbelievers and idolaters and had set up their own place of worship and Jews and Samaritans did not get along at all and I will say this quite bluntly.
You can see it very clear in Scripture that the Jews at that time engaged in a form of racism. That is akin to how whites treated African-americans before the time of the civil rights movement. They had disparaging racial effortless that they would call them.
They treated them very poorly and the hostility between the two was quite Well over the line in fact if Jews found themselves in a situation where it was Necessary for them to travel through Samaria they were instructed by the Pharisees that as soon as they got to the border of Samaria and Israel they were to shake the Samaritan dust off their feet and to not pollute the land of Israel with Samaritan dirt that I mean that's what we're talking about here and With that you'll kind of see the scandal then of what happens in this because over and again the vast majority of the parables that Jesus tells Jesus is in the parable.
He's one fellow or another in the parable and so in this particular parable Jesus shows up and Jesus shows up in this parable as the Samaritan.
I.
Scandalous if you think about it, but the story begins a Lawyer stood up and see that's you see this sounds like a joke, but no it's not. You know, this is proof that lawyers are evil but and accountants.
I'm just saying all right, so a lawyer stood up to put Jesus to the test saying teacher What shall I do to inherit eternal life? I feel like at this point Jesus should have asked this attorney. Where did you go to law school?
You clearly don't understand how probate works, right? This I mean, what must I do to inherit eternal life? We talked about this in the sermon today. What must you do to inherit something? Nothing, wait for the fellow to die and then the will is read out and you're given the inheritance.
It's kind of that simple. So he's thinking he's got to do something in order to inherit eternal life. Which means theologically this guy's all screwed up now watch what Jesus done doesn't is. That this fellow is an attorney.
So he thinks in terms of the loss of Jesus does the rabbinic thing and he answers his question with a question. What is written in the law? How do you read it? He answered. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul with all your strength in all your mind.
And your neighbor as yourself. Real quick question. How many of you are doing that? All all all all right.
And.
So Jesus said to him, all right, you've answered correctly do this and you will live. Is he doing it. No, not even close. The text makes that very clear Verse 29, but he desiring to justify himself and as the mechanic would say well, there's your problem right there.
Yeah, that's the reason why your car won't start. Yeah. But wanting to just to justify himself he said to Jesus. He can almost hear the snark. Who's my neighbor? Who's my neighbor? All right.
Jesus replied a Man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. He fell among robbers who stripped him beat him and Departed leaving him half dead. That's you that's me.
All right.
You have to think of these highwaymen as the devil and his demon horde and this is their attack against us now in this particular case. It says half dead and the reason why is because the parable doesn't work if the guy is fully dead because nobody knows CPR.
At this point, so we can't exactly bring him back from the dead. But the reality is is each of us is born dead and trespasses and sins we have been severely beaten By the devil and You're gonna note also kind of an important thing is the geography comes into play here.
Jerusalem is at a higher elevation than Jericho. So in order to travel from Jerusalem to Jericho, you have to go down a windy road. Down down down down down, you know. You ever been like on like a tour bus that went on one of these mountain roads.
Maybe in the Rockies or something like that. Oh man, like your heart stops like you turn a corner you can't see the road below you but you know, thankfully the bus driver can but you look out the window and all you see is Right, yeah, that's kind of what it's like traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho.
How do I know this other people's vacation photos? Just that's my standard answer, right? So here we've got this fellow.
Beaten.
Bleeding half-dead. By chance a priest was going down which means he's traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. Down that road when he saw him He passed by on the other side.
Why would he do that? Well, it's a little more than just being bothered. He might that may be the case, but he's got a he's got a Torah reason why he wouldn't. Not. No, we don't know anything about the nationality of the person who's been He.
That's right if the fellows dead. What happens to a Jew if he comes in contact with the with a corpse? He's unclean and it's seven days and there's this washing ceremonies and all this kind of stuff and he's a priest.
So if he comes in contact with the corpse, I mean, I don't know the fellow. He doesn't look like he's a member of my family. I'm not gonna let myself become unclean for some stranger if he's dead, so here this guy is alive, but He won't.
You know, this guy doesn't want to become unclean. So he has no mercy for him at all. Doesn't even call 911 just passes by on the other side.
Next a.
Levite, okay, Levite means he hasn't he's Not doing his priestly duty, but he could when he came to the place. He saw him also pass by on the other side but a Samaritan now to kind of understand the gist of what Jesus is saying here.
It would be like if Jesus was down in Alabama, and it's the 1950s before the civil rights movement really gets rolling down in Alabama and the attorney happens to be practicing law down in Birmingham and rather than saying Samaritan Jesus uses the n-word and a neat comes by.
That's the gist of how scandalous this is. So Jesus says but a Samaritan as He journeyed came to where he was and when he saw him he had Compassion and you'll note here over and again. Jesus has compassion.
The Greek word here is blog needs. Oh my Blog knows your guts, right? So this is compassion that comes from your innards you see this fellow and you're you're moved. You're wrenched down in your guts to have compassion on him and to help him.
And this is the same word that is used when it talks about how Jesus has compassion on Jerusalem. Oh how he wished he could gather them like a hen gathers her chicks or he had compassion on the crowd the multitude because they were like sheep without a Shepherd.
Jesus had splug needs them. I can't compassion for the same word Which tells us alerts us to who's who we're dealing with here. So Jesus makes an appearance in the parable of the Good Samaritan and guess who he is.
He's the Samaritan so he went to him Bound up his wounds. Did we not hear the Lord say that in our text from Ezekiel today? I will bind up your wounds you injured sheep bound up his wounds pouring oil and wine and then he set him on his own animal brought him to an inn and Took care of him and the next day he took out two denarii.
Gave them to the innkeeper saying take care of him. Whatever more you spend. I will repay you when I come back. So, you know this poor fellow is saved Because of the great compassion of the despised Samaritan who out of his own pocket out of his own wealth Takes care of all of his needs pays for his hotel gives him the medical attention.
He needs this fellow has done.
Nothing.
Except for receive. This is us. We are the receivers of God's mercy and grace and his compassion. So then Jesus now addresses the attorney which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor? To the man who fell among the robbers.
Now he won't even say the word Samaritan. Watch what the attorney says The one who showed him mercy. He can't even say the word The one who showed him mercy. So Jesus said to him You go. And you do likewise.
Show mercy.
Now granted it's a parable and the parable itself is a picture of our own salvation. But remember the cross not only informs us what God has done for us what Christ has done for us. Over and again, the cross is held up as an example for us to follow in our relationship with others.
That.
Same mercy grace and compassion that God has shown you in Christ. By bleeding and dying for you and saving you you then turn around and you do likewise. You show that same mercy and compassion and grace.
Even to the people who hate you, which is the tough part. It's not just the people who are kind to you but the people who actually hate you and I'll kind of bear this out by giving you a text on this.
Although I'm getting ahead of myself on this. Let me find this. Oh, yeah, let's take a look at this. Romans 12 verse 14 bless those Who persecute you? Bless him. Bless and do not cursed them. Rejoice with those who rejoice.
Weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty. Associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay, no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all if Possible so far as it depends on you.
Live peaceably with all. Beloved. Never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God for it is written vengeance is mine. I will repay says the Lord to the contrary if Your enemy is hungry. Feed him if he's thirsty.
Give him something to drink. For by doing so you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not overcome be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. So you'll note then verse 20 if your enemy is hungry this is dealing with your enemies physical needs.
You feed him. He's thirsty. You give him something to drink. If he's naked you clothe him if he's sick. You care for him. So you'll note then the commandment you shall not murder. Doesn't merely apply to everybody here it applies to everybody.
That you are in contact with. And so then you look at it this way. Let me ask a question. What opportunities has God given you to obey the fifth commandment, huh? There's secrets. Yeah, you don't have to tell everybody here, but that's it.
That's for you to consider within your own.
Heart.
Each of us has a different answer to that question. Each of us has a different way of answering that. What opportunities has God given you? All right. Let's see here. So you're gonna note then In answering the question who is our neighbor.
Everybody. Everybody. Doesn't matter if they're white Somali Japanese Chinese Norwegian Russian Czechoslovakian none of that matters. It's everybody. If they are a human being created in the image of God.
They are your neighbor.
Period.
Now this then leads to an interesting discussion as Christians and in order to answer the question properly you're gonna have to tease out the right in the left-hand kingdoms. Big controversy in our day.
Syrian refugees, it's a big controversy as Christians. Can we? Legitimately raise concerns about Syrian refugees. Yes, why? Why. Because we've seen where there are Syrian refugees in other Western nations.
There has been an increase in rapes. There's been an increase in murders. There's been an increase in terrorist activity. Well, so the job of the left-hand kingdom is to punish the evildoer so we can legitimately say we have concerns.
But if our government says no, we're going to let Syrian refugees in and we're going to have a group of them in Grand Forks, North Dakota as Christians in.
What do we do.
Welcome them treat them with kindness help them meet their needs bodily. If they're hungry we feed them. If we're thirsty, we give them something to drink, but they're Muslims and they might plan to blow up our mall.
They would do us a favor if they did that. I'd like to see a better one, but. Yeah, that's God bringing the mission field to us. Exactly. So you'll sit you you'll note then in the one context we can raise concerns in the other context.
That now that they're here. We show them love mercy kindness now. Let's stop for a second. I don't think we have any Syrian refugees here, but you know who we do have Somalis. We do I mean in are we threatened by them?
Some people are. But they are our neighbors who we are to show kindness and mercy and love to and we are to protect them. Yes. And I would beg to differ you with you scripture is clear that we are not at war with Islam.
We are at war with the devil. Yeah, so and there are enemies. But not because we've declared war on them. There are enemies because they've declared war on us. But we don't have to reciprocate Jesus. In fact scriptured what we just read in Romans forbids us from responding in kind.
Wouldn't it make more sense to bring Christian refugees from Syria. Oh, of course, but of course, it's the United Nations and the OIC Is controlling this refugee? Plan that it's Muslims being sent over not Christian.
Uh-huh, and and it's creating all kinds of problems.
I I have no problems to sit there and say in the realm of the left-hand kingdom That some of the decisions that have been made regarding Muslim immigration Have been probably very bad decisions and they actually are having negative consequences.
Not just here in the United States, but also negative consequences in European nations and in a situation like that. It's a left-hand kingdom issue so How do you address a left-hand kingdom issue then as Christians answer?
Peaceably in the book and in the voter voting booth. You know if you don't like These decisions and how they're being made and you think they're compromising our security and our personal well-being and Endangering us physically.
Then the way you resolve the issue is you? Get politicians or you yourself put your hat in the ring and say I'm gonna run for Congress I'm gonna run for the State Senate or I'm gonna run for this whatever and you run for office and you say my platform is that we make wiser decisions and Consider our security in light of these immigration decisions now.
You'll be crucified by the liberal left for saying such a thing, you know, and that's the cost of doing politics nowadays. But so be it. All right. And so the idea is is that there's a mechanism for addressing these things.
But the decisions being made these people are in the ground there in our community now as Christians. What's our posture towards them enemy combatant or neighbors that I love?
I think spread the gospel.
Yeah, of course.
Yeah, and they may not be but they are neighbor to love.
Just experience from the Gideon's. Some of our fellows have been handing out. Interestingly the reception community is sometimes greater to recess. Yeah, I'll be blunt. We all are.
Very uncomfortable when somebody speaks differently than us and dresses differently than us and has a different culture than we do. And it's very difficult for us to be willing to put aside our anxiety and fears and strike up a conversation on purpose with somebody who's different than we are and.
Yet.
This commandment and the scripture as a whole tells us to put all of that aside and To love our neighbor as ourself Regardless of whether or not they are enemy or not. And I and I understand I mean you get in a conversation with a with a Muslim Somali Male, he might be absolutely hostile to you and punch you in the face.
Okay, that's the cost sometimes of loving your neighbor.
Yep.
Yeah, and sometimes.
So remember no good deed goes unpunished. Not there's no good deed that goes unpunished. Now before I get to you Marilyn I saw the hand over here with Dwayne. Yeah. Yeah, you'll notice a lot of pride.
Yeah, and yeah. Yeah, they may have flipped it, you know, but you know, at least you know the biblical text, right? Yeah, um. Over and again, you will be surprised that we and they. How do I put this.
Underestimate each other we and and they do it with us and we do it with them and. You'd be surprised that just what a good human conversation put the assumptions aside and ask questions to learn is a good way to Have a conversation and you find you might find yourself pleasantly surprised and made they may find themselves presently surprised.
But I mean what if what is happening in Europe were to happen here? And we talked about this a few weeks ago that in Europe, you know, especially in Heidelberg at st Mary's there that Muslims are showing up because Christ is appearing to them.
At least they say that Christ has appeared to him in a dream. What would happen next Sunday? If a Muslim family showed up and said Jesus appeared to us in a dream and told us to come here and listen to the message, right?
But I'll be blunt. I know for a fact. That you know if a woman showed up with a hijab on. The some of us would be pretty uncomfortable. Probably myself included. But there they are they listen, you know in the hypothetical situation they come and they hear and what if in hearing they believed and then in believing they wanted to be baptized and After being baptized wanted to be confirmed.
Yeah, they would happen. Yeah, that's right. You kind of said we have to protect them and protecting them could endanger our own lives.
See.
But our prejudices are going to be on display in our own anxieties the second they walk in the door and. You'd be lying if you told me that you didn't have any. Yes, now that's a different thing, okay.
Yeah, yeah.
That's where the Glock and the Walther come out. Yeah, if somebody shows up and says ahula Akbar, that's not a welcome. That's not a hey, we're happy to be here. That's that's that we're you're about to die.
So. Yeah, yeah, and I would push it even a little bit beyond that. Our battle is not against flesh and blood. Scripture so clear you have to understand this that Muslim the Islam itself is a demonic religious system and Its ultimate origin is not the mind of Muhammad.
Its ultimate origin is the demonic realm. All right, so.
Have compassion and love for anybody who was caught up and deceived by this demonic system. Exactly. Yeah, and by God's grace not by your great Religious acumen you've been brought to faith in Christ given that as a gift.
And so when we say we heard it said a thousand times therefore for the grace of God go I. And that's true for all of us. It's true for all of us it is God's grace his compassion his love his action That has brought us to penitent faith in Christ.
Don't ever think for a second It's because you're so great or you're the bees knees or that you are so good. It's none of that and So we now can pray for and Love and speak to and plead with our neighbors who are whatever religion including Islam and Muslim, right and Our battle isn't against them.
Our battle is For them, which means we can show them all kinds of kindness. The gospel practically demands it but God's law for sure does I think you get the point. We'll pick this up again next week.
You.
