The Marietta journal. (Marietta, Ga.) 1918-1944, 1921-05-26
LESSON FOR MAY 29
CHRIST PICTURES A REAL
NEiGHBoR.


LESSON TExT-Luke lo:&-s7; Acts 2:
A-47
GOLDEN TExT--Love worketh no iii to
his neighbor: love therefore is the fulfill
ment of the law.-Rom 1910
REFERENCE MATERIAL-Prov. ISIS:
Matt 2S.31-4o: Rom. 1880; 1871 2: Eph.
4:25-32
PRIMARY ToPIC7The Story Of a Man
Who Helped.
JUNIOR TOPIC-The Good Samaritan.
INTERMEDIATE AND SENIOR TOPIC
Being a Good Neighbor.
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT TOPIC
Who Is My Neighbor?
!. Christ Questioned duke 10 :25-29).
l. BY whom w. 25). A certain law
yer. He was not lawyer in the mod
ern sense of that term; most nearly
corresponds to our theological profess
sors.
2. The purpose of ". 25). 1t was to
tempt Jesus as to whether He was
really learned in the law; and also to
entrap Him to show Him to be heterO-
dox.
8. The question ". 25). what shall
j do to inherit eternal life" Though
lawyer, his theology was defective.
He thought eternal life was to be OBJ
tanned by doing. The very words he
used involve contradiction. An in
heritance is not obtained by doing, but
by being.
4. Jesus reply (vv. 26-29). He cited
him n tho loW This 10 hn
place to send one who is expecting to
get eternal life by doing. The lawyer
answered well, for supreme love to
God and love to ones neighbor as he
loves himself is the sum total of hui
man obligation. This do and thou
shalt live" But this is the very thing
he could not do. Man needs Gods en-
abling grace to love at all so he stood
condemned by his own conscience en-.
lightened by the law. He set out to
trap Jesus, and now he is caught In
trap, and in order to justify himself
he said to Jesus, who is my neigh
bor?" The question is answered in the
story of the Good Samaritan.
IL. Playing the Neiahbor<(vv. 30-37).
In this story of the Good Samaritan
the question is shifted so as to make
clear that the supreme question Is not,
who is my neighbour" but "Whose
neighbor am I?'
To be neighbor is
1. TO see those about us who need
help ". 33). We should be on the
lookout for those in need of help; and
love is keen to discern need.
2. Have compassion ON the needy ".
33). Since Christ is the compassionate
One, all who have His nature will be
likewise moved when they see need.
3. Go to those in need ". 34), The
personal touch many times is more i'm
portant than material aid. 1t is easier
to give money than personal aid. The
true neighbor gives both.
4. Bind up wounds ". 34).
5. Set the helpless ones on our beasts
while we walk ". 34). Willingness to
deny ourselves In order to help others
is proof of the genuineness of love.
&. Bring to the inn and take care of
the unfortunate ". 34). The true
neighbor is not spasmodic in his giving
help.
Z. Give money ". 35). 1t costs much
to be neighbor. Love is the most ex-
pensiye thing in the world. 1t cost
God His only Son; 1t cost Jesus Christ
His life. May we go and do likewise!
III. The Behavior Of the Early
Church (Acts 2:44-47).
l. They were together ". 44). They
were together because they were bap-
tized into the one body of which Christ
was head by the Holy Spirit Il Cor.
l2:l3). The onesness of the body
was symbolized by the breaking of
bread. Such unity is only possible
to believers in Christ. that is, those
regenerated by the Holy Ghost. To
get unity, therefore, in the neighbor-
hood we must get people to be saved.
z. Had a community of goods wv.
A, 45). They sold their possessions
and goods and parted them to all
= men as every man had need. This
proved that they were under the pow
er OF the Holy Spirit, that is, that
the supernatural was being manifest
for 1t is not natural to abandon ones
title of possession.
3. They were filed with gladness
and singleness Of heart ". 46). Those
who were really born again have no
Interior motive. What they seem to
be- thew really are TInSayod man
and women are controlled by selfish
motives; they seek their own, not an
others good. This they do while feign-
ing love TOR Others.
4. Praising God and having favor
: with all the people ". 47). Such un-
selfshness gained the attention of the
people and induced them to yield
themselves to God, who added daily
such as were hoing saved