Who is my neighbor?

Isaiah 58 Series

How does he get the right answer but miss the point?

“Many today are making a similar mistake. They separate their duties into two distinct classes. The one class is made up of great things, to be regulated by the law of God; the other class is made up of so-called little things, in which the command, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself,” is ignored. This sphere of work is left to caprice, subject to inclination or impulse. Thus the character is marred, and the religion of Christ misrepresented.”

Ellen White (COL 382)

“Those whom Christ commends in the judgment may have known LITTLE OF THEOLOGY, but they have cherished His principles. Through the influence of the divine Spirit they have been a blessing to those about them. Even among the HEATHEN are those who have cherished the spirit of KINDNESS; before the words of life had fallen upon their ears, they have befriended the missionaries, even ministering to them at the peril of their own lives.

“Among the heathen are those who worship God ignorantly, those to whom the light is never brought by human instrumentality, YET THEY WILL NOT PERISH. Though ignorant of the written law of God, they have heard His voice speaking to them in nature, and have done the things that the law required. Their works are evidence that the Holy Spirit has touched their hearts, and they are recognized as the children of God.“

Ellen White (DA 638)

“The completeness of Christian character is attained when the impulse to help and bless others springs constantly from within—when the sunshine of heaven fills the heart and is revealed in the countenance.”

Ellen White (COL 384)

The parable of the Good Samaritan lays the foundation for what it means to love neighbor

“This Samaritan, said Christ, was neighbor to him who fell among thieves. The Levite and the priest represent a class in the church who manifest an indifference to the very ones who need their sympathy and help. This class, notwithstanding their position in the church, are commandment breakers. The Samaritan represents a class who are true helpers with Christ, and who are imitating His example in doing good. Those who have pity for the unfortunate, the blind, the lame, the afflicted, the widows, the orphans, and the needy, Christ represents as commandment keepers, who shall have eternal life.....”

Ellen White (ChS 192)

“In this parable are summed up all the principles contained in the law. Eternal life is the theme. And when the principles of justice and mercy are in any way violated in word or in practice, those who thus disobey God’s expressed injunctions commit a sin of far greater magnitude than was the sin committed in Eden; because sin was a new thing to our first parents.

Ellen White (16LtMs, Lt 165, 1901)

“The lawyer’s question to Jesus had been, “What shall I do?” And Jesus, recognizing love to God and man as the sum of righteousness, had said, “This do, and thou shalt live.” The Samaritan had obeyed the dictates of a kind and loving heart, and in this had proved himself a doer of the law. Christ bade the lawyer, “Go, and do thou likewise.” Doing, and not saying merely, is expected of the children of God. “He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked.” 1 John 2:6.”

Ellen White (DA 504)

What does it mean to keep the commandments?

“The priest and the Levite pretended to keep God’s commandments, but it was the Samaritan who really kept them. His heart was kind and loving. In taking care of the wounded stranger, he was showing love to God as well as to man. For it pleases God to have us do good to one another. We show our love for Him by being kind to those about us. A kind, loving heart is worth more than all the riches in the world. Those who live to do good show that they are children of God. They are the ones who will dwell with Christ in His kingdom. who have pity for the unfortunate, the blind, the lame, the afflicted, the widows, the orphans, and the needy, Christ represents as commandment keepers, who shall have eternal life......”

Ellen White (COL 382)

“The condition of salvation specified was the doing of the commandments of God… merely to profess to believe the commandments of God, while following the example of the priest and Levite, who left the needy, suffering one to die, without lifting a hand to help him, will not insure eternal life. He who treats a suffering soul in this way reveals the fact that he does not love his neighbor as himself, and his profession has no practical value.”

Ellen White (RH 3/28/1893)

“The parable of the good Samaritan outlines true missionary work, and in this work God’s people are all to have a part. No one is excused who neglects the duty he owes to his fellow men. In doing this work we fulfill the law of God…To obey the law of God means to be quick to see the necessities of our fellow beings, and quick to help them without stopping to inquire, Do they believe the same doctrines that I believe? To obey God’s law means to act as God’s helping hand in relieving the necessities of suffering humanity, no matter what the religious belief of those in need. Those who do this work, and who are loyal to the principles of God’s truth, are living the gospel.”

Ellen White (RH 4/9/1908)

“In the parable, Christ exalts the Samaritan above the priest and the Levite, who were great sticklers for the letter of the law of Ten Commandments. The one obeyed the spirit of these commandments, while the others were content to profess an exalted faith in them; but what is faith without works?…It is impossible for those who profess allegiance to the law of God to correctly represent the principles of that sacred Decalogue while slighting its holy injunctions to love their neighbor as themselves.”

Ellen White (4T 58)

There is ONE factor that determines our fitness for eternal life

“Angels of God are watching to see how we treat these persons who need our sympathy, love, and disinterested benevolence. This is God’s test of our character. If we have the true religion of the Bible we shall feel that a debt of love, kindness, and interest is due to Christ in behalf of His brethren; and we can do no less than to show our gratitude for His immeasurable love to us while we were sinners unworthy of His grace, by having a deep interest and unselfish love for those who are our brethren and who are less fortunate than ourselves.”

Ellen White (3T 511)

“The work of gathering in the needy, the oppressed, the suffering, the destitute, is the very work which every church that believes the truth for this time should long since have been doing. We are to show the tender sympathy of the Samaritan in supplying physical necessities, feeding the hungry, bringing the poor that are cast out to our homes, gathering from God every day grace and strength that will enable us to reach to the very depths of human misery and help those who cannot possibly help themselves. In doing this work we have a favorable opportunity to set forth Christ the crucified One.”

Ellen White (WM 74)

“In placing among them the helpless and the poor, to be dependent upon their care, Christ tests His professed followers. By our love and service for His needy children we prove the genuineness of our love for Him. To neglect them is to declare ourselves false disciples, strangers to Christ and His love.”

Ellen White (MH 205)

“The call to the gospel supper is to be given with decided earnestness. God’s people are to come into oneness in the proclamation of the essential truths that are to be the test of character in these last days. Christians are to work under one divine head. Jesus Christ is our leader. Every one who bears the seal of God will do as his Leader did. He will go about doing good, forgetting self in the effort to help others. The example of the great head of the church is to be followed in every respect.”

Ellen White (Ms 44-1905)

“When the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.” Christ is waiting with longing desire for the manifestation of Himself in His church. When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own.”

Ellen White (COL 69)