Loving Our Neighbor’s Life
Minister: |
Rev. Ronald Van Overloop |
Date: |
3/13/2016 AM
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Text:
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Luke 10;
Lord's Day 40
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Psalters: |
252, 342, 113, 370 |
- The life given.
- Earthly human life is a gift of God (Deut. 32:39) which is a picture/type of real, spiritual life.
- Man’s fall into sin brought death.
- Death is God’s wrath as punishment of sin. It is the agonizing loss of sweet communion with God.
- Fallen man is spiritually dead, a child of the devil, who is a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44).
- The killing forbidden.
- To kill is to take a life without having the authority to do so.
- Murder touches God in three ways.
- First, it is to take away what God has given. We had nothing with giving life, and we do not have the right to take it away.
- Second, it is critical judgment of God's all-wise providence, Who put that neighbor in my path.
- Third, we touch God Himself, Who created that human in His own image (Gen. 9:6).
- God commands capital punishment to show the seriousness of this sin (Gen. 9:5,6; Ex. 21:12).
- God demands that we love, i.e., the decision to preserve his life, to do them only good, to have as much fellowship as possible.
- Love for the neighbor and brother is a calling (not an option) arising out of gratitude for His love.
- What makes love of neighbor difficult is our thinking more of ourselves and our neighbor than of God.
- To control our anger and desire for revenge we must use self-control (temperance).
- Seek to pattern your love after God's love, and seek to resemble Him Who does good to all (Matt. 5:45).
- In great gratitude we strive to reflect His love, both to ourselves and to our neighbor.