Sermon Tone Analysis

*Inscription: Writing God’s Words on Our Hearts & Minds*

*/Part 21: Love Your Neighbor/*

*Deuteronomy 15-25*

*/May 30, 2010/*

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*Objectives of sermon:*

· Instruct us in how to love our neighbor as ourselves in everyday life.

* *

*Prep: *

·         HSB: Slavery, Sell everything (Mk 10:21)

·         Marilyn’s article

·         Skim passages

 

*Scripture reading: Matthew 22:34-40*

 

 

Putting it into practice

 

Jesus said that the entire OT *hangs* on those two commands, love God and love your neighbor.

600,000 words *summed* *up* in 25.

 

·         All of the laws are either about loving God (*vertical* – last week) or your neighbor (*horizontal* – this week).

·         Every sin that we commit (*omission* or *commission*) is a failure to *love* *properly*.

It is easy to *memorize* “love God~/your neighbor,” a little harder to *understand*, but really difficult to *apply* to all of the messy situations that get thrown at us.

Q   What does it mean to love your neighbor when you are looking at a *panhandler*?

Q   How is love involved if you are in the store looking a newer, *nicer* *TV* (even though you have one that works perfectly well)?

Q   What does ignoring *building* *codes* on an electrical panel in your house have to do with love?

 

·         *Deut*.

is all about how to love God and love your neighbor in different *practical* *situations*.

What makes the OT so interesting is that it is very *concrete*, not abstract; it has few principles but lots of practical.

The *NT* is the *opposite* - principles applied to many situations.

Q   Why the shift?

 

1.

In the NT we have the *Holy* *Spirit* to help us.

2.

NT is *building* *upon* the OT (eg.

“Muzzle the oz”), and we still need its help navigating the murkiness of loving God and neighbor.

Isn’t the OT obsolete?

Q   Important question: Isn’t the OT *obsolete*?

I have *shifted* in my *thinking*: the NT eliminates the *specifics*, relegating them to *Israel*.

But the *principles* behind the specifics are still just as true.

·         The laws demonstrate *God’s* *heart* and the things that concern him, and these have not changed.

We don’t have to eat *kosher*, but *holiness* still matters.

We don’t have to wear *telifim*, but the *Word* must be in our hearts.

Therefore, we need to look carefully into the Mosaic Law to *find* these *principles* behind the laws.

This isn’t easy because of *cultural* *differences*.

This sermon will be unusual in that we won’t be in a *specific* *passage*, but rather looking at several laws and what they teach us about loving our neighbor.

·         My hope is not just that you see the *lasting* *meaning* in these laws, but through the OT we all learn to *love* our *neighbor*.

My purpose is to get us *thinking* about *how* to find the *principles* and put them into practice, hence *opening* *up* the entire Bible.

 

1.

Good HYGIENE

 

We begin with what I consider one of the *funniest* laws:

 

*Deuteronomy 23:12-13 *Designate a place outside the camp where you can go to relieve yourself.

As part of your equipment have something to dig with, and when you relieve yourself, dig a hole and cover up your excrement.

We all go to the bathroom (even models), but there is something about reading about it in the *Bible* that just makes it *funnier*.

Potty humor aside, *proper* *sanitation* is a practical way to treat your neighbor how you would want to be treated – no one wants to *walk* into that.

·         I’ve had to clean up messes from guys who used to camp out under the *parsonage*, so I can really appreciate this.

But more importantly, proper *sanitation* prevents many *diseases*.

Q   How do we *apply* this today?

(Pause)

 

*Spurgeon’s* application is to take a bath before church, because sitting next to an odorous brother or sister is distracting.

·         I don’t know if it’s proper exegesis, but I appreciate it!

But even covering your mouth when you *sneeze* and using the *sanitizer* (esp.

when sick) are all good applications.

*2.

**Lost and found *

 

Here’s another way we love our neighbor:

 

NIV *Deuteronomy 22:1-3* ¶ If you see your brother’s ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it but be sure to take it back to him. 2 If the brother does not live near you or if you do not know who he is, take it home with you and keep it until he comes looking for it.

Then give it back to him.

3 Do the same if you find your brother’s donkey or his cloak or anything he loses.

Do not ignore it.

Q   How do we *apply* this today?

We may not misplace many sheep, but it is such a *simple* *application* of loving your neighbor – if you lost something you would want someone to return it, so do that little extra work.

·         BTW: I am missing an “*Old* *Navy*” sweatshirt.

*Beyond* “lost and found,” “Love your neighbor as yourself” basically means to treat everyone as *you* *want* to be *treated* and to desire for them what you desire for yourself.

·         I say *everyone* because your neighbor is anyone you have proximity to, and in this era that’s everyone.

This is basically the *Golden* *Rule*: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” (Luke 6:31)

 

 

*3.

**Building codes*

 

This is interesting – the earliest recorded *building* *code*:

 

*Deuteronomy 22:8* When you build a new house, make a parapet around your roof so that you may not bring the guilt of bloodshed on your house if someone falls from the roof.

·         Ancient houses used their roofs like porches, so this was important.

Q   How do we apply this today?

Perhaps modern building codes have become *excessive*, but at their heart, they are very Biblical – you show your neighbor love by taking *reasonable* *precautions* to keep him safe.

So ignoring building codes (such as the *electrical* *panel*) is unloving towards your neighbor because it puts him at *risk*.

Never mind that you are *rebelling* against God’s *authority*, which is rebellion against God.

·         That’s a *dangerous* thing to say in a church full of *builders* – I may find my *windshield* bashed in with a framing hammer.

*4.

**Do not steal*

 

NIV *Deuteronomy 25:13* ¶ Do not have two differing weights in your bag-- one heavy, one light.

14 Do not have two differing measures in your house-- one large, one small.

15 You must have accurate and honest weights and measures, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

I think we can figure out what this means – Saturday Evening Post captured the sentiment well.

·         It’s stealing; *granny* should be *arrested* for attempt of theft.

Q   How do we apply this today?

There are many ways that folk do a little “*white* *stealing*.”

Like a white lie, they convince themselves it’s not stealing.

·         Sarah and I watched a lady a *McDonalds* ask for a *water* cup, then fill it with soda pop (as we drank our water).

Q   I doubt any of us do that, but have you ever said it was your *birthday* to get a free *desert*?

Justify it as you may, *stealing* is “*love* *problem*,” because we are not loving our neighbor as much as ourselves.

·         It does not matter that it’s a *corporation* or that they are *rich* – they are still our neighbors.

Q   Have you ever cheated on your *taxes* or misused government *benefits*?

The government is comprised of our *neighbors*.

Q   Have you ever *copied* a movie or *illegally* downloaded music?

·         I’m probably going to have my car *keyed* by a *USB* *thumb* drive.

A concern for justice.

The next couple of examples have to do with *justice*.

Justice is a major concern of the OT – in the *Law* (Pentateuch) God *gives* them laws dictating how to be just, then in the *Prophets*, God *condemns* them for ignoring the laws.

Justice is a little tricky about because there are *two* *spheres* where justice comes into play: Government and individual.

We can *do* a lot *more* about the personal sphere than government.

I am not say we cannot affect government – we can and should vote and be *politically* *active*.

William *Wilberforce* ended slavery, and we are called by God to be involved 

 

·         At the end of the day, we cannot *make* everyone else *vote* for what’s right – we can *make* *ourselves* do what’s right.