Friday: Further Study
In His life and lessons, Christ has given a perfect exemplification of the unselfish ministry which has its origin in God. God does not live for Himself. By creating the world, and by upholding all things, He is constantly ministering for others.
He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
Matthew. 5:45.
Image © Kim Justinen from GoodSalt.com
This ideal of ministry God has committed to His Son. Jesus was given to stand at the head of humanity, that by His example He might teach what it means to minister. His whole life was under a law of service. He served all, ministered to all. Thus He lived the law of God, and by His example showed how we are to obey it.
-Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 649.
The parable of the good Samaritan is not an imaginary scene, but an actual occurrence, which was known to be exactly as represented. The priest and the Levite who had passed by on the other side were in the company that listened to Christ’s words.
–The Desire of Ages, p. 499.
Discussion Questions:
- Go over the important question asked at the end of Sunday’s study. Who hasn’t heard people say that they did whatever they did because God told them to? What are ways that God does talk to us? At the same time, what are the dangers involved in invoking the authority of God in order to justify our deeds?
- Go back over the
four woes
in Luke 6:24-26. How are we to understand what Jesus is saying there? What is He really warning us to be careful of in this life? - Think about the whole question of authority. What is authority? What are different kinds of authority? What kinds of authority trump other kinds? How should we relate to different kinds of authority in our life? What happens when the authorities over us clash?
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1). God is ever speaking in mysterious ways to each and every single individual whether that person has known Christ or never, and he speaks through mediums and even appears in ways that could only be understood by the beholder. The saints always try to limit God on a thousands of ways he tries to approach one.
What are ways that God does talk to us?
2). Most of the times we fall into this trap of invoking the authority of God in order to justify our deeds when clearly your mind is not clear but beset with hurt, prejudice and in a controversial situation.
3). The four woes in Luke 6:24-26. Jesus is warning us when we are full of means to care for the needs of whom we are to minister to but neglect for we do not want to sacrifice our comforts especially when we give or minister to receive praises of men and women.
4). The bible is full of directions and insights that is ready to cater for every individual, group et al. We need to assess each and different authorities stated in the bible with its context so we do not fall into misguided interpretation and application. We need to be of clear and stable mind without prejudice or bias when seeking answers in the Scriptures or revelation from God and in this case let the bible investigate this revelation for surely an instance in the scripture will confirm your revelation.
Often it has been said Jesus does not require of everyone what He required of the rich young ruler - a reckless form of charity, as it appears. The common reasoning is the young man’s problem was money, hence the instruction. From a distance this is easy for us to say.
The searching question is how do we know when money is our problem? How often does any confess to such? Without regard to the amount one holds money is likely a problem in the hands of any who has not overcome self (Luke 9:23); and to flatter oneself contrariwise makes more fertile the ground of temptation.
Both the encounters of Jesus, with the lawyer and the rich young ruler illustrate what is required of professed commandment keepers who desire to inherit eternal life (Luke 10:25-28; Luke 18:18-21). Nothing short of wholehearted devotion to God, expressed in complete obedience to Him, and concern for the interests of fellow humans will suffice in the Kingdom of Grace and the Kingdom of Glory (1 Corinthians 10:24).
It might seem like we are doing well because from time to time we spare a little of our resources for family members, good friends, or those we really like, and who in turn sing praises to us. Yet what does it say when we barely spare a thought for those starving or suffering in distant lands, who could desperately use a little of our entertainment, vacation, convenience, or comfort funds?
Are they really our neighbors, or just some unnoticed strangers on the other side, who will just have to fend for themselves, or find help elsewhere? (Matthew 25:45).
They said: Jesus spoke as one having authority, what did they mean? Jesus did not say I think this text in the OT could mean this or could mean that, he was clear and stated "this is what it means". Jesus did not follow one of the 'schools of thought' that existed in those days, he only appealed to the Scriptures and what God had told him. We would do well to follow his example, we have the Scriptures and Jesus promised that He would send us the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth.
Shirley, that sounds really good on the surface. But I've seen a lot of discussions online and observed them in real life in which Adventists speak "as one having authority." They believe that they are defending the "plain reading of Scripture" and consign all who differ with them to hell, figuratively speaking.
I think we need to be very careful and humble when we engage in discussions about biblical truth. We know that the Bible says that "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked," (Jer 17:9) but we sometimes forget that that includes our own hearts. Ellen White counsels us to be "self-distrustful," which goes along with Paul's counsel that we should "Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another" (Rom 12:10)
We need to have the mind of Jesus, as referenced in Phil 2:5-8 NLT:
It may be presumptuous to deem ourselves to have the same authority Jesus had on issues where there is disagreement among us. We need to remember that when we read the Bible we always interpret what we read. Even the Ten Commandments are interpreted. For instance, the commandment that reads, "Thou shalt not kill" actually says "You shall not murder" in the original. The KJV reading would condemn capital punishment and make it appear that God violated His own Law in the civil laws He gave to the people. The second reading is consistent with other rules God gave. That is but one glaring example of where a "plain reading" does not result in an accurate reading consistent with the rest of the Bible. The Bible is filled with such examples. It takes a humble spirit and submission to the Holy Spirit to correctly interpret the words of Scripture.
Hi Inge,
You are correct. I was not clear, what I was thinking was that the Scripture not other people is our authority.
I also agree that the Good News that Jesus came to save us by grace is clear enough for even children to understand and Paul in Heb 5:12-14, 6:1-3 says this is the milk of the gospel but he says we should move on to discovering the strong meat of the Bible.
Our church in the Rio document have outlined guidance of the best way to study the Bible and the following is an excerpt from this document.
Although jesus sampled the leaders who didnt help the injured one we should not generalize that all leaders do like this to the people it targets on personal service to others
We could look at the authority Christ gave us to speak to others as a boldness we are instructed to have. This is found in Acts 4:29-31. Yes we need to pray for it. Acts of the Apostles page 28.2 speaks of authority of action given to the disciples by Christ as long as they use it in His Name. "Nothing was to be recognized in His kingdom that did not bear His name and superscription." The Master teaches us of authority with simplicity, and without show,flash, or fanfair.
Woe unto you who are rich (in spirit), for you have your consolation. Luke 6:24. Can anyone tell me why Luke left out, in spirit and Matthew is clear? Go back and look at Luke 6:20, Then quickly turn to Matthew 5:3. I did that and a light bulb lit up in my head.