Welcome to a firm foundation presented by Princeton ministries with Dr. Ken Smith. This is Carol Smith, Ken’s wife. Please enjoy.

If I had but two things to teach a church, what would they be? I believe the first would be that salvation is a gift from God, that God reaches out from heaven, and he offers, as a free gift to whoever would receive it, new life in Jesus Christ. And as he extends his hand, he asks all to come and to receive this gift of grace. And I think the second truth that I would want to clearly communicate is that success or failure in this life and the next is directly dependent upon yielding ourselves in obedience to God’s word. Jesus was a great teacher. He was very practical. And he was asked a question by a lawyer. A certain lawyer stood up and tested him, saying, teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus said to him, what is written in the law?

What is your reading of it? And so the lawyer answered and said, you shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, with all of your mind, and your neighbor as yourself. And he said to him, you’ve answered rightly. Do this and you will live. But he said, wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus this question, and who is my neighbor? Now Jesus answers the question of this lawyer by telling a parable as though it were a play. In three acts, when the curtain goes up on act one, Jesus says, there was a certain man. He went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. He fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing. They wounded him, departed, leaving him half dead.

Act one, a man walking along a path, attacked by robbers, beaten up, property stolen, looks as though he’s dead, and so they leave him. What are we to learn from this? Well, first, that this man’s suffering was not his own fault. It was a suffering that occurred because of mischief by others. He was not responsible. And we live in a time where many people are looked upon as being not responsible. And for many Christians, that becomes a problem, because we always believe that man is always responsible. And that, in the case of the parable of the good Samaritan, is not the point that Jesus is trying to teach. Instead, there is a man who by no fault of his own, is beaten up, left half dead.

And it’s important for us to see that sometimes the sufferings, the afflictions that we face as Christians is not because of any ill will. It is not because of some grave sin that we have committed, but it is simply the fulfillment of God’s purpose for our life that we might learn that we might understand, that we might grow. And so we see all manner of afflictions around us.

You get the phone call from the doctor who says, I’ve just been looking at your chart, and I’m very sorry to tell you about the spot that we see or you receive in your place of work a little note one day, we’re sorry, but we’re going to lay off 25% of our workers, and you’re being considered, or perhaps a policeman knocks at your door and says, I’m sorry to tell you, but your son has been involved in a terrible accident. There are many things that happen in life that, like this man, are not our fault. They simply happen that God might fulfil his purpose in our life. And it is particularly this type of problem of affliction that should alert Christians the most to sympathy and compassion.

When a man or a woman, a boy or girl, is facing an affliction that is not caused by their behavior, it is something that God has brought into their life. And when that happens, Christians should be alerted to do all that they can to help. And that is the reason that in the early centuries of the early decades of our country, the hospitals that were created through the churches. It comes as no surprise that the scripture, when it was written, Rome, that great military power, the Greeks, with all their mighty thinking, it is believed that in the city of Rome, there were no hospitals until Christians came. The story can be traced to orphanages, those places of care and concern for the ill and the needy. Just yesterday, I was in the Bowery in New York.

I looked up, and there was a stained glass window. The Bowery mission, how long has it been there helping those who battle alcohol? It’s always been the place of Christians to help in a time of need. Notice, too, that the suffering of this poor man was caused by the wickedness of other people. And sometimes the suffering and afflictions in this life that should alert Christians. The greatest that should stir our hearts is the afflictions that sinful men place on innocent people. I think of abortion, the wicked acts of man against those who are helpless. The church of Jesus Christ, like a good Samaritan, ought to stand and to do all that they can. I think of child pornography and through the wickedness of man, that children would be taken for such a purpose. How can the church of Jesus Christ be silent?

The very afflictions and problems that are caused by the wickedness of man to those who are most innocent and most helpless ought to be the concerns and the affairs that stir the hearts of Christians the most. But I’m afraid to ring the bell to blow the horn as loud as you can. Still, we’ll not shake Christians from their seats. We still are not able to see who that certain man is who was beaten up, who was left for half dead. This parable is taken from the fact that between Jerusalem and Jericho, it was known as the bloody way, because Herod the great had taken some 40,000 men from Jerusalem who were responsible for many of his great building acts. And he finally sent them all a letter, and he said, you’re laid off.

Those 40,000 men, many of them, stayed in the area between Jerusalem and Jericho. And the road that is described in this parable is a road that in the mind of any person living in that time, understood the danger of walking on that road. The truth that Jesus wants us to see is that there are great afflictions, great sorrows, great needs that have happened to certain men. And the stage is closed on act one. Then Jesus introduces the second act, and as the curtain goes up, he tells us now, by chance, a certain priest came down that road, and when he saw him, he passed by him on the other side, likewise a Levite. When he arrived at the place, he came and looked and passed by on the other side.

It seems that there are many people who never do anything to relieve another person’s sorrow or afflictions. Jesus says there were at least two. There was a priest and a Levite. They came along and they refused to help. Now, the first, as he passed by, saw the situation, and he simply went on the other side. He did nothing. The second passed by and he looked, and then he continued on his way, we might say, well, at least he looked. How many have looked on other people’s needs, on the afflictions? On the needs. Oh, yeah, I saw that. I’m aware of that one. And then pass on notice that God providentially placed these two men on the road. That everywhere you and I are, God has providentially placed us.

Remember driving along a highway, had the family in the car, and about 75 yards in front of us was a little jeep type of station wagon, hit a patch of ice, turned over, and rolled into the side of the expressway. And I said, did you see that? And everybody said, what? I said, didn’t you see that? Just happened right up in front of us. That car turned over in the ice. It’s down in the. I didn’t see it. Did you see it? Then suddenly everybody looked out the back window, and then they saw it. We went back and were the first ones at the scene and were helpful in removing that person quickly from their car. But it is interesting, isn’t it, that you and I have providentially been placed on roads, on paths. There’s all kinds of things happening.

There are great needs, great areas of concern. There are some people who say, did you see that? Let’s stop the car. Let’s go help. There are others who say, see what? There are some who just simply look. But notice the Levite and the priest. They saw, they knew, and they continued in the path that they were heading. Now, the priest is an interesting character because we might wonder, well, where was heading? He happened to be on this road. Now, we’re told that the certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. So we can assume that he had already done his work in Jerusalem and is now heading to Jericho. But what about the priest? Was he on his way to Jerusalem or was he on his way back to Jericho?

It raises some interesting questions, because if he was on his way to Jerusalem as a priest, he was probably intending to be involved in some religious service. And there was a restriction that from the Book of numbers, chapter 1911, he knew that if this man were dead and if he happened touch this dead man, that he would be ceremonially unclean, meaning that if he got to Jerusalem, he would be unable to be involved in the religious services for a week. So if he was on his way to Jerusalem, and if he were touch this man, and if this man were dead, then it would disqualify him from performing the religious acts that he was supposed to be involved in. On the other hand, what if he was coming from Jerusalem and had already performed the religious services?

Undoubtedly, while in Jerusalem, he would have heard, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. He undoubtedly would have heard, I will have mercy and not sacrifice, says the Lord. And so he would have been so near to God, but not like God. Well, both the priest and the Levite, they were aware of the man’s dilemma, very much like you and me. We are aware of needs. There’s not a person here who’s not able to take out a piece of paper and list 510 50 needs of people that you know. We know, we know the needs. The Levite and the priest, knowing the needs continued for their assigned purpose, they wouldn’t stop. Now, I am sure that there must have been excuses that were in the minds of these men as they passed by. Excuses are very interesting.

We seem to have a file of them, and depending upon the situation. We can pull out an excuse for whatever seems to be the situation. Well, the priest and the Levite had a barrel of excuses. I’m sure it must have occurred to them. Well, I’m in a hurry. I don’t have time. It must have occurred to them. What about all those friends back in Jericho? They’re waiting for me. What if the sun goes down and I’m left in this dangerous land? I’m a punctual man. I’m a man of my word. I said I’d be home at 06:00 and if I stopped to help this poor certain man. Well, I won’t be punctual. He looks terribly hurt. I’m not a surgeon. What can I do? If my wife were here, she’d know what to do. She’s so good in situations like this.

Undoubtedly it crossed the mind of these religious leaders. The least I can do is pray. And perhaps they offered a prayer, perhaps they left a tract, but they didn’t stop, they didn’t help. Charles Spurgeon says of our excuses, we need not smile over our excuses. The devil will do that. You had better cry over your excuses because your excuses show that your heart is hard towards your fellow man. It is possible to have theological orthodoxy, to preach regularly from God’s word and to know all of the great doctrines of the faith, and yet it produces no practical consequence. James says, I will show you my faith by my works. Just watch me and you’ll see faith in action.

There’s a little girl who I heard about recently who said after her mother had yelled at her, she said, I wish, mommy, that you loved me as much as you love God because you talked to him so nicely. It’s important that the things that we have been instructed are the very things that we then apply. And so the curtain draws on act. The final rising of the curtain introduces to us a certain Samaritan. As he journeyed, came where he was. When he saw him, he had compassion on him. He went to him, bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper and said to him, take care of him.

Whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you. So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves? And so the Samaritan is brought on stage for us to examine. Notice. He helped immediately. He did not say, we need a committee to decide what to do. He did not say that we must spend endless hours to read and study. Instead, the Samaritan acted immediately. He was willing to lend a helping hand at the very moment it was needed. Lord Shaftesbury was known in England as one of the great Christians and leaders of that nation. Some strangers were asked one day to pick Lord Shaftesbury up at the railway station. They’d never seen him, and they asked the question, well, how will we know Shaftesbury when we see him?

The answer was, he’s a tall man, and he’ll be helping somebody. And when Shaftesbury got off the train, there he was helping a lady with her baggage. What can be said about you and me? He’s a tall person, but he’ll be helping somebody. She’s a short woman. She’ll be helping somebody. Just like the Samaritan, always looking to meet a need. He had compassion. We are told compassion is a quality that God would give to us of concern for other people, other places we read about. Comfort comes from a Greek word, paregoric. For parents, that may ring a bell. Paregoric. Paregoric is the ability to stop pain. Christians are called upon to comfort other people, to stop the pain in their life. Notice also that the Samaritan was willing to carry this as far as it would go.

We’re told that he bound the man’s wounds. He poured oil and wine. He set him on his own animal. He brought him to an inn. He gave money. He told the innkeeper to take care of him. And whatever more you spend, when I come, I will repay you. He did not do as sometime is the case of person a, comes with a need to person b, who, in all of their wanting to help and all of their desire to be a comfort, say, let me introduce you to person c. No. It ended with the Samaritan, and he would do all that he could within his resources. And when it would go beyond his resources, then he would leave him in the hands of the. The innkeeper. John Wesley had this as his overall purpose of being a Samaritan, of being able to help people.

He said, do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways that you can, in all the places that you can, at all the times that you can, to all the people that you can, as long as you ever can. There is for every Christian, not only the example of the Samaritan to us, of how we are to react to those in need, who is our neighbor? But there is even a greater Samaritan who came and told the story, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the great Samaritan who came and gave his life for the need of the world, for the need of people who are sinful. There’s a story that William Barclay tells comparing different religious leaders.

He says, imagine a man falling into a pit filled with snakes and poisonous serpents, and you have fallen into that pit. And as you with fear, look and know that your life is going to be taken, along comes a Buddhist, and he looks in the pit, and he sees your dilemma. He says, that is an illusion. Your affliction does not exist. And he passes by, and a Confucianist passes by and looks into the pit and says, wise men would walk around pit, fool, fall into pit. And he continues by. But then comes Jesus Christ, who looks into the pit and without hesitation, leaps into that pit. He grabs you in his arms, and he lifts you to safety.

And as he is taking you out of the pit, a serpent bites him on the thigh and a snake in the other, and the venom begins to flow through his body as he gives his life as the great Samaritan, that you and I might have eternal life. Jesus asked the question, which of these was the neighbor to this man? As though it were so obvious? And then he says to you and me, go and do likewise. Let us pray. Our God and our father, we pray that we would be like that Samaritan. We pray that we would see the needs of others. Help us. We pray to meet them.

Help us by all the means that we can, in all the ways that we can, in all the places that we can, at all of the times, to all of the people that we can, as long as we ever can, to reflect the love of Jesus Christ. We thank you in his name. Amen.

Thank you for listening to a firm foundation presented by Princeton Ministries. This programming is supported by you, the listener. You may go to our website, princetonministries.org, or send your donation to Princeton Ministries Post Office box 2171, Princeton, New Jersey 08543. That’s Princeton Ministries, post Office box 2171, Princeton, New Jersey, 08543. The Lord bless you. And Dr. Smith looks forward to hearing from you.