Who is our neighbor? You hear a lot of Christians who try to justify that they are loving their neighbors AS themselves by, “If my neighbors need a cup of water or a bowl of soup, I would gladly give them one,” or “I would give the shirt off my back for anybody.” But, realistically, when was last time a neighbor asked you for a glass of water, a bowl of soup or the shirt off your back?
Who does Jesus say our neighbor is? One of the most powerful illustrations, of what IS GOING TO HAPPEN, that Jesus gave us was the “sheep and the goats.” While I have spoken with many Christians who believe the goats are the non-believers while the sheep are the true children of God, the goats are actually the “hearers” of the Word, but not the “doers” who so deceive themselves. (James 1:22). (The goats are definitely non-believers because “hearers” of the Word who are not “doers” of the Word are ALSO non-believers).
Jesus’ whole point was describing the difference between the two of them — the “sheep” were the ones who genuinely believed and obeyed and the goats were the ones who did not. And who were th ...
