Posted by
ValiantForTruth on Thursday, July 24, 2008 4:39:24 PM
The parable of the Good Samaritan defines the identity of your neighbor and what it means to love him in the context of the command to love your neighbor as yourself [Luke 10:25-29].
Now what is evident from the parable is that it is NOT a model of compassion for any government or government policy. The Samaritan willingly made use of his own resources to care for the one in need of help. He did not refer to Caesar for instructions or aid. What he did was out of personal sacrifice to help another.
The parable leaves us with the question: what is the motive and power to extend such compassion? These things have nothing to do with the state. They have everything to do with the Kingdom of God. Is God dependent on the temporary states of men to promote His eternal kingdom? Does the state have power over the hearts of men?
The origin of this compassion is the unmerited favor of God that humbles a man to the dust and puts his pride to death so that he is transformed in his thinking and willingly walks in the ways of God. Grace is the great motive and power behind compassion. Christians will be about this work with or without government interference. They know what it is to receive mercy and therefore are able to show mercy.
What the church does require of the state is that the state attend to its own, God-given business, which is the maintenance of order in society. The state accomplishes this by protecting those who do well and punishing those who do evil and by defending the citizens of the nation from aggression on the part of other nations. When a state keeps outward order, so that the church can exist and do her work, the state shows itself, not only a servant of God, but also a servant of the Lord Jesus. [David Engelsma]