The Goal is Whole: One Together, Part 1 Community Witness, O1.2: The INN as the Home of Witness

FULL STUDY:

We thought it’s a good plan to just take one day to reinforce the vision of the inn, and why it’s a great place as a “home of witness”. Let’s go straight to the parable of the Good Samaritan.

“And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.” 29 But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. 31 And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, 34 and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’ 36 Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” 37 And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.” (Luke 10:25-37)

Jesus told this story in response to a question from a religious “lawyer” (follower/teacher of the law), who asked Him how he could inherit eternal life. Jesus met him where he was at, and asked him what the law said. The lawyer jumped straight to the two main commandments, essentially love God fully, and love others as yourself (he was on the correct course - Jesus Himself stated that the entire law and prophets hang on these two commandments, Matthew 22:40).

Jesus’ response is stunning. “If you do this, you will live”. In other words, you can gain eternal life if you love God fully and love your neighbor as yourself. That’s amazing! The lawyer, intent on justifying himself, then asked for a clarification on who his neighbor is. Jesus then told the Good Samaritan story. At the end, Jesus asked the lawyer who had been the true neighbor in the story, and the lawyer correctly identified the one who had shown mercy to the person in need. What Jesus said next was both logical and challenging. If you want to earn eternal life you have to love people like the Samaritan did: ”Go and do the same”.

This was not a trick answer, but must have left the lawyer deeply challenged about how much he was falling short.

The truth is, all of us fall short on this challenge to love our neighbor as ourselves. Does any human being truly love like the Samaritan all the time? Or, putting it another way, is there anyone who has never failed to love like that? The Bible tells us there is none righteous, not even one.

As believers with the knowledge of the New Testament, we know that the only way to receive eternal life is by receiving it as a free gift in the grace of God, based on the complete payment Jesus made for us at the cross. None of us can justify ourselves! None of us can fulfil the law of God by our works, including loving our neighbor. It’s amazing how Jesus did not just come out and say that, but left the lawyer to ponder his insufficiency under the law. The true meaning in the Good Samaritan story runs much deeper than the surface and is actually a wonderful gospel parable:

Jesus spoke of a priest and a Levite who both passed by the needy man without helping him. Does religion fail to heal a fallen world? In contrast, the “Samaritan” showed real love. He is the one who laid down his life for a stranger (neighbor). The Samaritan is Jesus! In this gospel parable, the beaten-up man is a picture of fallen humanity, and the Samaritan is Jesus the savior who came along, picked him up, gave him first aid then took him to an inn to recover. The first aid was His oil and wine, which are pictures of the Holy Spirit and the blood – opening up the new-birth entry into the new creation.  But it did not stop there. The rescued victim needed time in the hospitality and nurture of the inn to grow into health and wholeness. What is the inn in this analogy? Tying this with Acts 2:47, the inn is a picture of a new creation community, actively loving one another and ready to help love a new believer into wholeness.

The Samaritan committed to pay all the costs for the man’s time at the inn. Jesus paid in full for every need anyone might have, and every healing anyone might need. The healing comes through the ministry of the INN, as the Holy Spirit manifests the fullness of salvation through the loving community. To complete the imagery, perhaps the Holy Spirit is the INN-keeper!

So, here we have the INN-imagery! The INN is a new creation community intent on being who they truly are, loving one another, sharing together, and welcoming all those the Lord adds to them! The world is full of broken, hurting, lonely people. New believers need some hands-on relational welcome and nurture in the manifested love of Jesus! In the vision, INNs seeks to embrace this need by becoming a new kind of small-group that is committed to living the new creation lifestyle.

Unlike the lawyer, no-one in an INN is trying to justify themselves. Rather, all understand their privilege of being channels of the love of Jesus from the inside out! Some INNs might include households who are open and willing to be closer to a literal inn, providing housing and hospitality to a new believer trying to break free from a damaging prior lifestyle. In these cases, the hosting household receives tremendous ongoing support from the other group members. No one is ever called to do the welcome and nurture alone. The INN vision is rooted in community.

Picking up this image of the inn, we will now look at some of the vital characteristics of Inns, as we see them. What makes Inns different?

a. INNs are new creation expressions. They are manifestations of the bride, the church, the body of Christ – the family of God. As such, they are small-groups of people that have entered the new creation through the new birth. INNs cannot be a mixture of old and new creation, as light and darkness have no fellowship.

“Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? 16 Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God.” (2 Corinthians 6:14-16)

b. INNs pursue union with Jesus as their highest priority. The union causes them to carry His manifest presence, but also joins them with His heart and passion for the lost and fallen world around them. Union with Jesus leads to loving community together and is the inner motivator that leads them into fruitful and anointed action to impact others.

“I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; 21 that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.” (John 17:20-21)

c. INNs carry the message of salvation. This is a “come as you are” invitation focused on free-gift salvation and forgiveness of sins, and must not be confused with the call to discipleship, which is very different and carries challenging pre-conditions. Entering discipleship is always a direct heart transaction between a believer and Jesus and cannot be normalized as a believer lifestyle or entry-point. Confusing these two things is likely one of the major reasons why so many people remain unreached. INNs re-calibrate around the central message of the victory of the Cross and the invitation into the new creation.

“and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things.” (Luke 24:46-48)

The requirement for repentance literally means a “change of mind”, specifically around the identity of Jesus and His finished work, as the basis for salvation.

INNs also embrace the remarkable commission to forgive sins

“If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.” (John 20:23)

There is no confusion and no pre-condition, but we can expect some persecution as we outwork that, just like Jesus Himself did!

“The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” (Luke 5:21)

d. INNs welcome and nurture those that Jesus adds to them.

"And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved." (Acts 2:47)

Jesus was adding to their number those who were being saved, not those who were seeking or indifferent. INNs are small group communities ready and eager not just to share the message of salvation, but also to welcome new believers into the lifestyle of His family.