Introduction

A. When a traveling Levite passed by a Jebusite city to stay the night in a town belonging to Israelites, it is hard to imagine that the Jebusites could have treated him worse than his own brethren did (Judges 19).

B. Too often it seems that we find God’s people behaving worse than those who never made a covenant with him. What about us?

Discussion

I. We often find strangers behaving better than God’s people.

A. The Philistines treated David better than did his own countrymen (1 Samuel 26–29, cf. 2 Corinthians 11:26).

B. When Jesus preached to Israel, He often found a warmer reception from the despised Samaritans (Luke 17:15–19; John 4:39–42).

C. Some Gentiles were more righteous than the hypocrites among the Christians in the first century (Romans 2:13–15; 1 Corinthians 5:1–2).

II. Do we ever allow unbelievers to show greater dedication?

A. Do we allow strangers to attend worship more regularly than we do (cf. Hebrews 10:25) or to show a greater spirit in their false worship (cf. Ephesians 5:18–20; 2 Corinthians 9:6–7)?

B. Are strangers more dedicated in evangelism (cf. 2 Timothy 2:2)?

C. Are some strangers more compassionate (cf. James 1:27) or more hospitable (cf. Hebrews 13:1–2) than we are?

III. No one in this world should be able to match our dedication.

A. We hold the truth (John 8:32; 4:24, cf. Romans 1:18).

B. We understand the need for works of obedience (James 2:26).

C. We have made a covenant with God (1 Corinthians 6:19–20).

D. We have been given the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18–20).

Conclusion

If you have allowed strangers to show more dedication to God than you have shown, you need to rededicate yourself to Him.