Jesus teaches in the Parable of the Good Samaritan that one should ask whether one is a neighbor to another person rather than who qualifies as a neighbor. A Samaritan showed compassion to a wounded stranger by bandaging his wounds, transporting him to an inn, and paying for his care without regard for ancestry, appearance, or beliefs. Jesus instructs His listeners to go and do likewise. He also gives the Golden Rule to do to others what one would want done to oneself and defines the second great commandment as loving one's neighbor as oneself. Both the Father and Jesus Christ love all humanity and demonstrate this love through compassion and healing. The apostle Paul instructs believers to do good to all as opportunity allows but to give priority to those of the household of faith. Jesus bases part of His judgment on how His people treat their brethren, noting that whatever is done to the least of them is done to Him. Paul further encourages serving one another through love. Although human tendency favors helping only those who are similar, Jesus asks what reward comes from loving only those who love in return and charges His followers to be perfect as the Father in heaven is perfect. Opportunities to do good should be taken when resources allow, yet priorities must place devotion to God and Jesus Christ first, followed by fellow members of the church, and then those outside who may become future brethren.

The law is substantially about our attitude toward God and our treatment of our brethren. The new commandment of the New Testament deals with loving our brethren, a major facet of the spirit of the law. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus Christ explains the law's spiritual intent, that even our attitude toward a brother can provide a cause for repentance. Hate denotes active ill will in words and conduct, a persecuting spirit. According to Jesus Christ and the apostle John, even though no one ends up in the hospital, no blood is spilled, and no one loses his life, a murder has been committed. Those who have God's Spirit can take offense where none is intended and begin treating the offending brother differently. They have been known to become rude and insulting in speech, contemptuous, and perhaps even begin gossiping about him, ostracizing him from their circle of friends, and avoiding any kind of fellowship or hospitality toward him. When the attitude changed from friendly to snippy and worse, the brother who took offense became a murderer in God's eyes. God provides a solution. If one brings a gift to the altar and remembers that a brother has something against him, he must first be reconciled to his brother and then come and offer the gift. God will not accept the gift, which is left unoffered near the altar. A serious sin, murder, is in view here, and true, heartfelt repentance must take place before God will accept the gift. If those involved do not repent, the blood of Christ's sacrifice will not cover that sin. These kinds of sins, which we tend to take so lightly, are far more grave than many care to admit.

Brotherly love is a deliberate act rooted in obedience to God's commandments. Love for one another transforms relationships within the spiritual family and reflects directly on God Himself. Jesus Christ commanded His followers to love one another as He has loved them, stating that this love serves as the proof that they are His disciples. Members of the body of Christ function as interdependent parts where each contributes to the whole and no member can claim independence from the others. Love must accompany all gifts and actions, for without it even great abilities or sacrifices profit nothing. Love suffers long, remains kind, avoids envy and pride, bears all things, and never fails. Prayer for the brethren acts as brotherly love in practice by fostering humility, uniting the body, and inviting God's power to strengthen those in need. Job received restoration after praying for his friends who had wronged him. Jesus Christ prayed for forgiveness toward those who executed Him. Fervent love covers a multitude of sins and leads to mutual support rather than isolation or resentment.

God calls individuals to reflect His love in dealings with each other and with those in the world. This love is an outgoing concern for fellow man that involves doing what is best for others rather than what they desire. Individuals ought to lay down their lives for the brethren and love one another in the church and out of the church in the same manner that God loves. Early Christians loved one another and were ready to die for one another. They visited one another during times of plague and risked their lives to preserve the lives of others. All will know that individuals are disciples if they have love for one another. Love is made perfect as it is actively used in relationships with others. A lack of love toward wives, husbands, or fellow workers shows that the love of God is absent. The second great commandment requires loving a neighbor as oneself. Any person who lives near constitutes a neighbor, including wives, husbands, children, friends, relatives, countrymen, and even enemies. Love for a neighbor means not injuring the neighbor physically, in property, or in reputation. It means seeking to do good, denying oneself if need be, and being tender, giving, and kind even when actions do not warrant it. Love does not condone sin but requires making others live up to what they should be doing. If God is truly loved then grudges or anger are not harbored toward others whom He has begotten. Individuals forgive others because they have been forgiven and forget offenses just as God forgets them. Above all things godly love must be put on.

The seven Beatitudes Jesus taught on the mountain describe the character of the children of light, and nearly every one of them centers on how believers treat one another and those around them. Poor in spirit denotes an honest humility that shows itself in the way people are treated, standing opposed to pride, haughtiness, and arrogance; since God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble, this humility precedes true repentance and inheritance in the Kingdom. Mourning refers specifically to grieving over sin and the abominations committed in the world, as illustrated by those in Ezekiel marked for mourning the wickedness of Jerusalem, and this mourning reshapes how one views both self and others. Meekness, meaning mildness and gentleness of mind, relates closely to poverty of spirit, for the humble and gentle person naturally treats others with kindness, a quality also listed among the fruits of the Spirit. Hungering and thirsting after righteousness begins as a personal desire to obey God but extends into a longing for justice and righteousness to fill the earth, a hunger tied directly to praying for God's Kingdom to come and end the darkness of this age. Mercy stands as one of the clearest expressions of how one should treat others, since a merciful person is compassionate, sympathetic, and easy to be near, unlike one who judges harshly. Compassion, the emotional response to suffering, precedes mercy, which is the active follow-through to help others; this is why Luke records Jesus commanding, "be merciful, even as your Father is merciful," paralleling Matthew's command to "be perfect," showing that perfection in God's eyes is expressed through mercy toward others. Purity of heart connects to servanthood, the trait that most uniquely characterized Christ, who did not come to be served but to serve, emptying Himself and humbling Himself even to death; believers are being conformed to this same selfless, others-centered nature as children of God. Finally, peacemaking is not about intervening in others' conflicts but about actively pursuing peace with those with whom one personally has unresolved issues, refusing to allow discord to remain between oneself and others. These seven traits cannot be selectively adopted; they must all be present together, forming one complete, holy character—the very character Jesus Christ possessed. Those who embody these traits will face persecution and reproach precisely because they stand out as light in a dark world, chosen out of it and therefore hated by it. Jesus calls such people the salt of the earth and the light of the world, warning that salt losing its flavor becomes worthless, just as failing to live these traits renders one ineffective. Believers are therefore urged to work out their salvation, doing all things without complaints or disputes, so that their good works—rooted in humility, mercy, purity, and peacemaking toward others—may shine before others and bring glory to the Father.