Who Is My Neighbour &
Who Is My Friend

Are You A Neighbour & Friend?

 a neighbour:   
A close friend; an acquaintance; a fellow member of a community. In some covenant contexts, “neighbour” conveys as powerful a sense of relationship as “brother” or “sister.” The word itself might be extended to include everyone a person came in contact with, but in the OT it usually means “fellow Israelite.” When OT Law spelled out the mutual obligations of Israelites to each other, it frequently used the term “neighbor” (Heb., rea’). For instance, no Israelite was to give false testimony against his neighbour (Ex. 20:16) or covet his neighbour’s wife or possessions (Ex. 20:17). Rather than defraud a neighbour (Lev. 19:13), a member of the covenant community was to share his property (Ex. 22:7-9), lend to his neighbour without charging interest (Deut. 15:2), and in every way show that he love his neighbour as himself (Lev. 19:18).
( From the Applied BIBLE DICTIONARY, 1990 by Fleming H. Revell Company )

The NT restates the command, “Love your neighbour,” no less than nine times (Mt. 5:43; 19:19; 22:39; Mk. 12:31,33; Lk. 10:27; Rom. 13:9; Gal. 5:14; Jas. 2:8). One day, Jesus was questioned about the implications of this command by an “expert in the law” (Lk. 10:25-37). Jesus immediately affirmed the most extended use of the word “neighbor” in the story of the Good Samaritan. Jesus chose as his hero a member of a neighbouring race that the Jews viewed with contempt. When a Jewish traveller was robbed and beaten, it was no priest or Levite who stopped to help the victim. It was a Samaritan. In Jesus’ story, race did not count: Neighbourliness was a simple matter of humanity, a matter of a relationship between one person in need and another able to assist him. When the “expert in the law” admitted that the Samaritan had fulfilled a neighbour’s obligation by helping the injured man, Jesus simply said, “Go and do likewise.”

Our neighbour, whom we are obligated to love, is anyone we know who may be in need.

 a friend:
 A bond of liking and trust, marked by companionship and some degree of intimacy. In the OT David and Jonathan (1 Sam. 20), and Ruth and Naomi (Ruth 1:16-18; 2:11), model close friendships and the loyalty friendship implies. The Book of Proverbs contains many sayings about friends. “A friend loves at all times” emphasizes loyalty (Prov. 17:17). “Faithful are the wounds of a friend” (Prov. 27:6 RSV) suggests a level of intimacy that permits total honesty. Moses’ identification as a “friend of God” is rooted in his loyalty to the Lord and reflected in God’s willingness to speak directly to him “as a man speaks with his friend” (Ex. 33:11). Jesus used the term “friend,” perhaps lightly at times, as a form of address (Mt. 20:13; Lk. 5:20). The angry charge of the Pharisees that Jesus was “a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Lk. 7:34; Mt. 9:11) simply meant that he associated freely with them, and that they responded to him with liking and trust. The zealously religious of Jesus’ day were careful to have nothing to do with such persons. When Jesus spoke of his disciples as friends he had in mind a far greater commitment. Jesus demonstrated his loyalty by laying down his life for his friends (Jn. 15:13). Disciples show loyalty to Jesus by doing what Christ commands John.15:14). Friendship with God is expressed by complete loyalty to him (Jas. 4:4). The phrase “dear friends” appears in some modern versions, translating a Greek word that means “beloved”
 (2 Cor. 7:1; 1 Pet. 2:11; 1 Jn. 2:7).
( From the Applied BIBLE DICTIONARY, 1990 by Fleming H. Revell Company )

  Some Biblical Advice on brotherly love:

"A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; even as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another"
( Jesus as recorded in the gospel of John ch: 15, vs 34,35 )

"Be sincere in your love for others. Hate everything that is evil and hold tight to everything that is good. 10 Love each other as brothers and sisters and honour others more than you do yourself. Never give up. Eagerly follow the Holy Spirit and serve the Lord. 12 Let your hope make you glad. Be patient in time of trouble and never stop praying. 13 Take care of God’s needy people and welcome strangers into your home. 14 Ask God to bless everyone who mistreats you. Ask him to bless them and not to curse them. 15 When others are happy, be happy with them, and when they are sad, be sad. 16 Be friendly with everyone. Don’t be proud and feel that you are smarter than others. Make friends with ordinary people. 17 Don’t mistreat someone who has mistreated you. But try to earn the respect of others, 18 and do your best to live at peace with everyone"
( St. Paul in his epistle to the Romans ch: 12, verses 11-18 )

"You obeyed the truth, and your souls were made pure. Now you sincerely love each other. But you must keep on loving with all your heart"
 St. Peter in his first epistle ch:1 verse 22