How Is The Greatest Commandment Kept?

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brakelite

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Thank you for this. May I just point out that by loving everyone you know, you are not fulfilling our Lord's command? You have to love them as much as you love yourself.
Yes, doing for others what you would desire them to do for you if your positions were reversed.
May I ask you your view on our Lord's words in Mark 12:34? Is 'not far from the kingdom of God' a good place to be, do you think?
A better place for some certainly, but not a good place to stay. Knowing the truth but not practicing it would be catastrophic. That man Jesus honored gave a wise answer revealing he understood spiritual truth...But he was only close to the kingdom...And there shall be many who shall say "we did stuff Lord, even in your name" but Jesus said they were workers of iniquity. Go away. Close, but not close enough.
 
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Hidden In Him

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I know personally that the moment I cease praying daily...reading the word...meditating and thinking about spiritual things...in other words, not abiding, then my attitudes toward others, even my dearest and nearest, suffer. Without Christ we absolutely cannot do what we ought.

I was thinking about the exact same thing this morning : ) In fact (a confession here), my entire mental state suffers sometimes. My mother's side of the family, i.e. virtually all of them all suffer from depression. I'm the only one not on meds, LoL. But I think I probably would be if it were not for abiding in Christ. I'm reminded of it every time I spend significant time away from God. I get heavily involved in some house project or something, and after about two weeks in.... let's just say I start turning into bad company.

So good to have the answer, and at the same time so important not to forget it.
 

Steve Owen

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Yes, doing for others what you would desire them to do for you if your positions were reversed.
John 15:13. 'Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.' Yet the love of Christ is greater than that; He laid down His life for His enemies (Romans 5:10).
A better place for some certainly, but not a good place to stay. Knowing the truth but not practicing it would be catastrophic. That man Jesus honored gave a wise answer revealing he understood spiritual truth...But he was only close to the kingdom...And there shall be many who shall say "we did stuff Lord, even in your name" but Jesus said they were workers of iniquity. Go away. Close, but not close enough.
Yes; there are only two positions in relation to the kingdom of God - in or out. To be not far away is to be outside.
Here is a transcription of a sermon I gave some years ago on Mark 12:28-34. The Greatest Commandment
And here's one on Matthew 5:20, which is somewhat related. A Greater Righteousness

I'm not at all insisting that you read these. I'm aware that people on discussion forums seldom read links. It's just that I have no time at present to explain my understanding in detail, so I leave these links in the hope that they may be helpful.
 
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marks

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John 15:13. 'Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.' Yet the love of Christ is greater than that; He laid down His life for His enemies (Romans 5:10).

Yes; there are only two positions in relation to the kingdom of God - in or out. To be not far away is to be outside.
Here is a transcription of a sermon I gave some years ago on Mark 12:28-34. The Greatest Commandment
And here's one on Matthew 5:20, which is somewhat related. A Greater Righteousness

I'm not at all insisting that you read these. I'm aware that people on discussion forums seldom read links. It's just that I have no time at present to explain my understanding in detail, so I leave these links in the hope that they may be helpful.

Likewise I suggest that people also know in their hearts the claims of God on their lives even if they reject Him, which is why God will be just when He judges them.

This came up in another thread. Everyone knows, whether they admit it or not.

Much love!
 
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marks

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@Steve Owen
Why can’t He accept that I’m doing my best and put up with that?” It is because of the holiness of God. People today, if they think of God at all, tend to imagine Him a a sort of jolly Santa Claus in the sky; far too soft and feeble to punish sin. But the truth is that ‘Our God is a consuming fire’ (Heb 12:29). First of all, He is utterly holy. The prophet declared, ‘You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look upon wickedness’ (Hab 1:13). ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD God of Hosts!’ When Isaiah came face to face with the Lord, the first thing he was conscious of was his own sinfulness. “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts” (Isaiah 6:3, 5). Likewise Peter, when he first came to realise who Jesus might be, wanted to be as far away from Him as possible. “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord” (Luke 5:8).

Another great point!

We have to have His righteousness, it's the only righteousness that will do for a holy God.

Our conscience must be purged.

Much love!
 
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marks

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I was thinking about the exact same thing this morning : ) In fact (a confession here), my entire mental state suffers sometimes. My mother's side of the family, i.e. virtually all of them all suffer from depression. I'm the only one not on meds, LoL. But I think I probably would be if it were not for abiding in Christ. I'm reminded of it every time I spend significant time away from God. I get heavily involved in some house project or something, and after about two weeks in.... let's just say I start turning into bad company.

So good to have the answer, and at the same time so important not to forget it.
Ditto to all.

Except I was thinking about this last night. And instead of projects it's just inner turmoil. But otherwise ditto to all.

Much love!
 
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brakelite

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John 15:13. 'Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.' Yet the love of Christ is greater than that; He laid down His life for His enemies (Romans 5:10).

Yes; there are only two positions in relation to the kingdom of God - in or out. To be not far away is to be outside.
Here is a transcription of a sermon I gave some years ago on Mark 12:28-34. The Greatest Commandment
And here's one on Matthew 5:20, which is somewhat related. A Greater Righteousness

I'm not at all insisting that you read these. I'm aware that people on discussion forums seldom read links. It's just that I have no time at present to explain my understanding in detail, so I leave these links in the hope that they may be helpful.
I read both. I have some reservations regarding the constant anger and wrath of God against sinners. But that is a subject for another day. Apart from that, very good.
 

Prayer Warrior

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Jesus said the greatest commandment was to love the Lord your God with your whole heart, your whole mind, your whole soul and your whole strength. Seems to me that defining what that means in practical terms, and how the commandment is kept in one's daily affairs would be of primary importance.

This is primarily a theoretical question, so I am asking for responses about what you consider proper obedience to this commandment to look like, but if you wish to answer on a more personal level and describe how you best fulfill this commandment on a daily basis in your own personal life, that's good too.

Blessings in Christ to all who respond.

HiH

The only way that I know how to answer the OP is on a very personal level.

I would say that loving Jesus has been like marriage, which involves a love and commitment like no other on earth. When I first found Jesus, or He found me, I fell so much in love with Him, I couldn't get to sleep at night for thinking about Him. I wanted to be with Him, and I hung on His every word as I read the Gospel of Matthew time after time. Most of all, I was consumed by His love for me, which I found to be far superior to any love I had ever known before.

As in marriage, that first love began to wain as all those shiny worldly things threatened to lure my heart away from my first love. The desire for human love and worldly success have tested my love for Him. I’m reminded of the words to the hymn “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing.”

O to grace how great a debtor
daily I'm constrained to be!
Let thy goodness like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to thee
Prone to wander Lord I feel it,
prone to leave the God I love
Here's my heart, O take and seal it,
seal it for thy courts above

And there have been times of severe testing that I have questioned His love and commitment to me. In fact, I have felt sorely let down by Him. I have to admit that I’m still working through disappointment over some of the trials and tribulations He has allowed. Years ago, during one particularly gruesome trial, I even questioned God's existence because it didn’t make sense that He would allow what was happening in my life, but He graciously put the rug back under my feet. (Of course, Jesus IS the rug.)

And in some ways, things have only gotten harder since that trial. Loss of home and temporary loss of health, betrayal by family and long-time Christian friends…. I’ve suffered the loss of loved ones—my mom, dad, and husband, and along with my husband's death, any earthy sense of security and stability in this life. My daughters and I were stalked by a fine Christian man. And yet, this same man and his wife had offered us a place to live when we needed one after my husband died. (I have seen the best of Jesus in the worst of men.)

These betrayals and losses have tested my faith and love for Him beyond the imaginable. But He has lovingly seen me through to the other side of each and every trial. And He has made sure that I love Him even more at the end of the day as I’ve seen Him protect and provide and love me through the hard times—time after time after time.

Even though the enemy has tried to destroy my love for Jesus, it has only grown and deepened. In over 40 years of knowing Him, I’ve learned that loving Him with all my heart is a matter of being with Him, conversing with Him like Adam did in the cool of the evening, listening to His voice and obeying what He tells me like Abraham did, submitting my will to His because I trust Him and desire to please Him, as Jesus Himself submitted to the Father.

Loving Him is sharing my heart with Him when I’m afraid and when I’m hurting and when I’m overjoyed…. And it’s hearing His heart for me as He speaks to me throughout the day and night.

So, for me, loving Him doesn’t consist of a list of do’s and don’t’s any more than loving a husband could amount to this (which would be law, not love). It’s so much deeper. It’s my life. There is no life apart from being loved by Him and loving Him in return.

I would have to say that loving Him and being loved by Him IS LIFE.
.
 

Taken

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Jesus said the greatest commandment was to love the Lord your God with your whole heart, your whole mind, your whole soul and your whole strength.

I am asking for responses about what you consider proper obedience to this commandment to look like...

What is proper obedience?

Recognizing there IS a WAY.

Gen 18
[19] For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD...

Understanding the WAY has been Sent and Offered to all men.

John 14
[6] Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Know, Believe, Understand WHO IS the Lord your God.

Isa 43;
[10] Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.

Isa 41
[4] Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last;
I am he
.

John 17
[18] As thou hast sent me into the world...

John 6
[51] I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

Heb 10
[10] By the which will we are sanctified through the Offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all.

Heb 1
[2] Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son...

John 14
[6] Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Heb 1
[8]...unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.

Heb 10
[9] Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.

Isa 41
[4] ...I the LORD, the first, and with the last;
I am He.


John 9
9] Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said,
I am He.

Hearing, Believing, Trusting, Choosing ...
TO "willingly" GIVE "your" LIFE TO the Lord God...
THAT
He WILL:

Forgive your having Disbelieved.
Forgive your having STOOD AGAINST Him.
Cleanse you, with HIS BLOOD.
Cover you, with HIS LIGHT.
Sanctify you, with HIS GLORY.
Justify you, with HIS AUtHORITY.
Restore your, Soul
Circumcise your, Heart
Give you, a NEW Heart full of HIS TRUTH.
Keep you Free from SIN, with HIS POWER.
Rebirth you, with HIS SEED.
Perfect you, according to His WILL.
Allow you, TO WALK in HIS SPIRIT of LIFE.
Redeem you, On His DAY, TAKE you
Resurrect you, Up IN a NEW BODY, of GLORY.
Cause you, TO Dwell WITH HIM FOREVER...
...WHOLLY WHOLE, (Body, Soul, Spirit), made
...Holy Forever.

Deut 13
[3] ...the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

ALONE, I have NOT the POWER to "LOVE" anything perfectly.
WITH My Lord God Almighty ALL things are Possible.

Personally;
I Heard, I Believed, I Trusted, I Chose, I Gave and Continue in such things, and WAIT patiently for His Day.

My PERSONAL testimony is;
Thanks BE "TO Him", I Personally and Daily receive great BLESSINGS from;
My Lord God Almighty.

God Bless,
Taken
 
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Hidden In Him

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The only way that I know how to answer the OP is on a very personal level.

I would say that loving Jesus has been like marriage, which involves a love and commitment like no other on earth. When I first found Jesus, or He found me, I fell so much in love with Him, I couldn't get to sleep at night for thinking about Him. I wanted to be with Him, and I hung on His every word as I read the Gospel of Matthew time after time. Most of all, I was consumed by His love for me, which I found to be far superior to any love I had ever known before.

As in marriage, that first love began to wain as all those shiny worldly things threatened to lure my heart away from my first love. The desire for human love and worldly success have tested my love for Him. I’m reminded of the words to the hymn “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing.”

O to grace how great a debtor
daily I'm constrained to be!
Let thy goodness like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to thee
Prone to wander Lord I feel it,
prone to leave the God I love
Here's my heart, O take and seal it,
seal it for thy courts above

And there have been times of severe testing that I have questioned His love and commitment to me. In fact, I have felt sorely let down by Him. I have to admit that I’m still working through disappointment over some of the trials and tribulations He has allowed. Years ago, during one particularly gruesome trial, I even questioned God's existence because it didn’t make sense that He would allow what was happening in my life, but He graciously put the rug back under my feet. (Of course, Jesus IS the rug.)

And in some ways, things have only gotten harder since that trial. Loss of home and temporary loss of health, betrayal by family and long-time Christian friends…. I’ve suffered the loss of loved ones—my mom, dad, and husband, and along with my husband's death, any earthy sense of security and stability in this life. My daughters and I were stalked by a fine Christian man. And yet, this same man and his wife had offered us a place to live when we needed one after my husband died. (I have seen the best of Jesus in the worst of men.)

These betrayals and losses have tested my faith and love for Him beyond the imaginable. But He has lovingly seen me through to the other side of each and every trial. And He has made sure that I love Him even more at the end of the day as I’ve seen Him protect and provide and love me through the hard times—time after time after time.

Even though the enemy has tried to destroy my love for Jesus, it has only grown and deepened. In over 40 years of knowing Him, I’ve learned that loving Him with all my heart is a matter of being with Him, conversing with Him like Adam did in the cool of the evening, listening to His voice and obeying what He tells me like Abraham did, submitting my will to His because I trust Him and desire to please Him, as Jesus Himself submitted to the Father.

Loving Him is sharing my heart with Him when I’m afraid and when I’m hurting and when I’m overjoyed…. And it’s hearing His heart for me as He speaks to me throughout the day and night.

So, for me, loving Him doesn’t consist of a list of do’s and don’t’s any more than loving a husband could amount to this (which would be law, not love). It’s so much deeper. It’s my life. There is no life apart from being loved by Him and loving Him in return.

I would have to say that loving Him and being loved by Him IS LIFE.
.

Wow. What a wonderful answer.

I think you mastered something early on that I am still working towards, and that is spending time with Him. I converse with Him daily, hourly as well and have for 30 years now, but it was a little more sporadic than what I now realize it should have been. Now I used to spend a great deal of time with Him in the word, and He unquestionably spoke to me during my study times. The things He has shown me personally brought me to the place where His love for me was something I never questioned in the least. But the word was my primary time spent with Him, and when I would go through dry seasons my time with Him would wane. But I'm to the point now where I know the command is to spend time with Him continuously, and to do that will require me to give myself to prayer, worship and service to Him on a level I never have before.

But while it might sound too demanding to some, I know can do it, and He continues to show me I'm on the right track and not to be dissuaded by anyone else concerning it. I suppose once the time thing is nailed down, I can get more into experiencing hearing Him more continually, like in a marriage relationship (i.e. where two people are continually together).

Thanks for the post, sister, and blessings to you for your response : )
 

Prayer Warrior

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Wow. What a wonderful answer.

I think you mastered something early on that I am still working towards, and that is spending time with Him. I converse with Him daily, hourly as well and have for 30 years now, but it was a little more sporadic than what I now realize it should have been. Now I used to spend a great deal of time with Him in the word, and He unquestionably spoke to me during my study times. The things He has shown me personally brought me to the place where His love for me was something I never questioned in the least. But the word was my primary time spent with Him, and when I would go through dry seasons my time with Him would wane. But I'm to the point now where I know the command is to spend time with Him continuously, and to do that will require me to give myself to prayer, worship and service to Him on a level I never have before.

But while it might sound too demanding to some, I know can do it, and He continues to show me I'm on the right track and not to be dissuaded by anyone else concerning it. I suppose once the time thing is nailed down, I can get more into experiencing hearing Him more continually, like in a marriage relationship (i.e. where two people are continually together).

Thanks for the post, sister, and blessings to you for your response : )

You know, like with marriage, it's easy to devote time to the person we're in love with! Of course, we learn a lot in the dry spells, so I'm not saying they don't serve their purpose.

I had lost sight of my first love, but Jesus is restoring that love in my heart. I pray that He will do the same for you!
.
 

farouk

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Wow... Enoch, I honestly thought you might buck at my position when I first started this thread. As it turns out, you've been the strongest defender of it to date. To say "I'm impressed" might be to take too much upon myself, as I am only searching for the truth. But I do believe I'm right that the commandment insinuates the Lord wants our everything, if we were willing to stop and think about it - all of our heart, mind, soul and strength - and not in figurative terms but practical ones : ) Obedience to it is the tough part, but at least understanding the calling opens the door to the possibility, for those willing to have ears to hear and not turn away from it as being too much of a "hard saying."

Thanks for your posts, Enoch. It's nice when you feel someone gets you.
Paul to the Romans indeed speaks of 'the obedience of faith' and 'obedience to the faith', at the beginning and the end that mighty Epistle.
 

farouk

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Wow. What a wonderful answer.

I think you mastered something early on that I am still working towards, and that is spending time with Him. I converse with Him daily, hourly as well and have for 30 years now, but it was a little more sporadic than what I now realize it should have been. Now I used to spend a great deal of time with Him in the word, and He unquestionably spoke to me during my study times. The things He has shown me personally brought me to the place where His love for me was something I never questioned in the least. But the word was my primary time spent with Him, and when I would go through dry seasons my time with Him would wane. But I'm to the point now where I know the command is to spend time with Him continuously, and to do that will require me to give myself to prayer, worship and service to Him on a level I never have before.

But while it might sound too demanding to some, I know can do it, and He continues to show me I'm on the right track and not to be dissuaded by anyone else concerning it. I suppose once the time thing is nailed down, I can get more into experiencing hearing Him more continually, like in a marriage relationship (i.e. where two people are continually together).

Thanks for the post, sister, and blessings to you for your response : )
Prayer is such an important subject with Paul; in 1 Thess. 5 and Philippians 4, the theme of prayer is linked with joy and thanksgiving. :)
 

friend of

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Remember that throughout the OT God was mad at his people for breaking the #1 commandment.
 
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amadeus

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Yes, doing for others what you would desire them to do for you if your positions were reversed.

A better place for some certainly, but not a good place to stay. Knowing the truth but not practicing it would be catastrophic. That man Jesus honored gave a wise answer revealing he understood spiritual truth...But he was only close to the kingdom...And there shall be many who shall say "we did stuff Lord, even in your name" but Jesus said they were workers of iniquity. Go away. Close, but not close enough.
Yes, as the world might say, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades... and this is more serious than any game!
 
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amadeus

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John 15:13. 'Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.' Yet the love of Christ is greater than that; He laid down His life for His enemies (Romans 5:10).

Yes; there are only two positions in relation to the kingdom of God - in or out. To be not far away is to be outside.
Here is a transcription of a sermon I gave some years ago on Mark 12:28-34. The Greatest Commandment
And here's one on Matthew 5:20, which is somewhat related. A Greater Righteousness

I'm not at all insisting that you read these. I'm aware that people on discussion forums seldom read links. It's just that I have no time at present to explain my understanding in detail, so I leave these links in the hope that they may be helpful.
I visited your site and quickly scanned those two. Interesting!
 
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