How Is The Greatest Commandment Kept?

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WalterandDebbie

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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
Hi Hidden In Him, and how are you all? and it seems to me also, one's daily affairs would be of primary importance. But I think personally, we are trying to let God know what is in our hearts to do His commandments or not daily as we walk by faith, So that we can know how to love Him with All.
because of John 2:25
And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.

And I also agree to: For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose. Berean Literal Bible. For God is the One working in you both to will and to work according to His good pleasure. New American Standard Bible. for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Philippians 2:13

Love always, Walter and Debbie
 
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Hidden In Him

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What I'm trying to communicate to you was they were a "they" not just individuals...they were joined together as a community of faith. Not just meetings. It was every day.

I fully agree with you. So about my question, (corporately) they should be "praying incessantly, that the Spirit might speak through them (1 Thessalonians 5:16-19; Ephesians 6:18-19); singing continually in psalms and hymns (Colossians 3:16); and continually meditating upon His word together (John 6:63), yes?
 

farouk

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farouk

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Ok, so suppose a Christian has a contrite heart but makes no effort to spend any time in prayer, worship, study and service to God?
Seems like a contradiction in terms, right? John's First Epistle, the Parable of the Sower, etc., would seem to indicate it would be a contradiction in terms...
 

Hidden In Him

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Yes! You are correct, as I presumably jumped right to how we are to Love one-another, in Deuteronomy 5:29 after the giving of the 10 commandments, God responds to Moses " Oh, that they had such a Heart in them that they would Fear ME and always keep all My Commandments! Also in Deuteronomy chapt's 28 & 29 there are many verses about the Heart? To which men stood or fell. The Greatest Commandment is and always will be to Love God, without that How would we ever Love our fellow man!
At an early age I had a strong concern for other's, But, and only after I received the Gift was I able to understand what my concern for others was about, and with His love I am able to Love others without reservation. I have come to understand what Blessed are the Poor in Spirit relates to, to weep and morn for the souls that are still without the Grace of God in their lives. to Grieve and Morn for the wickedness that permeates this world.
Sorry I went sideways!

No problem, LoL, and I agree with your response : ) My best question then (the one I'm really driving at, and have been from the start), is how would you respond to Post #48, i.e. about prayer, worship, meditation and service.
 

Hidden In Him

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I could but its pretty simply, if u love God ull keep his commandments, not much else 2 say on dat!!

Tish tosh! : )

See, I agree with the statement, but the problem is that few seem to be willing to define what keeping all His commandments would look like in the day to day life of a believer, i.e. in practical terms. That's what I'm try to get at. Have anything more you could add, i.e. something more specific.

Thanks again for the responses. :)
 

Hidden In Him

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I fear you may be offended by what I'm going to write, but you did ask the question.

Before I even read it, certainly. That was the purpose of this thread; to discuss it openly and frankly.
The short answer is no. If you are performing these fasts etc. to try to get right with God, then I would describe them as dead works. We cannot get right with God by the things we do; our good deeds are like filthy rags before God.

No, no. Not to "get right" with God. I know precisely what you mean, and that's never the motivation. I'm only in a relationship with Him because of grace, and I don't then seek to nullify that grace by fasting, or prayer, or study, or meditation, or fellowship, or service to God. These are simply things I do to please and obey Him, not an attempt to "get right" with Him.
But whatever your motivation, the practices are not the righteousness of God. The righteousness of God is that bestowed by the Lord Jesus Christ to those for whom He died (2 Corinthians 5:21; 2 Peter 1:1). We need a righteousness that is greater than that of the scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 5:20), and in Jesus Christ, we possess it by faith (Romans 3:21-22).

Ok, now you seem to be applying the concept of imputed righteousness here to the question of how we keep the greatest commandment. My problem with that would be that if we are automatically fulfilling the greatest commandment and all the commandments of God by accepting Christ by faith, what then would be the purpose for giving these commandments, or any commandments for that matter. If you can receive my comments with grace as well (as I don't want to offend you either), that argument never makes any sense to me.
The good works that we are to do are those which God prepared in advance for His already justified people to perform (Ephesians 2:8-10). These will flow naturally as the Christian exhibits more and more the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness (or 'meekness'), self-control. At the same time, the Spirit leads us to hate sin as God hates it, and to battle it all our lives (eg. Colossians 3:5-8), knowing that God will give us the victory. 'For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace' (Romans 6:14). Note that it is not 'must not' or 'should not;' 'shall not!' The thing is absolutely certain if you're a Christian.

Ok, very good! The fruit of the Spirit. But now, you seem to be implying (by not including those things I mentioned) that prayer, worship, meditation and service to God would not or should not be including in the list of things that will "flow naturally as the Christian exhibits more of Christ." Should they be included as what we would expect, or no?
 

Hidden In Him

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What we do should be and must ultimately be directed by God in us. We may be doing some of those things: prayers, fastings, giving alms, reading the scriptures, but always our Director is not to be our own self, but the Holy Spirit in us. It needs to be the Holy Spirit in us directing us to do any of those things:

"O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps." Jerem 10:23

Another great post, and I still owe you a response. God willing, I will do so, as I am directed by God :)
 
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Hidden In Him

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You won’t like the answer wadr...what does #48 have to do with the greatest commandment?

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.

“...I will give ...my flesh” which “I will give for the life of the world.” Is it not the same for “He who loses his life for My sake, will find Life.”

(Isaiah 58:6)

The focus wasn't really on fasting at all, Victory, though I can understand how you might have thought that. That was just my way of illustrating to Episkopos that I agreed with him that the way we observe the greatest commandment should not be systematized, i.e. lad down in a "formula" as Episkopos put it. The question was more about whether the practices of prayer, worship, meditation, and service to God should be expected of those who keep the greatest commandment.
 

Hidden In Him

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Only Christ is able to love God with all His heart.
If one is born again of/by the Holy Spirit of God, it is by Christ's presence within us, that through us, He does.

I fully agree, and this is an astute answer. But now, the question becomes then: How does a a believer abide in His presence, so that Christ will manifest Himself so completely through him?
Therefore by abiding in Him through faith, WE DO also.

This statement suggests you believe it is done by faith... I certainly believe that having the faith to believe we can abide in His presence continually is vital. If not, we would never attempt to do so. But believing we can do it is only step #1. Coming to the place where we actually DO abide in His presence continually is reaching a place of obedience to the commandment, yes?
 

Episkopos

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I fully agree with you. So about my question, (corporately) they should be "praying incessantly, that the Spirit might speak through them (1 Thessalonians 5:16-19; Ephesians 6:18-19); singing continually in psalms and hymns (Colossians 3:16); and continually meditating upon His word together (John 6:63), yes?

Sure. But how do we show God and the world that we have given up our own lives to be His body? What keeps us together? Doctrines? Scheduling meetings?

The early church saw themselves as strangers in the earth. Pilgrims joined together by a common life and faith. As such they identified family as being with one another. even more so than natural family bonds...after all how many families all remain close together in location after growing up? Christians are to gather in close proximity....house wise so as to meet daily.
 
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Hidden In Him

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That is just nonsense. Fasting, prayer, worship, study of the Word, etc. are Christian practices of those who already have the righteousness of God imputed to them. They are all a part of sanctification.

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.
 

Hidden In Him

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@Hidden In Him I came to this thread specifically to mention Isaiah 58. I remember as a young Christian over 40 years ago asking God what He wanted of me. His reply was Isaiah 58. But being a Pentecostal at the time,I didn't take the last two verses to heart, believing them invalid. 20 years later as I was studying about the Sabbath and meditating and praying as to its validity to the Christian faith, the Lord again impressed me to read Isaiah 58. All of it. That chapter was the first scripture I learned by heart. Didn't take much to add two verses to the memory bank. It is still my favorite portion of scripture...So personal...And I still have a hand written calligraphy I did of that chapter 20 years ago. .

Wonderful post. Maybe the Lord will give us a chance to go through Isaiah 58 some day. And as for the last two verses, that's what I'm talking about, "then shalt thou delight thyself in Jehovah." Now we would likely disagree on putting the stress predominantly on the Sabbath, but this is indeed a time that the early church set aside to delight themselves in Him, through the practices I've been mentioning in my posts.

Now my contention is that along with the Sabbath, the reminder of one's week ought likewise to be dedicated to these as well, yes? I mean, if we are loving the Lord our God with our whole heart, mind and soul, then that means throughout the week as well, yes? I don't mean to be diminishing the importance of the Sabbath by saying that, since I know some make the argument to direct attention away from it. But to me, keeping the commandment continually would necessitate delighting ourselves in the Lord every day.

What would you say to that, I mean, if I were not simply presenting it as a way of deflecting from delighting ourselves in Him on the 7th day?
 

Hidden In Him

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Sure. But how do we show God and the world that we have given up our own lives to be His body? What keeps us together? Doctrines? Scheduling meetings?

The early church saw themselves as strangers in the earth. Pilgrims joined together by a common life and faith. As such they identified family as being with one another. even more so than natural family bonds...after all how many families all remain close together in location after growing up? Christians are to gather in close proximity....house wise so as to meet daily.

Absolutely. They met daily, to hear the teaching of the apostles, to break bread, and to pray that the power of God manifest among them and move through them.

But again, Episkopos, I am here mentioning specific practices that were being observed in the daily lives of believers in the early church (Acts 2:42). You agree, then, that these practices should and will characterize the lives of those who keep the greatest commandment?
 
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Wonderful post. Maybe the Lord will give us a chance to go through Isaiah 58 some day. And as for the last two verses, that's what I'm talking about, "then shalt thou delight thyself in Jehovah." Now we would likely disagree on putting the stress predominantly on the Sabbath, but this is indeed a time that the early church set aside to delight themselves in Him, through the practices I've been mentioning in my posts.

Now my contention is that along with the Sabbath, the reminder of one's week ought likewise to be dedicated to these as well, yes? I mean, if we are loving the Lord our God with our whole heart, mind and soul, then that means throughout the week as well, yes? I don't mean to be diminishing the importance of the Sabbath by saying that, since I know some make the argument to direct attention away from it. But to me, keeping the commandment continually would necessitate delighting ourselves in the Lord every day.

What would you say to that, I mean, if I were not simply presenting it as a way of deflecting from delighting ourselves in Him on the 7th day?
Absolutely agree with the above. And yes, we can, and should delight ourselves in the Lord every day of the week. Even when we are working, playing, exercising, or relaxing. But the Sabbath has special significance in that by deliberately not working, the entire focus of the day is directed to God without distraction. That doesn't mean we have no contract with others...Jesus healed and ministered on the Sabbath...it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath...But there is no secular or selfish attribute when Sabbath is observed as in...
KJV Isaiah 58
Keep the Sabbath
13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
 

Truth

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Ok, finally getting back. The question I'm proposing is what does oneness with God look like. You used the word "formulate," which brought to my mind a systematized approach to holiness and fulfilling the greatest commandment, and while I did not believe in some lifeless "program" not guided by the Holy Spirit, I do believe fulfillment of the "You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, your whole mind, your whole soul and your whole strength" will manifest in certain behaviors and a certain lifestyle. More specifically, I think it will be characterized by a life of prayer, worship, study of the word, and service unto God.

Let me go into a little more detail. I fast quite often, or at least more than the average Christian I believe. Do I do so in a systematized manner? No. The Geek Orthodox fast twice a week, as did the Jews during NT times. I can't die that and don't feel led to. Instead, as the Spirit leads me, I will go on longer fasts. I was adding it up, and I fast close to 100 days out of the year now (it's sill below that, but approaching more now). Twice a week for 52 days in a systematized fashion would be 104 days a year. Do I think it should be systematized where everyone has to fast on the same days. NO, absolutely not. But do I believe fasting is yet another thing that should characterize the life of the believer? Yes (granted there are some who can't, so I didn't include it in my original list).

Do you not believe that prayer, worship, study of the word and service unto God would be common characteristics in the lifestyle of someone who was fulfilling the greatest commandment?

The simplest form of worship begins with Shema!!
I find your statement about fasting pleasing, It has been on my mind much lately!
As far as it being an Important part of a believers walk, well I believe it is a must, why?
Matthew 6:16-18, the Lord instructs the followers on how to fast,
Matthew 9:15 our Lord explains to the followers of John, when the Bridegroom is taken away, They Will Fast
Matthew 17:21 There is significant empowerment through Fasting and Prayer, in certain circumstances!
Mark 9:29 expresses the same as Matthew 17:21
As to Your last Question Above, all of these are and should be the Characteristics of a believer, for the condition of the inward man, will always be exposed outwardly, to the good or to that of evil intent!
 
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DoveSpirit05

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Tish tosh! : )

See, I agree with the statement, but the problem is that few seem to be willing to define what keeping all His commandments would look like in the day to day life of a believer, i.e. in practical terms. That's what I'm try to get at. Have anything more you could add, i.e. something more specific.

Thanks again for the responses. :)

sorry man, I think ur straining at a nat now!! no offence!
 
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VictoryinJesus

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The focus wasn't really on fasting at all, Victory, though I can understand how you might have thought that. That was just my way of illustrating to Episkopos that I agreed with him that the way we observe the greatest commandment should not be systematized, i.e. lad down in a "formula" as Episkopos put it. The question was more about whether the practices of prayer, worship, meditation, and service to God should be expected of those who keep the greatest commandment.

Sure it is not systematized...what relationship ever is. Prayer, worship, meditation, and service to God. Fasting too. Can see what you are saying but the Pharisees did those things also to be seen of men. And they had their reward. Only God knows the heart. Still not sure how this thread becomes those things as center though in keeping the greatest commandment? Paul prayed, worshipped, mediated and served God in a hole naked and cold saying “rejoice! I say again, Rejoice!” Not sure how fasting from literal food and how often and how long that is achieved has to do with charity...as the world fasts for trends and then talks about reaping the benefit of fasting and cleanses. Again if I’m being honest the church building has no argument or hesitation against worship, meditation, prayer and service to God...those being the very things that become “systematized” rituals of sit down, stand up, pass around the plate, come together in worship and praise services...is readily seen. The rest needs to be considered though in “How is the greatest commandment kept”

John 15:13-14 Greater love (Charity) hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. [14] Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

He is the friend one is called to lay down their life for. The friend power is given of God to follow Him to lay down (lose life) for His Name sake..
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
^ power given to lay down ones life for a friend and no greater love or charity has any than this: to lay down their life for Christ.
^the center of “How is the greatest commandment kept” ...in power given of God to lay down your own life for the sake of Christ.

there are plenty of threads and subjects discussing man’s fast, prayer, worship and service ...not so much talk of the rest.
 

Hidden In Him

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Absolutely agree with the above. And yes, we can, and should delight ourselves in the Lord every day of the week. Even when we are working, playing, exercising, or relaxing. But the Sabbath has special significance in that by deliberately not working, the entire focus of the day is directed to God without distraction. That doesn't mean we have no contract with others...Jesus healed and ministered on the Sabbath...it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath...But there is no secular or selfish attribute when Sabbath is observed as in...
KJV Isaiah 58
Keep the Sabbath
13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:

Though it might rub some the wrong way (unintentionally), I actually think that work takes too high a priority in many people's lives, i.e. the standard of living they insist upon necessitates working more than they should, with the result of having far less time to give to God than He desires. It's sort of akin to Paul's teaching on desiring to be "rich." We are all rich in modern society compared to New Testament times, and yet for many it is not enough. I work about 2 1/2 hours per day and am still able to pay my bills, but then I am content with the things I have; a nice home and three cars that are paid off. And even when I'm working, I work alone, so even then I am free to pray, meditate, etc., leaving virtually all my time open to serving God. That having been said, actually giving that much time to God is another story, LoL.

But yes, there's much to be admired in setting aside a day entirely for Him : ) It's getting at what I think the commandment entails. Only I think there are steps Christians could be taking to make it a virtual reality in their lives seven days a week, and they really should if we are taking the commandment seriously.
 
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