Matthew 22:36-40 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
God's great law of love is summed up into two great commandments. The first is "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." And the next is, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." One these two great commandments hangs all the law and the prophets.
Brethren and sisters, what is love? The Bible says:
1 John 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
God is love. Therefore the atrributes of God are the atrributes of love. To truly love God correctly, and our neighbors correctly, we have to go to the Source of love. We must be taught, and guided on how to love. Man has formed his own opinions on what constitutes loves, and it has caused the loss and death of billions of souls. We can look at the varied religions, and the varied cultures, but none know love like those who know the God who is love Himself. I am convinced, that nothing prompts the heart of God other than love. Absolutely nothing.
In the Word of God, we are taught how to love. First, our love for God is foremost. What is the love of God?
1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
The love of God is to keep His commandments, and that His commandments are not grievous. Those who love God will not find it a burden to keep His law, for they are obedient out of the love that is found to dwell in their hearts for Him.
John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
If you love God, keep His commandments. It is interesting, that in dealing with our love for God, Jesus quotes out of the law. He says, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." Where in the law, do we find this same quote almost verbatim? In the very second commandment.
Exodus 20:4-6 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
God's merciful character is shown in the law, that He will have mercy upon those that love Him and keep His commandments. And in those 10 Commandments we can find what true love is. We can find the attributes of God. For example, His disgust for iniquity (lawlessness by definition) is also shown in the law. The goodness of God, and the severity of God, are thereby shown by the law. The Law of God is perfect, converting the soul.
Psalms 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
The 10 Commandments display the attributes of perfect love. Even our love for our neighbor is given in the law.
Romans 13:8-10 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. 9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Paul quotes five of the six commandments that deal directly with our love for each other. And these commandments, and the remaining, sum up to loving our neighbor as ourselves. Love does not work ill, or harm, his neighbor. Therefore, what is love? Love is the fulfilling of the law. If you love, you have fulfilled the requirements of the law. What if some claim to love though, but do those things which the law condemns? Say for example, we claim to love a friend, neighbor, or spouse, but we lie to them? Is this love? The Bible says love works no ill towards his neighbor. Therefore, if you are going to lie to your neighbor, then you do not really love them, no matter what you say. See, it's always good to check if you are within the demands of God, to see if you really love your neighbor or not. Is it love, to be filled with envy and are covetous of a neighbor's goods? No, no, this is not love either.
The carnal man cannot see past the letter of the law. Spiritual things are spiritually discerned.
1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
When the law says, thou shalt not commit adultery, man may think this means only outwardly. This shows the lack of understanding on man's part. For what does 1 Corinthians 13 say, when speaking of love?
1 Corinthians 13:5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
Love does not think evil. If adultery is evil, will man think about committing adultery? No, he will not. When the law says "Thou shalt not commit adultery" is means it. Do not commit adultery ... at all! Do not commit it outwardly, do not commit it in your mind, do not commit it in your spirit, do not commit it in your heart. Do not commit adultery, literally, do not. These are things the natural man lacks understanding of. But what does Paul say about the keeping of the law in letter, vs the spirit?
Romans 7:6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
How do we keep the law now? In the newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. So then, in like obedience as he commanded, what does Paul do? Serve it only in the letter, or serve it in the newness of spirit?
Romans 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
With the mind, he serves the law of God. When it says do not commit adultery, Paul knows it means not outwardly, not in his heart, not spiritually, and not in his mind, thus serving the law in the newness of spirit.
Romans 7:12 Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
Isaiah 42:21 The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.
God's Holy Law of Love, His Ten Commandments. What is love? God is love. How do I know when I love God? When I keep His commandments, and they are not grievous. How do I know when I love my neighbor? When I keep His (God's) commandments. What is love then? Love is the keeping of the commandments of God. Love is literally defined, outwardly, spiritually, physically, and mentally in His Holy Law.
Romans 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
The Law is spiritual. Now, if God's law is love, then the attributes of God are seen in the law. Then each and every single precept shows us what love is. Even one precept, which man's spiritual eyesight needs to be opened.
Exodus 20:8-11 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Some can see nothing but a grievous burden when reading this commandment. And rightfully so, when the pictures of God's Sabbath are painted in the way the Pharisees kept it. What you see are wretched and hateful depictions of the Sabbath. Those pictures painted are grievous, and are not the requirements which God meant when He spake what He said. The Sabbath was intended to be the best day of the week, not the worst. Yes, there are indeed restrictions laid upon the Sabbath, but these restrictions are for the benefit of mankind. After all, for whom was the Sabbath made for?
Mark 2:27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
Who was the Sabbath made for? For us! No, not for us to take and do whatsoever gains, and pursuits we so choose and please. But restrictions were placed upon the day for your benefit, and for your overall joy and happiness. The Sabbath Day is not a day in which we choose to labour and advance our worldly interests. It honestly would ruin the Sabbath Day that God set apart especially for you. The Sabbath indeed does have to do with our love for God, but a love of it, focuses on His love for us. What a better day than the Sabbath, than to experience God's beautiful creation out in the world, of all those things He created for our benefit, for use, for food? And what better day, to put down all our worldly labors, and come and rest together, with He who rested upon the very same day, almost 6000 years ago? This is God's rest. This is God's Sabbath, given to man, as a gift.
On this day we meet together with those of like minded faith, with those family members of like minded faith, and friends, to give praise and glory unto God. On this day, do we hear the tender appeals of God's heart of love, to repent. On this day, do we hear Him pleading with us, choose this path, choose the right way, choose my Son's righteousness. And what better day to spend time with God, than the day that He picked to spend with us? Made for us, given to us, blessed and sanctified for us. What a wonderful day of love indeed, and no better day do we enjoy the love of God.
Psalms 16:11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
Where is the fullness of joy found? In God's presence. Those who gather on the Sabbath, to keep the day holy, and view the wonderful works of creation, can find no greater joy than this. In God's presence is the fullness of joy. Then will we joy in Him, when we keep His Sabbath the way He commanded it to be kept. No crazy astringent rules, but simply all love, falling in harmony with the commandments of God. And man cannot find the greatest delight in God, than when He finds it when He keeps God's Sabbath, and that correctly.
Isaiah 58:13-14 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: 14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
When will we delight ourselves in the Lord? When we keep His Sabbath. When we keep His Sabbath, not doing our own ways, nor finding our own pleasures, nor speaking our own words. When we keep the Sabbath not just outwardly, but in the heart. When we refrain from worldly labours and pursuits, when we accept the Sabbath Gift as it is, then we delight ourselves in God.
It's all about love. Every aspect of God's Holy Law is about love. The first three, the last six, and even this commandment, #4, the Sabbath, is all about love. Love Him first. Reverence Him. Serve Him first. Joy in His presence on Sabbath, joy in His holiness, His lovely works, bask in His wonderful creation, given for us all, and made for us all. Take in, and enjoy the love of God, for God is love.
1 John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
God's great law of love is summed up into two great commandments. The first is "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." And the next is, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." One these two great commandments hangs all the law and the prophets.
Brethren and sisters, what is love? The Bible says:
1 John 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
God is love. Therefore the atrributes of God are the atrributes of love. To truly love God correctly, and our neighbors correctly, we have to go to the Source of love. We must be taught, and guided on how to love. Man has formed his own opinions on what constitutes loves, and it has caused the loss and death of billions of souls. We can look at the varied religions, and the varied cultures, but none know love like those who know the God who is love Himself. I am convinced, that nothing prompts the heart of God other than love. Absolutely nothing.
In the Word of God, we are taught how to love. First, our love for God is foremost. What is the love of God?
1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
The love of God is to keep His commandments, and that His commandments are not grievous. Those who love God will not find it a burden to keep His law, for they are obedient out of the love that is found to dwell in their hearts for Him.
John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
If you love God, keep His commandments. It is interesting, that in dealing with our love for God, Jesus quotes out of the law. He says, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." Where in the law, do we find this same quote almost verbatim? In the very second commandment.
Exodus 20:4-6 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
God's merciful character is shown in the law, that He will have mercy upon those that love Him and keep His commandments. And in those 10 Commandments we can find what true love is. We can find the attributes of God. For example, His disgust for iniquity (lawlessness by definition) is also shown in the law. The goodness of God, and the severity of God, are thereby shown by the law. The Law of God is perfect, converting the soul.
Psalms 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
The 10 Commandments display the attributes of perfect love. Even our love for our neighbor is given in the law.
Romans 13:8-10 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. 9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Paul quotes five of the six commandments that deal directly with our love for each other. And these commandments, and the remaining, sum up to loving our neighbor as ourselves. Love does not work ill, or harm, his neighbor. Therefore, what is love? Love is the fulfilling of the law. If you love, you have fulfilled the requirements of the law. What if some claim to love though, but do those things which the law condemns? Say for example, we claim to love a friend, neighbor, or spouse, but we lie to them? Is this love? The Bible says love works no ill towards his neighbor. Therefore, if you are going to lie to your neighbor, then you do not really love them, no matter what you say. See, it's always good to check if you are within the demands of God, to see if you really love your neighbor or not. Is it love, to be filled with envy and are covetous of a neighbor's goods? No, no, this is not love either.
The carnal man cannot see past the letter of the law. Spiritual things are spiritually discerned.
1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
When the law says, thou shalt not commit adultery, man may think this means only outwardly. This shows the lack of understanding on man's part. For what does 1 Corinthians 13 say, when speaking of love?
1 Corinthians 13:5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
Love does not think evil. If adultery is evil, will man think about committing adultery? No, he will not. When the law says "Thou shalt not commit adultery" is means it. Do not commit adultery ... at all! Do not commit it outwardly, do not commit it in your mind, do not commit it in your spirit, do not commit it in your heart. Do not commit adultery, literally, do not. These are things the natural man lacks understanding of. But what does Paul say about the keeping of the law in letter, vs the spirit?
Romans 7:6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
How do we keep the law now? In the newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. So then, in like obedience as he commanded, what does Paul do? Serve it only in the letter, or serve it in the newness of spirit?
Romans 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
With the mind, he serves the law of God. When it says do not commit adultery, Paul knows it means not outwardly, not in his heart, not spiritually, and not in his mind, thus serving the law in the newness of spirit.
Romans 7:12 Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
Isaiah 42:21 The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.
God's Holy Law of Love, His Ten Commandments. What is love? God is love. How do I know when I love God? When I keep His commandments, and they are not grievous. How do I know when I love my neighbor? When I keep His (God's) commandments. What is love then? Love is the keeping of the commandments of God. Love is literally defined, outwardly, spiritually, physically, and mentally in His Holy Law.
Romans 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
The Law is spiritual. Now, if God's law is love, then the attributes of God are seen in the law. Then each and every single precept shows us what love is. Even one precept, which man's spiritual eyesight needs to be opened.
Exodus 20:8-11 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Some can see nothing but a grievous burden when reading this commandment. And rightfully so, when the pictures of God's Sabbath are painted in the way the Pharisees kept it. What you see are wretched and hateful depictions of the Sabbath. Those pictures painted are grievous, and are not the requirements which God meant when He spake what He said. The Sabbath was intended to be the best day of the week, not the worst. Yes, there are indeed restrictions laid upon the Sabbath, but these restrictions are for the benefit of mankind. After all, for whom was the Sabbath made for?
Mark 2:27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
Who was the Sabbath made for? For us! No, not for us to take and do whatsoever gains, and pursuits we so choose and please. But restrictions were placed upon the day for your benefit, and for your overall joy and happiness. The Sabbath Day is not a day in which we choose to labour and advance our worldly interests. It honestly would ruin the Sabbath Day that God set apart especially for you. The Sabbath indeed does have to do with our love for God, but a love of it, focuses on His love for us. What a better day than the Sabbath, than to experience God's beautiful creation out in the world, of all those things He created for our benefit, for use, for food? And what better day, to put down all our worldly labors, and come and rest together, with He who rested upon the very same day, almost 6000 years ago? This is God's rest. This is God's Sabbath, given to man, as a gift.
On this day we meet together with those of like minded faith, with those family members of like minded faith, and friends, to give praise and glory unto God. On this day, do we hear the tender appeals of God's heart of love, to repent. On this day, do we hear Him pleading with us, choose this path, choose the right way, choose my Son's righteousness. And what better day to spend time with God, than the day that He picked to spend with us? Made for us, given to us, blessed and sanctified for us. What a wonderful day of love indeed, and no better day do we enjoy the love of God.
Psalms 16:11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
Where is the fullness of joy found? In God's presence. Those who gather on the Sabbath, to keep the day holy, and view the wonderful works of creation, can find no greater joy than this. In God's presence is the fullness of joy. Then will we joy in Him, when we keep His Sabbath the way He commanded it to be kept. No crazy astringent rules, but simply all love, falling in harmony with the commandments of God. And man cannot find the greatest delight in God, than when He finds it when He keeps God's Sabbath, and that correctly.
Isaiah 58:13-14 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: 14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
When will we delight ourselves in the Lord? When we keep His Sabbath. When we keep His Sabbath, not doing our own ways, nor finding our own pleasures, nor speaking our own words. When we keep the Sabbath not just outwardly, but in the heart. When we refrain from worldly labours and pursuits, when we accept the Sabbath Gift as it is, then we delight ourselves in God.
It's all about love. Every aspect of God's Holy Law is about love. The first three, the last six, and even this commandment, #4, the Sabbath, is all about love. Love Him first. Reverence Him. Serve Him first. Joy in His presence on Sabbath, joy in His holiness, His lovely works, bask in His wonderful creation, given for us all, and made for us all. Take in, and enjoy the love of God, for God is love.
1 John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
