Jump Start # 3580

Matthew 22:37 “And He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’”

There are a few things interesting about our verse today. It is Jesus’ response to a trick question. A lawyer asked Him which commandment was the greatest. He did this to test Jesus. The answer Jesus gives comes from Deuteronomy. This is what the law says. But, what likely was running through this trick question, was the fact that there were 613 commandments in the O.T. All the commandments of God are important. Stacking them in order would be hard. And, which one would be most important?

Jesus didn’t leave the impression that this commandment, nor the second greatest, loving your neighbor as your self, were the only commandments that mattered. Just forget the other 611 commandments and only keep these two. One doesn’t get that from what Jesus said.

Now of interest to us is the thought that some today would make that conclusion. Only loving God and loving each other matter. Don’t worry about the other things. Don’t trouble yourselves with doctrine and right and wrong. Just love. Love God and love each other. Boy, that sure sounds good. If that be the case, then why did God bother with 611 other commands? All He really needed was just two: love God and love each other.

But “love God” is broad, generic and vague. Just what does that mean? Without commands, how would Israel know about what day to worship? How would they know what kind of animal to offer to God? Why would they be warned about unclean and clean? Details and details about the tabernacle, down to the color of the curtains and the exact number of rings holding them up. Just love God. Build a Teepee. Build a hut. Build an apartment complex. The ark of the covenant, details about the size, what went in it and how it was to be transported. David found out the hard way that putting the ark on a wagon was wrong. But, just love God.

Do you see, it was God who gave the 613 Old Testament commands. They were necessary to accomplish what He wanted. Without those commands, loving God becomes just a feeling. It warps into an emotion. But with the commands, reverence, obedience, respect and authority are demonstrated.

The same Jesus that tells us that the greatest command is to love God, also said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” Just two commands or what about forgiving seventy times seven? Just two commands or go the second mile? One might say, “If you love your neighbor you will do that.” Really? Why? Why not give your neighbor your house? Why not give your children to your neighbor? Without guidelines, instructions or commands, what does loving my neighbor look like? It looks like each person doing whatever they feel like doing.

Then we find in Acts 2, the very first Christians abiding in the apostles doctrine. Why? If only two commands matter, what is there to abide in? And, tied to the great commission, Jesus told the apostles to teach disciples all that I have commanded you. Well, if it’s only love God and love each other, that’s pretty easy.

Then, why are there all those letters to the churches in the N.T.? Paul told the Corinthians that the things he wrote were the Lord’s commandments (14:37). Instructions about Lord’s Supper. Regulations about spiritual gifts. Words about marriage, sexuality and divorce. These were all part of God’s commands

So, maybe there’s more to all of this than just love God and love your neighbor.

Here are some thoughts for us:

First, we need to be good Bible students. The Bereans searched and discovered what was right and wrong. We hear sweet sounding messages and like a gullible fish, we swallow the hook without thinking things through. Wolves have a way into the flock because the sheep do not recognize them. It’s time to put the thinking caps on and stop being spoon fed by preachers, myself included. Get those Bibles opened up and take some deep look inside.

Second, loving God is essential. A person won’t do the rest of the Bible if he is not motivated by God’s love for him and his love for God. However, loving God doesn’t mean the rest doesn’t matter.

Third, the basis of fellowship, first with God and then with each other is wrapped around walking in the light, as John wrote in his first letter. Walking is not a feeling. It’s a choice, a direction, a pattern one takes. Love is demonstrated by actions. One cannot be right with God and wrong with the Bible. Without God’s word, we don’t have a clue. We don’t know what God wants. We don’t know what God is like. We don’t know what to do. You can get three fat guys on a Sunday morning who spray paint G-O-D on their bellies. I’m certain they love God. Is that what the Lord wants? Without instructions, there is no way to know. That’s where the religious community has shifted to decades ago. Dare anyone say that they are doing something outside of the Bible, the response will be, “We love God. Stop judging.” Is that where we are headed?

Truth and love are not cosmic enemies fighting each other. They are connected. They need each other. We need both. Truth without love leads to judgmental hatred. Love without truth leads to lawlessness. In the judgment picture in Matthew 7, the people were busy casting out demons, doing miracles and all sorts of wonderful things in the name of the Lord. Jesus said, “I never knew you.” He further added, “depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.”

Lawful—that comes from following the law.

Good stuff to think about and chew on for a while…

Roger