THE GREAT
COMMANDMENT
Have you
come to worship today because you love the Lord? Can you in fact say that you do indeed love the Lord? It is unlikely that anyone here would say
that they do not love the Lord, but what is that supposed to mean?
After all, I love playing golf…but that
is not how I love the Lord! I love
chocolate cake…warm spring days without pollen…beagle puppies…celebrating a
victory in the big game by my favorite teams…having all my family
together. There are a lot of things I
can say that I love. They excite my
passions, elevate my blood pressure, stir my heart, sometimes bring a tear to
my eye and a lump to my throat. When I
am enjoying them, I cannot wait for the next opportunity to enjoy them again.
Is that what you mean when you say you
love the Lord? Or has it become an
expected confession because you know that is what Christians are supposed to
do…but the reality is that your heart does not really get it, your mind is
occupied elsewhere, your soul is silent and your strength awaits something
better to energize you.
Jesus reminds us in this passage that God
does not just think it is a good idea for us to love Him…He commands us to do
so. Unlike other religions, we have a
God who has loved us with a perfect, unconditional, everlasting love and has
made it personal through Jesus Christ.
For those who would try to convince themselves that they are not really
sinful people, ask them if they can honestly say that they love God with all
their heart, soul, mind and strength.
Today let’s consider the first part of
this great commandment and try to grasp what it means to love God that way.
The glorious excellencies and beauty of God will be
what will forever entertain the minds of the saints, and the love of God will
be their everlasting feast. The
redeemed will indeed enjoy other things; they will enjoy the angels, and will
enjoy one another: but that which they shall enjoy in the angels, or each
other, or in anything else whatsoever, that will yield them delight and
happiness will be what will be seen of God in them.
–Jonathan Edwards
THESIS: No one loves you like God does and no one
and nothing else deserves your love like He does.
Here we find the religious leaders of
Israel scheming again to try to catch Jesus in a mistake by asking Him which
commandment is the great one out of all the law of God. From that exchange, we find plenty of food
to feed on for today and next week in our study.
I. A DESIRE TO REDUCE LIFE TO A MINIMAL
RESPONSIBILITY
Matthew
22:34-35 But when the Pharisees heard that He had put
the Sadducees to silence, they gathered themselves together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer,
asked Him a question, testing Him…
--The
lawyer, an expert in the Mosaic law, tested Jesus with an age-old question
about which law or command of God should be considered the pre-eminent or great
command.
A. THE HUMAN TENDENCY IS TO REDUCE
RESPONSIBILITY AND INCREASE FREEDOM.
--If there
were a way for us to reduce our responsibility before God and man and still
allow us to look religious, most human beings would follow that tendency.
--We desire
great freedom for ourselves, even if it means that we do nothing but meet the letter
of the law and care nothing about the spirit of the law.
B. THE HUMAN PREFERENCE IS TO LIMIT REFLECTION
AND REGULATE BEHAVIOR.
--Later
rabbinic tradition outlined 613 commandments, 248 which were positive and 365
negative—some of greater and some of lesser weight in how they were viewed.
--What
becomes clear as religion develops is that people would much rather have
someone tell them what to do than have to think, to reflect, to study the
principles of God’s Word and figure out how and why they apply.
The rise of legalism and
fundamentalism in a church usually can be traced back to this preference…people
do not like to be bothered having to sort out the intricacies of complicated
issues. They want someone to tell them,
yes or no…do this, don’t do that…like this, don’t like that.
Several years ago here at
Providence, some parents demanded that the elders and pastors tell them whether
it was a sin to see a movie with an ‘R’ rating. When we refused to answer, we were actually accused of encouraging
people to see ‘X’ rated movies…no, I am not making this up!! It actually happened!
The reason we would not answer the
question about ‘R’ rated movies is that the question missed the point. Sin should not be determined on the basis of
arbitrary ratings provided by the Ratings Board of the Motion Picture
Association of America.
Limiting reflection and leaning
toward outwardly regulated behavior, many people want someone to tell them that
it is OK to see a PG-13 film, or a sensual soap opera on TV, but that they are
without sin if they avoid ‘R’ rated movies.
--The
lawyer from the Pharisees wanted to see if Jesus would give them a simplistic
answer, one which would allow them to emphasize one command over all others and
relieve them of responsibility for the balance of the Law.
--One such
example is that of the chief priests and the elders hiring and then paying
Judas to betray Jesus, and then citing an interpretation of a law from
Deuteronomy 23:18 about bringing money earned from unholy employment (harlotry
in that particular verse).
Matthew
23:24 “You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and
swallow a camel!
--Loving
God and loving others are expendable if you can find a law to tell you to do
what costs your heart and your affections nothing!
--So the
reason for the question was two-fold:
to see if they could trap Jesus in a difficult question and if not, at
least to see if they could justify a less rigorous and meticulous exercise of
religious duty and still be considered pious.
II. A DECLARATION THAT ELEVATES LOVE TO AN
ULTIMATE PRIORITY
--Jesus had
an entirely different agenda in this situation—He wanted everyone to know that
there was indeed a great commandment in the law that stood above the rest.
--The first
and foremost commandment held a strategic position of honor and a weighty place
of value in God’s eyes, followed by a complementary commandment to demonstrate
the reality of the first.
Matthew
22:37-38
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.’
38 “This is the great and foremost commandment.
--The thing
about this commandment, taken from what is called the Shema (Hear!), Deuteronomy 6:4-5, is that it does not allow any
mere outward duty to take the place of careful reflection and meditation on the
character of God.
Deuteronomy
6:4-5 “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the
LORD is one! 5 “And you
shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your might.
--If we are
to obey this commandment, then all else will follow consistently in doing
whatever the Bible teaches us about the will and desires of God.
A. A COMMANDMENT TO LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD
--Of all
that comes to mind when we think of being commanded to do something, how often
do we remember that God commanded us
to love Him?
--The
syrupy emotional understanding of love which dominates our culture does not
make room for the kind of love which can be commanded, and a command that we
can obey as a decision of the will.
1. Loving God Is a Choice We Can Make
--If you do
not love God, you have made the wrong choice because He commands your love and
expects you to choose to do what He requires.
2. Loving God Is an Action We Can Take
--Rather than
a passive emotion we can fall into and out of, loving is an action that engages
every aspect of our being.
--Since we
must act, not just feel or think, Jesus reminds us that we must love the Lord
with all our heart and soul and mind…nothing left out, nothing exempt from obedience to this
command.
· Heart—the command center of the body
which controls our feelings, emotions, desires and passions.
· Soul—the source of vitality and power
that brings strength to the will and focuses all your energies on pursuing all
that we know of God’s will and desires
· Mind—the faculty that directs our
understanding, shapes our opinions and perspectives, and cultivates our
reflections, meditations and perceptions at an intellectual level
· Strength (from Deut 6:5)—our physical
capacities as well as resources, all devoted to Him as He always gets our very
best
--Loving
God that way is therefore a requirement, an inflexible expectation for every
true follower of Jesus Christ.
--Therefore,
what is necessary for us to obey this commandment…what must we do?
B. A COMMITMENT TO LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD
--Obedience
requires a commitment, a determination to do what is expected and to do so
without fail.
--In a book
The True Christian’s Love to the Unseen
Christ, Thomas Vincent (1634-1678) addresses three issues that undergird
and give substance to our commitment:
1. If We Love Him
2. How We Love Him
3. Why We Love
Him
1. If We Love Him
--If you
ask anyone if they love the Lord, typically they will answer yes, but the proof
often remains to be seen in the way we model our commitment to love Him.
--Here are
four questions to consider as we examine our hearts to see what our commitment
is:
· Do we
desire His presence?
--That
desire is for His presence for the kind of communication that builds intimacy
of relationship, for the kind of revelation which brings a manifestation of His
glorious nature, for the kind of nearness which bestows comfort and confidence.
· Do we
treasure the ways He provides for us to know Him?
--Through
the fellowship of the church, in the congregation engaged in worship and
instruction, through personal prayer and Bible study, in serving others for His
sake—all provide ways to know more of Him…do we love Him enough to take
advantage of every such opportunity?
· Do we love
His image?
--In His
Word and in His people, we find the express image of the invisible God
revealed—perfectly in His word and imperfectly in His people, but enough to see
and love what we find revealed.
· Do we obey
His commandments?
John
14:21 “He who has My commandments and keeps them,
he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I
will love him, and will disclose Myself to him.”
--Loving
Him means far more than just saying we do…the evidence in our hearts must support
our words.
2. How We Love Him
--When we
love Christ with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, how are we supposed to
do that?
· With
Sincerity
Ephesians
6:24 Grace be with all them that love our Lord
Jesus Christ in sincerity (with an incorruptible love…an undying love).
· With
Supremacy
Matthew
10:37 “Anyone who loves his father or mother more
than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me
is not worthy of me;
· With
Fervency
Song
8:6-7 Place me like a seal over your heart, like a
seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as
the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. 7 Many waters cannot quench love; rivers
cannot wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love,
it would be utterly scorned.
· With
Constancy
John
15:9-10 “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have
also loved you; abide in My love. 10
“If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My
Father’s commandments, and abide in His love.
--There are
many other ways to love the Lord, but if our love for Him moves from mere
sentimentality to the kind of love described here we will have matured and
vastly improved in the way we love our Lord!
3. Why We Love Him
--Perhaps
the best way to wrap up this part of the study of this passage is to review
once again why loving the Lord Jesus Christ should grip us completely, just as
Jesus Himself said in His answer to the lawyer from the Pharisees.
a. His Usefulness and Sufficiency
--Perhaps
it sounds crass and somewhat irreverent to speak of loving Christ for His
usefulness to us, but as we understand the depth of our needs and the impotence
of our souls, Christ’s perfect sufficiency appeals to us at the deepest places
in our needy hearts.
--He can
do, and wants to do, for us what no one else possibly can—redeem, save, and
restore us from our sinful and darkened hearts…and we love Him for it!!
--Who can
satisfy these needs like Jesus? No one
else could in perfect sufficiency and in a way more suited to the depth of our
need.
b. His Excellence and Beauty
--We
love the Lord for His excellence and beauty—even though we have never actually
seen Him!
1
Peter 1:8 and though you have not seen Him, you love
Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice
with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
--Although
He is beautiful beyond description and the most excellent One from whom all
that is beautiful in creation derives its beauty, that beauty in Christ’s body
which is described in Song of Solomon as “altogether lovely” cannot compare
with the beauty of Christ’s soul!
--His
excellence and beauty surpass the greatest examples of human excellence and
beauty, the best of angelic perfection, the most magnificent of the majesty of
the universe.
--To quote Thomas Vincent…
“If any creatures have wisdom, it is but a beam;
Christ is the sun. If they have
goodness, it is but a drop; in Christ is the ocean. If they have holiness, it is but a spark or dark shadow; Christ
is the brightness of His Father’s glory.
If they have the Spirit, they have it with some measure; it is give to
Christ without measure…We must see and say that Christ is most excellent and amiable,
and that no beloved is like the beloved of true Christians. Therefore it is that true Christians love
Christ because of His loveliness.” (p. 19)
c. His Compassion and Love
--We love
because He first loved us and in His compassion toward us has shown how great
and marvelous perfect love can be.
--So how
did he love us? Again Vincent…
“He loved them when they were polluted in their sins,
and washed them with His own blood; He loved them when they were naked in their
souls, and clothed them with robes of His righteousness. He loves them in their sickness and sorrows,
and is their Comforter; he loves them in their wants and straits, and is their
Benefactor. He loves them in life, and
is the life of their souls; He loves them at death, and is the stay of their
hearts; and He loves them after death, and will be their portion forever.” (p.
19)
--Only the
hardest heart and the coldest conscience could witness the greatness of His
love and turn away without loving Him in return.
The love of
God has been poured out on each of you through Jesus Christ and He now makes it
clear that the greatest thing you can do in return is to love Him with all that
you are.
God wants us to find that in loving Him,
our lives reach out and embrace the greatness of life at a level we could never
have dreamed possible. Nothing in this
world will ever compare with loving and being loved by God.
The love
of God is a delightful and affectionate sense of the Divine perfections, which
makes the soul resign and sacrifice itself wholly unto him, desiring above all
things to please him, and delighting in nothing so much as in fellowship and
communion with him, and being ready to do or suffer any thing for his sake, or
at his pleasure.
--Henry
Scougal, 1657
Do you really love God? As you consider how you do love Him, ask Him
to show you how to love Him more!