On one occasion, among many
others, the Pharisees tried to trap Jesus with a question.
The question was,
“What is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
“But when the Pharisees had
heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together.
Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and
saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
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. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like
unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments
hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22:34-40)
They just knew they had Him,
as they had thought at other times, but notice Jesus’ response. Jesus said that
we are to first love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul and all
our mind. Then He added that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves, and that
the Law and the prophets hang on these two commandments.
When He mentioned the Law and
the prophets, He was saying that every book in what we call the Old Testament
centered on these two commands. If we do not first of all love the Lord our God,
we cannot truly love our neighbor, and by the same token, if we do not love our
neighbor, we don’t really love God.
The world often visualizes
God in the Old Testament as an angry and vengeful God, and the New Testament as
a loving God, but that is not so. Even some who call themselves Christians feel
this way. However, God is always a loving God and He never changes. Anyone who
sees God as “mean” in the Old Testament cannot truly know Him. They obviously
haven’t read the Old Testament and understand who He is.
With every sacrifice made in
the Old Testament was God’s proof of His love for us. Every sacrifice pointed
to the ultimate sacrifice of His Son on a wooden cross on Calvary.
“For when we were yet without
strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
For scarcely for a righteous
man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
But God commendeth his love
toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Much more then, being now
justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
For if, when we were enemies,
we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled,
we shall be saved by his life.
And not only so, but we also
joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the
atonement.” (Romans 5:6-11)
Let no man ever say that God
is mean and vindictive in the Old Testament, but kind and gentle in the New
Testament. God’s love shines forth on every page of the Bible, whether New or
Old Testament. Even in His more than justified judgments, His love and grace
can be seen.
Now the question remains,
“How do we prove our love for God?” Any true Christian who has humbly studied
the entire Bible with an open heart yearning for the Truth, will eventually
notice that two important facts stand out. Both in the Old and New Testaments
these two truths are clearly visible. These two truths are (1) love and (2)
obedience. We show our love for Him by obeying Him.
The Old Testament in
particular speaks of “fearing the Lord thy God.” Does that term mean we are to
be scared to death of Him? Does it mean we quake in our boots and run and hide?
Whenever we see that term, remember that it is speaking of a reverential
(respectful, honorable) trust, including the hatred of evil. It is the respect
a child would have for their father who will discipline them, but also loves
them with all his very being, who would give his life for them. This term is
meant for the believer, never the unbeliever.
“Ye shall diligently keep the
commandments of the LORD your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which
he hath commanded thee. And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the
sight of the LORD: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and
possess the good land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, To cast out all
thine enemies from before thee, as the LORD hath spoken.” (Deuteronomy 6:17-19)
“And the LORD commanded us to
do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he
might preserve us alive, as it is at this day. And it shall be our
righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our
God, as he hath commanded us.” (Deuteronomy 6:24-25)
Yes, these passages are
written specifically for Israel, but the principle most definitely applies to
the Christian today. Think not?
Jesus, God in the flesh, said
in the New Testament:
“If you love me, keep my
commandments.” (John 14:15)
“You are my friends, if you
do whatever I command you.” (John 15:14)
Some Christians try to be
very religious to prove they are the elite of God. They have the somber voice
of church talk down pat. They display hypocritical emotions on cue. They may
even quote some Scripture. Guess what? The Pharisees of Jesus day were super
religious, but they hated Jesus. They had Him crucified! The Pharisees of today
would no doubt do the same.
The apostle Paul was a
Pharisee who hated Jesus and tried to eliminate His followers, He thought he loved
God and was being obedient to God, until he met Jesus on the road to Damascus.
After that meeting, he wanted nothing more to do with religion. He shed the
religious hypocrisy and became truly obedient to God. Now why did he do that?
He did it because he fell in love with God and chose to serve Him in obedience
the rest of his life; i.e. love and obedience.
Are you tired of being
religious? Would you like to really know God? Come to Him through His Son
Jesus. Shed the religious hypocrisy and love Him with all your heart, mind and
soul. Obey Him by loving your neighbor and obeying His Word.
Remember what Jesus asked
Peter, “Do you love me?”
Grant Phillips
Email: Phillip5769@twc.com
Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com
Rapture Ready: http://www.raptureready.com/featured/phillips/phillips.html
ATTENTION! My email address has changed to Phillip5769@twc.com.
