Two Great Commandments!

INTRODUCTION

1. In the temple during His final week prior to His crucifixion, Jesus

was questioned by various religious groups...

a. The Pharisees and Herodians sought to entangle Him with a

question about paying taxes

b. The Sadducees tried to trip Him on the subject of the

resurrection

-- His answers caused people to marvel and be astonished

 Matthew 22:22

“When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left him, and went their way.”

Matthew 22:33

“And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine.”

2. The Pharisees tried once again, this time sending one of their

lawyers...

a.  Testing Him as to which is the great commandment in the law

Matthew 22:34-36

"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 greatest commandment in the law?”

b. Jesus replied by offering two great commandments

1) The first pertained to loving God

Matthew 22:37-38

“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.”

2) The second pertained to loving one's neighbor

 Matthew 22:39

“And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”

-- Upon these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets

- Matthew 22:40

“On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

 [It is proper to ask, therefore, do we love God and our neighbor as we

should?  Do we understand what is involved in loving God and our fellow

man?  Perhaps by reflecting upon these "Two Great Commandments" we can

find the answer to such questions...]

I. THE COMMAND TO LOVE GOD

A. UNDER THE OLD COVENANT...

1. The Israelites were expected to love God

(Deuteronomy 6:5)

“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God wit all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”

-- Emotionally, physically, intellectually, they were to love

God

2. Thus they were to love God with their whole being

-- Note how the Law stated their responsibility in

Deuteronomy 10:12-13

“And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, To keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?”

B. HOW WE ARE TO LOVE GOD TODAY...

1. Does God expect any less of us?  Of course not!  We are to

love God:

a.  With all our heart

1Corinthians 16:22

“If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.”

b.  With all our soul (body and mind)

Romans 12:1-2

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

c.  With all our might

Hebrews 10:36

"For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.”

d.  With all our mind

Philippians 4:8

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

2. We demonstrate our love for God through keeping His

commandments

a.  This is the love of God

1John 5:3

“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.”

b.  This is evidence that we love Jesus

John 14:15

“If ye love me, keep my commandments.”

C. THE BLESSING OF KEEPING HIS COMMANDMENTS...

1. We enjoy a special relationship with God and Jesus

 John 14:21-23

"He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. 22Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? 23Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”

2. We will abide in the love of God

 John 15:10

 “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.”

3. Our prayers will be answered

 1John 3:22

“And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.”

D. HOW TO GROW IN OUR LOVE FOR GOD...

1. By allowing God's love for us to move us

 1John 4:9-10

"In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

a. God loved us, even while we were still sinners

b. When we reflect upon His love for us, we will love Him

more!

2. By asking God to help us grow in love

 2Thessalonians 3:5

“And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.”

3. By keeping the word of God

 1John 2:5

"But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.”

a. The love of God is perfected in those who keep God's word

b. Therefore the more we obey Him, the more our love for God

will grow!

[Do we love God any less than what was expected of the Israelites?  We

certainly have compelling reasons to love Him even more (e.g., the gift

of His Son)!  Now let's consider...]

II. THE COMMAND TO LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR

A. ENJOINED UPON CHRISTIANS...

1. We owe it to our neighbors to love them

 Romans 13:8

“Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.”

2. When fully applied, it fulfills what the Law required

 Romans 13:9-10

“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. 10Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”

a. Five of the Ten Commandments spoke to working no ill toward

our fellow man

b. If one truly loves his or her neighbor, they will not be

guilty of killing, adultery, stealing, lying, or

covetousness

c. For sins (and many others) do grave harm to our neighbor

B. ENHANCED BY A NEW COMMAND...

1. Jesus taught us to love one another

 John 13:34-35

“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

2. This new command takes our love to a higher level

a. No longer do we just love one another as we love ourselves

b. We must love one another as Christ loved us!

1) He loved us with the greatest love

 John 15:13

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

2) He became poor, that we might be rich

 2Corinthians 8:9

"For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.”

3. Thus no one can use low self-esteem (or low self-love) as an

excuse not to love others as they should

C. EXPERIENCED WHEN WE KEEP GOD'S COMMANDMENTS...

1. We demonstrate true love of one another by keeping the

commandments of God

 2John 1:5-6

“And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another. 6And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.”

2. This is how we know that we really love one another

 1John 5:2

"For the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever.”

a. Not by just claiming to love one another

b. But by setting the proper example, and encouraging each

other by the example we set!

D. EDUCATED BY THE EXAMPLE OF GOD...

1. We develop love for one another by being taught of God - cf.

1Thessalonians 4:9-10

"But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. 10And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more;”

a. The Thessalonians had been taught of God to love their

brethren

b. They did so remarkably, though there was always room for

improvement

2. Jesus by His own example demonstrates what true love is

 1John 3:16-18

"Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? 18My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”

*If you are still hungry for the Word of God visit the Full Gospel Holiness Church’s website @ http://www.fghconline.com

All you have to do is Believe

*We all go through our difficult moments in life from time to time. Difficulties that include, losing loved ones, hardships through our jobs, and the most famous of all is finances. People everyday worry about when they will receive their next paycheck to pay off bills coming up, or that they lost their job and they were the only one bringing in the money for the family. Even though we face these troubles every day, we are given the opportunity to ease these worries by the power of the Lord. *

Below we find an example of just how wonderful God is to provide for His children in desperate need of help.

Elisha provides oil for a widow through God

2 Kings 4:1-7

“Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen. And Elisha said unto her, what shall I do for thee? Tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil. Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbors, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full. So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out. And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed. Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay the debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.”

*The woman and her sons collected pots and jars from their neighbors, pouring oil into them from their one pot. The oil stopped pouring only when they ran out of containers.

The number of jars they gathered was an indication of their faith. God’s provision was as large as their faith and willingness to obey. Beware of limiting God’s blessings by a lack of faith and obedience. God can and will do even more than we ask or think. *

Ephesians 3:20

“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.”

*We are told countless times throughout the word to trust in the Lord.*

Proverbs 3:5-6

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

*What we find a lot when we face difficult times, is worrying. God tells us here, that we are not to worry and to not think about what will happen tomorrow, because we are not promised tomorrow. *

Matthew 6:25-34

“Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:29And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”

*The Lord knows exactly what we need, all we need to do is believe! Simply ask of what you need and He shall give it to you! *

Matthew 7:7-8

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”

If you are still hungry for the word of God please visit The Full Gospel Holiness Church’s website @

http://www.fghconline.com