Page 19 - Countesthorpe Herald August 2023

NEWS AND VIEWS FROM THE CHURCHES
WHAT IS THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT?
Jesus was asked this very question by a Pharisee who was “an expert in the law”. And Jesus answered by saying, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important commandment. The second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments”. Matt 22:37–40. Here Jesus gives us two commandments which summarize all the laws and commands in the Bible. Specifically, God’s moral laws, which deal with our relationship with God and our relationship with our neighbour. One naturally flows out of the other, therefore without a right relationship with God, our relationships with others will not be right, either.
The cause of our problems, in our world and with our neighbour, whether that’s global or across the street, isn’t that we need to just get rid of God and be better educated, enforced to conform to group think, or just go with your feelings. Man firstly needs to be reconciled to God.
We will never love our neighbour as ourselves if we do not love God with all
our heart, mind, and soul, first.
All of man’s best efforts towards loving one another will fail because we are in rebellion against God and have broken God’s law as summarized by Jesus and found in the Ten Commandments Exodus 20. As a consequence, we fail to love God and love our neighbour as we ought.
So, when Jesus says that all the laws and commands in Scripture can really be summarized by these two commandments, we can begin to understand just how impossible it is for us to keep God’s commandments. Why not take the test and be honest with yourself regarding the summary Jesus gave of the Ten Commandments themselves.
What about your relationship with God? 1. You shall have no other gods before me. ...(Do you have other gods whether religious or secular?)
2. You shall not make unto thee any graven images. ...(Any modern-day idols you worship?)
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. ...(What can I say?)
4. Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. ...(Do you set the sabbath aside to worship Him or self ?)
What about your relationship with your neighbour?
5. Honour your father and mother. ...(who raised you, were they honoured, maybe they were absent?)
6. You shall not kill. ...(ever been angry with a neighbour?)
7. You shall not commit adultery. ...(ever looked with lustful passion at a neighbour) 8. You shall not steal. ... (ever stolen from a neighbour?)
9. You shall not lie. ... (ever told a lie to a neighbour?)
10. You shall not covet. ...(ever desired something your neighbour possesses?) How did you do? If you’re honest with yourself you won’t be coming out with a first-class honours degree anytime soon. None of us will. In fact the Bible states that by the law none of us will be justified Romans 3:20 but a knowledge of a sin will come.
This is the Good News for all law breakers like ourselves, who cannot keep God’s commandments or be righteous before Him by our own efforts, but Jesus Christ did. He never broke it, He fulfilled God’s law, He was fully obedient, He lived a perfect life loving God and His neighbour and in His sacrificial death on the cross is the means whereby our sins can be imputed (reckoned) to Him and His righteousness imputed to us Romans 4-5. That’s why “if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation”. Rom 10:9-10. After all, the Gospel of Christ “is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes.” for “the just shall live by faith” Rom 1:16-17.
Because Jesus answered this very question and His answer is recorded in Scripture, we don’t have to wonder or search for the answer ourselves. The only question left for us to answer is do we live according to these commandments? Do we truly love God with all our hearts, all our souls, and
continued on next page ...
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