Jesus said something very interesting to the legalistic Pharisees who were trying to trap Him with regards to the Law of God. Let’s review it:
Matthew 22:34-40
{22:34} But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put
the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together.
{22:35} Then one of them, [which was] a lawyer, asked
[him a question, ]tempting him, and saying, {22:36}
Master, which [is] the great commandment in the law?
{22:37} 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. {22:38} This is the first and great commandment.
{22:39} And the second [is] like unto it, Thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thyself. {22:40} On these two commandments
hang all the law and the prophets.
Notice something here… Jesus quotes THE LAW:
Leviticus
{19:18} Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I [am] the LORD.
Deuteronomy
{6:5} And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
Would anyone here argue, “But that is the Law!” No. Back to the passage itself…
The lawyer asked Jesus about the greatest commandment in the law. Jesus takes these two commandments and demonstrates that they embody the two governing principles of the entire Law of God. Now any honest soul will ask, How does one properly love God with all their heart, soul, and mind? After all… a pagan convert who is ignorant of God’s Word might erect a statue of Jesus or His mother and bow down to it out of LOVE! Lol But that’s not God’s will. How do we know how to properly worship and demonstrate our love for God? A pagan new convert might “love” his neighbor by offering physical pleasure as pagans do. How is this new convert who hasn’t had their mind renewed going to know the will of God concerning how to love their neighbor? What if some angry self loathing man chooses to hate and cheat on his wife out of spite. In his twisted mind, he’d expect her to do the same to him. How does he know how he should be loved and how to demonstrate love? God’s Law reveals this:
Governing Principle: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Applied how?
I
Thou shalt have no other gods before Me
II
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image
III
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord
thy God in vain, for the Lord will not
hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain
IV
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy
V
Honor thy father and thy mother,
that thy days may be long upon the land
which the Lord thy God giveth thee
Governing Principle: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Applied how?
VI
Thou shalt not murder
VII
Thou shalt not commit adultery
VIII
Thou shalt not steal
IX
Thou shalt not bear false witness
against thy neighbor
X
Thou shalt not covet
If one’s actions violate any one of these Ten Commandments in letter of the law or spirit of the law…they have failed to live by the governing principles of Christianity as laid out by Jesus and are NOT walking after the Spirit.
The keeping the Law doesn't justify or save us. It cannot. However, for those of us who are saved... the Spirit's witness to the Law shows us how to walk and to be holy in thought, word, and deed.
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