{"id":708,"date":"2018-06-10T08:00:22","date_gmt":"2018-06-10T13:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hanoverbaptistchurch.org\/blogpastor\/?p=708"},"modified":"2018-06-09T21:47:13","modified_gmt":"2018-06-10T02:47:13","slug":"what-does-the-bible-say-about-loving-god-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hanoverbaptistchurch.org\/blogpastor\/2018\/what-does-the-bible-say-about-loving-god-2\/","title":{"rendered":"What does the Bible say about loving God?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cJesus said to him, \u2018You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.\u2019 This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: \u2018You shall love your neighbor as yourself.\u2019\u201d Matthew\u00a022:37\u201339<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Among the most thought-provoking words found in the Bible, these words were uttered by our Lord in the Sermon on the Mount. There he talks of godly qualities (Beatitudes and \u201cYou have heard that it has been said\u2026but I say to you\u201d), the Lord\u2019s Model Prayer, admonishments that life and speech must match (do not be a hypocrite) and \u201cAsk\u2026seek\u2026knock.\u201d But just as memorable are His words of warning: \u201cEnter in at the straight gate\u201d and \u201ca wise man who built his house on the rock.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps most striking is His warning concerning false prophets in Matthew\u00a07:15\u201325: \u201cNot everyone who says to Me, \u2018Lord, Lord,\u2019 shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, \u2018Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?\u2019 And then I will declare to them, \u2018I never knew you, depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.\u201d These are indeed thought-provoking words that define the difference between those who love God and those who do not love Him.<\/p>\n

To understand the meaning of our Savior\u2019s words we must look at the larger context and the over-arching biblical theme of salvation by faith. Our Lord was calling Israel to repentance from dead works to serve in spirit and in truth. Is this not the meaning of His words to His disciples? John\u00a014:15 reads, \u201cIf you love Me, keep My commandments.\u201d John\u00a014:21 reads, \u201cHe who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me, and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him\u2026.\u201d John\u00a015:5 reads, \u201cI am the Vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit.\u201d John\u00a015:9 reads, \u201cAs the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father\u2019s commandments and abide in His love.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Apostle John continues this theme in his letters. 1\u00a0John\u00a02:3ff reads, \u201cNow by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says \u2018I know Him,\u2019 and does not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His words, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know we are in Him.\u201d In 1\u00a0John\u00a05:1ff he explains, \u201cWhoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments\u2026.\u201d 2\u00a0John\u00a05f also states, \u201c\u2026that we love one another. This is love, that we walk according to His commandments.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is no doubt that our Lord\u2019s thoughts are to fulfill the great commandment (a full summary of the entire law) as found in Matthew\u00a022:37\u201339. The Ten Commandments are easily recognized as two-fold: commandments\u00a01\u20135 detail how to love God and commandments\u00a06\u201310 illustrate how to love your neighbor as yourself. The whole bent of the Old Testament law was to authentically love God and love your neighbor. This is the meaning of our Lord\u2019s words in the Sermon on the Mount, and His admonitions to His disciples.<\/p>\n

Since love must be grounded in truth, and since all forms of human love derive and achieve their highest glory when they take their bearing from the unchangeable character of the love of God, it is important that you assess the quality of your love for God. After all, we are at best, \u201cunprofitable servants.\u201d There is always room for improvement.<\/p>\n

The foundational precepts for Israel displaying love for God are found in Deuteronomy\u00a06. In verse\u00a05 Moses records, \u201cYou shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.\u201d He is not dividing up human nature into three parts, but is rather looking at three aspects of every man. The heart is the intentional will of the whole man. The soul is the whole self in its neediness and unity, will and vitality. Strength is descriptive of a man\u2019s energy in action, or energy put to work. The way to love God is total commitment, whole-hearted, energetic obedience. This is why verse\u00a06 states, \u201cAnd these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.\u201d Heart is repeated twice, for emphasis, because actions without heart are merely exercise.<\/p>\n

To love God is first to really know His character. Second, it is to know His acts. The hearty work of loving God is from the depth of your being: \u201cYou shall teach [impress] them diligently\u2026and talk of them\u201d (verse\u00a07). It is a diligent and earnest pursut: \u201cYou shall bind them as a sign on your hand\u2026\u201d (verse\u00a08). It is also a daily, persevering, and continuous pursuit: \u201cYou shall write them on the doorposts\u2026and on your gates\u201d (verse\u00a09).<\/p>\n

The opposite of love is not hatred, it is actually indifference and apathy. Can you honestly characterize yourself as one who loves God with all your heart, soul, and strength? Trust and obey.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cJesus said to him, \u2018You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.\u2019 This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: \u2018You shall love your neighbor as yourself.\u2019\u201d Matthew\u00a022:37\u201339 Among the most thought-provoking words found in the Bible, these […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hanoverbaptistchurch.org\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hanoverbaptistchurch.org\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hanoverbaptistchurch.org\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hanoverbaptistchurch.org\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hanoverbaptistchurch.org\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=708"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.hanoverbaptistchurch.org\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hanoverbaptistchurch.org\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hanoverbaptistchurch.org\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hanoverbaptistchurch.org\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}