Posted on 04/05/2008 6:04:21 AM PDT by DouglasKC
How do we know we genuinely love God? That probably seems like an odd question to most of us. Of course, we love God, and we just know that we love Him.
But is that good enough? Is it enough to just know and feel that we love God? Is anything else involved?
Actually, the Bible-God's inspired Word-is clear about how we show love to God. It is specific about what we are to do to demonstrate that love.
God created people to have a loving relationship with Him. God reveals Himself to us as our heavenly Father and calls us His sons and daughters, His very children. God desires a family relationship with us, with His showing love to us and our showing love to Him.
God is in the process of "bringing many sons to glory" so that He and mankind can ultimately be "of the same family" (Hebrews 2:10, 11, New International Version).
Most people view this close, loving God-mankind relationship as an exclusively New Testament concept and think of the Old Testament as strictly a relationship of law and enforced obedience. But is this view accurate? Are love and obedience really two mutually exclusive concepts, as many seem to think?
To answer these questions we need to ask ourselves what kind of relationship has God always wanted with mankind.
A lawyer asked Jesus Christ a vital question: "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"
Christ said to him, "What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?"
The lawyer quoted from the Ten Commandments: "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.'"
Jesus replied to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live" (Luke 10:25-28).
As we just read, the man asked Jesus Christ, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" Eternal life was the issue. The man quoted two Old Testament scriptures, found in Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. Christ's response may be surprising to some: He assured the man that he had given the correct answer and added, "Do this and you will live."
So, to gain eternal life, it is clear that we must love God. But what does that mean? Is love just a warm, nice feeling toward God, or is there more to it?
Love can be a noun or a verb. I like to think of love as a verb, because love as an action word implies that something is happening, something is being done.
Love (the noun) requires that someone love (the verb). For example, if we love someone, we demonstrate our love by spending time with our loved one. We do things with and for that person. We visit him or her, go places together, talk to each other. We may make or buy gifts to demonstrate that we love and value that person. We show our love by our actions.
Since love requires action, by what action does God want us to demonstrate our love for Him? What does the Bible say about this? Some believe that in the Old Testament God focused only on obedience and law, but in the New Testament we are "under grace" and have only to "love God" in some vague way, supposing that obedience and love are mutually exclusive concepts. But can this be true?
In both Exodus 20:2 and Deuteronomy 5:6, God prefaces the Ten Commandments with a statement that demonstrates grace: "I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage," He said.
God focuses us on His loving act of undeserved mercy, deliverance, favor and pardon in His freeing the Israelites from slavery and establishing them as a new nation. He extended grace to them, doing something wonderful for them that they did not deserve.
In verses 9 and 10 of Deuteronomy 5, God says, "I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God . . . showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments" (emphasis added throughout). Here we see another example of grace, with God promising "mercy to thousands." We see that grace is built into the Ten Commandments.
These passages begin a thread that is woven throughout the Bible. The Scriptures show repeatedly that loving God and keeping His commandments are inextricably connected; one describes the other. God says that we show love for Him by obedience, by keeping His commandments.
Let's notice some of the many examples that show the connection between love and commandment-keeping. In Deuteronomy 6:5, 6, God says, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today [referring to the Ten Commandments, given in the previous chapter] shall be in your heart."
This is the verse the lawyer quoted to Christ that we referred to earlier. It says we love God with all our heart, soul and might by keeping "these words, which I command you." Those specific words were God's Ten Commandments. These words from the Bible clearly define loving God as obeying His commandments.
Deuteronomy 10:12, 13 summarizes the response God expects from Israel and all mankind. ". . . What does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good?"
This tells us clearly that we love God and serve Him by keeping His commandments, which He gave us for our benefit.
Deuteronomy 11:1 says, "Therefore you shall love the LORD your God, and keep His charge, His statutes, His judgments, and His commandments always." We love God by keeping His charge, His statutes, His judgments and His commandments.
The theme of loving God by keeping His commandments continues in verses 13 and 22. God says we are to "earnestly obey My commandments which I command you today, to love the LORD your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul." We love Him when we "carefully keep all these commandments which I command you to do-to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, and to hold fast to Him . . ."
Deuteronomy 13:1-4 warns us about false prophets. Even if they can predict something that comes to pass, if they say we can disobey God and ignore His law, then God's people are to pay no attention to them. God says He proves and tests us "to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul" (verse 3).
How do we prove to God that we love Him? Continuing in the very next verse: "You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice, and you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him" (verse 4).
Deuteronomy 30:6, 8 continues this theme of showing love by obedience to the commandments: "And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart [a prophecy of the coming of the Holy Spirit] and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul . . . And you will again obey the voice of the LORD and do all His commandments which I command you today."
Circumcising the heart (conversion of the mind as described in Romans 2:29), loving God and returning to God are evinced by keeping His commandments.
God says He will "rejoice over you . . . if you obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul . . ." (Deuteronomy 30:9, 10). "Turn[ing] to the LORD" is shown by keeping His commandments.
". . . I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the LORD your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess" (verse 16). God tells us we are to love Him by keeping His commandments, and God promises blessings for our obedience.
The theme continues in the book of Joshua, where God tells His people to "take careful heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul" (Joshua 22:5).
Any healthy relationship of love is a two-way street, with love flowing both ways. In 1 John 4:19 we find why we should love God: "We love Him because He first loved us." John had earlier explained what he meant by God's earlier love for us: "In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another" (1 John 4:9-11).
Romans 5:8 gives other examples of ways God has proved His deep love for us: "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Jesus Christ made the ultimate sacrifice to prove God's love for us, long before we were capable of returning that love in any way.
The familiar passage in John 3:16 tells us: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
But belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God means much more than just academic agreement. Belief (Greek pisteuo) means acting on knowledge: living one's life by faith, unswerving devotion and total obedience in the light of that knowledge.
Jeremiah 31:3 talks of God's deep love for mankind: "The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: 'Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.'" God has always had as His plan for human beings a loving relationship within His family. He describes it in eternal terms as "an everlasting love."
Verse 33 says that, in this loving family relationship, "I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people." His law is permanently planted in our hearts and minds to show us how to love Him as well as how to love each other.
We see this same theme of loving God and keeping His words continuing in the New Testament. John 14:21, 23 makes this clear: "He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me . . . If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word . . ."
The New Testament defines love for God the same way as does the Old: "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome" (1 John 5:3). God's law is not heavy, oppressive and burdensome. As we read earlier, it was given for the benefit of humankind.
God tells us repeatedly and clearly that we demonstrate our love for Him by keeping His commandments, and that has been His intent from the beginning. The commandments John discussed were not "new," but were "the word which you heard from the beginning" (1 John 2:7). God's law has been a law of love from the very beginning-from the creation (1 John 3:11).
Many other scriptures make it clear that keeping God's commandments is not something we can do by ourselves. As we repent and yield to Jesus Christ, God's Spirit enables us to allow Jesus Christ to live in us (Galatians 2:20), giving us the desire and capacity to love God and our neighbor.
In Luke 10:25-30, quoted earlier, a man asked Christ what he should do to gain eternal life. Jesus told him the correct answer is "love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind."
Love requires action, not just feelings. How do we know we love God? The consistent, clear, biblical answer is that we love God by keeping His commandments. GN
Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” And His primary commandments were: Love God with all your heart, soul and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.
Amen. All the law and prophets hang on these two commandments:
Love
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Love God----------------- -----------Love Neighbor
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Commandments 1-5 Commandments 5-10
I like how it is put in the Gospel of John, chapter 21 when the Lord is forgiving Peter. Jesus asks him, “Lovest thou me, Peter?” And the Greek word for love used is “agape,” or self-less, unconditional love. Peter’s response was, “Yes, Lord. I love you.” The Greek word used is “philios” or brotherly love.
God knows my expressions of love to him often fall flat and meaningless in light of my every day living. It’s weird, but what comes to mind right now is that sham of an opera Jesus Christ, Superstar and the song, “I Don’t Know How to Love Him.” The kicker is that He knows all this about me (and more) and continues to love me! Well, that just makes me want to surrender (or try to) just a little bit more every day. 1John is a wonderful piece of scripture for thinking of this, written by the man who referred to himself as “the disciple whom the Lord loved.”
I suspect that everyone comes up short when it comes to loving him. And I agree that it is remarkable that he continues to love us in spite of our shortcomings.
Bump for chuck...
If love of God is shown by keeping His commandments would not the reverse be true then? Those not keeping His commandments would be showing that they do not love God? No matter what they claim or call themselves?
Sadly I must paraphrase, but Saint Francis of Assisi exhorted us to spread the Gospel, when necessary, use words. The example of living one’s Faith speaks more of our Faith, then mere Words.
The concreteness of living our faith touches people much more deeply than what we say.
Words are easy.
This reminds me of one of my favorite scenes in "Brother Sun, Sister Moon."
Bernardo has returned from the Crusades and has sought St. Francis, newly converted, in the little chapel of St. Damian which Francis is rebuilding.
Bernardo walks into the building, in the snow, and sees Francis rebuilding the church, one brick at a time, barefoot.
Bernardo walks up to Francis and asks what he can do to help.
Francis pauses, looks across the snowy landscape, and responds,"Words, Bernardo. There was a time that I believed in words."
Bernardo then gives away all he owns and follows Francis.
Fifth command is in both columns?
/c:
There may barely be something to that, if it is understood that words are ALWAYS necessary.
That is, if we’re speaking of the Gospel of God (John 5:24; Romans 10:17).
Oh, we are certainly called to use words, but as the first poster pointed out, Actions do speak louder than words. While we are relaying the Message of God in the Gospel, if we aren’t true ourselves to what we preach, it negatively impacts our message. Perfect example of this are certain Catholic Bishops, some prominent Televangelists, etc. Our Actions do say a great deal.
Excepting that I don’t think there are any Roman Catholic bishops effectively pointing to the gospel of Christ, I think your statement is absolutely correct.
My concern is just that I don’t want anyone going to Hell, admiring me for my fine life (?!), never knowing why I live as I do because I’ve smugly decided not to tell them the saving Gospel of Christ.
Actually my statement about some Catholic Bishops and Televangelists was that they are bad ministers of the Word and for Christianity because their lives do not conform. But the principle of the statements remains, Words are necessary, but Actions speak so loudly.
Your concern is well taken and justified. Witness (Actions) and Evangelization (Words) are necessary, but it is important to know that we do not cause the conversion, we are instruments. In light of that, our Actions may be all He desires, and it is His will that someone else proclaim the Word.
Yep. It isn’t an either/or... or Christians’ aim should not be at either or or... er, if that’s clear enough.
Do right and good. Not wrong and evil.
Well there is no "if" on the first part.
1Jn 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
The larger part of the equation though is that the sacrifice of Christ and the indwelling of the holy spirit is the only thing that allows "us" to keep his commandments. And even then, it's not "us" doing it, but it's letting the spirit of Christ live in and through us, subsuming our will to his.
Therefore those who do not have God's spirit are in this category:
1Jn 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
1Jn 4:2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
1Jn 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
I agree. Actions speak louder than words.
I agree. We submit and obey when we love and trust. If we're submitting and obeying out of, for example, fear, then that's not really obedience. It's like obeying a law only because you don't want to get caught when secretly you would love to break the law.
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