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Home , Great Commandment

Mark E. Larson

“The First and Great Commandment”

Introduction: The Foundation for Genuine . A. Many people, put off by hypocrisy and the of men in religion, have longed for genuine Christianity. 1. Too often, traditions of men have replaced genuine for God as the motivation for service to God (Mat. 15:1-9). 2. As a result, there are many superficial, hypocritical churches that do not represent true Christianity. B. Genuine Christianity will only be found in people who truly love with all their heart, mind, and soul! (Mat. 22:34-40; cf. Deut. 6:5). “ ” 1. This strong love for the Lord is the first and great commandment - the first and foremost requirement, essential to genuine Christianity. 2. Love for God is not a mere feeling or emotion that we wait for to swell inside our hearts. Loving God is a commandment we choose to obey. I. Total and Complete Love for God. A. With all your heart, soul, mind, and strength (:27). 1. Love for God requires total devotion with every fiber of our being. a. To love God with all the heart, central to what a person stands for, is to love God with all your intellect, affection, emotion, and will. b. To love God with all your soul or life, is to love God with the whole person and personality, your entire life is dedicated to God. c. To love God with all your strength is to love God with all your power or might; all energy and strength is used in service to God. d. To love God with all your mind (closely associated w/ the heart) is to love God by the thoughts we think as shaped by His word. 2. This implies that God will not be treated as second best to anything or anyone (Mat. 6:24) (We love God with all our heart, not our neighbor). “self.” B. Our love for God is to exceed our love for all others including 1. Your love for God is to be greater than your love for family (Mt 10:37). ’s 2. Your love for God approval is to surpass your love for the approval of all others (e.g. friends, community, government) (John 12:42-43). 3. Your love for God most certainly is to be much greater than the love you have for yourself (:26). II. How is it Possible to Love God This Much? “ ” A. Circumcision of the heart (forgiveness of sins) must first take place. “Circumcision of the heart” 1. is necessary so we are able to love the Lord God with all the heart and all the soul (Deut. 30:6). “Circumcision of the heart” 2. is the cutting away of sin, the removal of sin from the heart which implies the forgiveness of sins as given in . 3. Physical circumcision was a sign that one belonged to the Old Covenant “ ” (Gen. 17:11; Lev. 12:3); Circumcision of the heart is the sign that one belongs to Christ (Rom. 2:29). 4. Circumcision of the heart takes place when a person is baptized into Christ, a circumcision made without hands by Christ (Col. 2:11-13).

1 Mark E. Larson

5. Christ circumcises our hearts or takes away the sin, creating within us a new and clean heart to love and obey God (cf. Ezek. 36:26-27). ’s love B. God , demonstrated by His grace in Christ, enables us to love Him with all our hearts! (Eph. 2:4-5; cf. Titus 3:4-7). 1. The reason we can love the Lord God with all our heart, soul, strength, “because He first loved us” and mind is (1 John 4:19). 2. God demonstrated His love for us by giving up His Son as a sacrifice for our sins upon the cross (1 John 4:9-11; Rom. 5:8; John 3:16). 3. To obey the command to love the Lord God with all our heart, soul, and ’s love for us. mind can only be achieved as we come to understand God 4. Daily meditation upon the love of God (Christ) will enable us to love Him in return and compel us to live the life of a Christian (2 Cor 5:14-15). III. Why Loving God is the First and Great Commandment. A. Our love for God is the foundation to everything we do as Christians. 1. Loving God is the first and great commandment (Mat. 22:38) because everything else we do depends on it. 2. To love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself is in “all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices” fact more important than (:33-34; cf. :42). a. Worship according to the letter of the law without love is worthless and profits us nothing (cf. 1 Cor. 13:1-3). b. No amount of good works or sacrificial giving compensates for a failure to love God with all your heart. 3. Obedience is to flow from our love for God (Deut 11:1; John 14:15, 21, 24; 1 John 5:3). B. Loving God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind changes everything! 1. Love for God is the most powerful motivation there is for obeying God! (Deut. 10:12; 11:13, 22; 30:16, 20; Josh. 22:5). 2. Your love for God will cause you: “pray without ceasing” ( a. To 1 Thes. 5:17). “study to show thyself approved unto God” ( b. To 2 Tim. 2:15). “worship Him in spirit and in truth” ( c. To John 4:24). d. To not forsake the assembly of the (Heb. 10:25). e. To love your brother (1 John 4:21) and love your neighbor as yourself (Mat. 22:39) including your enemies (Mat. 5:44). f. To love your husband (Titus 2:4) or wife (Eph. 5:23) and your children (Titus 2:4; Eph. 6:4) as yourself. “Hate evil, you who love the Lord…” g. Not to sin: (Ps. 97:10a). “labor of love” toward His name ( f. To do good works, Heb 6:10).

Conclusion: that saves is faith that works through love (Gal. 5:6). To be saved, let us obey the first and great commandment.

“ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and ” with all your mind.

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