Is the Law of Love all we need?
In the words of the Beatles: "All We Need is Love." But how is LOVE defined? In the past, I've heard dozens and dozens of sermons telling me that I don't need to pay attention to the 10 Commandments...that they have been replaced by the one new commandment given by Jesus, "Love one another." I've been told that the God of the OT was vengeful, strict, punishing—but that the NT shows his softer (feminine??) side. However, within all 39 books of the OT we see God as kind, merciful, full of lovingkindness to both the just and the unjust. We see his wrath and anger levied against SIN. Throughout the OT pages we see the unfolding of his plan to send his Son who would drink the cup of his wrath against all sin for all time. This same God is the one who carved the Decalogue in stone as the explanation of how to walk in love.
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
My conviction is that a better understanding of the Decalogue will help us understand what it really means to carry out the law of love. Seeing the 10 Commandments as the guidance for loving God and loving neighbor—might it be possible to bring law and order back to ourselves, our churches, and our land?
So, Church...that's the challenge...but how do we flesh it out? Let's consider the meaning of each of the commandments. Next up: The First Commandment
In the words of the Beatles: "All We Need is Love." But how is LOVE defined? In the past, I've heard dozens and dozens of sermons telling me that I don't need to pay attention to the 10 Commandments...that they have been replaced by the one new commandment given by Jesus, "Love one another." I've been told that the God of the OT was vengeful, strict, punishing—but that the NT shows his softer (feminine??) side. However, within all 39 books of the OT we see God as kind, merciful, full of lovingkindness to both the just and the unjust. We see his wrath and anger levied against SIN. Throughout the OT pages we see the unfolding of his plan to send his Son who would drink the cup of his wrath against all sin for all time. This same God is the one who carved the Decalogue in stone as the explanation of how to walk in love.
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
My conviction is that a better understanding of the Decalogue will help us understand what it really means to carry out the law of love. Seeing the 10 Commandments as the guidance for loving God and loving neighbor—might it be possible to bring law and order back to ourselves, our churches, and our land?
So, Church...that's the challenge...but how do we flesh it out? Let's consider the meaning of each of the commandments. Next up: The First Commandment
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