The Pharisees prided themselves on meticulous observance of the Law. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40 NIV). Jesus replied, ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. One of the Pharisees tested Jesus with a question, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” (Matthew 22:36 NIV).
#Free banner if you love me keep my commandments how to
If I had known it, I could have received decisive guidance from a passage in Matthew where Jesus indicates how to serve God.
I decided that I had to follow Christ and have personal communion with him, without having a simple formula. But then another Christian brother had to take me aside and gently point out to me that I was hurting other people by not showing consideration for them. Feeling myself free because of God’s love, I decided to do what I wanted, regardless of what anyone thought. How could I have forgotten such a basic truth?! God’s grace to me did not depend on my scrupulosity, but on his forgiveness and on the fact that he accepted me through Jesus Christ. I came to my senses only when a fellow Christian reminded me of God’s love. People must have wondered whether there was a real person behind the appearance. But I became stiff and artificial in my obedience. For awhile I devoted myself fanatically to obeying commandments. One month, while I was in college, I struggled with what it meant to obey God and follow him. But how difficult it proves to obey them, when our hearts have gone astray! Struggles and Questions How valuable to have God lay out His instructions in a space of only 17 verses. The Ten Commandments represent God’s own summary of our duties toward Him.
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