The Law of Love Part 2
© 06.22.10 By D. Eric Williams
This article appeared in the June 24 edition of the Cottonwood Chronicle
In last week's article I referenced 1 John 5:2-3, which reads, The
fact that we love God Himself, and obey His commands, is a proof that we
love God's children. Love for God means obedience to His commands; and
His commands are not irksome (Weymouth Translation). I commented on
that passage by writing, "Keeping the commandments of God is evidence of
love toward God and his children. Hence, love is primarily about how we
act. It is not enough to say we love the Lord and our neighbor, we must
show it." Yet how does obedience to God's commands prove our love for
fellow Believers?
The fact is, there are many reasons we may love others. Nonetheless,
true love toward other Christians is revealed in love of God and sincere
love toward God is always a matter of obedience. There is no other way
we can show affection to the Lord. And anyone who truly loves the Father
will love his children as well. In other words, love for God's children
must flow from a love for God in order to be genuine. Since love for God
is only unfeigned if we obey his laws any so-called love for God's
children not rooted in obedience to God is spurious.
For example, someone might say he loves the brethren, enjoys their
company, looks forward to getting together with them and is disappointed
when his schedule does not allow for regular fellowship. However, if
that same fellow refuses to obey the law of God, his declaration of love
for the brethren is just hot air. His love is really for himself - the
opposite of Christian love. Instead of thinking of others more highly
than himself he is interested in maintaining an atmosphere that allows
him to feed his own needs. This doesn't mean he never does anything for
anyone else; it means he does his acts of "service" in order to fuel his
own ego. The amazing thing is how easy it is for people to convince
themselves they are loving God and his children simply because their
circle of friends is made up of other Believers.
You see, the Bible tells us we are supposed to think of others more
highly than ourselves, but we cannot do that if we don't know how the
Bible defines it. So, to love God and obey him requires we know
how he defines obedience - all along the line. We cannot be
satisfied with a middling knowledge of the ten commandments. Instead we
need to consider all of the Bible in light of Christ's
fulfillment of the law. We must accept there is not a square inch
of this universe exempt from the authority of Jesus Christ (Matthew
28:18-20). Thus, toleration of gossip, anger without cause,
participation in leftist politics, failure to protect vulnerable members
of society - all of this shows we don't really love God because we don't
keep his commandments. Additionally, it is proof we don't love the
brethren because to love others is to obey the law and love does no
harm. In short, failure to understand and obey biblical directives
concerning any aspect of life means we do not properly love God nor his
children. For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in
one point, he is guilty of all (James 2:10 NKJV).
Christian living is impossible for the self-centered, self-satisfied
person. He may attend Sunday services, Monday morning Bible study,
mid-week prayer and participate in the special events but unless he
grows in understanding and obedience toward God's law he does not truly
love.
Since none of us can perfectly obey God's law, are we condemned for our
weakness? I will be addressing this issue in two weeks.
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