We have all seen or heard about God’s Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3-17), but do we know God’s greatest commandments? The bible tells us the most important of God’s commandments as we read in Deuteronomy 6:4-5, “…The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” This same commandment is repeated to the Israelites by Moses and requires keeping all of His other commandments as stated in Deuteronomy 10:12-13, “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good?” After the death of Moses, Joshua becomes the new leader over the Israelites. Joshua repeats the same instructions that Moses provided as we read in Joshua 22:5, “Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments and to cling to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.” Samuel, one of God’s prophets, declares judgement on the Israelites for worshipping idols (false gods) of Baals and Ashtoreths instead of worshipping God. Samuel commands them to repent, turn away from idolatry, direct their hearts to God, and to serve Him alone as stated in 1 Samuel 7:3, “And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, ‘If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the LORD and serve him only, and He will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.’ ” We are to always trust in the Lord our God always by NOT trusting in our own understanding. For God’s ways are perfect and above our ways. His ways lead to life and our ways lead to death and destruction. God will direct our paths as long as we trust in Him with all of our heart and acknowledge Him along the way as stated in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
When God came to earth over 2,000 years ago in the flesh as a man, Jesus His only Son, the Pharisees questioned Jesus on what God’s greatest commandments were. Jesus explained the two greatest commandments in Matthew 22:36-40, “…You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” The gospel of Mark also tells us that these two commandments are the greatest among all of God’s commandments – Mark 12:29-31. There was a wealthy lawyer who put Jesus to the test by asking Him how to obtain eternal life. Jesus reveals first to follow God’s two greatest commandments as we read in Luke 10:25-27, “…You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus also tells us that all things will be added to us if we seek first the kingdom of God and all His righteousness – Matthew 6:33. The bible tells us that we cannot serve two masters and that we should chose whom we will serve, God or demons as stated in 1 Corinthians 10:21, “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.” God’s word also tells us that whatever we do, we must do it in the name of Jesus, our Lord, by giving thanks and honoring God in all things through Jesus – Colossians 3:17. Jesus tells us that if we love Him and keep His commandments, He will provide us with His holy spirit to live in us as we read in John 14:15-17, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” The second greatest commandment that Jesus provided for us is to love our neighbor as ourselves. If we do this Jesus says we are His disciples – John 13:34-35.
The greatest love that we have experienced is by God’s grace, a free gift, for dying for us (His creation) through His only Son Jesus for our sins and for eternal salvation as stated in Romans 5:8, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” The apostle Paul tells us that we are to abide in these three; faith, hope, and love, which love is the greatest of these – 1 Corinthians 13:13. God’s word tells us about the importance of love, how it rejoices in truth, endures all things, and that it will never end as we read in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.” For our spiritual gifts given to us by God, the bible teaches us that even though we have gifts we are nothing if we do not have love as we read in 1 Corinthians 13:1-2, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” If we do NOT have love, then we know NOT God and therefore will NOT inherit the kingdom of God as we read in 1 John 4:7-8, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
One of the most difficult commandments by Jesus is where we are called to love our enemies and pray for those that curse and abuse us. We are also supposed to turn the other cheek when our other cheek is struck. Loving others that willingly love us back does not benefit us as Jesus explains in Luke 6:27-32, “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.” Paul also gives us the same instructions as Jesus to serve one another through love as we read in Galatians 5:13-14, “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” For the works of the flesh are evil and they have no love since evil is NOT part of God’s holy spirit. Paul tells us the evil items of the flesh and compares these with the fruits of God’s holy spirit that we should always strive for these fruits as explained in Galatians 5:19-24, “…the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Since God first loved us and died for us through His Son Jesus, we can be saved with true salvation where love will live within us. This is where we are a new creation and our old sinful self has passed away. After being born again, we are to now live in the spirit by resisting all forms of evil and putting on the whole armor of God. The bible explains this in 1 John 4:16, “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” We are now ready for the second coming of Jesus (Rapture)!
Watch this inspiring video by Servants for Jesus Christ – Be Filled With The Holy Spirit.
Do you know where you will spend eternity after you die on earth? Will Jesus be your Lord and Savior or your eternal judge – John 3:15-21, Romans 2:16, 2 Timothy 4:1? Jesus says He is the narrow gate to heaven where it is difficult to find and only a few will enter by it where many will enter the easy, wide and broad gate that leads to Hell and destruction – Matthew 7:13-14. Will you experience the second eternal death (spiritual death) – Revelation 2:11, Revelation 20:6, Revelation 21:8? Do you know for sure that you are written in the eternal Lamb’s Book of Life – Revelation 3:5, Revelation 20:12-15? The place called Hell is NOT a myth and is very real and an extremely scary place – Watch this Video!
Do you need Prayer?
Inspiring video sermon by Adrian Rogers, Five Ways to Draw Closer to Jesus.
Inspiring video sermon from Dr. Charles Stanley, The Courage to Keep Going.
Inspiring video by Grace For Purpose, Seek God, Trust God and Put Him First.
Inspiring music video from DeGarmo & Key, Don’t Throw Your Love Away.
Watch this inspiring music video by Onething – My Beloved.
Inspiring music video from Petra, Love.
Inspiring music video from Newsboys, Love One Another.