In Matthew 22 a lawyer had asked Jesus about which commandment was the greatest. His reply is found in verses 37-40. "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all you sould and with all your mind. This is the great (most important principal) and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself. These two commandments sum up and upon them depend all the Law and the Prophets." In his book, Baptized By Fire, Tom Girod says "The sum of a believer's obedience is to love God and to love his neighbor."
On one hand we have the way of obedience, which is love. To not love is disobedince, and its result will always cloud our perception. It causes darkness to set in and this eventually makes our love grow cold and our hearts harden.
Many of Jesus' teachings are contained in what we call the Sermon on the Mount. It is through our obedience to these teachings that we can live a radiant, vibrant and triumphant life. Jesus said that He came to give us "life more abundantly."
As mighty and powerful as these teachings are they aren't able to be lived by human power alone. They require the energizing power of God Himself. "The only way we will be able to successfully live out the Sermon on the Mount is by allowing the Holy Spirit to work this heavenly sermon deep within our soul and spirit through the regeneration of the heart." Paul states, "I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me." This statement shows that it is God's power working in us. Here the word 'Christ' means 'anointing.' It is the anointing of Jesus in us which enables us to successfully live as He taught.
Ben Girod has stated it this way. "This is the doctrine of Christ: 1)to keep His commandments, 2)to discern His voice, and 3)to overflow with love for God and our fellow man."
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Very good Dave. Food for thought. I have a chapter in my second book titled "In Christ.
ReplyDeleteEverything that Christ could do for us, past present, and future, He accomplished and finished on the Cross. Christ did it all for us that day as He hung on the tree at Golgotha.
Christ did not suffer all that humiliation, shame, pain, and ultimately death for a 75% victory. Nor did He die for an 80%, 90%, or even a 99% victory. Christ gave His life so that we could not only enjoy a 100% victory in our life, but produce that victory as a witness to an unbelieving world.
Christ cannot do anything more for us than He already done on the Cross. Sometimes the hardest thing about victory. . .is receiving it.
So I agree with you and Girod, ". . .overflow with love for God and our fellow man.
Good blog Dave. Keep writing man.