Just what does God require of us?
Mt 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
We tend to make the demands of God more complicated than this simple formula. (I think because it makes us feel better because the more we do, the better we feel). If we were to concentrate on these verses to do them, we could pretty much forget what the rest of the Bible has to say. The rest of the Word is there to help us in our stupidity and selfishness (which stops us from just doing these two commandments). Please note: to do the second commandment you must do it out of understanding and the doing of the first. Everything must operate out of love and not duty. Love-compels us to do, which is the opposite of how we normally act: doing-which causes us to feel loved.
Ro 4:4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
(Whoa, upon editing and rereading this I finally understood something, if you are working as this verse states, you are doing it under the understanding it is a debt, to which there is absolutely no reward-because it is a debt. So you are working to get, but the result is you get... nothing)
Instead of being first... (love) we first try to do... (work). The work of GOD changes us to be and act love. Love gives... "For God so loved..." (selah...stop and think about that shall we?)
Are you trying to get approval (love) from God (the key here is to find out that you already have it) then you must work for that approval (love). If you are trying, you are working. You are thus denying that the work that Jesus did for you as not good enough. The end of it is you have just put yourself out from under the power of grace, that Jesus provided by fulfilling all the requirements of the law, and into the bondage of the Law of doing (read Galatians). So now you must DO (WORK) ALL the law.
If you are able to do it all and have a large supply of livestock, go for it! (My recommendation is to rely on the work of Jesus and do it that way) If you must work, work on developing your love life. It will become that fountain of love that will spring up from that core of life that is in you.
If you are looking for a current day example of someone that seems to be love... check out Heidi Baker (I am sure she is not perfect, but love seems to ooze from her).
Mt 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
We tend to make the demands of God more complicated than this simple formula. (I think because it makes us feel better because the more we do, the better we feel). If we were to concentrate on these verses to do them, we could pretty much forget what the rest of the Bible has to say. The rest of the Word is there to help us in our stupidity and selfishness (which stops us from just doing these two commandments). Please note: to do the second commandment you must do it out of understanding and the doing of the first. Everything must operate out of love and not duty. Love-compels us to do, which is the opposite of how we normally act: doing-which causes us to feel loved.
Ro 4:4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
(Whoa, upon editing and rereading this I finally understood something, if you are working as this verse states, you are doing it under the understanding it is a debt, to which there is absolutely no reward-because it is a debt. So you are working to get, but the result is you get... nothing)
Instead of being first... (love) we first try to do... (work). The work of GOD changes us to be and act love. Love gives... "For God so loved..." (selah...stop and think about that shall we?)
Are you trying to get approval (love) from God (the key here is to find out that you already have it) then you must work for that approval (love). If you are trying, you are working. You are thus denying that the work that Jesus did for you as not good enough. The end of it is you have just put yourself out from under the power of grace, that Jesus provided by fulfilling all the requirements of the law, and into the bondage of the Law of doing (read Galatians). So now you must DO (WORK) ALL the law.
If you are able to do it all and have a large supply of livestock, go for it! (My recommendation is to rely on the work of Jesus and do it that way) If you must work, work on developing your love life. It will become that fountain of love that will spring up from that core of life that is in you.
If you are looking for a current day example of someone that seems to be love... check out Heidi Baker (I am sure she is not perfect, but love seems to ooze from her).
Amen!
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