Love God, Love Others

Mt. 22:36-40

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 22

36 “Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?”

37 He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind., 38 This is the greatest and most important command. 39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself., 40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”

It was on a cold winter morning at a little small town Southern Baptist Church on a Sunday morning. Two women who identified themselves as a couple, were new in town. On this Sunday morning, they made their way across the parking lot to the front door where the pastor was greeting members and visitors alike. Now these two ladies were not Christians, however, after a long theological discussion wit a co-worker, they decided to see what this “Jesus thing” was all about. As they started to approach the door, the pastor saw them and his face went from a gentle smile to rigid disdain. As the women continued, the pastor held out his hand, but it was not to shake theirs, it was to stop them. their introduction to the body of Christ was rejection and instead of feeling welcomed and the love of god, they were shamed and publically embarrassed as they heard the words “You're not welcome here.” With a feeling of embarrassment, the women said nothing. Simply returned to their car and drove away.

You could replace these women in this scenario with someone from another country, the town drunk, the homeless guy down on main, or any other person the church has historically demonized, and the end result would be the same. A non-believer will not hear the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ because of a lack of love. That is not what we were called to do people.

What if you asked 100 non-believers “what are Christians against?” What do you think they would say?

Lying

Cheating

Stealing

Homosexuality

Foul language

And the list goes on. The world ought to know! Christians have been beating it into their communities for about a couple thousand years now! BUT…what if you asked them what we stand for? What we are all about? Do you think the list would come as quickly? Would it be as extensive? I don’t think so either…And there is a big problem with that.

You see, Christians have been using the word of God to tear people down, freely judge and pick apart other peoples lives for more years than I can count. Picking out this verse or that one that applies to that particular sin or situation without taking the context of the passage. If this is you, you are missing the point.

What if Jesus encountered those gay neighbors? What if he saw that town drunk passed out at the Allsups? What if he encountered someone who looked just like those people who crashed some planes into the towers in 01? Would he greet them with hate? Contempt? Resentment? Disgust? I don’t think so.

Matthew 9:9-12

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 9

9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, “Follow me,” and he got up and followed him.

10 While he was reclining at the table in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came to eat with Jesus and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

12 Now when he heard this, he said, “It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice., For I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Now, back to that list of what we stand for…if LOVE is not the first thing that people think of when they think of Christians, then we are ALL doing it wrong! Don’t you agree? We have failed! The good news is that we are redeemed and forgiven for that but don’t you think we should be trying a little harder to be more like Christ?

John 13:34-35

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 13

34 “I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Let me ask you this…how have you shown the LOVE of Christ this week? How have you withheld it?

So what IS this thing love? What does it look like? What does the Bible say about it? Quite a bit actually and were going to barely scratch the surface this morning… but first an ELAR lesson.

The word love has a lot of meanings doesn’t it?

I love good BBQ

I love the new GMC AT4 with the Duramax

I love hunting, fishing, and camping

I love my Wife.

Y’all this list ain’t in any particular order of importance…she is sitting right there.

You get the point. These are all different types of love were talking about here, so what did Jesus mean when he said what he did in Matthew 22? Luckily, I am a word nerd and love looking up Greek and Hebrew original languages.

The word “LOVE” is so complex, the Greek language breaks it up and assigns four different words for what we use one for. C.S. Lewis wrote an entire book on this topic you may be familiar with titled “The Four Loves”

The first love I will mention is Storge

This is familial love. Natural, most instinctive love

Kids, family, parents, etc.

This is not the kind of love Jesus was talking about

The second love is Filia or Fileo

This is Brotherly/Sisterly love

Not family, but feel as if they are

Also not romantic

Also not what Jesus was talking about.

The third love is Eros

This is romantic love

Between a husband and wife

Being “in love”

This is also not what Jesus meant

The fourth type is Agape

This is Charity

Selfless

Sacrificial

Unconditional

God’s love for us

How we should love God and others

THIS is the LOVE Jesus was referring to

The command is clear in Matthew 22:36-40

Love God, Love your neighbor

I’ve read this passage in many different translations. CSB, KJV, NKJV, NASB, NIV, NLT, NRSV, but there must be one I am missing that a lot of Christians are reading because I can’t find anywhere where it says

Love your straight neighbor, or republican neighbor, or the ones with the same skin color or socioeconomic status. All of my bibles just say neighbor. so that is what I’m sticking with.

I’m not suggesting you ‘support’ sin and wicked living. That is not what I am saying. You can love the sinner and still hate the sin.

I hate cancer. My dad died of cancer and I hate it. Hate the word or even the thought of cancer. But I loved my dad dearly with all of my heart. Do you see what I am getting at?

Difference is there is a cure for sin, we just need to get them to the doctor.

Another thing that catches my eye when I study this passage is the order the great commands are given.

Love God, Love others

We are only capable of loving others, if we first love God

So check this out… The love of others is PROOF that we love God and that he abides IN us!

This is how we get the sick to the doctor. They need to see Christ IN us!

Another thing that stands out to me is Galatians 5. The fruit of the spirit. That’s a whole series on its own but if you have studied it, the order Paul lists the fruit is not irrelevant. You cannot have one without the one preceeding it. Love is listed FIRST!

When I opened up, I told you a story about a couple of women who were walking in the world and did not know Christ. What would it have looked like if love was whet they saw? Love the way Jesus showed and commanded us to show it?

What was the worst that could happen if they heard the Gospel? What was the best that could happen?

What now, is the worst that could happen now that they did NOT see the love of Christ as they walked up to that Church?

How would Jesus have handled that situation?

How can YOU show someone the love of God this week?

Closing prayer