Simple Faith Most Important Relationships

Simple Faith

Most Important Relationships

When Jesus was asked what is the greatest commandment He said

"The most important one

“LOVE”

Love is the most important command

Love is to be expressed with every part of our being

Our love is to be focused in two directions

Love God and Love Others

THAT IS IT!!!

You don’t need any more commands

Jesus was saying the most important command is all about RELATIONSHIPS

Most Important Relationships

Have you ever asked the question…

 “What is the most important thing?”

What does God put at the top

of the list of most important?

God thinks the most important is so

important that He made it a command.

A command repeated in both

the Old Testament and the New.

God says the most important is also the greatest.

So what does God says is the most

important and greatest command?

Jesus was asked this question by a teacher of the law.

A man who studied law.

Law that related to family, commerce, or finance.

There is religious law, dietary law, the

fact is there is a law for everything.

This teacher of the law was very well aware

of the need for laws to govern how people live.

You would think that after almost 7000

years we would not need any more laws.

Yet, governments are writing new laws every day.

To be a teacher of the law this man who

came to Jesus must have thought laws were

the answer to social order, keeping the peace,

the way to prosperity.

Listen to Jesus’ reply…

"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.   Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'  The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."  Mark 12:29-31

Matthew says it this way…

 

All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." 

Matthew 22:40

Jesus has an answer.

 Out of all the laws, Jesus says…

 "The most important one

“LOVE”

Love is the most important command.

Love is to be expressed with every part of our being.

Our love is to be focused in two directions…

Love God and Love Others.

THAT IS IT!!!

You don’t need any more commands.

All the other laws, commands, come because

we do not do the first command “LOVE”.

The study of law is overwhelming, but

God never meant it to be that way.

 God meant for our faith to be simple.

Simple faith is LOVE.

Love God and Love Others

and

Do it with all you have

You don’t need any other laws.

Maybe instead of laws to make us do right,

 we need examples of love to show us how to love.

Maybe if we read our Bibles, God’s Word

 to us as a book of how to love, we might

find the fulfillment God intends for us.

Laws have their place but not for the righteous

because the person who does right fulfills the law of Love.

But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate,…

1 Timothy 1:8-9 NKJV

If we are to keep the first and greatest

commandment we must remember God is Love.

The Spirit of God must live within us.

 Galatians 5 tells us how the Spirit of God

will manifest the Fruit of Love…

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

Galatians 5:18

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law

Galatians 5:22-23

Simple faith is LOVE

Love God and Love Others

and

Do it with all you have

The teacher of the law said to Jesus,

 “you have answered well”.

Jesus said to the teacher of the law…

"You are not far from the kingdom of God."

Mark 12:34

Jesus’ answer tells us that the most

important thing is RELATIONSHIPS.

There is nothing greater than demonstrating

love in your relationship with God and others.

Scripture Reading

Mark 12:28-34 NIV

28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"

29 "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.   30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'   31 The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." 

32 "Well said, teacher," the man replied. "You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."

34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.

1 Timothy 1:8-11 NKJV

8 But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, 9 knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10 for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.