Happy New Year

Church! Today marks the first Sunday, the first public gathering, of our church life in 2021. Before moving forward, I would like to think backward and commend you for your walk of faith in 2020.

Saying 2020 was a hard year would be a gross understatement. The trials within it were severe, in that many seemed to converge into one. And the pain of the year was both universal and unique. Universal, in that the entire planet went through (and continues to go through) many of the hardships thrust upon us at the outset of last year. And unique, in that the livelihoods lost, loved ones who died, and sorrows endured, were are experienced by individual people in individual ways.

And, as we embark on this new year, I want to celebrate God's faithfulness in seeing us through the last year. It was one of the most challenging years of my pastoral ministry, but you, as a congregation, helped me endure. Thank you.

Now, as we pivot into 2021, we aren't as certain about what the future holds as we might have been in January last year. We have all learned to expect the unexpected. We have come to agree with James:

"You do not know what tomorrow will bring..." (James 4:14)

But even though we don't know what tomorrow will bring, we can know what the priority of life must be. We cannot see into the future, but we can be certain about the most important thing in life, and our passage today reminds us precisely what it is.

Context

As a reminder, we are in the final week of Jesus' life before the cross. He has challenged the religious leaders in the temple area, and now they have challenged him in return. They are trying to build a case against him.

And it's not going very well for the religious leaders. The Pharisees and Herodians failed in their attempt to pit him against Rome or the populace. And the Sadducees failed to get him to say the future resurrection is a silly doctrine. Each group was rebuffed by Jesus' wise words.

28 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”

Sincere Scribe

Scribes were legal students of the Old Testament Scriptures. So this man was an inspector of the Bible. As he listened to Jesus adeptly handle theological challengers, he concluded that he answered them well (28).

And Jesus' wise answers pushed the man to ask a question: "Which commandment is the most important of all? (28)

Before reading Jesus' answer, we must ask if this scribe was sincere in his question. A reading of Matthew's account of this episode makes him seem hostile to Jesus, but Mark portrays the man as an honest inquirer. He thought Jesus answered the others well (28). After Jesus answered, he agreed with Jesus (32). And Jesus considered his reply a wise one (34). Finally, Jesus said of him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God" (34). All this indicates that the scribe's question was less combative than the questions of the Pharisees, Herodians, and Sadducees.

As an aside, this is instructive for how we conduct debate and dialogue about the faith. As this man watched Jesus respond to his opposers, he was moved. I doubt Jesus moved any of his challengers -- they seem entrenched in their positions -- but this onlooking scribe was moved. And today, when speaking about Christianity publicly, we must remember the onlooker. Online (not ideal) or in-person (better), people are listening. Sometimes they are persuaded.

Their Constant Discussion

The question the scribe asked was not a new one. Adherents of Judaism had been asking the same question for years. They had concluded there were 613 commandments in the Old Testament -- 248 positive (do this) and 365 negative (don't do this).

Naturally, with so many commands, they wondered if they could condense them into pithier statements that encapsulated many laws into one. And they wondered which one was the most important of all (28). Was there a superior commandment? This scribe wanted to know. He'd been wondering. And now, with the wise teacher called Jesus in front of him, he thought he might find the answer.

29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall 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 Most Important Commandment

Notice first how Jesus told the man there was a "most important" commandment (29). There is one commandment above all the rest. If someone does not obey this first commandment, they cannot obey the others. This commandment is upstream -- all the others are downstream.

Starts With Who God Is

And this all-important command starts with God. This is why Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy 6 when he said "'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one'" (29). It's a passage that affirms the unity of God. It also confirms the covenantal nature of God -- that he made an example of Israel as his called and chosen people. The cross and justification by faith open God up to every tribe, nation, and tongue, but Israel's understanding of God was meant to show the world who God is.

This brings us to a conclusion: whatever the greatest commandment is -- we'll get to it in a moment, but spoiler alert, it's loving God -- you cannot engage in it without a belief in and relationship with God. God is required. The greatest moral good begins with a right relationship with and deep love for God.

This is important in our day. Over the centuries, the western world has hijacked the values only Christianity could offer and adopted a version of these values without a belief in God. It is not uncommon to hear the naturalist wonder what good Christians can do that they cannot. And mankind, made in God's image, is capable of good. Christians set the trend of caring for the sick, studying the natural universe, helping the poor, and feeding the hungry. But the natural man can do also do these things.

But the believer can love God. And this is the highest moral good. By loving God first, our love for humanity is improved. Without a love of God, our love for humanity will eventually and certainly skew in awkward and unwise directions. But the love of God keeps us true. It all starts with God.

God's Greatest Commandment: Love Him

So Jesus said the greatest commandment begins with the God of Scripture -- and that we should "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength" (30).

I'm willing to bet this saying of Jesus is familiar to many of you today. You've heard it time and time again -- love God, love neighbor, this is the sum of the law.

But, pause today and think about it -- this is a commandment. The greatest commandment God imposes on us is to love him with everything we have and everything we are. We are commanded to love.

If anyone else laid down this mandate, it would be awkward. A husband cannot command a wife to love him. A parent cannot command a child to love them. And the surest way to lose all your friends is to command them to love you.

But the greatest commandment God gives is to love him. Because this is God we're talking about, it isn't narcissism, but love, that drives him to command this of us.

You see, God is worthy of our love. He is the great Creator and initiator of salvation. He laid it all down to save us, so he is worthy of our love.

But loving God isn't just about his worthiness, but our holiness. A love for God will keep you out of all kinds of trouble. When the love of God is the filter you use to make every decision in life, you become more sanctified. When love for God helps you decide who to date, what to consume, or how to work, your life becomes holier.

And from holiness springs health -- the best version of life imaginable. I'm not suggesting we should love God as a thin veil for self-love. I'm suggesting that God knows if we love him more than ourselves or anyone else, we will end up in a healthy spot. So his command to love flows from his love for us.

I hold out my own children as an example. I want them to love God -- and they all do. But I know a firm love of God will protect them from terrible decisions and great pain in life. I know that loving God above everyone and everything else will get them through some of the greatest pains and tragedies of life.

When Christina and I were dating, this was my singular question (and hers as well). We wanted to know: does this person love Jesus more than me? It has been a love for Christ that has enabled us to serve and love each other well over the years. Love for God must come above all other loves. If he isn't first, then life is inevitably ordered incorrectly. If he isn't first, the foundation is off, and the house of your life will eventually crumble.

The Greatest Sin: Lack Of Love For God

This first commandment helps us understand the greatest of all sins. I know we often say all sin is the same. And, yes, if we are talking about falling short of God's glorious perfection, all sin is the same (Romans 3:23). But one sin breeds thousands of others, and it's a lack of love for God. The greatest commandment is to love him. And it is deadly not to love him.

Remember when the rebellion stole the plans for the first Death Star? It had a fatal flaw built into its core. With one direct hit from Luke Skywalker's X-Wing, a chain reaction was set off that destroyed the Death Star from within.

Well -- and I am about to compare you to the Death Star -- but the enemy is trying to blast away at your love for God. Without the fear of the Lord, we will commit all kinds of egregious sins. But the love of God preserves us from a chain reaction of errors.

Love Redefined

Up to this point, we haven't defined love. Our society is obsessed with it but is misled about it. Love is not only a feeling. Love does not permit anything. Love is not sex. Love does not justify disobedience to God.

Love is the dedication and commitment with everything you are to God. It is a decision. It is a practice. It is a walk. It is a constant war.

Are the emotions involved? Absolutely. When the gospel saturates your heart and mind, you become overwhelmed with who God is and what he's done. Love issues forth. But it must become a constant direction and impulse and drive within you. Everything you are should point in the direction of loving God.

Jesus illustrated this by telling us we must love God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength (30). Everything we are. Our wills, our emotions, our intellects, and our bodies can spend themselves on loving God.

What is in your heart? What is your main motivation for life? Loving God can be your main motivation.

What is in your soul? Where do you go for emotional fulfillment? Loving God can satisfy your soul.

How do you use your mind? What do you study, read, memorize, and watch? Love God by studying him in his word.

How do you use your energy? What makes you tired in life? Your work and service to others can be done with the aim of loving God.

Christianity Is Not A Bunch Of Rules

All this helps us understand Christianity is not a bunch of rules. Some people come to this conclusion, but I think it's because they never understood the gospel. When you see all God has done for you, it makes you zealous for good works (Titus 2:11-14). With his love unleashed on your soul, you cannot help but respond in love to him.

Yes, all of the Christian life is a response to the love of God.

“We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19, ESV)

Considerations

Before looking at the secondary and offshoot command to love our neighbor as ourselves, I want you to consider how a love for God can be a driving force for your whole life. Over the centuries, many Christians got it wrong by thinking love for God required a hermitic lifestyle. Surely, many have thought, if we want to love God, we have to leave it all and join a monastery.

Certainly, when you love God with all that you are, things can and will change. He might even ask you to break the mold of your life and head in a radical new direction. Generally, however, this is not the way.

Instead, God infiltrates your everyday life. Through loving God, every relationship and endeavor comes alive. Soon, your career becomes a way for you to love God. Every interaction with coworkers is an outlet for your devotion to him. Marriages yield to his leadership. Families become healthy. Friendships gain depth. Churches become fruitful. The love of God invades all.

I've told you this before, but I keep my phone in grayscale. This means the screen has no color. I think it cuts distraction down a little bit, plus black is my favorite color. But I can toggle it back to color mode when needed.

The other day, I was listening to one of my favorite albums, and my phone happened to be in color mode. I could not believe the vibrancy of the album cover on my screen. Apparently, I had only ever seen it in grayscale, but in full-color mode, it came alive.

This is what the love of God does to life. Everything is now in color. A commute becomes a chance to listen to his word taught. A walk becomes a chance to pray. A work shift becomes a chance to demonstrate the work ethic of Christ. A friendship becomes a way to see God's image in another. It all comes alive because of a love for God.

But let's conclude by looking at the second half of Jesus' answer.

31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Leviticus?

This might come as a shock to you, but Jesus quoted Leviticus here (Leviticus 19:18). So much for the Old Testament being a harsh and vindictive book. The truth is that the morality found from Genesis to Malachi is refreshing and good and God-centered.

By Extension: Love Others

But Jesus used the Leviticus passage to help us see where a love for God will lead -- to the love of neighbor.

There is a myth we often believe: that we can love God but dislike people. Nope. The love of God will lead to a love for people made in God's image. And loving others is a way for us to love God. He loves it. And we must extend ourselves to others.

As John said:

“And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.” (1 John 4:21, ESV)

You cannot love the invisible God without loving visible people. A person who refuses to love others clearly hasn't interacted with God.

As John Stott said:

A Christianity which would use the vertical preoccupation as a means to escape from its responsibility for and in the common life of man is a denial of the incarnation, of God's love for the world manifested in Christ. -- John Stott, Christian Mission in the Modern World, loc. 220. Kindle Edition

Who Is My Neighbor?

A natural question would be, "who is my neighbor?" I will answer this in two ways.

Do you recall Jesus' story of the Good Samaritan? He found a beaten and bullied man bleeding on the roadway. Others had passed by the man, but the Samaritan cared for his needs. Jesus said the Samaritan treated the man as his neighbor (Luke 10:25-37).

This story helps us see that our neighbor is further than we think. The Samaritan had his own community and people, but he extended himself beyond his group to care for an obvious need.

But the story also helps us see that our neighbor is closer than we think. The Samaritan found a man in his path and helped him. He didn't have to go out of his way, but on his way, an opportunity arose.

So we must love those far off. The gospel commands it. The promise is for us and our children and all who are far off (Acts 2:39).

But we must also love those in our path. It is easy to say we love the whole world, but if we start thinking about the first 100 people we know, do we love them? It gets a little harder the closer to home we get.

Love God More Than People

Before we move on, I must point out the mistake of getting Jesus' commands backward. Some think the first commandment is loving people, but this can lead to tragic consequences.

For instance, without a love for God, we'll lack the mental and emotional fortitude required to confront the world with the gospel. Without a love for God, we will begin approving harmful that which harms people made in God's image. Without a love for God, we won't speak God's truth.

Jesus isn't telling us to approve of everything, confront nothing, and preach to no one. He isn't telling us to figure out self-love, then love others, before finally loving God. He's telling us we must love God before anyone, including ourselves. And he knows that love will produce the healthiest kind of love for others.

Again, this is where our society often gets it wrong. Many are trying to love humanity without a love for God. We are made in God's image, after all, so we should expect a level of care for others to arise from humanity. But it always runs askew. It doesn't know how to love in helpful ways. And it often harms people because it doesn't know how to love in the light of God and his word.

Love God By Loving People

But let's be a church that loves God by loving people. With a respect and fear of God in our hearts, let's reach out to our community. Foster kids need homes. Teams need coaches. Young believers need mentors. Lonely people need living rooms. Schools need helpers. Offices need people willing to sacrifice. Churches need servant volunteers. And people need the love of other people.

Let's ask God for the wisdom to love as he would have us love.

32 And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. 33 And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Not Far From The Kingdom

In closing, Jesus heard the scribe's response and told him he wasn't far from the kingdom of God (34). Judaism was fading, and soon the sacrificial system would be abolished because of Christ's cross. And the eventual destruction of Jerusalem and her temple would confirm this. This man seems to have seen that to a degree, so he was close to the kingdom of God.

Gospel Process:

You see, in the kingdom of God, love is supreme. Here's how it works.

God loves us. We see this clearly in the gospel. We repent of our seen and receive his gift of grace.

Then we respond to his love by loving him in return. We worship, pray, study the Scripture, go to church gatherings all as a way to love God.

Then his love stirs us to love the people around us. Led by the Spirit, we do the sacrificial things God asks of us in an attempt to love others.

Then, waiting for us is the love of God. As we drink of its endless supply, we become motivated to love God and others. On and on, his love fuels us for the good life. So, remember, the most important thing in life is to love God.