THE SECOND GREATEST COMMANDMENT
Matthew 22:36-40; 1 John 4:7-21
Dorn Ridge February 16, 2014
INTRODUCTION:
1.) In my message last week as we were leading up to valentine’s Day we looked at “The Greatest Commandment.”
A.) We saw that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord our God with everything that is within us.
2.) This morning I want to start at that high level of love for God, and progress further as we look at the extension of our love of God in the love we give to others.
I. LOVE FOR GOD MEANS WE ALSO LOVE ONE ANOTHER. (I John 4:11)
1.) No one has ever seen God;
---Which brings us to the question:
A.) Can Christians love a God they have never seen?
aa.) Through the ages one of the problems of man and his worship is that many have felt the need to have some kind of a tangible presence of God that can be seen, touched, held, felt, etc.
ab.) Man’s desire to have some kind of form that he can see and experience with his five senses, has brought him to the place that foolishly many have bowed down to a piece of wood or metal, or something else of a physical nature.
ac.) Even the Israelites bowed down to worship a calf made of gold, and receive on themselves the wrath of God because of their wickedness.
B.) As Christians we do claim to love a God we have never seen.
ba.) Judaism and Christianity differ from world religions in so many ways.
bb.) One of those differences is this very thing that we can believe in God, trust in Him, and have faith and a relationship with Him even though we have never seen Him.
bc.) Unlike pagan religions that require statues and images that can be experienced with the five senses, the Christian faith recognizes that God is greater than any of these.
bca.) Jesus said: “God is Spirit; the true worshippers are those who worship in Spirit and truth.” (John 4)
2.) Even though we may have never actually seen Jesus Christ, we are together the temple of God, where He makes His dwelling place.
A.) New Testament Scripture most often speaks of our bodies as being the temple of God when it speaks on the sexual and intimate areas of our lives.
B.) The reason for this is that as the temple of God we are to be holy and pure before God.
ba.) It is therefore possible that the temple of God can be defiled by that which is sinful and outside of the will of God.
baa.) 1 Cor. 6:15-20
bab.) 2 Cor. 6:14-17
bb.) Yet when the Temple of God is in a state of holiness, in which we will welcome the presence of God, we become holy temples.
bc.) When God is at home in our bodies, with our minds, and spirits given to Him, the presence and power of Almighty God will be seen in our lives, and in our interaction with others.
bd.) This in turn will not only attract the world around us to the love of God seen in Jesus Christ, but it will also serve as evidence that we in fact do love God with all our heart, and soul, and mind, and strength.
3.) Scripture states: “if we love one another, God lives in us.” (1 John 4:12)
A.) And His love is made complete in us.
B.) God’s love is made complete in us because we are the living temple of God.
ba.) As a Christian, each one of us individually is both the place and the person where the love of God is displayed and given to the world who is looking for God and His love.
bb.) The reason that Loving our neighbour as ourselves is the second most important commandment is that we who bear the name of Jesus Christ have the duty and obligation to show forth the Love of God to the world.
bba.) We have been given such an awesome task, responsibility, and may I say joy because as Christians, we are the redeemed of the Lord.
bbb.) As the redeemed of the Lord, we are the primary reflections of who God is in this world.
C.) The evidence of this love for God is in the love we have for our neighbour.
ca.) When we love our neighbour as ourselves, we are in fact showing that we have come to love God with our entire being.
cb.) “For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.” (1John 4:20)
cc.) “Whoever loves God must love his neighbour.” (1 John 4:21)
4.) We know that we live in Him and He in us:
A.) Because He has given us of His Holy Spirit.
aa.) There was a point when we who are Christians came to faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour.
ab.) It was at that time we confessed Jesus Christ as the Lord of our lives, and were obedient to the gospel in the waters of baptism.
ac.) God’s Word is very clear that when we have come to that saving faith; God not only forgives our sins, but also comes to dwell in us through His Holy Spirit.
aca.) Acts 2:38
ad.) God’s Word further states that if we do not have the Spirit of Christ we do not belong to Christ.
ada.) Rom. 8:9
adb.) When God’s Holy Spirit is dwelling within us, a natural reaction is that we will testify of God and His son Jesus the Christ.
B.) The Apostle John states “we testify that Jesus is the Son of God.”
ba.) When an individual truly loves God with all his being, that person will in word, and in action be a living testimony to the presence of God living within in him.
bb.) Matthew 10:32-33
C.) Because we live in the Love of God.
ca.) 1John 4 tells us that “God is Love”
cb.) If that is true (and we know that it is true), it is only the natural conclusion that the Love of God within us, will overflow into our relations with those around us.
cc.) When we are experiencing a fullness of the love of God within our lives, and it is also being outpoured into the lives of those around us something else also happens.
cca.)That brings me to my second point:
II. THE LOVE OF GOD REACHES ITS COMPLETION WHEN WE LOVE ONE ANOTHER.
1.) When a person has an intimate relationship with God so that God’s love extends out to others he or she is truly blessed.
A.) When John speaks of the love of God reaching its completion when we love one another John is speaking of more than just a casual relationship with God.
B.) There are many Christians who are completely satisfied with merely a casual acquaintance with God through the blood of Jesus Christ.
C.) But in this passage of Scripture, John is not speaking of those who merely desire a family connection with Jesus Christ.
ca.) John is not speaking merely of someone who wants to be close enough to God to have fire insurance against the flames of hell.
cb.) When John speaks of the completion of the love of God in our lives he is speaking of something much different.
cc.) John is speaking of a person whose love for God has brought him to Maturity in Jesus Christ and the love of God.
cd.) He is speaking of someone who so loves God, that the love of God flows through him to others around him.
ce.) Ultimately that love of God in and through us prepares us to meet with God in either death or the Judgment.
2.) The completion of the love of God in our lives gives us confidence on the day of Judgment.
A.)1 John 4:17
B.) If we have grown to love God with all our heart, and all our mind, and soul, and strength, and love our neighbours as ourselves we have grown to maturity in Christ.
ba.) “Because in this world we are like Him.” (vs. 17b.)
bb.) This does not mean that we have become perfect, or that we are without sin. It does not mean we have developed powers like God Himself.
bc.) But what it does mean is that we have lived our lives on this earth walking to the best of our abilities in the ways of God, and have grown to spiritual maturity in Jesus Christ.
C.) John shows us the reason why we can have confidence before God on the Day of Judgment.
ca.) We can have confidence on the Day of Judgment because we are consciously living in the love of God, and relying on the grace of God in the person of Jesus Christ to bring us into His glory.
cb.) We can have confidence because we realize that the transformation that has taken place in us is the working of God as we have allowed Him to have the dominion within our lives.
3.) The completion of the Love of God in our lives means there is no fear.
A.) As Christians growing in Jesus Christ we do not have to fear death, the judgment, or eternity.
aa.) The love of God brought to its completion gives us a hope in Jesus Christ that the world does not have.
ab.) That mature relationship in Christ means the Christian does not need to fear death with the fear that the world has.
aba.) To be perfectly honest, I have fear of dying, but I do not have fear of death.
abb.) We can have a certain fear of dying because we do not know when that time will be, or if it will be painful, or hard, or if we will have to suffer greatly.
abc.) There is a certain amount of fear of these aspects of the unknown, but after we have passed through the door of death, and have met with Jesus Christ we will be entering into the realm of God, and of the blessedness of the redeemed.
abd.) There is a great reason why we do not need to fear:
B.) There is no fear in love.
ba.) 1John 4:18
bb.) Death and the judgment of God does not bring fear to one who is redeemed by Jesus Christ and living in the Love of God.
C.) Perfect love drives out fear.
ca.) What a powerful scene. Fear is almost pictured as an unwelcome animal that has to be driven out.
cb.) What an amazingly beautiful picture in the power of the love of God.
cba.) The more we allow the Love of God to permeate every part of our lives, the less room there is for us to have a dreadful fear of the presence of God.
cbb.) Instead of a dreadful fear we enjoy that abiding presence of God within our lives.
D.) Fear has to do with punishment.
ca.) The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
CONCLUSION:
1.) As we leave here today, I want to ask you if you have come to the place of loving the Lord your God with all your heart, and mind, and soul, and strength.
A.)You are the only person who can make that choice in your life.
B.) You are the only person who can decide if you want to receive the best that God has for you.
2.) It will be obvious to you if you have come to that place because the love of God flowing in you will be given to others as well.
3.) The love of God will also give you joy and take away the fear of death and judgment.
A.) If you have not started enjoying the best that God has for you, there is no time like to day to make that decision.
B.) Won’t you leave here today with the decision made to allow God the fullness of your life, so that you may live in the complete fullness of the joy of the love of God.
