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Issue 3 The Love of God
When we wish to express our love to someone near and dear to us, we say, “I love you.” Those three little words are so very easy to say. They convey our love, but they do not show how much we love someone. If we wish to show our loved-one just how much we love them, we make our love evident by our actions. We prove our love by the things we do, for example, like being loyal, faithful and true to the one we love.
In the exact same way, it is not enough to say to God, “I love you.” God expects much more from us than lip service and mere sentiments. God is our Maker. He has shown His love to us by creating us and sending His Son, Jesus Christ, that we might have salvation and eternal life. In return, we are obligated to show our love to Him. How can we prove our love to God Almighty? We prove our love to God by the things we do, just like we confirm our love to our family and close friends. Jesus said it so clearly: “You shall love the Lord your God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and Great Commandment.” (Matthew 22:37-38)
Jesus made it absolutely clear that loving God is not an option, but a definite requirement. He even calls it a “Great Commandment.” In today’s world, it has become a fearful thing to speak about God and His commandments. A commandment is something that God says we must do. How can a sincere person begin to show God that they truly love Him? Why did God give us the Ten Commandments? What is their purpose? Some people have been wrongly taught that the Ten Commandments are a heavy burden – restricting our right to happiness. Politicians and lawmakers want the Ten Commandments removed from our schools, courthouses, and public buildings because they do not want to recognize and yield to God’s supreme Laws. They will not admit that God gave the Ten Commandments for the very purpose of bringing peace and order into our lives. “This is the Love of God, that we keep His commandments: and his commandments are not burdensome.” (1 John 5:3) How does the Bible define “love”? God tells us in the above verse that the very first way that we show our love to Him is by keeping His Law of Love – the Ten Commandments. Our Father is a loving God who wants only the very best for each of us. His commands help us and protect us. It is Satan who promotes the false concept that the Ten Commandments have been done away with – so that they need not be kept anymore. Do some people really believe that? Is it okay to murder? Is it okay to lie, or to steal? No! God’s way of life brings happiness and order to our families, our society, and to us. Try to imagine what society would be like without God’s laws. In fact, every good law that man has ever devised is based on these Ten Laws of Love. Why is that? Let’s read the answer from the Bible: “Love works no harm to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” [The Ten Commandments] (Romans 13:10) Obeying the Ten Commandments and practicing Godly love toward each other is one and the same thing. That is how we can know for sure if our ways are pleasing to God or not. Murdering, lying or stealing hurts others – that is why those things are not pleasing to God. In fact, all of our interactions with our fellow man must be in accordance with the laws of God. The Ten Commandments define the love that is the foundation of Godly relationships.
Why do some people say that all we have to do is believe on the name of Jesus, or call on the name of the Lord to be saved? They quote Acts 2:21 and 4:12: “Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved… there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Don’t these verses show that obedience is not necessary for salvation?
Believing in the name or authority of Jesus Christ means that we are obedient to Him in following His instructions in how to care and serve our fellow man. The beloved apostle, John puts it this way in 1 John 3:23: “And this is His commandment, that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.” How then do we love one another, as Jesus gave us commandment? Jesus accepts each act of love toward our fellow man as an act of love directed to Him, personally. Notice these words of Jesus about those who served, clothed, fed and cared for someone in need. “Truly I say unto you, inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, you have done it unto Me.” (Matthew 25:40) Believing in God is not enough. Obedience to God’s Law of Love is required! The apostle James says, “You believe that there is one God; that’s good: the devils also believe, and tremble.” Believing in Jesus must be accompanied by obedience to His words. Jesus said, "Why do you call me, Lord, Lord, and do not do the things that I say? (Luke 6:46)
True
Christians who are holy and set apart for Godly service, live
according to the very spirit of Jesus’ words. Not only do we not
commit adultery, kill or lie, we do not lust, we do not fight, we do
not deceive, and so forth. Jesus said, “If you wish to enter
into [eternal] life, keep the commandments.”
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