What is TRUE CHRISTIAN LOVE?
When we truly love someone; we seek to please them, to
make them happy, to do them good. If we loved Jesus Christ; we would be trying to please Him, we would be doing
what He said.
What did Jesus Christ command us to do? He told us to pray to the Father in Heaven
in Christ's name and to ask that the Father's will be done, Mat 6:10. Who's will? The Father's
will. If we are trying to please Christ we would be obeying Christ and therefore we would be doing the Father's
will. In doing this, your light will so shine that men will glorify who? Jesus Christ? Yes; but also your Father
in Heaven, Mat 5:10. How are we to let our light shine? By doing the will of the Father and His Son, by doing
good.
How do we know what the will of God our Father is? We need to study His Word, for in His Word,
He has revealed His will. What is His will? Why; it is His will that we listen to Him, that we DO what He says
to us. And how did Jesus Christ say we ought to love Him? He said; If you love me KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS, Joh 14:15,
Joh 14:21. It is NOT enough to sing; Oh how I love Jesus, or to repeatedly exclaim how much we love Him. We must
keep His sayings, Joh 14:21-23. No matter how much we claim to love Him, or to have God's love, we are decieving
ourselves if we are not willing to do what he says.
John writes that; By this, we know that we love the children
of God, when we love God and keep HIS COMMANDMENTS. For this is the love of God, that we KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS, and His commandments
are not grievous, Joh 5:2-3. Whose commandments is John referring to? Why God's commandments, the commandments of
God the Father in Heaven.
In 2 Joh:6; John also writes "this is love, that we walk after His commandments".
To please God and His Christ we must keep all of their commandments. For Jesus said that "I and my Father are one"
Joh 10:30, Joh 14:7-11. Again: It is written "And hereby do we know that we know Him. If we keep His commandments.
He that saith, I know Him and keepeth not His commandments, is a LIAR and THE TRUTH IS NOT IN HIM. But whoso KEEPETH HIS WORD,
in him truly is the LOVE OF GOD PERFECTED: hereby know we that we are in Him. He that saith that he abideth in Him ought himself
also so to walk, even as He walked", 1 Joh 2:3-6. Jesus said "I have kept my Father's commandments"
Joh 15:10. If we are to walk even as he walked, we must also keep the Father's commandments!
When
we turn away from sin, which is the transgression of the law, 1 Joh 3:4, we have the sacrifice of Jesus Christ applied to
us, atoning for our sins. This allows us to be adopted as sons of the Father, Rom 8:14-16. Now; did Jesus
not COMMAND us to honour our Father?Mat 19:17-19. Those who say that we should only obey Christ now and should not obey
the Father's law condemn themselves for Christ COMMANDED us to honour our Father and our Father is the ETERNAL GOD OF
HEAVEN AND EARTH. Again Jesus said that "MY FATHER IS GREATER THAN I" Joh 14:28 Boldly
declaring that He could do NOTHING without the Father Joh 5:19 and Joh 5:30.
Jesus said "if you
had known me, ye should have known my Father also" Joh 8:19. Therefore; if you love Christ, you would love the
Father, for Christ loved His Father and commanded that we Honour and Do the Will of the Father. If we do not love the Father,
we do NOT love Christ. If we do not keep the Father's law, we do NOT obey Christ either, for Jesus Christ commanded
us to keep the Father's law and to do the Father's will. Jesus Christ said that we must "love the Lord
thy God (the Father) with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind" Mat 22:37. To love is to
keep the Father's commandments 2 Joh 6.
The second great commandment is to "love thy neighbour
as thyself" Mat 22:39-40. How do we do this? We do not steal from him. We do not lie to him. We do not take
his wife. We do honour our physical parents. We do not covet his property. We FORGIVE him when he trespasses against
us. All these things are a part of the Father's GREAT LAW which is HOLY JUST AND GOOD Rom 7:12.
THE
LAW AND THE MOSAIC COVENANT
The Mosaic Covenant was a marriage covenant, see the COVENANTS page.
Like any marriage, it ended with the death of one of the parties. In this case with the death of the husband, Jesus Christ.
Wasn't the law, just a part of the Mosaic Covenant and did it not end with the end of that Covenant?
Paul
writes that sin is not imputed when there is no law Rom 5:13. Yet God imputed sin to Abimelek when he thought to take Abraham's
wife Gen 20:1-9. Joseph spoke of sin to his master's wife Gen 39:9. Sin was imputed to Sodom Gen 13:13.
Sin is the transgression of the law 1 Joh 3:4. Where there is no law to transgress, there can be no sin. Clearly
the law existed and was in effect throughout history, from the very creation. For Cain and Abel knew of the Sacrificial
Law and of the Law of Clean and Unclean, necessary for sacrifices Gen 4:7. The Sabbath Law was made at creation Gen
2:2-3. The Law of the Clean and Unclean was stated by God to Noah Gen 7:2. The Law concerning Adultery was clearly
known as shown above. God destroyed most of mankind in Noah's day and then later destroyed Sodom because of wickedness
and sin. Was not Cain judged for breaking the Law that said THOU SHALT NOT SHED INNOCENT BLOOD? All this demonstrating
that the Law of God was known since the day of creation.
THE LAW IS AN EXPRESSION OF GOD'S WILL AND
HAS BEEN IN EXISTENCE SINCE CREATION. It did not end with the Mosaic Covenant, because it was never exclusive to that
Covenant. The WILL OF GOD as defined by His law, existed from the beginning and remains in existence today. SIN
IS THE TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW 1 Joh 3:4. Sin has existed since Eve disobeyed her Creator Father and took of the forbidden
fruit. Therefore the commandment to honour Father and mother must have been in effect at that time, or no sin could
have been imputed to her, Rom 5:13.
In conclusion we may say that we honour our Heavenly Father and His Christ
by obeying them and KEEPING ALL OF THEIR COMMANDMENTS. This is how we can please them, this is how we can show our love
for them. The LAW was given for our GOOD. To show us how to get along with one another. To protect the innocent
and to guarentee the right of all peoples to peace and security. There is NOTHING in the law that is harmful to any
innocent person. The law prevents us from hurting one another and points us toward respecting the greater wisdom of
our Father. The law prevents anarchy, confusion and violent chaos. It is a defender of the weak and the innocent
and a destroyer of those who would destroy others.
The Sacrificial Law provides a legal framework for an ATONEMENT
for SIN. It provides the means by which the Creator may give Himself, in ultimate love, for His creation and save them
from the consequences of their rebellion and sin. It provides for FORGIVENESS of the truly REPENTANT, who are willing
to stop abusing others and start caring about and loving them.
No wonder; Paul writes that the LAW IS HOLY
AND JUST AND GOOD! The law of God is the MOST WONDERFUL GIFT that mankind could be given, as wonderful as life itself.
For it shows the way to LIFE and the PEACE AND HARMONY that all men seek. They cannot find peace in this world, because
they reject the only WAY TO PEACE, May God's will be done, may His commandments be obeyed. That
is the way to peace, for GOD IS LOVE 1 Joh 4:7-8, therefore His Law could be nothing else but for our GOOD! The God
of Heaven truly knows how to give GOOD GIFTS Mat 7:9-11 for He IS A LOVING FATHER INDEED!
