I like simple! Especially if it is something I need to remember. Recently, I rented a place to stay for a vacation with friends, and the list of rules was endless. I felt I needed to carry it around to ensure I did not break a rule and be charged more. The Bible is full of what to do and what not to do if we are to please God. If you made a list, it too, would be overwhelming for some. However, there are verses in scripture where Jesus simplifies our obedience to Him. He gives us a few simple rules that will take care of all the rest.
In Matthew 7:12, Jesus teaches us a biblical principle to live by. This rule will govern our treatment of others. It does not matter if they are Christians or not; we are to treat them the way we would want to be treated. Jesus came to teach us what we are to know and believe and what we are to do. This is not just how we are to relate to God but also to our fellow man.
Matthew 7:12 “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.”
Verse 12 also says, “For this is the law and the prophets.” Nowhere in the Old Testament does this statement appear, but it is the sum of the Old Testament. It is an expression of all that the law requires.
In Matthew 22:34-40, Jesus again simplifies how we are to live for God. In verse 34, the Pharisees were gathered around listening to Jesus. Their design was to trip Him up. They were not seeking wisdom but a way to discredit Jesus. They made many rules for the Jews to live by, manmade rules that were supposed to help them please God, but their way of life was a burden and cumbersome way of life. A lawyer in the group asked Jesus a question, wanting to test His knowledge of the law. He called Him Master, meaning teacher, “Which is the great commandment in the law?” History teaches us that the Jews had so many laws they divided them into “greater and smaller.” Yet, they had not determined which one was the greatest. The word law refers to the law given by Moses recorded in the Bible’s first five books.
Jesus does not hesitate to answer with simplicity that anyone could understand. The number one law was stated in verse 37, “ Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” While loving God with everything in us is an ongoing task. It is simple to understand. Our love is reflected in our actions; we can measure it by what we do, say, and think. Jesus not only tells the crowd what the first and greatest commandment is, but He also tells them the second greatest commandment. We are to love our neighbor as much as we do ourselves. Our neighbors are any and everyone, not just those who live in our vicinity. We are not to be selfish but loving and accommodating to everyone. We are not instructed just to be polite, but to love, to have a love for them as a person made in the image of God. No matter where we are or who we come in contact with, we are to see them as someone Jesus died for and do what we can to engage in a conversation that will lead to spiritual things.
Matthew 22:34 – 40 “But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
In verse 40, Jesus teaches them and us that these two laws can cover everything that is right. If we love God with everything in us, we will want to please Him. Our desires will fade when they are not in accordance with His character. If we love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, we will love others as much as we do ourselves because that honors Him.
Matthew 22:40 “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
How much do you love Him? When you begin to do or think something contrary to what would please God, and you begin to yield to what your flesh desires, what do you do? When the Holy Spirit pricks your heart, do you obey or do what is comfortable to the flesh? If you obey, putting God and others first, He will take care of you and be honored and glorified.
Treat others as you want to be treated. Love God supremely and others as yourself, and you will live a joyful life with great purpose. You will stand before Him one day and hear the words of Matthew 25:23 “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”
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