Plainly Speaking
     with Karl J. Forehand

 

 

 

The Heart of the Law

by Karl J. Forehand

 

  All along God had a purpose for his creation.  Because He had a purpose, He made a promise (to Abraham).  This promise required a plan.  The Law was part of that plan, in that it revealed the standard.  Why do we need a standard?  My nine-year old son some times imagines that I am mean.  We were talking about rules the other day.  I told him, “I don’t have rules for you because I am mean – I have them because I love you.”  God set a standard to show His love for us.

 

  The 10 Commandments basically answer three questions:

     -  How do I love God?

     -  How do I love my neighbor?

     -  How does it all fit together?

 

Read Matthew 22:34-40

 

  The Pharisees weren’t looking for answers when they asked Jesus “What is the greatest commandment?”  They were trying to trap Him (verse 15).  They heard that the Saducees were silenced and were looking for a way to trap Him, so that they could stay in control.  They had categorized 613 laws into heavy and light laws.  For centuries, they had asked which laws carry more weight.  You can imagine why they would do this.  In short, the laws I keep are the “heavy” ones that everyone should pay attention to.  The “light” ones are not that important, because I can’t keep them.

 

  The problem with this philosophy is that James 2:10 stresses that if we have broken one, we have broken them all.  Jesus quotes the SHEMA to them.  You know that verse, “Love the Lord your God….”  The orthodox Jew would quote this verse every day.  But, Jesus also added Leviticus 19:18 which tells us to love our neighbor.  Jesus was stressing that they go together.  When you put them together, they summarize all of the law and everything the prophets said. 

 

  The Pharisees world was crashing down, because they used the law to control people.  They weren’t really keeping it any better than anyone else; but they knew how to manipulate and use it to their advantage.    How many good pastors jealous elder boards have run off?  How many churches have split because of simple power struggles?   Jesus was like a “lamb to the slaughter” and gave them what they wanted.  In verses 41-45, he claimed to be God.  This silenced them, because it gave them the ammunition they needed.

 

  The Pharisees, in their attempt to trick Jesus, missed the huge lesson He was teaching.    I suggest that there is a little Pharisee in all of us.

 

What the Commandments teach:

 

1.   ­Reverence for God

 

You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.'

 

  The first way that we must love God is with our heart.  The Greek word for heart is kardia.  You can figure out what words we get from that.  Basically heart means “the center of a man.”  When Samuel was choosing David as king, he told him that God looks at the heart, not the outward appearance (1 Samuel 16:7).  Proverbs 27:19 and Proverbs 4:23 teach us that the heart is the very center of our being.  To me, this says, “Love God sincerely.”

 

  The ancient potters would erect sings that said, “sincere” meaning without wax.  Some potters would fill the cracks, in their pottery with wax to hide imperfections and paint over them.  The potters, projecting their sincerity, would proclaim “without wax.”  You see, God never asked us to be without cracks, but He does want us to be without wax.

 

  The next way we are to love God is with our soul.  The Greek word here is pseuche, which means breath.  When Genesis 2:7 says, “Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being(soul).”  When the translators translated the Hebrew word to Greek, they used pseuche for this word.  The soul is the immaterial part of man that scientists cannot explain – it is our life and breath.  To me, this says to “Love God completely.”  We must love God with our every breath.

 

  The last way we are to love God is with our Mind.  Do we realize that God gave us a mind to use.  I watched a young concert pianist the other day, perform for 80 minutes without music.  I told her, “You make me feel like a dunce – I can’t even remember ‘O How I love Jesus’ on my harmonica.”  We can use our minds to serve a career and find that it is an empty pursuit.  We can use our minds to serve our hobbies and find we have a garage full of junk at the end of our lives.  We can serve popularity and status – realizing that those things spread over a slice of bread still leave us with a dry slice of bread.   We should use our minds to investigate the claims of Scripture.   To me, this says “Love God decisively” 

 

 Love God sincerely, completely and decisively.

 

 

2.  Respect for People

 

The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  (Matthew     

22:39)

 

  Loving our neighbor goes hand-in-hand with loving God?  Remember what it says it 1 John 4:20?  “f someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar”  People love to sing about “O how I love Jesus” and proclaim in their doctrines “We love Jesus:” but the Bible says if we say we love God and don’t love our neighbor, then we are phony.

 

  The disciples were quick to ask “Well, then who exactly is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29, paraphrased).  Jesus responded by telling them the parable of the Good Samaritan.  The neighbor you must love is the guy you like; but it is also the guy you can’t stand.  Someone said, “To love the world for me is no chore, my real problem is the guy next door.”  It is easy for us to talk about loving everybody, but do we actually do it?

 

  This verse also states “as yourself.”  We have two problems with that statement.  First, some of us tend to think of ourselves as sub-standard.  Let me say this, “God does not create junk.”  You were created special and God loves you and never intended for you to hang your head and feel like you are a nothing.  God think that you are something – He died for you.   The other problem we have with this statement is that some of us think too MUCH of ourselves.  We think “I’m so good” and we look down on others.  This is wrong too.  The verse says “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 

 

  Jesus said that all the law and the prophets hang on these two things: reverence for God and respect for people.  That’s what it is all about.

 

 

Turning Points

 

  The turning points in my life that I can point to were when I recognized that God loved me.  That may sound kind of simple, like “Jesus loves me, this I know…” but actually it was much more than that.  These turning points were times when I literally cried for a half hour; because I was overwhelmed by the fact that God loves me.  Think about it: the creator of the universe loves us.  He not only loves us, but He longs for us.  He does that even though He knows us better than anyone else.  That is amazing love!  In Romans 5:8 it says that He demonstrated that love to us. 

 

  At these times, when I realized God’s love for me, I was more able to love others.  God’s love for me empowered me to love others better.  Love for others is not just goodwill and fluffy feelings.  I believe there are real ways to love people.  Talk’s cheap!  Love is a verb.   Jesus didn’t say “Think loving thoughts about God and have a loving disposition towards others.”  He said “Love” (agape, verb, action) God and your neighbor.

 

  What I discovered is that when I loved others, it showed my love back to God.  You know what?  That helped me realize God’s love again, which helped me love others, which showed my love to God…..

 

  The 10 Commandments are not just rules.  They are God’s standard.  They show us how to love God, to love others and how it all fits together.  The Bible could be summarized as:

   -  a relationship initiated by God

   -  a relationship broken by man

   -  a relationship reinitiated and restored by God

 

  The 10 Commandments are not about keeping score; rather, they are about God’s love for us and the our response to that love.  He loved us enough to give us the standard.  Do we love Him enough to demonstrate that love in return?