Can a person love without the Ten Commandments? Yes they can.
Can a person have a godly love without the Ten Commandments? No they can't.
There are many nonchristian organizations in the world doing a powerful work for the needy and homeless. They are feeding them, clothing them and building houses for them. These same people may even reject God.
There is a love in the world, which looks good and sounds good but it's godless. The big deception is that love does not have to look ungodly to be godless.
The Ten Commandments is what determines whether a person is loving with a godly love or a worldly love.
What if I'm in an active sexual relationship with my girlfriend. We love each other very deeply, there is not a person who can deny this love we have for one another.
To the world, it's so nice how we love each other our friends may even give us a weekend get away to a cuddles and bubbles hotel.
Is this a godly love or an ungodly love?
What determines this?
God tells us in the Ten Commandments what pleases Him. He tells us that He has blessed and set apart the seventh day as something very good. He has ordained this day to gather in His name to worship Him as the one true God and Creator. He tells us that we can express our love for Him by remembering to keep the seventh day holy.
Isaiah 58:13-14 "If because of the Sabbath, you turn your foot from doing your own pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and shall honor it, desisting from your own ways, from seeking your own pleasure, and speaking your own word, then you will take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken."
Now what if I reject this and keep the first day holy and do everything that God tells us not to do on the seventh day?
Is this a godly love or an ungodly love?
Does this love look ungodly?
The world may say you are a very good Christian, but to God, He would be sad that you didn't honor Him.
God tells us that we need to exercised our senses to discern both good and evil.
There is a difference between right and wrong and good and evil. Good and evil is spiritual.
So you see, the foundation of godly love is found in the Ten Commandments. But the Ten Commandments by themselves does not produce the love itself. We know this by what we see in the Pharisees. They kept the Ten Commandments but they didn't have the love that God is looking for that should accompany obedience.
There is a perfect example of keeping the commandments yet not really loving found in Matthew 19.
Matthew 19:16-22 Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?'' So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.'' He said to Him, "Which ones?'' Jesus said, " `You shall not murder,' `You shall not commit adultery,' `You shall not steal,' `You shall not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, `You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' '' The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?'' Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.'' But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Here we have a rich man wanting to know how to have eternal life. Jesus points him to the Ten Commandments. The man then says he has kept them from his youth. Jesus then goes on to test the rich man to see if he has the love by telling him to help the needy. The man failed the test because though he was keeping the law, he didn't have the love. This is the same character we find in the Pharisees and many Christians today.
So it's important to love and keep the commandments because as we have seen, we can have one without the other. Jesus' life testimony was one that revealed this and the Devil hates it.
Revelation 12:17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
The faith of Jesus is what teaches us how to love God and neighbor through keeping the Ten Commandments.
Revelation 14:12 Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
So you see, the commandments become just a rigid ritualistic list of rules without love and love becomes just a means to satisfy the flesh without the commandments, we need both. This is why Jesus came and this is what His words and life taught us as our example.
Many blessings,
Brother John
Can a person have a godly love without the Ten Commandments? No they can't.
There are many nonchristian organizations in the world doing a powerful work for the needy and homeless. They are feeding them, clothing them and building houses for them. These same people may even reject God.
There is a love in the world, which looks good and sounds good but it's godless. The big deception is that love does not have to look ungodly to be godless.
The Ten Commandments is what determines whether a person is loving with a godly love or a worldly love.
What if I'm in an active sexual relationship with my girlfriend. We love each other very deeply, there is not a person who can deny this love we have for one another.
To the world, it's so nice how we love each other our friends may even give us a weekend get away to a cuddles and bubbles hotel.
Is this a godly love or an ungodly love?
What determines this?
God tells us in the Ten Commandments what pleases Him. He tells us that He has blessed and set apart the seventh day as something very good. He has ordained this day to gather in His name to worship Him as the one true God and Creator. He tells us that we can express our love for Him by remembering to keep the seventh day holy.
Isaiah 58:13-14 "If because of the Sabbath, you turn your foot from doing your own pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and shall honor it, desisting from your own ways, from seeking your own pleasure, and speaking your own word, then you will take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken."
Now what if I reject this and keep the first day holy and do everything that God tells us not to do on the seventh day?
Is this a godly love or an ungodly love?
Does this love look ungodly?
The world may say you are a very good Christian, but to God, He would be sad that you didn't honor Him.
God tells us that we need to exercised our senses to discern both good and evil.
There is a difference between right and wrong and good and evil. Good and evil is spiritual.
So you see, the foundation of godly love is found in the Ten Commandments. But the Ten Commandments by themselves does not produce the love itself. We know this by what we see in the Pharisees. They kept the Ten Commandments but they didn't have the love that God is looking for that should accompany obedience.
There is a perfect example of keeping the commandments yet not really loving found in Matthew 19.
Matthew 19:16-22 Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?'' So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.'' He said to Him, "Which ones?'' Jesus said, " `You shall not murder,' `You shall not commit adultery,' `You shall not steal,' `You shall not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, `You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' '' The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?'' Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.'' But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Here we have a rich man wanting to know how to have eternal life. Jesus points him to the Ten Commandments. The man then says he has kept them from his youth. Jesus then goes on to test the rich man to see if he has the love by telling him to help the needy. The man failed the test because though he was keeping the law, he didn't have the love. This is the same character we find in the Pharisees and many Christians today.
So it's important to love and keep the commandments because as we have seen, we can have one without the other. Jesus' life testimony was one that revealed this and the Devil hates it.
Revelation 12:17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
The faith of Jesus is what teaches us how to love God and neighbor through keeping the Ten Commandments.
Revelation 14:12 Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
So you see, the commandments become just a rigid ritualistic list of rules without love and love becomes just a means to satisfy the flesh without the commandments, we need both. This is why Jesus came and this is what His words and life taught us as our example.
Many blessings,
Brother John
