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Singapore Moses
An young lawyer came to Jesus and asked him, "Master, which is the great commandment in the law?" He wanted to trap Jesus from the knowledge he gained from the huge & huge volumes of law books. Because it is a tricky question. There are 613 commandments, and the bible scholars consider some great and some small, so here Jesus was being trapped to answer this trickiest question ever. Jesus understood the motive of this question. But he gave an instant and immediate answer. Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Jesus quoted the first commandment from Dt. 6:5; 10:12; 30:6. Love for God must come from: 1. The heart:all inward affections 2. The soul:all consciousness 3. The mind:all thoughts Jesus reply is very simple truth LOVE your GOD and love your neighbor... The whole bible is hang on these two commandments. Jesus quoted the second commandment from the following Thirty Facts about Neighbors: ► Borrowing from them (the first use of " borrow," Ex. 3: 22) ► Sharing worship with them (Ex. 12: 4) ► Not bearing false witness against them (Ex. 20: 16) ► Not coming presumptously upon them (Ex. 21: 14) ► Property in trust (Ex. 22: 7- 14) ► Lying to them was forbidden (Lev. 6: 2- 7; 19: 11). ► Not defrauding (Lev. 19: 13) ► Not robbing them (Lev. 19:13) ► Judge righteously (Lev. 19:15) ► Talebearing to them was forbidden (Lev. 19:16). ► Rebuking a neighbor if he sins (Lev. 19:17) ► Loving him as yourself (Lev. 19:18) ► The law of equality (Lev. 24:19- 20) ► Selling to them (Lev. 25:14- 15) ► Accidental death happening to them (Dt. 4:42; 19:4- 11) ► Eating their crops (Dt. 23:25) ► Smiting them secretly (Dt. 27:24) ► The righteous treatment of them (Ps. 15:1- 3) ► The private slander of them (Ps. 101:5) ► Deception of them was forbidden (Prov. 3:28). ► Not devising against them (Prov. 3:29) ► Despising them (Prov. 11:12) ► Poor neighbors (Prov. 14:20; 19:4) ► Witnessing against them for no cause (Prov. 24:28) ► Hasty striving with them (Prov. 25:8) ► Debating with them (Prov. 25:9) ► Wrong sport with them (Prov. 26:19) ► Not forsaking them (Prov. 27:10) ► Christ and neighbors (Mt. 5:43; 19:19; 22:39; Lk. 10:29- 36) ► Paul and neighbors (Rom. 13:10; 15:2; Eph. 4:25) Jesus reply is very simple truth LOVE your GOD and love your neighbor... The whole bible is hang on these two commandments.
S. Michael Houdmann
Supporter
An expert in the law tried to test the Lord Jesus by asking Him to declare what was the greatest commandment in the Law of Moses. In one masterful statement, Jesus condensed the entire law that God had given Moses: "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 22:37-40).
When we read the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, we are struck with the realization that they focus on these two issues. Certainly we are to love God supremely. But what does it mean to love our neighbor as ourselves?
Jesus is quoting here from Leviticus 19. Let's look at its context:
"When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the LORD your God. You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. And you shall not swear by My name falsely, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the LORD. You shall not cheat your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of him who is hired shall not remain with you all night until morning. You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shall fear your God: I am the LORD. You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor. You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people; nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor: I am the LORD. You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD" (Leviticus 19:9-18).
Notice that loving our neighbor would include sharing with the poor and the alien; compassion and absolute honesty and justice in our relationships with others; impartiality; a refusal to be a party to gossip or slander; an absence of malice toward anyone and a refusal to bear a grudge; taking care never to put another's life at risk and never taking private vengeance upon another. It is also interesting to note that when we have an issue with anyone, we should strive to make it right by going to him or her directly. James calls this the "royal law" (James 2:8). Our Lord taught that we should do to others as we would have them do to us (Matthew 7:12).
It is a fact that anyone who does not have a personal relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ will die in his sins and face eternity in hell. Therefore, we owe it to our neighbors to lovingly share with them the good news of the gospel. True believers have been forgiven, possess eternal life, and have blessings forever as the result of others who have shared the gospel with them. God's love is evidenced in us as we communicate this precious gospel and love others as we have been loved.
See http://www.gotquestions.org/love-neighbor-yourself.html
Michael Morgan
This is one of my life verses, as noted above. What it took for me to know the unconditional love of Christ, was to realize how much He loved me, and then learn to love myself in the same manner. This is not a selfish love, but one of acceptance. What this verse, and question, says to me is that I must first love myself before I can give all that I can to others. When we are full in our hearts, it is easy to deny our self wants and needs and give more fully to others. Before giving my life to Christ I had many holes in my heart. I used many different vices trying to fill the emptiness; of course none worked. So to love our neighbor as ourselves, we must first come to peace with ourselves. Focus deeply on "His UNCONDITIONAL" Love. Don't confuse this with unconditional acceptance of obvious disobedience. God bless.
Aurel Gheorghe
To love your neighbor as you love yourself means to treat everyone with love and respect. As others mentioned, The Ten Commandments are the will of God for us. The first four commandments deal with our relationship with God, and the other six deal with our relationship with others. The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) tell us that all humanity is your neighbor. And if we love our neighbors, it will be impossible to break any of the commandments. Jesus makes a similar statement in Luke 6:31 “And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.”
JD Abshire
Matthew 22:39 "And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." I believe the scripture assumes that the audience knows or should know who number 1 is, self. Although the love of a neighbor isn't the same type of love as one would have within the marriatal relationship, Ephesians 5:29 tells us: "For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:" In light of the verse above, "Love thy neighbor as thyself" takes on a whole new level of intensity, doesn't it?
Janet Austin
To love your neighbor as you love yourself means that your actions toward your neighbor (and your responses to your neighbor) need to be those that would help that person move closer to God (which is what we need to be doing for ourselves also).
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