Dale Partridge - Real Christianity #98： The First and Greatest Commandment

00:00:00.000 Welcome to Real Christianity, a weekly show designed to help Christians know their Bible,

00:00:04.940 defend their faith, and truly understand what it means to follow Jesus.

00:00:08.960 The premise is simple. The culture is getting louder. The church is getting flashier,

00:00:13.840 but few pastors are teaching on how to live a biblical life.

00:00:17.780 My name is Dale Partridge, along with my incredible wife, Veronica.

00:00:21.160 Join us as we start an important conversation about what it really means to be a Christian.

00:00:30.000 Transcription by CastingWords

00:01:00.000 Welcome to Real Christianity. Today we are talking about the first and greatest commandment.

00:01:07.200 Guys, this is a verse that many of you probably memorized as a child if you've been in the church for long.

00:01:13.440 But it's an important verse. It's an important verse to teach to your family.

00:01:17.780 And it's something that I thought I would break down verse by verse today in Matthew chapter 22.

00:01:23.400 If you're a regular listener of the show, thank you for joining us.

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00:01:48.100 Also, if you are a married couple that is looking to strengthen your marriage,

00:01:54.540 consider enrolling in our six-week biblical marriage mentor program at ultimatemarriage.com.

00:02:01.900 It's a great program.

00:02:03.180 You can do it in a small group, or you guys can do it just as a couple.

00:02:06.820 And we got six great videos of some workbooks, stuff that you can do each week.

00:02:11.340 And it's a great walkthrough of learning the basics of biblical marriage.

00:02:16.280 And so again, that's at ultimatemarriage.com.

00:02:19.060 All right, guys, we're going to talk about Matthew 22, verses 34 through 40.

00:02:25.360 I'm going to read them in the ESV right now, and then we're going to just break down this

00:02:29.580 verse a bit and have some perspective that might be edifying and helpful for you guys

00:02:33.760 as Christians as you try to learn more about the Lord and love him with all of your mind,

00:02:39.700 which we'll talk about here shortly.

00:02:41.820 All right, verses 34 in chapter 22 of Matthew, it says,

00:02:45.940 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.

00:02:51.740 And then one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him.

00:02:56.600 He said, Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?

00:03:00.680 And he said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

00:03:07.400 This is the great and first commandment.

00:03:09.760 And a second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments

00:03:15.960 depend all the law and the prophets. Okay, powerful passage of scripture, something worth

00:03:22.660 studying and having a robust understanding. The first thing I want you to do is to evaluate

00:03:29.940 your own ability to keep these two commandments. Have you ever been able to love the Lord with

00:03:38.520 all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind for longer than like a worshipful second?

00:03:45.000 Have you ever loved a person, like another person, as well as you loved yourself? I mean,

00:03:51.920 outside of some of those precious moments in life with maybe an infant, right? I think I speak for

00:03:58.080 all of us when I say, unfortunately, no, we can't keep these commandments on a regular basis.

00:04:04.520 And this shows us how great a need we have for the grace of God.

00:04:10.840 We can't even keep the first and second commandments, right?

00:04:14.980 Every time we choose sin or self, we break these two commandments.

00:04:21.520 And sadly, that's quite common.

00:04:24.680 So this needs to demonstrate to you how great our need is for Christ.

00:04:30.300 without the forgiveness of sins through the perfect righteous and sacrifice of Christ,

00:04:37.460 you and I would be doomed before a holy God, right?

00:04:41.000 We are so utterly incapable of earning a righteous verdict before God.

00:04:46.280 We can't even keep the first and second commandment. 0.73

00:04:48.620 And that's for the most mature Christians on the planet, right?

00:04:52.720 This is why every person must cast all of their trust in Christ and Christ alone. 0.90

00:04:59.940 Don't trust in yourself, in your own righteousness at all.

00:05:02.720 You need to trust in the righteousness of Christ.

00:05:06.360 Paul David Tripp said a great quote.

00:05:08.580 He said, you'll never celebrate grace as much as you should when you think you're more

00:05:14.540 righteous than you actually are.

00:05:16.540 In other words, if we're blind to how broken and sinful we truly are, the grace of God

00:05:23.760 will not be as sweet as it actually is.

00:05:27.300 So that's my first point.

00:05:28.620 We need to revel in the grace of God, the saving power of Christ.

00:05:34.900 We need to let that overwhelming grace become the gratitude that fuels our desire to be

00:05:41.300 obedient.

00:05:42.080 Okay, now, so it's just something we need to comprehend how broken we are, how great

00:05:48.800 the grace of Christ is, and the gratitude of that grace is the fuel by which we obey.

00:05:55.360 Now, again, because we can't keep these commandments on a regular basis, should we not strive to keep them at all?

00:06:04.660 Like, should we not try to be obedient?

00:06:06.240 Of course not, right?

00:06:07.460 Jesus said many times in the gospel, if you love me, you'll keep my commandments.

00:06:12.580 1 Peter 1, 15-16 says,

00:06:14.840 But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct.

00:06:21.460 Since it is written, you shall be holy, for I am holy.

00:06:27.380 Obedience to God's commands is the evidence of those who truly love God.

00:06:33.540 If you are obedient and you have a heart to love God and love others,

00:06:38.440 that's the evidence that you're truly saved.

00:06:41.700 But I want to break down this verse a little bit more

00:06:44.740 so we can have a healthy theological understanding of the passage.

00:06:49.920 Now, man, we could spend so much time, there's probably books that are written on just this verse, but let's just have a brief overview, a deeper understanding of this passage, the first and greatest commandment, as well as the second.

00:07:05.040 So again, Jesus says the first and greatest commitment is to love the Lord your God with

00:07:09.820 all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.

00:07:13.620 So for me, I think of kind of a broader theological principle going on here.

00:07:21.180 I think of 1 John 4, 19 that says, we love because he first loved us.

00:07:29.400 So I want you to just take that, just tuck it in your brain for a second.

00:07:32.660 We love because he first loved us.

00:07:35.800 1 John 4, 7-8, so in the same chapter, he says,

00:07:40.560 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God.

00:07:45.620 And everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

00:07:50.400 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

00:07:55.840 So ultimately, you know, it's only by the grace of God that we can even love God.

00:08:03.320 In other words, like loving God is a recycling of the love God has given to us by spiritual regeneration.

00:08:14.180 Now, can we do religious things without spiritual regeneration?

00:08:18.880 Can we sing songs at church?

00:08:20.940 Can we attend church?

00:08:22.100 Can we read the Bible in the flesh without being regenerated?

00:08:25.140 Sure, this is what religious zealots do.

00:08:28.100 This is what the Pharisees did.

00:08:30.320 But we can only love God, truly love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind if we have

00:08:37.740 the Spirit of God, if we've been born again.

00:08:41.420 But if we just look at the practical command here, I want to just look at that too.

00:08:46.660 What is Jesus telling us that can love because we have love because we have Christ?

00:08:52.440 he's telling us to prioritize our love for God in every sense that means in your spiritual life

00:09:03.540 you put nothing before the one true God again who we worship through Christ Jesus the the one and

00:09:10.200 only mediator between God and man right so in your physical or in your spiritual life you have

00:09:16.300 nothing before the one true God. In your emotional life, you put nothing above the one true God. In

00:09:25.100 your physical life, you put nothing before the one true God. In your intellectual life, you put

00:09:32.520 nothing before the one true God. And I want you to just take a moment and evaluate if that's true

00:09:40.380 of your life? Obviously, it's not always going to be true, but how far off the mark are you?

00:09:49.480 Is God the reigning focus of your life? This isn't a passage just for pastors.

00:10:00.140 This isn't a passage just for spiritual, mature people. This is for all who call on the name of

00:10:08.240 Christ. This is for people who are calling themselves Christians, are to prioritize God 0.99

00:10:16.000 through Christ in every aspect, in every faculty of their being. And are you putting Christ first

00:10:27.360 in your thoughts, in your schedule? Is he being pursued first in your day, in your parenting? Is

00:10:36.040 he present in the way that you parent your children in gentleness and in love? Are you

00:10:42.920 showing your family Christ and that you are seeking him first? Are your relationships

00:10:51.040 reflective of Christ? Is your reputation reflective of Christ because he is your reigning

00:10:57.060 priority? And again, we don't prioritize Christ because we're afraid of being punished by God if

00:11:04.040 we don't. That's not the motivation. We don't prioritize Christ because we think he's going to

00:11:09.960 love us more if we do. That's not the motivation. We prioritize God in this way with all of our

00:11:17.780 heart, soul, and mind as a reaction to the love that he first showed us. That is that he saved

00:11:26.500 us while we were still sinners and made us new. He made us one of his own. That is the cause,

00:11:34.200 the motivation, the deep fuel, the drive behind why we do this. You need to search your heart and

00:11:40.000 go, why am I trying to be obedient? Am I trying to be obedient because I want to earn my self

00:11:44.500 righteousness? You just got to go, hey, let go of your own self-righteousness. You'll never make it

00:11:51.780 on your own self-righteousness. Don't worry about that. Christ already made you righteous through

00:11:57.400 his righteousness. You don't need to be self-righteous. What you need to do is just allow

00:12:02.540 the love of God, the grace of God on your life, be the fuel which gets behind your life and

00:12:10.820 motivates you, generates obedience because you love God and you're so grateful that he gave his

00:12:18.160 life for you. So that's the first section. The next section I want to talk about is he says

00:12:24.460 this verse that the second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

00:12:32.900 So first, this passage supposes that humans love themselves. And we know this,

00:12:42.020 Ephesians 5 talks about this, right? Love your wives as you love yourself. Like nobody's ever

00:12:47.640 hated his own flesh is what it says in Ephesians 5, right? The passage supposes or presupposes that

00:12:54.280 humans already love themselves. We know this because when we're hungry, you know what we do?

00:13:01.220 We love ourselves so much that we feed ourselves. When we're cold, we love ourselves so much that

00:13:06.240 we put on a jacket. We love ourselves. You know, we don't need to be taught how to love ourselves.

00:13:13.900 we need to be taught how to love others. And that's what this is really about.

00:13:19.800 So ultimately, we need to apply that type of self-love to others. And basically,

00:13:27.060 we need to follow Christ in his example of sacrificial love, not thinking of ourselves

00:13:34.240 only, but also the needs of others, which is, I believe, Philippians. He loved us more than he

00:13:41.800 loved himself when he willingly, and what Hebrews says is joyfully, went to the cross. And so the

00:13:49.780 bottom line is that between these two sections on this great commandment, number one and two,

00:13:55.240 is that Jesus is saying, love God and love others. If you want to simplify it, like really simplify

00:14:00.500 it, love God and love others. He closes with this one verse in chapter, in verse 40. He says,

00:14:07.620 on these two commands depend all the law and the prophets. So the New King James would say,

00:14:14.960 like on these two commands, hang all the law and the prophets. And so first notice that there's

00:14:21.760 only two. And to a Jewish community, he's responding to people who are trying to keep 613 0.91

00:14:29.960 laws. And so to simplify all of the law and the prophets on these two commands is really incredible

00:14:39.440 and very compelling for the audience that's there in the moment of this text.

00:14:46.880 But I want you to just notice something real quick as we get ready to close here.

00:14:52.340 I want you to think about the Ten Commandments. And so in the Ten Commandments, the first four,

00:14:56.540 no other gods, no idols, don't take the Lord's name in vain, keep the Sabbath. Basically those

00:15:03.140 first four are love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your

00:15:06.640 mind. You're not going to have any other gods. You're prioritizing him there. There's no idols

00:15:11.840 in your life. You're not going to take the Lord's name in vain because you love him, right? You're

00:15:16.180 keeping the Sabbath holy, which could also apply to our benefit, but I threw it in this first

00:15:20.920 category. But then the last six, so those are the first four. So the first four are basically love

00:15:28.120 God. The last six you're going to see are basically love others. And the last six are honor your

00:15:35.420 parents, right? Your father and mother, don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal,

00:15:40.980 don't bear false witness, don't covet. And these are, again, are basically love your neighbor as

00:15:45.440 yourself. And so what Jesus is saying here, he's just giving a summary statement on the Ten

00:15:51.360 Commandments. And so I'll close with a statement that Augustine once made, I think that really

00:15:58.000 hits the heart of what's being said here. And I think those of you who have had deep devotion

00:16:04.440 with the Lord in prayer, in the study of the word, can see yourself saying something like this.

00:16:11.420 And my hope for you is that you all, through your maturity, the Lord's sanctifying you and growing you, that you all get to a place where you can produce this type of joy and love, resting in Christ's righteousness and still seeking out of gratitude to love the Lord your God with everything you have.

00:16:34.820 So Augustine once said,

00:16:36.460 There is a joy which is not given to the ungodly,

00:16:40.720 but to those who love thee for thine own sake,

00:16:44.580 whose joy thyself art.

00:16:47.580 And this is the happy life,

00:16:50.340 to rejoice to thee, of thee, for thee.

00:16:54.840 This it is, and there is no other.

00:16:58.580 Let's close in prayer.

00:17:00.460 Father, we thank you for the simplification

00:17:03.660 of what everything you stand for

00:17:07.640 and everything you want of us

00:17:09.480 is broken down in this simple verse.

00:17:12.180 Father, we ask that you would impress this truth

00:17:14.380 upon those who are listening.

00:17:16.160 We ask, Father, that you would guide us

00:17:18.400 to understand the love that you have given us

00:17:22.000 as we reflect it back to you.

00:17:24.500 Father, we pray for a growth of revelation

00:17:27.900 and understanding of who you are

00:17:29.540 Lord, that we might love you and love others the way that you want us to.

00:17:34.760 In Jesus' name, amen.

00:17:59.540 Thank you for being with us today.

00:18:13.560 We hope to see you next Wednesday for another episode of Real Christianity.

Dale Partridge - May 20, 2020

Real Christianity #98： The First and Greatest Commandment

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