What Love Implies

The covenant and commands God gave to His people provided guidance over what to do and explicit instruction what not to do.  It would do little good to avoid what was evil and shirk doing what God commands or to imagine our souls are profited by embracing good and evil together by our practices.

When asked what the greatest commandment was in the Law, Jesus did not quote one of the Ten Commandments.  He instead summed up the Law this way in Luke 10:27:  "So he answered and said, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbour as yourself.'"  The active love we show towards God should be demonstrated by doing what pleases Him, and it is also implied we should not do what is wicked in His sight.  Implied in traditional wedding vows is a promise of faithfulness to your spouse, and this can be demonstrated by pursuing adulterous relationships.

God spelled out to His people the plain implications of what it meant to fear God, that they would not fear other gods.  2 Kings 17:35-39 says concerning the children of Israel "...with whom the LORD had made a covenant and charged them, saying: "You shall not fear other gods, nor bow down to them nor serve them nor sacrifice to them; ³⁶ but the LORD, who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm, Him you shall fear, Him you shall worship, and to Him you shall offer sacrifice. ³⁷ And the statutes, the ordinances, the law, and the commandment which He wrote for you, you shall be careful to observe forever; you shall not fear other gods.³⁸ And the covenant that I have made with you, you shall not forget, nor shall you fear other gods. ³⁹ But the LORD your God you shall fear; and He will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies."  Over and over again God repeated His people were to fear Him and not fear other gods.  The historical account in the Bible shows God's people failed on both counts, for their spiritual adultery with idols demonstrated their failure to fear God.

This brings up and important point Christians ought to understand:  having chosen to trust and follow Jesus, we should not fear any other gods.  We should not be in fear over Satan and his demons, deities worshipped by people all over the world, nor of money or lack thereof.  If we are afraid or worried we will not have enough money to live or retire comfortably, it may be money has become the idol we fear not having enough of.  It is not money we need to live but Jesus Christ who is our Life and provides all for life and godliness.  Jesus said in Luke 16:13, "No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."  When Joshua urged the people to "choose this day whom you will serve" the idea was to choose the true God of Israel to the exclusion of all others.

How liberating the fear of the living God is, for placing our faith in Him casts out all fear of other gods who are nothing in comparison to Him.  Our God is the one who has made a new covenant of grace with us with His own blood and sealed with the Holy Spirit.  He is the God who has brought us out of a prison of darkness and eternal damnation and delivered us with the great power of our resurrected LORD and Saviour.  We ought not forget our awesome God, and in remembering Him we are filled with praise and thanksgiving.  Loving God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind means we do not fear other gods.