Results 1 - 3 of 3
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Is it possible to love God as commanded? | Gal 3:24 | Brent Douglass | 2120 | ||
Is the command to "LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH" in Mark 12:29-34 and elsewhere something that we, as Christians indwelt by the Holy Spirit can attain with God's enablement in this life, or is this merely an impossible command designed to humble us in our sinfulness? | ||||||
2 | Is it possible to love God as commanded? | Gal 3:24 | charis | 2166 | ||
Dear Brent Douglass, Your question has as a scripture reference, Galatians 3:24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. Is this part of your question? In answer to the question, I believe that it is impossible to have 'perfect' love toward the Lord. Though it would be nice to believe that you do completely love Him, I don't think I have ever met anyone who obeyed every commandment, and treated every member of His body, the church, with love, or loved those for whom He died, the world, with perfect love. The part about "merely an impossible command designed to humble us in our sinfulness" might be a bit stronger than I would state it. I think that, like infinity or perpetual motion, the "near-perfect' attainment is a worthy goal, to be pursued with zeal, but the 'perfect' is reserved for our Lord Jesus. Indeed, as you state, we should be humble enough to acknowledge that Christ Jesus will always be perfect, and we will never be capable of 'catching up' or 'passing' Him, which was the sin of Lucifer. The encouragement of the Holy Spirit is to never stop trying. Good question. Blessings in Jesus' name, charis |
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3 | Is it possible to love God as commanded? | Gal 3:24 | Brent Douglass | 2469 | ||
Thanks for your reply. The Galatians 3:24 verse came from JHVH0212's earlier reply, not my original posting, which quoted only from Mark 12. As I understand this Scripture and others dealing with complete commitment (e.g. Luke 14:25-33; 1 Corinthians 10:13 and Matthew 6:24,33), the Lord does desire (and require) such "perfect" love. These passages indicate that the believer can -- through the purification of Christ's blood and resurrection, the transformation of the heart and mind through the Spirit and the Word, and the working of the Holy Spirit -- love God with all his (or her) heart, soul, mind and strength as God commanded throughout the Christian life as maturity continues to develop. In this way, the law is fulfilled "in" the believer (and not just "for" him) according to Scripture, as pointed out by JHVH0212 in his second reply on the parrallel thread under this question. As John Wesley pointed out in his discourse, "A Plain Account of Christian Perfection" (see www.whatsaiththescripture.comFellowshipWesley.Christian.Perfectio.html if it prints out properly), this does not remove factors such as ignorance or any mental, physical, and emotional limitations of the believer. Nor does it remove the need for repentance when sin done in ignorance is revealed to the believer. It is, rather, an attitude of being entirely set apart (sanctified) to exercise love toward God. The condition can be temporary, if a believer willingly compromises this complete love, and it can then be restored through repentance and the Spirit's sovereign provision. While the believer can and should humbly seek such a condition, only the Spirit can so "fill" someone with this love. While this may seem impossible from our own judgment of the people around us, the teaching of the Scriptures always carries a higher authority than our own interpretation of our experience, and I believe the Scriptures call us confidently to such complete love -- not as an impossible requirement but as an offering we can present only by the grace and empowerment of the Spirit (see Romans 12:1 and 1 Peter 2:5). I'd like to get more input on this with a later question, but this is my current understanding. |
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