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Fulfilling the Law and the Prophets
Jesus says that all of the Law and the Prophets hang on the two greatest commandments: loving God with the totality of your existence and loving your neighbor as yourself. That all sounds good, but what is meant by this notion of the Law and the Prophets?
To begin with, we ought to make it clear what this passage is not saying. It is not saying that the Law and the Prophets have all been derived from these two commandments (just the opposite — these two commandments are a summary of the Law and the Prophets!). Further, this is not saying that if you do these two commandments, you are able to fulfill all that the Law and the Prophets demand (as if we could do this fully!).
To begin with, the Law, when spoken in a context like this, is most typically a reference to the Pentateuch, or the first five books of the Bible — known as the Books of Moses or the Torah (the Hebrew word for Law). The Prophets refer to the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve Minor Prophets — again, this is a Hebrew designation for these works.
What function do these books play? To begin with, they introduce the Law and the Covenant to the people of God. Second of all, they demonstrate the failure of the people of God to fulfill the righteous demands of the Covenant Law and of God’s faithfulness to his Covenant promises despite the people’s failures. In a very real sense, the purpose of the Law and the Prophets was to communicate to the people that they did not fulfill the Law and the Prophets (in most cases, they didn’t even try) and to demonstrate to the people that they needed a redeemer.
There is a telling passage that speaks to this reality found in Ezekiel 7:26. Ezekiel has been prophesying the destruction of the land of Israel and in that context, he says that the Law has perished from the priests (they no longer honor it or preach it to the people) and the people seek visions from the Prophets (yet the prophets make no sense apart from the Law). So, what do the people have but judgment and terror?
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus states unambiguously that he has come to fulfill and not abolish the Law — that the Law will never pass away until the heavens and the earth pass away. Indeed, in coming as the new and greater Covenant mediator, who can live out the Law perfectly on behalf of his people, he also fulfills the Covenant that God made and the people broke. In fact, Christ is the great fulfillment of this Covenant promise, the beginning of which is found in Genesis 3:15.
So, what is this ultimately saying to us? To begin with, Jesus is the demonstration of what it looks like to live out the first and second “greatest” commandments perfectly. If we wish to grow in grace and in spiritual maturity (as well as in demonstrating our Love toward God), this is that for which we must strive. Second, it is a reminder that without a love of God (that emanates from the totality of our being), we don’t even have a chance of living out the second (which flows from the first). We love our neighbor not as an individual command in and of itself; we love our neighbor because we love our God — the second flows out of the first. And third, if you could summarize the Law and Prophets — what God expected of his people and what his people failed to do — then here you have it: Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, with all of your mind, and with all of your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.
Be Kind
Have you ever wondered why God commands us to be kind to our neighbors…you know the whole Leviticus 19:18 idea that we are to “love your neighbor as yourself.” Why couldn’t we just love God? We could go on retreats, we could find a cave up in the mountains somewhere and live as a hermit just with our love of God. On a level, that might be nice for a while — and on those days where you are frustrated with everyone around you…well, let me say that there is an appeal. So, why does God command us to love our neighbor (which you can’t do as a hermit because a hermit has no neighbors)?
Realize too, that when the Bible speaks of one’s neighbor, it is not just speaking about those who live next door nor is it talking about just those who are Christians or who are part of your local church (the Apostle John makes it clear that if you do not love the people in your church, you are not a Christian — 1 John 3:14-15; 4:20). No, your neighbor is anyone you come into contact with — that is the context of Leviticus 19 and that is the point of Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37). But why? Loving God is clear, but why must we love our neighbors as well?
As Christians, not only are we to bear God’s image, but we are to be witnesses of God in the way that we live and speak. In this, we are called to “imitate” God (Jesus) in those attributes of God that we bear and exhibit. This is sometimes spoken of as the doctrine of the Imitatio Dei — an integral part of our sanctification. Thus, as we see God being loving, we should strive to be loving. As we see God being merciful, we also ought to strive to be merciful. As we see God being all-knowing (omniscient), we strive to learn as much as we are able to learn. And, as God pours out his wrath upon sin, we also ought to pour out our anger and righteous indignation against sin — especially against that sin we harbor in our own lives.
And in light of this, we see Jesus’ teaching that God makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends the rain to water the fields of the just and the unjust alike (Matthew 5:45). King David says it even more concisely: “the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord” (Psalm 33:5). Theologians typically refer to this as the “Common Grace” of God. In other words, God gives good things to the totality of his creation. This is meant to draw the elect closer to God in love and affection and to add judgment upon judgment to the life of the reprobate.
And thus, our kindness to our neighbor is a means by which we imitate the Common Grace of God. In addition, it is an extension of God’s common grace through us. Thus, we are commanded to love our neighbor as ourselves. If we do otherwise, we falsely represent God’s character of Common Grace, we fail in our witness about God to the world, and we fail in our obedience to our God and master. We may even demonstrate that we do not really love God in the first place and need to begin by repenting and believing in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior — your sovereign King and Redeemer.
Heart and Soul
Moses says that we are to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, with all of our soul, and with all of our abundance. Jesus clarifies and arguably expounds on this when he says that you are to love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength (Matthew 22:37). In fact, Jesus says that this is the first and the greatest commandment. I have written elsewhere on how Jesus’ language harmonizes with Moses’ and I have also explored each one of these aspects of loving God in depth — for our purposes here, let us say that Jesus is commanding us that we are to love God with every aspect of our being, both earthly and spiritual and even with our material possessions.
What I want to explore here is not so much the detail of loving God with the totality of your being, but why it is important to do so. Why should you love God with your heart, soul, mind, and strength…and, why should you love him with all and not some of these aspects of your character? Why not just give some while holding part of it back for yourself? Surely, that is what most professing Christians do anyway, is it not?
Billy Graham was well-known for saying, “If you want to know a person’s priorities, give me five minutes with his checkbook.” I prefer to ask the question in terms of how someone spends their time. There is work, sleep, eating, commuting, etc… that are required parts of living in this western world, but out of the day, how much time do you spend in prayer in comparison to how much time you spend watching television or playing video games? How much time is spent in reading your Bible in comparison to personal pleasure reading? According to a New York Times article from a few years back, American adults average about 4-5 hours of television (or other forms of entertainment — YouTube, movies, etc…) per day. If that describes you, may I ask if you are genuinely loving God with all of your being — in this case, with all of your time? Or, are you holding back?
Truly, I am not arguing that all television or other “screen-time” is bad; the occasional game, movie, or television show is not a bad thing (of course, I suppose that depends on what you are watching too…). But, what I am saying is that your prayer and devotional time should vastly outweigh the time you commit to entertainment. And when I say “vastly,” I do mean vastly.
It seems to me that when I hear preachers talking about why we are to love God with all, much of what I hear has to do with the benefits of doing so. People say that you will be more “spiritually fulfilled” or that you will discover the “blessings of God in your life.” And while this may be the case, it should say that these are (at best) only the byproducts of being wholly committed to God.
The real reason that you and I are to love God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength is because God is worthy of your love and your devotion. There are many things in your life that vie for your attention and for your affection, and many of these things are beautiful and wonderful things, but they are not God. God is infinitely better. And while you will gain incalculable satisfaction from worshiping him because he is worthy, an even better way of looking at it is that worshipping him is the only right thing we can do in life.
Truly, I do understand, none of us will do this perfectly in our lives. Thanks be to God that our eternal salvation does not depend on meriting anything — that work was done by Christ — but ought we not strive for what is right and true when we know it to be so?
The fourth question in the Heidelberg Catechism adds to this that the Law of God commands us to love Him with all of our heart and soul and mind and strength. Why a command? The answer is simple. The purpose of the Law is to instruct us in how to live in a way that is right (righteous) and true. If it is the right thing to do to honor God with all of our existence, is it any surprise that the law of God requires that we do the same. And again, this is not about earning merit or making points with God. This is simply proper and what is expected not just of redeemed Christians, but of the creation itself. Psalm 117 instructs even the pagan nations to praise God because God has been faithful to his own people (something they cannot say about their pagan idols).
Christian Requirements
Requirements? Wait a minute, Pastor Win, I have heard you preach over and over that we are saved by grace through faith. In fact, not just that, isn’t that what Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:8? Indeed, that is both what I have regularly preached (and written) over the years, and more importantly, that is the consistent testimony of Scripture. So, back to the question, what are we talking about by requirements?
The answer is simple. We are indeed saved by grace through faith — the work of salvation has entirely been done for us by Jesus himself. Yet, God does expect that his people live in a way that is distinct and different than does the rest of the world. In Old Testament Israel, this was often expressed in the form of the food ways, rules on clothing, and the participation in various festivals.
As Christians, we recognize that Christ fulfilled the law for us, but we also wish to live in a way that is pleasing to our God and Savior. Thus, we again, follow various ways prescribed for us in the scriptures. This time, though, it is focused not so much on food or clothing, but on spiritual elements — we are to forgive as we have been forgiven (Matthew 6:14-15), we are to do unto others as we would have them do to us (Matthew 7:12), and we are to pursue the fruit of the Spirit in our lives while rejecting the immoral ways of the world (Galatians 5:16-26).
God expects us to be holy as he is holy (to strive in that direction, that is — 1 Peter 1:16) and to strive for righteousness (1 John 3:9-10). Indeed, we are to be all the more diligent to make our calling and election sure (2 Peter 1:10). Will there be people who go to heaven who make an ongoing shipwreck of their lives — indeed, that’s the nature of grace — but are we given an excuse to set the bar low? Never, how can we who died to sin still live in it (Romans 6:2)? We can have no assurance of faith if we do not live that faith out in good and righteous works (as God defines good works, not as society defines them) — indeed, faith without works is dead (James 2:17). Thus, when our Lord is asked, “What is the greatest commandment?”, he affirms that indeed God requires us to live not as we wish, but as He wishes.
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