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[In our study of the Ten Commandments we have discovered,] 

• [1^st Commandment – The Preeminence of God - Jehovah God is preeminent because there is no other God.  He, and He alone is God.]

• [2^nd Commandment – The Living God – Jehovah God is the only living God. Because there are no other god’s.  Our Heavenly Father is Jealous for our souls that we might walk with him.  Idols or false god’s will only alienate us from God and rob us of the eternal life He reserves and desires for each of us.]

• [3^rd Commandment – A Worthy God – Jehovah God, as the only living God, is worthy of all my honor, and praise.  He is jealous for me that my soul and spirit might be saved and in eternal harmony with Him.]

• [4th Commandment – A Renewing God – Keeping the Sabbath holy reminds us that our Heavenly Father desires deeply to keep our relationship with Him fresh and intimate.]

• [5^th Commandment – Honor Starts At Home – Honor and respect are the foundation of all of our relationships.  Honor and value your parents and family and you will find it easy to honor the people in your life.]

• [6^th Commandment – The Value Of Human Life – Mankind was distinctly made in the image of God.  We are not highly evolved animals, but uniquely formed by God and for God.]

• [7^th Commandment – Faithfulness and Fidelity – Moral and spiritual adultery will destroy your life, while faithfulness and fidelity toward God and your fellowman will result in contentment and lasting relationships in your life.]

• [8^th Commandment – Trust and Integrity – Trust and Integrity matter in your life and relationships.  Never underestimate how important trust is in your life.]

• [9^th Commandment – Honesty and Truth – Honesty and Truth matter in your life and relationships.]

• [10^th Commandment – Contentment – Being satisfied with the provision that your Heavenly Father has given you, and gives you in the future, matters in this life and the life to come.  Greed and the insatiable desire to have more wealth or stature will destroy your mortal life and rob you of your eternal rewards to come.]

[Having completed last Sunday’s sermon on the 10^th commandment many would have expected that this series on the Ten Commandments would have been finished last Sunday.  But, as New Testament Christians we would not fully understand the Ten Commandments apart for the two New Commandments given by our Lord Jesus Christ in the New Testament.  These two New Commandments reveal the heart and fulfillment of the Old Testament Ten Commandments.  These two New Commandments given by our Lord reveal how we can fulfill all of the commandments given in the Old Testament.] 

[Read Texts] 

[John 13:34-35 ³⁴ A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. ³⁵ By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.]

[Matthew 22:35-40 ³⁵ Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, ³⁶ Master, which is the great commandment in the law? ³⁷ Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. ³⁸ This is the first and great commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. ⁴⁰ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. ]

[The Character Of The Commandments – As we have noted throughout our study of the Ten Commandments, each of these commandments are based on the character of God.  God does not just give us good ideas for life; they are actually expressions of who God is.  God commands us to tell the truth because God’s character is truth.  God cannot lie and will not lie, and hence those who will be like God will not lie and cannot lie.  The only truly successful way to fulfill the Ten Commandments is to become like God as a matter of Character.] 

[The other day I went to a website where other pastors post their sermons to see what others were preaching about the Ten Commandments.  I was very surprised to discover that almost every message I looked at presented that nearly all of the commandments were based on actions and only the last commandment was a matter of the heart.  I found this to even be true of many of the preaching giants of old.  Yet, our Lord in the New Testament reveals clearly that the heart is the only answer to mankind’s inability to fulfill God’s commands.  We will never be able to fulfill God’s commandments by brute force or action apart from the heart.] 

[Even the apostle Paul in Romans reveals mankind’s futility in his attempts to fulfill the law of God through sheer will power and force of mind.  Paul wrote,] 

[Galatians 3:21-24 ²¹ Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. ²² But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. ²³ But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. ²⁴ Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. ]

[Romans 13:7-10 ⁷ Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour. ⁸ Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. ⁹ For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. ¹⁰ Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. ]

[We noted in our study through the Ten Commandments that Satan lies because He is a liar.  Hence, we discover that people lie because they are liars.  People covet because they are covetous.  People worship idols because they are Idolaters.  People kill because they are murderers.  The things we do are a result of who we are at the core of our being.  Hence, our actions are a reflection of our character.  We are unlike God in our unredeemed state because our character is sinful while God’s character is holy.  Hence, we need a change of character or a transformation of heart and being if we would honor God and fulfill the Ten Commandments.] 

[Our Lord in giving the two New Commandments recorded in the New Testament reveals the fact that the ability to fulfill the Ten Commandments is not found in sheer force of will, but instead is found in the content of ones heart or their character.  Hence, love is the fulfilling of the law (Rom 13.10) or love is what all of God’s law hangs upon (Matt 22.40).  This transformation of heart and character is the central theme of the entire New Testament.  This metamorphosis is the result of the New Birth or the salvation offered through the shed blood of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.]   

[Be it known to everyone listening to the sound of this message today.  Without the redemption offered by our Lord Jesus Christ, without the New Birth, you are still a lost sinful person filled with the character of our sinful natural father Adam and with that character you will continue in sin because you are a sinner at heart.  But with the New Birth offered through the Lord Jesus Christ your are given a new character, a new heart, transformed by the indwelling presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Now, with your transformed heart, sin is still present, but sin is not dominant within you and you will find it easier to live a godly life than it will be to live a sinful life.] 

[The Measure of the New Birth – I mentioned earlier in this series of sermons on the Ten Commandments.  If you find it easy to lie, steal, murder (hate), commit adultery (immorality), and greedily covet then your character is that of a natural sinner.  However, if you find it easier to be honest, show compassion (love), care for your neighbor, be faithful in your relationships, and to honor God and eternity to come then your character is godly, transformed by the presence of Christ within you.  Your actions reflect your character, and your character is who you are at the core of your being, or in your heart.] 

[So how can we hope to fulfill the Ten Commandments?  Our Lord Jesus Christ states that the commandments of God revolve around the two greatest commandments of all.] 

In these two commandments we discover, 

A.     A Preeminent Love (Matt 22.36-40; Deut 6.4-6) [- Master, which is the great commandment in the law? ³⁷ Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. ³⁸ This is the first and great commandment. – Love is the fulfilling of the law because love strikes at the deepest part of our being.  The things we truly love are those things that motivate us and drive us to do those things that we do.  Therefore, if God is the preeminent love of your life, then your character will be formed and developed around that love.  Those who love God first, above and beyond everything else, will become like God.  Those who love anything else more than God will become like whatever it is that they love first.] 

[Hence, when our Lord Jesus Christ is asked, “what is the greatest commandment?”  What is the preeminent commandment?  What is the commandment of all commandments?  Our Lord says,  “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”  At first glance, someone might say, “Well, this is not even one of the Ten Commandments at all.  Jesus must have just made this up all on His own.  Jesus must have just reached into His mind and wrote a new commandment.”  But this is not the case at all.  Love has always been the only God given way to fulfill the moral law of God.  The Bible says, 

[Deuteronomy 6:4-6 ⁴ Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: ⁵ And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. ⁶ And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:]

[Our Lord was quoting this passage of scripture when He stated what the most important commandment was.  He was also revealing that the heart of the law resided in the heart of who you are.  Love God and you will fulfill the commands of God.] 

[But this love is not just any old love, and it certainly is not worldly love.  In our worlds love we all know that there are different expressions of love and they all pour from and different levels of commitment and perceived need in our lives.  There is the,]

• [Love of one’s mother – A mother’s love is a deep love filled with devotion and dedication.]

• [Love of one’s family – A siblings love is different from a mother’s love and still has a level of devotion and dedication, but not like a mothers love.

• [Love of one’s friends – A friend’s love is different from the love of a mother or family and presents, normally, a lessened sense of dedication.]

• [Love of one’s desires – Like sexual desires, we call it love, but it is really lust and has no real dedication at all, but seeks to fulfill some immediate sense of need.]

[In biblical Greek we discover four or five different Greek words that express different kinds of love, yet each word is properly translated love in our text.  Some of which were expressed in our list above.  So, as we study this preeminent love we must understand that our Lord is stating that there is a love in our life that must be above every other love.  It must be greater than our love of success.  It must be greater than our love of self.  It must even be greater than our love of our family or others.  This most important love must be the preeminent love of our lives.  It must be our first love.] 

[This preeminent love must be our love for God!] 

[Most of us here today would quickly declare, I love God first in my life.  In saying this you state that God is the preeminent love of your life.  But is God really the preeminent love of your life.  You will know what you love the most by what you actually do in your life.  You will make time for what you love the most in your life.   You will do what you need to do for what you love most in your life.  We all must understand that just saying God is preeminent in your life does not mean that He really is.] 

[How do you know what the preeminent love of your life is?] 

1.      Preeminent Love Results in Our Submission (John 14.15-16,21; 1 John 5.2-3) 

[John 14:15 ¹⁵ If ye love me, keep my commandments.]

[John 14:21 ²¹ He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. ]

[Now here is an interesting thing, yet it is an obvious truth, if you think it through a bit.  If you love the Lord Jesus Christ, then you will want to please Him and you cannot please Him without obeying Him.  This is true of all true love.  If you love someone then you want to please them and you do things to try and please them.  Our Lord Jesus Christ says, in essence, “If you want to discover whether or not you really love me, then just look at what you do.”  If you love God you will obey God.  Your obedience won’t really be a matter of choice, or duress, it will be a matter of your heart, because it is a matter of love.] 

[This is not forced love – This kind of love for God does not required a whipping post, it does not require harsh consequences for disobedience, because this kind of love will drive one into willful obedience for the one loved.  If you deeply love God preeminently then no one will ever have to threaten you into obedience.  You will just want to please God and therefore you will obey God.  Someone who will only strive to obey God because of the threat of hell fire and brimstone does not really love God first.  They love something else first.  A preeminent love naturally results in a drive toward obedience.] 

[1 John 5:2-3 ² By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. ³ For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.]

[When your love for your Heavenly Father is your preeminent love no one will have to force you to obey God.  You will not look for excuses to not obey God.  You will just obey God because you want to.  It will just become natural for you to love and obey your Heavenly Father.]

2.      Preeminent Love Results in Our Transformation (2 Cor 5.14-15; John 15.12-14) [– Our willing obedience to our Lord is the result of a change in our heart, and change in our character.  When you receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior a supernatural transformation takes place within you.  You are still a human being.  You still look like you did the day before.  You still smell like you did the day before.  But something unseen, deep within you has taken place.  Your friends cannot see the source of this change, your family cannot see the source of this change, but absolutely everybody will notice the results of this change.] 

[This transformation takes place deep inside of you, you are given a changed character, a heart transplant has taken place, not your physical heart, but your spiritual heart has been transplanted and transformed by an act of Almighty God.  This transplant will absolutely change everything in your life.  Your whole reason for living will and has changed.  Paul wrote,] 

[2 Corinthians 5:14-15 ¹⁴ For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: ¹⁵ And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. ]

[If God is the preeminent love of our lives then we will no longer live for our selves, we will now live for our Lord Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father.  Not because you have to, but because you want to.  If you are still living life for yourself, for your desire, for your goals, for your success, for your purposes, then you must consider whether God is truly your preeminent love.  Jesus said,] 

[John 15:12-14 ¹² This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. ¹⁴ Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.]

[Why did the Lord Jesus Christ lay down His life for you?  Because He loved you!  From this simple fact we learn a profound lesson.  If we really love God first, if God is the preeminent love of our life then we will lay down our lives for Him.]

[I believe there are many people who love God, but they do not love God first.  If you love anything more than God, then you will obey what you love the most.  If God is the preeminent love of your life, then there will be a profound transformation in your life.] 

3.      Preeminent Love Results in Our Infusion (John 14.16-17,23) [– A preeminent love for God will result in a fellowship between you and God.  Jesus Said,] 

[John 14:15-17 ¹⁵ If ye love me, keep my commandments. ¹⁶ And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; ¹⁷ Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. ]

[John 14:23 ²³ Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.]

[We know that when a person is born again they receive the Holy Spirit into their life.  The Bible speaks of God coming to dwell inside of their heart (Rev 3.20).  This is another indication of the kind of transformation that takes place within the heart or character of a born again child of God.  Those who love God preeminently will know the presence of God within them and will manifest that infusion in their life.  Hence, people get saved to get better, they do not get better to get saved.] 

B.     A Primary Love (Matt 22.39) [- And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. – This primary love will again be absolutely undeniable within a born again child of God.  But it is not the preeminent love of loving God first, yet it is an undeniable result of ones love for God.  As a matter of fact, when our Lord says, “. . . And the second is like unto it”, I believe that our Lord is saying you cannot have one without the other.  In this primary love we notice,] 

1.      The Presence of Love (1 John 4.19-21) [– The Apostle John wrote,] 

[1 John 4:19-21 ¹⁹ We love him, because he first loved us. ²⁰ If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? ²¹ And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.]

[A born again Christian cannot claim to love God and harbor hate or indifference in his heart for any other person, not even their enemies.  People are made in the image of God.  All people are loved by God, so much so, that God sent His only begotten Son to die on Calvary’s Cross for them.  People, all people, are precious in God’s sight and must be loved and cherished.] 

[This text reveals that loving your fellow man is the natural result of first loving God.] 

2.      The Peace of Love (Rom 13.7-10; 12.18) [– The love that God will work into your life is the kind of love that seeks peace with ones fellow man.  Paul wrote,] 

[Romans 13:7-10 ⁷ Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour. ⁸ Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. ⁹ For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. ¹⁰ Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.]

[Now, when I speak of the peace of love I am not talking about the kind of peace our world thinks of when I mention peace.  Our world thinks that peace is the cessation of hostilities between people.  The peace that I am thinking of is the only real peace that is truly available to our world.  I am talking about peace with God.] 

[Our world thinks that peace is the armistice treaty that results in a cease fire.  Nations can have a cease fire and still be at war in their hearts, minds and life.  Many nations have called for a cease fire, but a state of war continues to exist.  No, this is not the kind of peace God demands of His people.  The kind of peace that God will bring into your heart and life is the kind of peace that provides the fullness of life that is only available through our Lord Jesus Christ.  This is true and enduring peace.] 

[For the born again Christian the Bible says,] 

[Romans 12:18 ¹⁸ If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. ]

[There are some who will never be at peace or have peace with us, but for the born again Christian peace will always be a harbor for his life.  Seeking peace is the result of this primary love in your life.] 

3.      The Promotion of Love (1 John 4.7-10) [- God’s love for us is such love that He could not sit by and just let us go to hell.  God took action to save us while we were still lost and undone in our sins.  John wrote,] 

[1 John 4:7-10 ⁷ Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. ⁸ He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. ⁹ In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. ¹⁰ Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. ]

[Many today think that hate is the opposite of love.  And it is, but have you thought about what the expressions of hate are.  Probably the least acknowledged expression of hate is Indifference.  Indifference is just not caring.  Just sitting by a letting someone go their own way and not doing anything about it.  Love cares.  Love reaches out, loves speaks out, love seeks to do something to help the desperate.  It was God’s love for us that reached out through the Lord Jesus Christ to save us and bring us into the family of God.  What greater promotion could there be than to enter into the family of God.] 

[The love God brings into our lives seeks the eternal promotion of our fellowman.  It reaches out to bring everyone else into the same love that this love knows.  This primary love that flows out of the preeminent love of God is an unselfish love.] 

C.     A Promise Of Love (Matt 22.40) [- On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.] 

1.      The Fulfillment of the Law (Rom 13.10) [– This love that our Lord Jesus Christ commands will bring you to fulfill the laws of God in your life.  Paul wrote,] 

[Romans 13:10 ¹⁰ . . .  therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.]

[If you love God preeminently and love your fellowman primarily, then you will automatically fulfill the law.  Love is God’s answer for lawbreakers.] 

2.      The Fulfillment of Life (2 John 1.5-6) [– The love that God places within us does not disregard the law, it fulfills the law.  John wrote,] 

[2 John 1:5-6 ⁵ And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another. ⁶ And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it. ]

[Your life will never be fuller and richer than when you love God enough to obey Him.  Through a loving obedience for God you will find contentment in your life.  You will find satisfaction in your life.  You will find joy in your life.  These are all things we all want in life.  They are all found by first loving God and then loving your fellowman.] 

CrossRoads Baptist Church, November 29, 2009