\n\t\t\t\t\t\tDownload Audio\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: Matthew 22:34-40<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I. From among the Pharisees, a lawyer came to Jesus to put him to the test. <\/p>\n
A. He asked, “Which is the greatest commandment?”<\/p>\n B. A difficult question, given the large number of commands found in the Old\nTestament. \n
1. How do you decide which is greater than the others?<\/p>\n
2. All are from God and are equally important<\/p>\n 3. Being a lawyer, I’m sure he was prepared to counter any selection that\nJesus made.\n
C. Yet Jesus had an answer – Matthew 22:34-40<\/p>\n 1. Interestingly, the command Jesus selected is not found among the famous\nTen Commandments. \n 2. It is found three times in the book of Deuteronomy – Deuteronomy 6:5;\n10:12; 30:6\n
3. Jesus also labeled another command as the second greatest command.<\/p>\n
4. It is found only once in the book of Leviticus – Leviticus 19:18<\/p>\n
D. Jesus selected “greatest” by the commands which covered most broadly<\/p>\n
1. These two commands summarize the entire law.<\/p>\n
2. Such a profound and pointed insight could only come from the author<\/p>\nII. To love the Lord you God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength remains as the\ncornerstone of the New Testament.\n
A. Of faith, hope and love, love is the greatest – I Corinthians 13:13<\/p>\n
B. Keep ourselves in the love of God – Jude 21<\/p>\n C. Paul prayed that the Thessalonians’ hearts would be directed toward God’s love –\nII Thessalonians 3:5\n
III. Why should we love God?<\/p>\n
A. Because He first loved us – I John 4:19<\/p>\n
B. He showed this love by sending His Son – John 3:16<\/p>\n
C. Not that we deserved being rescued – Romans 5:7-8<\/p>\n
D. In willingly going to the cross, Jesus showed his love toward us – Ephesians 5:1-2<\/p>\n
E. Because of God’s mercy we are driven to love Him in return – Psalms 31:23-24<\/p>\n
IV. How does a person love God?<\/p>\n
A. Saying “I love you” isn’t sufficient – Matthew 7:21<\/p>\n
1. Love is demonstrated in a willingness to follow – John 14:15, 23-24<\/p>\n
2. Love is keeping God’s commands – I John 5:1-3<\/p>\n
B. With all your heart<\/p>\n
1. From the depth of your emotions – Proverbs 4:23<\/p>\n
2. Absolutely nothing come before Him – Matthew 6:33<\/p>\n
3. Not like the Pharisees – Matthew 15:7-9<\/p>\n
C. With all your soul<\/p>\n
1. Willing to give your life for Him – Revelation 12:11<\/p>\n
2. Romans 12:1 – A living sacrifice<\/p>\n
D. With all your mind<\/p>\n
1. With sincerity of thought. Willing to know God and His Will.<\/p>\n
2. Diligent to present yourself – II Timothy 2:15<\/p>\n
3. Not by focusing on this world – Romans 8:7<\/p>\n
E. With all your strength<\/p>\n
1. Willing to place all efforts at His disposal<\/p>\n
2. Ecclesiastes 9:10 – Do with all your might<\/p>\n
3. Colossians 3:23-24 – As slaves were told to do.<\/p>\n
4. Diligently, fervently serving the Lord – Romans 12:11<\/p>\n
F. A love for God overflows to others – I John 4:7-13<\/p>\n
V. Benefits from loving God<\/p>\n
A. We are strengthened – Ephesians 4:15-16<\/p>\n
B. We are bonded – Colossians 2:1-3; 3:14<\/p>\n
C. We are rooted – Ephesians 3:14-19<\/p>\n
D. Grace to those who sincerely love God – Ephesians 6:24<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Download Audio by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Matthew 22:34-40 I. From among the Pharisees, a lawyer came to Jesus to put him to the test. A. He asked, “Which is the greatest commandment?” B. A difficult question, given the large number of commands found in the Old Testament. 1. How do you decide which is greater than the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[65,54],"class_list":["post-14259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-love","tag-obedience"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":22316,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/thank-you-for-your-lesson-on-the-greatest-commandment\/","url_meta":{"origin":14259,"position":0},"title":"Thank you for your lesson on the greatest commandment","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 3, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Matthew 22:37 to me is the reason we are here. Deuteronomy 6:5-8 gives me the assurance of God's love for us. We are to love Him at all time regardless of our situation. Sometimes it scares me that the love of God is so powerful yet so gentle. Romans\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":89505,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/commandment-keeping\/","url_meta":{"origin":14259,"position":1},"title":"Commandment Keeping","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 17, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Kevin Cauley There are those in the religious world today who ridicule the idea of keeping commandments. They claim that keeping God's commandments has nothing to do with our salvation today. If someone objects and says that we must keep God's commandments to be saved, the charge of legalism\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6922,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-there-to-repent-for-in-being-homosexual\/","url_meta":{"origin":14259,"position":2},"title":"What is there to repent for in being homosexual?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 17, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have just read your article entitled\u00a0What Homosexuals Want and a few questions came up. In the first paragraph, it is referenced that homosexuals, unless they repent, shall not inherit the kingdom of heaven ( I Corinthians 6:9-11). However, in referencing the scriptural quote, it says \"homosexual offenders,\" meaning\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14252,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/isnt-the-word-day-added-to-acts-207\/","url_meta":{"origin":14259,"position":3},"title":"Isn’t the word “day” added to Acts 20:7?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 26, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In Acts 20:7, in the original Greek, the word \"day\" is not there. It was later added by men.\u00a0 Adding to!\u00a0 I worship (adore, give praise. honor) each and every day, 24\/7. I can't believe you limit worship to a day.\u00a0 One of Satan's greatest accomplishments has been to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":54731,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/for-those-who-love-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":14259,"position":4},"title":"For Those Who Love God","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 2, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Romans 8:28-30 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jesus said that the greatest command is to love God - Matthew 22:37-38 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is the greatest command because it is the foundation for all other commands \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It opposes all idolatry, the complete rejection of God (atheism), and sins directly against God\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":53828,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-law-and-the-commandments\/","url_meta":{"origin":14259,"position":5},"title":"The Law and the Commandments","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 12, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Deuteronomy 30:6-16 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Seventh-Day Adventists insist that the only acceptable day of worship is the seventh day of the week, the Sabbath day. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0To get to that belief, they insist that the Ten Commandments are separate from the rest of the Law of Moses. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0While\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14259","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14259"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14259\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}