What is the greatest commandment in the Bible?       

What is the greatest commandment in the Bible?                 

Hi, my name is Greg Wirths and I am the pastor of New Life Tabernacle here in Augusta, Kansas.  First off, I would like to thank you for visiting our website.  We count it an honor for you to be here.  The subject at hand is “What is the greatest commandment in the Bible?”.  If you are here because you didn’t know the answer from our recent flyer or because of simple interest, please don’t feel out of place, many millions have sought for answers to this truth.  In the next few moments we will look at the scriptural answer to this very important question.  Ok, let’s get started!

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

There it is!  This commandment has been and still is the central commandment through which all other commandments are founded.  It is very simple to read but very profound in its meaning and implications.  It’s known in the Jewish community as the Shema.  This truth is what defines their heritage and their belief in God as it was spoken to them by the Lord himself.

Idolatry Everywhere.

At the time of this writing (1451 BC) the Jewish people were surrounded by nations which were heavy into idolatry.  They worshiped the sun, moon and stars.  They had immoral practices in their worship and were anything but worshipers of one God.  In fact, this very truth was given to Moses at the very beginning of their freedom from bondage in Egypt.  We know it today as the ten commandments.

 Deuteronomy 5:8-9 Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me…

To this very day the Jews are what is called monotheists.  This simply means they are believers in one God only.  Ok, is this still relevant to us today?  Are there now multiple persons in the Godhead?  Is this commandment still in effect and are we bound by to follow and believe this commandment?

Well, Jesus in the New Testament was asked this very question.  Let’s look at it.

Matthew 22:36-40 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 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. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Wow!  This commandment is at the top of the list of all commandments and all others hang off it!  Does it make any difference what you believe? According to our Lord it does.  Upon this truth hang all the moral laws, the prophecies and the promises.

The early church believed and taught this monotheistic truth about our Lord.  They understood that Jesus was the manifestation of this one God.

1 Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

2 Corinthians 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them…

There is but one God and one place to go for our salvation, healing and really anything we need.  The way to reach him is to simply call upon his name which is Jesus!  Do you have a need?  I encourage you to go to the only place of help and that is HIM.

I hope this stirs you to read and study more about this truth.  We are actively involved in home and church Bible study.  We’d love to have you join use, feel free to call me anytime (316-304-9720) for more information.  If I’m not able to answer, please leave a message and I’ll get back with you ASAP.

Blessings!

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