A. The best trait of the heart is that of love, and the best object of love is God. Therefore, the very best function of the heart is to love God completely.
B. Presently, let us consider what it means to love God with all your heart according to the Lord's teaching in Matthew 22:35-40.
II. THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT
A. The love of God is the greatest commandment ever given.
1. Jesus identified the love of God as the greatest commandment in Matthew 22:35-40:
35One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" 37And He said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38This is the great and foremost commandment. 39The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 40On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."
a. This description of the love of God indicates a love that is undivided and pure. In this love, the whole heart is devoted to God, and He has preeminence in everything.
b. This whole-hearted love of God does not preclude love for others, for Jesus identifies the love of neighbors as the second commandment, and that commandment acknowledges even the love of self.
c. Whole-hearted love for God qualifies all other love that we may have. All of our loves must be encapsulated by the love of God. We will consider more about this later.
2. The Lord was answering a question about the Law of Moses, but the same teaching applies to the gospel as well.
a. Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18 in His answer to the lawyer. The lawyer probably intended for Jesus to choose one of the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:1-17), but the Lord surprised him by choosing other commandments in the Law of Moses.
b. The apostle Paul identifies these same commandments in Romans 13:8-10 and shows that they are now binding on Christians as part of the gospel.
B. All other commandments depend upon the love of God.
1. The whole-hearted love of God was the foundation for the Law of Moses. It was this love that motivated the Jews to keep the Law and bound all of the commandments together.
a. Notice Deuteronomy 11:1 -- "You shall therefore love the LORD your God, and always keep His charge, His statutes, His ordinances, and His commandments."
b. The whole-hearted love of God and the keeping of His commandments in the Law were not two separate entities, but rather they were one in the same.
2. Likewise, the whole-hearted love of God is also foundational to the gospel of Christ. This love motivates us to obey the gospel, and it binds all the gospel's commandments together.
a. Notice 1John 5:3 -- For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.
b. As with the Law of Moses, loving God and keeping His commandments are inseparable acts. Our love for Him is manifested in our obedience to Him.
III. COMMIT YOUR WHOLE HEART TO THE LOVE OF GOD
A. Loving God with all of our hearts means that we cannot love anything that is contrary to God.
1. Jesus set forth this principle in Matthew 6:24 -- "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth."
a. Many attempt to do that which Christ said cannot be done. Although they think that they can successfully serve God and the world, they are mistaken. "God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap" (Gal. 6:7).
b. God will not divide time with anyone or anything else for mastery of our hearts. Instead, he requires us to choose our Lord. Consider these ultimatums given to Israel:
i. Joshua 24:15 -- "If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
ii. 1Kings 18:21 -- Elijah came near to all the people and said, "How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him." But the people did not answer him a word.
c. If we are mastered by someone or something other than God, then we cannot love Him with all of our hearts.
2. Whole-hearted love of God eliminates love for the world, or else love for the world eliminates the love of God.
a. The term "world" in this case indicates Satan's domain where sins abides. In this sense, "the whole world lies in the power of the evil one" (1John 5:19).
b. Love of the sinful world is incompatible with the love of God. Notice 1John 2:15-17:
15Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
c. If we love the things of the world, then we cannot love God with all of our hearts.
B. Loving God with all of our hearts means that we cannot love anyone or anything more than God.
1. Whole-hearted love of God means that He must be first, and no one else can come before Him.
2. Jesus required this degree of love for Himself. Notice His words:
a. Matthew 10:37 -- "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me."
b. Luke 14:26 -- "If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple."
c. Jesus specifically chose the most precious relationships we have in the world and declared that they must be secondary to Him.
3. If our love for anyone or anything exceeds our love for God, then we do not love Him with all of our hearts.
C. Loving God with all of our hearts means that we must love those whom God loves.
1. In Matthew 22:35-40, Jesus identified the second greatest commandment as "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." This commandment cannot be separated from the first, for the love of man is truly an outgrowth of the love of God.
2. The apostle John showed the connection between the love of God and brotherly love among Christians in the following passages:
a. 1John 4:9-12 -- 9By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 10In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.
b. 1John 4:19-21 -- 19We love, because He first loved us. 20If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.
3. If we do not love one another just as God loves us, then we do not love God with all of our hearts.
IV. CONCLUSION
A. The whole-hearted love of God is the basis of all the commandments of God's word. A heart that loves God must keep His commandments.
B. A heart that loves God completely as Jesus demands cannot love anything contrary to God, cannot love anyone or anything more than God, and must love those whom God loves.
C. This is the full meaning of the Lords words, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind."
