LOVE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT INSTRUCTION – PART 2
Sakkie Parsons
In a previous letter to you, I mentioned that according to me, the starting point of the Law of Love of Jesus to us, is – sanctification
In this writing I will attempt to explain how I see ‘sanctification’.
We read in the Word:
1PET 1:15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so must ye be holy in all manner of conversation;
1PET 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy!
Just for interest sake thereof, Peter quotes here LEV 11:44 and LEV 19:2.
When I read 1PET 1:15-16, it seems as if the Word is saying to me with regards to sanctification, and that I need to become perfect and that cannot be…
Or can it?
I read: (and I am quoting from the Older Translation)
1PET 1:15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so must ye be holy in all manner of conversation;
Did you take notice of the word ‘must ‘
1PET 1:15 as he which hath called you is holy, so must you too become holy in your way of life,
As child of our Lord, I am given an instruction.
I must strive in this manner, thereto, to live a holy life.
In my previous letter to you, I said that as I understand sanctification, everything begins for us, with the law of love, after I have accepted Jesus as my Savior and Redeemer, namely:
MAT 22:37-40
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 neighbor as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Paul, the man to which our Lord entrusted the largest portion of the New Testament, writes so nicely in 1COR 13 with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, about Love and then ends the chapter with this, which I want to emphasize in this writing, a great statement.
He writes:
1COR 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Do you know what I understand from this here?
I understand here from what I read that the love of God weighs heavier than faith by our Lord and you know what the Word says amongst all things about faith?
HEB 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him..
Our Lord let the following be written for us in His Word:
1SAM 15:22 And Samuel said,” Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams”
1SAM 15:23 “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king”.
Therefore in obedience, I attempt to comply in my life,to the best of my ability, to that to which our Lord regards as being the foundation of all His instructions to us.
I received an instruction.
MAT 22:37 … 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.
If I do it, then I wont deliberately do anything that is unholy with regards to my Lord. No, I will just do the opposite.
I received a second instruction.
MAT 22:39 … Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Which real born-again child of our Lord is deliberately going to do something unholy to himself? No, I will just do the opposite to my neighbour and to myself.
I wrote the following at the beginning:
When I read 1PET 1:15-16 then it appears as if the Word is talking to me about Sanctification and that I need to become perfect but that cannot be…
Or can it?
I want to answer myself in this manner:
My Lord will never tell me to do something in His Word, if it is impossible for me to do it. With this in mind, read here, while you remember it clearly, that regarding Jesus, it is all about my relationship with my fellowman.
MAT 5:43-48
43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45 That ye may be the true children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
You will surely agree with me that this which Jesus expects of me, I only can do, if I truly have the love of God in my heart. With that in mind, we then read in the next verse:
MAT 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
He loves all people.Old Translation:
MAT 5:48 Ye shall therefore be perfect, as your Father which is in heaven, is perfect.In this next portion, it is again about my relationship with my fellowman and then my fellowman is defined a little more:
COL 3:11-13
11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
Then the following instruction follows:
COL 3:14 And above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfectness.
Just for interest sake thereof –
The ‘Scythian’ that is found in the Old Version, originally comes from the caucasus in Russia and in the time of Paul, it was considered as completely illiterate to the people in that time as the lowest form of civility.
I am just mentioning it, for the sake of the Christians who are so choosy in relation to their fellowman.
JESUS says:
JHN 14:15 “If you love Me, you will obey My instructions.”
The Word says regarding these instructions/commandments:
1JHN 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
1JHN 2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
What instructions/commandments? And I repeat this here from the Old Translation:
MAT 22:37-40
37 Jesus said to him: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind.
38 This is the greatest and the first commandment.
39 And the second is like to this: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
40 On these two commandments dependeth the whole law and the prophets.
So, if you desire that the following from the Word becomes a reality in your life:
1PET 1:15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
1PET 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
Then you do the following:
COL 3:14 And above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfectness.
Because you see –
1COR 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love
I now end off with this wonderful blessing from the Word for you:
1THS 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ!
Greetings,
Sakkie