JB_ said:
Beautiful. :) But now how do we love GOD?
We love God by walking in the Spirit and obeying His voice to us PERSONALLY. This is how we know Him and He knows us. That word "know" is speaking of an "intimate relationship" with Him, for even the demons "know of" Him (but they do not DO HIS WILL, which is knowing Him intimately).
Christianity is not about morality, it is about Jesus Christ and His life in us and living by that life (abiding in Him) and following His voice for we know His voice and another (morality) we will not follow.
Loving God is doing His revealed will spoken to us by the Spirit and not our will.
The Bible is not a rule book that we follow. We don't codify it and make systematic theological "moral" systems of thought.
If we lived according to a "moral code" instead of by His life, then we would be judged according to how we fulfilled the moral code instead of being judged on "knowing Him" (obeying the voice of the Spirit). He says to the foolish virgins and the man in Matthew 7, "I don't KNOW YOU".
It is not for us to judge how our brother is fulfilling God's will for their own lives. We can only know whether they are bearing the fruit of the Spirit or not which is produced by abiding in Christ. We cannot produce the fruit of the Spirit, only the vine can.
If we love Him, we will obey Him. People think this means (and they judge others by it), their version of EVERYTHING the Bible says. But, it means His spoken word to our hearts (which will not conflict with Scripture, but will conflict with some people's understanding of Scripture). But only the Holy Spirit knows how to lead each man, INDIVIDUALLY.
Why do you think we have been given the Spirit? So that we can know Him and be led by Him.
John 21:21 Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do?
John 21:22 Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.
Just as Peter is not to worry about how others follow Jesus or scrutinize their walk, we are not to. Just FOLLOW JESUS.
We are not equipped to judge others since the Christian life is a life of grace, also and people are growing in Christ and maturing and consequently at many different levels. When you judge, you fall out of walking in love because you are not equipped to judge another man's heart.
Rom 14:4 Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
Axehead