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willing to recognize a standard to
measure !ove by.
Just what is " Jove"?
" God is !ove" (1 John 4:8),
reveals your Bible- the ultimate
source of spiritual definitions. Yet ,
many who read this don' t compre–
hend what it means.
Consider: God is much more
t han mere feel ing. He is much
more than a warm, fuzzy idea.
He has lived forever (Ps. 93:2),
is all-powerful (Ps. 147:5), has the
greatest mind (lsa. 55:8-9; 1 Cor.
2: 16) and has brought into being
and !oves his creation-humanity
(J ohn 3:16). Your mind cannot
grasp how great he is!
The problem for humans-that
is, your problem- is that man has
acquired a natural hosti lity toward
God. ·From the very first human in
the garden of Eden to the thou–
sands of millions alive today, not a
single one naturally desires to sur–
render his or her life to the God of
!ove.
Think on this. God revealed his
way of life- his way of love- to
the first two humans (Gen. 1-2).
Armed with God-given definitions
of right and wrong, Adam (the first
human) chose the way that led con–
trary to God- to decide for bimself
what is Jove, what is good and evi l
(Gen. 3:6, 17; I T iro. 2:14). He
rejected God's way of !ove and give
and concern for others, setting the
stage for all humans to follow.
When the Bible says " God is
love," it reveals the very
nature
of
God. God embod ies a "give" way
of life, a way of outgoing concern.
God wants you and me to be
happy, to have a zestful, fu lfilling
life and to be able to share it with
others- that's )ove (John 10:1O; 111
J ohn 2). To direct us toward this
way that leads to happiness, God
defines Jove: "For this is the !ove of
God, that we keep His command–
ments"
(I
John 5:3).
This is a truth few unders tand!
When asked what the greates t of
the Ten Commandments (which
summarize God's Jaw) were, J esus
Christ boiled them down to their
two basic essentials: " 'You shall
love the Lord your God with all
your heart, with all your soul , and
with aH your mind.' Th is is the first
and great commandment. And the
second is like it: 'You shall love
16
your neighbor as yourself' " (Matt.
22:36-39) .
Consider this: The first four
commandments revealed in Exodus
20 show you how to Jove God. The
last six reveal the way you are to
!ove your neighbor.
But how does the natural uncon–
verted mind view this? "Tbe mind
that is set on the ftesh [material,
physical things] is
hostile
to God; it
does not submit to God's law, indeed
it cannot; and those who are in the
ftesh cannot please God" (Romans
8:7-8, Revised Standard Version).
Man in his natural s tate wants
little to do with God . Since God
is
!ove, man unwittingly
rejects
true
love that would bring happiness.
Worklng Toward a Solutlon
God's way of life, expressed in 1O
summary points called the Ten
Commandments, is a
living
force.
When you break one or more of
these points, there is a penalty.
Physically, mentally, emotionally
and spiritually you and others suf–
fer . Take first the physical exam–
ple. What if everyone s topped com–
mitting adul tery and fornication
and ended all relationships wi th
homosexuals and prostitutes?
The curses of AIDS, herpes and
other sexually t ransmitted d iseases
wou ld dis appear ! Prostitu t ion
would vanish! Rampant teenage
pregnancies would soon become
mere distant memories. People
would be happier.
But man says: " 1 don't want to
obey God's law. 1 reject it. 1 make
my own rules!" So men, women
and children by the millions suffer
needlessly.
God , of course, does have the
power to stop man from going the
way of sin previously described in
Isaiah 59. But that is exactly what
man doesn't want God to do. So
God has allowed man 6,000 years
to make his own rules and deci–
sions, to experience firs thand the
pain and suffering that comes from
grossly imperfect human laws.
Humanity's choices are e lo–
quently described in Deuteronomy
30: 19-20: "1 cal! heaven and earth
as witnesses today against you, that
1 bave set before you
lije
and
death,
blessing and cursing;
THERE–
FORE CHOOSE LIFE,
that both you
and your descendants may live; that
you may !ove the Lord your God,
that you may obey His voice, and
that you may cling to Him, for He
is your life and the Jength of your
days. "
The Bible, however, reveals
something far more ominous than
physical su ffer ing for breaking
God's law. When you choose to
break one of the 1O summary
points that define !ove by doing the
opposite, the Bible says you
sin.
What is sin? "Whoever commits
sin also commits lawlessness, and
sin is lawlessness"
(1
John 3:4) .
Mark well this prophecy of J esus
for this era: "And because lawless–
ness [the breaking of God' s Ten
Commandments] will abound, the
!ove of many will grow cold"
(Matt. 24:12)!
The Ten Commandments are a
blessing-they show you what sin
is (Rom. 3:20, 4:15, 5: 13-14). The
apostle J ames terms the Ten Com–
mandments "the perfect law of
lib–
erty"
(Jas. 1: 25). They guide one to
the way of genuine
happiness.
But when you break these laws,
you 're as good as dead.
What is the final payoff of sin?
"The wages of sin is death" (Rom.
6:23).
What Now?
How does this concern you ? Unless
you live the way of love- which is
to know the way to salvation- you
are a walking dead person even as
you read this article! You have no
claim to eternal life. You may think
you haven't broken any of the Ten
Commandments, but you have.
"For all [including you and me]
have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God" (Rom. 3:23).
As a sinner- a t ransgressor of
the law and thus committing law–
Jessness- you have come "under
the law," that is, subject to its pen–
alty: death. For breaking the Ten
Commandments, you are now sub–
ject to wbat the Bible calls " the
curse of tbe law" (Gal. 3:13). You
have no bope of eterna! life.
But there is oooo
NEWS.
Some–
one has paid the penalty for you.
Your very Creator has paid the
penalty of lawlessness in your
place. God created all things
through Jesus Christ (Eph. 3:9).
As the C reator of the human race,
Jesus Christ died- in the first cen-
The
PLAIN TRUTH