Passion: Great Commandment•
A Sermon by Dr. Bob Griffin, Teaching Elder at Sovereign Grace Church
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“Christianity started in the Upper room as a body; it spread across Palestine as a fellowship; it moved to Greece and became a philosophy; it moved to Italy and became an institution; it moved to Europe and became Western culture; it came to America and has now become a business.”
What do you call a “body” that is a “business”? It sure isn’t real love. It is prostitution. And that is what happened to Judaism at the time of Christ . . and what is happening in our churches today. We talk about ‘love’ and it is not real.
I. EXAMINATION
A. APPREHENSION
1. PANIC
Mt 22:34a But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees,
2. PLOT
Mt 22:34b they gathered together.
B. APPROACH
1. PROBLEM
Mt 22:35 And one of them, a lawyer, tested Him by asking,
2. PROPOSITION
Mt 22:36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in Torah?”
II. EXPOSITION
A. ANALYSIS
1. PRONOUNCEMENT
Mk 12:29 Jesus responded, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
2. PRINCIPLE
Mt 22:37 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind Mk 12:30b and with all your ability.
3. PROVISION
Mt 22:38 This is the great and first commandment.
B. ADDITION
1. PRACTICAL
Mt 22:39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
2. PRIORITY
Mk 12:31b Not another commandment is greater than these.
3. PIVOTAL
Mt 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets
III. EVALUATION
A. APPRECIATION
1. PERPLEXED
Mk 12:32 Then the scribe said to Him, “Correct, Teacher. You’ve correctly said that He is one, and there is no other [god] besides Him.
2. PERCEPTION
Mk 12:33 And to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
B. AFFIRMATION
1. POSSIBILITY
Mk 12:34a And when Jesus heard this intelligent answer, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”
2. PAUSE
Mk 12:34b And after that no one dared question Him.