30 Days On The Mount

negative hearts of sinful humanity pushing them away. The Kingdom of God reverses this polarity of the Old Testament and introduces a new, revolutionary positive attraction, do to others what you would have them do to you. This Golden Rule ‘… is a principle so all-embracing that he can declare not so much that it is the greatest commandment but that it actually “is” the law and the prophets. ’ xiv It sums up the second table of Moses’ law that deals with huma n relationships and fulfills Jesus’ second command ‘You are to love your neighbor as yourself ’ (Lev 19:18) . This positive love underlies all the teaching of the Law and the Prophets. What once was an outward command in the Old Testament, is now an inward impulse of the heart because of the gift of the Holy Spirit. The ‘new commandment’ to love was contained in the Old Covenant yet restrained by our selfish human nature. It is now activated and made possible by the new nature of Christ living within the believer. This is the central teaching of the Apostles of the New Covenant: • James- Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (James 2:8) • John- “And this is his commandment; we must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us.’ (1 Jn 3:22) • Paul- “Owe nothing to anyone– except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God ’s law. Fo r the commandments say, ‘You must not commi t adultery. You

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