The Greatest Command

Which command in the Bible is the most important?

At first this seems an odd question, because we know that it is important to follow all of God's commands, not just one. And yet, most folks have an idea in their mind of which command is the most important to follow. It is the command they use to determine whether or not another person is really a Christian. It is the command they make sure to impress upon anyone they may be trying to lead to Jesus. They may not have sat down and deliberately decided which command was most important, but sure enough, most folks have chosen a "greatest command".

Some have chosen the simple command "be good". To them, being a Christian just means being moral. As long as they do not kill, or cheat on their spouse, and generally act honest and upright they are being "Christian". To many of these folks, it really doesn't matter if you are Buddhist, Muslim, Jew, or Christian; just as long as you live a "clean life" you will be pleasing to the "Man in charge".

Others have decided that the most important command is to believe in Jesus; after all, how can you be "Christian" if you do not believe in Christ? The idea here is not necessarily that you become a "Jesus freak", but that you simply acknowledge Jesus is the Christ, the son of God. And many acknowledge this in about the same way they acknowledge that Christopher Columbus discovered America. Well, that may technically be more of a legend than the truth, but still it is true enough.

Still other people have determined that the most important command is a ritual act, whether that be a prayer or baptism or any other one-time act that leads to "salvation". If you grow up among people who think like this, everything seems to center around that one act. Have you been baptized? If not, then you aren't a Christian. If you have, well, then, you are a Christian. You should strive to live right and all, but as long as you have done that ritual act you can be considered a true Christian. In fact, a person living a righteous life that has not performed the ritual act is considered a heathen, while the man who lives immorally but has performed the act is considered a Christian. Such is the conviction of some people in the power of a single ritual act.

And, finally, there are also many who feel that the greatest command is to obey God. In this belief, many feel that they cannot please God unless they are in perfect, or as perfect as possible, obedience. To such people, knowledge of the "right" answers on almost every issue is imperative, because if you do not have the right answer, how can you obey correctly? Further, the philosophy often leads to people who perform the right acts, but for all the wrong reasons. They pray not because they want to share their load with God, but because they are commanded to pray. They sing not with joy, but with the understanding that they will be condemned if they do not sing. In many ways, they are like technically correct musicians, pounding all the right notes on the piano, but without any heart in it. They may be obedient, but they don't have to like it.

Well, those are a few of the answers that I have observed people living. You may know of a number of other "greatest commands" that people have chosen. And, looking in our own lives, we can see what answer we have chosen. When we talk about converting someone to Christ, what do we mean? When we discuss whether or not someone is a "true Christian", what are we implying? We each have an answer to what we consider to be the greatest command.

Unfortunately, the world of evangelism is often an effort to take someone who is living by one of these answers and convince them to live by one of the other answers. I say unfortunately because, when we look in the scriptures, we find that these answers are all the wrong. They are each important, but none of them is the most important command, the command that should be the heart of our faith.

Jesus, in Matthew 22:34-40, is asked the question "What is the greatest commandment?" He doesn't say, "Be good", or "believe", or "Do this one act" or even "obey". Yes, througout his ministry he teaches these principles. But when asked what the most important command is, he says "Love God".

It is an amazing thing to discover the impact and truth of this statement. Without a true love for God, everything else is totally worthless. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have faith that can move mountains, but have not love I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. So says 1 Corinthians 13. If we don't love God, then everything else we do is worthless. Not just insufficient, but worthless.

On the other side of that equation, however, is the truth that if we truly love God, everything else will fall into place. If we love him, we will accept his son, obey his word, worship in sincerity, love others, and so much more. Truly a love for God is the foundation on which all our faith and service must be built.

So, then, the question comes to all of us. Do we love God?

The first time I faced this question, it was really odd. I had been preaching for two years, had dedicated myself to studying the scripture, and considered myself a really good Christian. After all, I thought the most important command was to obey, and I was obeying all I could. I had never thought about love. So, when I faced this question, the honest answer was, "No. I do not love God. But I want to." A few years, many prayers, and many heartaches later, I can now say without hesitation that I do love God. It is a very different life and outlook than I once lived, and all because the very core of my faith has been shifted from centering on the "wrong command" to what Jesus proclaimed to be the greatest command.

So, which command in the Bible is the most important? Or, to rephrase the question, do you love God?