What Real Christianity Requires (Mark 12:28-34) | Pastor Roi Brody

When I was a freshman in college, my friends and I decided to go on a hike.

Now, something you need to know about me, uh before that day, I had not gone on a single hike. Okay? And my friends and I decided, hey, you you know what kind of hike we're going to go on? We're

going to go on uh what they described it as is a moderate to extreme level hike.

And I thought to myself, as the foolish freshman that I was, I thought, "Oh yeah, I can handle that. I'll be just fine. They came to me and they said,

fine. They came to me and they said, "Hey, uh, Roy, we're we're going to do eight miles of hiking and the location temperature is probably going to be somewhere around 90 to 95 degrees. Are

you sure you're good with that?" You

hikers in the room are like, "Did you didn't go, right? You didn't go." No, I went I went. So, I got what I thought I needed. I got prepared and I went on to

needed. I got prepared and I went on to this hike and uh uh you know we walked through the eight miles and and it was easy in the beginning and things kind of got a little bit harder and uh I get to

the end of this hike I get into my dorm room and I'm just drenched in sweat and not only drenched in sweat but at the same time I am shivering. Now you

doctors in the room are like that's not good. Did you go to the hospital? No, I

good. Did you go to the hospital? No, I

didn't. Remember I'm the foolish freshman right? I didn't do that. Uh,

freshman right? I didn't do that. Uh,

and here's the thing, guys. I thought I packed what I needed. You know, I thought I had all the essentials. But

the reality was is I was forgetting one key ingredient. What was that? Water,

key ingredient. What was that? Water,

right? The foolish freshman that I was, I thought, "Oh, hey, I don't need water.

I'll be just fine doing this uh extreme hike, 8 miles, and uh, you know, in 90 95 degree weather with uh just complete dehydration." I thought that no, we

dehydration." I thought that no, we don't need that essential ingredient.

Water. Water is essential ingredient to any successful hike. And as you think about the Christian life, there is an essential ingredient. There's a a

essential ingredient. There's a a fundamental ingredient that uh really just sums up the entirety of what we believe and that is in this word love.

That's what real Christianity requires.

It requires love. And perhaps we've lost sight of that. Right? This is a text, you know this text. You've probably

memorized this text before. It's a

simple text. It's fundamental to us as Christians, but it's something that I think we're prone to to forget if we're not reminded of it regularly. So, let's

look at our text this morning. Mark 12,

starting in verse 28-34.

Uh, I'd love for you to turn there, get your eyes on the text, whether it's your electronic Bibles or your physical Bibles. Let's look at this together in

Bibles. Let's look at this together in Mark. And just as you're getting there,

Mark. And just as you're getting there, just to give you a little bit of context, Jesus in Mark 11 had his triumphal entry, right? He entered into Jerusalem to the praises of all of these

people. And yet, there wasn't everybody

people. And yet, there wasn't everybody that was super excited about Jesus entering into Jerusalem. As you know, there's the Pharisees and the scribes and the Jewish leaders of the day that

didn't really like Jesus's teaching all that much. In fact, what they tried to

that much. In fact, what they tried to do as he's in the the the temple, as he's in Jerusalem, they they try to get him to stumble over his teaching. They

try to get him to trip him up, right, to incriminate him so that they can arrest him. And uh he they did that by asking

him. And uh he they did that by asking him about taxes to Caesar. And and he gives this marvelous answer to to them that just has them amazed. And then he goes on and and the Sadducees take a

turn, which the Sadducees and the Pharisees, they didn't agree on something called the afterlife. They

didn't agree on the resurrection. And

that's the context before is he answers them so perfectly that this scribe comes up to Jesus and says, "Okay, my turn.

I'm going to take a shot at Jesus and see if I can get him to stumble in his words." So that brings us here to our

words." So that brings us here to our text in Mark 12 28. It says this says, "And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another."

Now scribes are the teachers of the law, right? They knew the law like the back

right? They knew the law like the back of their hand, right? and he came up and he uh and he praises Jesus and seeing what he answered them asked him which commandment is the most important of all. Now this is an important question

all. Now this is an important question because the the the the scribes and the Pharisees there was some disagreement on the uh the law. So what they would do

there was 613 commandments in the pentatuk and three 365 of them were negative 248 of them were positive. I hope my math's right on

were positive. I hope my math's right on that. I I think it is. Uh and uh you

that. I I think it is. Uh and uh you know they were divided on the light like the severity of the of the command. The

is it a light command or is it a weighty command? what is it? Right? And and

command? what is it? Right? And and

Jesus comes on the scene and he he teaches something what they think is is different. The scribes and the rabbis,

different. The scribes and the rabbis, they didn't agree on these categories.

And the scribe is trying to test Jesus to see, okay, maybe this guy's a heretic. Maybe he's teaching something

heretic. Maybe he's teaching something that's contrary to what we've been teaching. And Jesus, he hasn't been,

teaching. And Jesus, he hasn't been, right? Of course, he brings some new

right? Of course, he brings some new teaching, but he's not abolishing the law. He actually comes here and he says,

law. He actually comes here and he says, "This is what's the summary of the law and the prophets." So he answers him.

Jesus answered the most important is this here. O Israel, the Lord our God,

this here. O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. He starts to quote the most famous verse to any Jewish boy and girl. They they knew this passage like

girl. They they knew this passage like the back of the hymn. Deuteronomy

chapter 6. This is the shama. They

probably studied this many times. They

memorized it. They'd recite it in the mornings as they woke up, right? This

was something that they all knew. Jesus

is I'm not teaching anything different.

I'm not teaching any unorthodox teaching. I'm teaching you something

teaching. I'm teaching you something that is is true. It's something that you believe. And and here it is, Deuteronomy

believe. And and here it is, Deuteronomy chapter 6. And you shall love the Lord

chapter 6. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength. And he adds this on par

your strength. And he adds this on par with that. The second is this. You shall

with that. The second is this. You shall

love your neighbor as yourself. There's

no other commandment greater than these.

And the scribe said to him, which I find very interesting, right? the scribe, the teacher of the law. He looks the God man in the face and says, "Oh, you're right, teacher. Good job. You got it right.

teacher. Good job. You got it right.

Nice job, Jesus." So, he's exercising this type of authority that he thinks he has over the uh the God man, the Jesus Christ here in this moment. Of course,

he didn't uh uh recognize who he was in the moment, but it's just ironic as we look back, you know, 2,000 years removed from this moment, and we think it's kind of silly. This guy thinks he has this

of silly. This guy thinks he has this authority over Jesus. But Jesus kind of flips the script on him here in verse 33. Well, in verse 34, but let's look at

33. Well, in verse 34, but let's look at verse 33.

You are right, teacher. You've truly

said that he is one and there is no other besides him. 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 whole burnt offerings and

sacrifices. Right? That that's what God

sacrifices. Right? That that's what God wants. You think about all the Old

wants. You think about all the Old Testament Psalm 51 when David is saying, you know, you you care more about my heart than you care about these these sacrifices. The whole book of Hebrews is

sacrifices. The whole book of Hebrews is pointing back to Jesus reminding us that Jesus is the fulfillment of these sacrifices. So, I mean, this this guy is

sacrifices. So, I mean, this this guy is getting it, right? The scribe

understands it. He seems to have some decent uh theology. He seems to understand. In fact, he's probably doing

understand. In fact, he's probably doing these things uh as well. He's probably

practicing these things as well. And

Jesus flips the script and he starts to exercise the authority on him in verse 34. And when Jesus saw that he answered

34. And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, notice this, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And after that, no one dared to

God." And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions. That's

important. You're not far from the kingdom of God. But hey, I I thought he got he got an A+ on his theology exam, right? He's doing all the things that

right? He's doing all the things that he's supposed to be doing. And yet Jesus looks at him and says, "You're not there yet. You're almost in." And we'll talk

yet. You're almost in." And we'll talk more about that later here in the sermon. But what's the idea from this?

sermon. But what's the idea from this?

What's the point that I want to draw us to? The primary point that I want us to

to? The primary point that I want us to to take away from this. I understand

this is fundamental. This is something you've known in this text forever. But I

want you to walk away refreshed and renewed with a w with a new perspective, a refreshed perspective. To fully grasp that love, when it's rightly understood and rightly applied is indispensable to

the Christian faith. It's indispensable.

That's what this is all about. It's all

about loving God, loving others.

Look back to our first three verses in our passage this morning to draw our first point. Again, notice one of the

first point. Again, notice one of the scribes came up, right? And Jesus quotes to him, love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. That's the

most important commandment. It's to love God completely. All right? Loving God

God completely. All right? Loving God

with all of your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, all your mind. Right? That's what Jesus wants to

mind. Right? That's what Jesus wants to make clear to this scribe. And it should be very clear to us that loving God is the essential of our Christian faith.

Point number one, write it down this way if you're taking notes. Give God every aspect of your life. Give God every aspect of your life.

And what I mean by that, giving God every aspect of your life. And what

Jesus is saying here is it's not just about the categories of how you live, but it's also about who you are, your character, who you are as a person. It's

both your actions and your behavior as well as your internal heart and how you view God. It's giving everything to God.

view God. It's giving everything to God.

Right? This command is more than just uh loving God more. It's more than just loving God a lot. It's about every single aspect of who you are as a human

being in your life is about him. It's

about God. Loving God is about surrendering everything to him. Loving

him with your entire being. Before we

even get into some practicals, we have to understand why. Why?

And I again, I know this is fundamental, but let's just get let's just talk about glorifying God and his greatness this morning. Can we do that in point one?

morning. Can we do that in point one?

Can we look at God and how good he is and how great he is and how worthy he is of love? Let's turn to Deuteronomy

of love? Let's turn to Deuteronomy chapter 6, the verse that Jesus quotes for us. Deuteronomy 6:4-9.

for us. Deuteronomy 6:4-9.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 says this again. Of course, it's what Jesus quoted

again. Of course, it's what Jesus quoted for us here. O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Let's just stop there.

the Lord our God. The Lord is one. First

and foremost, we ought to love God with our entire being because he is God and we're not. He is the greatest being that

we're not. He is the greatest being that has ever existed. He is far above all things and we are his simple subjects that ought to surrender everything to

him. We ought to start there. We love

him. We ought to start there. We love

God because he's God and we're not. He's

the only God and we never will be.

There's no other gods before God.

There's no other gods in existence. We

love God because he's God. It goes on, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently

heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children. Now, now we see the outflowing of our loving God, right?

That you want to apply this love into now your households and your kids. You

want them to know everything about God because he's worthy of loving he you want your kids to know him more than you want them to know anything else in this

world.

You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house. Is that how your kitchen conversations are going? Right?

I mean, it's like, let's let's fill our kitchen conversations, our table talk with uh God and who he is because he's great and he's worthy of our conversation.

And when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise, you shall bind them as a sign on your hand.

And they shall be as front lists between your eyes. You shall write them on the

your eyes. You shall write them on the doorpost of your house and on your gates. Some of you guys got those Bible

gates. Some of you guys got those Bible verses. All of you live, laugh, love.

verses. All of you live, laugh, love.

Yeah. Yeah, girl. You know, you know those things that are in your house, all those uh those chachkis from from HomeGoods and uh what what's it called?

Not HomeGoods. Uh Hobby Lobby, right?

Look, I like Okay, yeah, cheesy, whatever. But there's something to that.

whatever. But there's something to that.

It's like I just want to be surrounded by the greatest words that have ever been written. I just want to be around.

been written. I just want to be around.

And that's kind of what the what Moses is getting at here. Write them on your doorpost. Remember them, reflect on them

doorpost. Remember them, reflect on them because these words are far greater than any words that ever been spoken.

I want us to reflect on this this morning. I want us to really think about

morning. I want us to really think about this before we even talk about loving God in these ways. We ought to realize why we love God. God is worthy of all of

our honor and all of our praise. I mean,

you just think about God provides every single thing that that we have. God

provides life and breath. God God

provides the the food that we need. God

provides the the the homes that we have, whether it's a lot or a little bit. If

you're if you're pursuing righteousness, if you're pursuing the kingdom, God provides these things for you. And

that's an amazing thing that we can praise God for. God is is worthy of our praise because he provides for us. God's

also worthy of our love and our and our full devotion because he cares for us.

That's an amazing thing, too. You you

might be someone that there's not a lot of people that that you have that intimately care for you. Well, guess

what God does?

He guides us spiritually.

God loves us and he redeems us.

God is far greater than anything this world has to offer.

We can't segment our love. We can't, you know, in our in our in our uh in our life, we can't, you know, divide it up.

It's all for him.

Is that a good thing to be reminded of this morning? Just to just to know how

this morning? Just to just to know how good God is and how worthy he is of of our love and our devotion.

That's what Jesus wants us to do.

My wife and I, we made vows many years ago, a covenant of marriage. And you

know, marriage is coming together of a one, two people, one flesh, right? It's

this covenant marriage. You come

together, you share everything, right? I

just want you to think we made those vows together, right? And I said, you know, till death do us part. you know,

all those vows that we make at at the altar and we get home and uh you know, I I look my wife in the eye and I say, "You know what, honey?

Here's how this is going to go." Um, our marriage, our relationship, that's sure, that's between me and you, but hey, my job, that's all about that's me. I I

you're we're not going to have any, you know, conversation about the job. Oh,

these hobbies, my interests, those things. Yeah. Uh, that's just going to

things. Yeah. Uh, that's just going to be all about what I want to do. You can

do your own thing. That's great. But I'm

gonna I'm gonna do my own thing over here. Oh, yeah. Vacation. Yeah, I'm

here. Oh, yeah. Vacation. Yeah, I'm

going to go uh I'm going to go to Hawaii. You and the kids can uh can

Hawaii. You and the kids can uh can enjoy vacation. You can have a little

enjoy vacation. You can have a little station here. Right? All of you are

station here. Right? All of you are like, "That's not a great marriage."

Right? You're thinking, "Okay, well, there's something wrong there." And it's because I'm trying to in this hypothetical situation, I hope you know that I don't do that with my wife. Um,

in this hypothetical situation, uh, uh, I'm segmenting my love of my wife. No,

my my marriage is it's all-encompassing, right? Every aspect about it is in

right? Every aspect about it is in partnership with this this person.

Sometimes we try to do this with God.

Sometimes we try to say, "Okay, God, you can have this aspect of my life, but you can't have this aspect of my life. God,

you can have my church in my small group, but God, I just want to hold on to my work. God, you can have my work, but I I just want to hold on my family.

It's like I'm just going to do my own thing, right? A and God, you know, I'm

thing, right? A and God, you know, I'm I'm going to separate you here, check God at the door as I walk to my car away from this auditorium.

And it's like, that's not the way we ought to love God. God is is worth so much more than that. God is deserving of every single part of our life. And in

fact, it's better for us that if we give everything to him, you'll find more joy and more satisfaction and more fulfillment because God I is the one

that you're you're you're focusing on.

So Jesus gives us four segments of love, right? Love God with all your heart.

right? Love God with all your heart.

Love God with all your soul. Love God

with all your mind. Love God with all your strength. Love God with all your

your strength. Love God with all your heart. Love God with all your heart.

heart. Love God with all your heart.

What does that mean? This is a deep longing and desire for God in the things of God. It's a it's a an affection for

of God. It's a it's a an affection for God. Now, I I understand I I know the

God. Now, I I understand I I know the Bible 1 Corinthians 13, it's more than emotion, right? It's more than emotion,

emotion, right? It's more than emotion, but it's also an emotion. It's also this feeling for God. You long for God. You

have an affection for God. You desire to be with God. That's the type of love we ought to have as Christians for God. If

we're going to love God with all of our heart, we desire to be with him, to be near him. Psalm 63:1 helps us with this.

near him. Psalm 63:1 helps us with this.

Psalm 63:1 says, "Oh God, you are my God. Earnestly I seek you. My soul

God. Earnestly I seek you. My soul

thirsts for you. My flesh faints for you. As in a dry and weary land where

you. As in a dry and weary land where there is no water, we we we thirst for God. We long to be near him. We long to

God. We long to be near him. We long to be in his word. We long to know him better. We long to give him more of our

better. We long to give him more of our life because we love him with all of our heart.

And there ought to be no rivals to this love, right? We we there's nothing that

love, right? We we there's nothing that compares to this. It's like we got to love God more than we love ourselves. We

got to love God more than we we love our uh our spouse. In fact, here's the reality is if we love God more than we love our spouse, we're going to be better husbands. We're going to be

better husbands. We're going to be better wives. If if if we love God more

better wives. If if if we love God more than we love our kids, we're going to be better parents.

We'd be worse off if we if we loved our kids more than we love God.

There ought to be no rivals to this kind of love. Love God with all your heart.

of love. Love God with all your heart.

God is worthy of that type of wholehearted love.

How about this? Love God with all your soul. Right? Jesus says, "Love God with

soul. Right? Jesus says, "Love God with all your heart. Love God with all your soul." That's your whole identity. is is

soul." That's your whole identity. is is

everything about your life, every aspect of your of your life. And sometimes, you know, we can get into this mentality perhaps or or some Christians might think that it's just, hey, I'm just going to sprinkle a little bit of Jesus

onto this uh this, you know, Christian salad, if you will.

I'm just going to add a little bit of Jesus to my life. But that's not what it means to be crucified. this life being crucified with Christ and living this

entirely new life as Galatians chapter 2 20 says Galatians chapter 2 20 says I have been crucified with Christ and he goes on he says it is no longer I who

live right this life that I live it's it's not me anymore it's it's meant for Christ it's but Christ who lives in me and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the son of God who

loved me and gave himself for me let that drive you to have this type of all-encompassing your whole identity, your soul, everything is meant for God and his glory and his purposes. This is

the best way to live and this is what God deserves is every fiber of our being is for him and his purposes. Every

aspect of our life loving God with our soul, it's going to change every aspect of our lives.

We can't get this confused. Sometimes we

can think, oh, my life is for for me or it's for my family, it's for my job or whatever it is. No, all those things are are are meant to they're supplements to what our goal is, and that's to glorify God.

Those things are are ways that we can glorify God. They're avenues of of which

glorify God. They're avenues of of which we can obey God, and we can devote our time to God and and to share God with other people.

Love God with all your soul.

Love God with all your mind. Love God

with all your mind. Love God with your thought life. Right now, that's a little

thought life. Right now, that's a little tricky in this culture that we live in.

We're being bombarded and blasted with the temptations of the media and commercials and movies and music, podcast, whatever it may be.

We're being blasted with this type of ungodly material that uh we've kind of grown callous in a sense to the things that God says, "Uh, no, that's wrong."

We've grown callous and we shouldn't let it happen. We've grown callous to things

it happen. We've grown callous to things that put Christ on the cross.

We got to guard our minds against those type of things.

Philippians 4:8, I think, is a really helpful verse with this. Philippians

4:8, you ought to utilize this as a a type of filtration system for all the things that you allow into your into your brain, right? Allow into your mind.

If we're going to love God with all our minds, we got to take captive the thoughts that that that we have.

Philippians chapter 4:8 it says finally brothers whatever is true whatever is honorable whatever is just whatever is lovely whatever is uh

commendable I missed whatever is pure uh if there's anything worthy of excellence if there's anything worthy of praise think about these things that ought to be the way that we fil filter all the things that come to mind does it fit

this category does is it outside of these categories ah I don't want anything to do with Got to develop a sensitivity to these things. Fill your minds with things of

things. Fill your minds with things of God. Right? God's words, the words that

God. Right? God's words, the words that God has are more precious than jewels.

They're far greater than any treasure that you can accumulate, any wealth that you can have. You have more wealth in the Proverbs than you do in uh the the

six-f figure paycheck.

There's more to to to be to to to mine and to there's more value in in God's words than there are in uh the riches of this world

in in the information in the information age that we live in. All of the content and all of the stuff that's coming at you that you think, hey, that's that's uh that's insightful. That's wise. I'm

not saying reject that. I'm just saying that what God has to say is is more valuable. Do we love God with our minds

valuable. Do we love God with our minds in that way?

And lastly, Jesus reminds us to love God with all our strength. That's the

command that summarizes all the law and the prophets. Love God with all your

the prophets. Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Romans 12:1 Romans 12:1 says, "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercy of God to present your bodies as a living

sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Day by

day, I'm committing my calendar to God."

Right? That ought to be the mentality.

Day by day, I'm committing my schedule, my time, my energy, my resources, all for the purposes of what God wants me to do. God, you have ownership over my

do. God, you have ownership over my calendar. God, you have ownership of uh

calendar. God, you have ownership of uh of my next activity. God, I want this all to be for your glory and for your purposes.

I think coupling this with Luke 17 is such a helpful uh combination. Lukeapter

17 10, it kind of just shows us the worthiness of who God is and the unworthiness of who we are.

Verse 10, so you also when you have done all that you were commanded, right? all

that you were commanded. It's like even if we fulfill this uh perfectly all that you're commanded say we are unworthy servants we've only done what

was our duty. I just think that's helpful for us like we can of course we ought to always strive and do better and grow and and commit more and love God more but he's saying like if we did all

this perfectly we're just doing what God has called us to do.

So, we got to commit all of our strength to the Lord. God is worthy of us pouring ourselves out for him. God's purposes

are far greater than our purposes. God's

plans are far greater than our plans.

God's will is far greater than our will.

Love God with all your strength.

All right. Back in our text, verses 31 and 32, Jesus, of course, places this second commandment on par with that first.

love God and love others.

And it's helpful for us to realize that loving God rightly um it influences like we ought to love God rightly first, right? We we got to love God first. And

right? We we got to love God first. And

that leads us to love others, right? It

they're connected. We're not going to love others properly without a love of of God first. So these things these are they're connected. You can't pull these

they're connected. You can't pull these away from one another. Love of people is the byproduct of genuine love of God.

God wants you to have real authentic love for those around you. Point number

two, write it this way. Express

authentic love for others. Express

authentic love for others. It's

important for us to stop and think, okay, who are the others? Who are the people, right? Who who are the people

people, right? Who who are the people that we we ought to love? Is it the people that uh you know that I'm friends with? It's people that like me? It's the

with? It's people that like me? It's the

people in my small group, people in my church. Yeah, those people obviously are

church. Yeah, those people obviously are the people you ought to love. The people

that you brush shoulders with, your co-workers, your classmates, the people that uh that you're friends with. Yeah,

we ought to love them really well, but it's hard to love the people that don't love us that well. Those are also the people that God wants us to love. It's

the people that uh that might hurt you.

It's the people that don't may not love you back. It it's the annoying co-orker

you back. It it's the annoying co-orker at your work, right? It's like, "Oh man, this guy is hard to love." But I love God more than I love myself, so I'm gonna love this person.

I It's the person that you don't get along with very well. Right? It's all of these people. All of these people, the

these people. All of these people, the people that that it's the obvious, the ones you like and the ones that you're uh rubbing shoulders with and the ones that uh maybe you have trouble loving really well. It it encompasses all these

really well. It it encompasses all these people as Galatians 6:10 helps us see.

And just to work backwards in this text, look at the second half of Galatians chapter 6:10. I I'm not giving you

chapter 6:10. I I'm not giving you enough time to turn there, so I'll just read it for you. Galatians chapter 6:10, it says, "And especially to those who are of the household of faith, do good to those people." Right? So, yes, of

course, I I got to do good and love those that are Christians that are a part of my small group that are in my church. But look what Paul says in the

church. But look what Paul says in the first half of this. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to those people I like really well. You know that

text? Is that what it says? the the

text? Is that what it says? the the

people that are really kind to me, the people that love me really well. That's

what Paul No, Paul says, "Everyone everyone.

Let's do good to everyone. Let's love

people that way."

My wife is allergic to uh a handful of foods. And she's here today, so I'm

foods. And she's here today, so I'm allowed to give you this illustration.

She gave me the approval to to do this.

So, uh she's allergic to uh to a lot of things. And when we first got married,

things. And when we first got married, she was allergic to more things than she is now. And me being the the loving

is now. And me being the the loving husband that I that I am, the great husband that I am, uh I I you know, I was like, "Okay, you know, I'll deal with the the fake uh the you know, like

the fake products, you know, like the the the dairyfree, sugarfree, you know, tastefree foods that um that she put in our refrigerator and our cabinets." And

you know, I'm like I said, I'm the loving husband and I I was cool with that. But you know where I had to put my

that. But you know where I had to put my foot down? It was the mayonnaise.

foot down? It was the mayonnaise.

The fake mayonnaise.

Like it look it says mayonnaise on the jar. It looks like mayonnaise. It uh

jar. It looks like mayonnaise. It uh

Yeah. I I don't know if it had the ingredients of mayonnaise. It probably

was plastic or something in there. But

once you open that jar up and you started smelling it and tasting it and you felt the texture, you're like, "This is a counterfeit. This is fake." That's

where I was like, I can't I can't do it.

Sorry. I knew I I told you I'd be a sacrificial husband until death, but this is where I draw the line is with the with the mayonnaise.

In our culture, that's, you know, this idea of love has a lot of counterfeits.

Has a lot of cultural counterfeits, right? a lot of ways that uh that

right? a lot of ways that uh that perhaps influence our own love of God and love of others. There's there's

counterfeits that we we need to be careful of, right? We need to realize them. We need to to recognize them and

them. We need to to recognize them and avoid them and not allow them to influence our our love of God and love of others. And the first one just to

of others. And the first one just to just to name a few is uh love is primarily an emotion. It's just an emotion. But the problem with that is it

emotion. But the problem with that is it it it if you divorce love from duty and from action then uh we miss the mark entirely. It it just becoming it just

entirely. It it just becoming it just becomes flattery. It becomes nicities or

becomes flattery. It becomes nicities or it becomes you know just oh genu genuine or general kindness right and we're missing the whole aspect of sacrifice.

We're missing the whole aspect of faithfulness.

Love is is not primary emotion. It's

more than that as 1 Corinthians 13 goes on to tell us. It's it's much more than that. Or how about this? Love is all

that. Or how about this? Love is all about you. Love is about what you want.

about you. Love is about what you want.

Hey, look, if uh you're not getting what you want, if you're not uh benefiting from this, if you're not being fulfilled out of this, then go away. You don't

need to deal with that. That's real.

That's love. It's all about you and what you want. That's the world tells us.

you want. That's the world tells us.

How about this? Love is all about uh acceptance and and tolerance, right? oftent times real love is uh is

right? oftent times real love is uh is us not being accepting and tolerant.

It's us calling sin what it is. It's

sin. It's us helping expose the reality that our neighbor is in sin and needs a savior.

I just want you to imagine if my buddy was walking down some train tracks.

Perhaps you've heard this illustration before. It's not new to it's not

before. It's not new to it's not original for me. walking down the train tracks. He's got some, you know,

tracks. He's got some, you know, headphones on and he's blasting some music and uh he sees the train coming and he's walking the opposite direction and I'm there. I'm witnessing my friend.

You know what the world would say is is, "Hey, hey, just just like poke him on the shoulder and just tell him to get off the tracks." Or, "Hey, you know what? Actually, he probably really

what? Actually, he probably really enjoys being on those tracks. You should

allow him to be on the track. That's

what he wants to do in his life. Let him

enjoy that." No. what the loving thing for me to do would be to tackle my friend off of the train tracks, breaking his leg in the process. Uh, and he's going to look me in the eyes and say,

"Hey, thanks for doing that."

Oftentimes, us loving our neighbor, loving people around us is us hurting their feelings in the process. Now, we

speak truth and love, right? We got to be gracious. We got to be gentle. But

be gracious. We got to be gentle. But

the truth is sometimes abrasive, right?

The truth is sometimes hard. Loving

people is sometimes I it brings up things that we don't like to hear.

We can't let that the cultural counterfeits of love influence our love of other people.

Got to express love for our neighbor.

There's three ways that I have that I think we ought to express love for our neighbor. And the three are here. First,

neighbor. And the three are here. First,

it's faithful. Second, it's intentional.

Third, it's sacrificial. So, first,

let's think about this. We ought to express love for our neighbor faithfully. faithfully.

faithfully. faithfully.

John chapter 13 verse 34 and 35.

John chapter 13 verse 34 and 35. It

says, "A new commandment I give to you."

Jesus gives us an 11th commandment. Not

really kind of. A new commandment I give to you that you love one another. And he

ups the ante on us, doesn't he? Just as

I have loved you.

I can't do that, Jesus.

I I'm going to fail in that every time.

Well, the amazing thing is Jesus uh fulfills it. We're not going to do it

fulfills it. We're not going to do it perfectly, but Jesus did it perfectly for us. Just as I have loved you, you

for us. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this

all people will know that you are my my disciples if you have love for one another. It's a consistent daily

another. It's a consistent daily practice, right? I mean, in some ways, perhaps

right? I mean, in some ways, perhaps you've cooled off in loving other people, in loving God. Perhaps it's uh become something where it's like, "Oh yeah, you know, I I do that sometimes, but I guess I've kind of forgotten it."

And that's why this sermon, yes, it's it's fundamental and it's uh you know, it's it's something that you've heard before perhaps, but it's important for us to to just remember the basics, to

remember the fundamentals, to be refreshed on these things.

This ought to be a defining characteristic of who we are. That we

are committed daily faithfully loving people and loving God every single day.

Love God faithfully. Love your neighbor rather faithfully. Love your neighbor

rather faithfully. Love your neighbor intentionally. Intentionally. Romans

intentionally. Intentionally. Romans

chapter 12 verse 9 and 10. Romans 12:9

and 10 it says let love be genuine. Just

starting there. Let it be authentic. Let

it be real. Let it have the right motives and abhore what is evil. Hate

what is evil. Right? Just as we were talking about with the love counterfeits, I I if we if we love them rightly, if we love people rightly, we're going to hate what's evil. We

don't like what's evil and hold fast to what is good. Love one another with a brotherly affection. Outdo one another

brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. I love that. It's like

a love competition. You ought to have some love competitions in your small groups and in your friend circles and in your family living room, right? Have

some love competitions with them. Outdo

one another in showing honor. I'm going

to I'm going to go out of my way to find ways to love you. Right? That's loving

people intentionally. You're pursuing

others to love. You're seeking

opportunities. Where is it that I can uh love this person well? Right? It's at

your top of your mind that I want to love this person well. And why do I want to love them well? Going back to point one, because we love God. Because God

says, "Hey, love these people as I've loved you." That's the motivation.

loved you." That's the motivation.

That's the exhortation. That's the the the the foundation of all of this.

Love God. Love others rather intentionally.

Love others sacrificially and faithfully, intentionally and sacrificially.

First John 3 16-18. 1 John 3:1 16- 18 says this, "By this we know, love that he laid down

his life for us." I just love that. like

is grounding it in the the foundation of all of this. So, we love others because he first loved us, we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers in response.

But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Let little children, let us not love in word or talk, but indeed

in truth. It's one thing to say, hey,

in truth. It's one thing to say, hey, you know, hey, brother, I'll pray for you. Hey, brother. Yeah, I know. Yeah.

you. Hey, brother. Yeah, I know. Yeah.

And you just you told me about that need that I could totally fulfill right now.

I could Oh, you need you need the car or you need uh you need somebody to to help you pack or you need someone to help you move or whatever. Yeah. Like I'm

available that day, but uh I'll pray for you that someone shows up, right?

Sometimes we can do that. Sometimes we

we fall in it's like like I totally could love this person sacrificially and yet uh I'm not going to be intentional and faithful. But we we ought to go out

and faithful. But we we ought to go out of our way to to sacrifice our our schedules and our resources for these people just as Christ did. I mean, just

think about that, right? Like Jesus had all authority to just stay on his throne and uh not save us. But yet, that was not part of God's loving plan towards

us. Instead, he decided, hey, I'm gonna,

us. Instead, he decided, hey, I'm gonna, as Philippians 2 says, I'm going to let go of all all of these things and I'm going to get down to their level and I'm going to do it for them. Right? He He

sacrifices everything for us. And yet we sometimes fail to meet the needs of other people when we can. And we just got to be people that are loving others

in this sacrificial way.

1 John 4 10 and 11 before we leave this point just to drive this home even further.

1 John 4 10 and 11 says, "In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that he he loved us rather and sent his son to be the propitiation for our

sins." Right? That that ought to be

sins." Right? That that ought to be something that reminds us, right? That

it's exactly what I was just talking about. He's the He pays for our sins.

about. He's the He pays for our sins.

He's the propitiation for our sins.

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. It's as

simple as that.

God's love for us ought to drive this love for other people.

All right, turn back to our text.

Verse 33, 34.

I want you to look what Jesus says.

Verse 33-34.

And to love him with all the heart, all the understanding, with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.

The scribe gets it to a degree, right?

He he understands the uh the truth behind this all. He he seems to affirm it and he seems to practice it to some degree. He he's obeying these things and

degree. He he's obeying these things and yet he's in, right? He's like, "Of course he's in the kingdom." That's how Jesus responds. No, he says in verse 34,

Jesus responds. No, he says in verse 34, "And Jesus saw that he answered wisely."

He said to him, "You're not far from the kingdom. He's not in you. He's not

kingdom. He's not in you. He's not

there. He's knocking at the door. He's

just outside of the gates. He's not in the kingdom." What was it that the

the kingdom." What was it that the scribe was missing?

He's missing the the focal point of the faith. He's missing Christ. He's missing

faith. He's missing Christ. He's missing

the point of it all.

Jesus.

Point number three.

Don't settle for almost entering the kingdom. Don't settle for almost

kingdom. Don't settle for almost entering the kingdom.

There are many things in life where almost really just counts for nothing.

Imagine you if you almost paid your water bill.

Well, your water gets shut off, right?

You you almost uh uh win the football game. Well, uh sorry guys, you you lost

game. Well, uh sorry guys, you you lost you lo you lost the game, right? You

almost catch your flight. I've done that before. It's like, man, I was almost

before. It's like, man, I was almost there. Well, what did I end up doing? I

there. Well, what did I end up doing? I

was spending the night uh in the the airport and waiting for the next flight.

I missed my flight, right? I didn't Who cares if I almost got there?

Reality is almost often means failed.

It's like, yeah, we're we're close, right? And sometimes we get excited

right? And sometimes we get excited like, oh, we're almost there. We're so

close. Like, I almost did it.

But the reality is when it comes to a person's life, you're either in the kingdom or you're out of the kingdom.

You're either in the gates or you're standing outside the gates begging to get in.

There's no almost in entering the kingdom. And I just want us to see how

kingdom. And I just want us to see how so many people get this wrong.

I in in our Christian culture that we live in. It's degrading over the years,

live in. It's degrading over the years, of course, but some level of Christian friendliness still in our culture.

There's so many people that get this wrong. a room this size, I I would say,

wrong. a room this size, I I would say, "Hey, there's probably people in this room that aren't understanding this fully that think they're in perhaps that that think, hey, I'm I'm close." And yet

are going to be left outside of the gates, be left knocking on the kingdom's door.

See how many people get this wrong?

People rely upon their works. People

rely upon what they do, right? They

think, "Hey, I mean, you talk to your neighbor long enough, you'll know, hey, they'll they'll tell you I've done more good than I've done bad." So clearly, God's going to allow me into the kingdom

because I've done more good. It's it's a balance thing, right? I I'm in.

God says, "Hey, your works are like filthy rags. Your works do not justify

filthy rags. Your works do not justify you. In fact, if if we wanted to stand

you. In fact, if if we wanted to stand before Christ and say, "Look at all this good that I've done." He He's going to say, "Depart from me. I never knew you."

You didn't think you'd hear that from a guest preacher on the Sunday morning, right? But this is the reality of the

right? But this is the reality of the text. This is what it says. The Bible

text. This is what it says. The Bible

says right here, Jesus is telling the scribe, "You are not there. It doesn't

matter that you've done those things. It

doesn't matter how much works that you've done. You'll never do enough

you've done. You'll never do enough work." How arrogant is it of us to think

work." How arrogant is it of us to think that we can stand before the holiest of holy God and say, "Hey, I I was nice to my neighbor. Hey, I went to church. Hey,

my neighbor. Hey, I went to church. Hey,

I read my Bible. Aren't you going to let me into the greatest kingdom that's ever existed? You say, "No, you're not

existed? You say, "No, you're not forgiven.

Those works do not get you forgiven.

Those those works are not are not what pay for your sins."

How about this? People getting it wrong, not only with works, but just simple belief. That was just believe.

belief. That was just believe.

So, Pastor Roy, isn't it all about faith? Yeah. Yeah, of course.

faith? Yeah. Yeah, of course.

What I'm saying here is is James chapter 2 says, I'm saying what James says where he says faith without works is what?

It's dead. It's dead.

To say, hey, I I I'm a card carrying member of the kingdom and yet I I I'm not going to live for the king.

It's like, well, hey, I I I say that I live for the king. I say that I'm all about the kingdom, and yet my life doesn't show that I'm about the kingdom.

Well, James would say, your faith is dead.

your faith is dead.

So to say that we're on the team and yet we don't practice with the team and we don't we don't uh you know show up and sacrifice with the team and we don't do the things that the team does. But to

say, "Hey, I'm on the roster." Well, no, we're not.

We can't rely only on our just believing in a sense to the facts of the of of of Christianity. It's as if some of our,

Christianity. It's as if some of our, you know, some people treat this as if it's like an ethnicity on a survey that you send into the government to say, "Oh, check. I've checked the box. I'm

"Oh, check. I've checked the box. I'm

Christian." Right?

That doesn't get us in.

That almost gets you in.

You have some right understanding. Well,

hey, that's better than none. It's

better than being hostile. It's better

than uh, you know, denying it entirely.

It's great. You're almost there.

but almost means nothing when it comes to entering the kingdom.

Or how about this? Reliance on exposure.

Exposure.

Reliance on works, reliance on belief, reliance on exposure. You know, you've heard it said this way, God has no grandkids, right? Just because our family are

right? Just because our family are Christians doesn't mean that I'm a Christian. Just because uh you know, mom

Christian. Just because uh you know, mom and dad raised us in the church doesn't mean that uh we're we're in the church.

Doesn't mean that we're part of the church. Hey, just because you you read

church. Hey, just because you you read your Bibles and show up and you give to your church and you've bapt you were baptized when you were a kid, I it doesn't mean anything.

And I think in some ways in this this the Christian friendly culture that we live in, you know, this has been an acceptable

thought in the minds of a lot of people is that, hey, well, I'm, you know, I'm I'm part of the the program. I'm doing

the program. I'm I'm doing these things and you know I'm close. Like you think about even like think about Judas. Think

about Judas's situation.

Like Judas spent three years with Jesus in his missionary in in his mission work, right? In in his ministry is the

work, right? In in his ministry is the word I'm searching for. And uh he he was doing the miracles. He was close to he heard his teaching. He ate with Jesus.

He laughed with Jesus. He did all these things. And yet what happened to Judas?

things. And yet what happened to Judas?

He denied him. He denied him. He

betrayed him. He cast him away for 30 pieces of silver.

Judas thought, "Hey, well, you know, if I, you know, maybe he had a rel exposure is the is what I'm searching for." He

had an exposure to Jesus, but that didn't mean that he was saved. That

doesn't mean he was in he wasn't in the kingdom the whole time. He's with Jesus all the time. This proximity, this closeness with Jesus, and yet he's not there.

I just want us to understand the gravity of this because many fall into this category and that's the sad reality of and you can say that with biblical authority because Matthew chapter 7

seems to indicate that uh many will walk uh on the uh wide path right Matthew 7 13-4 I think this is helpful just to notice this notice what it says in the

first word here Jesus says enter by the narrow gate we can't stumble into the gate. We can't accidentally fall

the gate. We can't accidentally fall into the gate. We have to make a conscious decision to follow Christ.

We'll talk about that in a second, but I just want you to see that that there's an there's a conscious entrance into the to the gate. And then it's a staying on the gate. For the gate is wide, the way

the gate. For the gate is wide, the way is easy that leads to destruction.

And those who enter by it are many many.

But the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life. And those who find it are few.

There going to be many people on that wide path that leads to destruction.

What's our response? We got to ensure that we're card carrying members of the kingdom. We got to ensure that we got

kingdom. We got to ensure that we got the Costco card with our picture on it and then we walk in and they say, "Welcome in. Come on in to Costco."

"Welcome in. Come on in to Costco."

That's what Jesus, we want Jesus to say, "Come on into the kingdom."

How do we do that? Well, it comes by a right response to the gospel.

It comes by repentance and faith. Mark 1

14-15, Jesus starts his ministry in the whole Gospel of Mark. Right here, Mark emphasizes this point. He says, "Repent and believe for the kingdom of God is at

hand. Repent and believe." Acts 20 21.

hand. Repent and believe." Acts 20 21.

It says, "Testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ." Right?

I understand Ephesians chapter 2. This

is a gift. This is what initiates it.

It's God's grace that that enables us to even have this type of faith and repentance is God's the one who has to start the program, right? And he does.

We ought to respond rightly to it. And

the way that we respond is with entering with making this conscious decision to enter through the gates with repentance in faith. And I I just want you to think

in faith. And I I just want you to think about this. If you if you were to stand

about this. If you if you were to stand before heaven's gates and God was to ask you, "Hey, why should I let you in? Why

should I let you in?" Our first answer should be, "Well, you shouldn't. You

shouldn't.

You shouldn't because I don't deserve it. You shouldn't because I've done

it. You shouldn't because I've done everything that I possibly could to to break your law.

You shouldn't, God. But uh but God, I I think you have to. That's kind of weird to say, but think about that theologically for a second. God, you you shouldn't let me in. But but it's

because of what your son did. It's

because of Jesus 2,000 years ago. It's

because I'm now clothed in the righteousness of Christ. It's not my merit. It's his merit. He earned it for

merit. It's his merit. He earned it for me. He lived the perfect life. He died

me. He lived the perfect life. He died

on the cross. He resurrected from the dead. He conquered sin and death. and

dead. He conquered sin and death. and

and then I I just I just I followed him.

And me even me following him was a was a gift of your grace to enable my heart to do it. Thank you, God.

do it. Thank you, God.

That's why you should let me in. It's

because of of Jesus.

The only reason we get in is because of him.

And I just want us to stop and think, if that doesn't drive our love for God, I don't know what else will. that we have been spared from an eternity of

punishment because we've deserved because of our sin.

Thank you, Jesus, for dying on the cross. I don't deserve that. We don't

cross. I don't deserve that. We don't

deserve that. And yet, he did it for us because he loved us. That ought to be the type of love that we try in our weakness and in our in our lack, in our inability, we ought to try to love him

in that way. We ought to try to love other people in that way. Yes, we'll

fall short every single time. But that's

not God is not asking for you to love people perfectly. Jesus did that for

people perfectly. Jesus did that for you.

But he is asking you to love him and love others.

Christ's payment for our sins ought to drive this type of love and devotion in your lives.

Residents of the kingdom, they surrender all for Christ.

Matthew chapter 16 24 Matthew 16 24-26.

It says this, "Then Jesus told his disciples, if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself." This is a this is contrary to what our world says.

It's all about you. It's all about self.

It's all about self gratification and fulfillment. And Jesus says, "No, no,

fulfillment. And Jesus says, "No, no, no. Deny yourself. Take up your cross

no. Deny yourself. Take up your cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." And

here's the here's the the sad reality that a lot of our friends that don't know Christ, that don't know the gospel, that are almost in the kingdom, this is what they this is what they get. You'll

you'll get the world, but you'll forfeit your soul. You'll forfeit your soul.

your soul. You'll forfeit your soul.

Residents of the kingdom are willing to give everything for Christ. Is that the way that we're loving God? It ought to be. Is that the way we're loving others?

be. Is that the way we're loving others?

It ought to be.

If we were just to smash this together, to give you one practical before we leave this final point, the best way to with with this with this in mind, with people that are on the doorstep of eternity, with people that are are

standing at the porch and they're waiting to enter eternity, we hope that they're entering in the uh the kingdom.

With that with that in mind, with death at its doorsteps, we got to put this love of God and others together by sharing the gospel with others. Matthew chapter 28. That

with others. Matthew chapter 28. That

should be a a daily reminder in our minds. In fact, it should be it should

minds. In fact, it should be it should be evangelism is disciplehip is what Matthew 28's all about. But we start disciplehip with evangelism. Let's get

let's get the gospel to these people. I

just want you to think there's thousands, millions of people that are dying today that are going to meet their creator. And some of them are going to

creator. And some of them are going to bow the knee in submission and others are going to bow their knee in in in him pushing them down onto the floor. Right?

There's going We want people to be bowing the knee willingly.

We want people to be bowing the knee excitedly, joyfully to meet their creator. And how do we do that? We got

creator. And how do we do that? We got

to bring the message of the gospel to these people. We ought to care for these

these people. We ought to care for these people. If we're going to love people

people. If we're going to love people rightly, if we're going to love God rightly, if we love God, we want him to be known in the world that we live in.

If we love people, we don't want them to to be apart from the redemption and the glory that is to await in the kingdom.

Additionally, we don't want them to experience the punishment for their sins.

We we want them to know our savior and we take them from a a a new disciple into a growing disciple. We ought to have a heart to lead them better in the

ways of the Lord. So, evangelism leads to daily disciplehip. We ought to care that they become more like Christ. We

ought to care that our pe the people in our small group, in our our friends, in our family that are Christians, that they're growing in their knowledge, that they're growing in their devotion, that they're sacrificing, and that they're repenting of sin, and that they're

growing in their sanctification. We

ought to desire that of them. And how do we do that practically? Well, let's lead them in the ways of the Lord. Let

ourselves be discipled on a regular basis to grow in these things on a daily basis.

Loving God and loving others.

These are fundamentals of Christianity.

I understand maybe some of this maybe all of this was something that is it's something that you know you've known forever. Well, I I hope you walk away

forever. Well, I I hope you walk away with a new fresh perspective then. I

hope you walk away with a renewed mind because the fundamentals are so important.

In the 1929 Rosebull game almost 100 years ago, California, you know, you see California played Georgia Tech in the Rose Bowl

game and uh on one of the plays, Cal's center, Roy Regal's uh center, if you don't know football, he snaps the ball to the quarterback. Okay, I think we all kind of know football to some degree.

Snaps the ball to the quarterback.

There's a fumble. Roy Regals recovers the fumble and he's like, he's running straight to the end zone. He's excited.

Yes, I'm gonna score that. We're gonna

win this game. I'm gonna score this touchdown. He gets tackled at the one

touchdown. He gets tackled at the one yard line. Oh, he almost made it. Well,

yard line. Oh, he almost made it. Well,

he got tackled by his own quarterback because Roy Wgles ran 67 yards in the wrong direction.

67 yards in the wrong direction. The

next play, uh, Cal punts. The punt is blocked and Georgia Tech takes the next play, kicks a field goal, wins the game eight

to7.

Roy Regals learned a lot about the fundamentals that day. He learned a lot about the importance of the fundamentals. A lot about the uh the

fundamentals. A lot about the uh the need to remember the fundamentals.

Fundamentals are critical. As

Christians, we need to be regularly reminded of these fundamentals. Let's

leave today with that renewed and refreshed perspective on these fundamentals. Love God and love others

fundamentals. Love God and love others and fully grasp that love when it's rightly applied and rightly understood ought to change everything about your

life. Let's pray.

life. Let's pray.

God, thank you. Thank you for your word.

Thank you for the blessing it is to preach your word to congregation who wants to hear your word, who wants to worship you, wants to know you. I just

pray God in a in a simple and basic sermon God that we're reminded of these core tenants of the faith that we ought to love you God with our entire being,

our whole life.

And that leads us to love the people around us in a unique and significant and different kind of way, a deeper way.

So I just pray God that we can continue to apply this into our lives every single day. Okay. I pray that in a lot

single day. Okay. I pray that in a lot of ways that the spirit will be convicting our hearts and changing our minds and allowing us to uh to apply your word better into our lives. So God,

thank you for your words. Thank you for Jesus as we're reminded of the gospel this morning. If we're reminded of the

this morning. If we're reminded of the sacrifice that he paid for us 2,000 years ago. Thank you for your grace in

years ago. Thank you for your grace in sending your son. Thank you for your grace in enabling our hearts to believe.

God, we're just so thankful to you. We

love you. We praise you. We pray these things in Jesus name. Amen.