Hi Redemptionsong, nice to see you again. Some comments for your consideration are provided below. It took me some time to prepare and study this. My prayer is that you may be patient and take some time to prayerfully read this in the spirit that it has been given (love) and that it might be a blessing to you brother.
3rdAngel, I can see that you have a heart for the Lord, but do you know what it is to live by grace?
My understanding of the scriptures brother is that we are only saved by GRACE through faith and not of ourselves it is a gift of God *EPHESIANS 2:8. OBEDIENCE to God's LAW is not how we are saved it is the FRUIT of God's work in us as we BELIEVE and FOLLOW his WORD by faith that works by LOVE. Salvation is from sin (breaking any one of God’s 10 Commandments) not to continue in sin *ROMANS 6:1-23; JOHN 8:31-36. Those who continue in known unrepentant sin do not know God and need to be Born again into the NEW COVENANT promise to love *HEBREWS 8:10-12; ROMANS 13:8-10. This is God's work in us and a part of the NEW COVENANT promise *HEBREWS 8:10-12; PHILIPPIANS 2:13. If our faith has no fruit it is dead *JAMES 2:18-20; 26 and our tree will be cast down and thrown into the fire *MATTHEW 3:10; 7:19-20; 13:49-50.
Matthew 12:8. For the Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath day. Jesus tells us that the priests in Solomon's Temple profaned the Sabbath but were blameless (Matthew 12:5). Are we, the priesthood of believers, not blameless if we profane the Sabbath in the Temple built without hands (1 Peter 2:5; Jn 2:19)?
Jesus is telling us about the priests of the old covenant not the new and MATTHEW 12:1-12 is teaching that it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. We can therefore do God's work and do good on the Sabbath. This does not mean we can do our own work and break the Sabbath by not resting that would be sin as sin is defined as breaking Gods LAW. The Sabbath was made for man not man for the Sabbath and JESUS is the creator of it *Mark 2:27-28; John 1:1-4; 14.
You say that one cannot separate God's love from God's law. You then quote Matthew 22:36-40. Well, look again at the wording of this passage. Does it say anything about God's love? No. It says 'Thou shalt love..' Under the law, the commandment was for us to love God and our neighbour. On these two commandments hangs all the law and the prophets. However, under grace we have a new commandment from Jesus; John 13:34. 'A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.'
Actually no that is not true but here is the reason why from the scriptures. Firstly you were provided four sources showing that LOVE fulfills and establishes Gods LAW and is expressed through obedience to God's law and is a part of the new covenant promise to love in HEBREWS 8:10-12 (from Jeremiah 31:31-34). John 13:34 is in reference to the same scriptures that were provided to you earlier not separate from them as before the new covenant promise no one had ever loved another like JESUS loved us. Let's go through the scriptures in detail as sometimes it helps if we see exactly what they say...
LOVE IS EXPRESSED THROUGH GOD'S LAW NOT OUTSIDE OF GOD'S LAW
The two great commandments of love....
MATTHEW 22:36-40 [36] Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
[37], Jesus said to him,
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. [38], This is the first and great commandment. [39], And
the second is like to it, You shall
love your neighbour as yourself. [40],
ON THESE TWO COMMANDMENTS HANG ALL THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS.
Paul is saying the same thing here in our duty of love to our neighbore...
ROMANS 13:8-10 [8], Owe no man anything, but to LOVE ONE ANOTHER:
for HE THAT LOVES ANOTHER HAS FULFILLED THE LAW. [9],
FOR THIS, THOU SHALT
NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, THOU SHALT
NOT KILL, THOU SHALT
NOT STEAL, THOU SHALT
NOT LIE, THOU SHALT
NOT COVET; and IF THERE SHALL BE ANY OTHER COMMANDMENT, it is briefly
SUMMED UP in this saying, namely, THOU SHALT LOVE THY NEIGHBOR AS THYSELF. [10], Love works no ill to his neighbor: therefore
LOVE IS THE FULFILLING OF THE LAW.
Notice above the application of
how we love our neighbore is expressed in obedience to God's law..
James says the same thing here as JESUS and Paul...
JAMES 2:8-12 [8] If you fulfill the royal law according to the scripture,
You shall love your neighbor as yourself [Sums up our duty of love in the 10 Commandments
Romans 13:9] , you do well: [9], But if you have respect to persons, you commit sin, and are convicted of the law as transgressors. [10], For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. [11], For he that said,
Do not commit adultery, said also,
Do not kill. Now if you
commit no adultery, yet you kill, you are become a transgressor of the law. [12], So speak, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.
James is using the second great commandment of LOVE which hangs all the commandments of our duty of love to our neighbour and quotes the commandments showing our duty towards our neighbor. This is why Jesus says “On these two commandments hang ALL THE LAW and the prophets”
Matthew 22:40. and again this is what JESUS teaches when he says...
JOHN 14:15 [15], IF YOU LOVE ME KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS.
You cannot separate LOVE from God’s LAW. Love is the FULFILLING of it and is demonstrated by OBEDIENCE to Gods’ LAW as our duty of LOVE to God and man. [“On these two commandments [of LOVE] hang ALL THE LAW and the prophets]
This is leading to the NEW COVENANT PROMISE of a NEW HEART to LOVE *
HEBREWS 8:10-12;
JOHN 5:42;
1 JOHN 5:17-19;
1 JOHN 4:16;
1 JOHN 5:3;
1 JOHN 4:8. We do not have the LOVE of GOD in us *
JOHN 5:42. We need to be BORN OF GOD to LOVE *
1 JOHN 4:7 and partake of the NEW COVENANT promise.
This is why JESUS teaches in *
JOHN 3:3-7 that UNLESS we are made CLEAN from the INSIDE OUT and BORN AGAIN to LOVE we cannot enter the KINGDOM of HEAVEN.
This is what JESUS is talking about in
MATTHEW 5:20 when discussing the Scribes and the Pharisees teaching the application of God's LAW from the INSIDE OUT. Whosoever is BORN of GOD to LOVE in the NEW COVENANT *
HEBREWS 8:10-12 does not commit SIN *
1 JOHN 3:9;
ROMANS 13:8-10;
JAMES 2:8-12;
ROMANS 3:31;
MATTHEW 22:36-40.
This is the GOOD NEWS of the Gospels in the NEW COVENANT we have a SAVIOUR to save us from sin (not in sin) but we have to be made new to walk in God's Spirit *
GALATIANS 5:16;
ROMANS 8:1-4.
1 JOHN 3:3-10 is talking about all those who are BORN AGAIN to LOVE and it is LOVE that fulfills God's LAW in all those who BELIEVE and FOLLOW God's WORD in the NEW COVENANT *
HEBREWS 8:10-12;
ROMANS 13:8-10.
This results in a people that keep God's LAW (10 commandments) from the INSIDE OUT. *
REVELATION 14:12;
REVELATION 22:14;
1 JOHN 2:3-4;
1 JOHN 3:3-10;
ROMANS 13:8-10;
ROMANS 3:31;
HEBREWS 8:10-12
If we LOVE our neighbor...
* We will honor our parents,
* We will not kill them
* We will not commit adultery with thier spouse
* We will not steal from them
* We will not lie to them
* We will not covet what they own.
If we LOVE our God...
* We will not have other Gods
* We will not make idols and worship them
* We will not take his name [follow] him in vain
* We will remember his Sabbath and keep it holy.
ON THESE TWO COMMANDMENTS [OF LOVE] HANG ALL THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS.
It is true as you say though no one can keep anyone of God's 10 Commandments unless they have been given a new heart to LOVE and have been born again. This is God's work in all those who believe and follow his Word.
Hope this is helpful
May you receive God's Word and be blessed.