How Much Love is Enough?

[Aaron]

From the Rom. 11/OSAS thread:

Aaron: Bob, do you love men as you ought to love? . . . No one loves as Christ loved, yet He loved no more than was required to fulfill the law.

BobRyan: Is it ever defined IN THE BIBLE as "sin" to be "unnable" to love "infinitely"?

Aaron: Yes. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you, John 15:12, and, For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, Gal. 5:14.

BobRyan: There is no text saying "If you love less than infinite God you are sinning" in all of scripture -- no not one.
​

So, Bob, from the Scriptures, how much love is necessary to fulfill the law?

 

[Melanie]

With your whole heart and your whole soul...that is enough for a creature of God. Does it matter if you are a thimble or a ewer....if you overflow with love for God then it is enough......:1_grouphug:

 

[Aaron]

With your whole heart and your whole soul...that is enough for a creature of God. Does it matter if you are a thimble or a ewer....if you overflow with love for God then it is enough......:1_grouphug:

The commandment is to love as Christ loved. Was Christ a ewer or a thimble?

 

[annsni]

John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends."

 

[Aaron]

Bob apparently believes that's more than enough.

 

[Melanie]

The commandment is to love as Christ loved. Was Christ a ewer or a thimble?

Christ loved with his whole heart, whole soul and whole mind. Therefore, his creatures US whatever our abilities should emulate him in this wholeheartedness, because although we are not created equal...we have different graces and different burdens (thus the thimble and ewer analogy).

God bless you and yours:godisgood:

 

[billwald]

An observation attributed to Witgenstein:

Love is not a feeling. No one ever said, "That pain could not have been real because it faded so quickly."

 

[SaggyWoman]

Perfect love casts out fear.

 

[Aaron]

An observation attributed to Witgenstein:

Love is not a feeling. No one ever said, "That pain could not have been real because it faded so quickly."

Love is not merely a feeling, but it doesn't exist without it.

 

[Aaron]

Christ loved with his whole heart, whole soul and whole mind. Therefore, his creatures US whatever our abilities should emulate him in this wholeheartedness, because although we are not created equal...we have different graces and different burdens (thus the thimble and ewer analogy).

God bless you and yours:godisgood:

The question is, how much love is required to fulfill the law?

 

[billwald]

Silly question unless a means of measuring love and a unit for love can be provided.

 

[Aaron]

There is a measurement: the Law.

 

[menageriekeeper]

Silly question unless a means of measuring love and a unit for love can be provided.

A means has been provided: Christ's love for the chuch. That is the measuring stick. (sorry Aaron)

And in His love for the church He also provided the fullfillment of the command to love one another, just as He and He alone has provided the fullfillment of the rest of the Law.

Whatever we lack in ability, Christ in our lives makes up for. Remember, we aren't obeying this command out of respect for other people, but out of gratefulness to the One who has provided His blood as attonement for our sins.

 

[Heavenly Pilgrim]

Menageriekeeper: A means has been provided: Christ's love for the chuch. That is the measuring stick. (sorry Aaron)

And in His love for the church He also provided the fullfillment of the command to love one another, just as He and He alone has provided the fullfillment of the rest of the Law.

Whatever we lack in ability, Christ in our lives makes up for. Remember, we aren't obeying this command out of respect for other people, but out of gratefulness to the One who has provided His blood as atonement for our sins.

HP: Just think, Christ fulfilled the law for us so now, in all reality, it simply doesn’t matter what one does, Christ just “makes up the difference.” So what if one kills or burns another at the stake that disagrees with you? What does it matter if a believer acts in love or hate? Christ has already “made up the difference”………or so Manageriekeeper would evidently have us believe.

What we are witnessing is demonstration of the false notion of the atonement commonly known as the literal payment theory, part and parcel to the system of theology known as Calvinism.

 

[menageriekeeper]

HP: Just think, Christ fulfilled the law for us so now, in all reality, it simply doesn’t matter what one does, Christ just “makes up the difference.” So what if one kills or burns another at the stake that disagrees with you? What does it matter if a believer acts in love or hate? Christ has already “made up the difference”………or so Manageriekeeper would evidently have us believe.

Nice mischaracterazation of what I said. We can NEVER love as Christ does. That doesn't mean we shouldn't try, but this side of heaven it will not happen. So if you are basing your salvation on your ability to love, you better start by editing your post above. The twisting you have done of my words is called a false witness and if I read my Bible right, its not a very loving thing to do.

Would you have us believe that we can lose our salvation by not being loving enough?

You trying to work for your salvation?

What we are witnessing is demonstration of the false notion of the atonement commonly known as the literal payment theory, part and parcel to the system of theology known as Calvinism.

:laugh: I had to read this twice to believe my eyes. :laugh:

The true Calvinists on the board can tell you why.

:laugh:

 

[billwald]

Quantifying love makes as much sense as quantifying sins. The aim of that sort of theology is to beat up on people and make them miserable. God is sooooooo holy and we are soooooooo sinful that . . . .

 

[Heavenly Pilgrim]

Menageriekeeper: That doesn't mean we shouldn't try,…

HP: Yet another false notion. It is absolutely impossible for the mind to try to exercise itself in a way the mind perceives as an impossibility to accomplish. Simply cannot and will not be done. Only as the mind perceives something as a possibility will it strive to accomplish its goal. You might as well tell one to keep trying to jump over the moon as tell them to try and accomplish something that in reality is known to be an impossibility.

 

[menageriekeeper]

Hey, you were the one with problem when I suggested that Christ did it all for us. So what is it? Can we work hard enough to be accepted by God, or is Christ's sacrifice sufficient?

You can't have it both ways. Well you can, but then you make a mockery of Christ's words "Come to me all ye that are heavy laden and I will give you rest".

Still laughing at being called a Calvinist. :laugh:

 

[Heavenly Pilgrim]

MK: Still laughing at being called a Calvinist.

HP: Try hard to be honest. No one called you a Calvinist. I only was making reference to the theological notion you were parroting that is part and parcel to the system of theology known as Calvinism, i.e., the literal payment theory. Possibly if you do not desire for the comparison to be drawn between your comments and Calvinism, you might consider rethinking your theory of the atonement.

 

[Heavenly Pilgrim]

MK: "Come to me all ye that are heavy laden and I will give you rest".

HP: Notice carefully that it does not say that God gives us a license to sin either. Notice it does not say that all future sins are automatically forgiven, or that do whatsoever you will and I will “make up the rest.”