What is the most important commandment?

[me again]

In the smoke of all the doctrinal controversies, what is the most important commandment? :nervous: Look at all the doctrinal smoke (aka doctrinal divisions): Saturday Sabbath v. Sunday
Calvinism v. Arminianism
Catholicism v. Protestantism
Protestant factions and denominational divisions
Transubstantiation v. symbolic "do this in remembrance of me"
My way or the highway v. your personal beliefs aka you're wrong!!!!
et al ad nausumYet despite our different beliefs, how do we treat each other? How do we treat someone who loves the Lord, but who has different doctrinal beliefs from our own? Who is right? Does it really matter? If our doctrinal position is 100% correct, but if we don't treat our fellow man with patience, love and compassion, then how will the Lord judge us when we appear before Him at the Judgment Seat of Christ? :yesno: Jesus said:John 13:34-35
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

I Cor. 13:1-13
If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth.

It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end.

For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end.

When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways.

For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.I see no reconciliation between all of the different doctrinal beliefs and, as such, fulfilling the law of love has taken on a greater significance for me. For the Christian, when it's all said and done and at the close of our life, the only thing that will matter is the love that we showed to our fellow man; and we will be judged accordingly. :eek:

[cdhale]

Jesus said that if you kept the two great commandments (Love God and Love your Neighbor), then you have kept the whole of the law.

clint

[John Oscar]

Not to offend any strict doctrinal people, but I've grown to only really care about the important doctrines....like apostle's creed type doctrines.

I honestly don't believe that any of us have ever been completely able to understand God or His ways, and therefore going to the mat with people over every little pet doctrine at the expense of love and unity is ultimately doing more the devil's work in dividing the body of Christ then living the way that Christ meant us to live.

I believe in correct doctrine, but I believe in love more....

Blessings

[Zaph]

I don't believe you can separate love and doctrine. They both come from Christ and Christ and His love should be the center of any doctrine.

[me again]

I don't believe you can separate love and doctrine. They both come from Christ and Christ and His love should be the center of any doctrine.But if a Christian believes that his doctrine is right and yours is wrong, it is still incumbent on the Christian to treat you with kindness, even though he believes that you are in doctrinal error. I speculate that for him, the greater sin is to treat you without love, simply because he believes you are in doctrinal error.

[Zaph]

... it is still incumbent on the Christian to treat you with kindness, even though he believes that you are in doctrinal error.

I couldn't agree more.

[Quasar]

Jesus said, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. this is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Mt.22:37-40.

Blessings,

Quasar

[Brotherdavid]

Apostle's creed type doctrines ? Do you mean such as this ?

The Apostles' Creed
(two versions as used today,
based directly on common form c. 700 A.D.)

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:

Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.

He descended into hell.

The third day He arose again from the dead.

He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,
whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.

Amen.
I believe in God the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth:


And in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried;
he descended into hell;

the third day he rose again from the dead;

he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting.

Amen



the holy catholic church ?....... come on now get real

[me again]

Apostle's creed type doctrines ? Do you mean such as this ?

The Apostles' Creed
(two versions as used today,
based directly on common form c. 700 A.D.)

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:

Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.

He descended into hell.

The third day He arose again from the dead.

He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,
whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.

Amen.
I believe in God the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth:


And in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried;
he descended into hell;

the third day he rose again from the dead;

he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting.

Amen



the holy catholic church ?....... come on now get realIn this context, "catholic" means universal. Today, it has come to mean (primarily) the Holy Roman Catholic Church. It's all about semantics. :madgrin:

When I read the apostles creed (particurly the first one you posted), it makes all my muscles relax. It soothes the savage beast in me!!! LOL :angel: