Epoisses
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Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Genuine love for our fellow man fulfills the law. Many have the idea that God gives us his love so we then go back and keep the law or the commandments which is ridiculous. Jesus showed in the sermon on the mount that that if I have hate or lust in my heart I am breaking the law before I even do anything. God’s law is a spiritual law that reigns within and is best understood by Christ’s self-sacrificing love. God looks at the motivation for what we do more so then the actual deeds themselves. There are three primary motivations for what we do which are fear, reward and genuine love. The bible especially the OT is filled with terrible denunciations against sin so many serve God out of fear of punishment. This type of service will produce an outward obedience but the heart remains unchanged and unconverted. The next motivation is the most prominent where many serve for earthly or even heavenly reward. Such a man or woman will put forth great effort to achieve their goals and often accomplish much but once again the heart remains unchanged and is filled with selfishness. Only the service of ‘agape’ or self-sacrificing love is accepted by Christ. This love cannot be generated by the sinful heart of man. It can only be received when our heart is broken by the sight of its own sinfulness. Conversion in the biblical sense is the fruit of a broken and contrite heart - Psalm 51:17.