Quote:
Originally Posted by Light
I am trying to understand your logic. But your explanation still does not explain how God can declare us evil hearted and simultaneously expect us to love thy neighbor. What you reference above is ignorance of God, not "evil hearts" which is much, much stronger.
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Going by your logic, how can God declare us evil and give us his holy law and expect us to keep it? And the two greatest commandments are actually in the Law of Moses! Jesus didn't just make it up by pulling them out of thin air.
Also, the Law is not intended for good people! Common sense should tell you this. God's law, like man's laws. are also intended to keep a reign on evil people! Scripture bears this truth out also.
1 Tim 1:8-10
8
But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous man, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers 10 and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching...
NASB
Just because man is sinful by nature (i.e. has an evil heart) does not mean that he's incapable of any love. (Don't forget: The Doctrine of Total Depravity does not mean that we evil as we can be, only that all our faculties are corrupted by sin.) What it does mean, however, is that fallen man is incapable of the
kind of love required by God's revealed will in the scriptures. Jesus makes this truth crystal-clear also. Note his words in this passage:
Matt 5:44-48
44
"But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you 45 in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46
"For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax-gatherers do the same? 47 "And if you greet your brothers only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48
"Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
NASB
Tax-gathers and Gentiles -- can't get much lower on the Jewish cultural pole than that! Jewish tax-gatherers were considered to be turncoats, traitors and greedy, opportunistic profiteers by religious Jews since they were employed by Rome to collect taxes from their countrymen. And not only did Rome give them a percentage of what they collected but the arrangement tempted most of them to be dishonest as the day is long by collecting more taxes than necessary, with them pocketing that extra change as well! Tax-collecting was a very lucrative business conducted by dishonest people.
And Gentiles? Nothing lower on the cultural totem pole either -- perhaps with the exception of a Samaritan. But Jesus' point in both cases is that these two groups were largely comprised of unbelievers! So, he's telling Jews that even unbelievers love -- but not like they're supposed to! Far from it. From being perfect the way their Creator is. They were so far away from God's perfect ideal that Jesus warns the Jews to not be like them because what reward will they have if they adopt the worldly standard of sinners?
