LOVE OF GOD AND

LOVE OF NEIGHBOR

The Bible does give us detailed instructions on how we should live. The Bible is all we need to know about how to live the Christian life. However, the Bible does not explicitly cover every situation we will face in our lives.

How then is it sufficient for the all the ethical dilemmas we face?

That is where Christian ethics comes in.

Science defines ethics as “a set of moral principles, the study of morality.”

Therefore, Christian ethics would be the principles derived from the Christian faith by which we act.

While God’s Word may not cover every situation we face throughout our lives, its principles give us the standards by which we must conduct ourselves in those situations where there are no explicit instructions

Christian ethics can be summarized in 

Mark 12:29-31:Jesus answered, "The foremost [commandment] is, 'HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.' The second is this, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' There is no other commandment greater than these."

love of God and love of our neighbor, were both drawn from the law of Moses

What is Love?If love is the greatest commandment of Christianity, then it becomes an important thing to better understand what love might be

since the concept of Christian ethics is bound within the concept of love, then it is useful to lightly touch on the nature of love so that Christian ethics might be better understood.

Robert J. Sternberg is a popular writer of psychology topics, and he has proposed a theory that love is composed of components: "...the triangular theory of love... comprises three components:

1 Corinthians 13:1-8,13:

The word love in English has several different meanings depending on the context. It is helpful in distinguishing between these various meanings to go to the ancient Greek, which used different words that have all been translated into English as love.

These Greek words;

Philia means the love that exists between friends, the relationship with a dear friend. We see the word in combination as in philosophy, the love of wisdom.

Eros means erotic love, the passion of lovers, the attraction of sex, physical sexual love.

Agape is love of an entirely different sort. It is love of another that does not imply mutuality (as in friendship) or self-interest (which is implied in erotic love), but rather is the affirmation of the worth of another human being. It implies respect for others and recognition of their human dignity.

What Does It Mean to Love God?

The word “love” used here is not used to describe a warm, fuzzy feeling.

agape – means being concerned for others, caring for them as much as

you care for yourself. In this context, loving God means putting God first in your life. A Christian who loves God wants to do what is right in God’s view.

What Does It Mean to Love Your Neighbor?

Loving God is also closely linked to loving others: – “If anyone says, “I love God”, yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.” (1 John 4: 20 - 21)

So loving God and loving others are linked together. Christians are to love God and others because God loved them first.

Again the word used in this passage for loving your neighbor is agape. The passage does not tell Christians to “like” or to “feel for” their neighbors. It

means that Christians should be concerned for their neighbors and care for them as much as they care for themselves.

In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, it shows that your neighbour is anyone who is in need of your help, not just your friends or someone who lives close to you.

Luke 10: 25-37

When Jesus said that we should love our neighbor, he used the word agape  to convey his intent. He did not mean to make friends and he was not encouraging erotic

relationships. He meant “self-less” love, the giving of oneself to causes and persons without the expectation of return, not even an expectation of gratitude.

Love is seen as the fulfilment of the law because love is the essential quality that gives meaning to all other virtues.

That form of love as obligation based on the humanity of others is the basis of Christian ethics. It underlies the commitment to work for justice even against one’s own interests by standing with the powerless against the powerful, by fighting for human rights, by giving one’s resources and strength and self to strangers.

Love as obligation, love as agape, love of one’s neighbor

require specific acts of commitment that can be described as love fulfilling itself in action.

But love (Agape) means a great deal more than specific acts of charity as occasional gestures to satisfy the unease of having much in a world in

which so many have so little. It means a commitment to work for a society that respects all members of the human community and that provides the resources to make life better for those for whom it is a form of hell.

It implies respect for the fundamental nature of the social contract, the

worth of all members of society and the responsibility of all members of society for those who are weakest in their midst—in short, a caring society in which human dignity is respected and in which all members of the society have an obligation for the betterment of all -- and this is not meant in any superficial

way. There are some serious political implications of this obligation and demand on Christians and if those obligations were met by those who claim the name of Christian, it would mean a radically different social commitment and priorities.

Christian Ethics 1 - Luke 10: 25-37

Christian Ethics 3 - Matthew 5: 1-12