Originally Posted by Wayne@purpose
This is in response to problems/questions that Pilgrim found in my last post to this subject.

Pilgrim: Is it your opinion that a true Christian has the ability, in this life here on earth, to love God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love his neighbor as [he loves] himself? And, by doing this he will inherit eternal life... according to the words of the Lord Christ in Luke 10:25-28?
Wayne: Love comes from God (1 John 4:7 and 1 John 4:19). I believe a true Christian, needs to be empower by the Holy Spirit to love God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love his neighbor as [he loves] himself. In other words, the ability depends on God not on the true Christian. In Luke 10:25-28, Jesus may have been acknowledging that this amount of love is a just and right requirement of the Law. In any case, I believe Jesus alone fully met this requirement and His work is the only basis of inheriting eternal life (Heb 9:15).
1. A "true Christian" IS empowered by the Holy Spirit because the Spirit dwells within a true Christian. Without this indwelling of the Spirit, one is not a "true Christian".
2. The "amount of love is a just and right requirement" is a rather ambiguous statement. For, the 'requirement' to love God with all one's heart, mind, soul and strength and to love one's neighbor as himself' is quantitatively and qualitatively infinite. In short, there is no "amount" to be considered. The Lord Christ's love for the Father is paradigmatic of what love is and how it is to be expressed. This loving of God is "required" because it is how everyone, without exception is to relate to God as Creator and particularly so as Redeemer. That relationship is maintained through the perfect keeping of God's most holy law as exemplified in Christ's perfect obedience (aka: active obedience). Thus even a redeemed, Spirit-indwelt sinner cannot meet the requirement in this life due to the sinner's remaining sin nature. A Christian is TOTALLY dependent upon Christ's righteousness alone for the initial reconciliation with God and the consequent sanctification which flows out of justification (Heb 12:14; cf. Ps 94:15; Isa 51:1; Rom 6:22, 8:29,30; Eph 1:4; 1:2Cor 6:17, 7:1; 1Pet 1:15; 2Pet 3:11; 3Jh 1:11).
3. In continuation...What Jesus answered to the lawyer came in the way of a summary of the law, not a replacement for the keeping of the law, nor a secondary means, love, by which to merit eternal life. As I have gone to great lengths to point out, love is the perfect keeping of the law of God. Neither faith nor love takes away but establishes the doctrine of the law. Love is ultimately and intimately expressed in perfect righteousness and total dependency upon God in Christ.

Originally Posted by Wayne@purpose
Pilgrim: The problem I am having with the above remains, despite your sincere effort to explain yourself. Why? Because IF you have sought God and the Holy Spirit has "helped you develop it", and likewise, I have prayerfully sought God's infallible Word for a true understanding of what the Holy Spirit wrote through the instrumentality of holy men of old, but I have come to an understanding that is contrary to yours, what conclusion do you think one must make?
Wayne: I look forward to a resolution of the problem you are referring to. Before I can suggest a path forward, I must understand your concern better. I believe you are saying you see a misunderstanding in that summary that I said I believe the Holy Spirit helped me with. Could you be specific in identifying “the misunderstanding” and “scripture that shows it is a misunderstanding”? Here is that summary:

Observations:
1. Love is a one word commandment that fulfills God's Law
(Matt 22:37-40 also see Rom 13:8, 10) <cut>
My objections are with a) your understanding (definition) of love, b) how it is expressed, c) the possibility of some meritorious aspect of love, and some other issues. I have repeatedly stated, as in my response immediately above, that love is the motive of a regenerated sinner's heart which is and must be expressed outwardly in practical holiness, i.e., conforming oneself to God's law; aka: sanctification.

The immediate issue, however, is your professed confidence that your entire premise concerning "love" is essentially a 'divine' teaching which the Holy Spirit has given you to whatever degree (help). Thus, the inference is that it is to be received as "truth". Further, should someone such as myself take issue with your view(s), the implication is that a) that person is automatically in error, b) is potentially not under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, or c) taken to its logically conclusion, an antagonist is probably unregenerate. Since my view is essentially that of all the Reformers, Puritans and stands squarely upon the historic Confessions and Catechisms of all the Reformed Churches, one would have to conclude that all of these individuals and documents are in error at best and on the other end, at worst this great mass of men have not been 'taught' by the Holy Spirit and the documents which they brought forth and which have been adopted as being accurate summaries of biblical doctrine are solely of the flesh.

In very simple terms, since we stand opposed in our two respective views, one of us is in error. And even more serious is that the Holy Spirit has been referenced as being instrumental in revealing these views. I do hope you have now grasped the severity of the problem. scratchchin

Lastly, as I have stated on more than one occasion, no one would argue that "love" is an essential element of true Christianity. But since love encompasses the entirety of a Christian's life it is incontrovertibly essential that its expression be the focus of what is essential rather than suggesting that "love" in its broadest sense is sufficient in and of itself. Faith, holiness, doctrine and worship are, in my concerted opinion, those specific aspects of "love" which are essential.

I will sum up by using an anonymous quote: "God is in the details". To say that "love" is the most important essential basically says nothing and everything. A Muslim, Jehovah's Witness, Mormon or even a Buddhist can affirm, "I love God". However, upon further inquiry to who/what is God and what it means to love the answers will reveal stark differences.

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simul iustus et peccator

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