Some misuse Matthew 22:36-40, wrongly teaching that if we “just love God and love others,” we do not need to do anything else to please God. That is false.
Just because Jesus said that loving God and loving our neighbors as ourselves are the greatest commandments does not mean they are the only commandments. In fact, love for God requires obedience and is demonstrated by obedience (John 14:15, 21, 24; 1 John 5:3). The two “greatest commandments” do not eliminate Christ’s other commandments. Instead, they summarize our fundamental duties toward God and man. Christ gave many specific instructions, both personally and through His inspired apostles and prophets (1 Cor. 14:37). Here are some of them:
· Believe the Gospel (Mark 16:16; 1 Cor. 15:1-4)
· Repent (Luke 13:3; Acts 17:30)
· Confess faith in Christ to people (Matt. 10:32; Rom. 10:9-10)
· Be immersed for forgiveness (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Col. 2:11-13)
· Assemble with the church (Heb. 10:23-31)
· Observe the Lord’s Supper on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 11:23-29)
· Sing to the Lord and to one another (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16; Acts 16:25)
· Pray to God in Jesus’ name (Eph. 5:20; 1 Thess. 5:17)
· Give cheerfully on the first day of the week (1 Cor. 16:1-2; 2 Cor. 9:6-7)
· Study God’s Word (2 Tim. 2:15; 3:14-17)
· Evangelize (Matt. 28:18-20)
· Support Gospel preaching (1 Cor. 9:14)
· Discipline the disorderly (Matt. 18:15-17; 1 Cor. 5; 2 Thess. 3:6)
· Mark and avoid false teachers (Rom. 16:17)
· Forgive those who repent (Matt. 6:14-15; Luke 17:3-4)
· Live soberly, righteously, and godly (Titus 2:11-12)
· Abstain from fleshly lusts (Gal. 5:19-21; 1 Peter 2:11)
· Put away lying, stealing, wrath, bitterness (Eph. 4:25-32)
· Control our thoughts (Matt. 5:28; Php. 4:8; 1 Jn. 3:15)
· Control our tongues (Matt. 12:36-37; Eph. 4:29; Jas. 1:26; 3:1-12)
· Submit to governing authorities (Rom. 13:1-7; 1 Pet. 2:13-17)
· Love the brotherhood (John 13:34; 1 Pet. 2:17)
· Help those in need (Gal. 6:2, 10)
· Set a good example for others (Matt. 5:13-16; 1 Tim. 4:12; Titus 2:7)
· Do not cause others to stumble (Rom. 14:13; 1 Cor. 8:9-13; 10:32)
· Be faithful unto death (Rev. 2:10)
These are not optional. They are not replaced by “just love.” Love motivates obedience. It does not eliminate obedience. Jesus said that only believers who obey the Father will enter Heaven, and that hearing His words without obeying them is foolish (Matt. 7:21-27; Heb. 5:9; Jam. 1:22).
Matthew 22:36-40 is also in the same book as Matthew 4:4 and Matthew 28:20. Jesus said that man must live by “every word” that proceeds from God, and He commanded His apostles to teach all nations to “observe all things” He had commanded them. “Loving God and loving your neighbor” cannot be used as an excuse to disregard the rest of God’s commandments.