Law of Love — Ernest C. Reisinger

Almighty Father, we come before your throne, giving you thanks for saving us through Jesus Christ our Lord. Father, we would express our joy unspeakable at the beauties of the world around us. We give you thanks for this beautiful setting here, for what we see of nature, the animals, the creation which you have made.

Father, we would pray that in our own hearts we might find the same harmony, the same symphony, the same infinite variation of joy that we see reflected in our world. We thank you for grace through Jesus Christ.

Father, we pray, although our bodies are fatigued, that you would strengthen our minds, that you would grant us attention, that we might hear your word, hear the address of your spokesman. Father, we pray that through these messages and our experience and fellowship one with another hear, that you would touch the deepest cords of our emotions, that you would sway our wills, that you would sharpen and prepare our intellects that we might better serve your kingdom.

For such an opportunity of instruction, of reflection, of considering your ways in the world, we give you our infinite thanks. Father, strengthen us as our intellects grow, that our hearts should expand to others.

Father, we pray that you would grant out of this conference that we would nail within our hearts with nails of gold what you commanded us, that we should speak your truth in love. In the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who loved us and redeemed us, we do pray, amen.

The Law and the Gospel in Christian Understanding

We've been considering a very important subject these days, a subject that has many dangers, a subject that has caused many divisions among the choice of God's servants, a subject that has caused me much pain, with someone who I hold very dear.

However, it's important that the closer a man comes to see the difference between the law and the gospel, the connection between the law and the gospel, and how they mutually serve each other to establish each other, the closer he is to the Bible.

I might say that this, when I express my own convictions, I'm expressing the convictions of the conference leaders. We have great respect for all the old confessions. We don't worship the confessions, but we find that they're a safeguard.

To me, the confessions, the Heidelberg Catechism, the Westminster Confession, the London Confession of 1689, to me, they're like the guardrail that takes you over the curves in the mountain. We don't worship them, but they keep you from falling off the side.

And I know lots of young men that are dear to me, that if they had observed those guideposts, they wouldn't be where they are today, and they'd be much more useful to God's kingdom and to His people. I believe the Bible would teach us that we should have respect for what the Holy Ghost taught our fathers.

We don't worship or wish to garnish the sepulchers of our fathers. But surely the Bible teaches us, when it says He gave some teachers, surely the Bible teaches us that we ought to have respect for what the Holy Ghost taught our fathers.

Well, with those comments behind us, I have a text. I have two texts today, and before I read these texts and read from the book, let's bow our heads and our hearts to the God of the book. It's not the book we worship, or the books.

Some people might worship books. It's not the book or the books, but the God of the book, the God of the book. Join with me in just a word of prayer. O gracious God and our heavenly Father, we thank you that we not only have political fathers, church fathers, natural fathers, but O Lord, we have a heavenly Father.

And you've told us to ask, you've told us to seek, you've told us to not. We do that, our Father. But we also claim your promise in connection with that. You've said if we, being evil, know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more you would give the Spirit to them that ask.

As our Father, our greatest need in this hour is for that heavenly dove to come, both to speak and to hear. And therefore we pray that we might know and feel the plentitude of that holy dove. Give thy people discernment, discernment to know that which is of heaven, and discernment to know that which is of man whose breath is in his nostrils.

Therefore we pray that you'd take that which is of heaven, and feel it to the heart and the understanding of your dear people. And that which is of man, may it blow away like chaff from a thrashing floor.

To that end, hear our prayers. Through Jesus Christ, the only Savior for poor lost sinners. Amen. My text, or text, plural, is 1 John 5 .3, where we have a definition, a biblical definition of love. And Romans 13, verse 10, where we have the same definition of love.

Biblical Definitions of Law and Love

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandment. And his commandments are not burdensome, or the old King James says, grievous. They're not grievous, they're not burdensome. Romans 13, 10, love does no harm to his neighbor, therefore love is, love is, love is, love is, the fulfillment of the law.

Now my assignment is God's law and God's love, those two little words, L-A-W, and L-O-V-E. Little words, yet most important, maybe the most important words in all the Bible, God's law that sets before us his character and his will for our duty.

God's love that expresses his immeasurable concern for the world, God so loved the world. These little words are not only small and important, but I believe they're some of the most difficult words to handle in all the Bible, in preaching, in teaching, in living.

And why do I say that? Because of so many different ways the words are used in the scripture. That is, the many different meanings they have in scripture. It's been pointed out before this week, some of the different meanings of that word law is used so many ways.

Sometimes the word law means the whole Bible. Sometimes the law refers to the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible. Sometimes the word law refers to the ceremonial, those laws which prefigured Christ in old worship of the Jews, which were abrogated and abolished when he finished his work.

Sometimes the word talks about those civil duties which were peculiar to Israel as a theocracy, which for the most part are the application of the Ten Commandments in practice. And then it's used, like I'll be referring to it today, the word law refers to the moral duties of all creatures of all times.

It's the Creator's mandate to his creature. The unconverted man may be cursing and swearing, and you say, well, George, you shouldn't take the Lord's name and say, well, I'm not a Christian. I say, oh, George, but you're a creature, and these are addressed to creatures.

Well as I use the word, therefore, for the most part, if not altogether, in the rest of these moments together, I'll be referring to the summary of the moral duty expressed in the Ten Commandments. We not only have the difficulty with the word law used so many times, but there's so many different kinds of love in the Bible.

There is love for God. That's different than love for our enemies. That's a different kind of love. We have love for our neighbors. That's different than love for our enemies. Husbands and wives have a peculiar love that's different than love for their children.

It's different than their love for their enemies. And then we have that peculiar love that's known only, or clearly, in the New Testament. That is that peculiar love for the brother. That's peculiar. All different kinds of love.

And this is why I say these two little words are difficult to handle. And it's one of the reasons why there's so much controversy among the choices of God's saints over the relationship between God's law and God's love.

And it'll be my chief goal and effort today, if I can only establish one fact, it'll be this. If you'll get all this, don't forget this, that the Bible clearly teaches that there is a vital, inseparable, immutable, eternal relationship and connection between God's law and God's love.

There is a connection. If I don't get it across what that connection is, there is a connection. And I would hate anyone to leave this conference without that pressed on their soul. There is a connection.

And if it takes you the rest of your life to find out what that connection is, may God help you to do it. In order for the servants of God, whether they're in the ministry or other servants of God, to live right and work properly, they must not only distinguish between things that differ, but they must join together what God has joined together.

And I pray that I will, under God, strike a death blow at that terrible, devastating, damning error of separating things that God has joined together. We say in the wedding ceremony, what God has joined together, let no man put asunder.

And I say that in respect to this subject. God has joined his law and his love together. And let no man, no man, put them asunder. I pray that no one in this conference will separate what God has joined together.

They're never meant to be separated. When God's law and his love are put asunder, there's always error, the degrees of error may differ. When those things are put asunder, there's always error, confusion, legalism, antinomianism, strife and division, when you separate what God has put together.

Just as God has joined sanctification and justification together, they're two different things, but they are inseparably joined together in the application of God's salvation. And most of our errors among evangelical Christians come from that place of not having a proper, seeing the proper relationship, that we cannot separate justification and sanctification.

And likewise, God's law and God's love cannot be separated without error and confusion. The books of discussion on this relationship are endless, and the difference among men is not a few, but multiplied.

This makes my subject a difficult one, and therefore a proper understanding of this matter calls for your prayers, calls for the plentitude of the Holy Spirit, the only true teacher. I pray that what I will seek to make evident to your minds and understanding, God by his spirit will make real to your hearts and minds, and that he will give you, give us all, that kind of discernment that distinguishes between things that differ and also things that must be joined together.

Some of the worst enemies of Christianity are those who divorce God's law and God's love, and many even set up an antithesis, that is a false relationship, a false separation between God's law and God's love.

The False Antithesis of Love in Place of Law

I remember in the mid-sixties, when the new morality was a big subject, big subject, and I'd been a subscriber for Time magazine probably for thirty-five or forty years, and I remember picking up my Time magazine during the mid-sixties, and I always look at the religious thing, I don't read everything in it, but I do read some, and the religious section of this particular Time issue, it was reporting, Time magazine was reporting of nine hundred ministers and ministerial students meeting at Harvard Divinity School, and they were considering the subject of the new morality.

And the title of the article in Time was this, Love in Place of Law. That immediately sets up an antithesis and makes it appear that it's either love or law, rather than showing the proper relationship.

And in that same article, under the heading, We Are Delivered, that was the heading, big word, We Are Delivered, and the article says, and I quote, "...inevitably," these nine hundred people, "...inevitably the speakers reached no definite conclusion.".

You can understand why. They reached no definite conclusion. But they generally agreed that in some respects the new morality is healthy, it's a healthy advance as a genuine effort to take literally St. Paul's teaching that through Christ we are delivered from the law.

Well, they didn't go on to ask in what respect we're delivered from the law. You see, the people that are motivated by love are certainly not lawless people, if they're motivated by biblical law, that is.

The love and the moral ethical standards are kept, are the ones that Christ kept perfectly. Now, we're not surprised, or we shouldn't be surprised, I should say, we're not surprised at the dangerous, destroying ignorance when we find it among cults who say love, love, love, love.

We shouldn't be surprised at the liberals when they say love, love, love, love, love. We shouldn't be surprised at the agnostics. But preachers use illustrations and teach and preach in such a way as to set up a false antithesis between God's law and God's love.

We are shocked, appalled, saddened, and greatly pained. Sometimes I've even gotten mad. One of the most subtle attacks on the Ten Commandments and biblical morality and true Christianity is made by those who set up a false separation between God's love and God's law, and fail to see and establish the proper relationship between God's love and God's law.

And that's what I'm going to try to do this morning, to show that there is a relationship. What better definition for love could we find in the Bible or anywhere else than my text? For this is the love of God, and immediately that we keep His commandments.

Does that sound like an antithesis? That sounds like there's some kind of a connection, even if you don't get it. And then it goes on to underscore it by saying His commandments are not grievous. They're not grievous.

Jesus, my dear friends, always connected, always connected God's commandments and God's love. What could be plainer than this? The words of our Savior, He who has my commandments and keeps them, He it is that loveth me, He it is that loveth me.

Did He connect them, or set up an antithesis? Again, He who has my commandments and keeps them loves me, and he who loves me will be loved of my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.

And the text has already been referred to this week. If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in His love. See, the connection, the Lord makes a connection.

You are my friend, if you do whatsoever I command you. My friends, these statements should settle forever, forever, that there is a relationship between the commandments of God and the love of God. To emphasize love itself is a command.

To emphasize love is a command, and it's consistent with many New Testament passages. Love thy neighbor, love thine enemies, love your wives, love the brotherhood. All these are commands. If there were no other passages in the Bible, it ought to be sufficiently clear to show that there is some, some, some vital relationship between God's law and God's love.

Therefore it besews us, all Christian ministers, it bewoos us to seek to understand that proper relationship rather than to teach or imply some false separation which should cause us to renounce and reject any teaching.

Whether it be by clever illustrations or implications, anything like that that would leave people with the idea that there is an antithesis between God's law and God's love. And I am sure if I don't say anything else we agree on, you're going to use my next statement.

And that is, if there ever was a day in the home, and in the nation, and in the church, in which biblical teaching about the commandments is needed, it is now, with this lawlessness rampant, we certainly do not need preachers and teachers who make an improper, erroneous separation of what God has joined together.

You know, there's a great deal of Christianity in our land that sing that antinomian theme song. You know the antinomian theme song? This is it. Free from the law, O happy condition, I can do as I please and still have a mission.

That's it. It's not funny. It is funny, but it's not funny, because there's a lot of people who sing it. They may not use the words I do, but they're singing it. They're singing it. There's a disconnection.

It's interesting, though, that it's always the lawless who sing love, love, love, and have the love signs. Name of the draft judges and the flag burners, those people have the love signs. During the 60s I lived within two blocks of a respectable liberal arts college, but it was not the Christians, even though there were some on the campus, there were very few, but it was not the Christians who stood in front of the administration building and the library with love signs.

Rather it was generally the lawless and the rebels with their big love signs. One was forced to ask, love for whom? Are they talking about love for their family? No. They were a disgrace to their family.

Were they talking about love for God? No. They were living in open rebellion against him and his moral precepts. Was it love for their country? No, they were burning the flags and tearing up their golf, not their golf course, but their straps.

I've made worse mistakes than that before. This love-only doctrine, I say love-only doctrine, is the enemy of true Christianity. It's the enemy of the Bible, and it's the enemy of the souls of men. Mary Baker, Grover, Patterson, Eddy, that's all they talk about.

You know who that is, don't you? That's the name of her several husbands. Founder of Christian science. You get with them, and the first thing you hear is love, love, love, love, love. When Machen and all those great giants left Princeton and left because of liberalism, it was the liberals' charge against them, their big charge was they don't have love.

They don't have love. Well, it's not Bible love at all, because the love of the Bible, God's law, are close relatives. Not only are they close relatives, but they are inseparably joined together in the proper application of God's truth.

They're friends, not enemies. Let me tell you something, this lawless love, regardless of where it comes from, is not Christ-like love. He kept his Father's commandments, and whether a perverted view of love is held, wherever it's held, the true value of biblical love is depreciated.

Wherever a perverted view, perverted view of love is held, there's always a depreciation of biblical love. Now, just as it's wrong to try to have love without law, we must remember the other side of the coin.

The Law as the Holy Standard of Love

It is equally important to emphasize law as expensive love, it's important not to do that, because that will lead to legalism, Pharisee-ism, and that exists in the Christian Church. That exists among Reformed Baptists, Calvinistic Baptists, and so a proper understanding of biblical love, however, will keep us both from legalism and antinomianism.

You see, holiness must have a standard that is holy. Holiness must have a standard that's holy, and that's exactly what the law provides. A perfect standard of holiness and righteousness, and true love will seek to follow after a perfect standard.

I've had lots of people say, and I suppose you have too, Jesus was perfect. Well, how did they know he was perfect? How do you know Jesus was perfect? I'll tell you, there had to be a perfect standard to which he complied, and submitted, and manifested.

And that perfect standard is what the psalmist says, the law of the Lord is perfect. Now in that case, I don't think the law refers to the Ten Commandments. Now the Bible is very clear that the gospel of Christ, and I don't want to leave you without this, the Bible is crystal clear that the gospel of Christ breathes the spirit of love, namely because love is the fulfilling of all its precepts.

Love is the pledge of all gospel joys. Love is the evidence of gospel power. Love is the ripe fruit of the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit is love. Spurgeon says, love is the chief jewel in the bracelet of obedience.

Do you like that? He also said, love to our Lord's person begets love to his precepts. Spurgeon. You see, my dear friends, love has no eyes except the holy law of God. Love gives no safe direction apart from God's law.

Paul said, the love of Christ constrains us. Love is a constraining motive to duty, but love does not define that duty. Therefore, we must look elsewhere to find our duty that love has constrained. Yes, love is the only true motive for all worship and duty, but love does not define worship or duty.

Hear our Lord's chief apostle, his chiefest apostle in Romans 13. It's already been referred to. Oh, no man anything except to love one another. For he that loves another hath fulfilled the law. What law?

It goes on to tell us. For the commandments, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, you shall not covet. If there's any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Love does no harm to his neighbor. Therefore, therefore, when you see therefore in the Bible, you want to look why it's therefore. This is the punchline. Therefore, it is the fulfillment of the law. Love is the fulfillment of the law.

You see, to ask the question, is human conduct to be governed by law or love, is not a proper question. That's not a proper question. The question immediately sets up a false separation, sets up an antithesis, supposing that law and love are opposite or contrary to each other.

Preachers must be judicious in some of these fine points. The connection between God's law and God's love is a truth, not only in the New Testament, but deeply rooted in the Old Testament. This is illustrated when our Lord gave the decalogue at Sinai.

Before he gave one commandment, he said, I am the Lord thy God that brought you out of the land of Egypt. What was that? My friend, if that was not a redemptive act, I don't know what a redemptive act is, that was a loving, redemptive act.

And he prefaced all the do's and don'ts with that loving reminder. I am the Lord thy God that brought you out of the land of Egypt. Again, I say that was a loving, redemptive act. And our Lord quoted the very same principle in the New Testament, if you love me, keep my commandments.

Love worketh no ill to his neighbor. The apostle makes very clear, we use that expression, the love of Christ constraineth us. The action which love impels is action which is characterized by fulfilling Romans 8, 13, 8 to 10.

It is the love of God that carries into effect the love for God, the law of God. It's the love of God that carries into effect the law of God. Duty, service, obedience are words that still belong to the Christian.

However, it's no longer associated with bondage, terror, but those words now are associated with freedom, delight, and love. They'll produce such words as this, I delight in the law of God after the inward man.

Why? Because it's holy, because it's good, because it's good for us. Moffat translates Romans 7, 12, good for us, where it says the law is holy, just, and good. Moffat says good for us. And I've captured that after I saw that in Moffat when I teach little children.

Bible school, wherever I have it. I guess I could use it without adults, too. Wouldn't be a bad idea. Well, I'm going to use it on you this morning. I teach children sometimes. And I say, what would it be like if everyone would love God in the world?

No one would have idols. And no one would take the Lord's name in vain. And everybody would recognize a day for their family and worship when they don't have to work. God made a way for them to be with their family and not work and rest their bodies and rest their hearts, less heart attacks.

What would it be like if no one would steal? I've asked this. This is an actual fact. What would it be like if no one would steal? No one would commit adultery? No one would murder? I didn't tell them, but the lawyers would go out of business.

We wouldn't need any more jails, for one thing. And then I went on down the line. And I'm finished. I say, what would be that? I can see some little girl just now. I can picture her in my mind. She put up her hand.

She said, that'd be heaven. Now I ask you, is the law good for us? I don't understand people who take an antagonistic view of the law. Yes, laws constrain us to do the will of our Heavenly Father. But to know what that will is, we must go elsewhere.

Love may say, I love my master. And I love his service. And I wish to do his will. But I must know the rules of his house in order to serve him. This divine law and the divine will are substantially one.

The divine law is an outward manifestation of the divine will. And it's the will of our Heavenly Father that we do his will. Not everyone that says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven.

But he that, what class, doeth the will of my Father which is heaven. You see, love is the fulfilling of the law, my text says. And that's why I say, law is love's eyes. And without the law, love is blind.

This proper connection between law and love will drive us to the scriptures. To find a standard of behavior that the Bible clearly defines objectively. The standard of behavior is not some subjective thing that I call love motivates me.

It's not a subjective thing. It's objective. And that will drive us to the Bible to find a clearly defined objective standard. Nowhere in the scripture will you find that love dictates its own standard of conduct.

What time did I start, Fred? I've got another hour yet. You know, I assign all these speakers and I emphasize that they only go 55 minutes. And the reason I take those other five minutes off is I know I'm going to need them.

One Standard of Righteousness in Both Testaments

Let me emphasize something else. When I'm talking about this standard of righteousness and commandment, I want to emphasize something. There are not two standards of righteousness in the Bible. There are not two standards of...

Many teach a serious error at this point. As though the Old Testament believers were directed by law. And the New Testament believers were directed by love. Let me tell you something. The New Testament believers are directed by the same standard of righteousness as the Old Testament saints.

The Bible does not, does not, does not teach two different standards of righteousness. It is one holy Bible. Well, you ought to figure that out. If it taught two standards of righteousness, there would be a war in the Trinity.

God the Father would have one standard of righteousness, and Christ would have another standard of righteousness. A true Christian does not let his own heart, even though it be a regenerate heart, spontaneously decide what is proper conduct.

That is, he does not say, I'm directed by love. Biblical love does not define its own norms, the standard of behavior. This is exactly what we had in the hippie and van, on the van wagons and the college rebels.

We had love written all over the vans. I'm sure you've all seen it. Love, love, love, written on the van. Exactly what we had. What standard of conduct did it set for them? The word love written over their sex wagons didn't define any true standard of righteousness.

We cannot teach people God's will by holding up love signs. Love, which is the fulfilling of God's commandments, is always operative, operative in respect to doing God's will. You cannot, you must not subtract love from the whole context of biblical revelation.

Let me say that again. We must not, we cannot subtract love from the whole context of biblical revelation. The love has, doesn't stand alone. It has some relatives. Another important biblical truth is that should kill this wicked effort to separate what God has joined together, that is, is what the Spirit writes on the heart.

If you want to know more about this, read Dr. Malone's Thesis on Hebrews chapter 8, verse 10 and so on. We do not, I don't want to say the law is written on our heart. I don't want to suggest that we know the law by reading the inscription on our heart.

The teachings of Hebrews 8, 10, 10, 16, among other things, is that there is a, that in a regenerated heart, in a renewed heart, there is an affinity with, and a love to, the law of God. God in order that there may be a cheerful, loving, obedience to the law, not slavish fear.

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments, and they are not greedy. You see, it's not slavish fear. In the heart of every Christian, he'd like to do the will of God. He doesn't make it all the time.

And he stumbles and falls and makes a lot of crooked steps. But let me talk to you about his heart and his best moments. In his best moments, he'd like to be perfect. I've met some people that are. God delivered me.

It's something you seek after. It's not something you got. But there is that desire to seek after it. Surely it cannot be different. It cannot be different in principle from that which was written on Adam's heart when God created him.

And it cannot be written when God renewed what he wrote on Adam's heart that he wrote on the stables of stone. It can't be different. Shouting love, love, love. Therefore will not tell us our moral duty.

We need a true, fixed, objective standard of moral duty. And my dear friends, that standard is summed up in the Ten Commandments. I said ten by nine! Christian life is not initiated or sustained by commandment or law.

Not initiated or sustained by commandment or law. However, Christian duty is defined and directed by law. Let me show you that from just one place. I wish I could show it from more than one, but you may like to turn to your Bible to Ephesians 6, 1 to 3.

The Fifth Commandment and Christian Obedience

And here the great apostle is speaking of family relationships. Family relationships. The apostle here in this place introduces the moral law as the foundation of obedience. He introduces the moral law as the foundation of obedience.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord. Why? For this is right. Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise. That it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth.

Here, writing to those who are in the Lord, not Jews, but Gentiles. He demands obedience, honor, in the name of the fifth commandment. Now, surely if any duty might be left to impulse of Christian love, without reference to the law, it would be that of a believing child to his parents.

If anything could be left to impulse, it would be a child's relationship to his parents. And what did the apostle do? He appealed to the fifth commandment. Was Paul then a legalist when he referred the Ephesians to the moral law as a rule of obedience?

My dear friends, love, if it's biblical love, never changes what's right. And it's right for children to obey their parents, because it's the fifth commandment. No, love does not change what's right. It may change our relationship with what's right.

Love may give us proper motive to do what's right. Love may change our motive, even, to do what's right. But love never, never, never changes what's right. And the ten commandments are right. Turn with me, please, to the last passage, I think, that I'll be referring to.

But I want to have a little bit to say about it, because it's a passage that's been used and always brought up to me when I talk about the law of God. And I talk about the love of God as much as I do the law of God.

John 13 and the Meaning of Christlike Love

John chapter 13, verse 34. It's a favored passage of those who have not a biblical view of love, but an unbiblical view of love many times. I want to consider, this is a much misused text, and often used to set up that false separation, that antithesis I pointed out earlier.

And I just hear someone say, even in this audience, what about John 13, 34, where it says, There's a new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

Now let me speak to that. And that's what I'll do for the rest of my time. And I'll be, I'm not quite on third base yet, but I'll tell you when I get there, and then I head for home. This verse, first of all, and we're preachers, so we understand this.

This verse is part of our Lord's lesson on servitude. I don't think there's a person here that would disagree with that, John 13. He illustrates servitude by washing the disciples' feet in the early part of the chapter.

I say nowhere, nowhere in the entire chapter, is our Lord giving a call for moral conduct, or an objective standard of righteousness. This is not our Lord's subject in John 13. Therefore, we ask the question from this verse, if we ask the question, what is the biblical standard of morality conduct?

We cannot get the answer by saying love. The answer, if we answer the word love, it may sound very pious. But what is love? We defined that at the beginning. Love is the keeping of God's commandment. How does the Christian love act?

That's a question you just asked on this chapter. In what direction does love go? How does love manifest itself toward God and man? And I want to tell you there are no answers to these questions in John 13.

You could not learn from this chapter that you are meant to worship God. You could not learn from this chapter that you're not meant to steal. You could not learn from John 13 that you're not meant to commit adultery.

You could not learn from that that you're meant to honor your father and mother. Our Lord's subject, and I want to say this before I start talking about women, our Lord's subject in John 13 is servitude.

And the key to verse 34 is found in these words, As I have loved you. These words, as I have loved you, take us to the supreme act of servitude to the suffering servant. That takes us to the cross. And a cross without a broken law is a cross without sin.

And without law and sin, the cross is a jigsaw puzzle with the key pieces missing. The base of the cross, oh hear me please, the base of the cross is eternal justice. The spirit of the cross is eternal love.

The base of the cross is Christ satisfying divine justice. The verse that's vivid describes this. Maybe it's the verse that best describes our Lord's work on the cross. It's Isaiah 42 verse 21. And the Lord was well, I think it's a Messianic verse, And the Lord was well pleased for his righteousness' sake.