When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced
the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer,
asked him a question to test him. "Teacher, which commandment in
the law is the greatest?" He said to him, " 'You shall love
the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and
with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And
a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On
these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
Matthew 22:34-40
Whoever wishes to be great among you must be
your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your
slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and
to give his life a ransom for many."
Matthew 20:26b-28
Beloved, let us love one another, because love
is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever
does not love does not know God, for God is love. God's love was
revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world
so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved
God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice
for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to
love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another,
God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.
By this we know that we abide in him and he in
us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do
testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world.
God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and
they abide in God. So we have known and believe the love that God has
for us.
God is love, and those who abide in love abide
in God, and God abides in them. Love has been perfected among us in
this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he
is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect
love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever
fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because he first
loved us. Those who say, "I love God," and hate their
brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother
or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not
seen. love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from
him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.
1 John 4:7-21
Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we
have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we
have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in
our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also
boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and
hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into
our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
For while we were still weak, at the right time
Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a
righteous person — though perhaps for a good person someone
might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that
while we still were sinners Christ died for us. Much more surely
then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved
through him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies, we
were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more
surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. But
more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Therefore, just as sin came into the world
through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to
all because all have sinned — sin was indeed in the world before
the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. Yet death
exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins
were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who
was to come.
Romans 5:1-14
So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us
speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another.
Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
and do not make room for the devil. Thieves must give up stealing;
rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as
to have something to share with the needy. Let no evil talk come out
of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is
need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not
grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal
for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath
and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be
kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in
Christ has forgiven you.
Ephesians 4:25-32
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and
self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who
belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and
desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the
Spirit. Let us not become conceited, competing against one another,
envying one another.
Galatians 5:22-26
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters,
by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice,
holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not
be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of
your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God —
what is good and acceptable and perfect.
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone
among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to
think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the
measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have
many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we,
who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members
one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace
given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in
ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation;
the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the
compassionate, in cheerfulness.
Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold
fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo
one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in
spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering,
persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend
hospitality to strangers.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not
curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate
with the lowly do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay
anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight
of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live
peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room
for the wrath of God; for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I
will repay, says the Lord." No, "if your enemies are
hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink;
for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads."
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:1-21
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