Key Verses: Matt.22: 36 - 40

Don't forget the verses of scripture I chose as our key verses for the class. Matthew 22: 36-40.

36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”
37 Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

Here is the summation I read from Albert Mohler's book, Culture Shift that describes this passage of scripture in regards as Christians in a secular America.

Verses 36 to 38: In other words, the Christian life is summarized in the two commands. We must first understand our culture and its challenges because we are to be faithful followers of Christ and faithful witnesses to the gospel. We are called to faithfulness, and faithfulness requires that we be ready to think as Christians when confronted with the crucial issues of the day. This is all rooted in our love of God.

Verses 39 to 40: But Jesus also commanded love of neighbor, and Christians must be driven by love of neighbor as we confront the issues of our day. We care for the well-being of our neighbors, and we want to see them come to faith in Christ. We care about marriage, sexuality, children, the dignity of human life, and a host of related issues because we love God first and this leads directly to love of our neighbor---and our neighborhood. In the end, the culture and its challenges will pass away. But our Lord has left us here for a reason---as His people we are to be salt and light in a dying world.