Category A: Love Commands

Love is the fulfillment of the law (Romans 13:10). Here's how Jesus commands us to love.

1. Love One Another

"I give you a new commandment — to love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. Everyone will know by this that you are my disciples — if you have love for one another."

— John 13:34–35 (NET)

How did Jesus love?

• Sacrificially (He died for you — Romans 5:8)
• Unconditionally (He loved you while you were still a sinner — Romans 5:8)
• To the end (John 13:1 — "having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the very end")
• With action, not just words (1 John 3:18 — "let us not love with word or with tongue but in deed and truth")

That's the standard. Not "be nice to each other." Love as Christ loved.

Application: Who in your church is hard to love? Love them anyway. Sacrificially. Practically.

2. Love Your Enemies

"But I say to you, love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you,"

— Matthew 5:44 (NET)

This is supernatural. You cannot do this in your own strength. This requires the Holy Spirit.

Why love enemies?

"…so that you may be like your Father in heaven, since he causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."

— Matthew 5:45 (NET)

God is kind to His enemies. (That was you before you were saved.) When you love your enemies, you're acting like God.

Application: Who has wronged you? Pray for them. Ask God to bless them. Serve them if you have opportunity.

3. Turn the Other Cheek

"But I say to you, do not resist the evildoer. But whoever strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other to him as well."

— Matthew 5:39 (NET)

What this means: A slap on the right cheek (in that culture, a backhanded slap) was an insult, not a life-threatening attack. Jesus is commanding you not to retaliate for insults or minor offenses.

What this does NOT mean: This is not a command to allow yourself or others to be seriously harmed. Protecting the innocent is loving. Self-defense is biblical. But personal retaliation for insults? No.

Application: When someone insults you, mocks your faith, disrespects you — don't strike back. Don't seek revenge. Absorb it. Let it go.

4. Go the Extra Mile

"And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two."

— Matthew 5:41 (NET)

Context: Roman soldiers could legally compel a Jew to carry their gear for one mile. Jesus says: Give them two.

Why? To show that you're motivated by love, not by compulsion. The first mile is obligation. The second mile is generosity.

Application: When someone asks for help, don't just meet the minimum. Go beyond. Surprise them with generosity.

5. Give Your Cloak Also

"And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, give him your coat also."

— Matthew 5:40 (NET)

Again — radical generosity. Don't just give what's demanded. Give more.

Application: This isn't about enabling exploitation. It's about shocking people with Christlike generosity that makes them ask, "Why would you do that?"

6. Forgive Others

"For if you forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive you your sins."

— Matthew 6:14–15 (NET)

This is terrifying.

If you withhold forgiveness, God will withhold forgiveness from you.

Why? Because unforgiveness reveals an unforgiving heart — and an unforgiving heart may indicate you've never truly grasped how much you've been forgiven.

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant (Matthew 18:23–35):

A servant owed a king 10,000 talents (millions of dollars — an unpayable debt). The king forgave it all.

That same servant then found a fellow servant who owed him 100 denarii (a few months' wages). He grabbed him by the throat and demanded payment. The fellow servant begged for patience. The first servant refused and threw him in prison.

When the king heard this, he was furious. He handed the unforgiving servant over to the jailers until he paid back his entire debt.

Jesus concludes: "So also my heavenly Father will do to you, if each of you does not forgive your brother from your heart." (Matthew 18:35 NET)

Your sin against God = 10,000 talents. Someone's sin against you = 100 denarii.

God forgave you the massive debt. How dare you refuse to forgive the small debt?

Application: Is there someone you haven't forgiven? A parent? A spouse? A friend who betrayed you? Forgive them. Today. From your heart.

Not because they deserve it. Because you've been forgiven infinitely more than you'll ever have to forgive.

7. Do Not Judge Hypocritically

"Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For by the standard you judge you will be judged, and the measure you use will be the measure you receive. Why do you see the speck in your brother's eye, but fail to see the beam of wood in your own eye?"

— Matthew 7:1–3 (NET)

What this means: Don't judge hypocritically. Don't condemn in others what you tolerate in yourself.

What this does NOT mean: This is NOT a command to never make moral judgments. Jesus commands you to judge rightly (John 7:24 — "Do not judge according to external appearance, but judge with proper judgment").

You must judge:

• Between truth and lies
• Between right and wrong
• Between sound doctrine and heresy
• Between genuine believers and false professors

But you must judge yourself first. Remove the beam from your own eye, then you can help your brother with the speck in his (Matthew 7:5).

Application: Before you call out someone else's sin, examine your own life. Are you guilty of the same thing? Are you judging them more harshly than you judge yourself? Fix your own sin first.

8. Serve One Another

"But it is not this way among you. Instead whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

— Mark 10:43–45 (NET)

Jesus modeled this:

• He washed His disciples' feet (John 13:1–17)
• He healed the sick
• He fed the crowds
• He died for sinners

"…who though he existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave…"

— Philippians 2:6–7 (NET)

God Himself became a servant. And He commands you to do the same.

Application: This week, serve someone beneath you in status. Someone who can't repay you. Someone who won't advance your career or boost your reputation. Serve them.

9. Reconcile Before Worship

"So then, if you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother and then come and present your gift."

— Matthew 5:23–24 (NET)

Reconciliation comes before worship.

If you've wronged someone, you can't properly worship God until you've made it right with them.

Application: Is there someone you've wronged? Someone angry at you for good reason? Go to them. Apologize. Make it right. Then come back and worship.