September 24th, 2026
by Casey Stanfill
by Casey Stanfill
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” -Mark 12: 30–31
Other than John 3:16, this is one the most quoted passages in all of scripture, but it is also one the most misconstrued.
What I find fascinating is how frequently this verse is cited by nonbelievers, apostates, heretics, and progressive “Christians” who do not affirm the inerrancy of scripture. These individuals (including progressive politicians trying to win the Christian vote) will quote this verse and somehow conclude that one must affirm sexual sin and the mutilation of the pre-born and deny God’s design for gender. In other words, people will suggest: “Jesus says to love your neighbor, therefore you must affirm my views.”
Why is this? Why do individuals who discard the rest of scripture and deny its reliability still hold on to this one particular passage?
The answer is simple, really: people have a wrong definition of “love.” This, in turn, leads to a wrong understanding of what it means to love God and neighbor.
Loving God
In John 14:23-24, Jesus says, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.”
We also know that Jesus came not to abolish or remove the law, but to fulfill it (Matt. 5:17-18), meaning that, although the ceremonial laws have been completed in Christ, the same moral principles still apply to us- including those on adultery, idolatry, murder, greed, etc.
As Southern Baptists, we believe in the inerrancy of scripture. We confess this in the Baptist Faith and Message 2000:
“The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy.”
The BF&M then cites 25 different passages in the Old and New Testaments to affirm this stance. In short, If we love Jesus, we will obey the entire Word of God, not just selected words of Jesus.
Loving Your Neighbor
In John 15:13, Jesus says that "greater love” means laying down one’s life “for his friends.”
Usually, when we think of helping our neighbor, we think of a stranger in need- perhaps a homeless person. There is absolutely a time and place for that- after all, they need the gospel too.
However, in an age where people bounce from church-to-church every time a congregation faces a rough season, Christians often neglect the fact that loving your neighbor includes loving the people you are in covenant with- your family and your church. Sometimes, that means sticking it out when the church faces a tough season. It means continuing to love and serve your family sacrificially, especially when you don’t feel like it. True love is self-sacrificial, not self-centered.
Compare that to the postmodern belief that love means letting people do whatever they want, no matter how harmful it is- all in the name of individual autonomy. We see this played our by the cliche, “My body, my choice.” What that really means is, “If you loved your neighbor, you would let them get abortions, no matter how harmful it is to the mother or the child.” Meanwhile, the Bible says that our bodies “are not our own” (1 Cor. 6:19) but that they belong to God and our spouses (1 Cor. 7:4).
Again: true love is self-sacrificial, not self-centered. Of course, the greatest example of this is the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, which is the whole point of John 15:13. Jesus loved God by being obedient to the point of death on a cross (Phil. 2:8), and He loved his neighbors (sinful humans) by atoning for their sins.
For the church, this is our hope. This is the self-sacrificial love that we get to partake in and show to others. Beloved saints, do not let anyone manipulate you into violating your conscience in the name of “loving your neighbor.” Instead, may we demonstrate the sacrificial love of Christ by giving ourselves up, keeping His words, and encouraging others to do so, no matter the cost!
- Bro. Casey
Other than John 3:16, this is one the most quoted passages in all of scripture, but it is also one the most misconstrued.
What I find fascinating is how frequently this verse is cited by nonbelievers, apostates, heretics, and progressive “Christians” who do not affirm the inerrancy of scripture. These individuals (including progressive politicians trying to win the Christian vote) will quote this verse and somehow conclude that one must affirm sexual sin and the mutilation of the pre-born and deny God’s design for gender. In other words, people will suggest: “Jesus says to love your neighbor, therefore you must affirm my views.”
Why is this? Why do individuals who discard the rest of scripture and deny its reliability still hold on to this one particular passage?
The answer is simple, really: people have a wrong definition of “love.” This, in turn, leads to a wrong understanding of what it means to love God and neighbor.
Loving God
In John 14:23-24, Jesus says, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.”
We also know that Jesus came not to abolish or remove the law, but to fulfill it (Matt. 5:17-18), meaning that, although the ceremonial laws have been completed in Christ, the same moral principles still apply to us- including those on adultery, idolatry, murder, greed, etc.
As Southern Baptists, we believe in the inerrancy of scripture. We confess this in the Baptist Faith and Message 2000:
“The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy.”
The BF&M then cites 25 different passages in the Old and New Testaments to affirm this stance. In short, If we love Jesus, we will obey the entire Word of God, not just selected words of Jesus.
Loving Your Neighbor
In John 15:13, Jesus says that "greater love” means laying down one’s life “for his friends.”
Usually, when we think of helping our neighbor, we think of a stranger in need- perhaps a homeless person. There is absolutely a time and place for that- after all, they need the gospel too.
However, in an age where people bounce from church-to-church every time a congregation faces a rough season, Christians often neglect the fact that loving your neighbor includes loving the people you are in covenant with- your family and your church. Sometimes, that means sticking it out when the church faces a tough season. It means continuing to love and serve your family sacrificially, especially when you don’t feel like it. True love is self-sacrificial, not self-centered.
Compare that to the postmodern belief that love means letting people do whatever they want, no matter how harmful it is- all in the name of individual autonomy. We see this played our by the cliche, “My body, my choice.” What that really means is, “If you loved your neighbor, you would let them get abortions, no matter how harmful it is to the mother or the child.” Meanwhile, the Bible says that our bodies “are not our own” (1 Cor. 6:19) but that they belong to God and our spouses (1 Cor. 7:4).
Again: true love is self-sacrificial, not self-centered. Of course, the greatest example of this is the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, which is the whole point of John 15:13. Jesus loved God by being obedient to the point of death on a cross (Phil. 2:8), and He loved his neighbors (sinful humans) by atoning for their sins.
For the church, this is our hope. This is the self-sacrificial love that we get to partake in and show to others. Beloved saints, do not let anyone manipulate you into violating your conscience in the name of “loving your neighbor.” Instead, may we demonstrate the sacrificial love of Christ by giving ourselves up, keeping His words, and encouraging others to do so, no matter the cost!
- Bro. Casey
Recent
Archive
2026
February
March
April
Forging the Family Man: Psalm 112Perspectives of the Empty TombThe Days Following the ResurrectionA Journey to Joy – Lessons from John PiperJ.S. Bach, Luther, and the PsalmsOur Eternal GodThe Lord of The Longbeards – Proverbs 12:27The Winds of CompromiseRock N Roll, Rock of AgesWhen Sin Becomes Abomination
May
July
August
September
2025
July
January 6, 2025January 13, 2025March 31, 2025June 30, 2025June 23, 2025June 16, 2025June 9, 2025May 26, 2025May 19. 2025May 5, 2025April 28, 2025April 14, 2025April 7, 2025March 24, 2025March 17, 2025March 10, 2025March 3, 2025February 24, 2025February 17, 2025February 10. 2025February 3, 2025January 27, 2025January 20,2025July 7, 2025July 14, 2025July 21, 2025
No Comments