The Greatest Command — Mark 12:28–34 Culture of Gospel

One of the things we want as a church is to grow in our ability to share about Jesus with those who don’t know Jesus. Use this summary statement to share with someone in your life who doesn’t know Jesus:

“Jesus isn’t inviting you into cold religion or a list of demands—He’s inviting you into the kind of love that reshapes your life from the inside out. The God of the universe doesn’t want your performance; He wants your heart.

Sermon Summary Introduction

Coleton opens by naming the central question every follower of Jesus must answer: What matters most to God?
 Not: What matters most to Christians, churches, or religious culture… but what matters most to God Himself.

Jesus answers that question directly in Mark 12. And Coleton’s goal is simple:

1. To show what God values most.
   
   
2. To show why it matters.
   
   
3. To show what this means for our church and for each person individually.
   
   

1. What Matters Most to God? Mark 12:29–30

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 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 most important thing to God is that you love Him.
 Not that you serve Him. Not that you behave correctly. Not that you meet moral standards. Not that you avoid sin. Love is the highest command.

What Most People Think Matters Most to God

Coleton names the most common assumptions Christians carry:

• “God mostly wants me to get saved.”
  
  
• “God mostly wants me to stop sinning.”
  
  
• “God mostly wants me to pray more, read more, go to church more.”
  
  
• “God mostly wants me to serve the poor, give money, volunteer, or be more missional.”
  
  

All important. But not most important.

Jesus’ Rebuke of Ephesus—Proof That Good Works ≠ Love

Revelation 2:2–5

“I know your deeds… Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first… Repent.”

This church was doctrinally strong. Morally clean. Active in service. Enduring hardship. Doing everything “right.”
 And Jesus still says: You do not love Me anymore.
 And failing to love Him is so serious that Jesus warns:

“If you do not repent, I will remove your lampstand.”

God cares more about your affection for Him than the actions you perform in His name.

Key Point

Doing things for God is not the same as loving God.

2. Why This Matters: Love for God Shapes Who You Become

One of the main reasons this is the greatest command is because love is what transforms you.

God wants His people to be:

• Compassionate
  
  
• Generous
  
  
• Sacrificial
  
  
• Humble
  
  
• Pure
  
  
• Joyful
  
  
• Loving toward neighbor and enemy
  
  

But these things don’t come from effort or trying harder. They grow naturally out of love.

Illustration: Coleton and Rainey’s Early Relationship

When they were dating long-distance:

• He drove 8 hours overnight just to spend a few hours with her.
  
  
• He wrote letters daily.
  
  
• He spent money he didn’t have to buy her meals and gifts.
  
  
• He thought about her constantly.
  
  

Why?
 Not because she handed him a list of rules.
 Because he loved her.

Love makes sacrifice a joy.
 Love makes devotion natural.
 Love makes obedience a delight.

This Is What God Wants With You

When you love Him…

• Spending time with Him becomes natural.
  
  
• Sacrificing for Him becomes joy.
  
  
• Worship becomes expression, not obligation.
  
  
• Caring for the poor flows from His heart in yours.
  
  
• Sin loses its power because your love is captured elsewhere.
  
  

Spurgeon Quote (used by Coleton)

“Jesus loved you when you lived carelessly… when you were hiding your every sin… even when you were at hell’s gate… Think of His great love towards you… and your love will grow.”

Why Other Commands Aren’t “Most Important”

Because all of them grow out of the soil of love for God.
 Love is the tree—everything else is fruit.

3. What This Means for Our Church

Coleton gives a strong pastoral warning:
 Churches die not because culture changes or neighborhoods shift.
 Churches die when they stop loving Jesus.

Revelation 2 Revisited

Jesus says to Ephesus:

“If you do not repent, I will remove your lampstand.”

Meaning: I will remove your church.
 Not Satan. Not culture.
 Jesus Himself.

Why?
 Because a church that doesn’t love Jesus can’t represent Jesus.

A church that doesn’t love Him…

• Won’t love people the way He does.
  
  
• Won’t reflect His character.
  
  
• Won’t look like Him.
  
  
• Won’t be shaped into His image.
  
  
• Won’t show the world what God is like.
  
  

Coleton’s Burden

He described visiting dying churches—churches with excuses:

• “The neighborhood changed.”
  
  
• “Young people don’t want church.”
  
  
• “Culture is too secular.”
  
  

No.
 The lampstand was removed.

He says: “I do not want us to be a church He removes.”
 We cannot simply be a church that does many things for God.
 We must be a church that loves God.

4. How Do We Grow in Love for God?

Jesus tells Ephesus:

“Do the things you did at first.” — Revelation 2:5

Coleton’s Example: Relearning Love

Three years into their relationship, he and Rainey “fell out of love.”
 Counselor’s advice:

“Go do the things you did at first.”

Jesus says the same:
 Return to:

• The places you prayed.
  
  
• The songs that once moved you.
  
  
• The Scriptures that once awakened your heart.
  
  
• The memories of grace that once fueled your love.
  
  
• The habits you had when your heart was alive.
  
  

What Were You Doing When You First Loved Him?

Coleton gave examples:

• Marveling that He forgave you.
  
  
• Tears during worship songs.
  
  
• Hours in Scripture.
  
  
• Memorizing verses.
  
  
• Sharing the gospel with everyone.
  
  
• Private prayer retreats.
  
  
• Celebrating your spiritual birthday.
  
  
• Teaching or serving with joy.
  
  
• Returning to the place where you first believed.
  
  

Biblical Foundation

1 John 4:19

“We love because He first loved us.”

Love grows by remembering His love toward you.

Conclusion

The most important thing to God is not that you serve Him, work for Him, or perform for Him.
 He wants your heart. He wants your love.

Ask Him:

• “Remind me of who I was when You saved me.”
  
  
• “Help me love You again the way I once did.”
  
  
• “Grow my love for You this year more than last year.”
  
  

And as love grows, life follows.

Discipleship Group Questions

1. When you think about what God wants most from you, what is your instinctive answer—and how does Jesus’ teaching challenge that?
   
   
2. Can you identify a time in your life when your love for God felt stronger or more alive? What were you doing in that season?
   
   
3. Which “good works” in your life are you tempted to mistake for love? How can you reorder them so they flow from affection instead of obligation?
   
   
4. What first steps can you take this week to “do the things you did at first”?
   
   
5. How would our church change if our primary goal became loving Jesus with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength?