Texas minister teaching about Jesus' '11th Commandment'
___By Marv Knox
___Editor
___PLANO--Love is the central component of Jesus' "11th Commandment," according to Texas Baptist minister Don McMinn.
___Near the end of his ministry, Jesus supplemented the 10 Commandments with another directive, notes McMinn, minister of music and worship at Parkway Hills Baptist Church in Plano.
___Jesus told his followers: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:34-35.
___McMinn explores the implications of Jesus' directive in "The 11th Commandment: Experiencing the One Anothers of Scripture." The workbook is designed to help Christians learn how to live out the love Jesus commands, he notes.
___"Jesus' new command was, and is, extremely important," he concedes. "Regardless of the ambiguity that may surround the concept, we must grapple with the term because of the critical role that love plays in the kingdom of God. Love is, after all, the greatest of all grace gifts. ... Ignore love, and you'll have no part in the kingdom of God."
___But understanding just how Christians are to express their love is a serious challenge, he writes, suggesting the answer lies in the "one anothers" of the New Testament.
___"Thirty-five times in the New Testament, we see a recurring word pattern--an action verb followed by the words 'one another,'" he explains. "I believe this particular 'one another' ('love one another') is the overarching term under which the others fall."
___McMinn's workbook examines how love is expressed by 16 of those scriptural "one another" commands. He looks at how Christians are to prefer, accept, greet, encourage, comfort, forgive, admonish, wait for, pray for, rejoice with, offer hospitality to, be kind to, honor, confess sins to and be devoted to one another, as well as how to carry one another's burdens.
___ "The 'one anothers' begin to define what love 'looks like,' and they provide a very practical methodology for how we can love others," McMinn says. "They are the 'how-to' of fulfilling the 11th Commandment."
___All the "one anothers" are given by God, he notes, citing "Love comes from God" (1 John 4:7) as the formula for their source.
___And God distributes the attributes and blessings they describe both through God and through other people, McMinn adds. "God often meets our needs daily," he explains. "God often meets our needs through other people."
___God also has a unique "economic plan" for distributing the "one anothers" to people, he insists. "Divine commodities--the 'one anothers'--cannot be selfishly taken; they must be graciously given and received. ... We cannot meet our own needs and be fulfilled. There's plenty of food at the table, but we must look not only to our own interests, but also to the interests of others."
___Eight principles fulfill that economic plan, he says, citing a Scripture passage that illustrates each point:
___ Receiving must precede giving, because people can't give what they don't have. "For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you" (1 Corinthians 11:23).
___ Christians can give freely because they have freely received. "Freely you have received, freely give" (Matthew 10:8).
___ Christians also can give generously because God has been generous to them. "The grace of our Lord was poured out ... abundantly" (1 Timothy 1:14).
___ Christians must give indiscriminately. "My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism" (James 2:1).
___ Giving is more enjoyable than receiving. "The Lord Jesus himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive'" (Acts 20:35).
___ Christians are related to each other in the same way God loved them. "As I have loved you, so you must love one another" (John 13:34).
___ When Christians minister the "one anothers" to other people, they minister to Christ. "God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them" (Hebrews 6:10).
___ When Christians minister the "one anothers," they dispense God's riches. "God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19).
___McMinn's workbook is being used for Bible study and ministry training by numerous churches in Texas. It is published by 6Acts Press, 2322 Creekside Circle South, Irving 75063; (972) 432-8690; 6Acts@6Acts.org.
The Baptist Standard
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