The God Culture: What Is Love?

Timothy Jay Schwab who is The God Culture has a new Foundations lesson. This time he is asking What is Love? Surely there is no greater love than that of the Father for his Children manifested through the Son Jesus Christ. The Bible has much to say about that. Does Tim have anything to say about the love of God towards us?

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FOUNDATIONS – Week 38

What Is Love?

Key Texts:

Deuteronomy 6; John 14:15; 1 John 5

Note: This topic could be an entire book, but remember, this is a brief FB post.

Few words are used more often than love.

We are told that love means accepting.

Affirming.

Feeling compassion.

Never offending.

Never correcting.

But how does Scripture define love? Or is it shallow doctrine of men?

Moses commanded Israel:

> “And thou shalt love Yahuah thy Elohim with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”

> (Deuteronomy 6:5)

But the passage doesn't stop with an emotion.

Immediately afterward:

> “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart.”

> (Deuteronomy 6:6)

Biblical love begins in the heart...

but it does not remain merely a feeling.

It changes how we live. It is an action.

Yahusha says it plainly:

> “If ye love Me, keep My commandments.”

> (John 14:15)

That is remarkable in its simplicity.

Love and obedience are not enemies.

Yahusha connects them.

And John later provides perhaps the clearest definition of all:

> “For this is the love of Elohim, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous.”

> (1 John 5:3)

Notice what Scripture does not say.

“This is the love of Elohim—that we feel strongly about Him.”

“This is the love of Elohim—that we call His name.”

“This is the love of Elohim—that we agree with everything everyone does.”

Instead:

> “This is the love of Elohim, that we keep His commandments.”

Biblical love is not merely something we feel.

It is something we walk out.

And this applies to loving one another as well:

> “By this we know that we love the children of Elohim, when we love Elohim, and keep His commandments.”

> (1 John 5:2)

That changes the modern equation.

Loving people cannot mean encouraging them to walk contrary to the One who is love.

True love seeks what is good.

True love speaks truth.

True love shows mercy.

True love forgives.

True love serves.

True love remains faithful.

And true love obeys.

The greatest commandment is not merely to feel love toward Yahuah.

It is to love Him with all our heart, soul, and might.

Biblical love is not affection without truth.

It is covenant faithfulness expressed in how we live.

Question for Discussion

If Yahusha said, “If ye love Me, keep My commandments,” should we allow our culture—or even our religion—to redefine what love means?

NO!  Tim has NOTHING to say about the love of God towards us in the supreme manifestation of Christ's sacrifice on the cross. NOTHING!!!

John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

1 John 14:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins

Those two verses are rich in defining the love of God towards us. Yet Tim has nothing to say about them. Tim's definition of love is "keep the Mosaic law." Tim's definition of love his man-centered and based on our obedience rather than God-centered and based on His covenant with His people.  

There have now been 38 Foundations lessons and not a single one of them has been about the work of Christ on the cross. Not one. For a man like Timothy Jay Schwab who has been a Bible teacher for over thirty years that is despicable and contemptible. The man clearly has no idea what the Bible teaches and he has no use for Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 

Now let's hear from noted theological Father Ted Crilly. 

Ah, right… puts the cup down slowly, stares at the page, and lets out a long, heavy breath

Week 38. “What Is Love?”

And would you look at that. He’s done it again — and this time it’s almost impressive in its single-mindedness.

He starts with Deuteronomy 6: love Yahuah with all your heart, soul, and might… and then immediately ties it to the commandments being in the heart. Fair enough so far. Then John 14:15 — “If ye love Me, keep My commandments.” Still in the text. Then 1 John 5:3 — “For this is the love of Elohim, that we keep His commandments.” And he leans on that as “perhaps the clearest definition of all.”

He’s not inventing the verses. They’re real. Love and obedience are connected. Scripture does not treat love as mere warm feeling or modern “never offend anyone.” On that narrow point he’s right to push back against the culture.

But — and this is the part that makes you want to sit down with a very strong cup of tea — look at what never gets a look in.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

The love of Christ constraineth us… because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead.

The supreme definition and demonstration of love in the whole of Scripture is the cross. The self-giving, substitutionary death of the Son for the ungodly. That is the love that creates love in us. That is the love from which all true obedience flows. Tim never mentions it. Not once. Not a word about the blood, the propitiation, the “while we were yet sinners.”

Instead, the gravitational pull of the whole lesson is the same as every other Foundations post: love is defined as keeping the commandments. And in Tim’s system, that almost always means the Torah framework he has been building week after week. So the cross is left outside the door again, while “keep My commandments” is made to carry the entire weight of the definition.

He can quote John 14 and 1 John 5 all day long. He just never lets the larger New Testament witness set the centre: that we love because He first loved us — and that first love was displayed most fully when the Son laid down His life.

sighs, reaches for the teapot with both hands

So yes, lad. This one might well be the worst of the lot so far. Not because the verses are wrong, but because the heart of the gospel definition of love is simply missing. He’s turned the greatest demonstration of love in history into a supporting footnote that never even gets written.

Go on. Make it very strong this time.

Careful now.

Down with this sort of thing.thing.