This document provides a summary of a sermon given on Deuteronomy 6:1-25. The sermon focused on the greatest commandment to love God with all your heart, as well as other key passages in Deuteronomy that Jesus quoted when being tempted. It discusses how righteousness has always come through faith, not works, and how the law was meant to point to Christ. Key points covered include the importance of obedience, not testing God, and remembering God's deliverance from Egypt.

1. Deuteronomy 6:1-25
Loved
The Greatest Commandment
February 2, 2020
First Baptist Church
Jackson, Mississippi
USA

2. What’s the number one thing?
The Glory of God!
1 Corinthians 10:31 NKJV
31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you
do, do all to the glory of God.

3. References
•MacArthur, John, The MacArthur Study Bible
(Nashville, Nelson Publishing, 1997).
•Walton, John H., Keener, Craig S., NKJV Cultural
Backgrounds Study Bible (Grand Rapids, Zondervan,
2017).
•Palmer, Edwin H., The NIV Study Bible (Grand Rapids,
Zondervan, 1985).
•www.GotQuestions.org.

4. Goals for Today’s Lesson
1. Review part of Moses’ 2nd speech to Israel in
Deuteronomy 6.
2. Study the “Greatest Commandment” in verses 4-5.
3. Study the verses Jesus used when tempted by
Satan.
4. What was righteousness (salvation) in the Old
Testament?
‒ Moses explains and Paul confirms.

5. Setting and Importance of Deuteronomy 6
•The Israelites are camped in the Plains of Moab
getting ready to enter the Promised Land.
•Moses is now 120 years old and in his last days.
•Moses is reviewing the covenants they made with
God.
•Jesus quoted verses from this chapter 3 times and the
Apostle Paul expanded on Moses’ definition of
righteousness.

6. Deuteronomy 6:1-2 NKJV (Obedience)
1 Now this is the commandment, and these are the
statutes and judgments which the Lord your God has
commanded to teach you, that you may observe them
in the land which you are crossing over to possess,
2 that you may fear the Lord your God, to keep all His
statutes and His commandments which I command
you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days
of your life, and that your days may be prolonged.

7. Deuteronomy 6:3 NKJV (“a land flowing with
milk and honey”)
3 Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it,
that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply
greatly as the Lord God of your fathers has promised
you—‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’
•Milk & honey indicates prosperity in Canaan and is a
representation of the animal husbandry (sheep,
goats) and horticulture (grapes and dates) that
produced a syrup instead of honey from bees.

8. Importance of Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (“The
Jewish Shema”)
•Shema – Hebrew for “to hear; to listen; heed and do.”
•Deuteronomy 6:4-9 Considered the Jewish confession
of faith.
•Recited from memory along with Deuteronomy 11:13-
21 and Numbers 15:37-41.
•Recited twice daily by the devout Jews.
•Bedtime prayer for children.

9. Deuteronomy 6:4 NKJV (Hear, O Israel)
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!
•Hear, O Israel = Shema; listen and heed.
•The Lord our God = Jehovah is the name of the
Supreme God (Lord God).
•The Lord is one = monotheism, the Lord alone, unity.
‒ Same oneness and unity as in Genesis 2:24 where
husband and wife become one flesh.

10. Deuteronomy 6:5 NKJV (Love God Completely)
5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, and with all your strength.
•The first essential in the Shema was unreserved and
wholehearted commitment expressed in love to God.
•Since God is a Spirit, this relationship of love can only
be expressed as obedience to God’s law in daily life.
•Idol worship was forbidden for it tried to represent
God in a material way.

11. “with all your heart, with all your soul and with
all your strength”
•Various translations, including the LXX (Septuagint),
use different words to describe this composition of
love.
‒ “heart, soul, strength, mind, might”
•These are not written to provide a delineation of
distinct human faculties, but to underscore the
completeness of the kind of love that is required.
•Jesus stated the importance of this command.

12. When Jesus was asked which is the greatest or
first commandment.
•Matthew 22:34-36 NKJV
34 But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced
the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 Then one of
them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him,
and saying, 36 “Teacher, which is the great
commandment in the law?”
‒ The scribes had determined there were 613
commandments in the law and could not agree on
which ones were “heavy” and “light.”

13. Jesus answers the “greatest commandment”
question with Deuteronomy 6:5.
•Matthew 22:37-38 NKJV
37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all
your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great
commandment.”

14. Jesus expands His answer further.
• Matthew 22:39 NKJV
39 “And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as
yourself.’”
‒ This is a quote from Leviticus 19:18 and reflects the
idea in the Golden Rule.
‒ Matthew 7:12 NKJV
12 “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do
also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”
‒ It prompts believers to measure their love for others
by what they pray for themselves.

15. Love for God and love for others goes
together.
•Matthew 22:40 NKJV
40 “On these two commandments hang all the Law and
the Prophets.”
‒ The whole moral duty of man falls into two
categories, which cannot be separated.
1. Love for God.
2. Love for others.
‒ In the 10 Commandments, 1-4 relate to God and 5-
10 in how we relate to others.

16. Deuteronomy 6:6-9 NKJV (Learning God’s
Words.)
6 “And these words which I command you today shall
be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to
your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in
your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie
down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a
sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets
between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the
doorposts of your house and on your gates.

17. The complete presence of the Word.
•“be in your heart” = obedience based on
understanding and a natural instinct.
•“hand…frontlets between your eyes” = People took
this literally and tied phylacteries (boxes containing
verses) to their hands and foreheads with straps of
leather.

18. Deuteronomy 6:10-11 NKJV (A land prepared
just for you!)
10 “So it shall be, when the Lord your God brings you
into the land of which He swore to your fathers, to
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you large and
beautiful cities which you did not build, 11 houses full of
all good things, which you did not fill, hewn-out wells
which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which
you did not plant—when you have eaten and are full—

19. Deuteronomy 6:12-14 NKJV (Serve Only God)
12 then beware, lest you forget the Lord who brought
you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of
bondage. 13 You shall fear the Lord your God and serve
Him, and shall take oaths in His name. 14 You shall not
go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are all
around you
•Jesus quotes parts of verses 13 and 14 when
tempted by Satan in Matthew 4:8-10.

20. Jesus answers Satan’s temptation in Matthew
4 from Deuteronomy 6:13-14.
• Matthew 4:8-10 NKJV
8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high
mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world
and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I
will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”
10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is
written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him
only you shall serve.’”

21. Deuteronomy 6:15 NKJV
15 (for the Lord your God is a jealous God among you),
lest the anger of the Lord your God be aroused against
you and destroy you from the face of the earth.
•God is zealous to protect what belongs to Him and
will not allow another to have the honor that is due
to Him alone.

22. Deuteronomy 6:16 NKJV (Do not tempt/test
God)
16 “You shall not tempt the Lord your God as you
tempted Him in Massah.
•Moses references the incident in Exodus 17:1-7
where the Israelites contended with Moses about
water to drink and doubted and tested God’s
provisions and power.
•Jesus quoted from this verse when tempted by the
devil in Matthew 4:5-7 and Luke 4:9-12.

23. Jesus’ temptation recorded in Matthew.
• Matthew 4:5-7 NKJV
5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the
pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God,
throw Yourself down. For it is written:
‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’
and,
‘In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”
7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, You shall not tempt the Lord
your God.’”

24. Jesus’ temptation recorded in Matthew.
‒ Satan’s temptation involved asking Jesus to abuse
His own powers with God protecting Him if He
jumped off the building.
‒ Satan twisted the meaning of Psalm 91:11-12
saying it was permissible to test God since He
would be protected by the angels.
‒ Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy 6:16 stating it
would be wrong to put God to the test as Israel did.

25. Jesus was tempted in every way we are.
•Hebrews 4:15-16 NKJV
15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot
sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points
tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore
come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may
obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
‒ Jesus fulfilled the Law by keeping it in every point.

26. Responding to temptation.
•1 Corinthians 10:13 NKJV
13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is
common to man; but God is faithful, who will not
allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able,
but with the temptation will also make the way of
escape, that you may be able to bear it.
•Psalm 119:11 NKJV
11 Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You.

27. Deuteronomy 6:17-19 NKJV (Obey God.)
17 You shall diligently keep the commandments of the
Lord your God, His testimonies, and His statutes which
He has commanded you. 18 And you shall do what is
right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may be
well with you, and that you may go in and possess the
good land of which the Lord swore to your fathers, 19 to
cast out all your enemies from before you, as the Lord
has spoken.

28. Deuteronomy 6:20-22 NKJV (Remember the
meaning.)
20 “When your son asks you in time to come, saying,
‘What is the meaning of the testimonies, the statutes,
and the judgments which the Lord our God has
commanded you?’ 21 then you shall say to your son:
‘We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, and the Lord
brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand; 22 and the
Lord showed signs and wonders before our eyes, great
and severe, against Egypt, Pharaoh, and all his
household.

29. Deuteronomy 6:23-24 NKJV (God keeps His
promises.)
23 Then He brought us out from there, that He might
bring us in, to give us the land of which He swore to our
fathers. 24 And the Lord commanded us to observe all
these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good
always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is this day.

30. Deuteronomy 6:25 NKJV (Righteousness for
us.)
25 Then it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful
to observe all these commandments before the Lord
our God, as He has commanded us.’
•A true and personal relationship with God would be
manifested in the lives of the people of God (Israel).
•The motive for this relationship with obedience and
trust in God was love for God.

31. Why was Moses so insistent on obedience to
God’s statutes and commandments?
•Mosaic Covenant – a conditional covenant made
between God and the nation of Israel at Mt. Sinai.
•The people agreed in Exodus 19:8 “All that the Lord
has spoken we will do!”
•God’s blessings to Israel were conditional on
obedience to God’s statutes and commandments.
•Israel’s blessing as a “witness nation” was dependent
on obedience to God.

32. What is this righteousness to which Moses is
referring in verse 25?
•Loving God completely (verse 5) is demonstrated by
believing God’s promises (faith) and obedience to His
statutes.
•Righteousness (justice, salvation) has always been
based on “faith” and not keeping the law (works).
•God’s blessings to Israel in the Promised Land were
conditional on their obedience to the law and being a
“witness nation” to the world.

33. Abraham had faith that God accounted for
righteousness.
•Genesis 15:5-6 NKJV
5 Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now
toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to
number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your
descendants be.”
6 And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to
him for righteousness.
‒ Abraham believed God (faith) to provide a son to
fulfill God’s promise to him.

34. Salvation in the Old Testament and the New
Testament has always been based on Faith.
•Habakkuk 2:4b NKJV
4b But the just shall live by his faith.
•Romans 1:16-17 NKJV
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is
the power of God to salvation for everyone who
believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For
in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to
faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

35. Faith is required.
•Hebrews 11:6 NKJV
6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for
he who comes to God must believe that He is, and
that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek
Him.
•In Hebrews 11:1-40 Paul reviews all the Old Testament
saints who had faith in God and received
righteousness but did not see the fulfillment of the
law that came with Christ.

36. The Jews missed the purpose of the Law.
•Romans 10:1-4 NKJV
1 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for
Israel is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them
witness that they have a zeal for God, but not
according to knowledge. 3 For they being ignorant of
God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their
own righteousness, have not submitted to the
righteousness of God. 4 For Christ is the end of the law
for righteousness to everyone who believes.

37. One purpose of the Law in the Mosaic
Covenant was to point to Christ.
•Galatians 3:24-25 NKJV
24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to
Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after
faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
‒ Salvation was not obtainable by keeping the Law.
‒ The Law was like a tutor or schoolmaster pointing
the way towards the coming of Christ.

38. Faith in the Old Testament included believing
in the promise of a Savior (Messiah).
•In God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:3, He
promised “all peoples on earth will be blessed through
you”, and Christ is that fulfillment.
•Isaiah 53:1-12 describes the promise of the Savior for
Israel and for the world.
•Christ is the fulfillment of that promise.

39. Summary of Deuteronomy 6 in Romans 10.
•Romans 10:10-13 NKJV
10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness,
and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes
on Him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no
distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord
over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For
“whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be
saved.”

40. Loving God is accepting Christ as Savior.
• Luke 10:25-28 NKJV
25 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him,
saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your
reading of it?”
27 So he answered and said, “‘You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength,
and with all your mind,’ and your neighbor as yourself.’”
28 And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and
you will live.”

41. The Plan of Hope & Salvation:
John 3:16-17 NKJV
16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not
perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His
Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the
world through Him might be saved.”
John 14:6 NKJV
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No
one comes to the Father except through Me.”

42. The Plan of Hope & Salvation:
Romans 3:23 NKJV
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23a NKJV
23a For the wages of sin is death,
• Death in this life (the first death) is 100%.
• Even Jesus, the only one who doesn’t deserve death, died in this
life to pay the penalty for our sin.
• The death referred to in Romans 6:23a is the “second death”
explained in Revelation 21:8.

43. The Plan of Hope & Salvation:
Revelation 21:8 NKJV
8 “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral,
sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns
with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
• Anyone who’s lifestyle is one or more of the sins listed in Revelation 21:8,
will experience the “second death,” if they do not repent.
• To Repent means to turn around, to go in the opposite direction, to turn
away from sin and believe in Jesus.
Romans 5:8 NKJV
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still
sinners, Christ died for us.

44. The Plan of Hope & Salvation:
Romans 6:23b NKJV
23b but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
Revelation 21:7 NKJV
7 “He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will
be his God and he shall be My son.”
• Romans 10:9-10 explain to us how to be overcomers.

45. The Plan of Hope & Salvation:
Romans 10:9-10 NKJV
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and
believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead,
you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto
righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation.
Romans 10:13 NKJV
13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

46. The Plan of Hope & Salvation:
Do you have questions?
Would you like to know more?
Please, contact First Baptist Church Jackson at 601-949-1900
or http://firstbaptistjackson.org/contact/