February 2, 2020

All Scripture from NIV unless otherwise documented.

“If ye love me, keep my commandments.” John 14: 15
“Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.” John 14: 21

I’ve always been troubled by the “faith only” theological position. Don’t get me wrong, I believe that salvation is by grace through faith, and that there isn’t anything that we can do outside of believing and receiving the gospel by faith in order to obtain our salvation. That is the gospel
that was preached by Paul and often reiterated in his writings. The reason that “faith only” theology makes me uncomfortable is that there are some who use it as a license to sin. In other words, because they have made a confession of faith in Jesus unto salvation, they believe that it doesn’t matter what they do or how they live their lives, since obedience is not a factor in salvation. They might even go so far as to quote Romans 5: 20 which says: “But where sin increased, grace increased all the more.” The more I sin, the greater the grace that God bestows on me!

But those who do that don’t go on to either read or at least quote Paul’s words in Romans 6: 1 – 2 which says, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!” Paul emphatically answered his own question with the equivalent of today’s “No Way”! These people don’t take into consideration the many references to obedience that we find in the Scriptures. This morning I want to look at a few passages concerning love and obedience and show you how they are often tied together. We have already seen from John 14 that Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments”, and “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.”

In both passages, Jesus tied love and obedience together. I’m not saying that obedience is a requirement to become a Christian, but I do believe that obedience should reflect the believer’s love for Jesus Christ. I know what some of you may be thinking. Your thinking, I love Jesus, but sometimes I mess up and disobey the commands of the Scriptures. Of course, you do, we all do that. Even the Apostle Paul bemoaned the fact that he struggled with sin in Romans chapter 7. It’s a part of the process of becoming mature in your faith and in your walk with Jesus.

Becoming a mature Christian is kind of like growing up from childhood to adulthood. The Peter wrote, concerning this, “like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.” 1 Peter 2: 2 – 3
The Apostle Paul, writing to the church in Corinth addressed their spiritual immaturity when he wrote: “Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly – mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.” 1 Corinthians 3: 1 – 2

James, the ½ brother of Jesus, writing to Christians said, “Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” James 1: 22 James wasn’t writing to unbelievers, he was writing to believers, to those He called “dear brothers and sisters” in verse 19. So, you see, just because you have given your heart to Jesus, and just because you love Christ and have accepted His gift of salvation, that’s not the end of your spiritual growth, it’s really just the beginning. You must continue to grow in your faith, you must become mature in your faith, and part of that maturity is being obedient to the teachings of Christ.

The Apostle John wrote, “We know that we have come to know Him if we keep His commands. Whoever says, ‘I know Him,’ but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys His word, love for God is truly made complete in them.” 1 John 2: 3 – 5a
I don’t believe that John was talking about the occasional sin, the occasional breaking of His commands, we all do that at times. I believe he was addressing those who claimed to know Jesus, but their willful disobedience exposed them to not truly be followers. John said that the truth was not in them. In 1 John 1: 6 & 7, John called our faith journey with Jesus a walk. He said: “If we claim to have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.”

Even as Christians, we must consciously choose how we will walk, or live our lives. We can choose to walk in darkness, which is John’s word here for sin. What is sin? Simply put, sin is disobedience to God. Or we can choose to walk in the light, which is John’s word here for obedience to God.
In Chapter 3 verse 10, John summed it all up with these words: “This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother or sister.” Once again, we see the two words tied together in the same verse, love and obedience.

This concept of love and obedience wasn’t something new in the New Testament. In Deuteronomy 10: 12 – 13 we read: “And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?”
Granted, Jesus gave it new meaning and elevated the concept of love in the New Testament when He said, “I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Matthew 5: 44

But the concept of love and obedience in the life of those who believe in God, whether Jew or Gentile, goes back at least to the time of Moses and the giving of the law from God. As Jesus was preparing to depart this world and return to heaven, He called His disciples together and gave them the Great Commission. Most preachers focus on the evangelistic part of that commission, which is to make disciples of all nations. Go make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And then Jesus said something that many people overlook. Part of the disciple making process is “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Matthew 28: 19

If you claim to be a disciple of Jesus, and if you truly love Jesus as Lord and Savior, then obedience to His commands will be an important part of your life in Him. “If you love me, keep my commandments.” John 14: 15