Do You Love Him?

“If you love Me, you will keep My commands.”

John 14:15

These are the words that Jesus spoke to His disciples as He was preparing them for the end of His earthly physical time. He repeated the same sentiment at least three more times in the following verses.

“The one who has My commands and keeps them is the one who loves Me. And the one who loves Me will be loved by the Father. I also will love him and will reveal Myself to him.”

John 14:21

Jesus answered, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him and We will come to him and make Our home with him

John 14:23

“If you keep My commands you will remain in my love, just as I have kept My Father’s commands and remain in His love.”

John 15:10

If Jesus repeated four times that the way to show love for Him was to obey His commands, it seems like obedience is kind of a big deal. I do love Him. So what must I do in response? Keep His commands!

Let’s be clear, though. We do not obey to gain salvation. That ISN’T what He said. We obey to demonstrate love for Him. Salvation is a free gift from God that cannot be earned.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. They are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

Romans 3:23-24

Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:1

Our salvation comes from placing our faith in Jesus Christ for our redemption, not from any good deeds or obedience we might perform.

If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Romans 10:9

Think of it this way, salvation is a free gift God gives us. All we have to do to receive it is to confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised Him from the dead and we will be saved. It’s a gift. A free gift. We can’t earn it.

Obedience is a way that we show our love for the Lord and our gratitude for the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. So, it’s kind of like our thank you note for the gift. We know that when someone gives us a gift a thank you note is a good way to express our appreciation for the gift. But even if we don’t send a note, we get to keep the gift, right? The same principle applies here. Obedience is our way of showing appreciation but our salvation doesn’t depend on it.

Obedience is also wise.

There is an attitude that is common nowadays that “as long as I’m not hurting anyone, I should be able to do whatever I choose.” The problem is that attitude assumes we are wise enough and knowledgable enough to accurately predict all of the consequences of our actions. In other word, that we are smart enough to know whether we are hurting anyone. The sad truth is, though, that we aren’t. It can take years or even decades to know the ways our words and actions have affected our lives and the lives of others. Sometimes, perhaps usually, we can’t know the full impact our sin has in the world.

But our Lord knows everything. None of His commands are frivolous. He understands far better than we ever will how even small sins can create suffering in this world. Since we know He loves us, doesn’t it make sense to return His love by obeying Him?