By Jason Hiles, Chair of Christian Studies Louisiana College
In a previous article I discussed some of the implications of Jesus’ well-known declaration in John 14:15: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” With this statement Jesus was concerned to focus his disciples’ attention on the connection between the condition of their hearts and their faithfulness to His commands.
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The burden of the previous article was to draw out the necessity of loving Christ in order to become genuinely obedient to Him. I noted that one may go through the motions of obedience and fulfill what appear to be the basic requirements of righteousness, and yet fail to obey the Lord by doing such things without love for Him.
This loveless manner of life may be described as legalism, which basically amounts to performing right actions for all the wrong reasons. The Bible condemns such acts as sin.
Legalism, however, is but one symptom of the spiritual disease of lovelessness toward God.
Another symptom of deficient love is captured by the word “lawlessness.” Lawlessness stems from the false belief that one who has been saved by grace through faith is free to live in any way he or she pleases.
This misguided assumption has led many to excuse sinful behavior in the name of grace. Lawless people presume upon the grace of God by living as if he sent His Son so that sin could abound more and more and without consequence.
When stated in such a sharp way, the absurdity of this notion should be obvious to those familiar with the New Testament. Christ simply did not endure the cross in order to make sin more bountiful and less devastating for those who indulge in it. Those who suppose that a loving God overlooks sin like a kind old grandfather who overlooks the misbehavior of the grandchildren he enjoys spoiling have lost sight of the cross of Christ.
The Father in Heaven withheld the punishment due for human sin only until the fullness of time, when He meted out justice at the price of his Son’s life on the cross.
In that event God upheld all justice, making it possible for him to remain just and at the same time the justifier of those who place their faith in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:26). But through the same event Christ redeemed men and women from the bondage of sin.
He became their rightful Lord though they had once been mastered by their sinful flesh, Satan, and the fallen world (Ephesians 2:1-3). One who persists in disobedience to Christ serves another master and therefore has no biblical reason to believe that he or she has actually been redeemed from the bondage of sin.
Jesus’ words to the disciples in the fourteenth chapter of John’s Gospel, although spoken prior to the cross, speak to the new reality that He would bring about by His death.
Through his sacrifice the saving power of God was unleashed, which is power sufficient for the transformation of hearts and the renewal of minds.
By the power of the gospel, people who were once enemies of God can now enjoy the love of God in Christ, their hearts forever changed through the sacrifice of Christ. Those who love the Lord Jesus, with hearts made new, become obedient to Him from the heart. In short, if you love Jesus you will keep His commandments.
Still, this understanding does not make one’s obedience a condition for salvation. Rather, one is saved when he or she recognizes the goodness and glory of God in the person of Christ and responds with a heartfelt love for the Lord and trust in him.
This love springs from a heart that is alive to God and therefore aware of the freedom to be found in obedience to his righteous requirements.
Men and women who fall in love often experience a similar dynamic. For instance, when a young man finds himself enamored of a beautiful young lady, he will do everything in his power to insure that he pleases her. His thoughts are consumed with her lovely features, he devotes his energies to the task of expressing his affection, and his resources are exhausted on whatever her heart desires. He does such things freely and tirelessly because his concern is for his beloved, not for himself. He persists because his heart continually reminds him that all his sacrifices and discomfort pale in comparison with the one he loves.
Unfortunately in our day many fall in love with themselves, which leaves little room in the heart for God. As our Lord made clear to his disciples in another familiar passage, no one can serve two masters. Anyone who attempts to do so ends up loving one master and despising the other (Mathew 6:24).
Likewise, Jesus’ statement in John 14:15 should cause us to examine our love life with the awareness that we will always render service to the master that we truly love. If a person loves Jesus, he/she will obey Jesus.
If a person loves something or someone other than Jesus then he/she will not obey Jesus. Instead he/she will devote himself fully to his/her truest love.
Christ commends to His disciples a life of love and obedience. Jesus’ disciples must love Him, for this love is foundational to their relationship with Him.
But Jesus’ disciples must also keep His commandments, for genuine love of the Lord always expresses itself in obedience to the Lord’s commands.
This two-part dynamic of love and obedience can never be reduced to one part or the other without also reducing the life-giving power of the gospel to the dead things of false religion. Life is found only in the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.
By his commands our Lord illuminates for us the path to life abundant and eternal.
This is the path that the people of God must take if they are to enjoy the fullness of God as He draws near to us in Christ.
When the bride of Christ is truly enamored of the bridegroom, she will freely and tirelessly follow His leadership devoting her thoughts, affection, resources, and energies to the fulfillment of His every desire.
She will count it pure joy to endure all things for the sake of her beloved. This will be for her good and for His glory.