“If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)
What blessings do you expect from the Lord for obeying Him, not just in this life, but the one to come. You must have given this some thought, if not, you are following blindly One whom you do not know how to serve properly.
We are not under the law, the life of a Christian begins at the resurrection, not with the Lord as He walked in the law, perfect towards it in every way. The law was given to Israel, not the Gentiles, and even those who claim to be of the lineage are no longer under the law if they are following Christ. But there is something within us that seems to think that the law, even the ten commandments, are a requirement for our opening verse, if you follow the law, you are obeying God. “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” (Gal. 3:24)
There is no salvation in the law, in any law for that matter, in fact there is no salvation in love, we are saved by grace through faith. You must remember that we were sinners when we were called. “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” (Romans 5:6) The law can make no one godly, no one righteous, no one holy. “Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” (Gal. 3:6)
So then, seeing that it is only belief in the Word of God concerning the shed blood of His Son for us that can save a man, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Cor. 5:21) How long are we to obey the Lord Jesus Christ, if adhering to the law avails us nothing towards salvation, and following it afterwards will not prove a love for Him, what are we to obey as Jesus said?
Some might say the fruits of the Spirit are what we are to attempt to accomplish, as stated in Galatians 5:22-23, but recall, they are not fruits that we can produce, they are of and from the Holy Spirit, we are simply the branch that they will grow on, if we submit our will to the will of the Lord.
Consider this, when the Lord said to Peter, “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.” (John 21:17) Was He speaking only to Peter, or to you also?
When He said to those present that day, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15) Was it just for them, or was He looking at you when He said that?
If we consider Mark 12:30, “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.” Is that part of the law, is it a commandment, or is it part of obeying Jesus Christ when He said, if ye love me, obey me?
“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” Hebrews 10:25 seems to be the only requirement for many who call themselves by the name of “Christian” today, the once a week gathering for an hour or so at a specific location at a specific time, generally for a specific amount of time, where, most generally, the only differentiation between the meetings is the message offered.
In other words, there are those who seem to think that Jesus said, “If you love me, go to church.”
“So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.” (Luke 17:10) I ask you, if all you do is attend church on a regular basis are you profitable, or unprofitable?
I would suggest a thorough, comprehensive study of our opening verse in this short letter, do not expect to spend a few minutes on it, and find the answer. What did our Lord mean, what specifically was He referring to when He said, if you love me, obey me? What actions are required for you to accomplish this obedience? If you do not know what He meant when He said that, how were you planning on following Him, much less fulfilling what He has required of you?
