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
The final test of love is obedience, not sweet
emotions, not willingness to sacrifice, not zeal, but obedience to the
commandments of Christ!
Our Lord drew a line plain and tight for
everyone to see. On one side He placed those who keep His commandments and
said, “These love Me.” On the other side He put those who keep not His sayings,
and said, “These love Me not.”
The commandments of Christ occupy in the
New Testament a place of importance that they do not have in current
evangelical thought. The idea that our relation to Christ is revealed by our
attitude to His commandments is now considered legalistic by many influential
Bible teachers, and the plain words of our Lord are rejected outright or
interpreted in a manner to make them conform to religious theories ostensibly
based upon the epistles of Paul.
The Christian cannot be certain of the
reality and depth of his love until he comes face to face with the commandments
of Christ and is forced to decide what to do about them. Then he will know!
I think we should turn for a while from
finespun theological speculations about grace and faith and humbly read the New
Testament with a mind to obey what we see there. Love for Christ is a love of
willing, as well as a love of feeling, and it is psychologically impossible to
love Him adequately unless we will to obey His words!
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