September 16, 2014 COMMANDMENTS
1 John 5:3 “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.” Throughout 1 John and 2 John you find the word “commandment”. We live in a culture that places a high value on “independence” and the fulfillment of self, so the idea of “commandment” or someone else telling us how to live or what to do is not well received. Sad but true, many who claim to be Christians have to some degree bought into this culture of independence. Independence is a good thing in its right place; however, we are not to be independent minded when it comes to our relationship with God and with the body of Christ (the Church). It sounds so simple, but over and over throughout the entire Bible we find the relationship between loving God and keeping His commandments. I John makes it crystal clear that if we love God, we will keep His commandments and in fact, our keeping His commandments proves our love for Him. 1 John 2:3 “And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.” The great news for you and me as seen in verse 5:3 above is that His commandments are not burdensome. Life becomes a burden if we don’t keep His commandments. All of the commandments of God are for our good and they in no way diminish our life. The scriptures, particularly the New Testament, give us many instructions or commands for living as His sons and daughters. We are commanded to love one another, pray for one another, give, bless, encourage others, be truthful, be faithful, be kind, show mercy, forgive others, confess our sins, bear the burdens of others, study scripture and the list could go on. More good news is that we don’t have to keep a long check list of commands that must be kept because God has given us a better way. The key is love. When we experience God’s love we will in turn love others and even without thinking about it, we will be keeping His commandments. If I love others, I will show mercy, I will give, I will bless, etc. This is not to say that we never need to be reminded of His love for us and there will be times we will need to be refreshed by His love. Godly love lifts us to a new plateau, a new way of living. One other benefit of love is that it cast our fear according to 1 John 4:18. The love of God frees us to be who we were designed to be. I John says that if I say I love God but do not love my brother, I am a liar. If we hear what John is saying, the only logical conclusion is that if we are not keeping His commandments, we don’t know Him and we don’t love Him. I realize that that sounds rather rash, but that is what John is saying. I John 2:4-6 are amazing verses: “The one who says, I have come to know Him, and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in Him; but whoever keeps His word, in Him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.” Note that whoever keeps His word has been perfected in the love of God.
1 John 3:22-23 “and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.” (See verse 1 John 5:14)
Blessings,
Buddy
1 John 5:3 “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.” Throughout 1 John and 2 John you find the word “commandment”. We live in a culture that places a high value on “independence” and the fulfillment of self, so the idea of “commandment” or someone else telling us how to live or what to do is not well received. Sad but true, many who claim to be Christians have to some degree bought into this culture of independence. Independence is a good thing in its right place; however, we are not to be independent minded when it comes to our relationship with God and with the body of Christ (the Church). It sounds so simple, but over and over throughout the entire Bible we find the relationship between loving God and keeping His commandments. I John makes it crystal clear that if we love God, we will keep His commandments and in fact, our keeping His commandments proves our love for Him. 1 John 2:3 “And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.” The great news for you and me as seen in verse 5:3 above is that His commandments are not burdensome. Life becomes a burden if we don’t keep His commandments. All of the commandments of God are for our good and they in no way diminish our life. The scriptures, particularly the New Testament, give us many instructions or commands for living as His sons and daughters. We are commanded to love one another, pray for one another, give, bless, encourage others, be truthful, be faithful, be kind, show mercy, forgive others, confess our sins, bear the burdens of others, study scripture and the list could go on. More good news is that we don’t have to keep a long check list of commands that must be kept because God has given us a better way. The key is love. When we experience God’s love we will in turn love others and even without thinking about it, we will be keeping His commandments. If I love others, I will show mercy, I will give, I will bless, etc. This is not to say that we never need to be reminded of His love for us and there will be times we will need to be refreshed by His love. Godly love lifts us to a new plateau, a new way of living. One other benefit of love is that it cast our fear according to 1 John 4:18. The love of God frees us to be who we were designed to be. I John says that if I say I love God but do not love my brother, I am a liar. If we hear what John is saying, the only logical conclusion is that if we are not keeping His commandments, we don’t know Him and we don’t love Him. I realize that that sounds rather rash, but that is what John is saying. I John 2:4-6 are amazing verses: “The one who says, I have come to know Him, and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in Him; but whoever keeps His word, in Him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.” Note that whoever keeps His word has been perfected in the love of God.
1 John 3:22-23 “and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.” (See verse 1 John 5:14)
Blessings,
Buddy
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