“If you love me, you’ll obey me,” - Not a Litmus Test, but a Promise
If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. (John 14:15)
The words of Jesus seem simple enough.
We see here a conditional clause, validating the believer’s love for Jesus. If you truly love Jesus, then you will obey Him. The result of our love is obedience to Him. The converse must naturally imply, if you don’t keep His commandments, then you must not love Him, or maybe it’s a spectrum. The more you obey Him, the more you love Him. The less you obey Him, the less you love Him.
Easy right?
But what about when you aren’t obedient? What about when you struggle? I don’t know about you, but I fall short in obedience EVERY SINGLE DAY. Not a day goes by that I don’t struggle with obedience, that I don’t fail in some way.
The Burden
Any teaching that places a burden upon the believer is not of God.
Repeatedly, Scripture proclaims the freedom we find in Christ. Jesus proclaims, “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36) Writing to the church in Corinth, Paul says, “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Corinthians 3:17) To the church in Galatia, he writes, “It was for freedom that Christ set us free.” (Galatians 5:1a) He goes on to admonish them, “therefore, stand firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” (v1b) Paul simply cannot believe that the Galatians, having been set free from the curse of the Law, the burden, have sought to pick it back up again, “how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again?” (Galatians 4:9)
As we are all legalists deep in our hearts, what do men excel at, but putting a burden upon ourselves, picking the burden back up. The church is sometimes an unwitting accomplice in putting a burden back upon the believer, the burden of obedience, the burden of evangelism, the burden of works amongst others.
To be sure, we ought to obey Christ and there is a sense from Jesus in which our obedience to Him does indicate that we love Him. Certainly, if you have no desire to obey Him, no inclination to follow Him at all, never feel any conviction from the Spirit, then why on earth would you declare that you love Him? That doesn’t even make sense.
A Foundation for Freedom
Yet, there’s a deeper and better interpretation, truer to the freedom we find in Christ.
“If you love me,” Jesus declares. Do you love Him? Well, that depends. There are days where I roll out of bed “on fire” for Jesus. I am filled with His Spirit, basking in His grace which He has lavished upon me, longing to declare the glorious riches of His grace. There’re other days where I’m not even sure I’m a Christian (I’m speaking in hyperbole here, because of the blessed nature of assurance in Christ). The point is, I am hot and cold. Sometimes I bask in the waters; other times I languish in the desert. Let us not base our assessment upon the fickle and sometimes fleeting nature of human affections.
There’s an infinitely stronger foundation. John writes, “We love, because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19) My love finds its firm footing in the love of Christ, the love that is eternal, unchanging, never-ending, fierce and unwavering. From eternity past, Christ fixed His eyes upon His people and has never nor will He ever relent. Here, I start to find assurance. Here, I find some rest. No matter how I feel in the moment, I know that God’s love for me endures, and this is the basis of my love for Him.
From the foundation of God’s love for me, I can resolutely declare that I love Him, that I do love Jesus.
A Precious Promise
From here, we begin to behold a promise rather than a command, a precious and very great promise of God. (2 Peter 1:4) Since, considering His love for me, I can declare resolutely that I do love Jesus, the second half of the sentence comes to life, “you will keep my commandments.” Here we have the promise of obedience, the promise of sanctification.
As a Christ follower, a Christ lover, I simply cannot continue in sin, in disobedience. I have the Holy Spirit of God indwelling me. It is the power of God working in me to sanctification. (Philippians 2:13) Is the Holy Spirit any less irresistible in our sanctification than He is in our salvation? By no means!
Beloved of Christ, take heart. Though you languish now, it is but for a season. God will not let you languish for too long. God will not let you walk too far from Him. God will call you to obedience. God will grant you repentance. It is as sure as the rising of the sun. As a Christian, you do love Jesus, so rest in the promise of your obedience. Let Jesus’ words be a balm to your weary soul.
