If You Love Me Keep My Commandments

 

  

John 14:15-21

15 "If you love Me, keep My commandments. 

16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever —  

17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 

18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. 

19 "A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. 

20 At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 

21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him." 

Love for Christ and obedience to His Word are so closely knit that it is mockery for someone to talk of love for Christ and then continue to live as though there were no Holy Spirit.

Usually when the demand for sincere obedience to Christ is emphasized immediately the charge is made, “You are a legalist!”

The great difference between legalism and discipleship is love. The person who attempts to obey the commandments of God in order to gain God’s acceptance is, in fact, a “legalist.”

Legalism is the vain effort to obey God from a motive of fear. Fear of being sent to hell, fear of losing your salvation, fear of missing out on blessings: are all selfish and legalistic motives.

But the stark truth is that true disciples of Jesus Christ have no alternative but to obey Him. The only way then that obedience is not legalism is for the motive to be grounded in love for Christ.

It is perfectly legitimate to state the opposite of what Christ said in verse 15:

"If you do not keep My commandments, you do not love Me.” 

Notice that Jesus says, “My commandments.”

The unity of the Godhead demands that God’s commandments are equally Jesus’ commandments. Please do not ever think of Moses as opposing Christ. Jesus says, Moses wrote about Me, i.e., the Christ.

Now let’s make one thing clear. We are not talking about perfectionism. There are those who actually believe that they do not sin. The apostle John said those people are liars and the truth is not in them. [1 John 1:8]

If I recall this correctly, Horatius Bonar tells of a woman who said to him, “Mr. Bonar, I have not sinned in six months.”

Bonar replied, “And you must be very proud of that.”

It is relatively easy to build a set of rules about externals such as, length of hair and women not wearing dresses that expose their bare arms, and not wearing makeup.

I can jump over a house, if you let me build the house.

Somehow those people who make up the “touch not, taste not, handle not” kind of rules do not seem to deal with what G. Campbell Morgan called “sins in good standing” listed in Colossians 3:8.

“But now you must also put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, filthy language out of your mouth.”

So Jim, if we cannot be perfect, how can we obey the Lord’s command?

It comes down to being honest with yourself.

When you sin, and sin you will, what happens in your mind?

Do you look around to see if someone saw you or heard you?

Or, does your conscience afflict you for the sin itself?

Does the sin bother you more than the prospect of being found out?

Are you actually changing your thoughts and behavior to bring them under subjection to Christ?

The apostle John, in his first general epistle, gives us at least nine tests to examine our faith that will help determine whether or not we are true disciples of Christ. Every test is based on love and obedience.

Carefully and prayerfully read First John and honestly examine yourself. We will not take the time in this message to review these tests except to relate the theme of obedience and love being inseparable.

1 John 2:3-4

3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.

4 He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

1 John 5:1-5

1 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him.

2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments.

3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.

4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith.

5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

So if you are struggling with obedience and think the commandments of God are unreasonable and impossible to obey the problem may be that you have been deceived and are living with a false hope of salvation.

Listen again to 1 John 5:3-5:

3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.

4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith.

5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Love and obedience are bound together in the Godhead.

The reason that Jesus commands obedience from His disciples is based upon the love of the Son for the Father and the love of the Father for the Son and the Son’s submission to the will of the Father.

The Father loves the Son.

The Son loves the Father.

The Son does the will of the Father.

Jesus and the Father are one in essence.

Jesus only does what He sees the Father doing.

The Father works through the Son.

Jesus loves His people to the uttermost.

Disciples of Jesus love Him and obey Him.

The unity in the Godhead is an often-stated claim made by Jesus.

As a twelve-year old boy in the temple, who told Jesus that God was His Father and not Joseph?

Recall with me a few statements made by Jesus about His relationship with the Father:

John 5:18-23

18 Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.

19 Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, [Amen, amen] I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. 

20 For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel. 

21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will. 

22 For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son,

23 that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. 

John 6:35-40

35 And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. 

36 But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. 

37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. 

38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 

39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 

40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day." 

John 7:16-17

16 Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. 

17 If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.

John 8:28-30

28 Then Jesus said to them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. 

29 And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him." 

30 As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.

John 13:12-17

12 So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? 

13 You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. 

14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. 

15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. 

16 Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 

7 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. 

John 13:31-35

31 So, when he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. 

32 If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him immediately. 

33 Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, 'Where I am going, you cannot come,' so now I say to you. 

34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 

35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." 

And so the Lord Jesus Christ says, "If you love Me, keep My commandments. 

We live in a time and a permissive culture that has convinced multitudes that there are no rules to be followed. You determine your own “truth” and you must not make any judgment regarding whether or not something another person does is right or wrong.

The minds of millions of our young people have been brainwashed by the main rule of the Star Wars series: “Make no judgments!”

But Jesus says, "If you love Me, keep My commandments.” 

16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever — 

How can anyone deny the doctrine of the Trinity when this verse names the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? And there are many other clear statements of the Doctrine of the Holy Trinity.

Another Helper. Another Comforter.

One who comes along side.

Another One like Myself.

Jesus is the “Advocate” of 1 John 2:1 which is the same word translated “Comforter” [Helper] here in John’s Gospel. Jesus is the “consolation of Israel” that Simeon waited to see in Luke 2:25.

The Holy Spirit was in the church before Pentecost but He will come in more fullness and indwell the believer.

A sad fact is that among the various groups that profess to be Christians the understanding of the Holy Spirit usually falls along two lines.

One faction makes the Holy Spirit the focus of their worship and claim to duplicate the gifts of the Spirit that are easily faked, such as tongues and healing. They say such things as they have the “Full Gospel.” The blood of Jesus shed for guilty sinners is not enough, they long for something more “exciting”.

The other faction, especially Baptists, almost ignore the Holy Spirit altogether.

Boice writes, “The first point we must settle in our minds in regard to the Holy Spirit is whether He is a real person, whose work it is to get hold of us and use us, or whether the Holy Spirit is merely some vague power we are to get hold of for our benefit. This is important as a mere matter of truth: for either the Holy Spirit is a real person, or He is not. But it is also important on a practical level. If we think of the Holy Spirit as a mysterious power, our thought will continually be, “How can I get more of the Holy Spirit?” If we think of the Holy Spirit as a person, our thought will be, “How can the Holy Spirit have more of me?” The first thought is entirely pagan. The second is New Testament Christianity.”

The Holy Spirit is Another Helper, the One called alongside.

Christ is going back to the Father; Christ asks the Father and the Father sends the Helper.

The disciples, instead of losing a Helper, will get another Helper (like unto Myself, to take His place to do what He does, i.e.,to teach and guide).

The Helper will abide [dwell] with you forever.

How long is forever?

However long forever is, is how long the Holy Spirit will dwell in believers.

The Apostle Paul gives us some insight into the role of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:12-17

12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors — not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.

13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father."

16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

17 and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

There is so much to teach about the Holy Spirit that has been so greatly neglected in the church in out time. The reason that there is so much success by the “healers” and the “health and wealth” hucksters is because the church is largely ignorant of the role of the Holy Spirit.

John the Baptist said that the Christ would “baptize with the Spirit”.

Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be “born of the Spirit”.

The Holy Spirit convicts a person of sin and guilt and in an act of absolute sovereignty on the part of God and with passivity on the part of the recipient that person is “born of the Spirit.”

But many people today have been deceived by false teaching that the “Baptism of the Spirit” is a “second blessing” that occurs when they speak in tongues. They take a perfectly good precept and twist it into a falsehood.

We will not delve into the many aspects of the role of the Holy Spirit in this series of messages. There are the gifts of the Spirit. Which gifts of the Spirit are still valid in our day and which ones have ceased? What is the “fruit of the Spirit?” What is the witness of the Spirit?

These are important issues and we have taught on them in other studies.

May I be too simple and end this line of thought with a “bottom line” statement? If whatever you believe about the role of the Holy Spirit does not bring glory to Jesus Christ and edify the church it is error!

17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 

Notice that the Holy Spirit is referred to with a personal pronoun. The Holy Spirit is a person and not merely an influence.

The world is divided between those who have the Spirit dwelling in them and those who are yet “dead in trespasses and sins.”

The “world” of unregenerate lost people cannot perceive this spiritual truth.

1 Corinthians 2:6-16

6 However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.

7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory,

8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

9 But as it is written: [Isaiah 64:4; 65:17]

"Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,

Nor have entered into the heart of man

The things which God has prepared for those who love Him."  

10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.

11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.

12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

13 These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. 16 For "who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?" But we have the mind of Christ.

Jesus continues to speak words of comfort to His troubled disciples.

18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. 

What comfort there is in the promises of our Lord.

I will not leave you orphans (comfortless). I am going to die but I am not like a father who dies and leaves his children orphans.

And says Jesus, “I, Myself, will come to you.”

Some believe Jesus only means when He comes to life on the third day. Some say He is referring to Pentecost.

It seems more probable that Jesus is referring to His Second Coming at the end of this present age. Revelation 22:20 uses the same phrase that is used here, “Surely, I am coming quickly.”

19 "A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. 

The believer’s life is completely bound up in Christ’s life.

Philip asked Jesus to “show us the Father”

The world of lost people cannot see Jesus with eyes of understanding. To many people Jesus is the first half of a curse. But His dear children see Him and love Him and obey Him and they live in Him.

Job asked, “If a man dies, shall he live again?” [Job 14:14]

And Jesus answers, “Yes.” Because I live, you will live also. 

The believer will pass from spiritual death to spiritual life when they are born again by the Holy Spirit. And the believer will be raised to life in the resurrection.

20 At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 

“At that day,” I believe refers to the Second coming. Then His disciples will have perfect knowledge. Now we see and know in part and through a glass darkly. Then we shall know and fully understand the mystical union between the Father and Son, and between the Son and all His believing children.

21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him." 

Jesus restates what He said in verse 15.

The difference is that in verse 15 He is speaking to His disciples and in verse 21 He lays down a general principle applicable to all Christians for all time.

As I began, love and obedience are so tightly knit that one cannot exist without the other. You love Christ, and then you will obey Christ. If you do not obey Christ it is because you do not love Christ. The precepts are like a strong chain that cannot be broken.

Christ makes known His presence though obedience to the Word of God.

Remember the context is Christ comforting his disciples who are troubled at the knowledge that He is going to die and leave them.

How are they to live after Jesus is physically gone?

They will keep His commandments because they love Him.

Your own comfort will be in direct proportion to the degree to which you keep His commandments.

If you are a believer but your life is characterized by disobedience then why would you expect to have the comfort of the Holy Spirit?

Do you need comfort?

Do you love Jesus?

Do you keep His commandments?

Amen