To love Is To Obey

"But this is what I commanded them, saying, "Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you."


Jeremiah 7:23


Listening to Allen Redpath speak at a conference of ministers on the topic of "personal holiness" he said in his address that he couldn't even deliver such a message in the local church today (and that was back like in the 1950's when he gave the message I was listening) because the church couldn't handle the message any longer. If the church could not handle this message back then could we handle it now?

Quoting Charles Spurgeon he said, "an unholy life is an evidence of an unchanged heart and an unchanged heart is evidence of an unchanged soul". Pastor Chuck Smith put it like this, "If there has not been a change then there has not been a change", meaning just because someone professes to be a Christian means little. The evidence of our faith is in our actions not in our words. Not works mind you, but our faith in Jesus Christ made evident by our actions.

Are you aware that Jesus equated our love for Him directly to our obedience to Him and His Word? Many people pay homage to obedience with lip service but the obedience the Lord speaks of in His word is evidenced by our actions as well as our profession. If we say we love God but walk in disobedience to His Word how can we say we love Him? Is there evidence of love? Does love bear fruit? The bible says yes.

To love is to obey and believe it or not, obedience flows out of grace, not the law as Abraham came before Moses. In other words we love because He first loved us. Jesus died for us out of obedience to the will of the Father, which demonstrated not only His holiness in that He was the Lamb of God without sin. His death also revealed for all the world to see His love for both the Father and for you and me. How will the world know that we are from God today? By what we say or by what we do? As we walk in obedience to God the world will see Gods love in us, in our love for Him by our obedience to Him as well as seeing our love for them too. The power of obedience is love, the motivation of obedience is love, and the outcome of obedience is love. Love, its what the world needs now more than ever. God is love!  

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

John 13:35

I LOVE YOU!

Michael Osthimer

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