Verse: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” John 14:12-15
Jesus is our King and has rescued us from our sin and a life that brings on the wrath of God. This salvation that He gives us is a free gift of God, “not of works lest any man may boast” (Ephesians 2:9). Though this salvation is not earned by works, we are still expected to follow Christ’s commands and live a life where His lordship over us is clear.
The balance between faith and works is a delicate one. But an easy way to remember this is that you are not saved by your works, but you do the works because you’re saved. Following Christ’s commands are born out of a heart that wants to please Him because of the great gift He has given us.
So, what are those commands? What is the “Law of Christ”? Is it any different than the laws or commands we see in the Old Testament?
In Matthew 22:36-40, it says,
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Jesus sums up the entire Law of the Old Testament into these two. We need to Love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind. And as we are focused on loving our Lord, we need to love others as ourselves. We need to treat them how Christ has treated us. This is a summary of the commands that Christ has given.
As I said, this is the law summarized. How we know how to love the Lord and others is found in the law of God and His word. There were three divisions in the law. First was sacrificial which guided God’s people in how to sacrifice animals to Him. This law does not apply to us because Christ is the Ultimate sacrifice. Second is the judicial laws which told the Israelites how to run their government. Though we can still learn lessons from this, the people of God are no longer one nation, but sacred abroad so it does not currently apply to us. And the last is the moral law which tells people how to live their lives for God, like the ten commandments. This law still applies to us today.
It is impossible to keep the laws of God perfectly. This is why Christ was sacrificed for us and He sent His Holy Spirit for us. We see this in the next two verses of our passage where the Spirit will (and now has) come down and aid us in living this way. Giving us the power to live righteous lives; loving God and loving neighbor the way Christ commands us to. Not in our strength, but in His.
Written By,
John Cooper Jr.
The Godly Grunt 6
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