A Surefire Sign You Love Jesus

by Pastor Jim Feeney, Ph.D.

Summary:  Ask any Christian, “Do you love Jesus?” You'll probably get an answer like, “For sure” or “Yes, I do” or something similar. And yet in some cases, the person may not be living up to a clear Bible definition of what it means to love Jesus. Let’s see what the Lord Himself said, keeping in mind His famous declaration of how to know what a person is really like: “By their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:20, KJV).
 

If You Love Jesus You'll Keep His Commandments

John 14:15, 21-24a, ESV  “If you love me, you will keep my commandments… [21] “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me…” [23] Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. [24, NIV: “Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching.”]

Jesus speaks of His “commandments,” His “words,” His “teaching.” And concerning these — which are the inspired Word of God — He says that if we love Him, we will keep His commandments, His words, His teachings. Read these words of Jesus again, please, with your heart open and asking, “How am I doing, Lord?”

• “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

• “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me.”

• “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word.”

• By contrast: “Anyone who does not love me does not keep my words/my teaching.”

Jesus Is the Eternal "Word of God" Made Flesh

Our Lord Jesus Christ is the One of whom the Bible says, “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us” (John 1:14). And Revelation 19:13 says of Jesus that “His name is the Word of God.” The Son of God Jesus, the eternal Word of God (John 1:1f), became flesh and lived among us 20 centuries ago. He lived, He ministered God’s truth to the world, then He died an agonizing death on the cross to bear our sins in Himself (1 Peter 2:24), so that we might be saved and have eternal life through repentance and faith in Him (Acts 20:21). On the third day Jesus the Son of God rose from the dead and some days later ascended back to the heavenly glory, where He now sits at the right hand of God the Father, continually making intercession for us.

That’s the Jesus we have the privilege of loving. Have you repented of your sins and come to Jesus as the risen Lord and Savior? Have you given Him your love? If so, do you pass His “by their fruits you shall know them” test? And that test contains, in the Lord’s own words, a surefire sign that you do or do not love Jesus. And that sign is: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments … Whoever does not love me does not keep my words [NIV: my teaching].”

Nothing could be simpler! Loving Jesus is a wholesome disposition of our hearts toward Him, yes. But He clearly declares that loving Him also results in a dedication to obeying His godly teachings and commandments. LOVE JESUS —> KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS.

Isn't This "Bondage and Legalism"?

I can hear the cries of “That’s bondage and legalism!” No, it is not! When is obeying the Son of God’s teachings bondage? When do Jesus’ clear teachings bear even the slightest hint of “legalism”? They do not. In fact, as He Himself said, “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63, NKJV). Jesus’ words, all His commands and teachings, are spirit and life! His Word brings life, not bondage.

The famous Great Commission that Jesus gave His Church strongly emphasizes these things: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20a). We His Church are to share the Gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ with all nations. We are to lead them to Jesus, see them baptized in water, help them become maturing disciples, and one more thing that Jesus included in His Great Commission: “…teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

In sum, the saved and baptized and daily-growing disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ will demonstrate that he or she LOVES Jesus by OBEYING HIS COMMANDS — “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

Where Can I Find Jesus' Words and Teachings to Obey?

Where will we find these commands to obey and thereby to show Him our love? We find them in His Word the Bible, the holy Scriptures. Jesus spoke of “study[ing] the Scriptures diligently … These are the very Scriptures that testify about Me [Jesus]” (John 5:39). And that sacred Word of the Lord and about the Lord, treasured and obeyed by you, will be definitive proof that you love Him.

Be men and women of the Word, of the Scriptures. Study the Bible, pray over its message, ponder its words often, and most importantly “put it into practice” obediently in your life (Matthew 7:24). The result you’ll find is life, joy, peace, strength, stability, and a greater love for Jesus Christ. Far from bringing you into bondage and legalism, your diligent efforts to “keep His commandments and teachings” will result in great freedom! — “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32).

Joyfully show your love for Jesus by obeying His words, and you will know life and freedom!

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Check out our related sermon: Do You Love Jesus Biblically? | A self Test

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©2023, James H. Feeney.
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