John 14:15 (HCSB)
15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commands.
I am going to try to explain this verse ultra simply, and am addressing this post to those who still think we have to KEEP HIS COMMANDS to qualify for Salvation. First and FOREMOST, Notice that If you love Me comes BEFORE it says will keep. That is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. That GOD given LOVE has to be there prior to you Will Keep His commands, because the Motive and Motivation for WILL KEEP, has to be BECAUSE of that LOVE HE put in you. Where does it SAY HE put that GOD given LOVE in us?
Romans 5:5 (HCSB)
5 This hope will not disappoint ⌊us⌋, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Yes, you can TRY to Keep HIS commands without having that GOD Given LOVE in you; but that is just modern day Pharisee-ism.
I hope you all can listen and actually HEAR with understanding, that those who are SAVED, in the following VERSES. had that GOD Given LOVE in them.
Matthew 25:31-46 (HCSB)
31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.
32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
33 He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on the left.
34 Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
35 For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;
36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you took care of Me; I was in prison and you visited Me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink?
38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or without clothes and clothe You?
39 When did we see You sick, or in prison, and visit You?’
40 “And the King will answer them, ‘I assure you: Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’
41 Then He will also say to those on the left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels!
42 For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink;
43 I was a stranger and you didn’t take Me in; I was naked and you didn’t clothe Me, sick and in prison and you didn’t take care of Me.’
44 “Then they too will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or without clothes, or sick, or in prison, and not help You?’
45 “Then He will answer them, ‘I assure you: Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me either.’
46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
You see the MOTIVE for those Deeds, HAS TO BE OUT OF THAT GOD Given LOVE, or it does not count. We are SAVED permanently WHEN the Holy Spirit pours that GOD Given LOVE into our HEART (Human Spirit), and IT WILL permanently changes YOU. The deeds have NOTHING to do with Saving our Salvation, but IF THAT LOVE IS THERE, the change it produces is an ongoing manifestation of that LOVE going out to others and TO GOD.
You see that will keep is in the GREEK Aorist Tense, something we do not Have in English. It implies "without boundaries", therefore it is a lifestyle CHANGE in us that will never end. It does not indicate perfection, as it MAY have an occasional stumble or fall, but the DOMINATE LIFESTYLE is Permanantly CHANGED to KEEP ON STRIVING TO KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS. Yes, we are to continue to strive to be like CHRIST, but we will not be perfect until HE GIVES US THAT GLORIFIED BODY at the Resurrection.
1
1
