Love and Obedience Are Inseparable

Summary

The episode scrutinizes the prevalent teaching that love alone is sufficient for salvation, dismissing the need for obedience to God's commandments. The speaker vehemently opposes this notion, presenting five biblical arguments to debunk it.

The discussion begins with an acknowledgment of the false dichotomy between love and obedience, refuting the idea that love negates the necessity of obeying God's laws. Drawing from biblical passages, the speaker elaborates on the interconnectedness of love and obedience:

1. God is faithful and merciful to those who both love and obey Him: The speaker cites various scriptures from Exodus, Deuteronomy, Nehemiah, and Daniel to highlight God's faithfulness and mercy toward those who both love and obey Him, emphasizing the inherent connection between love and obedience.
2. Love is the fuel — the motivation — that powers our obedience: They assert that love serves as the driving force behind obedience, referencing Deuteronomy and Romans to argue that genuine love for God naturally leads to obedience to His commandments.
3. You cannot say you love Jesus (or Yahshua) without also obeying Him: The speaker presents verses from John's Gospel to illustrate that genuine love for Jesus entails obeying His commandments, underscoring the inseparable link between love for Christ and obedience to His teachings.
4. The true definition of love is obedience — it is God’s “love language: They explore passages from 1 John and 2 John to argue that obedience to God's commandments is the truest expression of love, framing obedience as God's "love language" and essential to demonstrating love for Him.
5. The Ten Commandments aren’t the laws of Moses, but the laws of God: Lastly, the speaker challenges the misconception that the Ten Commandments are solely the laws of Moses, presenting evidence from Exodus, Deuteronomy, and James to establish that the commandments are, in fact, the laws of God, written by Christ Himself.

The episode concludes with a reaffirmation of the inseparability of love and obedience, likening them to two sides of the same coin or two links in a chain. The speaker urges viewers to recognize the vital connection between the two and previews the next episode's focus on Christ's role versus the believers' role. They sign off with a reminder to continually grow, give, and be grateful.

Overall, the episode presents a compelling case for the intertwined nature of love and obedience, challenging the prevailing notion that love alone suffices for salvation while emphasizing the imperative of obeying God's commandments as an expression of genuine love for Him.

Full Transcript

Many preachers and pastors today are teaching that LOVE is all we ever need to do. They say that we no longer have to keep God’s commandments, because Christ did it all for us. Does the Bible really teach this? In this episode, I will prove to you, from the Bible, why this teaching is FALSE. I’ll give you 5 reasons why LOVE and OBEDIENCE are truly inseparable. Let’s discuss.

In our last episode, we saw that God’s grace doesn’t give us license to sin. We learned that true saving grace will motivate us to live a holy life. But there is a third false dichotomy — another either-or fallacy: “Love alone. You don’t have to keep God’s commandments. Obedience to God’s laws is tantamount to legalism and trying to earn your salvation by works.”

But what does the Bible really say? Is it true that love is everything we need? Is it true that obedience is legalism since there’s no longer a need to keep any of God’s commandments?

Well, here are 5 biblical truths about the connection between LOVE and OBEDIENCE:

1. God is faithful and merciful to those who both love and obey Him.

Exodus 20:6 — Here we see God “...showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” (This is repeated in Deuteronomy 5:10)

Deuteronomy 7:9 — "Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments;

Nehemiah 1:5 — And I [Nehemiah] said: "I pray, LORD God of heaven, O great and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe Your commandments...

Daniel 9:4 — And I [Daniel] prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, "O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments…

Clearly, we see that love and obedience (keeping God’s commandments) are connected.

2. Love is the fuel — the motivation — that powers our obedience.

Deuteronomy 11:1 — "Therefore you shall love the LORD your God, and keep His charge, His statutes, His judgments, and His commandments always.

Romans 13:8-10 — Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not bear false witness," "You shall not covet," and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

If we have love, we will obey. If love is what motivates us, it will automatically lead to obedience. You can’t separate them. They are forever linked together. Sure, it’s possible to have obedience without love (such as religions based on fear), but you cannot have true love without obedience.

This leads us to our third point...

3. You cannot say you love Jesus (or Yahshua) without also obeying Him.

John 14:15 — "If you love Me, keep My commandments.

John 14:21 — 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."

John 15:10 — If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.

4. The true definition of love is obedience — it is God’s “love language.”

1 John 5:2-3 — By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.

2 John 1:6 — This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.

But some might say: “Yes, I believe in obeying Christ’s commandments, but I don’t need to obey the Ten Commandments, because those are the laws of Moses — not of God or Jesus Christ.”

5. The Ten Commandments aren’t the laws of Moses, but the laws of God.

Listen: Who spoke the words of the Ten Commandments?

Exodus 20:1 — And God [not Moses!] spoke all these words, saying...

So God spoke the words of the Ten Commandments — not Moses.

Exodus 31:18 — And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.

Moses reiterated this very incident to the next generation of Israelites in one of his farewell messages:

Deuteronomy 9:10 — Then the LORD delivered to me two tablets of stone written with the finger of God, and on them were all the words which the LORD had spoken to you on the mountain from the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly.

So — who wrote the words of the Ten Commandments? Moses? Nope. Once again, God did.

Exodus 34:28 — So [Moses] was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And He [YHWH, God] wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.

Again, it is NOT Moses who wrote the words of the covenant. God [YHWH] did!

Deuteronomy 4:13 — So He [God] declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments; and He [God] wrote them on two tablets of stone.

The Bible is very consistent. It says God [not Moses!] wrote the Ten Commandments on two tablets of stone.

Therefore, God SPOKE it. And God also WROTE it. Moses neither spoke nor wrote the Ten Commandments.

Therefore, since God spoke it and wrote it, the Ten Commandments is the LAW OF GOD, not the Law of Moses — wouldn't you agree? Isn't that logical and reasonable?

Well here’s what Moses himself testified as a first-hand eyewitness:

Deuteronomy 5:22 — "These words the LORD spoke to all your assembly, in the mountain from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and He added no more. And He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.

God actually wrote twice, because Moses in his anger broke the first two tablets. Notice:

Exodus 34:1 — And the LORD said to Moses, "Cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke.

Deuteronomy 10:4 — And [YHWH] wrote on the tablets according to the first writing, the Ten Commandments, which the LORD had spoken to you in the mountain from the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly; and the LORD gave them to me.

“OK fine, so God wrote it and Moses was not the law-giver. Big deal, some might say. But still, those were NOT Christ’s commandments, but the Father’s laws.” REALLY?

Bonus: The God of the Old Testament was that same being that later became Jesus Christ (Yahshua the Messiah).

Who was the God that Abraham talked with? Was it God the Father?

John 8:56-58 — [Jesus or Yahshua said:] Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad." Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?" Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."

Jesus Christ (Yahshua the Messiah) was and is the great I AM. He appeared to Moses in the burning bush. He is the One who led Israel out of Egypt — the One who gave them His laws.

Listen to the words of the Apostle Paul who wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit:

1 Corinthians 10:1-4 — Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.

Did you catch that? The “Rock” that followed the ancient Israelites was no other than Christ! He was the God of the Old Testament — it was not God the Father!

 The Ten Commandments were written by Christ with His own finger! He is the only Lawgiver!

James 4:12 — There is one Lawgiver [and Judge], who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?

So where is the Bible verse that says Christ nullified or abolished the Ten Commandments, which He Himself wrote with His own finger? You will never find it! In fact, here’s what you’ll find:

Matthew 5:17-19 — "Do not think that I came to destroy [nullify, abolish] the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Many people assume that when Christ died on the cross, all was fulfilled. Thus, the law has been abolished. But that’s a big mistake! Not everything has already been fulfilled. Christ taught that the Law of God would be in effect as long as heaven and earth exist!

Conclusion

In conclusion, we’ve seen that LOVE and OBEDIENCE are inseparable. They are like two sides of the same coin. Or two links in a chain. You simply cannot have LOVE without OBEDIENCE.

In our next episode, we will examine the fourth and final false dichotomy — Christ’s role vs ours. Be sure to watch that episode. So until next time, this is Daniel Macaraeg of BiblicalTruths.TV, reminding you to always be growing, to always be giving, and to always be grateful.