“Loving God and loving people is all that matters.”
Those were the words in an angry email I received the day after preaching a sermon about personal holiness. Intended as a less than subtle rebuke, the writer was eager to correct what he labeled as my “overemphasis on obedience.” Any directives about resisting temptation or regulating behavior were, he insisted, hateful and legalistic. Or, to put it differently, conforming to the standards of Scripture was an unnecessary distraction to the simple hermeneutic of loving God and loving others sincerely.
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On the surface, the argument is convincing. After all, Jesus Himself identified the two greatest commandments as loving God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30) while also loving your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:31). The problem, though, is a false dichotomy that fails to consider how we best exhibit genuine love for God.
The moment we substitute loving God for obeying God, we step outside the boundaries of our Savior’s intention for His people. Nowhere does the Bible teach that we simply love God rather than obey Him. Quite the contrary, the consistent witness of Scripture reveals that the greatest expression of our love is obedience. In fact, Jesus not only insisted that we love Him, but He also clarified how we can best do so. “If you love me,” He said, “you will keep my commandments (John 14:15).”
Concluding that since salvation is a gift of grace, we are free to live however we choose is both reckless and misleading. The Apostle John warns us that, because “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all, if we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth (1 John 1:5–6).” The analogy of darkness presents the deceptive waywardness of sin as antithetical to the light of a relationship with Jesus.
‘Refuse to misconstrue’
True believers refuse to misconstrue the grace of God as an excuse for remaining in their transgressions. No one was clearer on this point than the Apostle Paul, who asked rhetorically, “Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be (Rom. 6:1–2)!” Though we are born again by grace through faith apart from good works (Eph. 2:8–9), the goal of salvation is transformed lives characterized by radical change (Eph. 2:10). The seed of redemption is, without question, the grace of God revealed in the gospel of Jesus, but the fruit of salvation is obedience to and joy in the ways of God.
Perhaps an illustration will shed light on the marriage between our love for God and the actions He commands. Admittedly, no human relationship can completely mirror our connection to Christ, but let me share a story that comes close. Years ago, while dying of a crippling neurological disease, David Ireland came to grips with the reality that he would never hold, kiss or play catch with the unborn child in his wife’s womb. In his book, “Letters to an Unborn Child,” Ireland desperately communicated his love for his future son or daughter.
In one of his letters to the child, David included the following description of his remarkable wife: “Your mother is very special. Few men know what it’s like to receive appreciation for taking their wives out to dinner when it entails what it does for us.”
“It means that she has to dress me, shave me, brush my teeth, comb my hair, wheel me out of the house and down the steps, open the garage and put me in the car, take the pedals off the chair, stand me up, sit me in the seat of the car, twist me around so that I’m comfortable, fold the wheelchair, put it in the car, go around to the other side of the car, start it up, back it out, get out of the car, pull the garage door down, get back into the car and drive off to the restaurant.”
“And then, it starts all over again; she gets out of the car, unfolds the wheelchair, opens the door, spins me around, stands me up, seats me in the wheelchair, pushes the pedals out, closes and locks the car, wheels me into the restaurant, then takes the pedals off the wheelchair so I won’t be uncomfortable. We sit down to have dinner, and she feeds me throughout the entire meal. And when it’s over she pays the bill, pushes the wheelchair out to the car again, and reverses the same routine. And when it’s over — finished — with real warmth she’ll say, “Honey, thank you for taking me out to dinner.” I never quite know how to answer.”
‘Never a burden’
The point is that you will do anything for someone that you love. For Christians, that means obeying God is never a burden. Gratitude, rather than guilt, drives every believer to honor Christ in word and deed.
Good works may not be the cause of our relationship with the Almighty, but they are the consequence of it. Scripture describes faith in God that fails to produce life change as dead and worthless (James 2:14–26), even as it encourages us to look for deeds appropriate to repentance (Acts 26:20). Jesus Himself explained, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free (John 8:31–32).”
Openly celebrating or continually practicing sinful behavior is entirely contrary to saving faith, no matter how passionately we insist otherwise. Frankly, doing so is the opposite of loving our Savior.
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