What did Jesus mean "If you love me you will keep my commandments?"

[yeshuaslavejeff]

But what about the thief on the cross?

After he was saved, did he commit adultery ? Did he steal again ? Did he make an idol (like many living people today do) and bow down to it ?

 

[lamb7]

After he was saved, did he commit adultery ? Did he steal again ? Did he make an idol (like many living people today do) and bow down to it ?

He did not have a chance to prove himself with works I mean.

 

[lamb7]

He did not have a chance to prove himself with works I mean.

The Pharisees appeared to all sorts of good works yet many of them did not become saved.

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

He did not have a chance to prove himself with works I mean.

No worries - Jesus Himself testified of him, YHVH'S WORD SURE and PERFECT,
and his own words as recorded in Scripture also testify before all men as well, that he had a change of heart. (many people NEVER show a change of heart nor in their lives - only their words, which is not enough)

 

[S.O.J.I.A.]

He did not have a chance to prove himself with works I mean.

rebuking the person next to him for mocking the LORD and putting His faith in Christ as He suffered on the cross to remember Him when he goes to His kingdom was his proof.

 

[S.O.J.I.A.]

The Pharisees appeared to all sorts of good works yet many of them did not become saved.

they flatly rejected their messiah.

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

The Pharisees appeared to all sorts of good works yet many of them did not become saved.

ta da ! or "so sad" that multitudes today likewise - multitudes, not just the religious leaders and teachers; and they don't find out, they don't admit it,
until Judgment Day when it is way way too late to change.

 

[Gideons300]

it's a summary of james' discourse in chapter 2 of his epistle.

if you truly love me, you'll keep my commandments.

if you truly have faith, you'll do good works.

Not at all. It is a fusion of Paul’s by faith alone, without the works of the law, and James faith plus works.

We ought to be shaking in our boots if the real requirement is to love God with all of our hearts and loving our neighbors as we love ourselves. The sad fact is, not one denomination has figured out how to see this accomplished in our hearts. We have all been like the blind leading the blind, and we all have fallen into a religious ditch.

How few there are right now who can admit their lack, and like the man in the temple, like Paul in Romans 7, like imprisoned men, chained to their previous fleshly desires, cry out to God as men most miserable, as sinners totally devoid of that depth of love for either God or man, seeking God to do for us what He promised so clearly to do.... CAUSE US to walk in love. How many currently long for their rebellious self to be replaced by God in us, transforming us into men and women laden with fruits that testify to the world that we know Jesus?

The first step to our final awakening is true heart repentance, where we admit that we have used grace to assure us to Heaven, when our hearts are quite satisfied to be like the other man in the temple, looking down on those in the world, thinking “Thank God I am not like them.”

What God has for us in these coming days is simply mind blowing. The church is about to awaken to the promises of God, and when we do, love, obedience, self control, humility, all these will rule the day. The latter rain is about to rain down upon us, and just as God promised in Ezekiel 36, the world is about to be amazed at what they see in the church, and exclaim:

“Look!! That which bore only religious briars and hypocritical thorns has become again like the garden of Eden.”

Let it rain, dear Heavenly Father! Live, bones, live!

Blessings,

Gideon

 

[S.O.J.I.A.]

seeking God to do for us what He promised so clearly to do.... CAUSE US to walk in love, with self replaced by God in us, transforming us into men and women laden with fruits that testify to the world that we know Jesus.

this is the point of my statement you just quoted..

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

Yes. But I do not agree that only the Apostles baptized

Amen.
tangent of sorts:
"
By David Wilkerson
August 21, 1989
__________
"For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.... Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the Lord" (Jeremiah 6:13,15, KJV).

The prophet Jeremiah saw a horrible condition coming upon God's people. To hide their sins they had begun living behind a facade of superficial peace and security. Greed and covetousness had so overcome their hearts that they camouflaged their hurts with a phony brokenness. Their entire lives had become superficial -- superficial tears, superficial repentance, even superficial healing.

God's people had lost their sense of shame and grief for sin -- sin in society, sin in the church, sin in their own lives. They no longer felt God's hatred and wrath against sin. Sin had become "just one of those things."

Jeremiah cried out, "Were they ashamed when they sinned? No! They were not at all ashamed -- neither could they blush!" "

 

[Gideons300]

Has anyone woke up ? i.e. Does everyone try to pass of lack of Christ-likeness as the proof of how wonderful grace is ? Is everyone only offering them religion but not displaying a transforming relationship ? Has everyone been put to sleep by a quasi-Christianity "that pardons us" (I don't agree it does), and is everyone still bound in their prison cells ?

Sort of rhetorical, but seeking to find out if you know of others besides the "we" referred to in the quote/post ? Others who know the truth and have been set free and are living a new and quite changed life abiding in union with Jesus and with the Father today ?

Brother, I am sure there are indeed some who are seeking God with their whole hearts. But as a whole, the body of Christ is languishing in Laodecia. It should bother us to no end that the church as a whole is confused, scismed, defeated, worldly, and in bondage to sins both big and small. It should bother us that all we have to show inquiring hearts are scriptures about forgiveness, rather than transformed, victorious lives. Make no mistake, the world sees us as hypocrites, and whether we. Like it or not, we have little in the way of changed joy-filled, overcoming lives to refute their claims. Can anyone epreally deny that?

When was the last time you heard an unbeliever exclaim as to the body of Christ “Behold how they love one another!” Yeah, me either.

Blessings,

Me

 

[Halbhh]

Hey I know this has probably been posted a lot but I have really been thinking about this verse. I realize and believe works DO NOT save us, Jesus sacrifice does.

I have been switching my focus from a life of fear to a life of love. I have treated God, and the people I love most as a a result of fear and them leaving me etc. Which is not sound in the mind at all.

I want to love, serve and obey God (and people too!) out of pure love and not out of fear of Hell.

Please pray for me I really feel The Holy Spirit working on me and could use some prayer warriors

So what commandments does He Jesus mean? Is it the 10? Thanks for your input and prayers God Bless.

His own commandements to us as He spoke them in the gospels, in order that we would listen and hear.

Like:

"Love one another"

"forgive....your brother from your heart."

"forgive....seventy times seven times" (or simply over and over, without grudge)

And more wonderful commandments.

But how? How can we "love your enemies"?

Only by relying on Him, listening to Him, looking to Him, remembering Him. -- Remaining in Him: John chapter 15.

Praying as He said how to pray, in His words to you and me in the gospels, which He spoke in order that you and I would listen to Him and hear.

 

[mozo41]

Yes Jesus pointed to Deut 6:5 "Love God with all your heart" and Lev 19:18 "Love your neighbor as yourself" as the two pillars in the Mosaic Law upon which "All the LAW and the Prophets" depend ... even laws like "Do not take God's name in vain" (a commandment never mentioned by Christ) -- affirmed and established by those two foundational Mosaic Commands.

Thus when asked...

Matthew 19
16 And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?” 17 And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 18 Then he *said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said,
“You shall not commit murder;
You shall not commit adultery;
You shall not steal;
You shall not bear false witness;
19 Honor your father and mother; and
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

yes ... but do you keep the law ... seeing we needed a Savior to fulfill it on our behalf ( pun intended )

 

[Arsenios]

Jesus taught and instructed his disciples on many aspects of life and gave them real life examples and accompanying parables to highlight truths and to also expose falsehoods.

So if you can imagine that you have a teacher in life, or a personal trainer in sport, then by staying true to their legacy requires utmost devotion and love for that individual. Many athletes contribute their success in their sport or life, to their personal trainer or teacher, who they look up to as their role model.

It would be incumbent for Christians to reciprocate Jesus as their role model, by devoting their lives and hearts to him and in this respect this is what I believe Jesus implied, since the recipients were his disciples who ate, drank and lived with him, making them in a close and intimate bond with their role model.

Commandments would not be what Christ implied, because that would point away from his person and would be more of an extrinsic application of faith, rather than an intrinsic and personal heart to heart one, that is built up on love, trust and devotion.

That is why Jesus said.....I stand at the door of your hearts and knock and if anyone hears my voice and opens their heart to me, then I will enter in him and dine with him in joy and love. This would be the intrinsic faith that warrants a close bond with the person and not something outside of that person.

Romans 8 clearly describes this intimate close relationship with Christ's Spirit as one being completely and utterly devoted to the person himself, more so than anything else. So that if something would trouble Jesus, it should also trouble you.

This is why James says...you fools don't you know that to be friends with the world is to be enemies of God. So there and then, the true Christian faith is a devotion to the person of Jesus Christ, at the cost of the world, family and friends and everything that you would otherwise hold dear to heart. In this respect Jesus would say if you love your father, mother, husband, wife more than me, then you do not deserve me.

Deserving of Jesus requires following the person and not the world and this becomes the separation of a true Christian from the world. So as it stands, we ought to be considered enemies of the world and therefore hated by the world, especially of the sins of the world that are rampant in the times that we are living in.

I hope the above helped you to gauge a better understanding of what Jesus meant.

Lovely post - As you describe the Marriage of the Lamb in the heart of man - A total devotion to God in all things...

The commandments seen in this Light comprise the courtship...

Hence our love and devotion to obeying those "having the Rule over us, as they must give account for our souls", eg Discipleship in the Apostolic Church, is courtship that prepares us for that Marriage, from father to son, mother to daughter, that we should prepare for the knock at midnight, having the oil of our lamps, the Grace of the Holy Spirit, filling our souls...

So that if you love me means obedience in the Ekklesia, in preparation for obedience to Christ Himself in Person... And while many might agree [or not], not so many understand this latter as something happening in this life here and now... It requires total consecration...

Arsenios

 

[Arsenios]

yes ... but do you keep the law ... seeing we needed a Savior to fulfill it on our behalf ( pun intended )

Is obedience now to Christ the same as the keeping the Mosaic Levitical Law?

Arsenios

 

[Arsenios]

Not at all. It is a fusion of Paul’s by faith alone, without the works of the law, and James faith plus works.

We ought to be shaking in our boots if the real requirement is to love God with all of our hearts and loving our neighbors as we love ourselves. The sad fact is, not one denomination has figured out how to see this accomplished in our hearts. We have all been like the blind leading the blind, and we all have fallen into a religious ditch.

How few there are right now who can admit their lack, and like the man in the temple, like Paul in Romans 7, like imprisoned men, chained to their previous fleshly desires, cry out to God as men most miserable, as sinners totally devoid of that depth of love for either God or man, seeking God to do for us what He promised so clearly to do.... CAUSE US to walk in love. How many currently long for their rebellious self to be replaced by God in us, transforming us into men and women laden with fruits that testify to the world that we know Jesus?

The first step to our final awakening is true heart repentance, where we admit that we have used grace to assure us to Heaven, when our hearts are quite satisfied to be like the other man in the temple, looking down on those in the world, thinking “Thank God I am not like them.”

What God has for us in these coming days is simply mind blowing. The church is about to awaken to the promises of God, and when we do, love, obedience, self control, humility, all these will rule the day. The latter rain is about to rain down upon us, and just as God promised in Ezekiel 36, the world is about to be amazed at what they see in the church, and exclaim:

“Look!! That which bore only religious briars and hypocritical thorns has become again like the garden of Eden.”

Let it rain, dear Heavenly Father! Live, bones, live!

Blessings,

Gideon

Great post, Gideon...

Kinda proto-Orthodox, I say!

Arsenios

 

[Arsenios]

Amen.
tangent of sorts:
"
By David Wilkerson
August 21, 1989
__________
"For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.... Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the Lord" (Jeremiah 6:13,15, KJV).

The prophet Jeremiah saw a horrible condition coming upon God's people. To hide their sins they had begun living behind a facade of superficial peace and security. Greed and covetousness had so overcome their hearts that they camouflaged their hurts with a phony brokenness. Their entire lives had become superficial -- superficial tears, superficial repentance, even superficial healing.

God's people had lost their sense of shame and grief for sin -- sin in society, sin in the church, sin in their own lives. They no longer felt God's hatred and wrath against sin. Sin had become "just one of those things."

Jeremiah cried out, "Were they ashamed when they sinned? No! They were not at all ashamed -- neither could they blush!" "

For which cause I thank God for the coming of Christ upon the earth, and therein for His establishment of His Body, the Ekklesia, upon the earth, a Holy Body, Whose Head He IS...

The Old Testament prophesies are fulfilled in Christ...

Persecution of the Church after Christ...

The Hebrews were the pre-Incarnate Church...

The Christians are the Post-incarnate Body of Christ...

Arsenios

 

[Arsenios]

When was the last time you heard an unbeliever exclaim as to the body of Christ “Behold how they love one another!” Yeah, me either.

Blessings,

Me

That is how I understood Christians my first 36 years too...
These days, I see the same Christians as pre-Christians...
Those days, I would not abide such people...
These days I thank God for them...

Hardened atheist unbelievers can turn around...
But even in those days, the Greeks stood out...
Not like other Christians at all...
But my heart was too hardened to see them...

I see them now...
That Avatar is of a Greek!
Hard to recover from THAT!

Arsenios

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

yes ... but do you keep the law ... seeing we needed a Savior to fulfill it on our behalf ( pun intended )

pun?
The law requires death for sin.
Jesus planned all along and provided Himself the Perfect Sacrifice, once for all, for sin.
This does not mean people can now commit adultery and fornication without penalty.

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

... server double post .... delete ...