John 15:14, 15 - Love That Results In Obedience.
John 15:14, 15 (NIV) You are my friends if
you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you
servants, because a servant does not know his
masters business. Instead, I have called you
friends, for everything that I learned from my Father
I have made known to you.
John 15:14, 15 (NLT) You are my friends if
you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you
slaves, because a master doesnt confide in his
slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told
you everything the Father told me.
COMMENTARY PEARL
You cant be friends with someone you
dont have a relationship with. Friendship
involves giving and taking. It includes offering
something to someone who then reciprocates.
In the same way, we cant say were
friends of God unless we meet the criterion He has
laid out to us through Jesus: You are My
friends if you do whatever I command you (John
15:14 NKJV).
True friends of Jesus will obey Him.
Imagine someone claiming to be your close friend but
always talking about you behind your back, cutting
you down, and telling lies about you. You go to
that person and say, Excuse me, are you my
friend?
The person says, Yes, Im your
friend.
You then say, If youre really my
friend, why do you spread lies about me? Someone
just told me you said this about me. Is it
true?
Im sorry, your friend says.
Its true, but I really do love you. Can you
forgive me? Then your friend shows up the next
day with a nice gift for you and says, I
still want to be your friend. So, you forgive
them.
But the next day, you hear that your
friends talking about you again behind your back. So
once again, you confront them. They apologize
again and give you a more expensive gift than the
last one.
A few days later, the same thing happens.
Finally, you say, I dont want your gifts. I
just want your honest friendship and loyalty.
We can be like the disloyal friend with
God. We may claim that were His friends, but
we dont obey Him. We break His commandments
repeatedly and then try to make up for doing so. But
there are no substitutes for obedience to God.
We can show our love for God quite
simply, by doing what He says. If we dont, then
we really have no right to call ourselves His
friends. [Greg Laurie from Harvest Ministries;
https://www.harvestdaily.com]
COMMENTARY
Discover the Right Motivation for Obedience
Jesus said in John 15:14, You are my
friends if you do what I command (NLT).
You cant say you love Jesus and then
go live like the devil. You cant say
youre a Christian and then keep living a
self-centered life. You cant say youre a follower of
Jesus and then pick and choose the verses that you
want to listen to and ignore the ones you
dont. Jesus says youre his friend if you obey
him and his commandments.
Why do Christians obey God? Nonbelievers
get this wrong all the time. They say, I
dont want to be a Christian, because I dont
want to obey God. You believers obey him out of
guilt or fear or obligation, and I dont want
that for my life.
But why do we really obey God? Because he
loves us! He wants the best for us. He loves you
like nobody else will ever love you.
The Bible says the only reason theres
love in the world is because God is love. We
dont obey God out of fear or guilt or obligation.
We obey God out of love - because he loved us
and saved us.
When I was a kid in high school, a guy
came up to me and said, Youre
restricted. I said, What do you mean? He said,
Because youre a Christian. You cant do any of
the fun stuff the rest of us do.
I looked him in the eye and said, I
could take all the drugs I want to take. I could
get stoned all I want to get stoned. I could
drink all I want to drink. I could go to all the
parties I want to go to. I could go to bed with as
many women as I want. But heres the
difference: Jesus changed my want to.
I didnt want to do those things then.
I dont want to do those things now. They
are cheap, phony thrills that give a temporary
kick to life, but then they kick back. They may
look like freedom, but they dont last. They
lead to despair, not dignity; they end in
depression, not delight.
Jesus said, I have loved you even as
the Father has loved me When you obey my
commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my
Fathers commandments and remain in his love. I have
told you these things so that you will be filled
with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!
(John 15:9-11 NLT)
God doesnt want you to obey him
because youre afraid of him. He doesnt want
you to obey him because youre scared of
punishment. God wants you to obey him because of love.
Its his love that leads to true joy. [Daily
Devotional by Rick Warren:
https://pastorrick.com/devotional/]
No Greater Love
Perhaps the most intense love and
protective instinct in the experience of mankind is
that of parents toward their children. There is
little that most mothers or fathers wouldn't do for
a baby. If a truck posed a threat to the
little one, it wouldn't surprise us if they jumped
in front of the moving vehicle without a second
thought.
Wouldn't you like to be cared for with
this kind of intensity? You are. In fact, the
Lord's love toward you is far deeper and more
secure than that of even the most caring, tuned-in
human parent. And what God did for us is proof.
Romans 5:8 says that while we were living in
disobedience, He sent His only Son to die on the cross for
us.
Think about a father giving up his child
for people who choose to rebel against him. What
a tremendous sacrifice and cost! Jesus' death
took the place of the punishment that we
deserved. If we accept this gift and decide to follow
God, He no longer sees us as guilty. Rather, He
justifies us, makes us righteous, and changes our
ultimate destiny: instead of facing everlasting
separation from Him, we will enjoy His presence
eternally. What's more, almighty God adopts us as His
children forever. Our heavenly Father guides,
protects, and counsels us as we walk through life -
and promises us that we are secure in Him
throughout eternity.
How incredible that the Creator of the
universe would love you and me in this way! Do you
know and experience the security and sweetness of
His care? Gratitude and praise should flow from
your heart. In turn, love others deeply out of
thankfulness for the love that you have received. [In
Touch Daily Devotional by Charles Stanley at
www.intouch.org]
LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY
John 15:14, 15 - Gods Inner Circle.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2019/20190215-0957.html
John 14:15 - Motivation for Obedience.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2021/20210925-0903.html
YOUR COMMENTS
If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in
hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred
Gibbs
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
https://abible.com/links/
