LOVE & OBEY

*Edited and so much better!*

The Christian life can be sort of confusing - especially where grace and freedom vs. law and legalism are concerned. And then, there is the whole sin issue. 

It is written that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. It is also written that we are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ. Our Father in Heaven loves us all so much that He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus to redeem us - to buy us back! He paid the price in full. By grace, through faith - which is not from ourselves, but God's gift to us - we can have the awesome gift of salvation by confessing with our mouths that Jesus Christ is LORD and believing in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead. With our hearts, we believe and are justified and with our mouths, we confess and are saved. It is not by anything we have done or ever can do that we be saved - so we can not boast about our works - or anything we have done to earn our way to Heaven.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. ... You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Galatians 5:1,4-5

How do we live in grace without putting ourselves back under the law that Christ freed us from? Remember what Jesus did through His death and ressurection. Stand firm in freedom. Live by grace through faith in love. 

So, do we need to 'do' anything? Yes. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. James 2:26

...and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And now these three remain:  faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:2b,13

We are God's workmanship and we were created in Christ Jesus to 'do good works', which God prepared in advance for us to do! If we really love Him, we will obey His commands. An expert in the law once asked what the most important commandment was. Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and Prophets hang on these two commandments." Matthew 22:37-40

You my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command:  "Love your neighbor as yourself."  Galatians 5:13-14

To love and serve sounds easy enough, but can we really do it? Surely not with our finicky, fickle, touchy, earthly, kind of love. But, with God's love we can - and He has poured out His love into our hearts. What a blessing!

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Romans 5:1-5

The obedience/love walk is producing perseverance, character, and hope in me. ; )

In complete context, this all makes a lot more sense...big hugs CW! Faith expressed through love goes with loving our neighbor which requires something of us. God gave us the love and the faith to work with. We do have some tools to use - like the armor of God - so we can arm up and stand firm when the day of evil comes. Like praise to our God - for who HE IS - HE IS HOLY! He inhabits the praises of His people and in His presence is fullness of joy! His joy is our strength! Like putting voice to His Word and speaking it out daily - as when we do, we hear it and our faith grows. If you feed your faith it will grow - and if you feed your doubts, they will grow - so, which one should you feed? Plus, when all else shakes, Jesus remains - and He is the WORD! We stand on the Word - we stand on the rock - Jesus - and we will not be moved. And...God is alert and active and watches over His Word to perform it. He said, "So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:11

So what did He send His Word for - and how do we use it? Almost any view can be justified with scripture. There is the hell, fire, and brimstone view (yikes...hot), the legalistic view (frustrating...impossible), and the grace view (ahh...refreshing). There is the sovereignty of God view (which He is) and the authority in Christ view (which we have). Oh, the joy of learning about God's character and His amazing love for us - who we are in Christ and what that means for us!!  I am thankful that after spending much time seeking the truth and running into some frustrations about grace - that the Holy Spirit taught my heart. After that, it has been smoother sailing - save for temptations to revert to old ways of thinking every now and then. It is so important to ask God for wisdom and revelation - and to renew your mind with the truth daily! 

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - HIS GOOD, PLEASING and PERFECT WILL. Romans 12:2 (His Word - my caps)

In the past, I settled for measured, weekly messages to learn and live by instead digging and to find truth for myself; depended on anything and everything but God in all areas - love, acceptance, provision, happiness, safety, security, etc; relied on all kinds of reports other than God's report; exalted facts above the truth, and caused myself unnecessary worry, anxiety, stress, and fear. By God's grace...no more!

When I was ready to seek and find truth for myself, it was right there waiting for me. Not only did I find what I was looking for - but many other treasures as well. What a blessing the promises of God are!! 

In this world, we have all kinds of troubles. Our peace is in Jesus - who has overcome the world - and in Him, we are more than conquerors! 

This is love for God:  to obey His commands. And His commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

1 John 5:3-5

There are many in the world - and even in the body of Christ who do not know how good the good news really is. We have neighbors everywhere! We are the hands, feet, and mouth of Jesus - and we may be the only Bible that some people will ever read. God's Word inside of us is alive and active and full of power. Let it flow freely.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. Galatians 5:22-25

I like this analogy:  LOVE is a curtain rod...and all of the other fruit hang from it. It is kind of interesting that all the law and the prophets hang on two LOVE commandments.

We show and make obvious that we are a letter from Christ - not written with ink - but with the Spirit of the living God - not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of our human hearts. 2 Corinthians 3:3 

Once I clarified the good news, there was no room left for my post!