For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. (1 John 5:3)

Love And Commandment Keeping

God has never asked man to do anything that he was unable to perform. When Adam and Eve were in the garden, the only restrictive law was not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They could eat of every tree but not the one forbidden fruit. Adam and Eve understood the commandment of the Lord. There was nothing difficult in keeping the commandments of God. The Lord provided everything for life and happiness in the garden because God loved His creation. Satan attacked the word of God immediately, questioning whether the commandment was too harsh and unfair. He suggested if the woman ate the forbidden fruit, she could be like God. Sin entered the world when Eve took of the forbidden fruit.

Satan’s most successful tool to claim the hearts of men is to convince them of the unfairness of the Lord God. There is no need to keep the commandments of the Lord. Freedom is doing whatever a person desires without any consequences. If God said that something is a sin, that is unfair and unjust and too harsh. Seeing the tree in the midst of the garden and not being able to take of its fruit was such a burden. Why would God be so unfair? It was such a grievous law to restrict the freedom of the human spirit. God was cruel to expect man not to enjoy the forbidden fruit.

The philosophies of human wisdom try to devalue the need for commandment keeping. This falls in line with the same tactic used by Satan in the garden and his continual attempts to convince the world that God is a cruel, unloving, uncaring, and brutal ruler who demands too much. Satan has repurposed the Lord God into a loving, caring, benevolent ruler who expects no one to keep commandments but only to love one another and love God because God loves everyone, and no one will ever anger God. Jesus said the devil is the father of lies, and the influence of the evil one proves this every day. There is no greater lie perpetuated by the adversary of righteousness than convincing people to love God and not worry about keeping His commandments. Jesus asked why people called Him Lord and did not do what He commanded. The world has bought into the lie of the devil to love God and love who God is and bask in the love of God, and that is all a man needs to do.

Commandment keeping is an expression of love. Refusing to keep the commandments of God is a show of defiance rooted in hatred. The bottom line becomes very simple. If a man refuses to do the will of the Father, he hates God. There is no other way to look at the rebellion of the human heart, refusing to abide by the precepts, commandments, laws, and covenants of Jesus Christ, than to see a spirit that hates Jesus Christ. What is the love of God according to John the apostle (inspired by the Holy Spirit)? The love of God is keeping His commandments. If you do not keep the commandments of God – you hate God, you hate Jesus Christ, and you hate the Holy Spirit.

Face the truth. None of the commands of God are difficult to follow. You can complain and whine about what God tells you to do all your life and die, and then you will no longer whine and complain about what God told you to do. The reality of Hell is there are no complainers and whiners. Everyone there realizes two things: first, they recognize the commandments of God are not burdensome. Second, they wished they had made a greater effort to keep the commandments. But it is too late. God loves you. He does not want any to perish in eternal perdition. Jesus died to save you from your sins. If you refuse to keep the commandments of God, you will die in your sins. It will not be a pretty picture. What can you do? Keep the commandments of God. Then, and only then, can you show how much you love God. If you love God, you will keep His commandments.