Baptist City Blog

One of the tools Satan uses against those who are walking the old paths is trying to convince us that we don't love. Liberal preachers often use love as their mantra to attract people. They often say that they don’t focus on the “do’s” and “don’t’s,” instead they say that they focus on loving people. They often accuse those who teach and preach the commandments as hateful.

However, this may sound well and good, but it doesn't agree with Scripture. In the verse above, God talks about love being perfected. The word “perfected” means fulfilled, finished or complete. In other words, God shows in these verses how the Christian can have a complete love. Three things show how to perfect your love.

First, love cannot be perfected without commandments. Verse 3 says, “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.” You cannot keep a commandment without having one. In other words, commandments are a part of helping someone’s love to grow. To say that you love someone and have no commandment is a lie. Commandments keep those you love from heartache. The parent who has rules and boundaries loves their children more than the parent who doesn't have any rules. The pastor who teaches and preaches the commandments of the Scriptures loves his people more than the preacher who never tells his people what they should and should not do. You cannot be a loving church or Christian without commandments, because those commandments are what keep those you love away from those things that would hurt them.

Second, the adherence of the commandment is where love matures. The verse above says, “But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected…” Having the commandment is good, but just having them won’t mature someone’s love. You will never understand how much you love someone until you start following the commandments the LORD gives. The reason love won’t grow without following God’s commandments is because you will only experience the heartache of sin because of disobedience. My friend, when you obey the LORD’s commandments, you will experience the joy of serving Him and see the heartache of those who didn't obey; it is then that your love grows greater because you will want to keep people from doing wrong so they can enjoy the pleasures God’s commandments bring.

Third, where there is no commandment, there is no love. Verse 4 says, “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” Christian, those who criticize others as unloving for having rules, boundaries and limitations are liars and compromisers. All you have to do to determine whether someone loves you is to see if they preach all the commandments of God and follow them; that is the proof of love. They can preach love all they want, but they are liars if they don't have commandments and follow them.

My friend, don't let the liberal shame you into throwing out the commandments of God. You are the one who truly loves if you follow God’s commandments. Your love can only be complete if you teach God’s commandments and obey them.