Word of Salvation – Vol. 26 No. 14 – January 1981
Love At Work
Sermon by Rev. John de Kievit on John 14:15
Scripture Readings: Gal. 5:1-16 & John 14:12–31
Psalter Hymnal: 110; 241; 480; 399
Beloved congregation in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Our text today is a perfectly simple saying of our Lord Jesus Christ, which even a child can understand. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments”. “If your love for me is real”, in other words, “and not just a whole lot of talk only; a lot of hot air, well then” – quite simply – “it will show in your life; it must be seen in a life of good works.”
That’s simple enough. True Christianity is more than just a whole lot of head-knowledge only, although that’s involved too. It is certainly not splitting hairs over all kinds of fine doctrinal points. No, the only Christianity which can be called true is a knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ with the heart which expresses itself as we walk in His way! Can it be any simpler?
And yet, congregation, there is so much depth in this simple statement of our Lord. Because there is so much depth there has been plenty of controversy in the history of the Church about exactly this statement. What is the relationship of good works and faith to the Christian has caused much controversy. There are people, you see, who DON’T LIKE having to think too much about doing good works; about having their sins pointed out to them.
And there is some reason for that. For the last thing we want to do – don’t we? – is to get back again into a situation in which we’re always looking within ourselves to see whether we’re really doing enough good works in order to be acceptable before the Lord. And the danger of doing that – the temptation of doing that – is always there! But all we’ll find then – if we’re always looking within – is that we’re NEVER doing enough to be acceptable.
In Galatia some teachers were telling the Christian Church to go back to works-righteousness, and they seem to have had some success too. “But let them emasculate themselves”, writes Paul. We would hardly want to use that kind of language too often from the pulpit. But Paul could not express his condemnation strongly enough! No, not one single person can ever win his salvation, no matter how hard he tries. He can’t even contribute towards it. If that were the way to heaven, what then would have been the whole point of the coming to earth of the Word who was with God from the beginning – and who was God? What was the point of His dying for sin, of His resurrection, and of His ascension into heaven?
“No”, say some in reaction to this, “we’re saved only by Christ; by His saving work FOR us”. “He died to free us from the curse of the Law.” “Let us therefore altogether FORGET about the Law of God – Christ has done away with it. Let us forget about good works so that it can become CLEARER STILL that we’ve been saved by grace alone.” ANTINOMIANS such people are known as; Anti-law; AGAINST law.
You see how suddenly that simple saying of our Lord Jesus isn’t quite so simple any more? Others may not go quite that far, but still they’re rather suspicious of ANYTHING that has to do with the life of good works, or sanctification as it is known. And if particular sins are pointed out; if they hear exhortations to holy living, such people are very quick to brand that as moralistic or moralism. People like that, in effect, make a separation, you see, between what Christ has done FOR us – without any help from ourselves – and what He does WITHIN us by His Spirit.
But see now how our Lord Jesus so simply and beautifully combines BOTH our faith through which we are saved, AND the way we EXPRESS that faith in a life of commandment-keeping; in a life of good works. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments”. There IS no separation – belonging to Christ must mean SHOWING it also in your life.
And the first requirement our Lord Jesus sets, therefore, is to LOVE Him. “If you LOVE me….!” What does that really mean? We can see that in the disciples to whom our Lord Jesus was speaking. They imagined they loved Him at that time. Especially Peter thought that he would even die for his Lord if necessary. He really meant it too! And so did the rest of them!
But where were they when it came to the test? Most of them were nowhere to be found. Peter went furthest of them all in denying his Lord.
Their love for Him may have been genuine enough as far as it went – but it didn’t quite go far enough! Quite a lot of SELF-INTEREST was mixed up with their love still. They had the idea that somehow belonging to Jesus would bring them EARTHLY PROFIT and material advantage.
But look at the difference in these very same people after their Master had risen from the dead: changed…! They were even more so after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit! BOLDLY, now, they proclaim the message of His grace. Yes even pressure and persecution couldn’t hold them back now. And before long you hear of martyrdom.
Their love was of a different kind now, you see. So that rather than being self-interested and self-seeking, it had turned into self-SACRIFICING love!
And why, brothers and sisters? What had made the difference in them? It was not that they themselves had suddenly become so much better people, or that they tried so much harder now to keep the Law of God or to do good works. No, by the grace of God, they had rather suddenly come to understand who Jesus WAS and what He had come on earth to DO! They now REALIZED that by His saving work – by His life, death and resurrection – they were now set free. They were set free NOT just from earthly enemies, BUT from their guilt and from the curse of the Law. They were justified – righteous before God in His Name.
THAT’S what had changed them! Their love was now a love BORN OF FAITH! They BELIEVED and THEREFORE they loved the way they did. Therefore they now lived the new kind of life they did. That is the kind of love the Lord Jesus refers to in our text. THAT’S the kind of love He REQUIRES of us His people when He says, “If you love me….!”
Do you and I have that kind of love for Him, congregation? If we’re honest, don’t we all find a lot of lacking in that regard? BUT THE important question is NOT, “Is my love for Jesus perfect?” The answer to that will always be “NO!” BUT the important question is, “Is your love a love born of FAITH?”
No matter how hard we may try, there’s no way we can work up this kind of love within ourselves. No, there’s only ONE WAY – and that is to LOOK first of all with the eyes of faith – at Jesus and His saving work for us. It’s then that WE, TOO, begin to understand something of how far He went for us, in order to also set US free from OUR sins and from the curse of the Law. It was in order that WE ALSO might appear altogether righteous before the throne of God – through His blood. And in order to strengthen our faith in Him – congregation – the Lord has given us MEANS of grace. He has given us ways by which we may FEED on our Saviour. His Word and the sacraments tell us how GREAT is the love of God for us in Jesus Christ His Son.
That’s why daily devotions are so important. That is why coming together in worship is so important and that we use ALL the opportunities God has given us. It is NOT because these works SAVE us. No, but it is because by using these means, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ might all the more GRIP us. It is so that our knowledge of Him might increase, and our LOVE for Him might grow. To put it differently: by doing these things we don’t do God a favour. No, He does US a favour, in order to strengthen our faith and deepen our love. “IF you love me…..!” Yes, that’s possible ONLY when we seek Him — in faith.
But then — at the same time — that love for our Lord Jesus Christ — if it is indeed real — WILL also BE EXPRESSED in a life of keeping His commandments. That’s what He EXPECTS from us. He EXPECTS us to live according to His will. And that has nothing to do WHATEVER with moralism or with trying to do good works in order to be saved. No, but what it DOES mean is that, if we claim to be believers in Christ; if we claim to love Him — like so many DO in this world, then it MUST begin to show!
SO CONFIDENT is our Lord Jesus of this, that He says, “…you WILL keep my commandments…..!” And why is there this confidence, brothers and sisters? It is because when God saves us through the complete work of Christ (and again, that’s the ONLY way we can be saved! – by what He has done for us, on our behalf), when God saves us, then His salvation doesn’t merely stay outside of us (‘objective’, is a technical term for this). No, when God saves us, He AT THE SAME TIME works IN our hearts by His Spirit. So that we begin to believe. We BEGIN to accept what Christ has done for us. We begin to LOVE the Lord for His great love for us.
Yes, as well as justifying us, through faith He CHANGES us, you see, so that now we become ready and willing to seek and to DO His will out of GRATITUDE. God never saves us WITHOUT OUR KNOWING ABOUT IT. THAT’S why our Lord Jesus could be so confident that all those who truly love Him WILL KEEP His commandments because by His Spirit He makes us also ACTIVE – in doing His will. The life of good works is ALSO God’s work. ONE HUNDRED PERCENT! But in the process He makes us 100% active at the same time.
The prophet Jeremiah wrote of it this way, that when the Spirit of God came, He would write the Law of God on our HEARTS. No longer would the commandments of God and of the Lord Jesus, come from outside of us, as they did under the Old Covenant. No, to all who truly love Him and to all who are truly saved the commandments would be THEIR DELIGHT! That was the intention all along anyway under the Old Covenant. But through the re-creating work of God, doing His will would come as naturally as a fish swims happily in water.
And how could the commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ be anything else than OUR delight, to us who love the Lord? For what ARE His commandments? “A new commandment I give you”, He said on another occasion, “that you LOVE ONE ANOTHER!” And what else do we really want as Christians, when continually we see how Christ has loved the UN-lovely and how He went through the misery of death for us? “You WILL keep my commandments, if you love me!” And DO we love Him, brothers and sisters? A lot of people CLAIM that. A lot of people talk a lot ABOUT what they say is the right way. And often they INSIST on that way – by hook or by crook.
But the TEST lies NOT JUST in what we claim. Are we also READY AND WILLING to KEEP the commandments of our Lord Jesus? Do we find within us that DESIRE to love one another? And do we BEGIN to do that? Don’t we find so often STILL the desire rather to GET AHEAD at the expense of others? Don’t we want to DOMINATE others, rather than to serve – just as was the case with these disciples at this time? Is it not true ALSO in our congregational life AND in our workaday world and our personal Christian life? There’s still plenty of room for improvement in our keeping of Christ’s commandments isn’t there? If we’re honest with ourselves we will admit it.
No, no one does that PERFECTLY – at least, NOT until we have arrived at our goal – Not until we have been TOTALLY changed into the image of Christ! But in the meantime, when we notice our many short-comings, we must never even BEGIN to dig inside of ourselves to see if we can somehow work up more love. That certainly won’t work. And if we’re depressed about our sins, that sort of thing will only depress us further!
The ONLY CURE for lack of love is to CONFESS it to the Lord first of all. Then, led by His Spirit, let us MEDITATE on His great love for us. Let us USE the MEANS OF GRACE which He has given us. So that we may grow in certainty as to His forgiving love. Yes, look at Christ for with HIM ALONE we find the love which inspires ours in return. And PRAY for His Spirit to activate, to ENERGIZE our hearts, for He alone can give us the desire and power to ‘HUMBLY SERVE at His command’. And HE WILL! For it was exactly the IN-DWELLING SPIRIT whom our Lord Jesus was promising to His needy people, in this passage of John.
And therefore we also need to BE STIRRED UP continually to good works, brothers and sisters. That’s not necessarily moralistic. No we need to have Christ’s commandments preached to us still EXACTLY BECAUSE in Christ, we HAVE His Spirit! See how often the Lord Jesus does that. The apostles also do this in their letters. Let’s never forget that if we claim to be Christ’s but show NO concern and don’t wish at all to keep His commandments (and therefore show that we have no love to Him), then our claims ARE FALSE! Because then our faith IS DEAD. It IS no faith.
And there’s nothing sadder or more spiritually dangerous than to find a person who keeps insisting on doing his OWN will when he knows very well what the commandments of Christ are.
Yes, the life of good works the life in which we BEGIN(!) to do good works, THAT IS THE TEST of the REALITY of your and my faith and love for Christ. So SERIOUS was our Lord Jesus about this, that at the Judgment, He says, our RESPONSE to His love will be the test. Those who have not done His will of love will then hear those dreadful words, “Depart from Me”, no matter WHAT they may have claimed.
But those who have DONE His will who have shown the reality of their love for Him (due to the grace of God), will be welcomed into the everlasting Kingdom as good and faithful servants.
Let US be determined – then – to keep His commandments. Let us NOT try to keep the law moralistically. Let us NOT try to save ourselves again. But by the Spirit of Christ, as we reflect that He has made us His, let us keep His Commandments, because our faith in Him is working through love.
His warning of judgment will then drive us to our knees and CLOSER to Him, so that we may continue to receive His power to EXPRESS our love to Him, and be transformed increasingly into the image of Christ. This way we will be His witnesses of His great love in our dark and needy world, until He comes,
“Do you love Me…..? ?”
May we say, “YES, Lord Jesus. For YOUR commandments are MY DELIGHT!”
Amen.