me, if you love me. The Lord said in John chapter
14, verse 15 of our text, if you love me, keep my commandments. You love me. If presupposes that some do not. And this is the testimony of
scripture with regard to all men. We were born into this world
having no love to Jesus Christ. Now somebody may object to that
and say, I've always loved him. You may have loved your conception
of him, but that's not loving him. The crime against humanity,
me and you, is having no love for Jesus Christ. Nothing worse
can be said of a man than this, that he does not love the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now the Apostle Paul said in
Romans 9, I say the truth in Christ, I lie not. My conscience
also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost that I have great
sorrow, continual heaviness in my heart for my brethren, my
kinsmen according with flesh. I loved him this much. I could
wish that I myself were cursed from Christ, from my brethren,
my kinsmen, according to the flesh." Now there's a man that
loved men, didn't he? He said, if I could, I would be cursed
if they would be saved. That's what he says. That's what he says. And that
same one said, if any man, Love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let
him be anathema, maranatha, cursed upon the return of the Lord. If somebody doesn't love the
Lord Jesus Christ, Paul says, they ought to be damned. Can you say amen to that? I know
you want people to be saved, I want people to be saved, but
if somebody dies with no love for the altogether lovely one,
they ought to be cursed. Now, the Lord says, if you love
me, and there's two ways we could say this, if you love me, or if you love
me. There's a different emphasis
in there. One's on my love, if you love me, and the other is
on him, if you love my person. Now the issue is, always has
been, and always will be, Jesus Christ himself. If you love me. Now I want us to look at several
verses in the gospel of John that tells us who this glorious
person is. He represents as me. If you love
me and we're going to stay in John for this term to John one.
I'm not gonna make much comment on these verses. I'm gonna read
them, and this tells us who he is. Verse one, in the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God as a distinct person, and
the Word was The same was in the beginning
with God. Look down in verse 14. And the
Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. John chapter two, verse
14. Verse 13. And the Jews Passover
was at hand. And Jesus went up to Jerusalem
and found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and
doves and the changers of money sitting, people who were profiting
from religion. And when he made a scourge of
small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep,
and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew
the tables, and said unto them that sold doves, take these things
hence. Make not my father's house an
house of merchandise. And his disciples remembered
that it was written, the zeal of thine house hath eaten me
up, then answered the Jews, and said unto him, what sign showest
thou unto us, seeing thou doest these things? And Jesus answered
and said, destroy this temple, speaking of his body, and in
three days I'll raise it up. I'll raise myself from the dead. John 3, 17. For God sent not his Son into
the world to condemn the world. The world was already condemned. But that the world through him
might be saved, he that believeth on him is not condemned. But he that believeth not is
condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name
of the only begotten Son of God. Look at John the Baptist's testimony
concerning him in verse 34. This is what John the Baptist
says of this one. For he whom God has sent speaketh
the words of God. Do you know every word he spoke
was the word of God? For the Father giveth not the
Spirit by measure unto him. The Father loveth the Son, and
hath given all things into his hand. He that believeth on the
Son hath everlasting life. He that believeth not the Son
shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. Look at his testimony to the
woman who had the five husbands, the woman at the well. Verse
25, the woman saith unto him, after she'd heard all these things
he'd said, and she didn't know what he was talking about. And
she makes this statement. I know that Messiah cometh, which
is called Christ. When he is come, he'll tell us
all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that
speak unto thee. Damn he. In John chapter five, verse 16. Therefore did the Jews
persecute Jesus and sought to slay because he'd done these
things on the Sabbath day. He gave the ability to rise up
and walk to a man who was in bed for 38 years. He did it on
the Sabbath day. You're not supposed to work on
the Sabbath day. And the Lord says in verse 17, but Jesus answered
them, my father worketh hitherto and I work. Therefore, the Jews
sought the more to kill him because he not only had broken the Sabbath,
but he also said that God was his father making himself equal
with God. Then answered Jesus and said
unto them, barely, barely, I say unto you, the Son can do nothing
of himself, but what he seeth the Father do, for what thing
soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son. Likewise, I do what
the Father does, for the Father loveth the Son, and showeth him
all things that himself doeth, and he will show him greater
works than these, that you may marvel. For as the Father raises
up the dead, quickens them, even so the Son quickens whom he will. For the Father judgeth no man,
but commit all judgment to the Son, that all men should honor
the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not
the Son, honoreth not the Father which hath sent him." In this
same chapter, Verse 39, John chapter five. You search the scriptures, for
in them you think you have eternal life, and they are they which
testify of me. Now can you imagine how these
fellas were thinking when he said this? The scriptures are
they which testify of me. All of it. Look in John 6, verse 11. And Jesus took the
loaves, five biscuits, two sardines. And when he had given thanks,
he distributed to the disciples and the disciples to them that
were set down and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. He created matter at this time. He brought food into existence
that had not been there before. Look in verse 28 of this same
chapter. Then said they unto him, what shall we do that we
might work the works of God? Good question. Jesus answered
and said unto them, this is the work of God, that you believe
on him whom he has seen, that you believe me, the one he, Sent. Verse 38, for I came down from
heaven not to do my own will, but the will of Him that sent
me. And this is the Father's will
which has sent me, that of all which He hath given me, I should
lose nothing, but raise it up again at the last day. And this
is the will of Him that sent me, that everyone that seeth
the Son and believeth on Him may have everlasting life, and
I'll raise Him up at the last day. Now let me tell you this,
if you see Him, you will believe. If you do not believe, you've
never seen. If you see him, you will believe. John chapter seven, verses 37
and 38, in that last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus
stood and cried saying, if any man thirst, let him come unto
me and drink. John chapter eight, verse 12, Jesus spake again unto them,
saying, I am the light of the world. Verse 21 of the same chapter. Then said Jesus again unto them,
I go my way, and you shall seek me and shall die in your sins.
Whether I go, you cannot come. Then said the Jews, will he kill
himself? Because he says, whether I go, you cannot come. And he
saith unto them, you are from beneath, I am from above. You are of this world, I am not
of this world. I said therefore unto you that
you shall die in your sins. If you believe not that I am,
you shall die in your sins. Look in verse 45 of the same
chapter, because I tell you the truth, you believe me not. Which
of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do
you not believe me? He that's of God heareth God's
words. My words are the very words of
God. You therefore hear them not, because you are not of God. Verse 58 of the same chapter,
Jesus saith unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before
Abraham was, I am the great I am that I am. Chapter nine, verse 35. This is the Lord speaking to
the man who he had given sight to. Jesus heard that they had
cast him out. And when he had found him, he
said, does thou believe on the son of God? He answered and said,
who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said
unto him, thou hast both seen him, and it's he that speaketh
with thee. I am the Son of God. And he said, Lord, I believe,
and he worshiped him. Look in chapter 10, verse 11. I am the good shepherd that giveth
his life for the sheep. Verse 24. John chapter 10, then
came the Jews round about him and said unto him, how long dost
thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us
plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, and you believe not. The works that I do in my Father's
name, they bear witness of me, but you believe not, because
you are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice,
I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them
out of my hand. My Father which gave them me is greater than
all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
I and my Father are one. John 11. Verse 43, and when he
had thus spoken, He cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth. This is who this one is. In our
chapter 14, verse one, let not your heart be troubled.
You believe in God, even so believe in me. Verse six, I am the way,
the truth, and the life. No man comes of the Father, but
by me. Verse eight, Philip saith unto
him, Lord, show us the Father, and sufficeth us. And Jesus said
unto him, have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou
not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen
the Father, Did he really say that? Yes, he did. He that has
seen me has seen the Father. All you and I are ever gonna
see of the Father is the Son. Now this is the one who said,
if you love me, keep my commandments. This speaks of the excellency
and the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ if you love me. If you
love my person, if you love my character, if you love my attributes,
if you love me, here's the command, keep my commandments. If you love me, keep my commandments. Now, when we think of our love
to Christ, we just. Heard that song, more love to
thee, O Christ, more love to thee. Because if you think of
your love to Christ, you know it is not as ardent and strong
and passionate as it ought to be. You're painfully aware of
that. And you're ashamed of the love
you have for Christ, knowing it should be such greater. But
let's not think about your love to Christ right now. Let's think
about who he is. Peter, lovest thou me, do you
love my person? Lord, thou knowest all things.
Thou knowest that I love thee. He could appeal to the omniscience
of the Lord. Lord, you know everything. You
see into my heart. You know that I love your person.
I love who you are. I love your attributes. I love
you as God. I love you as man. I think of
the Lord Jesus Christ, this eternal son of God, one person with two
natures, perfect humanity, perfect deity, 100% human, 100% God in
the same person. What a glorious person. You know
that I love who you are. Now the Lord says, if you love
me, keep my commandments. Look in verse 21. Chapter 14,
he that hath my commandments and keepeth it, he it is that
loveth me. Look in chapter 15 verse 10. If you keep my commandments,
you shall abide in my love even as I've kept my father's commandments
and abide in his love. And he doesn't say attempt to
keep them. He says, keep them. He doesn't
say, even though you can't keep them as you should, this will
be accepted. No, all he says is keep my commandments. I love the simplicity of this
command. Question, is he talking about the 10 commandments? Now I love the 10 commandments. I love God's law. Thou shalt have no other gods
before me." The commandment against idolatry, making any likeness
to him of anything. He's so glorious that to try
to make a likeness to him is only to drag him down to our
likeness. The third commandment, to keep
His name holy, reverend. Don't take His name in vain.
The Lord is so glorious that to even speak His name without
the proper reverence is a sin worthy of damnation. What a glorious
being. Remember the Sabbath day to keep
it holy. Perfect rest. Honor your father
and mother. Honor all authority. Thou shalt
not kill. And that means a whole lot more
than murder. To be angry with your brother without a cause,
to be jealous, to be envious is murder. To call him a fool
is murder. To call him a vain fellow is
murder in God's sight. Thou shalt not commit adultery,
the commandment against all sexual sin. Thou shalt not bear false
witness. You're always to tell the truth.
Thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not covet. Oh, the 10 commandments. If you love me, keep my commandments.
Is that what the Lord referring to when he says, if you love
me, keep my commandments? The answers are a sounding no. Are you saying it's okay to break
God's law? Of course I'm not saying that. But here's the fact. Me and you haven't kept one commandment
one time. And if you deny that, it's because
you're blind to the character of God and you're blind to your
own sinfulness. God's never made himself known
to you if you think you can keep one commandment. You haven't
done it. Somebody says, yeah, I have.
You don't know what the law means then. You've never seen. He's not speaking of the Ten
Commandments, although it's also true that in Christ, I've kept
them all. I have perfect obedience before
that holy law in Christ. I have kept the commandments
in Him, because when He kept them, I kept them, because I'm
united to Him. He's my Savior. But the commandments He's speaking
of are found in 1 John chapter 3, if you'll turn there. Now the only way you honor God's
holy law, the Ten Commandments, is by looking to Christ. Do we
make void the law through faith? God forbid we establish the law.
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness. And the only
way me and you are ever going to honor God's holy law is by
faith in Christ, not by our supposed claim to done our best to try
to keep his commandments. You have not. You have not. Don't say that about yourself.
That's being dishonest before God. Your only hope is that Christ
is the end of the law for righteousness to you. But turn to 1 John 3,
and here we read of the commandments that he says to keep. Verse 22. And whatsoever we ask,
we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments and do
those things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is His
commandment, that we should believe on the name of His Son, Jesus
Christ, and love one another as He gave us commandment. And
He that keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him, and He in Him."
Now this is the commandments that every believer keeps. I
think it's interesting that he calls it by the plural in verses
22 and verses 24, and in verse 23 he calls it by the singular.
You see, these two commandments cannot be separated. This is
the one commandment, to believe on the name of his son, Jesus
Christ, and to love one another as he gave us commandment. Now, first of all, this is his
commandment. This is not his advice. This
is not his invitation to you. This is not his offer to you. You know, I heard a preacher
say this week, God's offering you the forgiveness of sins.
No, he's not. God doesn't offer anything. He forgives. He doesn't offer
forgiveness. You know, next time you, That's
just plumb dumb to say something like that. God offering you,
God forgives. He doesn't offer. He doesn't,
this is not an invitation. Not an invitation. This is a
command. This is his commandment. Is he commanding me? Do you hear? Yeah, you. I don't know if he's
speaking to me. He is. This is his commandment. Got some real clear directions
here. This is His commandment. And what is it? Verse 23, that
we should believe on the name of His Son, Jesus Christ. Now this is His commandment.
I hope you'll resist thinking, well, He doesn't mean me. If
you hear, He means you. This is His commandment, to believe
on the name of His Son, Jesus Christ. Now, to believe on His
name, what in the world does that mean? Well, I think of the
scripture, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall
be saved. Now the name of the Lord doesn't
mean articulating His name. His name is the person behind
the name. You're calling on His attributes
to save you. Lord, save me by Your justice. Save me in a way that honors
Your justice. Save me by Your sovereignty. Will my salvation. Save me by
Your mercy. Save me by Your power. I'm powerless. Will my salvation by Your power
save me. Save me by your independence.
If you have to look for something in me as a reason to save me,
you won't. It's got to be wholly found in you. Save me by your
wisdom, that wisdom that's made the way to be just and justify
the ungodly. When we're calling on His name,
we're calling on all who He is to save us, aren't we? You know,
right now, I'm calling on His name in my heart. Lord, save
me. by who you are, not by who I
am, but by who you are. Save me by your grace, save me
by your power, by your love, by your wisdom, by your holiness,
by your justice, every attribute of God we're calling on, save
me. Well, to believe on his name
is to rely on those attributes we're calling on. I'm relying
on His grace to save me. I'm relying on His justice to
save me. I'm relying on His will to save
me, that He's willing my salvation. That's why I'm saved. I'm like
that leper. Lord, if You will, You can. You have the ability to make
me clean. I'm relying on His wisdom. All
of the attributes of God, who He is, I'm relying on to save
me right now. Now, this is His command to you.
Believe, rely upon the name of His Son to save you. Nobody can believe for you. You
must rely yourself. Believe on the name of his son. Now, the second part of the commandment,
and it can't be separated from the first part of the commandment,
is to love one another as he gave us commandment. To love
one another, those whom he loves, as he gave us commandment. Now, look in 1 John chapter four. Verse seven. Beloved, let us
love one another, for love is of God. And everyone that loveth
is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not
God, for God is love. Verse 19 of the same chapter.
If we love him, no, we love him because he first loved us. If
a man say, I love God and hates his brother, He's a liar. For he that loveth not his brother
whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
In this commandment have we from him that he who loveth God love
his brother also. Whosoever believeth that Jesus
is the Christ is born of God and everyone that loveth him
that begat loveth him also that's begotten of him. By this we know
that we love the children of God when we love God and keep
his commandments. For this is the love of God,
that we keep his commandments and his commandments are not
grievous, burdensome, heavy, but it's joyful and liberating
and pleasurable. to keep his commandments. Now,
when are commandments not grievous? Because you know what it is to
hear a command and feel a heavy burden about it. When are his
commandments not grievous? Now, he says, this is the love
of God that we keep, his commandments, and they're not irksome, they're
not burdensome, they're not heavy, they're not grievous. When are
his commandments not grievous? when salvation is all of grace. That is when his commandments
are not grievous. If there's one single commandment
I must keep before God can do something for me, it's grievous
and it's heavy. If there is one sin that I must
stop doing and never do it again before God can save me, what
a grievous, heavy, burdensome command. Law never produces love. Only resentment I don't measure
up. God is expecting something out
of me that I can't provide. I feel sorry for myself. I'm
a victim. I resent God as a cruel taskmaster
calling upon me to make bricks without straw. If there's one
thing I need to do before God can do something for me, what
a grievous, I want you to turn with me to
Matthew chapter 11. This is what is known as the
great invitation. It's the great command. This is God's command. Now, let's see if you know anything
about the character of the one he makes the command to. And
that's how you can know if this command is to you. Verse 28. Come unto me. All that labor and are heavy laden. Now what that's talking about
is this grievous burden. If salvation is dependent upon
me doing anything, it's a grievous burden, heavy laden. Now, is that you? if salvation is dependent upon
you doing anything. It's a heavy burden. Is that you? Hear his command. Come unto me. And I will give you rest. Now this is the command to every
heavy burdened laboring sinner who cannot save themselves. Here's
his command to you. He's commanding this to you right
now. Come to me and I will give you
rest. Now what is this rest he is speaking
of? The rest of the Sabbath. You
know people miss the Sabbath altogether. They say, well, they
make a work out of not working. Can't work on the Sabbath. Don't
understand what it means anyway. Hebrews chapter four, nine says,
they which have believed do enter into rest for he that's entered
his rest hath ceased from his own works. as God did from His. When God finished creating the
world, He rested because what He did was perfect. There wasn't
anything left to do. He didn't rest because He's tired.
He looked at everything He did and behold, it was very good. And you look at everything that
Christ did, behold, it's very good. You don't need anything
else. Rest. Come unto me, all ye that labor
and are heavy laden, and I'll give you rest. Take my yoke upon
you. Now, when we think of a yoke,
we think of something that's kind of constrictive, kind of
keep us in place. Well, I do want to be yoked to
Christ, don't you? I want him to yoke me then so I can't get
away. I find this very attractive. He says, take my yoke upon you. You know, in the Bible, we read
of two yokes. The yoke of bondage, law, salvation dependent upon
what I do. That's a yoke of bondage. That's
a heavy burden. That's grievous. And the yoke
of Christ. Now look what he says about his
yoke. Take my yoke upon you. and learn of me. For I am meek and lowly in heart,
and you shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy."
Why is it easy? Because it's grace. Because he's
the one bearing it, not you. You're yoked to him, but he's
got all the weight. For us, his yoke is easy, and
his burden is light. Now this is when John speaks
of keeping his commandments, and they are not grievous. When salvation is all of grace,
I'm accepted in the beloved. I'm complete in Christ, lacking
nothing. Rest. That's not grievous. That's not burdensome. Paul put it this way in Romans
chapter 15, verse 13. Now the God of hope fill you with all
joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope for the glory of God. Come to me, I will, the Lord
says. give you rest. Let's pray. Lord, we, by your grace, love
who you are. By your grace, we believe on
your name and love one another as you've given us commandment.
Lord, by Lord, give us the grace to Keep your commandments. And Lord, we cry more love to
thee, O Christ. But Lord, how thankful we are
that it's not our love to you that saves us, but your love
to us in your son. Lord, cause each heavy laden
sinner to come to your son for rest. Bless this message for
your glory. In Christ's name we pray, amen.