Topical Bible: Love to God: should Produce Obedience to God

◄ Love to God: should Produce Obedience to God ►

Jump to: Torrey's • Library • Subtopics • Terms

Topical Encyclopedia

The concept of love for God as a catalyst for obedience is a central theme throughout the Scriptures. This relationship between love and obedience is foundational to the covenantal relationship between God and His people. The Bible consistently presents love for God as not merely an emotional or abstract concept but as a dynamic force that compels believers to live in accordance with His commandments.

Biblical Foundation

The Shema, found in Deuteronomy 6:4-5, is a seminal passage that underscores the importance of loving God: "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is One. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." This commandment is not only a call to love but also implies that such love will manifest in obedience to God's laws.

In the New Testament, Jesus reiterates this principle. In John 14:15, He states, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." This verse clearly links love for Christ with obedience, suggesting that genuine love for God naturally results in a desire to follow His will.

The Nature of Obedience

Obedience to God, as a product of love, is not a burdensome duty but a joyful response to His grace and mercy. In 1 John 5:3, the apostle John writes, "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome." This indicates that when love for God is genuine, obedience becomes a natural and fulfilling expression of that love.

Examples from Scripture

The life of Abraham provides a profound example of love-driven obedience. In Genesis 22, Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac at God's command demonstrates his deep love and trust in God, which compels him to obey even the most difficult of commands.

Similarly, King David, despite his failings, is described as a man after God's own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). His psalms often reflect a deep love for God and a desire to follow His statutes, as seen in Psalm 119:47-48: "I delight in Your commandments because I love them. I lift up my hands to Your commandments, which I love, and I meditate on Your statutes."

The Role of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit plays a crucial role in enabling believers to love God and obey His commands. Romans 5:5 states, "And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us." The indwelling of the Holy Spirit empowers believers to live in obedience as an expression of their love for God.

Conclusion

While a conclusion is not provided, the relationship between love for God and obedience is evident throughout Scripture. Love for God is not passive but active, leading to a life that seeks to honor Him through obedience. This obedience is not a means to earn God's favor but a response to the love and grace He has already shown.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Deuteronomy 30:20
That you may love the LORD your God, and that you may obey his voice, and that you may hold to him: for he is your life, and the length of your days: that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

1 John 5:3
For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

That the virtues have their Perfection from Divine Love.
... as we sometimes see uprooted trees produce something, but ... motion, life and grace,
till God should breathe into it ... the rest, the perfection of divine love is so ...
/.../francis/treatise on the love of god/chapter ix that the virtues.htm

Do are Then Make Void the Law through Faith? God Forbid; Yea, we ...
... It secures all the requisite influences to produce sanctification. ... the whole length
and breadth, and height, and depth of the love of God should be opened ...
/.../finney/lectures to professing christians/do are then make void.htm

Submit Yourselves Therefore to God. James 4:7.
... Suppose a man should come to me and ask, "What shall I do to be saved?" and I should
tell him ... No, the inspired answer is, "Love the Lord thy God with all ...
/.../finney/lectures to professing christians/submit yourselves therefore to god.htm

Immanuel
... evil of sin, the worth of soul, and the love of God ... least to wish, that if there
be a God He does ... the wind and waves, without compass or pilot, should yet think ...
//christianbookshelf.org/newton/messiah vol 1/sermon v immanuel.htm

Obedience to Parents.
... you a school of respect, obedience, gratitude, and love; and these virtues should
be constantly ... be in the position destined for you later by God what you ...
/.../sainte-foi/serious hours of a young lady/chapter xix obedience to parents.htm

Love's Logic
... of the laws of God, is not obedience in God's ... See then, that to produce the
indispensable fruits of ... saith one, "it cannot be that God should love an unloving ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 17 1871/loves logic.htm

The Test of Discipleship
... of faith, there is a distinction that should be borne ... there is not only a belief
in God's word, but ... Him, there is faith"faith that works by love and purifies ...
//christianbookshelf.org/white/steps to christ/chapter 7 the test of.htm

Jesus Born the Son of God.
... to keep them together till the light of the world should appear, imagined that God
was their ... and instructed Him who is the Fountain of universal love. ...
/.../schleiermacher/selected sermons of schleiermacher/xvi jesus born the son.htm

This ChapterContinues the Same Subject and Speaks of Another Kind ...
... perfect charity for our neighbour unless it were rooted in the love of God. 9. In
this most important matter, sisters, we should be most vigilant in little ...
/.../the interior castle or the mansions/chapter iii this chapter continues.htm

For they Loved the Praise of Men More than the Praise of God. John ...
... of missions, in a degree, and if anything should turn up ... who are conformed to the
world, and who love the praise of men more than the praise of God? ...
/.../finney/lectures to professing christians/for they loved the praise.htm