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John 15:14, 15 - Love That Results In Obedience.

John 15:14, 15 (NIV) You are my friends if 
you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you 
servants, because a servant does not know his 
masters business. Instead, I have called you 
friends, for everything that I learned from my Father 
I have made known to you. 

John 15:14, 15 (NLT) You are my friends if 
you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you 
slaves, because a master doesnt confide in his 
slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told 
you everything the Father told me. 

COMMENTARY PEARL

   You cant be friends with someone you 
dont have a relationship with. Friendship 
involves giving and taking. It includes offering 
something to someone who then reciprocates. 
   In the same way, we cant say were 
friends of God unless we meet the criterion He has 
laid out to us through Jesus: You are My 
friends if you do whatever I command you (John 
15:14 NKJV). 
   True friends of Jesus will obey Him. 
Imagine someone claiming to be your close friend but 
always talking about you behind your back, cutting 
you down, and telling lies about you. You go to 
that person and say, Excuse me, are you my 
friend? 
   The person says, Yes, Im your 
friend. 
   You then say, If youre really my 
friend, why do you spread lies about me? Someone 
just told me you said this about me. Is it 
true? 
   Im sorry, your friend says. 
Its true, but I really do love you. Can you 
forgive me? Then your friend shows up the next 
day with a nice gift for you and says, I 
still want to be your friend. So, you forgive 
them. 
   But the next day, you hear that your 
friends talking about you again behind your back. So 
once again, you confront them. They apologize 
again and give you a more expensive gift than the 
last one. 
   A few days later, the same thing happens. 
Finally, you say, I dont want your gifts. I 
just want your honest friendship and loyalty. 
   We can be like the disloyal friend with 
God. We may claim that were His friends, but 
we dont obey Him. We break His commandments 
repeatedly and then try to make up for doing so. But 
there are no substitutes for obedience to God. 
   We can show our love for God quite 
simply, by doing what He says. If we dont, then 
we really have no right to call ourselves His 
friends. [Greg Laurie from Harvest Ministries; 
https://www.harvestdaily.com] 

COMMENTARY

Discover the Right Motivation for Obedience
   Jesus said in John 15:14, You are my 
friends if you do what I command (NLT). 
   You cant say you love Jesus and then 
go live like the devil. You cant say 
youre a Christian and then keep living a 
self-centered life. You cant say youre a follower of 
Jesus and then pick and choose the verses that you 
want to listen to and ignore the ones you 
dont. Jesus says youre his friend if you obey 
him and his commandments. 
   Why do Christians obey God? Nonbelievers 
get this wrong all the time. They say, I 
dont want to be a Christian, because I dont 
want to obey God. You believers obey him out of 
guilt or fear or obligation, and I dont want 
that for my life.  
   But why do we really obey God? Because he 
loves us! He wants the best for us. He loves you 
like nobody else will ever love you.  
   The Bible says the only reason theres 
love in the world is because God is love. We 
dont obey God out of fear or guilt or obligation. 
We obey God out of love - because he loved us 
and saved us.  
   When I was a kid in high school, a guy 
came up to me and said, Youre 
restricted. I said, What do you mean? He said, 
Because youre a Christian. You cant do any of 
the fun stuff the rest of us do.  
   I looked him in the eye and said, I 
could take all the drugs I want to take. I could 
get stoned all I want to get stoned. I could 
drink all I want to drink. I could go to all the 
parties I want to go to. I could go to bed with as 
many women as I want. But heres the 
difference: Jesus changed my want to. 
   I didnt want to do those things then. 
I dont want to do those things now. They 
are cheap, phony thrills that give a temporary 
kick to life, but then they kick back. They may 
look like freedom, but they dont last. They 
lead to despair, not dignity; they end in 
depression, not delight. 
   Jesus said, I have loved you even as 
the Father has loved me  When you obey my 
commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my 
Fathers commandments and remain in his love. I have 
told you these things so that you will be filled 
with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! 
(John 15:9-11 NLT) 
   God doesnt want you to obey him 
because youre afraid of him. He doesnt want 
you to obey him because youre scared of 
punishment. God wants you to obey him because of love. 
Its his love that leads to true joy. [Daily 
Devotional by Rick Warren: 
https://pastorrick.com/devotional/]  

No Greater Love
   Perhaps the most intense love and 
protective instinct in the experience of mankind is 
that of parents toward their children. There is 
little that most mothers or fathers wouldn't do for 
a baby. If a truck posed a threat to the 
little one, it wouldn't surprise us if they jumped 
in front of the moving vehicle without a second 
thought. 
   Wouldn't you like to be cared for with 
this kind of intensity? You are. In fact, the 
Lord's love toward you is far deeper and more 
secure than that of even the most caring, tuned-in 
human parent. And what God did for us is proof. 
Romans 5:8 says that while we were living in 
disobedience, He sent His only Son to die on the cross for 
us. 
   Think about a father giving up his child 
for people who choose to rebel against him. What 
a tremendous sacrifice and cost! Jesus' death 
took the place of the punishment that we 
deserved. If we accept this gift and decide to follow 
God, He no longer sees us as guilty. Rather, He 
justifies us, makes us righteous, and changes our 
ultimate destiny: instead of facing everlasting 
separation from Him, we will enjoy His presence 
eternally. What's more, almighty God adopts us as His 
children forever. Our heavenly Father guides, 
protects, and counsels us as we walk through life - 
and promises us that we are secure in Him 
throughout eternity. 
   How incredible that the Creator of the 
universe would love you and me in this way! Do you 
know and experience the security and sweetness of 
His care? Gratitude and praise should flow from 
your heart. In turn, love others deeply out of 
thankfulness for the love that you have received. [In 
Touch Daily Devotional by Charles Stanley at 
www.intouch.org] 

LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY 

John 15:14, 15 - Gods Inner Circle.

http://www.abible.com/devotions/2019/20190215-0957.html 

John 14:15 - Motivation for Obedience.

http://www.abible.com/devotions/2021/20210925-0903.html 

YOUR COMMENTS

If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or 
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either 
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in 
hearing from you.  Thanks in advance and let's keep 
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred 
Gibbs  

LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT

https://abible.com/links/