Jesus said this; “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me…” (John 14:21).
This is very clear. Obeying Jesus’ commands is proof that we love Him.
But what commands?
Is Jesus referring to the Ten Commandments or the 613 other commands that are listed in the Mosaic Covenant? Or did He have different commands in mind?
The writer of Hebrews stated, “For when there is a change of the priesthood, there must also be a change of the law.” This verse will help us answer this last question.
The New Covenant is a changing of the guard. The Levites were the stewards of the Old Covenant. They had specific duties and responsibilities all anchored to the Law of Moses. Jesus’ death on the cross ended those duties. He was the once for all sacrifice for sin. He fulfilled the Old Covenant in its entirety.
Today, we live in the New Covenant. Jesus Christ is our high priest, appointed to be so by God the Father. With this change in the priesthood, there was a change of the law.
The new commands are these.
- Believe in Jesus Christ (I John 3:23)
- Hope in God’s promises (1 John 3:1-3)
- Love God and people. (John 13:33-34, Romans 5:5)
Faith, hope and love constitute the law of the New Covenant.
God writes these laws on our hearts and in our minds. This is the first promise of the New Covenant. God empowers us to live out faith, hope and love through His Spirit.
The laws of the Old Covenant were the responsibility of the people to Israel to keep. They didn’t have it in them to do so. Neither do we.
In this New Covenant, God gives us a new heart and His Spirit to mark our lives with the laws that are most important to God – faith, hope and love.
Hi Bob,
Thank you so much for this. You are such a wonderful gift from God to His church!
Hey Brad, glad you found this helpful.
Too many people reject Jesus. Jesus tells us that those who reject him will never be saved.
Jhn 3:36
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.
Most people that reject Jesus do so openly, what is disturbing is how many people that call themselves Christians, yet reject Christ. Their rejection is revealed by their pursuit of righteousness by observing the Law, ( the Ten Commandments). The word of God is clear that if you rely on the law for your right standing before God, then you are not saved.
Gal 3:10
For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”
Rom 3:20
Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.
That is why the writer of the book of Hebrews warns us that we will perish if we continue to seek to be made right before God by observing the law, works, rather than entering God’s rest.
Heb 4:9
There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God;
Heb 4:10
for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.
Heb 4:11
Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.
Faith is being sure and certain. If one is sure and certain about Jesus, then they accept the truth of the word of God. They understand that the law is in effect only until they believe.
Gal 3:19
Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised.
Rom 3:20
Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.
So we see that no one can ever be made righteous by their works and that the law was given to show us that. Once we realize this, we can truly turn to Christ for salvation, which is life.
Rom 3:22
This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.
Rom 3:28
For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.
Gal 2:16
know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.
Gal 3:22
But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.
Gal 3:23
Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed.