“And this is love: that we walk according to His commands. This is the command as you heard from the beginning, that we should walk in it.” vs6

We are to walk in love, which is keeping the commands of Jesus Christ. Love isn’t a subjective thing about experience and feeling, but it is objective, as the commands of Scripture instruct us.

1 Christ’s commands are the new covenant; it is not the old testament, but the new testament revealing the true meaning of the old. Paul said, “This was not made known to sons of men in other generations as it is now revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and partners of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel [Eph 3:5-6].”

In the Old Testament, Christ was hidden, even in Isaiah 53, until the Spirit came to show us the gospel in Genesis through Malachi. Now we preach the New Testament, which is Christ and Him crucified, the Apostle’s doctrine, and we preach Him from all the Scriptures [Acts 2:42; 1 Cor 2:2].

His commands are not tithing but giving; it is not love your neighbor and hate your enemy, but love your enemies; it is not, “Kill the witch”, but do good unto sinners and preach the gospel to every person! It is not old testament Sabbaths and feast days, but the Lord’s Day, which is the first day of the week, where we gather together, with no day necessarily having more importance than any other! Paul says, “One person considers one day to be above another day. Someone else considers every day to be the same. Each one must be fully convinced in his own mind [Rom 14:5].”

It is a new covenant with faith and love as the commands, even as John says, “Now this is His command: that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another as He commanded us [1 John 3:23].”

2 The gospel commands of Christ are to be walked in. He says, “And this is love: that we walk according to His commands.” Love is to be shown and demonstrated. We preach in love, warn in love, and rebuke in love. In love, we forbid false prophets [2 John 1:7-11].

Love harmonizes with truth and directs our actions. Love causes us to forgive and receive one another; it is gospel based love demonstrating itself from God to us, and then from us to Christ and man.

We love Him because He loves us, sending the Son to die for our sins, and then we obey [John 14:15]. We love Him because we are forgiven, and then we go and do likewise. It is not merely truth, but truth and love forming a perfect mixture. We are born again - not only with knowledge, but also with the love that goes with it [1 John 5:1-2]; we are made like Christ.

Let us be zealous to love in tangible ways, not considering ourselves but others, knowing that we do the best for ourselves by loving.

3 The gospel is the greatest testimony, and we carry it in word and deed. When Jesus instructed the disciples, it was by word and deed [Acts 1:1]. He didn’t just show love, but He demonstrated it by teaching. He didn’t just tell great truth, but He loved poor and helpless sinners, even washing the feet of Judas the Betrayer.

He has a special love for the elect, even as we have brotherly love, but like Him, we are to love all. As we go into the world, let us demonstrate that we’ve been with Jesus and not lack tangible love [1 John 3:16]. Let our assemblies be places where poor saints are provided for and the gospel is carried forth!

We seem so content to do everything but what our Lord said. One church will feed unbelievers, but will not provide for pastors and evangelists. Another church will heap up truth, but won’t carry it to the streets. Another church is very evangelical, but they compromise, receive anyone, and preach what’s not offensive. It is a mess because we’ve left Jesus’ commands and made up our own. People have taken the Name without obedience, and John calls us back to loving Him by living out His teaching, not our whims.