The Importance of Obedience and Love
GUIDANCE FROM A MATURE BELIEVER · 1 JOHN 2:3–17
Proof in the Living
The Importance of Obedience and Love
“For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth—as there are many “gods” and many “lords”— yet for us there is one God, the Father. All things are from him, and we exist for him. And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ. All things are through him, and we exist through him.”
1 Corinthians 8:5–6 (CSB)
There is a question that tends to show up late at night, after the house has gone quiet. It slips in when you are tired, or when you have just lost your temper with someone you love, or when church felt far away on Sunday morning. The question goes something like this: Am I really His? Do I actually belong to Christ, or have I just been going through the motions?
If that question has ever kept you awake, I want you to know two things. First, you are in very good company. Faithful believers in every generation have asked it. Second, God does not leave you to guess. The apostle John, writing as an old man who had walked with Jesus and then kept walking for decades after, wrote an entire letter so that ordinary believers could know where they stand. In 1 John 2, he hands us the evidence.
Many Voices, One Lord
Our opening verse from 1 Corinthians reminds us that we live surrounded by “so-called gods” and “lords.” Some are carved from wood or stone. Most of ours are quieter: a paycheck, a reputation, a comfortable routine, the approval of the people around us. Each one asks for a little of our loyalty.
Paul cuts through the noise with a simple, steadying truth. For us there is one God, the Father, and one Lord, Jesus Christ. We exist for Him and through Him. Hold on to that, because everything John says in chapter 2 flows from it. When Jesus is truly Lord, it shows up in how we live, how we love, and what we refuse to worship.
Knowing Is Obeying
1 John 2:3–6
This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commands. The one who says, “I have come to know him,” and yet doesn’t keep his commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his word, truly in him the love of God is made complete. This is how we know we are in him: The one who says he remains in him should walk just as he walked.
— 1 John 2:3–6 (CSB)
John does not measure our belonging by a feeling or a single moment at an altar, precious as those moments are. He points us to the pattern of our lives. Real knowledge of Jesus changes the way we walk.
So what, exactly, does He command? John answers that plainly a little later in the letter:
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 (CSB)
Believe, and love. Those two belong together. True Christian faith always results in loving behavior, and that is why John can say that the way we act gives us assurance that we belong to Christ. Our obedience never earns our place in God’s family. Jesus already secured that at the cross. Our obedience is the family resemblance that shows up once we have been adopted.
Here is the encouraging part. When you catch yourself choosing kindness over irritation, patience over a sharp word, or service over self-interest, pay attention. That is the Spirit at work in you. Live an unselfish life. Love others. Live to serve Christ and the people He puts in your path. Those everyday choices are some of the clearest evidence you will ever have that you are His.
Obeying Is Loving
1 John 2:7–11
John says something that sounds like a riddle at first. He is writing an old command, and yet it is also a new one. Both are true.
The command is old because God gave it to Israel centuries before Jesus was born:
Do not take revenge or bear a grudge against members of your community, but love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.
— Leviticus 19:18 (CSB)
The command is new because Jesus interpreted it in a radically new way. On the night before He died, after washing His disciples’ feet, He raised the standard from “as yourself” to “as I have loved you”:
I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
— John 13:34–35 (CSB)
And how did He love us? He showed us the next day at Calvary:
No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends.
— John 15:13 (CSB)
So Christian love is expressed by showing respect and through self-sacrifice and servanthood. The best short definition I know is “selfless giving.” And Jesus stretches it further than most of us would like, reaching beyond our friends all the way to our enemies and persecutors:
But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
— Matthew 5:44–45 (CSB)
Love Is a Choice
Please hear this, because it will set you free: Christian love is a choice. You cannot always control your feelings toward a difficult coworker, a cold relative, or the person who wronged you years ago. But you can choose to be concerned with their well-being. You can choose to treat them with respect, whether or not you feel affection toward them.
John puts the stakes in terms of light and darkness. The one who loves “remains in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him” (1 John 2:10). The one who holds on to hatred walks in darkness and “doesn’t know where he’s going” (1 John 2:11). Bitterness blinds us. Love lets us see the road ahead.
Caring Is Sharing
1 John 2:12–14
In the middle of all this, John pauses to speak tenderly to three groups in the church: little children, young men, and fathers. I love this passage, because it paints a picture of how faith is meant to move through a congregation, one generation to the next.
I have written to you, children, because you have come to know the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you have come to know the one who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, God’s word remains in you, and you have conquered the evil one.
— 1 John 2:14 (CSB)
Children are just beginning. As they learn about Christ, they grow in their ability to win battles with temptation.
Young adults move from victory to victory. With God’s word living in them, they grow stronger in their relationship with Christ.
Older adults have known Christ for years. They have developed the wisdom needed to teach young people, and the whole cycle starts over again.
Wherever you are in that cycle, you have something to give and something to receive. If you are young in the faith, find someone older and let them pour into you. If you have walked with the Lord a long time, please do not sit on what you know. Your stories of God’s faithfulness are exactly what a younger believer needs to hear this week. Caring means sharing.
Don’t Fall for the Allure of This Life
1 John 2:15–17
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s possessions—is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does the will of God remains forever.
— 1 John 2:15–17 (CSB)
John is not telling us to despise the people God made or the beauty of His creation. He is warning us about worldliness, a system of values that pulls our hearts away from the Father. And worldliness begins in the heart. It is characterized by three attitudes:
The lust of the flesh — a preoccupation with gratifying physical desires.
The lust of the eyes — craving and accumulating things, bowing to the god of materialism.
Pride in our possessions — an obsession with our own status or importance.
The Oldest Temptation in the Book
These three are as old as humanity. Look at what happened in the garden:
The woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
— Genesis 3:6 (CSB)
Good for food: the flesh. Delightful to look at: the eyes. Desirable for obtaining wisdom: pride. The serpent did not need a new strategy. He still does not.
Now look at Jesus in the wilderness in Matthew 4:1–11. The devil tempted Him to turn stones into bread, an appeal to physical hunger. He showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor, an appeal to the eyes. He urged Him to throw Himself from the pinnacle of the temple and force God to rescue Him, an appeal to pride. Where Adam and Eve fell, Jesus stood. Each time He answered with the word of God: “Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).
That is good news for you and me. The same Savior who resisted these temptations now lives in us, and He has given us the same weapon He used.
What God Values Instead
Where the world prizes indulgence, accumulation, and status, God values self-control, a spirit of generosity, and a commitment to humble service. Those qualities can feel small and unimpressive in a culture that celebrates more. But John reminds us of something the world forgets: all of it is passing away.
Knowing that this evil world, and our desires for its pleasures, will one day end can give us real courage. It frees us to control our greedy, self-indulgent behavior and to keep doing God’s will. The things we are tempted to grab are temporary. The one who does the will of God “remains forever.”
Living Proof
So let’s go back to that late-night question: Am I really His?
John’s answer is gentle and clear. Look at what you believe about Jesus. Then look at how you are learning to love. Look at the small acts of obedience, the grudges you have chosen to release, the enemy you have prayed for, the younger believer you have encouraged, the craving you said no to because you wanted Jesus more. None of that makes you perfect.
All of it is evidence that the one true Lord is at work in you.
And on the days when the evidence feels thin, come back to the cross, where Jesus laid down His life for His friends. That is where your belonging began, and it is where it will always rest. From there, keep walking just as He walked. One choice at a time, your life becomes proof in the living.
Your Plan of Action
Faith grows through practice. Pick one or two items from each column and give them an honest try this season.
Daily | This Week | This Month | Ongoing |
Pray 1 John 3:23 each morning: “Lord, help me believe in the name of your Son and love the people you put in front of me today.” | Choose one person you find hard to love. Do one concrete act of respect or kindness for them, whether or not you feel warmly toward them. | Invite a newer believer to coffee or a meal and tell them one way Christ has carried you through a battle. | Let “the world with its lust is passing away” (1 John 2:17) shape how you spend, schedule, and save. |
Before bed, ask two questions: Where did I walk as Jesus walked today? Where did I stumble? | Pray by name for someone who has hurt you or opposed you (Matthew 5:44). | Give away something you have been holding too tightly — money, time, or a possession. | Commit to one steady place of service, a ministry where people can count on you to show up. |
When a craving surfaces, name it: the flesh, the eyes, or pride? Then answer it with Scripture, the way Jesus did. | Take one screen-free evening. Notice what you reach for when you are restless. | Ask a mature believer to check in on your walk with Christ, and give them permission to ask hard questions. | Keep a record of answered prayers and victories so you have something to pass on to the next generation. |
Help · Hope · Home If you have been wondering whether you truly belong to Christ, you do not have to wonder alone. Come talk with us. We would count it a privilege to pray with you, walk with you, and help you take your next step. Hope Christian Church — there is a place for you here. |
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