You are my friends if you do what I command.
If you have been following along for the past few days you have noticed that Jesus has emphasized doing what he commands. Today he reformulates his message again.
In verse 10 he tells us that those who keep his commands remain in his love.
In verse 12 he tells us what his command is: Love each other as Jesus has loved us.
Today he tells us that we are his friend if we do what he commands. Tomorrow he will distinguish between a friend and a servant, but today we want to look at two things. The relationship between ourselves and Jesus. And the relationship between what we do and Jesus.
It is clear that what we do affects our relationship with God. In the first six verses of this chapter, Jesus draws a line between remaining in him and being fruitful. What we are able to do depends on our relationship with Jesus. In this verse he again draws a linkage between doing what he commands (“Love each other as I have loved you.” Verse 12) and being his friend.
He tells us this because He wants us to be His friend. Because He wants us to remain in Him. Because He wants us to live.
Is Jesus telling us that we are saved by what we do? Well, no. Not really. Without Jesus, we would not be able to love as he does in the first place. Without Jesus, no matter what we did we could not compensate for our own sins. So no… we are not saved by what we do. But what we do is an indication of whether or not we are saved.
In a sense, our relationship with Jesus is a bit like the speedometer on your car. The speedometer indicates your speed, but the speed does not happen because of the speedometer. What we do, if it reflects Jesus, is an indication of our relationship with Jesus, not a payment for sin.
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