Love and obedience—two timeless biblical truths. People everywhere talk about God’s love, but we often sidestep His call to obedience. Love and obedience go together; you can’t have one without the other and still live with integrity before God. For a long time, I had obedience down—but compassion was missing. Only as I dug into Scripture and let the Holy Spirit soften me did I learn what true balance looks like.
Featured Snippet Takeaway: True love and obedience go hand in hand—love without obedience is not love at all, and obedience without love is just legalism.
My Journey: Obedience First, Love Later
When I first began my walk with God, I leaned heavily toward obedience. I knew the commandments, I valued holiness, and I wanted to live in a way that honored Him. But if I’m being honest, my approach was often cold. I was outspoken politically, and I came across as harsh, especially toward those who disagreed with me. People might have said I was “in your face.” Looking back, I see that I had the obedience part right—but the love and compassion part was sorely lacking.
Through consistent Bible study and the work of the Holy Spirit, I began to grow. God’s Word showed me that obedience without love doesn’t reflect His heart. Yes, holiness matters. Yes, truth matters. But if truth isn’t spoken in love, it becomes a hammer rather than a healing balm. I’ve learned that love isn’t weakness—it’s the very strength that allows obedience to shine as something beautiful rather than something cold.
When Culture Chooses Kindness Over Holiness
I’ve also noticed something in our culture, especially among unbelievers. They love to talk about morals, but not in the biblical sense. For many, morality has been reduced to how you talk and how you make others feel. Be nice, be sweet, be affirming—that’s their entire framework for what is “good.” But what you do—your actions, your accountability before God—rarely enters the equation.
You can see this clearly in how some approach crime. There’s endless sympathy for offenders but very little concern for accountability. Whether it’s murder, abuse, or the most heinous sins, many seem to want compassion without justice. The underlying message is always the same: people should never be held accountable. But love without accountability isn’t love—it’s enabling destruction. That’s why I often warn believers to stay alert when culture presents a false morality, as I discussed in Why a Muslim Socialist Mayor Should Alarm Christians.
Progressive Christianity’s Half-Gospel
This same imbalance has crept into the church through progressive Christianity. I’ve written before about its dangers, but one of the clearest is this: progressive Christians elevate God’s love while neglecting His commands. They talk endlessly about compassion and inclusion but rarely about sin, repentance, or obedience to God’s Word. It’s a half-gospel—attractive on the surface but empty at its core.
The truth is, both my old approach (obedience without love) and the progressive approach (love without obedience) miss the mark. God never asked us to choose between the two. He called us to embody both, because that’s who He is—perfectly holy and perfectly loving. For more on why truth must never bend to culture, see Biblical Truth vs. Cultural Relativism: What Scripture Says.
Scripture Demands Both Love and Obedience
The Bible couldn’t be clearer:
- “If you love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15 BibleGateway)
- “We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, ‘I know him,’ but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person.” (1 John 2:3–4)
- “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14)
These verses make it plain: love without obedience is not love at all, and obedience without love is nothing but legalism. God’s design is that the two would flow together—our love for Him expressed through our obedience, and our obedience infused with love.
The Cost of Neglecting Either Side
When we separate love and obedience, the cost is devastating.
- Obedience without love leads to cold religion, where rules become the goal instead of a relationship with Christ.
- Love without obedience leads to cheap grace, where sin is excused and God’s holiness is ignored.
Both distortions rob the gospel of its power. The first turns Christianity into a burden. The second turns it into a lie. Only when love and obedience meet do we see the gospel’s true beauty.
Am I Really Saved?
This raises the question many of us wrestle with: If I’m not showing both love and obedience, am I really saved?
The Bible is clear that salvation is by grace through faith alone (Ephesians 2:8–9). We are not saved because we perfectly love or perfectly obey—none of us could stand if that were the standard. We are saved because of Christ’s finished work on the cross, and by trusting in Him.
But true faith always produces fruit. James reminds us, “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:17). Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). In other words, salvation is not earned by love and obedience, but genuine salvation will always grow in both.
If someone only pursues obedience without love, they fall into cold legalism. If they claim love without obedience, they fall into cheap grace. Both are distortions of the gospel. John writes bluntly: “Whoever says, ‘I know him,’ but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person” (1 John 2:4).
That doesn’t mean Christians never stumble. I stumble daily. But here’s the difference: when we belong to Christ, His Spirit convicts us, corrects us, and changes us over time. Even when we fail, we repent, we get back up, and we keep growing in both love and obedience.
So the question isn’t, “Am I perfect?” The question is, “Am I being transformed?” If the Holy Spirit is at work in you, producing even small steps of change, that’s evidence of the new life God has given.
Living Out True Love and Obedience Today
So how do we live this out? For me, it means continually asking the Holy Spirit to shape me. Am I obeying God’s Word faithfully? Am I speaking the truth in love? Am I reflecting both His holiness and His compassion? These are the questions that keep me growing.
The culture around us doesn’t want accountability. Progressive Christianity doesn’t want commandments. But if we are going to be faithful to Christ, we can’t cave to either distortion. We must live and proclaim both—love and obedience—as inseparable parts of the Christian life.
Because in the end, love without obedience isn’t really love.
Arch Kennedy
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