‘We love God and obey his commandments’ (1 John 5:2)

‘Love for God is the only acceptable motive for obeying Him. This love may express itself in reverence for Him and a desire to please Him, but those expressions must spring from love. Without love, my apparent obedience may be essentially self-serving. I may fear God’s punishment or His withholding of blessing, or I may conform to a certain standard of conduct because I want to fit in with the Christian culture around me. I might even obey simply because I have a compliant temperament.

‘All these motives may result in outward obedience, but not obedience from the heart. Only conduct arising from love is worthy of the name obedience.’

-Jerry Bridges, Holiness Day by Day, Week 10 / Friday

 (GSiV: Ân điển, chứ không phải những quy tắc / Grace not rules;

Earning vs effort: grace, justification, and sanctification;

Jerry Bridges)