“By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:3-4). In the Old Testament there were 613 commandments. Does He mean that one must keep all of these to have eternal life? That can't be! Paul said that those under that kind of system are under a curse because “cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law to perform them (Galatians 3:10; Deuteronomy 27:26). Luckily, John defines what commands He is talking about in 1 John 3:23: “This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another…” Do you require more than Jesus?
In Galatians 5:22-23, Paul describes the fruit of one that is led by the spirit. After giving the qualities, He says, “…against such there is no law.” I have spent most of my life coming up with all kinds of laws to exclude people that believed in Jesus, loved God with all their heart, loved their neighbor, and had the fruit of the Spirit. Again, why do we try to require more than Jesus?
Daniel Rogers’ Blog
1 John 5:2-3
2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
Daniel, I am somewhat amazed you are leaning more and more toward the siren song (Greek Mythology) of denominational ecumenicalism. If the love of God is keeping his commandments, then what commandments of God may we willfully disobey and escape the anthema of God? (1 Cor 16:22)
In Matthew 7:13-14 Jesus describe the gateway and pathway to eternal life as narrow and strait . . . Jeremiah refers to this pathway as the good way.
Jeremiah 6
16 Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.
It is a difficult path to walk, and along the way we will encounter challenges to our faith.