Today I want to talk about something sensitive, something vital, something that sits right at the heart of what it means to love YHWH. It’s this question: Where did the idea come from that Christians no longer need to obey YHWH’s commandments?
Because if you read the words of Yeshua (Jesus)… If you listen to the apostles… If you follow the heartbeat of Scripture… You won’t find that idea anywhere.
Somewhere along the way, something precious was lost. And today, I want to help us recover it.
Yeshua Never Abolished Obedience—He Deepened It
Let’s start where everything starts: with Yeshua Messiah.
Luke 10:27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.
Yeshua also said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (John 14:15) Not as a burden. Not as a ladder to climb into heaven. But as the natural expression of love.
Matthew 5:17-19 Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Yeshua didn’t loosen the commandments. He fulfilled them, embodied them, and wrote them on our hearts—to help us obey them.
Grace doesn’t replace obedience. Grace empowers obedience.
The Apostles Preached the Same Message
Paul, the apostle of grace, said, “Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! (Romans 3:31)
James said, “The one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty… and continues in it will be blessed.” (James 1:25)
John said, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.” (1 John 5:3)
The early church didn’t wrestle with whether obedience mattered. They wrestled with how to obey faithfully in a world pulling them in every direction.
Where Did the “No More Commandments” Idea Come From?
It didn’t come from Yeshua. It didn’t come from the apostles. It didn’t come from Scripture.
It came from history—from human decisions, cultural pressures, and theological reactions.
2nd Century: The First Seeds
After the apostles died, some church leaders began distancing Christianity from its Jewish roots. A man named Marcion went so far as to reject the Old Testament entirely. The church condemned him, but his influence lingered.
4th Century: Constantine and the Institutional Church
As Christianity became the religion of the empire, the church tried to separate itself from anything “Jewish.” Commandments were reinterpreted. Holy days were changed. Tradition began to overshadow Scripture.
Middle Ages: Church Authority Over Scripture
The church claimed the authority to “bind and loose,” even to modify God’s laws. Obedience became something the church defined, instead of something Scripture defined.
16th Century: The Reformation Reaction
When the Reformers broke from Rome, they rightly rejected works‑based salvation. But in the process, many also rejected the role of obedience. “Free from the Law” became a slogan that carried believers away from the heart of the Word.
And here we are today—inheritors of a long, complicated history that slowly drifted from the simple, beautiful truth: Obedience is love.
The Biblical Truth We Must Recover
Hear this with your heart:
- Grace does not erase obedience, it restores it.
- Faith does not replace commandments, it writes them on our hearts.
- The Holy Spirit does not free us from holiness, He empowers us to walk in it.
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
The world says obedience is bondage. → YHWH says obedience is freedom.
The world says commandments are legalism. → YHWH says commandments are love.
The world says grace means “do whatever you want.” → YHWH says grace means “now you can finally live the way you were created to live.”
A Call Back to the Heart of YHWH
So today, I’m not calling you back to rules. I’m calling you back to relationship.
I’m not calling you back to legalism. I’m calling you back to love.
I’m not calling you back to the letter. I’m calling you back to the Lord.
Because the commandments of YHWH are not chains, they’re liberty. They’re not burdens, they’re blessings. They’re not relics, they’re revelations of YHWH’s heart.
And when we obey Him, we don’t earn His love, we express ours.
A Prayer for Our Hearts
Please, pause a moment and pray this prayer with me today: Heavenly Father, YHWH God, please bring us back. Back to Your Word. Back to Your Way. Back to the joy of obedience. Back to the simplicity of loving You with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
Write Your commandments on our hearts again. Not as rules to fear, but as treasures to cherish. Not as burdens to carry, but as the very expression of our love for You.
Make us a people who obey — not because we must, but because we love You.
In Yeshua Messiah’s Name, Amen.
YHWH bless you and keep you; YHWH make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; YHWH lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26