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"If you love Me, keep My commandments." John 14:15
How often have persons testified that they know the Lord, but when it comes down to obeying Him by following the leadership of the Holy Ghost, their actions tell a very different story? In 2 Timothy 3:5, Apostle Paul speaks of persons "having a form of godliness but denying its power". He admonishes to "turn away" from such individuals. This is the case with persons who profess to know the Lord but fail to follow His leadership.
Obedience to the Lord is not a suggestion. It is a command. Jesus said, "...The first of all the commandments is: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your mind, and with all your strength'. This is the first commandment." Mark 12:29-30. Jesus also said obedience gives evidence of love. (john 14:15) Apostle John said failure to be obedient gives evidence of loving the world more than God. (1 John 2:15-17) Apostle James said such persons make themselves an enemy of God. (James 4:1-10) Who wants to be God's enemy?
Faithful obedience to the leadership of the Holy Ghost is the way to run the race that God sets before us. (Hebrews 12:1) To successfully run that race, it is necessary to lay aside every weight and sin that would hinder running. Laying aside weight may sometimes mean not associating with persons who do not follow the leadership of the Holy Ghost and do not want others to follow Him either. Apostle John calls such persons liars and also says there is no truth in them. (1 John 2:4) These "haters of God" as Apostle Paul calls them, are a hinderance to those who would live a life of obedience.
To maintain a victorious Christian life, demonstrates love for God through obedience to Him and avoid persons who do not.
"Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven." Matthew 7:23
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