Jesus said in John 15:14, “You are my friends if you do what I command you.”
Many people claim to know Jesus Christ and claim to be followers of Him, yet they seem to have no problem disobeying His commandments and living contrary to His Word, even when they know what is right and what they should be doing.
James 2:23 reminds us, “And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness’—and he was called a friend of God.” Abraham was called a “friend” of God because He believed Him and OBEYED Him.
I fear many people are not really “Friends” of God, but simply “Fans”. It’s like the music and movie stars of our day. Many of them have thousands of fans who follow their every move. They follow them on Facebook and Twitter, they have pictures and posters of them in their homes, they know everything about them – but yet they have no personal relationship with them. Likewise many people know everything about God and go through a lot of the “motions” of being a Christian, yet they have no life changing personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
It is true that salvation is by faith alone, however – TRUE salvation will affect out lives, and will cause us to want and desire to please Him and know Him more!
James 2:14-17 says, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”
True faith in God will result in obedience to His commandments. Jesus said, “You are my friends if you do what I command you.”, because obedience to His commands is a sign that we truly have a relationship with Him.